They were still running.

  The air vibrated around them, saturated with the hoarse cries of the creatures and the pounding of their own footsteps.

  Kael felt his entire body protesting.

  His legs were nothing but two burning blocks of stone.

  Every stride sent a shock up his shins.

  His breathing had turned irregular—raw, rasping, painful.

  And all the water he had gulped down earlier…

  It sloshed violently in his stomach with every impact.

  An internal pounding, somewhere between nausea and cramp.

  Ahead of him, the stranger kept moving, relentless.

  No hesitation in his stride. No sign of fatigue.

  His breathing stayed steady.

  His steps perfectly measured.

  “Seriously—don’t you ever get out of breath?” Kael gasped, his voice half-choked.

  No answer.

  Kael forced himself to accelerate.

  But his legs threatened to give out at any second.

  A rumble echoed behind them.

  A guttural, wet rasp—closer than he would have liked.

  By sheer reflex—and a terrible survival instinct—Kael glanced over his shoulder.

  And he saw them.

  Not one creature.

  Three.

  “Shit…” he breathed, eyes wide.

  “There are three of them! I thought there was only one!”

  The man ahead of him turned his head just enough to glimpse the horror.

  He clicked his tongue—sharp, irritated.

  “That’s new.”

  Kael didn’t answer.

  He didn’t have the strength left.

  He would have screamed.

  But his breath had already fled—along with his clarity.

  The three creatures ran without pause.

  Not like beasts.

  Like things that had made a decision.

  The stranger slowed just slightly.

  His eyes scanned the shifting cliffs—the folds, the heights.

  Then he pointed.

  “There.”

  To the right, a cavity opened in the rock.

  Not very tall. Not very wide.

  But just enough.

  A natural stone passage, half-hidden by fallen debris.

  “We can squeeze through there.”

  “It’s that or we end up as slit-jaw breakfast.”

  Kael nodded.

  He didn’t even have the energy to reply.

  He veered sharply, nearly stumbled, barely caught himself against the wall.

  The stranger followed close behind.

  The creatures’ cries intensified.

  They sensed the change.

  They were speeding up.

  Kael plunged into the rocky fissure first.

  His shoulders scraped the stone.

  He practically threw himself inside—tucked his legs, rolled, slid onto his side.

  The stranger followed right after him—more agile, more precise.

  The moment they were inside, they pressed themselves flat against the inner wall.

  The cries stopped abruptly.

  Outside—nothing.

  Not a sound.

  Kael half-straightened, gasping for air.

  He glanced toward the entrance—just a thin ribbon of light.

  “They’re not following us?”

  “They’re waiting.”

  The green-eyed man stared at the opening, motionless.

  His gaze was calm. Too calm.

  Kael swallowed.

  He pressed a hand to his chest.

  His heart was still pounding, like it wanted to escape without him.

  “Three…”

  He shook his head.

  “And here I thought my day was already ruined before this…”

  Kael slumped back against the rock, panting.

  Sweat clung to his forehead, his elbows, his lower back.

  His throat burned again.

  He nearly collapsed to the ground, his back sliding down the cool stone.

  “This can’t be happening, for fuck’s sake…” he muttered between breaths.

  “Every time I think things are getting better, everything goes to hell all over again.”

  He tried to straighten up.

  A sharp stab of pain shot through his thighs.

  His muscles screamed, as if they were about to tear loose.

  Savage cramps.

  His legs trembled.

  His arms too, honestly.

  He let out a small groan as he forced himself back upright.

  “Tch. Quiet,” the stranger snapped, still facing away from him.

  The tone was sharp. Firm. Final.

  Kael winced—but obeyed.

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  The man moved slowly toward the mouth of the cavity.

  He cupped his hands around his ears, like a living parabolic dish.

  Then he closed his eyes.

  His face… moved.

  A faint twitch of the lips.

  Small contractions in his brow.

  As if he were following a rhythm.

  A sound only he could hear.

  Exhausted, Kael raised an eyebrow.

  “Trying to pass yourself off as one of them?” he muttered with a weak edge of sarcasm.

  The man clicked his tongue, irritated.

  “She’s moving.”

  The tone was calm. Flat.

  “They’re looking for another entrance. Most likely.”

  Kael closed his eyes.

  Then opened them again, still bent over.

  He forced his legs to straighten.

  Every muscle protested.

  But he managed to stand.

  He leaned against the wall, breath shallow.

  His palm pressed flat against the stone.

  He froze.

  His expression hardened.

  “…I think that’s very bad.”

  His voice had slipped back into its usual sarcasm… but edged with something real and tight.

  The stranger didn’t move.

  “What is it now that you think you know and I don’t?”

  His tone was sharp, as if he had no patience left for useless panic.

  Kael kept his eyes fixed on the rock and insisted.

  “No. Seriously. This is very bad.

  They’re coming… from behind.”

  He swallowed.

  “I can feel the vibrations. In the stone. It’s faint—but it’s there.”

  The stranger finally turned his head.

  He stepped closer and placed his own palm against the wall.

  He stayed like that for several seconds.

  Then he slowly shook his head.

  “I don’t feel anything.

  You’re probably hungry. Or scared. Or both.”

  Kael didn’t answer right away.

  His gaze never left the stone.

  He frowned.

  “No… it’s not hunger.”

  He lifted his eyes to meet the other’s.

  “I know what I felt.”

  A sound rose.

  Not a vibration.

  Not a guttural rasp.

  No.

  Footsteps.

  Stretched out. Wet. Dragging.

  Kael felt adrenaline detonate through his veins again.

  Each heartbeat slammed against his ribs like a war drum.

  His senses snapped back to life—

  short breath, widened eyes, muscles coiled tight.

  He whipped his head toward the opening.

  The way they had come.

  He went pale.

  “Shit…

  That’s the only exit.”

  The stranger moved toward the entrance, cautious.

  He leaned out slightly, peering into the canyon.

  Silence ruled there again.

  Just loose stones, drifting dust, and wind whispering between the rocks.

  “Nothing,” he said calmly.

  He lifted a foot to step out.

  Kael grabbed his arm.

  “Wait!”

  The man shot him a look—half surprised, half irritated.

  “What now?”

  “You want me to carry you too?”

  The tone was sarcastic—too controlled to be entirely spontaneous.

  Kael pointed at him, breathless.

  “There!

  You can do sarcasm too.

  So you do think, huh? Then think about not stepping out like that.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Kael bent down and grabbed a stone the size of his fist.

  He hurled it toward the narrow passage.

  The stone bounced twice, then came to a dull stop.

  One second passed.

  Then the ground trembled.

  A shape burst forth.

  Fast.

  Furtive.

  The Overdrawn leapt onto the stone as if it were prey.

  Its claws sank into it, jaws gaping wide, breath ragged, saliva spilling freely.

  Kael straightened slowly, eyes wide.

  The stranger narrowed his eyes, a troubled crease forming on his brow.

  “Class-Three Overdrawn. At least.”

  He spoke in a low voice, as if stating an icy fact.

  “They can think.

  Lay plans.

  They test. They trap.”

  He shook his head.

  “This is really bad.”

  Kael turned his head toward him, slowly.

  “Oh yeah. That’s comforting.

  Really. Thanks.

  Got anything else? Maybe ‘we’re going to die’ or ‘this is hopeless’ while we’re at it?”

  The man looked at him. Then, very calmly:

  “We wouldn’t be here if you’d taken the right path.

  We might’ve shaken them. Or at least scattered them.

  But no. You had to do things your way.”

  Kael opened his mouth.

  Then closed it.

  He stared at him for a second, outraged—then shrugged, resigned.

  “You’re charming. Truly.”

  Another heavy set of footsteps echoed—closer this time.

  The ground vibrated faintly beneath their feet.

  They were no longer alone in the cavity.

  The stranger suddenly grabbed Kael by the arm.

  His gaze—hard, unwavering—was fixed on the darkness where the sounds were rising.

  “Alright. We’re going to have to fight.”

  Kael slowly turned toward him, breath short, eyes wide.

  “Seriously? Have you seen those things?”

  He pointed a trembling finger toward the exit.

  “There are three of them. Faster. More agile. Tireless, apparently. And terrifying.

  What’s your plan—hold their hands and sing?”

  The noise intensified.

  Claws scraping against stone.

  A presence—right there. Close.

  The stranger didn’t flinch.

  “It’s too late to worry about trivialities like that.”

  Kael’s eyes went even wider.

  “Trivialities? Wait, let me tell you something—”

  He didn’t get the chance to finish.

  The stranger yanked him out with a sharp pull.

  Light exploded across Kael’s vision, brutal and blinding.

  The sun crashed down on their shoulders like a leaden whip.

  The creature had its back to them—its massive frame turned away.

  A few seconds of reprieve. Nothing more.

  The stranger drew his blade.

  Kael did the same.

  But at that exact moment, the beast turned.

  A scream tore through the air, splitting it open, shaking the canyon walls.

  A howl ripped apart by raw rage.

  The stranger squinted.

  “…Alright.

  ‘Trivialities’ might’ve been a bit premature.

  Run.”

  Kael clicked his tongue, let out a low growl, and took off at full speed.

  They tore down a corridor of rock narrower than the ones before it.

  The cliffs seemed to close in around them.

  Above their heads, the creatures leapt from stone to stone—

  agile shadows, feral, relentless.

  Drool fell from the heights, splattering in sticky blotches on the ground just ahead of them.

  Kael pushed harder.

  His legs were two pillars of fire.

  His lungs, twin anvils of embers.

  And then—abruptly—the gorge opened.

  Ahead of them: emptiness.

  A sheer drop.

  Clean. Brutal. Absolute.

  The cliff plunged straight down into a vast, shimmering lake far below.

  Kael skidded to a halt, took a few hesitant steps at the edge, then turned to the stranger.

  “Alright, listen. We don’t have a choice. We jump.”

  He shrugged, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

  “And you know what? I’m perfectly fine with that option.”

  He said it as if the idea had come from the other man.

  But the stranger stared at him, hesitating.

  “Me… I’m not.”

  Kael narrowed his eyes.

  “What? You can’t swim?”

  The other lowered his head slightly.

  A trace of shame in the gesture.

  “No.”

  Kael opened his mouth. Closed it. Then blurted out, stunned:

  “A big guy like you?”

  “Every man has his weaknesses,” the stranger replied, almost theatrically.

  Kael snorted, incredulous.

  “That’s one hell of a weakness—especially in a survival class.”

  The creatures’ growls were closer now.

  Their heavy, fetid breath already tainted the air.

  Thick saliva splashed against a rock at their feet.

  By pure reflex, they stepped back.

  The void licked at their heels.

  The stranger glanced down at the lake below. His jaw tightened.

  “I can’t do this. It’s impossible.”

  His voice was firm. Sharp. Final.

  Something in Kael snapped.

  “You’re the one who put a blade to my neck,” he growled.

  “You’re the one who called me an animal.

  You’re the one who took down Overdrawn like they were mosquitoes—

  and you’re also the one who shoved me out there to face one of those horrors in broad daylight!”

  He stepped forward. The stranger stared at him, startled.

  “So you know what?”

  “Consider this payback. ”

  Without warning, Kael planted both hands against the man’s chest—

  and shoved him into the void.

  “Whatever you say, you’re one hell of a walking contradiction, man!”

  The stranger barely had time to gasp—

  “That was really unnecessary—”

  —before vanishing into the abyss.

  Kael shot a sideways glance after him, sighed deeply, and without giving his brain time to object…

  He jumped after him.