520 Putrid Core part two (1/2)

”Rabi?” Sasi arrived at the cave entrance a few moments after her brother. She backed away in panic when hearing the voice that reverberated in her head. ”Semmi, Wind! Run away!”

/Alpha: Semmi: Guys? What's wrong? Oh, God...

/Inferno: Wind: We need help! There's something here!

/Inferno: Semmi: No! Don't come here! Avoid this...

/Inferno: Sharl: Sem? What's going on over there?

/Inferno: Jun Li: Ronnie, Bali, and Donri! Report to the Command tent.

/Inferno: Ronnie: On my way.

/Inferno: Donri: Same here. Nix and Pon are listed as uncontactable in Guild Chat. Neither one is answering personal comms.

******************

*Kill him, and you will receive a great boon.*

Unexpectedly, the old mage grinned when he heard the voice in his head. He glanced at the Inferno leader. ”How big of a boon are we talking about?”

Nix's emerald aura lit up the cave like a green bonfire. He turned back toward the fire mage when he spoke. ”What are you rambling about?”

Pon shrugged slightly. ”Voice in my head telling me to kill you.”

Nix gave him a deadpan look. ”I get those all the time, probably should just ignore it.”

Pon nodded in agreement. ”It's quite insistent. Even going so far as to offer me a reward.”

Nix scanned the dark passage that the trio had entered a few moments before. Although he felt a chill run down his bony spine, there had definitely been no voices. ”My voices never offer a reward, just a generic, 'Burn the World' type of thing.”

*Kill him, NOW!!*

Pon shook his head and joined his companions. ”You hear anything, Morti?”

The Titan cub shook his gigantic head. ”Nothing... It smells bad in here.”

*Kill Nix! Kill the Titan cub*

Pon slammed the end of his staff on the stone floor. ”Right... Are you fucking stupid? Even if I wanted to... How is it possible? I'm a Fire Mage, and both of them are immune to flames.”

/Alpha: Nix: Use group chat. What's going on?

/Alpha: Pon: Something's here, there's a voice bouncing around in my head.

/Alpha: Nix: We don't hear anything. Although if it manages to control Morti, we'll have to run for it.

/Alpha: Pon: Must be a control effect? It isn't very strong. The two of you are immune to control effects.

/Alpha: Nix: And your resistance is sky-high. We need to push forward. I'm worried about the ones outside.

The cave meandered back and forth like a drunk snake for a few hundred meters while an unseen pressure continued to mount. Condensation hung heavy in the air, making the dark walls glisten as tiny rivulets of moisture ran down the walls and dripped from the ceiling.

/Alpha: Nix: Crap...

/Alpha: Nix: Just the same ones I always hear. Our entrance just shrank.

The cavern that had been four meters across suddenly ended in a solid wall of stone with a small hole barely large enough for one person to crawl through.

”Shit...” Pon watched as Morti approached the opening. The Titan cub dropped down on his tummy and scooted forward until his head pushed in. His progress was stopped abruptly when his muscular shoulders contacted the barrier.

”I can't fit in here.” Morti's muffled voice rumbled in the cave, his sharp claws gouging into the rock as he back out of the entrance. ”Looks like I'm guarding.”

Nix dropped his skelly form; immediately, his nose noticed the difference in scents. Unlike the sour smell of the entrance, a sickeningly sweet odor permeated this end of the cavern. ”We'll find whatever is causing this and try to lure it back here.”

”Good idea, Nix.” Morti flopped down on the cave floor. ”If something bad happens, I'm going to bash that entrance apart.”

Nix shared a glance with Pon before patting the cub's soft head. ”Don't collapse this place on us.”

”No promises,” Morti huffed.

/Alpha: Pon: Is it okay to leave him here?

/Alpha: Nix: No choice, my ability to unsummon him has been deactivated.

”Be careful, Nix.” Morti's rumbling whisper carried down the passageway as the two Fire users crawled in single file.

The narrow path turned sharply before growing noticeably brighter. Nix dropped his aura a few moments later when they exited.

/Alpha: Pon: We're in an instance?

/Alpha: Nix: Have to be, I doubt this place exists in the Bone Fortress.

Before them lay a small valley, filled with vibrant colors from all parts of the spectrum. Oranges, blues, greens, and everything in-between. Nix squinted slightly, the brightness of it stinging his eyes.

/Alpha: Pon: Shit... This looks like my nephew's finger painting.

Nix nodded in agreement. The foliage colors seemed too chaotic to be natural. Most of the tree's resembled mid-sized fruit trees, tall orange grass stood nearly shoulder height.

/Alpha: Pon: Bet it burns.

”Right.” An emerald strand of fire burst from Nix's outstretched hand. He swiped it at the grass in front of him, causing it to flash-burst into ashes.

/Alpha: Nix: Woah... Highly volatile.

/Alpha: Pon: Awesome. Fucking hell...

Pon's voice filtered off as his glance fell onto the rocky floor of the valley. The outline of a face frozen in horror could be seen pressing upward. Instantly his staff brightened with flames.

Pon has cast [Metor Shower].