The ship descended to the dark planet in silence, or at least it tried. However, the closer we got, the more I squinted my eyes. My abilities allowed me to feel the hidden truth in this world. For a moment, I thought it was a giant hive, but as we got close enough, I felt it clearly, and surprise reflected on my face.
My hand, which was holding Tonks's, gripped it tightly by instinct, causing her to get nervous as she saw me.
Gradually, I relaxed from the initial shock and returned to my calmness, but Tonks still hadn't calmed down. I knew that anything capable of surprising me like that was no ordinary thing. During that moment, we found ourselves in harmonious peace, so our relationship would be fine... at least until I saw her mother again and remembered everything vividly.
I remained serious as I thought about how to resolve what lay ahead of us, so I didn't make any comments when the ship touched down and the hatch opened. We were all wearing space suits that would allow us to survive in this breathable atmosphere for a time, enough to complete the mission.
The captain led the way, followed by the space marines, with Tonks, Yexi, and me at the rear. Some carried explosives, including myself, though mine were stored in my inventory.
"Everything seems calm," someone commented over the communicator.
"Too calm..." the captain replied, observing the planet's darkness.
Then, following her instinct and despite the risk, she fired a flare. The sudden light illuminated the surroundings, and in that moment, we froze. Hidden in the shadows, slowly walking toward us, a sea of aliens was lurking.
The light was just the trigger. Those creatures, who had been moving stealthily until that moment, activated in unison and began jumping, running, and crawling toward us at a terrifying speed. They moved like a giant wave, ready to devour us.
"Protego Totalum!" I shouted, generating a magical energy sphere that covered both us and the ship. Within seconds, the barrier turned black from the number of creatures piling on it.
"Holy mother..." a space marine murmured, fear in their eyes.
From inside the shield, we watched the various creatures surrounding us. Some were as small as a cup, while others were as large as trucks, crashing against the barrier with fury.
I took a deep breath to gather my strength. I moved my wand with sharp, powerful gestures, and a great flame erupted, enveloping the shield. It immediately disappeared, releasing the blazing fire, which reduced to ashes any alien that came near.
"Is that Fiendfyre?" Tonks asked, recognizing the magic she had seen only a few times, but which had always seemed terrifying to her.
"Yes... though it's hard to use," I replied, frowning.
It wasn't that I lacked control, I had more than enough of that, but the issue was the fuel. Fiendfyre feeds off magic, so using it in the magical world is dangerous… but here… here, there was no magic. Only a few of these aliens had PSI power, and their energy was quickly consumed to fuel the flames. Well, there was a large source of PSI power nearby, but I wasn't daring enough to burn it yet.
I jumped and, with the suit's ability, floated for a moment while I raised my wand. I controlled the fire in a large swirling inferno that expanded rapidly around us, similar to the technique Dumbledore used in the Inferi cave.
Almost all the aliens, except those with innate fire resistance, were reduced to ashes immediately, clearing a huge space around us. Those who survived were covered in their own charred bodies. It wouldn't be hard to eliminate them. In fact, shortly after, the marines' gunfire could be heard, making sure no creature was still moving.
I landed on the ground, a little shaken and exhausted. It was the first time I used all my magic in a single spell, but it had proven effective. Of course, I had only used my wizard magic, which was plenty, but I hadn't touched my blood magic. I wasn't planning to use it here... not yet, knowing what truly inhabited this planet.
After eliminating the alien horde, I knew there were still many more, but they had withdrawn. And the worst part: I knew why.
My [Druid Essence] allowed me to speak with animals. As it evolved, my connection with nature expanded, allowing me to understand not only beasts but also plants, rivers, and mountains. It wasn't that I could have a conversation with any rock or water current, but I could grasp their states and most basic emotions, or so I assumed they were. In any case, I kept that ability mostly turned off to avoid being overwhelmed by voices and unnecessary information.
However, after a certain point of evolution, my ability had a hard time improving, at least until it recently reached a new level. That's when I managed to make contact with these alien beings. At first, it was like with Elise: I only perceived vague emotions, a faint impression of their intentions, wild and predatory, nothing more. But now, for the first time, I understood them.
They hadn't withdrawn out of fear. They were surrounding us, setting up an ambush. And, most unsettling, their interest was focused on me and Tonks, wanting us to get closer, to enter. They had perceived our strangeness, and 'that' wanted us.
"We're safe for now," I said solemnly, hiding the truth, "but we have little time before they attack again."
"Alright, prepare the charges. We need to detonate this place," ordered the captain. "We'll split into groups and head into the caves according to the map we got. At least one of us needs to get deep enough for the explosion to be effective."
We had five explosive charges, the only ones we could bring. Advancing together would be the safest, but there was a problem: the maps only covered a small part of the exterior, the limited exploration of those who had come before. No one knew if a single path would lead us deep enough into the planet. That's why the plan was to split up. Each group would take a different route, advancing as far as possible before detonating their explosive.
"I'll go with Tonks," I announced, starting to walk with her. I was carrying two of the five charges.
"I'll go with you," said Yexi, uncertain. She knew that this planet, though it seemed desolate, hid a terrifying plague.
I didn't object and gestured for her to follow us. No one stopped us. We were the strongest group and the one with the best chance of going the furthest. We found a cave and, after lighting our lanterns, we ventured inside.
It was huge, wide enough to walk upright without issues, but it still had an oppressive atmosphere. Tonks started to get nervous, partly because of my serious expression and partly because she could sense the changes in my body.
[Wrath] caused my muscles to grow, expanding within the suit. Luckily, its design was advanced enough to adjust without breaking or becoming uncomfortable. From my inventory, I took small portions of food and ate them inside the helmet, consuming different foods strategically. At the same time, I constantly charged my blood magic.
But there was something else, something Tonks couldn't perceive: the [Music] resonating in my mind.
She knew I was preparing for something big. Her hand gripped her wand tighter as her eyes scanned the darkness, anxious, fearing that something would leap out from the shadows at any moment.
We walked quite a ways until some small lost aliens jumped at us, but Yexi and Tonks' weapons were enough to deal with them.
We went down any tunnel that seemed to descend, alert to moments when sections started to collapse. We also saw a kind of tiny alien moving like ants in the direction downward, which led Tonks to deduce that they were heading toward the planet's core and that we could follow them.
Soon after, a tremor shook the place. The explosion was strong enough to make the cavern tremble, and the girls looked back with tense expressions. We all knew what it meant: our teammates had detonated their explosives… with no success.
"Do you think anyone else will make it besides us?" asked Tonks, with a hint of hope.
"No… they're all dead," I replied honestly.
"You could've lied to me... maybe the captain is still alive until we get there," she muttered, though her expression betrayed her discouragement.
Suddenly, a huge serpent-mole creature emerged from the ground in front of us, but after taking several shots, it burrowed into another tunnel and disappeared. The girls looked at the hole it left: an oblique, deep tunnel that branched into other galleries.
"Maybe we can go down here, it would save us some time," Tonks suggested, though I could see her uncertainty. She looked at me for confirmation, preferring to leave the decision to me.
"Yeah, let's go down," I nodded and moved toward the tunnel, but first, I turned to our companion.
I took out a small transport vehicle for us to ride and speed up our journey. We hadn't used it earlier due to the terrain's complexity, but in this straight line, it would be easy to handle. Of course, we'd have to store it if the path got complicated again.
"Yexi, if you don't want to die, stay close to Tonks and never show any intention of stopping or delaying us. If possible, make it seem like you want us to go further," I said (Red).
"Eh? Well..." she replied nervously.
Yexi, usually talkative, now remained silent. She could feel the oppression of the place and had no intention of disobeying me. She knew she'd probably die here, but at least she'd try to delay it as much as possible.
"By the way, don't touch the walls. Or anything, if you can avoid it," I added.
"Red, what's going on?" asked Tonks after hearing my warning. "This is too... easy."
"It's true... They've hardly attacked us, and when they do, they either run away or die too quickly," Yexi agreed, growing more uneasy.
"And we never find a dead end. And if we do, an alien destroys the wall or something collapses, opening up another way," Tonks continued, feeling more and more uncomfortable.
"That's right... They're deliberately opening a path for us," I said, pleased that Tonks had noticed.
"Why?" she asked, confused. "We're going to destroy them. Are they leading us into a trap? Aren't we heading to the planet's core?"
"They're leading us to the core, but yes, it's a trap," I nodded.
"What do we do?" she said, gripping her wand tighter and tightening her robotic arm.
"Go along with it," I responded, still strengthening my blood magic.
Tonks just got more nervous at my words, but her determination didn't waver. If I said we were walking into a trap, then that's what we had to do. She surely I had a plan.
We kept moving forward, watching as the environment stopped being just rocky and became more... organic. Tentacles emerged from the walls, and when we destroyed them, they conveniently revealed new paths inward. We could hear hordes of aliens passing nearby, closing any possible escape route.
It all seemed prepared to psychologically induce us to follow a single path.
And what I said about Yexi was true: if she hadn't stayed between Tonks and me, she would have been eliminated by now. More than one assassination attempt was aimed at her, but we saved her each time. Once it was clear we wouldn't abandon her, the attacks against her lessened considerably... although that didn't dissipate the tension in the air.
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