After walking for some time, the captain and Luna no longer encountered beasts. They only followed the trail of dead ones.
Eventually, they reached the gates.
Harvey got to his feet.
"You're finally here."
The captain nodded.
He looked toward the red gate.
"So this is it."
Luna stepped forward.
"Everyone, sit down."
Merlin looked at her. It almost sounded like an order.
"Close your eyes," Luna said. "When I open the gate, you can't look inside."
The captain sat down first.
"Do as she says."
Merlin frowned but sat down with the others.
Luna stood in front of the gate.
"Close your eyes."
Everyone did.
Merlin could still see the crimson glow through his eyelids.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then he heard something.
A low vibration came from the gate.
The symbols carved into its surface began to hum.
Merlin's fingers tightened around Requiem.
The vibration grew louder.
Then something struck the other side.
Once.
Twice.
Merlin's eyes opened slightly before he caught himself.
He quickly shut them again.
The gate began to vibrate harder.
Then he heard a sound.
A whisper.
So faint he almost mistook it for his own breathing.
Open your eyes.
Merlin's body went still.
It sounded like a voice inside his head.
He listened.
Nothing.
Then it came again.
Open them.
His heart began beating faster.
He could feel the crimson light through his eyelids.
It seemed brighter now.
Merlin clenched his teeth.
It wasn't Luna.
He knew that.
Another sound followed.
Something scratched against the other side of the gate.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Merlin's breathing became shallow.
He wanted to open his eyes.
Not because he wanted to see.
Because something inside him was telling him that he needed to.
He resisted.
The scratching stopped.
Silence returned.
Then—
A sudden crack.
Merlin flinched.
He heard Luna step forward.
Something splashed through the water.
Then came a sound unlike anything he'd heard before.
A deep, wet crackling.
Merlin's stomach twisted.
He felt heat against his face even with his eyes closed.
The vibration grew louder.
The whisper returned.
"It's safe now."
It sounded like Luna's voice.
Only quieter.
A whisper.
Merlin's eyelids twitched.
He forced them shut.
"No."
The word escaped him quietly.
Then everything stopped.
The vibration.
The whisper.
The scratching.
Everything.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then Luna sighed.
The gate began to close.
The crimson light slowly faded behind Merlin's eyelids.
Only then did he realize how tightly he had been gripping Requiem.
"Open your eyes."
Luna's voice was loud this time.
Merlin slowly opened them.
Luna was holding a small bag.
A faint crimson glow leaked through the fabric.
Leon stared at it for some time.
It only made Merlin wonder what was in the bag.
The captain stood.
"We're done here!"
He looked at the gate.
"Let's get out of here before it's too late."
As they walked back the way they had come, the cavern began to rumble.
Hordes of beasts came from all directions.
But instead of attacking the crew, they fought each other.
Many of them were huge, like the one Merlin had fought earlier.
Some were even bigger.
"Run!" Harvey shouted.
The beasts kept slamming into each other, destroying the walls of the cavern.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then came the sound of tiny rocks hitting the ground.
Merlin looked up.
It wouldn't hold much longer.
The crew ran, following the river.
Their path was suddenly blocked by two beasts fighting in the water. They slammed into each other, dragging their massive bodies through the river and sending crimson water splashing across the cavern.
Without slowing down, the captain threw one of his blades.
The chain snapped forward.
The blade pierced through the first beast and continued into the second.
Both collapsed into the river.
The captain pulled the blade back.
"Keep moving."
They continued.
The stairway came into view.
But it was almost impossible to reach.
Falling rocks covered parts of it, while beasts continued fighting around the entrance.
Merlin squinted.
Something moved beyond them.
A beast suddenly jerked backward.
An arrow protruded from its head.
It collapsed.
Another arrow flew.
Another beast fell.
Then another.
Merlin's eyes widened.
He knew that aim.
"Kate..."
He charged forward.
Requiem spun through his hands.
The first beast in his path was cut down.
He swung again.
The blade tore through two more.
He kept moving.
Every swing cleared a path through the beasts.
Blood splashed across the ground and covered the blade.
Merlin finally reached the stairs.
He looked ahead.
Kate stood farther up the slope.
She was surrounded.
Beasts rushed toward her from every direction, but she never stopped firing.
One arrow.
Another.
Another.
Each shot found its target.
She kept moving backward, creating just enough distance to fire again.
Merlin started toward her.
Then the cavern shook violently.
A crack tore across the ceiling.
Merlin stopped.
Rocks began falling between them.
"Merlin!"
He looked back.
The others were already near the stairs.
Another section of the ceiling collapsed.
Merlin turned toward Kate again.
She was still fighting.
An arrow flew past him.
Then another beast fell.
"Merlin, we have to go!" Harvey shouted.
Merlin didn't move.
"We can still follow the river," Luna said.
He looked at her.
Then back at Kate.
"But Kate's still—"
"Go."
The captain's voice cut through him.
"There isn't time."
Another tremor shook the cavern.
A massive chunk of rock broke free above Kate.
Merlin's eyes widened.
"Kate!"
He took a step forward.
The rock fell.
Brody rushed past him, spear in hand.
He pushed through the beasts, forcing his way toward Kate.
Merlin started after him.
Brody looked back.
"Go!"
His voice barely cut through the noise.
"Follow them!"
Merlin hesitated.
Brody turned back toward Kate.
Merlin gritted his teeth.
Then he turned and followed the others.
They fought their way through the beasts and the collapsing cavern.
The river grew wider as they approached the end of the cavern.
Then the walls opened.
The river flowed out into the forest.
The crew stumbled out after it.
Merlin turned around.
He stared into the darkness.
Nothing.
He waited.
No one came out.
Only more beasts poured from the cavern, rushing past the entrance and disappearing into the forest.
Merlin kept staring.
He was hoping to see them.
Anyone.
Kate.
Brody.
But there was nothing.
Only the beasts.
Harvey tapped Merlin on the shoulder.
"They'll probably follow the main entrance. Let's wait for them there."
Merlin nodded.
The crew found a place near the cave entrance, but far enough away to avoid the beasts pouring out of it.
They sat and waited.
Merlin kept looking through the trees.
Every movement caught his attention.
Every time a figure appeared between the trees, he watched.
But it was never them.
Only beasts.
Different shapes and sizes emerged from the cave, rushing past the entrance before disappearing into the forest.
Minutes passed.
Merlin continued staring.
Then he saw someone.
A tall figure emerged from the trees.
Merlin's eyes focused.
Brody.
He was walking toward them.
Slowly.
Something was in his arms.
Merlin's expression changed.
The person he was carrying had one arm hanging loosely at her side.
It didn't move with the rest of her body.
Her hand dragged slightly with every step.
Merlin froze.
No.
He stared at Brody.
Then at the person in his arms.
It was Kate.
Merlin's eyes widened.
Brody continued walking.
His clothes were covered in blood.
Some of it wasn't his.
The closer he got, the more Merlin could see.
Kate's eyes were open.
Her face was pale.
A deep claw wound ran across her chest, staining her clothes with blood.
Her arm hung at an unnatural angle.
Merlin couldn't move.
Brody finally reached them.
He lowered her to the ground.
Her body fell limp against the grass.
Nobody spoke.
Merlin stared at her.
Kate's eyes slowly moved across the crew.
Then they stopped on him.
For a moment, she simply looked at him.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
Merlin's breath caught.
Her eyes closed.
Merlin stared at her.
He couldn't move.
It's a simulation.
The thought came to him almost immediately.
His eyes trembled.
It's a simulation.
He looked at Kate again.
Then at the blood covering her clothes.
Why...
His fingers tightened around Requiem.
Why am I seeing this?