"Where did they come from?!" Althea shouted, hiding behind her brother who was protecting her. She glanced towards the chasm again, but all trace of their companions had disappeared.

"If the number of them keeps increasing, we won't be able to made it..." He groaned, defeating another opponent.

He glanced at his sister, then followed her with his eyes and froze when he saw more opponents. He adjusted his sword in his hand and stood ready to protect his sister.

"You won't be able to defeat them all..." She whispered in fear.

"Have you lost faith in me, little sister?" He laughed, meanwhile preparing for a fight.

"No, never." She replied, lowering her head sadly and looking at her trembling hands. She took a deep breath and tightened her fingers. "I can't hesitate..." She said to herself, then glanced into the chasm once more, and then put her hand on her brother's shoulder, standing right in front of him.

"Althea?" Blond man was surprised. "What are you..."

"Thank you." She said to him, while looking at the incordais running at them."Let me protect you this time." She said, slowly raising her hand and calling the water to herself.

The water in nearby puddles and small streams rose and began to approach the Medic who had summoned it. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment. Swaran looked at his sister with wide eyes and mouth, unable to hide how proud he felt knowing that she was his sister.

Althea didn't want to kill anyone, and she didn't want to kill anyone now. As the water approached her hand, she waved her hand towards the creatures. The water quickly followed her movement, catching her opponents one by one and pushing them away from her sibling. The water surfaces took over this place for a moment, catching each incordais one by one and sending it as far away from them as possible. When it was all over, the water returned to its places and the tired Healer fell to her knees, feeling all her energy leave her.

"Little sis." Swaran knelt down next to her. "You're amazing, you know?" He smiled warmly at her.

Althea heard him loud and clear, but she couldn't say anything else. She didn't think that using this magic would exhaust her so much. She didn't do it often, almost never. She wanted to stay hidden, not wanting to cause any problems for herself or her loved ones.

"What about Najy...?" She whispered, looking towards the abyss.

"We'll find them." Swaran assured her.

~.~

Hamill rose unsteadily on his hands, sat down and touched his temple, where there was blood. He shook himself slightly and looked around, but he couldn't see much due to the smoke and dust surrounding him. He remembered falling here with Najy, and then he must've lost consciousness for a moment because he didn't remember anything else. There was a cave under the ruins of the temple, into which they had apparently fallen. This cave looked more like a cave, or maybe even another underground temple. However, due to the collapse of the earth, everything around was destroyed.

He looked up to see how high he had fallen. But he couldn't see much because everything was covered by smoke. But he knew he had to find a way out of here as quickly as possible, even if it meant climbing up to the very top.

He staggered to his feet, found his sword, and looked around again.

"Najy?!" He called but received no answer. He wanted to call him again, but he fell silent the moment he heard the monster growl. "Ah, you gotta be kidding." He cursed when the incordais saw him and moved straight at him.

Even though he still had a headache, Hamill fought him. He made one quick dodge and then pierced his opponent through and through. When he fell to the ground, the brunet hesitated for a moment and looked at the dead body with resignation.

"People... no?"

He sighed heavily and then looked at his sword.

More sounds of incordais echoed around, it seemed as if several of them must've fallen in with them and, unfortunately for him, they were still alive and willing to attack him.

Hamill shook his head in disbelief and then began to fend off each subsequent attack. His opponents must've found out about him by his voice when he called Najy. He cursed quietly at the thought, then killed another creature, and then another.

"Ah, how many of you are still here?!"

Suddenly one of the monsters came up behind him and grabbed him firmly. Hamill didn't have time to shield himself. The creature roared and attacked, but at that moment someone else knocked it to the ground. It was Najy.

The boy was breathing heavily. His white hair was now dusty and dirty with blood. Like Hamill, he also suffered a hard blow to the head during the fall. Moreover, the boy killed his opponent with his left hand, knowing that his right hand was broken after the fall. He stood shaking from pain and exhaustion, but seeing Hamill all over him forced a smile.

"The question now is, how we'll get out of here." Brunet stated, not bothering to thank him for the rescue.

He looked up again, analyzing the situation they were in. He stole a glance at the boy who sat on one of the rocks. Seeing his injuries, he realized that his younger companion definitely had no chance of climbing. Nevertheless, he saw no other way out. The remains of the vault and lower temple seemed to tremble. They could collapse at any moment, so every second counted.

Brunet snorted quietly under his breath. He had no intention of climbing with Najy on his back. The climb was hard even climbing alone.

"I hope Althea and Swaran are safe..." Boy said in a worried voice, wiping blood and tears from his face.

"Now you should worry about yourself." Hamill said and walked to the wall, checking if he could get in this way.

Najy slowly limped over to him and followed him with his eyes. A second later, another incordais appeared, charging straight at Hamill with a loud roar that echoed throughout the surroundings. The boy pushed his companion to the side, saving him from the attack of his opponent who had just knocked him to the ground. The confused brunet looked at Najy struggling on the ground with the creature. He noticed that everything was starting to shake again and pieces were starting to fall.

Hamill thought frantically about how to get out of this situation. He noticed the vegetation vines on the wall that had fallen down here, and then he glanced at the little blond again. He shook his head and quickly moved towards the only escape route. Najy pushed the creature away from him and limped right behind it.

Brunet grabbed onto the vines and climbed a little higher, noticing that Najy had managed to catch up with him. Boy reached for him with his good hand to pull him higher. Hamill stretched out his hand to him, but hesitated when he saw the undefeated opponent catch up with the boy and pierce his leg with his claws. Najy screamed loudly in pain and fell to his knees. His cry of despair attracted more enemies, and the remains of the place began to collapse more and more. Hamill saw this and was well aware of it, but he knew he had to make a decision.

Should he go down and help the boy or climb up?

Brunet looked up, then back at his companion, and froze the moment he looked at him. Najy had tears in his eyes that were now streaming down his cheeks. His eyes begged Hamill for help, but when Najy looked into Hamill's eyes, he understood. He realized that rescue would not come.

Man closed his eyes, turned his head to the side and went back to climbing, unable to look at the scene right below him. The devastated Najy pushed one of the opponents away from him, but a moment later others appeared and jumped on him, knocking him to the ground again. The distraught boy looked back at Hamill, who didn't have the courage to look him in the eye. He stretched out his hand pleadingly towards him, but in vain. Still avoiding his eyes, the man climbed up, and when he heard a loud crash, he stopped for a moment, realizing that the entire pit had collapsed and he could no longer hear the sounds of fighting or the sound of Najy's voice.

Swaran and Althea heard the loud sound of an avalanche and rushed towards the chasm in fear. However, they stopped halfway when Hamill climbed here.

The siblings exchanged looks of relief and then approached him, slowing their pace and looking for the youngest sibling.

"Where's Najy?" She asked, looking at Hamill, who was still looking at the ground. "Hamill?"

Swaran clenched his fist.

"Where is our brother?!" Blond man exclaimed.

"Hamill, where is Najy?!" Althea approached him devastated, and when he looked into her eyes, she already knew. "Where is...Najy...?" She whispered, but seeing her friend's reaction, she knew the truth despite the lack of words.

"This isn't really happening..." Swaran said and ran towards the chasm. "Najy!" He shouted, but Hamill grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Let me go! He is my brother!"

"He is dead!" Hamill shouted back, then immediately let go of the blond and looked down. "Najy, he didn't..."

Swaran shook his head. His voice trembled, he walked in circles for a moment, then he kicked the ground and screamed loudly, throwing his sword as he did so.

"What happened?! Where have you been, huh?!" He grabbed Hamill by his tailcoats and yanked him. "Why did you get out of there alive and he didn't?! Look at me!!"

Hamill slowly looked up at the blond, then slowly placed his hand on his, telling him to let go.

"Why...?" Swaran whispered, still looking at Hamill. He didn't care that his face was streaked with tears. He didn't care, this was about his brother. About his little brother. "Najy..." He cried, hiding his face in his hand.

Hamill looked at him, holding back his emotions. Najy's face appeared before his eyes, begging him for help, and he felt a chill run through him. Brunet looked away again, clenched his fists and said:

"Najy... saved my life." He said, which caught Swaran's attention. "He..." He hesitated again, remembering his pleading look. "I couldn't help him..."

Swaran cursed again, feeling as if his whole world had collapsed. It was literally an instant. Just a few minutes ago his little brother was standing here next to him, and now... he was gone forever. His hands, tightly clenched, slapped the ground several times out of fury and the realization that he had failed to protect his brother. He felt powerless, so incredibly powerless. He wanted to scream and smash everything that was standing in his way at the moment. His hands, bloody from the blows, stung him, but he ignored the pain. The pain he felt in his heart was even stronger, he tried to suppress it with physical pain, but no matter how he tried, nothing helped.

Just when he wanted to hit something again, Althea appeared and grabbed his hand, immediately catching his attention. Swaran looked at her and became even more speechless. The blonde didn't even shed a tear. Without saying anything, she began to bandage his wounded hands.

"Althea...?" He whispered to her but received no answer.

The Medic dressed his wounds with slow movements. Her face took on one expression, she didn't say anything, she didn't cry. She avoided eye contact, but even without it, Swaran noticed that her eyes had lost any sparkle.

"Please don't..." He whispered, knowing what that meant. "Say something, please." He asked, attracting the attention of Hamill who was standing nearby. He still hasn't received an answer. "Althea." He put his hands on her shoulders, but she still wasn't looking at him, so he took her face in his hands and told her to look at him.

The look on her face broke his heart even more. Even though their irises met, Althea didn't show any emotion or utter a word. Swaran knew what this meant.

When they were younger, Althea stopped speaking completely after the suffering her father caused her. She was silent for many long years until a certain moment that her brother still didn't understand. But whatever happened made her speak again, then he was only happy that Althea was speaking again. But now she was silent, withdrawing into herself, stifling the pain of her brother's death.

"P-please... talk to me." He cried but she ignored it. He lowered his head, crying and unable to say anything more.

Hamill watched them in silence, focusing his attention even more on Althea, whom he had never seen in such a state before. He remembered the time when she didn't say anything, but this moment was much different. The woman made no facial expression, her eyes were blank and cold. Even though Swaran was sobbing right in front of her, she wordlessly took his hands again and started dressing his wounds. Still silent, still suffering, locked in herself.