Chapter 4: Trail of Light.
"It's unfortunate… huff… that I killed this thing… while not having a Relic… I could have used the Spirit, but then again… I did break its core." Starlight said out loud, in between breaths, disappointment in his voice.
When Divers kill monsters, they can absorb the Spirit within their cores, refining their Relic, to ultimately increase its rank later on.
'Now that I killed it, it is probably a Fiend. I was lucky that I managed to reach its core; otherwise, I wouldn't have killed it. What was I thinking before? Just stabbing it isn't going to defeat the monster.
Starlight stayed seated for a while, still catching his breath. 'I need to get stronger. As soon as I get back to the government, I'm going to demand they teach me about fighting and surviving around the Void.'
But first, he needed to get out of this cave. Starlight had thought defeating the slug would be the end of the trial, but it didn't end. This meant that he would have to fight stronger monsters to get out.
He shivered at the thought. Looking around, the glowing slime from the slug had not disappeared. Starlight did not know if, after defeating a monster, their body would disappear or not. He had prayed that it wouldn't, the slime was his only light source. Without it... he did not want to entertain that thought.
Reluctantly, Starlight stood up and wandered around the room under the guidance of the slime's light. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, be it an exit from the cave or a secret treasure chest, like the ones after a dungeon boss from those Overworld stories; it didn't matter, he just wanted something.
Out of the corner of Starlight's eye, he spotted an exceptionally dark spot along the cave's wall, where a tentacle had pierced the wall behind the slug. Starlight walked closer to it, stepping over piles of slime that still jiggled with life, holding onto a life it didn't have. When he reached the slug, he stood still for a second, his body still aching from their fight. A second later, he continued walking around the creature. There it was, a crack, just large enough for him to squeeze in, but even though he could, Starlight didn't enter it just yet.
Instead, he pressed his face against the crack, looking with one eye into the dark. Even with his form of night vision, he couldn't see the end. After backing off the wall, he pondered; his instincts told him to venture in, but his consciousness and body told him to prioritize his safety. After his battle with the slime, he was in no condition to fight again.
But Starlight had already made his decision. Three hundred years ago, when the Rift had first formed, one of the fore-runner Divers had said that the most important thing to do in the Trials was to follow your instincts. The Trials are made from your experiences or events that have a relation to you; therefore, the Trials were made based on you, and by extension, your instinct could be a sense of deja vu, leading to a key factor in beating your Trial. He was going to journey into the crack.
"Guhh," Starlight groaned as he squeezed through the crack. He had to compress his chest, exhaling any air, just to fit. When he was finally fully in, it wasn't any easier. For as far as he could see, it would be just as tight.
A few minutes of shuffling later, Starlight finally fell out of the passage and into an open area.
"Huff, I'm finally out," Starlight exclaimed as he deeply inhaled; all of his muscles were sore from the compressed space. Before he could complain to himself, something beautiful and gold was glowing right in front of him.
'An Artifact, is it of the spiritual rank?' Starlight said as he held back tears of joy.
He walked closer to the glow, full of anticipation. As he got closer, he could begin to make out where the light was coming from. The light originated from a stone bowl; underneath the bowl was a square platform, also carved from stone.
As Starlight peeked into the bowl, he saw it: a small golden coin. Any sort of objects within the Void could randomly become Artifacts; the smaller and less complex, the greater chance they had to turn. Of course, most of these would only be of spiritual rank, but in the end, they were artifacts that could possess useful abilities.
Beside the coin was what seemed to be the handle of a dagger; he reached in and grabbed both objects.
He held the Coin in his hand; it was about the size of a regular coin from the Overworld. The coin was made of gold, featuring an image of a star on one side and a mask on the other. The mask was humanoid but devoid of all other features, just eye sockets.
He turned the coin over again so that the star was facing him, slightly caressing the depiction of the star.
He felt strange, as if a missing piece inside him burst forward and revealed itself to him.
Before he could make sense of the feeling, the coin started to glow. Small particles of light formed around the coin, creating a trail of light leading out of the crack and through the darkness, like a path.
"Ah, this must be its ability." He curiously exclaimed. "Since it activates on its own, it must not cost essence. That means it is a passive ability. Seems I got lucky."
Following the path of light, he once again squeezed through the crack, ending up back in the room where he fought the slug. The coin's trail extended further through the room and into the darkness, where Starlight had first wanted to escape the slug.
Starlight stared for a second, unsure of what to do; he did not want to go into the darkness.
Looking behind him for a possible solution to his problem, his gaze landed on his cloak. Starlight walked over to it, half expecting it to be torn, but it wasn't. It was in the same condition it had always been in, except for the spots covered in the glowing slime.
'That's it!' Starlight thought as he held his cloak and walked over to the nearest pile of slime. He then bent down and scooped loads of slime onto the cape. When a large cluster had formed, he smeared the slime all over the cape and put it on his back, and placed the handle in a secret pocket.
With the cape on his back, he walked towards the darkness, but now he was basically a torch. Even more than he already was, clumps of slime stuck to his body from being inside the slug, but he had already tried to take it off. The glow of the slime was illuminating the cave; all Starlight had to do was follow the trail from the coin.
After walking through the darkness for a few minutes, the sound of running water filled the cave passage. 'It's the sound I heard before!'
Starlight wanted to run and find the water, to quench his thirst, and wash the remaining slime off his body. But he stopped himself.
What if there were monsters near the water? He didn't want to take chances anymore. His encounter with the slug was already good enough for him to never want to fight monsters again.
But he still needed water. Starlight hadn't drunk for a long time, and he was close to collapsing. Cautiously, he walked closer to the sound, pressing his body sneakily against the wall, trying not to make a single sound.
The sound became louder until the point that we felt he was right beside him. Starlight had also reached a bend in the cave's passage. Inching closer to the turn, he was on full alert. Right before he turned the corner, Starlight peeked his head over, scanning for danger.
Starlight's mouth opened, completely stunned. There was no monster, only a small stream running along the cave's floor. He had expected the room where the water was located to be larger and grander. But instead, it was small and a complete dead end.
The river ran under the cave wall, flowing in from the left and leaving to the right. Starlight walked closer and kneeled, looking into the water. In the water was his reflection, his distorted face. His golden hair was tinted blue and was glowing, while his pale skin was also tinted a starry blue.
His head turned left, looking at the small opening the river came. Suddenly, he regretted his decision to go right instead of left at the split. If he had gone left, then he probably could've floated in the water and ended up in this room, completely avoiding the monster.
He could even have floated down more, completely passing this room. He regretted his decision even more when the trail of light seeped into the water and flowed with the stream.
Bringing his mouth down to the water, he slowly drank the cold water. After getting his fill, Starlight stepped into the water, lying down on his back. He let go of the stone and let his body drift down the stream.
Starlight had decided to trust the trail of light and flow down the river.
An hour later, when he had reached a new room, the trail suddenly changed from following the river to going to the room. He quickly shifted in the water, trying to grip onto anything that would stop him. With some struggle, Starlight made his way out of the river, completely drenched in water.
All the slime had been washed off his body, and he was finally feeling clean. But that meant that he would not be a human torch and would have to wander the cave in the dark again.
Starlight held the coin in his hand, its light still shining ever bright as before. It trailed off into the darkness, faintly lighting a path. Starlight followed, still cautious of finding monsters that lurked around.
After some time of walking, Starlight finally reached the outside of the cave. He covered his eyes, adjusting to the blinding light of swarms of stars in a dark blue sky.
What he saw was stunning and frightening.
Below the cave was a vast forest filled with trees, their thick leaves expanding so far that you couldn't even see the ground. The dark blue sky was filled with an abundance of stars, lighting up the entire world. He also saw clouds, puffy white shapes that drifted across the sky. He had only heard about them in stories about the Overworld. How were they in the Void?
He looked down, staring at the mesmerizing trees. Their green leaves filled the dense forest, seeming to form a single, giant organism.
Looking back at the entrance to the cave, it was a greyish brown stone. It was located on a hill; the shade of the trees blocked out the light of the stars. The trail of light led under the canopy of leaves. Exiting the cave would lead to a slightly steep hill littered with organized rocks that hinted at a staircase or path.
Starlight sighed as he began to climb down the hill, stumbling on the uneven ground.
After reaching the bottom, he stood once again, mesmerized. All of the trees were massive; they looked pristine, with no signs of damage. Their thick, brown bark contained intricate patterns, as if a seamstress had woven them.
The forest floor was filled with thick patches of grass and leaves. Light from the stars shone through the expansive branches, highlighting parts of the forest floor.
A strong breeze blew over the blades of grass, pushing Starlight forward. He lifted his legs every step so as not to trip over the thick layers of grass and roots. He occasionally stopped to stare into the unlit sections of the forest that surrounded him. He shivered at the thought of having to walk through those dark parts.
Despite not having a clear sight of the sky above, Starlight could tell that the light of the stars was dimming, and night would come fast.
He had to find shelter from the dark quickly. Starlight still didn't know what lurked in the dark of the forest.
He held the coin in his hands and wished for it to activate its ability. Although the trail did form, it could barely be seen in the shining light, but this wasn't a problem in the darker forest.
...
The light cycle was nearing its end, night was coming. The trees all around him began to envelop him with shadows. Starlight was getting more frantic; his brisk walk had turned into a full-on run.
In the distance, he spotted a faint glow; it was not that of a star, but rather fire.
"Fire," Starlight breathed. 'Does that mean that there are other humans here? Or something worse?'
Quickly changing directions, he ran toward the faint glow, breaking off the trail provided by his artifact.
He crashed through bushes and branches, blood gushing over his pale skin. His once-fancy government clothes were now no better than rags.
Bursting through the bushes, he fell into an open space illuminated by a bonfire. The fire was surrounded by five rocks, each with its own person sitting on it.
All of the other humans looked at him. Their gazes penetrated through his soul, making Starlight shiver. Each of them was prepared to draw their weapons.
There were two girls, one with white hair and fair, pale skin. The other with silver hair and marble skin. Their slender figures were clad in armor, like saints prepared for battle.
There were three men, one had dark skin and matching hair. Another man shifted in his chair, turning his head, a pile of red hair flung around with his moving head.
Suddenly, a man stood up; he looked no older than twenty, with short brown hair and eyes of the same color. He wore a silver chest piece and matching arm guards; his pants were leather with silver thigh and shin pieces. He looked at Starlight with confusion in his eyes.
A slight smile formed at his mouth, and his expression got warmer. He broke the silence.
"What do we have here now? What's a boy your age doing out here?"