Droplets of water fall one by one—first one, then two, then three—each merging into what could be a small pool or perhaps a vast lake. The darkness is so complete, it's impossible to tell.
"Where am I?" said Adachi.
In an engulfing blackness, Adachi's mind raced as wildly as the faint shadows flickering just beyond his sight. The damp, earthy smell of his surroundings filled his nostrils, sharply contrasting with the unsettling scent of blood, suggesting a wound he couldn't see but certainly felt throbbing painfully at the side of his head. Groggily, he reached up, fingers probing until they found a tender lump.
"Must've hit my head pretty hard," he whispered to himself, his own voice sounding both comforting and ominous in the stifling quiet.
A sudden surge of panic sent his heart racing. "Leon!" He hadn't fully processed his situation before fear spurred him to call out. As dizziness threatened his balance, he forced himself to his feet in a clumsy scramble.
"Adachi?" The reply, Leon's voice, sounded small and fraught with uncertainty, drifting to him from not too far off. Relief flooded through Adachi, a warmth that fought off the cave's cold embrace.
"I'm here, Leon. Stay still; I'll come to you," he managed to say, his voice more composed than he actually felt. Navigating through the darkness with cautious steps, Adachi stretched out his hands, searching for Leon in the blackness. Eventually, his fingertips brushed against something soft—fabric, followed by the warm touch of skin. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, sinking to his knees to wrap Leon in a protective hug. "Did you get hurt?"
"I'm... I'm okay. Just really, really scared. It's super dark," Leon's voice quivered, more childlike in her fear. Adachi felt her small hands clutch at his shirt with a desperate strength.
"We're gonna find a way out, okay?" Adachi's assurance was spoken with a firmness he was far from feeling. In truth, he was as bewildered and frightened as Leon. He had no idea where they were or even that they were trapped in a cave. His words were meant more to comfort himself than anything else; a feeble hope in their situation.
As they huddled together in the dark, Adachi tried to marshal his thoughts. What was this place? How did they end up here? And most importantly, how could they escape? The weight Leon's safety, mixing with his own fear into a potent cocktail of desperation.
"We'll stick together, no matter what," he said more to himself than to Leon, a silent pledge to protect her with every ounce of strength he had, even as the shadows around them seemed to close in tighter, threatening to swallow their fragile courage whole.
"Shantotto isn't here to save us. I've got to figure this out on my own," Adachi thought, a tumult of emotions warring within him. His heart raced with fear, yet a stubborn resolve was crystallizing in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't the first time he'd been abruptly teleported to an unknown location, a harsh reminder oh how he came to this world brushed on him. The first experience had been disorienting, terrifying even, but it had also taught him a crucial lesson: the importance of keeping calm and thinking clearly in the face of the unknown.
Leaning back while still holding Leon close, he could feel the damp, cool surface of the wall press against him. a surge came to his brain.
"Leon, listen," Adachi began, "we're going to follow this wall." he said that as he placed her hands on the damp wall behind him. "It might lead us to an exit, or at least to somewhere less dark." Leon's grip on his shirt tightened for a moment before she nodded against him, her trust in him complete.
Carefully, Adachi stood, helping Leon to her feet. "Keep close to me," he instructed, his hand finding hers in the dark, their fingers intertwining. With his other hand, he trailed the wall, feeling for any change in texture, any hint of a pathway or door. The cool, wet stone was slick under his touch, but he pressed on, driven by the need to find a way out of this labyrinthine darkness.
As they moved, the sound of their cautious steps echoed softly back to them. Every so often, Adachi paused, straining his ears for any sound that might indicate water flowing more freely, or the distant echo of an exit, but there was nothing. Only the steady drip of water from above, marking time in this timeless place.
The darkness seemed to thicken with each step, pressing in on them with an almost physical weight. But then, Adachi's hand brushed against something different—a roughness, an irregularity in the wall. He halted, running his fingers over the surface, trying to discern its shape in the dark.
"What is it, Adachi?" Leon's voice was barely above a whisper, laced with both curiosity and fear.
"I'm not sure," he admitted, feeling along the anomaly. It was a recess in the wall, too regular to be natural. His heart quickened. "It might be a doorway, or at least a passage of some kind."
Working together, they cleared away the debris that had gathered at the base of the recess, revealing that it was, indeed, a narrow passage, veering sharply away from the main cavern. The air flowing from it was slightly fresher, carrying a hint of moisture and earth that was different from the stagnant air of the dark place.
"This could be our way out," Adachi said, more to himself than to Leon, a flicker of hope igniting in his chest. "We'll need to be careful; it's going to be even narrower and harder to navigate."
Leon's small hand squeezed his. "Adachi. Let's go."
With that, they stepped into the passage, the change in the air emboldening them. The passage twisted and turned, sloping gently upward, and they followed it, inch by cautious inch. Time lost meaning as they concentrated on the feel of the walls, the ground beneath their feet, and the comforting presence of each other.
Eventually, the oppressive closeness of the passage began to ease, the air growing warmer and staler with each step. Then, far ahead, the impossible sight of a faint light filtering through a crack in the stone.
"There's light," Leon exclaimed, her voice a mix of disbelief and joy.
Adachi felt a surge of relief so strong it nearly overwhelmed him. "Yes, there is," he affirmed, a smile breaking through the tension that had gripped him. "Let's see where it leads."
