Kaivasita: Sons of Heaven 〖Chapter 15: "A fragile tomorrow"〗To say Ellie was feeling miserable would’ve been an understatement. It’d been hours, maybe more, and they weren’t any closer to leaving ingestion then when Albin contacted them.There was no rhyme or reason to the tunnels, and seemingly no exit either. Every time they thought they’d found a safe path downwards, or even just somewhere they could rest without fear of being eaten alive by their surroundings, they’d be proven wrong. The spot they’d found only moments ago- a partially destroyed bunker of sorts, seemed to be the only exception.She knew Hell would be bad, of course it’d be. But she never could’ve expected something quite this bad. The first few layers were manageable, but now she was convinced this entire place had to be alive somehow from just how brutal it’d gotten. Were they really in Hell, or had they just willingly walked into the mouth of something horrific?She wished desperately they could just go home already, but Ryan still persisted. She wished she could understand his sudden bravery, even this much was odd coming from him. She hated the idea of leaving Albin just as much as he did, but putting their own lives in danger as well was just not the answer. She was certain she would’ve went back home with Valerie if only she knew what she was in for.She glanced back over at Ryan, who was leaning against a wall on the other side of the room near the door, still refusing to look at her. Maybe, just maybe, this would’ve been at least tolerable if only he bothered to listen to her.Though, part of her had to be used to this by now. Lately had only been an exception to how her siblings usually treated her- it was oddly refreshing seeing their true colours again, as bitter as it felt. She shouldn’t of gotten her hopes up.Knowing exactly what would happen if she tried to talk to him, she started up a conversation with Raija instead. “So, when are Kyrie and Eleison going to be back?”“They’re still scoutin’ out the path ahead, so I’m unsure. I’d check, but I’m as blind as you two in a place complex as this.”She leaned back against the wall, and felt the thin sheet of aluminum it was made of lightly crumple behind her. How was this place still standing? “I hope they’re back soon, the smell of this place is making me sick...”Silence passed, or, rather, silence amongst the group as they waited for the two angels to return. The layer was anything but silent, being filled with the constant sounds of digestion, and the very occasional sound of something alive.And sometimes, whatever was alive, was crying out in pain, only to be silenced mere moments later.There was no question of what was causing it. Several times by now, she’d almost experienced it first hand. The entire layer was like a living, breathing organism without a purpose, and if you found yourself in the wrong spot, you’d be it’s next meal.She was thankful that Kyrie and Eleison had been down here hundreds of times before, and knew what to watch out for. If it wasn’t for them, she was sure she’d be dead by now.Speaking of, here they were now.Kyrie wiped blood from his face as he walked through the rusted door. It was pure, deep red with a golden tint, not purple and glittery, so it wasn’t his- not that his blood was actually blood, anyways.He looked exhausted, but far from hurt- Eleison looking similar. He shook the blood out of his wings, then stretched them. As he did, she could faintly see purple inside of them, underneath the ‘feathers’. Raija said something about their wings actually being membranous, and their feathers being part of said membrane as well.Ellie had always remembered Albin’s feathers feeling soft, but oddly rubbery whenever she felt them. Was that why it felt so weird? Were his wings like that too? ...What was Albin going to turn into if the angels were like this? She’d have to figure that out later.“Did ya’ find a safe way through?” asked Raija.“As safe as it can get, anyways…” said Kyrie. “It’s a bit rough going, for the Vestians, but they should be safe if you keep an eye on them.”“Ah, that’s no problem at all.”“Better get going, then.”Kyrie began walking out the door, but Eleison remained.“Wait,” Eleison looked around. “Where’s Ryan?”Ellie felt her heart skip a beat. She scanned the room and realized that Ryan was, in fact, gone. Nobody had even noticed him leave.Raija looked for him, but with similar results. “Shoot, I dunno. I rested my eyes for a bit, he must’ve slipped away on me. Lemme see if I can locate him real quick...”She closed her eyes, and stayed still for a long moment, a sure sign that she was looking for traces of his soul nearby. Ellie watched, growing tense.“Right, so he’s…” she went quiet again. “Somewhere close- hopefully safe, I’ll lead the way.”Raija walked past Kyrie and out the door, Ellie just behind her.Kyrie groaned. “The safe way through might not be safe if we wait any longer...”Raija took on that especially threatening tone she used a few nights earlier. “Then you’ll find another safe way through, understood?”Kyrie backed up towards Eleison, who looked just as scared.“That’s what I thought. Now follow me, or else.”Kyrie and Eleison glanced at eachother, then reluctantly followed, holding each other’s hands tightly.Ellie wanted to say something, but decided not to. Raija didn’t seem fond of any angels, especially not those two, and it took a lot of convincing just to stop her from killing them. The last thing she wanted to do was potentially make the situation worse by saying the wrong thing.Everyone was quiet and tense, but especially Ellie. She’d both seen and heard what this layer was capable of, and she’d also seen what situations Ryan was capable of getting himself into.This wasn’t somewhere he could afford to make a mistake like he did with Neowise earlier. Raija could fix broken bones and heal wounds, but she couldn’t turn a mess of half digested organs and bones back into a person.Thankfully, Ryan wasn’t far off after all. As they turned a corner, they found him rummaging through some nearby ruins, looking for something.“Now what did I tell you about wanderin’ off?” said Raija.Ryan jumped, caught off guard. Instead of responding however, he went back to digging through the rubble.“We found a way forwards, let’s get goin’.”“Give me a second.” said Ryan.“We don’t have a second.”Ryan ignored her.Ellie stepped forwards. “Hold on, I’ll try and deal with him… Ryan!”Ryan continued to look for whatever he was looking for. What was he even doing, anyways?She sighed and walked up to him, giving him a light shove. “RYAN.”He looked over his shoulder and scowled at her. “What do you want?”“You know exactly what, get up, let’s go.”He went back to what he was doing. “I don’t care, this is more important.”“How is garbage more important than our little brother? Aren’t you the dumbass who thought it was good idea to come down here in the first place?”“For god’s sake-” He aggressively put something down and got up. “I saw something I can use to get Neowise’s necklace without hurting my hands.”“Are you kidding me?! You’re still trying to kill him?!”“Who else is going to do it?!”“Not us, that’s for sure! I thought the plan was leaving our universe until he left?”“We both know he’ll never leave, Ellie. Someone has to do this, or he’ll kill everyone here.”“Us being alive is more important than him being dead! Come on, lets go!” She tugged at his shirt, hoping to pull him along.Ryan dug his heels. “For fucks sake! All you do is weigh me down! Let go of me!” He pushed her.She lost her balance and fell over, landing face first into the gross, uncomfortably wet ground. She slowly got up, and wiped off her face.“And stay out of my way!”Ellie slowly stood up, and clenched her hands into fists.He crossed his arms at her. “Now what?”She took a deep breath, then swung around and punched him in the nose as hard as she could.Ryan was immediately knocked backwards. Thankfully for him, he landed against the wall, and not on the sharp pile of debris he’d been digging through.“I’m sick and fucking tired of you, you know that?” Hollered Ellie.Ryan felt his face. A steady stream of blood was coming from his nose. Did… she really hit him that hard?He tried to get up, but for some reason couldn’t.She continued. “All you’ve done since they took Albin is walk all over me and I’m sick of it! You’d think the person who was always there for him would be nicer to me during a stressful situation, you’d think how much I’ve had your back lately would’ve changed something. But no, you’re still just the same ignorant, nasty piece of shit I’ve known since we were thirteen!”He tried to get up again, this time looking noticeably angry. No doubt he was preparing to fight now.She backed up a little pre-emptively. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you these days, but you know what? I don’t think it’s my problem anymore! You’re falling apart at the seams, and I want nothing to do with it, I’m done!”“I–” He tried to get up once again, visibly struggling to. What was up with him, were his arms not working anymore?“You know what? Maybe it’s time you were the person being ignored, how about that?”Ryan began to look somewhat scared. “I… I can’t…”Whatever she was saying must’ve been working. “How would you like it if I insulted you and pushed you around and treated you like shit? How would you like it if I purposefully ignored you at every given chance?” She raised her voice. “How would you like it if I left you to die in another universe? How would you like it if I abandoned you and tried to kick you out my life?”“E-Ellie, I… It’s…” Ryan began being pulled back by something.At first, she thought it was him pushing himself away from her, or maybe just a trick of the eye. But as he was pulled back more and more, it became apparent what was really happening to him.He wasn’t just being pulled back.He was being pulled into something.And he was already halfway inside.“S-Shit!” She reached for him, her heart suddenly racing.Raija rushed over to help. “Hang in there!”Ellie grabbed his hand with both of hers, and Raija grabbed onto his arm. They pulled as hard as they could, but even the strength of a goddess simply wasn’t enough to free Ryan.Ellie felt her feet slip on the floor, and she tumbled backwards, sending Raija down with her.In only a couple of seconds, Ryan vanished.Ellie got up again as fast as she could. “RYAN!”She pried at the opening he’d been pulled into, but it was already sealing itself, being replaced by a smooth layer of newly formed flesh.Until eventually, nothing but a smooth wall remained.She punched the wall as hard as she could, then slammed herself against it- but nothing changed. Exhausted, she fell to her knees, her head in her hands. “God damnit…”Kyrie and Eleison walked over, still looking nervous around Raija.“What happened…?” Asked Eleison.Raija sighed. “Ryan got pulled into that wall.”“Oh…”Ellie sniffled, tears now running down her face. Was her last interaction with Ryan really going to be another fight…? “H-He’s gone… isn’t he…?”“I… wouldn’t say so yet.” Said Kyrie. “I-It’s not always a digestive chamber people get pulled into, it… it could be somewhere else!”“But how will we ever find him…? Raija, can you tell where he is?”Raija went quiet. “Don’t think I can. It’s already taken him too far off.”Ellie rested her face in her hands, then wiped her eyes. “C-can… we even get him back?”Kyrie hesitated. “...Maybe. All the runoff from this layer goes to a place called The Sea of Nightmares. If he’s lucky, and he doesn’t find himself being digested or torn apart before he gets there, we can find him.”“Well have to go through there anyways.” Added Eleison. “It shouldn’t be too out of our way.”Raija gritted her teeth. “If he’s hurt again…”“I-I’m sorry…”Ellie decided to step in. “We’ll just get him, then just head home, ok? Albin’s found some good people, I’m sure he can find his way out on his own by now.”“Fine.” Raija just continued walking. “Let’s just get out of here. You two lead the way.”“O-Ok!” Kyrie nodded, and began to lead Raija and the others away from the rubble.Ellie trailed behind a little, still struggling to process everything. One dumb fight might’ve just separated her and her brother forever. Could Ryan even survive on his own in a place like this? Would he be smart enough to stay out of trouble?Would she lose both her brothers to this place?She sighed, and tried her best to catch up, praying- to anyone, that both her brothers were going to be alright.Kaivasita: Sons of Heaven 〖Chapter 14B: "What lurks below"〗The water was lukewarm, murky, and quiet. Thankfully, the murkiness of the water meant it was impossible for Roisce to see them if she came outside. However, the water also made it absolutely impossible to see more than a meter in front of him.Albin immediately began to swim towards the nearest wall, looking for an exit and conserving his air the best he could. Ryker was looking around anxiously, but Albin wasn’t sure why.Thankfully, the nearest exit appeared below them. Albin felt relieved as he saw it, the less swimming he had to do the better.The exit at the bottom of the chamber led into a narrow tunnel with webs of flesh stretching all through it like a cobweb, just barely big enough for both of them to move through easily. It was very, very dark.The tunnel led to another small room, where thankfully, he could come up for breath. There didn’t seem to be much else in the opening but more grossness, but it was nice having a moment to relax.Albin poked his head above water and took a deep breath. He looked back at Ryker. “Where should we go now?”“I don’t know, there’s not a lot on this layer…”“Well, I can’t keep swimming forever. You must have some idea, right?”“Not really, but we should stop and rest as soon as we find land.”“Why?”“The water is gross for a reason. This layer lives off of death. Danger is everywhere below you. Stay alert.”Albin groaned. “That’s great…”“We shouldn’t waste any more time, come on.”“Fine.” Albin took another deep breath, then went back underwater.He continued swimming straight forward, looking for another exit. He didn’t quite see what Ryker meant, there wasn’t even fish as far as he could tell. Just lots and lots of algae, and strange plants unlike anything he’d seen before lining the walls. They sucked in algae from around them occasionally, pulling it into their narrow stalks, almost as if they were eating it. All things considered, it was rather peaceful.It took him a minute or two of swimming around, but he eventually discovered an exit to his left and swam through it.Concerningly, this opening went even further down. Albin wasn’t sure if going downwards was the best idea, but his only other option was backtracking and risking being spotted by Roisce. He just hoped he wouldn’t get stuck somewhere without air.Ryker chuckled a little. “You know, it’s surreal breathing underwater like this. I feel like I’m dreaming...”Albin couldn’t respond, so he just nodded and kept swimming.“I agree, this is very nice. I wish I was able to feel it…” said Zero.You don’t, trust me. Gross… This passageway was surprisingly long. Albin was starting to have trouble holding his breath, but it’d be pointless to go back at this point. At least if he were to drown, Ryker wouldn’t, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be in a better situation not being able to swim.The walls of the passageway suddenly ended, and Albin found himself in a surprisingly large area. He began to instinctively swim towards the surface. It took him a while, but eventually, his head breached above water and he gasped for air.This area, thankfully, had a large passageway above water within reachable distance. There was a vehicle of sorts parked in it. Albin wasn’t sure if whoever it was was friend or foe, but it had to be better than endlessly wandering- or worse, getting trapped and drowning.He began to swim over to the vehicle.Everything was going well, but there was one thing Albin failed to do; heed Ryker’s warning and stay alert.In an instant, something grabbed his leg, dragging him under.He let out a yelp of pain and fought to keep himself above water. Ryker noticed what was happening and let go of Albin, struggling to stay afloat.Albin kept kicking at whatever had his leg, desperately trying to fight it off. “Ryker! Call for help!”Ryker was visibly distressed. “I- I don’t know what to do! I-”“For god’s sake! Call for hel–” Whatever had him tugged on him harder and pulled him underwater.Albin barely managed to hold his breath in time as whatever it was began dragging him through a hole at the bottom of the cavern. He kicked at it with his free leg, but it kept dragging him deeper and deeper.Now he really started to panic. Whatever it was didn’t have the sharpest ‘teeth’, but it was still enough to leave a nasty cut and fill the water around him with blood.He looked down at the gun on his belt, and the rifle-like gun Arazel had given him earlier. He doubted the rifle would do a lot, his zyrgia wasn’t very strong, and whatever had him definitely had some sort of natural armor.The gun he had on his belt however, had an extremely powerful shot stored. Should he use it now? What if Neowise came back and he was defenseless against him? Even if he did shoot it, would he be able to get back to the surface in time with the little air he had left?“Do you still have your bread knife with you?" Asked Zero "Maybe you can try to cut it?”But what if I drop it? I can’t risk losing something that important! “And I can’t risk losing you!”He squirmed, and found himself unable to reach his bag. No use anyways, I can’t even turn around!It dragged him through an opening and into another lit chamber. He kept kicking at it, but nothing made it budge. Kicking it only made him lose air faster, he had to think of something else.He reached for the gun on his belt, it didn’t look like he had any other choice. But before he could shoot, he realized what bit him was, in fact, a long rope like part of something much larger, which was now dragging him into it’s actual mouth. It spread open like a flower, and while it didn’t have any teeth, It was so massive and smooth that there was no hope at grabbing at the sides. He panicked and tried to pry it off his leg, but it’s grip remained strong.Realizing he was almost helpless, as he was dragged into it’s mouth, he instead looked for vulnerable spots inside he could exploit. As he did, he got a better idea of what he was dealing with. The inside of whatever it was was hauntingly smooth, and not fleshy in the slightest. What exactly was this? Was this actually a plant of sorts? Either way, it was undeniably trying to eat him.“Do you have anything sharp at all?! I don’t even know if a gun would work on this thing!” said Zero.You’re not helping! “Sorry I just- augh! I don’t know what to do, I’m sorry!”It let go, and began to suck him inwards instead, it’s mouth closed behind him, and his surroundings plunged into near darkness, only lit by the glow of his coat and the gun his father gave him. He grabbed at the sides of it’s “throat” …or whatever equivalent to that carnivorous plants had, but it was too slippery for him to get a proper grip on. It was times like this he regretted sanding his claws down…Wait, he could freely move around now, couldn’t he? Being extra careful, he took off his bag and began to dig through it. Several papers and much more that he’d forgotten about came flying out and quickly vanished into the depths below. Eventually, he found it, and quickly sealed up his bag again.He took his bread knife and jabbed it into the side of the plant’s throat as hard as he could. It cut a long line down it’s throat, and stopped. It was in loosely, but it’d stopped him from moving any further.But that, of course, didn’t fix his other issues- for example, how he was going to get out, and how to avoid drowning. He only had so much air left now, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold it…Some ideas would be really helpful about now! “S-shit… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I-I… I don’t know… I’m sorry.”It kept trying to suck him in harder and harder, he had to use both hands to stop himself from being swallowed up, and even then it seemed futile, as his knife was starting to come out from the wall. It was getting harder to hold his breath, but he still held on. There had to be something he could do.After a few unsuccessful attempts to pull himself up, he came to the horrible conclusion that if he didn’t let go and try to shoot at it, he wasn’t going to have any chance of getting out.He braced himself for the inevitable, and let go. Unfortunately, he underestimated the speed it’d be able to pull him down. In an instant, he found himself being sucked in even faster and his knife knocked out of his hands. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, there was no way he could shoot it in time to escape. It was going to swallow him whole before he could even do anything.The rush of water pulled him further and further in. It’s throat opened up into a space the size of a small car, which he quickly discovered was filled to the brim with rotting corpses of various creatures covered in algae. It was abundantly clear that they’d all died of starvation, drowning or similar.He felt the way out shut behind him.“Quick, find that knife again!” said Zero.Struggling to stop himself from inhaling the water and god knows what else around him, he dug through the piles of bloated, disintegrating bodies. It had to be somewhere in here, there was nowhere else it could go, where was it?!“Wait! There it is!”Where? “Under that weird fish like thing to your left, you see it?”Albin quickly spotted the familiar silvery shine of his trusty bread knife. Thank you! Pushing himself off a nearby wall and resisting yet another urge to inhale, he grabbed the knife and immediately started cutting away at the walls surrounding him. Every cut he made regenerated, would the knife even be enough?“Wait, Albin! You’re only cutting it!”I know! I’m fucked! “Look at the scars on the wall! They’re all cuts, but none are punctures! A swipe might not cut deep enough, but maybe a stab will? Drive your knife into it!”But I might inhale!“Albin. Listen to me, if you don’t try to stab it, you’ll drown anyways. Both our lives are on the line here! Hurry!”Zero was right, whether he liked it or not, he had to take the risk. His urge to inhale growing impossible to ignore, he used all his might to drive the knife as deep as he could into the wall nearest to him until only the handle was visible.And finally, exhausted from everything.He inhaled the water around him.Time seemed to slow as he felt he water rush into his lungs. There was an intense, horrible burning sensation flowing relentlessly all through his chest, a horrible pain that was so bad, he felt almost as if he was being torn apart.The room lurched around him, and he felt himself get pulled out of the room and back up the throat of the plant along with all the other disintegrating bodies around him. He was forced to inhale again, causing even more water to flow into him. He panicked, desperately writhing about for any hope of air, but it was futile.“No no no no no! Hang in there, please!”In a rush of water, he found himself outside again, but he was still hopelessly deep underwater. Not only that, he was finding it hard to swim, feeling disorientated.The pain grew more intense, causing him to breathe in again.And then, it faded away.“Albin! Come on, please, you have to try to swim, please!”I’m sorry, Zero… I… I can’t… “No! Please! Stay with me!”I-I’m… s-so… s-sorry… “GODDAMNIT! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! I need you Albin, PLEASE! Don’t you DARE die on me!”He felt himself feeling almost euphoric as the water carried him, flowing all around him and making him feel hazy.“ALBIN!”Growing weaker by the second, he looked above himself.There were waves, beautiful, glistening waves crashing against a nearby shore.He saw stars shining in the crests of the waves, reflecting endlessly off a distant, black sky above. Flickering glimmers of light were starting to trickle in from below him, twirling and spiraling past the veil, like sparks from a fire.He looked around, feeling weightless. He couldn’t hear Zero anymore. It was so hard to think, he could barely understand what was going on. Everything was so quiet now…He looked up again. The waves were even more beautiful than before.Trillions of stars shone behind them magnificently with a scale he could scarcely put into words. It must’ve been gorgeous on the other side…An inexplicable familiarity drew him towards it, overpowering all remnants of sensation he was feeling before. He looked around himself, still feeling hints of confusion. The stars haunted the corners of his vision, and a deep, black haze made it hard to see very far.He looked back up. It looked almost like daytime on the other side now. Almost like the ocean outside his home…What was stopping him from going to the surface anyways?He swam upwards, and into the light of the stars.After all, it was a beautiful summer’s day out.And everything would be alright.