SILAS

I don’t know how long I’ve been walking—it feels like the entire day. I quenched my thirst with the cold underground streams I found along the way.

I wasn’t really hungry. Having consumed so much magic had replaced the nutrients my body needed.

I sat on the rocky ground, but only for a few seconds. I knew that if I were an ordinary elemental, I wouldn’t have been able to keep moving like this—especially not in this nearly oxygen-deprived, claustrophobic environment.

Sometimes, the tunnels descended deeper and deeper, where I encountered insects and strange creatures burrowing into the damp earth.

Then, they would rise, twisting into torturous paths, until at last, a faint current of air brushed against my face.

I followed it desperately, feeling pain stabbing through every muscle in my legs from walking nonstop… all day…

It was nearly nightfall when the narrow tunnel opened into a vast cave. The stench of some wild animal filled the air, with remnants of bones and dung scattered