Abarith
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Chapter 18: Friends Through Fire
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 05:53:58 +0000 UTCThe cave’s dim light framed Mia’s motionless form on the ground. Her arms were limp at her sides and her face was ghostly pale. For a moment, everything around Jeremy blurred. All he could see was Alicia, crumpled on the ground, smiling at him. Now, staring down at Mia, a similar panic swelled up inside him.
Jeremy’s hands shook as he reached toward Mia, a helpless feeling crawling up his spine. He felt small, like back with Alicia. All he wanted was to shout for someone to make it stop. Why does this keep happening? His eyes watered, and he blinked hard to stay in control.
"Jeremy! Hey, snap out of it!"
A firm hand gripped his shoulder, and Jeremy jerked back to the present. Marcus stood there, his face tense but focused, his eyes holding Jeremy’s with a fierce steadiness. “Breathe, alright? Breathe. She’s still here. We’re going to help her. But I need you to focus.”
Jeremy blinked hard, the pounding in his head slowly fading as Marcus’s words broke through his fog of panic. He sucked in a shaky breath, nodding slightly, trying to pull himself together. Alicia was gone, but Mia was still here, and she needed him now.
Marcus gave him a reassuring squeeze before letting go. “We’re getting her out of here,” he said, voice steady and determined. “You’ve got Memorization, right? Lead us out of here, man. We’re counting on you.”
Swallowing hard, Jeremy nodded again. “Y-Yeah. Okay.” His voice still shook, but he forced himself to think clearly, to picture the path they’d taken. He could feel the others watching him, anxious and hopeful. He called up every detail of their route and the landmarks they’d noted, even the faint scratch marks along the walls.
“Alright,” he said, taking a steadying breath. “I’ve got it. Let’s go.”
With a last worried glance at Mia, Jeremy set a brisk but careful pace, the others falling in line behind him, Timothy and Marcus carefully supporting Mia between them. They moved as quietly as possible through the cavern, for once not wanting to encounter slimes. The tension hung thick around them, pressing in with every step.
Jeremy’s mind was filled with details and landmarks he’d forced himself to memorize, every twist and turn replaying in his head in reverse as he guided them towards the exit. He felt the slickness of the moss under his feet but tried not to let it distract him. Then, they reached a familiar-looking stone jutting out from the wall, and Jeremy felt a flicker of relief—they were on the right track. But as they rounded the next corner, his heart sank. Another identical stone stuck out from the wall ahead, looking exactly like the last one.
His pulse quickened, and he hesitated, doubt prickling at him. Had he taken a wrong turn? Was this really the same stone?
“Um… Jeremy, are we sure we’re going the right way?” Perci’s voice broke through the quiet, her gaze darting around the shadowy path.
“I… I think so,” he replied, but he could feel the uncertainty in his own voice. He forced himself to stare hard at the stone, willing it to be different somehow. But it remained the same—the same rough edges, the same angle jutting out, and just as blank as every other one.
Jeremy’s mind raced, desperately combing through every detail he could recall. They’d marked turns, looked for scrapes along the walls, tried to memorize every little thing, and yet, here they were, each corner mocking them with another stone that looked just like the last. His confidence wavered with each step, the darkness pressing in tighter, as if to make him feel how very lost they could become in here.
He bit down on his lip, panic bubbling up as he tried to steady himself. Mia needed help, and they couldn’t afford to keep getting turned around. He strained his memory harder, closing his eyes to force the path back into his mind, sorting through every angle and turn, hoping something would click.
After a few agonizing moments, he noticed a tiny, faint scratch along the edge of one of the stones, barely visible under the dim light. His heart leapt—it was what he’d been looking for, a tiny detail that distinguished it from all the others.
“This way,” he murmured, his voice steadier now, gesturing forward with a newfound sense of certainty.
The group pressed on, carefully navigating up the narrow moss-covered steps they had previously gone down. Eventually, they made it to the glowing portal, where help was just on the other side.
As they emerged from the dungeon, Jeremy’s eyes quickly searched the landscape, spotting Instructor Mira near the entrance with a few other students that had gone into their own instances of the dungeon. The moment Mira saw them, her gaze narrowed, instantly reading the exhaustion and urgency on their faces.
“Mira!” Jeremy called, his voice hoarse. “Mia… she’s…”
Mira crossed the distance between them in swift strides, her eyes settling on Mia, who was pale and slumped against Timothy’s shoulder. Without a word, Mira knelt beside her, checking her pulse and gently laying a hand over Mia’s chest to assess her soul. Her expression remained impassive, but a flicker of concern crossed her eyes.
After a long pause, Mira spoke, her voice calm but carrying a hard edge. “She’s used up too much of her Soul.” Mira’s hand emitted a faint glow as she sent stabilizing pulses of energy into Mia’s body. Gradually, Mia stirred, her eyelids fluttering as she regained a semblance of consciousness, though she still looked weak and drained.
Once Mia seemed stable, Mira turned her focus back to the group. Her gaze swept over each of them, sharp and assessing. “What happened?” she asked, her voice low, though laced with an undeniable sternness.
Jeremy shifted uneasily under her scrutiny, glancing briefly at his friends. “She kept pushing herself,” he admitted. “We told her to stop, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“And yet you let her continue,” Mira replied, her tone icy, her gaze cutting through him. “All of you have been taught never to train magic unsupervised. This isn't just a policy, it's survival. I remember a group of promising students who thought they could experiment with magic in a dungeon—only one of them made it back. The rest completely consumed their souls. Mia should have known better than to push herself, yes, but so should all of you.”
She paused, her eyes scanning each of them with a deep disappointment. “Magic is not a game, nor is it something you can handle casually. When a member of your group is about to kill themselves, it’s your responsibility to look out for each other, to make sure they stop before they reach this point. I thought I was dealing with young adults here, students who understood the importance of their training and the dangers of overstepping.” Her gaze hardened, zeroing in on Jeremy. “But clearly, with how you’re trying to shift the blame solely onto Mia, I see now that I’m dealing with children.”
Her words hung in the air, heavy with reprimand, each syllable carrying the weight of her disappointment. Jeremy swallowed hard, the shame mixing with frustration—part of him wanted to shout back, to defend himself, but he knew she was right. Marcus clenched his jaw as he forced himself to stay calm, while Perci's gaze dropped to the ground, her shoulders slumping.
He glanced at Mia, who was slowly sitting up, supported by Perci and Marcus, looking equally chastised and grateful. Mira’s gaze softened slightly as she looked at Mia, but she remained firm.
“Training magic requires knowing your limits,” Mira continued, her voice carrying authority. “You’re all here to train, yes, but training doesn’t mean blindly pushing yourselves until you break. I don’t care how strong or skilled you think you are; there’s a reason your teachers are here—to monitor, to guide, and to prevent stupidity like this.” She fixed each of them with a steely gaze, making sure they understood the gravity of her words.
Mia looked away, shame evident on her face as she murmured, “I’m sorry… I didn’t want to slow anyone down.” Jeremy felt guilt in his chest. He clenched his fists, determined not to let something like this happen again. He needed to be better—more aware, more responsible for his team.
“This isn’t about slowing down, Mia,” Mira replied, her voice softening only a fraction. “It’s about staying alive and being responsible—not just for yourself, but for your entire team. They should have stopped you, and you should have listened.”
Mira’s gaze shifted back to the rest of the group, her eyes lingering on each of them in turn. “Had you not gotten here in time for me to stabilize her, the last of Mia’s Soul would have been consumed. She would be dead right now.”
Mira straightened, looking at all of them with a hint of disappointment. “As a consequence for allowing things to go this far, none of you will be returning to the dungeon for the rest of the day. If you haven’t reached your 1,500 Essence goal, that’s your loss. Maybe this will remind you that safety and teamwork are more important than your individual progress.”
The reality of her punishment settled over them, a mix of relief that Mia was safe and frustration at themselves and at their lost opportunity.
After Mira’s scolding and their early dismissal from the dungeon, Jeremy and his friends gathered in his suite. The quiet weighed on them as they replayed Mira’s words and the close call that had shaken them all. Mia, still pale but slowly recovering, stared at the floor, her expression flickering between embarrassment and frustration.
Jeremy, his heart still pounding from earlier, couldn’t remove the image of her collapsing from his mind. Every time he thought about it, flashes of Alicia’s last moments haunted him, twisting his stomach. Glancing at Mia, he murmured, “I should’ve... I should’ve done something sooner. I mean, we all saw you were getting tired.”
Mia looked up, regret on her face. “Honestly? I wouldn’t have listened,” she admitted, trying to sound tougher than she felt. “I thought I could handle it, you know? I needed to push myself.”
Jeremy frowned, not quite understanding. “But… why push so hard? They were just slimes.”
Mia’s gaze dropped to her hands, flexing her fingers as though she could still feel the warmth of fire. “My mom… she specialized in Fire,” she murmured, her voice softening. “She went off to war, but… she didn’t make it back.” She swallowed, her voice a barely audible whisper. “I wanted to be like her.”
The group fell silent, each absorbing her words. Slowly, Perci stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mia, pulling her into a tight hug. “You don’t have to prove anything to us, Mia,” she said gently. “We’re your friends. You’re already enough.”
Mia relaxed into the hug, relief in her expression. The three boys, caught off guard, exchanged awkward glances before stepping forward, each of them patting her shoulder or back in a clumsy attempt at comfort. Marcus mumbled, “Yeah, we get it. But you know, next time… maybe take it easier?”
Jeremy, his gaze dropping, nodded in agreement. “I know I should’ve stepped in sooner, even if it made you mad,” he said. “We’re supposed to be a team, so we should look out for each other.”
Perci pulled back slightly, looking around at the others. “After today, I think we all know each other a bit better. Next time, we’ll step in when someone’s pushing too hard, even if it feels awkward.”
Mia sighed, regret lingering in her eyes. “I wanted to live up to my mom… but I get it. That was stupid.” She offered them a small, sheepish smile. “I won’t do that again.”
Marcus gave Jeremy a light punch on the shoulder. “We all messed up a bit, yeah, but we did get you out, Mia. That counts for something.”
Jeremy’s shoulders finally started to relax. “Yeah. Next time… we’ll be better.”
Perci broke it with a small smile. “Okay, that’s enough serious talk! We’re in this amazing suite, remember?”
Marcus grinned, looking around at the spacious room. “She’s right. If there’s anything that’ll make us feel better, it’s this place.”
Timothy chuckled, gazing out at the view from the balcony. “Yeah, this suite’s pretty amazing. We might as well enjoy it.”
Even Mia managed a smile, her earlier embarrassment fading. As they settled in, relaxing on the suite’s plush furniture, Perci leaned forward, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes. “So… Essence. Where did we all end up today?”
“I ended up with around 900,” Marcus admitted, rubbing his shoulder with a sheepish grin.
Timothy nodded. “Same here. I’m at 950.” His voice carried a hint of frustration as he stretched his legs out. “We’ll have to make up for today’s loss of time somehow.”
Perci raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jeremy. “What about you, Jeremy?”
“I’m at 1,000. I used it to level up Running to four.” Jeremy replied, looking at his own Status.
Running - Basic
Level 4/10 - 500 Essence
Body 4
“It’s not bad progress at all,” Perci said. She glanced around at the others. “Even though we didn’t reach the quota today, I think it was a lesson we needed.”
They all murmured in agreement, the weight of the day’s events settling between them.
