_EDEN

"That's a beautiful name. You don't have to worry; you're safe with us," Sky reassured her. Eve took Kiran's hand and examined her, treating her wounds. Relief washed over the girl, and she trembled as tears filled her eyes, unable to hold back the flood of emotions.

"Please don't hurt me," she cried.

"We won't hurt you. Where are your parents?" Eve asked gently.

"I don't know. I can't remember," Kiran replied, her voice small and broken.

After a moment, they found a safe, open area to make a fire, giving them a chance to collect themselves, dry their clothes, and rest. Eve continued to care for Kiran while Sky sifted through the map, trying to figure out their next move.

Eve focused intently on tending to Kiran's wounds, carefully addressing the bruises that covered her hands, arms, legs, and even a few on her face. "How did this happen?" she asked gently.

"I was running and must've hit my head. I'm not sure," Kiran replied, wincing as pain shot through her, a ringing in her ears flaring up without warning.

Sky edged closer, sensing that something was amiss.

"Thank you," Kiran said slowly, her childlike voice struggling to form the words as she bowed slightly.

Surprised by the soft voice behind him, Sky closed the map in front of him. He turned to find Kiran standing there, a small smile brightening her face. "Thank you."

"What were you doing here?" he asked.

Kiran looked around the cave, spinning in circles before stopping to answer. "I think I'm lost."

"Well, that makes two of us. My friend and I need to get out of here. Maybe we can find a way together?"

"Oh, you will? Thank you, mister!" Kiran's face lit up with excitement, her smile stretching from ear to ear as she jumped up and down, hugging herself.

"Where did you come from before you ended up here?" Sky asked, taking in the cave's vastness.

"I can show you," Kiran replied eagerly. Immediately leading the way. As they navigated through the caverns, she showed a surprising familiarity with the space, referring to certain areas as her "hiding places." Whenever asked how she knew so much, she would only murmur a faint reply.

Eventually, they reached a large chamber dominated by a giant metal door. It was locked and freezing to the touch. Kiran pointed at it. "I've looked everywhere else, but I don't remember this place... it's—it's cold here."

Sky studied the door, sensing that something about it was off. Unlike everything else around him, it was poorly constructed. Though the materials were valuable and still strong, the door lacked any decorations and appeared to be the most recent addition to the cavern. What puzzled him most was that the locking mechanisms were placed on the outside. Some were disengaged, even though they were all in perfect working condition. It seemed whoever built this had either rushed the job or left it unfinished.

When he pulled the locks open, the metal jaws creaked, and dislodged ice crashed down as the door exhaled a white blanket of cold mist. Eve quickly shielded Kiran as the frost enveloped them, but they held their ground, the flames in their hands flickering defiantly. They expected someone—or something—to emerge, standing in silence as the darkness loomed before them.

Sky stared into the void beyond the door; there was nothing but darkness. It was the only part of the cavern untouched by moonlight, descending further into the abyss. A chill ran through him as he felt a strange pull from within, something familiar beckoning him.

"Sky, wait! You don't know what's down there," Eve warned, holding Kiran tightly.

Sky glanced at Kiran. "You said you looked everywhere else?"

She nodded, confirming that there was nothing to be found.

"Then the only way out is through here," Sky said resolutely.

He took Eve's hand and Kiran's as they ventured into the black chamber, hoping to find an escape. The heavy, damp air pressed against them, and they struggled to navigate as the flames illuminated only a few meters ahead. It seemed someone had sealed off this section of the cavern, and the danger of misstepping felt palpable.

Sky expected only the cave's slow, pulsating breath, but then running footsteps, groans, and hollow breathing enveloped him, pulling him deeper into the shadows.

"It's freezing here." He could see his knuckles turning white as the flame fought valiantly against the overwhelming cold that seeped in.

"I'm scared," Kiran whispered. Sky leaned in, bringing the flame closer to her to provide warmth.

"It's alright. We'll get through this. Just stay close," he reassured her.

But the air around them shifted, thickening with a deathly familiar smell, worsened by the cave's humidity. The torches flickered, growing weaker as they pressed on, and turning back was not an option; the moonlit passage behind them had vanished into darkness.

Their hearts pounded in their chests. Sky felt a cold sweat trickling down his forehead as he fought to remain calm. Suddenly, a voice called out to him—distorted and incongruent.

He snapped his head toward Eve, searching for reassurance. "Was that you?" he asked, a sense of dread creeping in.

She heard the voices too, and panic surged through her. One voice quickly morphed into many, overlapping and fighting against one another. The sounds of running footsteps encircled them, accompanied by screams of pain and cries for help.

The flames soon illuminated something ahead: a decomposed body of a man in armor, slain where he stood. As Kiran stared at the corpse, a realization dawned on her. "Outside, it was quiet, but not here. It's cold—there are bad people here."

"Bad people?" Sky asked, feeling an eerie silence blanket the cavern around them. Every fiber of his being screamed danger, as if something lurked behind him. He turned to find a man facing him, gripping a sword. The figure struck him as unusual, as though he were not of this world. The man had no coherent form; his outline dissolved into the air like the smoke of a dying flame. Though he didn't speak, voices spilled from his form, and his eyes burned white with rage.

Kiran's face paled in fear, and she turned and ran, disappearing into the darkness.

"Kiran, no!" Eve shouted, immediately giving chase.

"Wait, Kiran!" Sky yelled, but without warning, the being lunged from the shadows to strike him, its war cry ferocious. Sky threw his hands up, tensing in anticipation of a killing blow.

He shut his eyes, bracing for sharp pain, but it never came. When he opened them, he found the figure still standing before him, undeterred. His gaze fell upon the sword that impaled the man; however, he felt nothing. The man lifted the sword back into a ready position, seemingly oblivious to Sky's presence. Confused, Sky reached out, only to find his hands passed through the man's form, feeling cold and eerie, like cobwebs.

"Hello?" Sky waved his hand in front of the figure's face. As it turned, he the other apparitions surrounding them. Sky stood amidst the chaos, engulfed by fighting spirits. Voices echoed in his mind, crying out, "Why won't these shadows die?"

The man fought valiantly, swinging his weapon with precision and lightning speed. But it wasn't enough. He screamed as a nearby apparition stabbed him from behind, overwhelmed by a wave of shadows. Spears pierced him from all sides, and his body fell, vanishing into dust to reveal the skeletal form that lay before Sky.

A chill ran down Sky's spine as he realized he wasn't the first to encounter these dark shadows, and he felt a pang of fear at how close he had come to a similar fate. Lifting his torch, he saw the ground littered with the corpses of fallen warriors. The sounds of clanking swords and shields filled the air.

Meanwhile, Kiran ran in panic, easily losing her way. The rapid turns and spins disoriented her further. The air grew so cold that she could see her breath, and a thick layer of mist and frost concealed her footprints. She lost her footing and fell, her face hitting the ground and choking on dust as she struggled to see in the overbearing blackness. Her foot had caught in the belts of a fallen corpse. As she shook her foot free, she looked around to find herself surrounded by a battlefield of corpses.

Eve's voice called out from behind her. Kiran could only see her thanks to the flame she carried. Her heart raced, and her ears rang as the walls of darkness seemed to close in around her.

"Eve! Help me!" she cried out.

"Kiran, don't worry! I'm here. I'll get you out," Eve reassured her as she rushed over to untangle Kiran's feet from the belts and ropes trapping her.

Just as Kiran freed herself, a shadow materialized, breaking through the layer of white fog to reveal a dark figure emerging from the corpse. The figure, coated in darkness, moved toward her. Eve held Kiran close, shielding her eyes as the dark being approached. With all her strength, she let out a ferocious scream.

"Eve?" Sky called out, rushing toward the sound of her voice.

Just as Eve and Kiran were about to be attacked, Eve held out the flame, pointing it toward the shadow. "Stay away!" she yelled, the fire flickering brighter as it spewed sparks, shrieking in pain. She didn't lower the flame until the shadow relented and stepped back into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

Breathing heavily, Eve struggled to her feet, her hands trembling. Kiran shook in her arms.

"Don't worry; it's alright. It was only one," she comforted the girl.

But Kiran's breathing stammered as she looked around, the flame illuminating more than a dozen corpses surrounding them. Black smoke oozed from the ground, creeping toward the bodies as they awakened. Their heads snapped toward Eve and Kiran, and she held the flame steady, pointing it at them. Sparks flew as pained screams wailed from the figures, but she knew there were too many; she couldn't hold them off for long.

"Sky! Where are you?" Eve called out, panic rising in her voice. Just then, she sensed a shadow behind her, its long sword poised to strike.

The figure erupted in a painful display of sparks as it entered the light, but it was undeterred. With a dark, monstrous bellow, it raised its sword high, preparing to swing. Eve screamed just as a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way of the deadly arc.

Looking up, she saw it was Sky, who had hurried back. He pointed his flame toward the shadow, which shrieked in agony, dissolving in a burst of exploding lights and sparks.

"The light! They hate the light. We have to run!" he urged, glancing back at the area swarming with shadows. Knowing the dark figures were many, he realized it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.