Vorin and the rest of the party darted through the dark tunnels desperately trying to find their missing friends. A group of naked strangers blessed them with hope minutes before when they ran into the group and told them of the heroics that freed them. The news reinvigorated the party, and they were moving as quickly as possible toward the large chamber the dwarf had described.

  Following the directions of the group, they took a left then a right followed by another slight left. They hugged the walls and Zuls made certain they were on the right path by following the shallow footprints left from the prisoners. After another sharp right turn, they started to hear the sounds of battle.

  Thunder rang through the tunnels with loud shrieking trailing right behind. It was the telltale signs of Kumo in the midst of battle. Small gusts of wind could be felt rushing at them through the tunnel and the smell of rain was competing with the odor of death.

  “Whatever she is fighting, it sounds like its pushing her to her limits. Be ready!” Vorin called out.

  The party nodded in understanding, but no other words were said. Each of their eyes stayed focused on the end of the tunnel that was fast approaching. Their fists clenched tightly, and their steps grew in speed. Just before they emerged from the tunnel, however, Vorin made them come to a stop.

  A wall of pure darkness met them. They could still hear everything happening from within the cavern, but sight was completely gone. Vorin held up his finger and stuck his head in. Moments later he pulled it back out.

  “It’s the same magical darkness as before. The second we enter it; all senses will be useless.”

  Before anyone else could comment, the sounds of battle stopped completely after a small tremor against the wall could be felt. Their eyes widened as they stared into the darkness ahead of them waiting for any reason to charge in.

  Seconds passed as the party attempted to comprehend what could have happened when another bellow of pain and anger roared through the tunnel. Then the darkness started to recede from the doorway before dissipating completely.

  They all took a step forward to take in the scene.

  Synexus was gliding down to the ground with his strange wings they knew was a skill echo. Right before he landed, two halves of a deep purple gemstone crashed into the cavern floor. A giant pile of bodies seemed to be squirming around on the ground in agony while a chorus of a hundred different voices rang out with screams and laughter. A dozen plant monsters were sticking roots into the mass. To their right, Kumo was lying on the ground clearly injured.

  “What is that thing?!” Zuls exclaimed. Her arms flung into the air in an animated fashion pointing towards the amalgam. “And those things?!” She repositioned to point at the Razor Hydras.

  “We need to ascertain what happened here. Prith and Shell, go get Kumo. Start healing her. Yu and Zuls keep whatever that thing is busy. I believe the plant monsters are Synexus’ plants since they are fighting it. Gene, you and I will go to Synexus.”

  Immediately the party broke off to accomplish their goals. Zuls summoned all her bonded and started an assault on the pile of bodies. Yu started ripping seared flesh from the monster with her fire lashes. Shell started a song of healing while Prith inspected Kumo to see how badly she was injured. Vorin and Gene tried to bring Synexus back to consciousness.

  “I believe that last tremor we felt against the wall was Kumo being thrown against it.” Prith spoke hesitantly.

  Kumo’s arm was bent in an unnatural way. Blood ran from her mouth indicating internal bleeding. Prith delicately held her body while Shell continued to play. They took her back to the tunnel entrance and in the short walk, her arm had begun to mend.

  Shortly after, Vorin arrived with Synexus’ body in his arms.

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  “His body is shattered. I’m amazed he’s still alive.”

  “It’s because of his armor. Kumo’s saved her as well.” Gene interjected.

  Shell’s healing song would be able to affect both of them since they were in range to hear the soft notes, but it would heal them much slower.

  “Prith, go help them with the monster. Shell and I will stay here and keep them safe.”

  With a nod, the sword master took a graceful step toward the battle and disappeared.

  Vorin stared down at the bodies of his friends but then noticed that Gene’s gaze was focused elsewhere. Following the owl’s eyes, he locked onto their target. The gemstone.

  “What is that?”

  “Nothing good. If I’m correct, that’s Nothing Stone which shouldn’t be here. I’m afraid we can’t discern much more until one of these two wake up.”

  While waiting, they kept an eye on the battle.

  Several times, the bodies attempted to reconstitute into their titan form, but the constant damage from the party kept its regeneration at bay.

  Zuls, Siz, and Yu rained fire down onto the black ooze-coated pile of death while the Razor Hydras continued to suck its resources dry and grow. Prith made massive gashes running the entire length of the monster with his perfectly sharpened sword. Snowfall prevented some of the regeneration by freezing damaged areas with a chilled aura and her fearsome ice claws. Blight wasn’t effective against the monster but hung around to assist in any way he could. Gliya’s light rays were devasting and most of the flesh hit by them would evaporate instantly. Element produced walls of earth preventing it from moving around. Fort produced defensive shields to his allies in case of a retaliatory attack. Claw closed in periodically to rend flesh before backing away and finding her next target. Sovereign, Whimper, and Ghost taunted the beast from above while doing whatever damage they could when they deemed it safe.

  It was a true battle of attrition and only ended half an hour later when Yu made everyone including the plants back away so she could devastate the pile of clones with her fire vortex. It was a skill perfect for the enemy they faced. The inferno would use the seared flesh to feed itself until there was no more fuel for it to burn. To her surprise, it still took another twenty minutes before the flesh melted away into more black ooze and the regeneration completely stopped.

  “Now I’m glad that my sheath can clean my blade. That was awful.” Prith said before leaning against the wall. His breaths were heavy, and his legs shook slightly.

  “I think the worst part was the constant stream of human screams and laughter. At least I levelled up three of my skills during that.” Zuls added and collapsed against the wall next to him.

  “Yes, that beast has equally impressive and horrifying. It’s hard to believe that Synexus and Kumo survived against it alone that whole time.” Yu added.

  They all sat to rest and regain their resource pools while Vorin stood guard. Shell continued her healing song. Skin stitched back together. Bones shifted back into position and mended. Torn muscles regrew. It took an hour before their bodies looked healthy again. Another hour passed before Synexus’ eyes shot open and he immediately tried to sit up.

  “Woah, Synexus. You need to lie still. Your body has gone through tremendous damage and recovery within a short span of time.”

  Blank eyes lit with sudden realization before he spoke. “Shell? Is that you?”

  “Yes. We are all here.”

  “Is Amalgam dead?”

  “The pile of bodies? Yes.”

  “Good…and Kumo?”

  “She’s right here beside you. I healed her, but she has yet to wake up.”

  Vorin noticed the conversation and kneeled.

  “Synexus, can you tell us what happened here?”

  With an unsteady voice, he started to tell their story. By the time he was finished they were all huddled around him.

  “Kumo took on that thing in its actual form alone?!”

  “I agree with Zuls. That’s quite an impressive feat.”

  A shallow voice startled the party. “Tha…nks Yu.”

  “Kumo! Are you feeling okay? I healed you, but you were out for a long time.”

  “I feel fine…just…tired.”

  “That makes sense. Why don’t you get some more rest? We will carry you out of here along with Synexus.”

  Kumo’s head made an up and down motion as if she was trying to nod, but it was almost too subtle to pick up. Then her eyes shut, and she was out once again.

  When the excitement of Kumo’s awakening was over and after a few clarifying questions from the party about how they had managed to kill the entire nest, Gene decided to jump in.

  “Synexus, I’m sure you’re exhausted too, but I need to know. What was the Nothing Stone doing here? You said it was giving birth to these monsters.”

  Synexus nodded.

  “Was it a heart?”

  He nodded again. This time slower.

  “Do you know who it belonged to?”

  “It belonged to me, of course.”

  The entire party jumped and turned around in an instant as the powerful whisper finished its words.