Chapter 16 - Cracks

City of Harth – Floor Thirty-Five, The Great Labyrinth

After half an hour of searching, they settled on an inn that looked comfortable enough.

In Alina’s room, she sat on the bed while Renji took a stool beside her, her injured foot resting gently on his lap. He carefully removed her boot, revealing a nasty-looking bruise—purple and pink on and around her big toe.

“You got this from kicking me?” he asked.

She lowered her head. “Yeah, sorry. I probably deserved it. When you mentioned Rovan, I got a little heated. I didn’t mean to kick you,” she said, slightly embarrassed.

That’s a bad bruise. Did she really kick me that hard? She might’ve broken a toe… no way to tell without an X-ray.

He poured several drops of healing salve onto her swollen foot. With a soft green glow, the swelling subsided and the bruising faded as the colour of her foot returned to normal.

He still couldn’t believe how these potions worked, shaking his head in quiet disbelief.

Alina wiggled her toes and set her foot down on the floor.
“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah, the pain’s almost gone. Just a little sore.” She looked up, as if suddenly remembering. “Wait… if my foot was that bad, what about your leg?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he reassured her. “I carried you all the way here, didn’t I?”

Alina frowned. “I don’t believe you.” She leaned forward and tugged up his trouser leg, revealing a small purple patch on his shin.

She gave him a stern look. “Renji…” She punched him in the arm. “You always keep things to yourself. I’m starting to think that’s a bad habit.”

“It’s just a bruise. Not a big deal,” Renji said defensively.

She stared at the bruise, which seemed minor compared to her own injury. “It’s like you’re made of wood.” She poked his chest with a finger. “Outside—and on the inside too.”

She puffed out her cheeks, snatched the potion from his hand and held it tight, worry etched across her face.

It wasn’t just his leg. It was everything—locked away where no one could reach him. If he keeps burning himself out like this… am I strong enough to stop him?

“Hey, don’t waste that on a minor bruise,” he said, catching her hand. “Just conjure up some ice. Isn’t that what mages are for?”

She narrowed her eyes, foot twitching as if to kick him again—then thought better of it. Instead she huffed and turned away, cheeks puffed.

***

After dinner, Renji lay in his bed, hands behind his head. His thoughts drifted back to Alina’s room—her scolding, her stubbornness, the way she wouldn’t let the bruise go.

“Why did she make such a big deal out of it? It was nothing. Just a bruise.”

He frowned at the ceiling. I can read a battlefield, track an enemy’s intent from a glance… but with her, I can’t tell what I’m missing.

He exhaled, forcing the thought away.

“Rest. Focus. I need to find a way back.”

Moments later, his eyelids grew heavy, and sleep overtook him.

***

Meanwhile, at Duke Thorval’s Mansion – Vaerina’s Chambers

A dozen crystals hovered above a glyph-carved dais, their colours shifting faintly as Vaerina whispered an incantation. She lowered her hands and the glow faded with her sigh.

A knock.
“Enter.”

Rovan stepped inside, placing a pair of jewelled bracelets and a sceptre on her table. “As requested.”

“Still brooding?” Vaerina didn’t look at him at first, her voice smooth, amused. “You wear grief like armour.”

He ignored the bait. “Will these help with your experiments?”

She finally turned, eyes gleaming. “Perhaps. If I can fuse them, the results will be… transcendent.” A pause, deliberate. “But I doubt that’s why you came here, Rovan.”

He said nothing, jaw tight.

Vaerina drifted closer, her steps slow, predatory. “Your little pupil defies you. The Duke doubts you. And yet you stand there, clinging to dignity as if it still belongs to you.” Her fingers ghosted across his sleeve. “I can take that weight away, if you let me.”

He flinched but didn’t move. His silence was answer enough.

She smiled—sharp, knowing—and pressed a whisper against his ear. “You hate yourself for wanting this. That’s why it binds you.”

His restraint snapped. Rovan seized her shoulders and shoved her onto the bed. The motion was violent, almost desperate.

Vaerina only laughed, robes falling open like a challenge. “Yes… that’s it. Don’t fight it.”

Rovan stood over her, trembling with anger at her, at himself. He wanted to turn away. But he didn’t.

The door sealed shut with a flick of Vaerina’s fingers.

***

Floor Thirty-Seven – The Great Labyrinth

It had been two days since they left Harth. It took them a day to get through Floor Thirty-Six.

“Celia’s maps are a huge help. They mark out the safe areas to rest and even have notes on the monsters we might run into,” Alina said, studying the map for Floor Thirty-Seven.

“They really are. And this sword too.” Renji slid his blade into its sheath. “Worlds apart from my old one. Cuts with so little effort—and it’s perfectly balanced.”

“It’s enchanted and made by a master swordsmith,” Alina said as she rolled up the map. “I asked Celia about it when I saw it in her shop.”

A distant, menacing shriek cut through the air, interrupting their conversation.

The dungeon opened into an enormous cavern—vast and echoing like a subterranean stadium. Red-brown columns rose toward the ceiling, and a waterfall spilled from a jagged outcropping.

“This is the wyvern area?” Renji readied his carbine. Last two mags. Plus one in the weapon.

“Yes,” Alina said, raising her staff, its tip glowing faintly. “The safe zone is just beyond.”

A piercing shriek cut through the cavern, bouncing off stone walls. Shadows shifted above—winged shapes clinging to stalactites.

They moved in bursts: dash to cover, pause, listen, then move again. Renji’s nerves stretched tighter with every stop.

A melted breastplate lay fused to the stone. Acid. His jaw clenched.

One wyvern peeled from the ceiling, swooping low enough that the downdraft stirred grit across the floor—then it pulled back, shrieking, testing them.

“Stay close,” Renji whispered.

Alina nodded, pressing against the pillar at his side.

They pushed on. Talons scraped stone overhead, the sound like knives on glass. Renji tracked a massive shadow circling above. Then the ground shook under a heavy impact.

A wyvern had landed—close. Its yellow eyes fixed on them, unblinking.

Up close, its size was staggering. The grey-scaled torso was as big as a car, with a long tail ending in a blade-like bone. Its head looked like something between a dragon and a bird.

With a wet, rasping sound, a projectile of yellow bile shot from its maw.

Renji shoved Alina to the ground, shielding her as the acidic bile struck stone with a sharp hiss.

He rose to one knee and fired in controlled bursts, emptying the magazine into the beast’s face, neck, and chest. The wyvern flailed, shrieked—and then dropped.

He reloaded. One spare left.

Its carcass lay motionless, bleeding from a dozen bullet holes.

He scanned for threats. Seeing none, he turned his attention to Alina. She was already on her feet, staff in hand, ready to cast.

She’s getting better at this, he thought.

“Are you all right? Might’ve pushed you a little hard there,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

He’s always protecting me first. I need to carry my own weight—not just leave everything to him when it gets tough.

“That’s good.” Renji pointed to a cluster of large stalagmites about twenty metres away. “We’ll make a dash for those. Ready?”

Before she could respond, a wyvern swooped down toward them. Alina, ready for it, fired a volley of three ice lances in quick succession. The beast swerved to avoid the attack and flew back up toward the ceiling.

“Ready.”

“Now!”

The pair broke into a sprint.

A second wyvern, tracking their movement, swooped in from above and snatched Alina by her pack. She let out a scream.

Renji turned just in time to see the creature’s talons sinking into her gear.

“Alina!”