"Where am I?" I asked myself, slowly opening my eyes as I lifted my body off what seemed to be rough stone.
I looked around. There was nothing but stone above my head and on either side. It looked like I was in a narrow cave.
I no longer felt pain; on the contrary, my body felt perfectly fine. Even my cloth armor was still intact.
That was when I heard a crunching sound. Instinctively, I tried to grab my sword, but to my surprise, it was gone.
"Right… it was destroyed in the battle."
I stared ahead, where darkness swallowed the cave. I didn't know how I could see around me; there were no lamps or any apparent source of light.
Suddenly… the crunching sound came again, this time closer.
I tensed up immediately. An extreme cold crept out from the darkness like an invisible claw pressing against my chest.
I swallowed hard and murmured with a trembling voice,"S... Svend?"
The sound stopped instantly, as if my voice had silenced it. But then it returned, louder. It wasn't just a simple crunch anymore—it was clear, revolting… like bones breaking and being chewed.
Then came the smell.
A putrid stench, like that of a decaying corpse, overwhelmed me. Bile rose in my throat. My eyes filled with tears.
I remembered the scene with the giant. I quickly covered my mouth with one hand to keep from vomiting.
My mind begged me not to move, not to advance—that whatever was in that darkness… couldn't be good.
But another part of me wanted to go on. Something stronger than fear pushed me forward.
And my trembling feet began to move.
I stepped into the darkness, the stench intensifying and the crunching sound growing louder with every step.
I didn't know what awaited me ahead, but curiosity gnawed at me from the inside.
And then I saw it.
Thanks to an orange light that now seemed to surround me like a ghostly glow, I could make out the source of the sound: a small back, covered by a school uniform I'd recognize anywhere… and black hair as dark as night.
I already knew who it was. And probably, what he was doing.
Stammering, with cold sweat dripping down my face, I spoke:
"L... Lucas?"
My voice cut through the darkness like a knife. The crunching stopped.Lucas froze. The only sound was the thundering of my heartbeat, like drums echoing in the cave.
I wanted to run to him. Hug him. Get him out of there.
But that... wasn't Lucas.
He slowly turned around, and the moment I saw his face, I knew.
Instead of his golden irises, there were only two pits of darkness. A darkness so deep it chilled my blood.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Bloodied fingers hung from his lips, dripping down and soaking his neck. In his hand, he held a mutilated arm, missing its fingers.
And behind him…
Something—or someone—was emerging from the shadows. I couldn't look at it for more than a second. Nausea overtook me, and I had to avert my gaze. I vomited onto the stone.
I didn't understand. I didn't know why Lucas was doing that.
"This is a dream… It has to be a damn dream."
"You caused this," Lucas said with a hollow voice.
"I had no other choice," he repeated.
After those words, I felt my body drifting away, floating back to the place where I had awakened.
And as I did, I heard once more:
"This is the result of your failure, brother."
Those final words hit me with bitter weight.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
What I had witnessed felt so real, it took me several seconds to understand it had all been a nightmare.
Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.
But then I realized I was being dragged.
Small creatures, about Lucas's size, were pulling at my feet. They wore black armor, had grayish skin, and long, pointed ears. They were hairless. They looked like goblins.
I turned my head to the side. Svend was also being dragged, unconscious, by two of them.
I tried to move, but a sharp pain pierced my body. One of my arms hung above my head with a dislocated shoulder. My right hand had shattered knuckles. And apparently, my ankle was either twisted or sprained.
I couldn't stand. Much less face four goblins and carry Svend.
For now, all I could do… was watch.…We were dragged across dirt and grass. Occasionally, my head would strike a rock or root, and the muscle pain would paralyze me. But I endured. In silence. Alert.
Almost an hour passed before we reached what looked like an underground cave.
It was wide, and from inside came screams.
As we got closer, more goblins emerged from the trees, dragging bodies.
If there had been any chance of escape before, however small, it was now impossible. Unless I managed to recover.
Out of the corner of my eye, I also saw the knight whose face I had disfigured.
We went deeper into the cave. The screams grew deafening.
And then I saw it.
With half-open eyes, I witnessed something that made me lose all strength… and all hope.
Thousands of goblins.
A full hive.
The screaming, the jeering… it all came from them.
And in that instant, I deeply regretted not trying to escape sooner.
I had to do something—I had to move and get away. But how far could my battered body go before they caught me and ate me alive?
If they were going to eat me anyway, let it be another day, not today.
I was still being dragged by the two goblins, now surrounded by thousands more, all staring at me like they were looking at a feast.
They threw me into a small cell where there were more bodies: some dismembered by creatures, others injured or passed out, just like me.
Svend was also there, pretending to be unconscious, his eyes trembling, as if praying not to be noticed.
But they were gone. There was no immediate danger… for now.
I tried to sit up, my body trembling and aching all over.
Then, the yellow window appeared in front of me:
[Sword's Will: A skill granted to royal knights. Regardless of what or how, this ability grants a blade according to the warrior's will. (active use)][Warning! Requires mana to activate]
My face lit up a little, and I whispered:
"How convenient..."
But then...
"What is mana?" I asked, frowning.