Zhao contemplated the devastation of the colony with mixed feelings. Dozens of shadow stalker bodies lay scattered across the ground, their translucent forms gradually losing luminescence as death claimed even the last particle of their essence.
His feathers were very effective in this territory, perhaps too much so.
'A necessary massacre,' he told himself while evaluating the situation. 'But still...'
As an expert in this gathering ecosystem, Zhao understood the delicate balance. Shadow stalker colonies had their function in the natural order, keeping other more aggressive species at bay.
'At least the queen and her closest guards must still be alive,' he thought, finding some comfort in that fact. The guardians of the royal chamber would have remained in position, protecting their monarch instead of joining the attack frenzy. It was typical behavior.
The colony would eventually recover. The widow queen's pheromones would travel for miles, eventually attracting some wandering male that would allow the cycle to be reestablished. In a few months, the colony would thrive again.
His reflections were interrupted by Lin. Her normally serene face showed clear signs of concern.
"Professor Zhao," she said without preamble, the urgency evident in her voice. "There is much to explain, but right now the most important thing is to find Ren and Han."
"What has happened?" he asked, his owl markings intensifying instinctively at the tension.
"They fell through that hole," Lin explained quickly. "It was some kind of illusory trap."
The girls had probably already found Julius through the vibrations in the earth, although they didn't know he was here... but most likely he would first take the students back to camp.
'Which means he's far from where Ren might be now,' Lin concluded.
Lin continued. "You're the fastest option to rescue them."
Zhao understood the situation and without losing another second, headed toward the opening Lin had pointed out. The illusion had been deactivated, revealing a dark well that descended vertiginously into the depths.
"I'm going to find them," he declared. "Keep the students safe until I return."
Zhao launched himself into the void. Air currents enveloped him as he descended, his wings controlling the speed of descent. The darkness was almost complete, but his owl provided vision even in these conditions.
As he fell, his amplified senses detected something disturbing: a trail of abyssal energy, faint but unmistakable. It wasn't a stable presence but rather an echo, as if something had been there just moments ago and was now rapidly fading.
'Abyssal creatures shouldn't exist at this depth, much less in this area.'
The sensation briefly intensified as he continued his descent, only to dissipate completely, as if the source had disappeared or had been deliberately hidden upon sensing his power nearby.
The discovery put him on maximum alert. First the worm abnormally close to the surface, then the illusory trap, and now abyssal energy...
Through his half-open eyelids, Han saw Zhao.
The gathering professor observed the scene with an indecipherable expression, his owl markings glowing intensely as he evaluated the situation. His gaze traveled across the destroyed chamber, the remains of the abomination's segments, the pulverized crystals, the spear, the bow, and the abandoned backpacks.
Finally, his eyes settled on the two boys collapsed on the ground.
Han kept his breathing controlled, his body motionless, perfectly playing the role of an unconscious victim. But inside, a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts consumed him.
What had Zhao sensed, did he realize it was him that expelled the abyssal energy just moments ago or would he think it was the abomination?
Would they discover him?
Would Ren remember what he had seen?
How much time did he have before Yino discovered his betrayal and Hedda paid the price?
As Zhao approached them, Han made the most difficult decision of his life. No matter what happened, he would try to maintain his cover at the probable cost of losing everything.
He would pretend to be just another injured student here, hoping that Zhao would deduce that the beast was responsible for the abyssal energy.
For now, he would risk his secret.
But no longer out of loyalty to Yino. Not out of fear.
He would do it for Ren.
As he felt Zhao's hands checking his vital signs, Han allowed himself one last thought before falling asleep to fully commit to his role: perhaps, just perhaps, there was still a way to save everyone from the terrible misfortune of a war.
When Zhao landed in the lower chamber, the vast cavern showed signs of an intense battle. Fragments of what appeared to be parts of some massive creature lay scattered, some still weakly pulsing with purple energy.
Entire sections were charred, as if they had been struck by an intense energy ray.
And at the center of all this destruction, two motionless figures: Ren and Han, apparently unconscious and with clear signs of having fought a desperate battle.
Upon reaching the boys, his concern intensified. Ren showed clear symptoms of mana poisoning.
Han, for his part, didn't seem to be much better. Although he showed no signs of mana poisoning, his body was covered with cuts and bruises, and his leg was at an angle that suggested a possible fracture.
'Luckily they managed to survive... But what happened here?' Zhao wondered while checking their vital signs. 'Surely that energy I sensed was the beast...'
Ren's spear lay a few meters away, its tip stained with a strange fluid. The bow and several broken arrows were scattered across the floor, silent witnesses to the desperate struggle.
"Hold on," he murmured as he prepared to transport them. "You're safe now."
As he secured the boys for the ascent, Zhao couldn't help but cast a final evaluating glance at the chamber. Something terrible had happened here, something that shouldn't be possible at this level.
Although Ren and Han had survived in some miraculous way, Zhao couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the end, but barely the beginning of something much bigger.
With that somber thought, he fully summoned the huge owl that extended his wings and began the ascent, helping him carry the two unconscious students… But Zhao also carried a growing doubt about what really lurked in the depths.