Chương 28: Empty River

Time until next Elemental Storm: 4 Days and 15 Hours [[Party Chat] Ethan: It's already lit. Jeffrey: How? Penny: We don't know. But it's not going out either. Ethan: Did you reach yours? Bradley: No, still en route. How'd you get there so fast, anyhow? Ethan: Ran from most of the fights. Mia: Guess it worked out. Jeffrey: Hold tight until we make it there. Ethan: Got it. Penny: Alright.] Ethan approached the flames, but nothing changed. The engravings on the brazier looked about the same.

Penny had written down a few of them, so he could compare. But in the end, they didn't find any major difference.

"The first shrine's Trial wasn't too hard either. It has to be the same here," Ethan said.

"But what is it?" Penny asked. He didn't have an answer. The brazier was burning bright and steady, and didn't show any signs of going out. They searched the rest of the platform too, but found nothing. Three out of the four channels leading out were still, while only one flowed outwards. That river would follow the hallway and through to other side, ending when it reached the brazier Jeffrey was heading towards.

"Maybe…. Maybe they all need to be lit a certain way?" Ethan proposed.

"And this one's first?" Penny asked.

"If there's braziers down the rest of the paths, yeah." With nothing else to do, Penny and Ethan decided to take a break. Ethan was about to buy himself some calorie bars but Penny stopped him.

"Here, it's chicken, or something close to it," she said, offering him one triangle piece of a sandwich. Compared to the calorie bars, it was much better as food. I really should be looking at more options, shouldn't I? There were thousands of options on Unimart, all within his price range. Sure, some of them cost more than others, but he saw no point in counting Credits down to the digit.

"How long do you think it'll take them to reach?" Ethan asked.

"Jeffrey and the rest are strong. Very strong. They'll be here soon enough," Penny said confidently.

"You trust them to make it?" Ethan asked. She smiled softly.

"Of course. Don't you?"

"Eh…"

"Right. You're terrible at pretending to be a loner, babe," she said, bumping him in the shoulder.

"Lighten up. Not everyone bites." He liked what she was saying, but it sounded a bit naive to him.

"How can you be sure that Jeffrey won't ever leave you behind, though?" Ethan asked. He could barely stand being around the man for more than a minute, how could Penny put her faith in him? She shook her head.

"Can't be. But I have to trust him before he trusts me. Otherwise, what's the point?" She said it so easily, it almost made him want to believe in it. Maybe you're just naive enough.

[[Party Chat] Jeffrey: We're here now. Ethan: Is it lit? Jeffrey: Completely off. Penny: That's two off and one on. I think Ethan's right, it's a pattern and it starts from us. Bradley: But what's the pattern? Ethan: I don't know… Mia: Great help you are. Jeffrey: Any clues on your side? Penny: Nothing here, sorry. Jeffrey: Great. … Jeffrey: I'm lighting this one. Ethan: Wait, don't. You remember what happened last time. Jeffrey: You have a better idea? Ethan: No, but yours is reckless. Jeffrey: Then come up with one and I'll let you critique mine all you want.] Ethan slammed a fist into the floor.

"What's he thinking? Doesn't he know it'll make the shrine more dangerous!" Ethan said.

"He's just trying to find a way through, just like you." And the only way he'd stop sabotaging them is if Ethan came up with a better solution first. What was he missing here? There had to be a method to the madness, but he just couldn't find it. [Jeffrey: We lit it.] But nothing changed? Ethan looked around. There weren't any new spouts pouring lava into the river, and the direction of the waves hadn't changed either. What was going on here? [Ethan: Are you sure you lit it? Bradley: Flames are up high, mate. He's not lying. Ethan: Then why don't I feel the shrine shaking? Emma: We don't either… Jeffrey: Must have picked the right one.] Ethan wondered that for a moment. But before he could draw a conclusion, another text appeared. [Jeffrey: And now it's gone again. Bradley: But the lava still isn't rising. What's going on here.] And then it all clicked. It's the rivers. [Ethan: It's the rivers! The flow of the lava shows which direction the pattern goes! Jeffrey: How do you know that? Penny: We're at the first lit brazier, and the only channel is the one going out towards you! Ethan's right, it is the rivers! Ethan: Check around yourself, which one of the channels is still and which one's flowing? … Bradley: It's the one leading towards the first hallway we went down. Ethan: Then, that has to be where we need to go next. Jeffrey: That doesn't solve our first issue, lad. What are we going to do if the brazier just winks out after a minute or two?] Jeffrey had a point there.

No one on their team could just rush from one location to the other that fast. How were they expected to solve this? Ethan heard a chuckle, and looked up to see Penny smiling.

"What'd I say about trust, babe. Looks like you'll have to put your faith in us after all."

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. They reconvened in the centre of the shrine once again, Ethan and Penny returned their crystals, and Ethan laid out the plan.

"Top to bottom right to left to right to bottom left," Ethan said aloud. It was the direction each of the lava streams was going. He should've known when none of them were going to the top that it was special, but they got lucky anyways.

"If the boy's right on this, and we have to split up, let's do it quick," Jeffrey said. They'd have to go in a group to each brazier, leaving a member there to keep it lit. The monsters would stay away from the group, and then they could light the braziers in order, keeping in touch through the chat feature.

"Fits together like a puzzle. Now, how are we dividing up the people?" Bradley asked.

"We're leaving you first, then Penny, Mia and Emma," Ethan said. That took them from the weakest member to the strongest, after which they could come back and round everyone back up. The only downside being, Ethan would be stuck with Jeffrey. The older man didn't look any more pleased about it than Ethan, but he didn't object to it.

"We'll rest for the night and start early tomorrow." Bradley spread around sleeping mats for the group, while Jeffrey got started on a stew. Ethan decided to sew and bandage the rest of them, slipping in bits of life force here and there. Mia rolled around her shoulders when he was done and sighed.

"Where did you learn to stitch someone up that good?

"I was a med student before coming here," Ethan said, starting on another cut across her back.

"Really? And you gave it up for the Realm Trial? Why?" Mia asked, scrutinizing. Ethan turned away from her, trying to think up an excuse.

"No reason to pry into someone's dream, Mia. You haven't told us yours either," Penny said. Mia huffed and turned away from her, refusing to answer. Looking around got Ethan curious about it all. What wishes did the rest of them have? Ethan would've been happy with just his leaking life force being fixed, but that seemed such a small favour to ask of the Gods now, especially since he could keep himself alive. But I'm not fixed yet, and I need to keep fighting.

He thought about giving the wish to Alphome and fulfilling their covenant, but there were still too many things he didn't understand about the foreign God. Maybe the GPA weren't any better, but that didn't justify laying in bed with someone who could be worse. Maybe I'll wish for nobody else to go through this. That's an idea. He finished suturing Mia and moved onto Bradley.

Ethan woke bleary-eyed and sweating. The centre of the shrine wasn't any colder than the rest of it, which meant a night full of rolling around and drinking jugs full of water. Bradley bought two bottles of ice cold water and threw them over his head, and even made Ethan consider the idea. Just for a second, he'd like to feel what cold was like on your skin, but he didn't. Before they left, Ethan asked Bradley for the crystals.

"What do you need them for?"

"Well, if someone gets attacked near the brazier, they can get out," Ethan answered.

"And leave the rest of us to die? No. I'll hold onto the crystals," Jeffrey interjected. He took the pack from Bradley. And who's to say you won't run away yourself? Ethan knew he wasn't the only one wondering that.

"Come on, Jeffrey, let 'em have it," Penny reasoned.

"Not this time, lass. It's too dangerous to suggest." Ethan could see Mia cursing under her breath, but no one else spoke up.

"I'll be there to keep an eye on him," Ethan offered. That seemed to alleviate some of the worries that Jeffrey would abandon them, so they readied up and went into the first hallway. Magmizards, Axolotls and Komodos fought them every step of the way, but they'd learned the monsters' patterns by now. Ethan and Emma hounded them from up close. Jeffrey shot out his knives and other metal pieces like a living gun, and Penny would make them drowsy and unaware.

Bradley and Mia provided backup, one buffing them while the other zapped them with lasers. They kept a quick pace, running through the hallway and making little time for distractions. It was hard to take all of them along at once, but they made do, and in a few hours, made it to the end.

"Here it is," Ethan said, looking at the already lit brazier.

"What's the point of keeping someone here if it's already lit?" Jeffrey asked again.

"I told you, we don't know what'll happen when we light them all. Maybe the elevator'll appear here," Ethan reasoned. Jeffrey looked sweaty and tired, so he didn't press the issue any further. After they bid Bradley farewell, they made their way back down the hall. It was harder to fight off the monsters without his help, so the trip back took half an hour longer for them. They did end up more bruised and burned for their efforts, but Ethan slid some more life force in them to alleviate that.

They went clockwise around the map like that, leaving one member after another until Emma, Mia and Penny were also standing by braziers of their own. After that, Jeffrey wiped his brow and spoke.

"And then there were two."

"Let's get this over with," Ethan said, huffing. If he hadn't been healing himself periodically with life force, his legs would be in shambles by now. How Jeffrey managed to keep standing, he'll never know. The final hallway was basically a blur. Ethan and Jeffrey kept running, and Ethan kept sneaking life force into his legs to stop them from cramping up.

"Genius idea, Collins, leaving us all by ourselves. You really outdid yourself this time."

"I'm just trying to solve the puzzle…" Ethan huffed.

"Hope this idea of yours works out, or we'll be paying for it, lad," Jeffrey chuckled darkly. Ethan really wanted to say something in return, but he couldn't muster up the strength. Instead, he just nodded.

"It'll work." At least they were getting some benefits out of all this running around. Ethan had amassed almost 1500 credits just from fighting alone, and the essence he'd gained had been a boon to his Talent's progression. [Talent: Regenerating Berserker (Hidden: Life-Death Manipulation) - Rank F Progress to E-Rank: 26%] He'd wanted to stop and harvest more essence, but he needed breaks to rest too. For now… As soon as he figured out how to heal his brain from sleep, he could spend that time more productively.

But he had no one to guide him in that, and scant few chances to experiment on his own brain. He'd have to ask Alphome about that when he could, as now the last brazier was coming into sight. Ethan and Jeffrey stopped at the top and caught their breath.

"I'm telling them we can start," Jeffrey said.

"Wait, no… We need to rest a little first. Don't know… what'll happen if we do this…" he said between huffs.

"Fine," Jeffrey said stubbornly. As if the break didn't help him any. They ate and drank, and once they were done, Jeffrey shot a message into the chat. [[Party Chat] Jeffrey: We're in position. What about the rest of you? Bradley: Ready. Emma: I'm ready too. Mia: Here. Penny: Ready, babe. Ethan: Remember the order and let's kick it off.] Ethan waited with held breath for what came next. [[Party Chat] … Emma: Done. … Mia: Lit it. … Penny: It's on fire.] Which left only Jeffrey and Ethan.

The both of them looked into the brazier, and threw a torch into it. Flames burst to life in the centre, forcing the both of the back. The shrine shook once more, and the flames started going higher and higher, as more lava poured out of the spouts. Wait, what's happening? He thought they'd put in the right order, why wasn't it working? Had they missed the timing?

"Collins, what's going on!?" Jeffrey shouted, but he had no answer. [[Party Chat] Bradley: This whole bloody place is shaking! Mia: Here too. Emma: Same! The fires rising too! Penny: Jeffrey, Ethan, are you there?] The rivers of lava rose higher and higher, before the shaking finally stopped and settled into a new rhythm. Ethan saw Jeffrey's hand coming for his throat and he ducked. Boost. He pushed the other man to the railings, as he cursed.

"You! You said this was gonna work!" Jeffrey said. And the fact it didn't means you're going to choke me? Ethan wanted to growl out the words, but he kept them in.

"We haven't looked around yet, Jeffrey. Maybe something's changed. Or do you want to go back to the centre by yourself? Think you'll survive all those burns?" Ethan asked. He'd let Ethan take the brunt of the damage on purpose. Whenever it looked like a nasty attack was going to hit them, Jeffrey would back off, and Ethan would be left burnt. Well, if he wanted a shield so badly, he'd have to play nice." Fine," he said with an edge in his voice.

They searched around the platform, but the only thing that had changed in the scenery was the lava rivers. Not only had they risen, but the one river that had been moving had stopped, and another one had started flowing. That didn't happen when we made the first mistake… Before he could think on it, a new message chimed in their notifications, and both Ethan and Jeffrey opened up their party chat. [[Party Chat] Bradley: The fire here's already disappeared. Penny: And the one here's already lit up. Jeffrey: What does that matter? Collins' idea only wasted more time. Mia: What do we do from here? Emma: Can we even make it back?]"Think about it, Jeffrey. If we'd made a mistake, why did the rivers change? Why did the fire change positions?" Ethan asked him.

"Those… there could be any number of reasons. Who's to say you're right?" Bradley asked.

"... You'll just have to trust me, won't you?" Ethan asked. He could see the man was unconvinced. But he didn't have a choice. [[Party Chat] Ethan: Tell me where each of the rivers are flowing.] Together, they learned the new pattern for the braziers and touched the flames once more. The entire shrine shook again, lava started spouting out of the walls, and Ethan's faith in himself dwindled. Jeffrey grew even more agitated, until Emma told everyone that the flames had shifted to her brazier now.

They went through the process two more times, and the flames went from Emma's brazier to Mia's, and then finally Jeffrey and Ethan's.

"This might be the last one," Ethan hoped. The lava rivers to their sides had gotten on level with the platforms themselves, and all manner of beasts were sitting there just waiting to snap Ethan and Jeffrey up.

"Just get it over with," Jeffrey said, defeated. Ethan took a deep breath, and led the final pattern. First was Bradley. Then came Mia. Then Penny. And finally, Emma. The flames in Ethan's brazier burst to life, climbing higher and higher until they touched the ceiling. The shrine shook once more, and Ethan's heart dropped for a second. Before the spouts started to close up. They sputtered and spat their last bits of lavas, and one by one stopped spewing entirely.

Ethan let out a huff of amazement, and he saw Jeffrey slackjawed in awe. Eventually, all of the spouts from the brazier to the end of the hallway stopped, and Ethan chuckled.

"It worked…." The rivers started to drain out to who-knows-where while Ethan watched it happen. He saw more lava creatures lowering into the rivers, before finally hitting the ground. Jeffrey ran a hand through his hair in silence, sweat caking it. Even the heat started to go away, leaving a slight chill in the room that seemed foreign to them. At least, until the first burst of magma landed on the stairs. The brazier winked out entirely, and the lava monsters in their depleted rivers shrieked in anger.

[[Party Chat] Bradley: Something's wrong! Mia: They're attacking! Emma: Help! Please, I can't hold them off! Penny: I'm trapped here! Someone help!]