Heart of Demise.

32

With the knowledge that we weren't alone, our previously fast pace slowed down to a cripple.

With no other way to turn to than back, and with our vision extending only to how bright the berries were, any encounter with those maskless Skellites was going to be guaranteed. There were diverging pathways, but they were rare, and they always led to some dead end anyway. Thus, there was no sure-fire way to avoid them; the best we could hope for is noticing the enemy first.

"Ah, another pathway. Let's go check it out."

This one was wider than the others, resembling the main tunnel the best. That was about the only change. As much as I'd like to go into detail about these pathways, whatever details I used to describe the main tunnels applied to the pathways. They were wholly unspectacular.

But, on a positive note, this one went on a lot longer than the rest. I was honestly just checking to see if any Skellites were hiding here, but not only did they seem absent, there wasn't even a dead end--

**SCRATCH**

"Crap."

Damn it, not again. Scraping came from the depths of the pathway, and it wasn't just a single scrape, there were multiple. Multiple scrapes, multiple groans, multiple mumbles, all of that. I couldn't estimate an exact number, there were that many.

"Marie–"

"Don't even! Of course we're running away!"

Predicting my words, Marie took the lead and ran to the main tunnel. I had to jog to match her pace, but we still got to our destination without a hitch–

"...Crap!"

Right before we entered the main tunnel, a trio of maskless Skellites, all in varying shapes and sizes, suddenly glued themselves to the wall and did what they do best.

This was a bad situation, naturally. We were sandwiched between two groups of these ill-tempered beasts and our only options were to fight, somehow hide, or magically slither by.

Considering how there were at least six Skellites, I decided to go with option two, running back into the diverging tunnel and paying close attention to the walls. Eventually, I found an opening; a crack, one big enough to fit two of me.

"Come on!"

I hurried to the gap, Marie's hand in mine, and squeezed through it–

**DINK**

"OW!"

I might've squeezed through it, but Marie didn't. Her skull mask stuck out too far for her to fit.

"Try looking up!"

She nodded, and though it didn't seem so at first, she could fit into the crack just fine doing that.

This crack, though dim, was still lit up better than most of the tunnel, so I decided that moving deeper into it to avoid standing out was a good idea. Still holding Marie by the hand, I walked sideways and--

"Gah!"

I suddenly tripped, landing flat on my face. Rubbing my jaw to ease to pain, I noticed that I wasn't in a crack anymore, but in a room roughly shaped like a box.

And in the room, by a torch, and on a bench, was a man with a widely-brimmed hat and an ankle-reaching coat.

"..."

"Ha, I'm here, Lewis! What's going on–"

Marie suddenly stopped her sentence, leading me to believe she saw the same thing as me.