The sun shone more clearly now; Midas's eyes were set on the closed lids of Haya—their candle left behind at the narrow path they found him in. Carrying him here had higher priority as Midas wasn't sure where the rest of his group currently resided.
It was the right decision to split off from Ivyda and the others, Midas told himself as he and Patriq stared at him. His numb limbs were shone upon by the sunlight while the two of them searched through the ride parked a few steps away from the unlit campfire.
Patriq remained relaxed as he watched Midas search through the carriage, poking the ground as he waited for the unfamiliar boy lying in front of him to wake up. He watched from afar as Midas returned back to them with empty hands.
Laying his hand on the cold throat of Haya, who lay on the same log the students of the club used to rest on, Midas checked for his pulse. Eventually sighing to himself as his tensed brows began to relax, a weak pulse hitting back against the tip of his finger.
The rest of the club still didn't show up. Regarding the sun's position—now roughly right above their heads—the right side of the ruin must go much deeper than Midas had hoped for. The fact that Haya now lay in front of him didn't help calm him down—Midas was only able to hope for him to finally awaken again, if he was even able to do so.
"Midas...?"
Hayas head turned eventually to look up at the concerned glance of the youth; both of their eyes eventually widened slightly as Haya realized who stood in front of him—his appearance slightly changed from the time they were separated in the mountains. Midas hair was cut, and instead of wearing roughed-up bandages that wrapped loosely around his torso, he now wore a uniform. Eventually managing to get up from his lying position, Haya stared into the surrounding woods, his surprised expression quickly dimming.
"Are Graf and the other two in there as well...?"
Midas wasted no time in asking, quickly stepping forward to look at Hayas expression, watching him bite his lip as he raised his head up at him. Their time is running thin; the fact Haya was laid out flat most likely meant he tried to escape the dungeon, trying to get help for whoever remained inside—possibly even running away from a much greater threat than the usual beast that lurks inside its depths.
"They are fine... we managed to get a dorm before we headed here. Graf insisted on taking me with him in the morning, right after we got there—he didn't tell me much, and I simply complied... then the ceiling collapsed right on our heads, and we were stuck."
"I see... so Graf remained inside the ruin anyways?"
"That's right, after the collapse... all of the pathways were filled with crawling creatures, scattering up the walls and escaping through creeks of all kinds... and then, right after... we heard some kind of roar. I tried to convince him to run and search for an entrance, but he didn't listen and went deeper inside. That's when I tried to escape..."
Haya held onto his forehead, simply repeating anything he was still able to remember while staring at the ground with a stern expression, a state Midas had never found him in before. Both of them shared their confusion; the youth froze up shortly before flashing his teeth in frustration, forced to finally act.
"Do you think you're able to enter that place again...?"
Midas's somewhat hesitant question made Haya raise his head up at him, straightening his back on the log as he mustered his stern look. Briefly glancing at the aloof look on Patriq and back at the youth, his mouth opened slowly.
"I... Are you sure you want to go down there? With him...?"
"Yes, that's the plan. I need someone to lead us through all of these pathways—I wouldn't be surprised if the deeper floors of that ruin are much more complex than what we saw on the first few floors. Plus... we're not the only ones that entered that ruin; helping them find Graf before they get in danger is important."
Midas's expression grew more focused, his eyes directly set on Hayas's thoughtful glance—directly comparing him to who he was before the attack on their ride in the mountains, Midas seemed much more determined. Eventually making him stand up to face him directly, Haya nodded—reluctantly accepting the plan Midas proposed.
It didn't take long for them to get back to the rocky plain that stretched out in front of the stone front the entrance was built into. Stepping through the fractured cliff and barely avoiding tripping over the many pebbles that dotted the ground, Haya couldn't help but be awed at the sudden change in their surroundings—stopping in front of the exposed hallway to look back.
"All of this used to be covered by grass; a whole chunk of this cliff must've fallen off when the ruin collapsed... that explains why all of the upper floors seem so different now."
The halls the left doorframe led to were still unchanged from the last time they came here, their candle still lit—waiting for their arrival right on the edge of what remained intact of the hallway. Haya took the lead; eventually, they found themselves walking around the great gap Midas and Patriq had already walked around before, eventually managing to leave the tight pathway in which Haya had laid.
"This is where we found you... we have no idea what awaits us beyond this point."
Haya turned briefly; thick shadows lay on his dimly lit facial features—simply nodding at Midas's words before continuing on, eventually leading the others down another set of winding stairs—their uneven steps formed tiny puddles of water and made tripping much easier. Their steps echoed against the dark stone brick walls that spanned the rooms of the ruin; the growth that expanded from them became thick with the increasing depth.
Once they took the last step of the staircase, Midas quickly noticed the smell of the dark corridor that expanded out in front of them—the thick air was hard to breathe, smelling like rotten plant matter. The spongy growth quickly grew to become a thick film of sluggish green that clung to the walls of the deeper floors—the wet slug reflected back the shine of their only candle.
The floor was completely covered in a thin layer of water; their steps sent soft ripples through the thin water—the dim splashing echoed through the hall they wandered through with growing caution. The roof above them was built too high for them to see; shadows now lurked over their heads as well, consuming the three of them while soaking their boots.
Haya quietly led them through the ruin, turning to his right and left every time they heard distant tapping noises or saw ripples in the water that didn't seem to have originated from their feet—the dark slowly getting to them, as Midas already unsheathed his rusted blade. Patrick secured their back with his staff, staying in the back while the others mirrored his silence.
Eventually Haya stopped in the midst of the path, slightly falling back as distant tapping noises that dimly sounded from the unlit void grew closer, making Midas prepare for using his rusted tool against whatever would ultimately jump against them from the dark. The soft splashes stopped eventually; a dark brown, six-legged creature about the size of his head leaped at him from the wall to his left—its haired body agile enough to avoid Midas's swing, making Haya press himself onto the other side of the wall in fear.
Barely avoiding the candle from going out due to his sudden movement, Haya watched as the tiny creature paddled around in the water—watching with wide eyes as it scattered towards him, its plump center ultimately squished by the wooden pole Patriq carried on him. His flashed teeth dimmed as he saw the orangy blood of the creature droop out of its body, taking a breather as the orangy color softly colored the surrounding water.
"Damn it..."
"I get why you wanted to run out of this place now..."
The two of them took a breather, exchanging brief glances with each other. Midas somewhat tired eyes looked down onto the weakly pulsating legs of the critter, its movements dimming down slowly as they stared down on it—the lower end of the staff was eventually lifted from it. Sighing, Haya turned away from it eventually—Midas and Patriq followed his movements at a slow pace, the youths imaginations already running wild on what might lurk in its depths.
As they walked forward, Midas flinched briefly at another creature that sat on the wall to his right, wasting no time slashing its squishy body with his sickle—another fell from the ceiling as he pushed his curved blade into it; the water on the ground splashed as it wildly ran in between their legs, inevitably being crushed by the youth's shoe.
The walls of the hallway eventually disappeared into the darkness once they stepped through an arched opening that led into a more weathered room; stalactites extended from the brick floor, their soft peaks glistened in the faint light of the candle; above their heads expanded a slim crack that allowed sunlight to slip through into the dark room they found themselves in.
"It was here when the collapse happened... this room used to be much bigger, but the landslides completely changed up this place."
Haya spoke to them while looking up at the bright light that squeezed through the slim crack in the stone above them, most likely a result of the collapse. Heading forward through the other end of the room, they were met with yet another multitude of stairs—the air around them growing more thin the deeper they descended into the ruin.
"Graf went in this direction; I watched him climb down this set of stairs before turning away to run... I'm sorry; I should've stayed with him—now I'm unable to ensure either Inaya's or Graf's safety. I fled and left him to fight on his own, and I dare to call myself someone's guard..."
"Who knows what would've happened if we didn't find you here... You alone are the reason we found our way through this place after all. Plus, if your priority is keeping Inaya safe... then running might've been the better option. Survival has a much greater worth than your image."
"You're right—there are greater things to worry about after all... Say, what is it like to be a student at the university? Do you learn a lot...?"
"It's complicated; you will need to find out a lot of things on your own..."
Hayas light chuckles echoed through the dark corridor the three of them walked down; the great number of steps they took eventually came to an end—eventually the three of them were met by the sight of a slightly opened double door. Made out of massive metal halves, engraved with similar-looking patterns, Midas saw inside the ruin he found in the northern desert; Midas felt a weak stream of wind escape the dimly opened double door.
"And Graf didn't tell you the reason why he wanted you to come with him...?"
"Yes, he just told me over and over again how important going into this ruin is—he practically dragged me out of bed, so I complied without asking..."
"I see... well, he had no other option but to go inside of here. And if he didn't return already... then that must mean he's probably not alone in there."