39 • Echoes Of The Depths

The mountain peak again. 

With a sigh of alleviation, Spheris let go off Thorin and Nero, who both had bewildered expressions on their faces. Then he let Talon out of his scarf and the bird soared into the air.

"What in the dancing hell just happened?" Nero asked, gazing around his environs, forgetting that Cerene was on the floor. 

She refused Spheris's hand and got up on her own, while Thorin helped Akemi up. "Where were you?!" she demanded, pointing accusingly at him.

Spheris, for a second, didn't even know what to say. He was only surprised as to how her anger over his disappearance somehow overpowered her suprise that she had appeared on a mountain top. 

"I was here," he replied. "When the Gorgolith lunged at me, I somehow transported myself into this place."

"You unlocked an Influence?" Thorin asked. 

"Yes." 

A semi-awkward silence occured as Thorin shared glances with both Spheris and Nero. 

"I've unlocked quite a few." Spheris expressed. 

A smile braced Thorin's face. "That's good. Happy to see you're getting stronger, Spheris."

Cerene glared at him, and then at Spheris. "You disappeared like thirty minutes ago!" she continued to bawl at him. "Where were you all that time?"

Spheris appeared unmoved by her admonishment, with arms folded, he just gazed at her. This girl truly confused him. "When I tried to use the Influence again, I transported myself to a volcano waterfall, and then I almost drowned in a river. I kept trying until I mastered it. It wasn't easy. I do not understand your anger."

"I see." Cerene lulled down a bit. "We thought you had left us to die."

"Technically, Nero was the one who thought that." Thorin said. 

"Hey, you're the one who wanted us to abandon Akemi."

Abandon Akemi? Spheris raised a curious brow. What was he talking about? What had he missed?

Cerene turned away from Spheris and walked to Akemi, making sure she was okay. The girl seemed fine.

"Turns out you're not a betrayer, Heathian," Nero said as he walked towards Spheris, then his eyes darkened. "At least not yet."

Spheris remained impassible, but he was already regretting saving their lives. 

"Well, Spheris, now that we're here, how do you intend for us to get down?" Thorin asked.

Moving his eyes to him, Spheris replied, "I don't know."

"What?"

"What?"

Spheris regarded the two Bearers, noting how amusing the confusion and nervosity in their faces were. If only he were the sort to laugh.

"I can only [Leap] through shadows, I don't just teleport anywhere. I can't find any clear shadows on the ground for me to [Leap], and if I [Leap] without a firm knowledge of the shadow I want to [Leap] out of, we might find ourselves in Gehennarac's lair... or something of sorts."

Cerene joined Nero and Thorin in their concernment. "So what? Are you saying we're stuck here until you figure out this your [Leaping Shadow] stuff? I thought you just said you mastered it?"

"I did master it," Spheris replied. "What I say is that I need more shadows. To use [Leaping Shadow], I need one shadow to [Leap] into and one to [Leap] out of. Just like how I [Leaped] into the Gorgolith's shadow, and [Leaped] out of this one." He pointed down at the shadow of the mountain that towered above them. 

"We have to stay here until it gets a little darker, then I can create a firelight that will cause shadows to form from other mountains." Thorin suggested. It was an accepted suggestion.

"How are we going to survive for that long?" Nero pointed out. "We've lost all our supplies."

"The same way Spheris has." Thorin replied with a shrug. "Or... perhaps one of us could climb down the mountain. With their shadow on the ground, Spheris can [Leap] through it, taking each of us, one after the other, till we are all on ground."

They all glanced at each other. The idea seemed smart enough, except for the obvious; No one there, safe for Spheris, knew how to climb a mountain. And even if Spheris did climb down, he wouldn't be able to jump through his own shadow.

Spheris explained this to them as simply as he could, then outstretched his hand for Talon to return.

"So what are we to do now?" Cerene asked. "Just wait?"

The bird gently landed on Spheris's hand, cawing. "I asked Talon to survey the realm for any shadows that I can [Leap] through."

Even though they were all curious by that statement, they waited in anticipation for what he would say next.

"He has found one."

"Awesome!" Nero exclaimed. "Not too bad, Heathian!"

Spheris's blank expression didn't change, he only moved his eyes to Cerene who had a soft grateful smile on her face. 

"Well done, Spheris." Thorin commended as he knelt to adjust his boots. But in an instant, something disastrous happened.

The earth beneath him immediately shattered open, and before Spheris could react, Thorin was sucked into the hole. 

"Thorin!" everyone yelled.

"What the—" Nero began to cautiously step backwards as his ground began to disintegrate as well. There was no escaping it though, because the cracking increased and the ground opened in an instant. "Oh, for the love of my mothe—"

His voice trailed off as he fell into the hole. 

Spheris stared fearfully at the gaping maw of the earth where Nero had just vanished into. He rushed to the edge of the crumbling ground, peeping through. But there was no sign of him... or Thorin. Even their yells could not be heard.

Cerene and Akemi were both in front of him, and he raised his face to meet theirs which were just as pale with shock and fear. "What in the name of the Gods is happening?" Cerene murmured, her voice trembling.

Spheris shook his head, unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events. "I don't know," he admitted, his mind racing with possibilities. "But we can not stay here. We need to find a way to escape before..."

Akemi fell. Hers was even more instantaneous than the first two. One moment she was behind Cerene and the next she was not.

"Akemi!" Cerene shrieked. "Akemi!"

Spheris gazed at her with a unconscious concern. Her breath came in short gasps, and her were hands trembling as she looked around at all the holes her friends had fallen into. 

Then, with a sharp intake of breath, he watched as the ground beneath her feet started to crumble as well. "Cerene, listen to me." he urged, his voice calm yet urgent as he reached out to his hand. "Do not look down, just grab my hand."

"Oh Gods." Her breath ran dry. "Is mine crumbling as well?"

"Don't worry about it," he assured. "Just look at me, and give me your hand. Okay?"

But Cerene could feel the earth shattering under her feet, it wasn't something she could just ignore. And as easy as it was to keep her eyes on his, the fear had already gripped her at her core. Before she could reach him, the ground gave way beneath her, and she plummeted into the darkness below with a terrified scream.

"Faggards!" Spheris yelled a curse, anguish and frustration filling him. What was this place? What sorts of madness was this? 

He gazed down at the spot where Cerene had disappeared, different emotions not excluding anger and perplexity dancing within him. Then he felt a sickening lurch in his stomach as the ground beneath him began to crack and break apart. With no time to react, he tumbled into the gaping chasm, his world spinning into darkness as he fell.