The Sage's Vow

19.2 || Separation

Mateo didn't know how long they spiraled through the void of light. His air shield flipped through the nothingness. Or maybe it wasn't moving, and instead the realm was just falling into place around them. Either way, the curtain finally separated, leaving them in the dark and on a solid surface.

It wasn't pitch black, but it may as well have been when compared to the supernova of light they'd been exposed to prior. Mateo kept the air sphere around them just to be safe as he stumbled around, disoriented by the sudden lack of light. The others were just as off-balance, though Cale did his best to hide it. He reached out to steady the others even as he continued to shift his weight, seeking stability.

The flares in Mateo's vision gradually faded, and their new environment pieced together. They stood upon a large slab of rock, with other various sized rumble coming together like a jigsaw to form a makeshift ground. Patches of moss covered the rocks and climbed up the walls. It padded the sound of water trickling across the boulders. The land sloped upward. Above them, a small circle of light peeked in, keeping them from being in complete darkness.

A cave. Or perhaps the by-product of a cave-in, given how rubble-like their path was. They were also the only ones there.

Kaitlyn cursed. "We've been separated."

"I hate to be negative, but we are sure it's only separated, right?" Mara spoke the words hesitantly, making it clear how much she didn't want to put them out there.

The Sage opened her mouth to respond but then bit down on her lip. "I will have Odema check with one of the other Elder Dragons, but my guess is that if we were thrown into a random part of the pocket dimension, then they likely had the same thing happen."

"We did step into an unstable realm," Cale added, looking pointedly at the relic dagger's sheath. "One of the first ways dearest Gamal may have wanted to test the brave entrants could have been to separate them. Maybe we should count ourselves lucky our groupings weren't smaller. Quick reaction time, Mateo."

Mateo grinned, his back straightening ever so slightly. Between the Australian Sanctum where people were used to him and Josh who did nothing but joke around, it had been a while since he'd received any form of praise. And he couldn't deny that it coming from the prodigy Paladin made it feel a bit sweeter.

"As kind of that is for you to say," he said, his lips twisting into a small grimace. "I do need to drop our shield. I can't keep this kind of spell up forever."

"Nobody let your guard down, but we appear safe enough at the moment, so don't strain yourself," Cale said.

Blowing out a relieved breath, Mateo released the spell. The wind dissipated around them. Without the vacuum around them, new sounds filled the space. The water's dribbling movement down the rocks was the closest, but from above came leaves rustling and the chirps of birds and insects alike.

"A forest?" Josh asked, voicing the same conclusion Mateo was forming.

"It seems like it, but there's only one way to tell for sure." And Cale took the first few steps toward the opening.

"Oh?" Josh trailed behind him. "No putting up a fight this time? Nothing about how we should stay put and wait for help to come to us?"

Cale snorted but didn't look back. "Unlike then, we came here on purpose. Also, I don't know about you, but..." He glanced above him as he began scaling the rocky hill. "I don't think this is a safe place to hide away."

At that moment, a chip from the ceiling broke off. It bounced against the ground near Josh's feet before rolling to a stop beside Mateo. Josh chuckled warily. "Point taken."