It felt like hours, days even as Red walked through the long underground tunnel, with the darkness that concealed his path ahead. Only for it to fade away once he stepped closer to the path with his fireball hovering above his palm, along with the wounded man he caught lying unconscious on his back. 

The air inside was still and a little cold, the only thing that was heard was the echos of his heavy footsteps bouncing off the round walls and throughout the long path, he wanted to leave a track somehow in case he loses his sense of direction. 

Fortunately, on his way, he noticed that the walls offered him the wooden, club-like torches that were bowing down before him, waiting to be fed with the golden fire. So he lit every torch he came across with his fiery powers. Which also pushed the darkness even further to reveal another torch next to the one he lit.

Seeing the secret tunnel under the earth and walking through it brought his questions to the surface and buzz around inside his head, for all he knew about life was to hunt beasts or enemies and exorcise them; most of those enemies were known as entities and evil spirits and mostly demons. 

But he also hunted animals to survive in this cruel condition. Like everyone else does.

He questioned the tunnel's existence, when it was dug and built, and how long it stood here? And what was this tunnel for? Why is there even a secret tunnel under my homeland?  

He kept himself busy with his thoughts and plans to pass the time quickly while he's on his way to his destination, his destination that he knew nothing about nor where the tunnel was leading him. 

He knew it was his only option to escape rather than sit there and watch Grevalon bleed to death in a worsened condition inside the pit of despair. 

He was tired of seeing death, it was unbearable to him, but not from fear but rather from sorrow and anger. That's what he expected from the world, endless possibilities that would surely bring death, depression, hopelessness, corruption and evil to its inhabitants. 

Like a dark shadow slowly rising and devouring everything in its path, persuading people to either follow the path of darkness to have a better life they've always wanted or think that they're not worth living in this world and end their life. 

That's what Red thought, or better say knew about these lands since the Guardians disappeared and evil was looming in.

Is there any hope in this brutal world? Obviously not, so what do I expect?  Red blew the air from his nostrils as he answered his own question. 

As he kept busying himself with his thoughts for several minutes, the tunnel finally began to turn to a narrow path to the right, then slowly to the left until he slowed his pace when he heard his echoing feet bounce far off, indicating that now he was in a wide area somehow. 

To see where he was standing clearly, he expanded his fireball wider and wider til it was bright enough to lighten the whole place around him. Only for him to realise and slightly panic, he was in a spacious area, but what filled the walls around him were multiple entrances to multiple other tunnels. 

It was a time where he had to choose which direction could lead to the surface.

He tried to process the location he might be under, and which entrance it lead to. With time running thin he shook his head and went to the middle entrance, completing in a straight line with another straight tunnel where again, he didn't know where it led to. 

"B... Br... Bryan... " The dry moaning startled Red from behind.

"Bryan... " The voice moaned again, and this time Red recognised it and looked back at the man he held.

"You're awake?" He asked him. There was a short hesitation from Grevalon.

"I... I think so," he answered wearily.

"You think so?" Red repeated as he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know man I'm just... Dizzy and tired," he said as he tried to look at his dark surrounding. 

"Where are we?"

"We're somehow in an underground tunnel, right next to the pit we fell into," Red explained as he looked ahead.

"Wait, when did we fell into a pit?" His voice was now filled with puzzlement. 

Red thought whether to provide the explanation he needed or not. 

"Right after I yanked you down from the sky, that beast turned into a Dark Meanian and said something about how you were supposed to be alive, then he cracked the entire ground beneath me and we fell. Now we're inside a tunnel," he finally explained, and rather than using his grumpy tone, he explained what happened in a serious manner.

"Did the beast become a Dark Meanian?" Grevalon was now surprised, mostly concerned.

"That's what I just said, a powerful Dark Meanian is now on the loose. Who knows what threats that man will bring to the kingdom, so once we get out of here I'm going to take you to the Healing Temple and then speak with King Salvador about this issue. If it wasn't too late that is," Red mumbled the last words. 

"B-But my dad... My dad's life is on the line if I didn't do something--"

"Look Grevalon, you won't do anything else because you're seriously hurt, so you're going to stay there and rest while I'll figure this out with the king. I think you're telling the truth after I saw that Dark man, maybe there is a possibility that the king and the men will believe you once I tell them my side of the story. I'm a Hunter after all," Red was about to speak furthermore when he stopped his pacing to be surprised by what he found. 

"Why did you stop?" Grevalon asked.

"I think there is a door?" Red said as he approached the large round shaped door made of dark wood, the long vertical planks were held together by two long horizontal iron hinges, with a big iron ring used as a handle. 

And for some reason, the door was actually big enough for Red to go through.

"We're finally getting somewhere," Red said as he cautiously grabbed the handle and pulled the door, the hinges groaned deeply as he opened it and went inside. 

Then, before him stood a tall and large spiral staircase that swirled all the way up, with no stair railing to hold onto nor a large pole in the middle of the staircase. So nearing the walls was the only safe way to climb.

"Where do you think it leads?" Grevalon asked.

"Obviously, up to the surface." Red rolled his eyes and began to climb, and surprisingly, even though the steps were made of concrete, they still didn't crack or break under his massive weight. 

He placed his hand on the wall as he climbed the stairs in silence for what felt like several minutes until he reached a landing, which also revealed another door. 

However, this time it was different since it was a little paler and completely blank, there was no handle to pull and no hinges to be seen. Only one single unlit torch hung from its iron sconce beside the plain door. 

"You gotta be kidding me... " Red scoffed.

"Wait... That can't be a dead end," Grevalon said.

"What do you mean? Can't you see the blocked door in front of us?" He complained.

"What I meant is that maybe... That could be a secret door," he said. "haven't you wondered why there's only one torch right next to a blank door?" He gestured with his eyes at the unlit torch. 

"How are you sure that it's a secret door?" Red rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's obvious that all castles have secret passageways behind the castle walls in case of emergencies, so maybe... " Grevalon lifted his weak arm and grabbed the torch that was secured firmly on its sconce, then he made an effort to pull it down. 

Suddenly, the sound of heavy chains was brought to life, and the blank door was slowly sliding forward. 

"Huh, that's... Convenient," Red commented. 

Just as the door finished sliding away, Red continued inside, then after a few minutes, he stopped and dropped his jaw as he looked at the familiar surrounding. 

They were standing in a corridor of bookshelves with a navy ceiling with silvery stars and crescents glittering above them. 

"Where are we now?" Grevalon noticed Red's shocked face.

"We're inside King Salvador's palace library."