Lynch had a dream. In it, he seemed to witness the rise and fall of the city alongside Zur-Baha-Sahr.
It was a city built by countless ghouls, a place that worshipped death and disease, where the highest honor was to offer corpses to Mordiggian.
From its inception, the city waged constant war with its neighbors until the great catastrophe at the end of the Third Age arrived, bringing its own end amidst plague, war, and famine.
Responding to the prayers of his kin, Mordiggian cast his avatar into Zur-Baha-Sahr, sinking the entire city beneath the rock strata and vanishing from historical records. From then on, few realized that an ancient city still slumbered in an unknown corner of the world.
By borrowing the power of the evil god's avatar, the city remained isolated from the soil and rock, preserved just as it was before it sank. Even the inhabitants who died with the city transformed into stone statues, wandering the edge of life and death alongside the strange creatures they kept. Only during sacrifices would they regain a shred of their biological traits.
And so, the ancient city, the evil god's avatar, the living-dead residents, and the bewildered, wandering creatures endured in the darkness for over ten thousand years, until the crimson moonlight shattered the silence...
"Ow, ow, ow, I'm dying, I'm dying."
Lynch jolted awake from his dream, only then remembering that he had seen Miss Valente wake up. A sense of relief washed over him, and he passed out from the pain on the spot.
He did not know how long he had been unconscious, but suddenly, he felt someone dragging him, causing his fresh wounds to flare with intense pain that jolted him back to consciousness.
Screaming as he opened his eyes, Lynch saw a piece of debris at least the size of a basketball plummeting from above, heading straight for his face.
Damn it.
An unexpected surprise.
Lynch widened his eyes, using every ounce of his strength to try and roll away. However, as soon as his muscles tensed, the tearing pain in his lower abdomen interrupted his movement.
Fortunately, the dragging force continued. Miss Valente was struggling to move while pulling his ankle, just enough to drag him out of the stone's path. With a bang, the rock grazed his hair and slammed into the ground. Gravel sprayed everywhere, stinging Lynch's cheeks.
Lynch then realized that the ground beneath him was vibrating and roaring frequently. Soil and gravel fell constantly from above, and occasionally large chunks of stone crashed down, leaving craters of varying depths in the ground.
What is going on?
Her surname is Valente, not Drake, and my name isn't Croft. How did things suddenly turn into this?
"Get up, Mr. Lynch. I know it hurts, but please hold on."
Miss Valente let go of his ankle, scrambled over, and grabbed his arm to hoist him up.
Clutching his wounds to endure the agony, Lynch leaned on Miss Valente to stand. His wounds had been treated well; at least he couldn't feel any exposed intestines when he touched them. Yet, his body remained weak and powerless, and the pain was incessant. It seemed even healing abilities had their limits.
Miss Valente supported Lynch with great difficulty. Her own face was deathly pale and drenched in sweat, and she gasped for breath every few steps. Clearly, her own injuries had not fully healed. Even so, she still wore a bright smile, as if she had encountered something strangely joyous. Despite nearly being crushed to death, she seemed happy enough to hum a tune.
This makes no sense. How do I not know what is so happy about this?
Lynch only dared to think it; he did not dare to ask, fearing he might be left behind. Though he was in too much pain to feel happy, he tried his best to maintain his balance and lighten the burden on the young woman.
Rumble.
No sooner had they stood steady than another earth-shaking tremor nearly caused them both to fall again. Only by supporting each other did they manage to survive the shaking.
"What exactly is happening?" Lynch picked up his dropped cane. With the support of the cane, he finally managed to stand a bit more firmly.
"Having lost the support of the evil god's power, the city is collapsing. We must replicate your actions from the dream before it caves in if we want to escape alive. What exactly did you do in the dream?"
You are only asking now?
Realizing that the young woman probably never expected to leave alive, Lynch explained briefly before asking, "If there is no power from the evil god, does that mean Maya's trait has also failed? Can we still escape?"
"No, she is connected to Zur-Baha-Sahr. Before the city collapses, her connection will not be severed. We still have a chance, but the problem is..."
"The vertical shaft."
Their expressions turned grim simultaneously. Supporting each other, they dodged the falling rocks and struggled back to the shaft they had fallen down. It was now pitch black inside, emanating an ominous aura.
What are we going to do?
They both realized that this was likely the greatest obstacle to their escape. When things were intact, they both had ways to ascend, but now that they could barely stand, the vertical shaft dozens of meters high was an insurmountable chasm.
Damn it, could it be that even after destroying the evil god's avatar, we are going to be buried along with this city?
My journey to immortality has only just begun; I am not willing to accept this. There must be a way.
Rumble.
Another violent tremor occurred. The two held onto each other for a long time before stabilizing again. It lasted far longer than the previous ones. Large rocks slammed down around them, and even within the shaft, massive artificial stone slabs were crashing down, nearly hitting them several times.
The two looked at each other, knowing there was no time left. Perhaps with the next tremor, even this shaft would collapse.
Lynch gritted his teeth. Since there was no other choice, he would have to take a risk. As soon as the tremor stopped, he immediately shouted, "Feather Fall can reduce weight, right? It can be used during a fall, so can it be used while climbing?"
Hmm? Using it in reverse?
Miss Valente's eyes lit up. She immediately pulled out a handful of feathers, ignited them, and blew the ash onto Lynch. A strange sensation followed; Lynch felt his entire body becoming light, his weight dropping to less than one percent of what it was. It felt as if he could leap into mid-air with the slightest effort.
It really is feasible.
Lynch exerted force with his legs. With his weight reduced, even the pain from his wounds couldn't stop him from launching into the air. Though the muscle contraction still caused intense agony, his body shot upward, drilling into the pitch-black tunnel.
That is it.
Lynch felt a secret joy. Seeing his ascent slowing, he tried to reach out and grab the protrusions on the shaft wall, much like rock climbing.
However, as soon as he touched the rock wall, his heart sank.
Due to the authority of cold, the temperature in the cave was extremely low. Although there was little moisture in the air, a thin layer of ice had formed on the walls, making them too smooth to gain any leverage. Lynch failed to find a grip several times and could only float back down the way he came.
Rumble.
With another slight tremor, Miss Valente hurried forward to support the stumbling Lynch. "It didn't work?"
"Yeah, the temperature is too low; it's all frozen." Halfway through his sentence, Lynch paused, frowning. "Wait, temperature?"
"What about it?"
"There is a way we can try." Lynch's eyes sparkled, and he asked with suppressed excitement, "Do you have a tent? A canvas one? You must have brought one."
"Yes." Miss Valente pulled out a single-person tent in a daze and handed it over. "What is the use of that?"
"Confirming again, theoretically, Feather Fall can also be used on objects, right?"
"Yes, it can."
"Heh, then it is simple."
Lynch grinned, quickly cutting the tent open and spreading it into a large piece of canvas. He tied thin ropes to the corners and attached them to a large iron tray from below, creating the shape of a simple hot air balloon.
The tremors grew more frequent, and rocks kept falling, but Lynch paid no attention, focusing intently on the canvas and the tray. Although Miss Valente was confused, she didn't ask a single question, silently guarding Lynch. She shot down rocks falling toward the canvas and tray several times, watching as a lopsided spherical object took shape.
"What is this?" Only when Lynch clapped his hands to finish did Miss Valente ask with relief. "Can this really help us escape?"
"Theoretically, yes. Let's try it. I hope so."
Looking at the contraption he had made in a few minutes, Lynch sighed. In his homeland, this thing would definitely not fly, but he had already tested it—the effect of Feather Fall was quite good, enough to offset the weight of the makeshift hot air balloon. Plus, the temperature difference inside the shaft was great enough that the balloon might actually fly.
"Use Feather Fall on the objects and yourself; I won't need it."
Under Lynch's guidance, Miss Valente dazed-ly cast the secret art several times. Then, she saw Lynch crouch into the tray himself.
"Help me lift the tent. Yes, just like that. Don't let go yet; wait for it to inflate on its own."
While giving instructions, Lynch put on his ring. With a 'whoosh', he transformed into a large ball of fire that required no fuel.
"It really works." Under the rising heat, the sphere gradually filled and began to float on its own. From within the ball of fire came Lynch's cry, which was indistinguishable between a wail and excitement. "Quick, grab the rope! The hot air balloon 'Lynch' is departing immediately!"
"Crackle, crackle."
Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly from the direction of the underground canyon. The ground collapsed in large chunks, plummeting into the bottomless abyss. Overhead, massive rocks shattered and fell, slamming into the cave floor and accelerating the disintegration of the ground. The momentum of the spreading cracks became more violent, and the collapse was unstoppable.
Below the tray, Miss Valente's face turned white as she tied the climbing rope to her waist. With one hand gripping the rope tightly, she used her other hand to fire a shot, blowing up a rock falling toward the balloon. "The cracks are coming soon! Mr. Lynch, hurry!"
"Then you hurry up and add more! It is already burning at its maximum!" The human-shaped flame burned fiercely, flickering constantly, though it was unclear if it was the fire flickering or the person, and his voice was more anxious than the fire. "Get me flying!"
"Rumble."
The world was falling apart.
The roar of shattering rock grew louder. Suddenly, a crack appeared in the ground beneath them, followed by more and more, growing denser by the second. In the blink of an eye, the rift had spread to them. Amidst the exclamations of a person and a ball of fire, with a loud crash, the ground collapsed completely. Millions of tons of rock, carrying soil with them, plunged into the depths of the bottomless strata.
"Ah~~"
With the ground vanishing beneath them, Miss Valente and the tray plummeted into the abyss. Her desperate scream had just begun when her waist and hand suddenly tightened, as if something had caught her.
Did the fall stop?
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
With her heart beating nervously, Miss Valente cautiously opened her eyes.
Above her was the pitch-black rock layer, with rocks crumbling and falling. Below her was the endless abyss, bottomless and dark. Hanging in mid-air, she couldn't even tell if she was going up or down.
The next moment, the fire burned even more fiercely. The tattered hot air balloon expanded to its maximum size, rising against the flow amidst the countless falling rocks, rushing toward the intact vertical shaft above.
"Mr. Lynch, it really is flying."
Miss Valente hung from the rope, her coiled hair having come undone at some point, her chestnut locks dancing in the wind. The noblewoman gripped the rope tightly, her eyes and brow filled with irrepressible joy and excitement. She looked up at the flickering flame on the tray above. The fire shimmered, reflecting in her eyes and seeming to hide an indescribable emotion.
"Heh, yeah. We are going home. Goodbye, Zur-Baha-Sahr."
The human-shaped flame flickered and grew even brighter. The hot air balloon was tattered and ugly, yet it floated higher and higher, disappearing into the intact vertical shaft.
Rate on N.U.
