"MARIA!"

  "Julian...?"

  Maria's head snapped to her side, where the desperate voice of his son originated from.

  Amongst the crumbling cave and the falling debris, the deep blue light was completely powerless to let her see anything.

  Zztt.

  Startling her, she saw something zoom past her, brushing her nose before smashing deep into the cave.

  "Ah..."

  She touched her nose, where sticky and warm liquid was gently seeping out. Before she could process what had happened, she was wrenched up by a trembling hand.

  "Ma-maria," Julian called through his tight throat.

  With how close her son's face was to hers, she saw clearly how shaken he was. Yet, before she could ask what was wrong, she was pushed, or more accurately, shoved towards the blue light.

  "Move! Why are you spacing out for?!"

  Julian faced the wolf as they retreated deeper into the cave. His sword drawn, yet he was trembling. His eyes, now red and shaky, were nervously waiting for the upcoming spear. However, while doing so, he noticed chunks of slimy liquid were dripping from the wolf.

  'It is injured...?'

  He immediately saw that something was wrong with the wolf. The vicious ramming had stopped, and its body limp, dangled weakly on the cave ceiling.

  "Go, go!"

  ?

  The sound of water was getting closer, so much so that it felt just within their grasp. Among the other fearsome noises, it was perhaps the only thing that kept their hope intact.

  Deep inside the cave that stretched to no end, the deep-blue color had permeated the surrounding cave walls. They swayed and glowed beautifully as if waving welcomes to those two tired souls.

  If the 'night sky' from the past was described to them accurately, the light before them would be the closest depiction it could get. Just like in the tales, those beautiful, shimmering lights guide them through the darkness.

  Unfortunately, that light brought forth unnecessary trouble.

  "J-Julian, you body!"

  "Quiet down," Julian warned sternly. Before Maria could utter another word, he continued, "Stop overreacting."

  Maria gazed at the shredded clothes of Julian, or more accurately, what lay beneath them. Julian's flesh appeared like squeezed-up clay, clumping and bulging as if they were about to tear open.

  While Julian successfully covered the worst wound on his back using the knapsack, too much was happening around his body that he may not have needed to bother in the first place.

  Especially on his shoulder and legs, the clumps were large enough that they appeared as if other creatures had snuck under his skin.

  "I am fine. Keep going," Julian sighed.

  Julian was troubled. He knew what was coming next. Maria's face, which was slowly losing color, was proof of his assumption. He felt the flimsy wrist of Maria slip between his calloused fingers.

  Her legs trembled more violently. They were already rebelling enough because of their tiredness, and with the slowly slipping consciousness of Maria, they easily folded over without any strength.

  With a soft sigh, Julian loosened his hold. gently letting Maria fall over.

  Thud.

  He had forgotten countless things from his young age, but he never once forgot how weak Maria's heart was. In her eyes, Julian could only imagine how hideous he must have looked at that moment.

  Well, if he was not hideous already.

  "... Why are you so useless?"

  The water was close enough for him to feel at ease. That tainted stuck on the ceiling seemed to also keep the other tainted at bay, giving them time to rest momentarily.

  Rumble. Rumble.

  Of course, he knew that by 'momentarily,' it meant just one or two minutes at best.

  "Stand up, we are almost there."

  "Alr...blergh....ugh..."

  "Keep your eyes on the wall," Julian uttered, hoping that light might distract Maria.

  "Uegh...," Maria replied, eyes clenched shut.

  Letting out another sigh, he pulled out a small jar from his satchel. Unlike the one containing black mud, the jar contained a yellowish substance. Taking another peek at the path behind him, he scooped the ointment before staring at Maria's face.

  Some parts of the mud had already fallen off, and some were on their way to return to the earth. Reminding himself to buy that mud again, he applied the ointment to Maria's scratched nose.

  "Tsss."

  "Stay still."

  Though their steps had slowed considerably, they reached the source of both the calming sound and the blue light. They had let out many sighs, silently and not. However, the one let out before the water was undoubtedly the one of relief and amazement.

  "Water... But why is it glowing...?" Maria asked, head peeking behind Julian.

  "It's a river, an underground one."

  Shaking off Maria's hand from his knapsack, Julian submerged his uninjured arm into the water. He had heard one or two things through his previous life, and to his knowledge, not every kind of'glowing' river was safe to swim in.

  Thum.

  Thum.

  He gazed at the other end of the cave. Though they went through more than several forking paths to reach there, those tainted managed to head their way with no problem.

  Shaking his head, he dropped his other arm gently on the water. He moved slowly and almost stopped looking at the water creeping on his bulging wound. It was as if he was hesitating. However, that only lasted a while.

  With both his arms submerged in the water, Julian froze. He made no noises or complaints, but his expression showed that he was too fond of the experience.

  "Ha..."

  Taking a deep breath, he threw himself into the water.

  SLOSH.

  "Huuu....Sssss...."

  Making all sorts of weird sounds, Julian finally remembered what it felt like to be truly alive. He felt as if he was only sleeping prior, and had actually awakened at that moment. Embraced by the water that had turned reddish, he laid his teary eyes towards the other person.

  Slosh.

  Though her eyes diverted from the red glow, Maria jumped into the water without any hesitation. The water was indeed cold to her, enough to make her chest tighten. But it was not too cold that she would grind her teeth until they made that uncomfortable, cracking sound.

  "Julian, are you really fine?" Maria asked, slowly making her way to Julian.

  "Why wouldn't I?" Julian answered with a calm voice. Letting out a chuckle, he continued. "Well, the knapsack is a little uncomfortable."

  Julian, with a close to non-functioning arm, had the overly large knapsack on his back and the sword on his waist. Naturally, it was quite clear that he was having trouble moving and staying afloat.

  "Let me hold on to it," Maria said, eyes still avoiding Julian.

  "No."

  Julian turned away and scanned the path ahead. Underground rivers usually lead to a lake or even the river above. If he had to guess, that river should lead to a lake in the middle of the forest.

  While they will still remain in the tainted land, it would be better than staying in that cave.

  "Don't stay too far behind," Julian said as he swan ahead.

  "Um."

  "And tell me if you need rest."

  Slosh.

  Slosh.

  Since the start of their journey, they had not rested once. Sure, they did occasionally stop, but they were never resting. Unsurprisingly, their already tired bodies were quickly overwhelmed when swimming in that cold water.

  Nonetheless, both knew that it was not safe to stop with creatures lusting for their blood trailing behind. Though their faces had already turned pale and blue, they silently fought their urge to stop.

  Until eventually, the echoes were far, far behind them.

  "Let's stop here," Julian said, spotting a 'bank' to their side.

  Seeing a footing that could get them off the water, they unconsciously swam faster and more energetically. They desperately paddled their arms, momentarily forgetting their tiredness. It was as if they were racing each other.

  Slosh. Slosh.

  Touching the solid rock with their wrinkled fingers, a look of relief washed over their faces. Though their reasoning may differ, their tired smile was identical.

  Helping Maria up, Julian then clawed his way up.

  Thud.

  Clank.

  Ktang.

  Julian immediately tossed all those shackles around his body, finally giving him room to breathe. He wanted to sit down right away, but the sight of Maria kept him from doing so.

  "Wom...Maria, you are not going to faint, are you?"

  "No...no."

  If not for her trembling limbs, Julian may have mistook Maria for a corpse. She lay soundless, eyes barely holding open. Seeing how tired and cold she was, a thought silently appeared in his mind.

  'Should have taken that phoenix Gift.'

  [Julian Swordshards(Peasant)]

  Blessed Servant.

  State: Unawakened[Greed(Earth Fold)(Rock)]

  Fate: 75

  'Everything.'

  Throwing his bottom down, Julian called out once again for that name. Before his blurry eyes, his card was folded and compressed into a white orb. The orb of light trembled, and two large eyes protruded from its top.

  [Yes, Mister Julian.]