We're Going Home

Lynch had a dream. In it, he seemed to witness the rise and fall of Zur-Baha-Sahr alongside the city itself.

It was a city built by countless ghouls, worshiping death and disease, holding the offering of corpses to Mordiggian as its highest honor.

From its birth, it waged continuous wars against surrounding cities until the great catastrophe at the end of the Third Age arrived. Amid plague, war, and famine, it met its end.

Answering the prayers of his vassals, Mordiggian cast an avatar into Zur-Baha-Sahr, sinking the entire city deep beneath the rock layers to disappear from historical records. From then on, few realized that an ancient city lay sleeping in an unknown corner of the world.

Borrowing the power of the evil god's avatar, the city was isolated from dirt and rock, preserving its state before sinking. Even the citizens who perished alongside the city turned into stone statues, wandering on the margin of life and death together with the heteromorphs they raised, recovering slight biological traits only during sacrifices.

Thus, the ancient city, the evil god's avatar, the undying and unliving citizens, and the aimlessly wandering heteromorphs endured in the darkness for tens of thousands of years, until the crimson moonlight shattered it...

“Ow, it hurts, hurts, hurts! I'm dying, I'm dying!”

Lynch jolted awake from the dream. Only then did he remember noticing Miss Valente waking up earlier, after which he had relaxed in relief and fainted from the pain on the spot.

He had no idea how long he had been unconscious. Suddenly, he felt someone dragging him, sending another wave of intense pain through his barely eased wounds and waking him right back up.

Screaming in agony, Lynch opened his eyes only to see a boulder at least the size of a basketball plummeting from above, heading straight for his face.

Holy crap.

A “surprise” from the sky.

Lynch's eyes widened. He summoned every ounce of strength to roll out of the way, but the moment his muscles tensed, a tearing pain in his lower abdomen cut his movement short.

Fortunately, the dragging force continued. Miss Valente was struggling to drag him by his ankles, moving him just out of the rock's trajectory. With a loud thud, the boulder slammed into the ground, brushing past his hair. Splintering rock fragments sprayed out, stinging Lynch's cheek.

Only then did Lynch realize that constant rumbles and tremors were vibrating beneath his feet. Dirt and gravel rained down from above, interspersed with massive stones crashing to the ground, leaving craters of varying depths.

What was going on?

Her last name was Valente, not Drake, and his last name wasn't Croft either! How did things suddenly turn into a tomb-raiding disaster movie?

“Get up quickly, Mr. Lynch! I know it hurts, but bear with it!”

Miss Valente let go of Lynch's ankles, rushed forward, grabbed his arms, and hauled him up.

Clutching his wound, Lynch gritted his teeth against the pain and pulled himself up with Miss Valente's support. The wound was treated well—at least he didn't feel his intestines spilling out when he touched it—but his body remained weak, and the wound throbbed continuously. It seemed healing abilities had their limits.

Miss Valente struggled to support Lynch. Her face was equally pale and drenched in sweat, gasping for breath after every few steps. Clearly, her own injuries hadn't healed either. Even so, she wore a bright smile, as if she had come across something strangely joyful. Despite nearly being crushed to death, she looked so happy she might break into song.

Baffling. How come I don't know what there is to be so happy about?

Lynch only dared to think it to himself and refrained from asking, fearing she might drop him on the spot. So, even though he was in too much pain to feel the slightest bit happy, he tried his best to maintain his balance and ease her burden.

Rumble!

They had barely stabilized themselves when another violent quake shook the cavern, nearly knocking them down again. Only by leaning against each other did they manage to weather the tremor.

“What on earth happened?” Lynch picked up his dropped cane. With the support of the walking stick, he finally stood somewhat securely.

“Without the power of the evil god to support it, the city is on the verge of collapsing. We must replicate what you did in the dream before it caves in if we want to escape alive. What on earth did you do in the dream?”

You're only asking now?!

Realizing the young lady probably hadn't expected to leave alive in the first place, Lynch gave a quick explanation before pressing, “If the evil god's power is gone, does that mean Maya's trait has failed too? Can we still escape?”

“No, she's linked to Zur-Baha-Sahr. Until the city completely collapses, her connection won't be severed. We still have a chance. The problem is...”

“The vertical shaft.”

Both of their expressions darkened. Supporting each other while dodging falling rocks, they managed to shuffle back to the bottom of the vertical shaft they had dropped from. It was pitch-black inside now, emanating waves of ominous atmosphere.

What should they do?

Both realized this was likely the greatest obstacle standing in their path to survival. When intact and uninjured, either of them had plenty of ways to climb up, but now, even standing was a struggle. A vertical shaft tens of meters high was simply an insurmountable chasm.

Damn it, after destroying an evil god's avatar, are we really going to be buried alongside this city?

My path of immortality has just begun. I'm not giving up. There has to be a way.

Rumble!

Another violent quake struck. Holding each other tightly, they swayed for a long time before stabilizing. The vibration lasted much longer than previous times. Massive chunks of rock smashed around them, and even from inside the shaft, heavy artificial stone slabs cascaded down with loud clatters, nearly hitting them several times.

Exchanging a glance, they knew time was up. If another quake hit, even this vertical shaft might collapse.

Lynch gritted his teeth. Since there was no other choice, he had to take a risk. The moment the shaking paused, he called out loudly, “Feather Fall reduces weight, right? If it works when falling, can it work while climbing?”

Huh? Using it in reverse?

Miss Valente's eyes lit up. She immediately pulled out a handful of feathers, ignited them, and blew the ashes onto Lynch. A strange sensation instantly enveloped him. Lynch felt light as air, his weight reduced to less than one percent of its original amount, as if a slight push could spring him straight into midair.

It actually worked.

Lynch pushed off with his legs. With his weight lightened, despite the agonizing tearing pain in his muscles as he jumped, his body shot upward, launching into the dark shaft.

Just like that!

Delighted, Lynch felt his upward momentum slow down and tried to reach out, attempting to hook his fingers onto a rocky outcrop on the shaft wall like a rock climber.

However, the moment his fingers touched the stone wall, his heart sank.

Due to the authority of cold, the temperature inside the cave was extremely low. Though moisture was sparse in the air, a thin layer of ice coated the shaft walls, making them far too slick to gain purchase. Lynch tried several times to find a hold but failed, floating uselessly back down the way he had come.

Rumble!

Another mild vibration shook the ground. Miss Valente rushed forward a few steps to catch Lynch as he nearly tumbled over. “It didn't work?”

“Yeah, the temperature's too low. It's covered in ice.” Mid-sentence, Lynch paused, frowning. “Wait... temperature?”

“What is it?”

“There's a method we can try.” Lynch's eyes shone brightly, suppressing his excitement as he asked, “Do you have a tent? A canvas one? You definitely brought one, right?”

“Um, yes.” Looking bewildered, Miss Valente pulled out a single-person tent and handed it over. “What's it for?”

“Just to confirm—theoretically, Feather Fall can be used on objects too, right?”

“Yes, it can.”

“Heh, then it's simple.”

Lynch grinned. He quickly cut open the tent, spreading it into a large canvas sheet. He tied fine cords to its corners and fastened them to a large iron tray below, creating the crude shape of a makeshift hot air balloon.

The quakes grew more frequent, rocks continually raining down, but Lynch ignored them completely, focusing intently on manipulating the canvas and tray. Though Miss Valente was utterly confused, she didn't ask a single question. She stood guard silently by his side, firing her gun several times to shatter falling rocks before they could hit the canvas and tray, watching the lopsided balloon shape rapidly take form.

“What is this thing?” Only when Lynch clapped his hands to finish did Miss Valente ask, relieved, “Can this really help us escape?”

“Theoretically, yes. Let's give it a shot and hope for the best.”

Looking at the creation he had put together in minutes, Lynch sighed. Back in his home world, this thing would definitely never fly. But he had just tested Feather Fall—it was effective enough to cancel out the hot air balloon's weight. Combined with the stark temperature difference in the shaft, the balloon might actually work.

“Cast Feather Fall on the object and yourself. I won't be needing it.”

Under Lynch's guidance, Miss Valente confusedly cast the spell several times. Then she watched Lynch crouch inside the tray.

“Help me hold up the tent sheet. Yes, like that. Don't let go yet, wait until it inflates on its own.”

As he instructed, Lynch slipped on his ring. With a whoosh, he transformed into a massive ball of fuel-free fire.

“It really works!” Under the rising heat, the canopy expanded and buoyed upward, floating on its own. From inside the fireball came Lynch's shouting—hard to tell whether it was a wail or an excited yell, “Quick, grab the rope! The hot air balloon Lynch is about to depart!”

Clatter, clatter.

Web-like fissures spread rapidly from the underground canyon. Massive slabs of ground collapsed, plummeting into the bottomless abyss. Huge boulders fractured overhead and crashed down violently onto the cavern floor, accelerating the destruction as cracks spread uncontrollably in an unstoppable collapse.

Below the tray, Miss Valente, pale-faced, tied a climbing rope around her waist. She gripped the rope tightly with one hand while aiming her gun with the other, blowing apart a falling rock overhead with a shot. “The fissure is coming right now! Mr. Lynch, give it everything!”

“I'm already burning at maximum power!” The human-shaped flame blazed fiercely, flickering wildly—whether it was the fire dancing or the man squirming was impossible to tell—while his voice sounded even more frantic than the flames. “Fly, damn it, fly!”

Rumble!

The world shattered.

The roaring sounds of snapping rock grew louder. A fissure suddenly tore through the ground beneath their feet, followed by more and more in rapid succession. In the blink of an eye, the fracturing reached them. Amid the screams of a woman and a ball of fire, the ground collapsed completely. Millions of tons of rock and soil plunged down into the bottomless depths of the earth.

“Ahhh!”

The ground gave way beneath her. Miss Valente and the tray plummeted into the abyss together. Just as her desperate scream erupted, a sudden tightness jerked at her waist and hands, as if pulled by an unseen force.

Had the fall stopped?

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

Her heart pounded nervously as Miss Valente cautiously opened her eyes.

Above her were pitch-black rock strata, where boulders collapsed and fell; below her lay a bottomless abyss. Suspended in midair, she couldn't even tell whether they were moving up or down.

In the next instant, the flames burned even brighter, and the tattered hot air balloon expanded to its limit. Rising against the torrent of falling rocks, it surged upward toward the intact shaft above.

“Mr. Lynch, it really flew!”

Hanging from the rope, Miss Valente's pinned hair had somehow come loose, her long chestnut hair fluttering in the wind. The noble lady gripped the rope tightly, unsuppressible joy and excitement glowing from the corners of her eyes. She tilted her head up to watch the flickering flames dancing above the tray. The light flared and dimmed, reflecting in her shining eyes, concealing emotions beyond words.

“Heh, yeah. We're going home. Goodbye, Zur-Baha-Sahr.”

The human-shaped flame flickered and burned even more intensely. Though the hot air balloon was tattered and ugly, it drifted higher and higher until it disappeared into the intact shaft.