Welcome to my Dream World || (deukae)

Chapter 3: The Lantern of True Light

The Mirror of Lysithea, a gleaming arc of silver and quicksilver, no longer held their gaze. Its surface had stilled from the visions of forewarning and truth, reflecting only the determined faces of Handong, Bora, and Siyeon. With the weight of destiny upon their shoulders, they turned their backs to the artifact, stepping onto the mossy path that led into the heart of the Whispering Caverns.

"Are we truly prepared for this?" Siyeon's voice was a hushed tremble in the still air, her eyes scanning the dense forest that hugged the path like a dark embrace.

"Preparation is but the illusion of control," Handong replied, her tone steady and resolute. "We have each other, and the skills forged by fire and time. That will suffice."

"Besides," Bora chimed in with an impish grin, "we've faced worse than a few echoing caves and talking walls, haven't we?"

Their steps were deliberate, a rhythmic crunch against the underbrush, as they approached the yawning mouth of the caverns. The air grew cooler, and the light dimmed, casting their shadows long and thin against the rock walls. The whispers began almost immediately—a susurration of voices that seemed to seep from the very stone around them, carrying secrets as ancient as the earth itself.

"Listen!" Bora halted, raising a finger to her lips. Her agile form crouched slightly, as if ready to spring away from unseen threats. "The walls... they speak of those who passed before us."

"Warnings or welcomes?" Siyeon pondered aloud, tilting her head as if to catch the words on her breath. It was a melody of murmurs, indecipherable yet insistent.

Handong closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, as if she could inhale the courage from the very whispers that sought to unsettle them. "They are neither," she concluded. "The caverns simply are. They hold memories, not malice."

"Yet memories can be as treacherous as any trap," Siyeon countered, her intuition prickling with the sense of a thousand eyes upon them.

"Then let's make sure our tale is one worth retelling," Handong declared, opening her eyes which now glinted with an unspoken challenge. "One step at a time, together."

Their journey deeper into the Whispering Caverns became a dance with shadows and echoes. Each footfall was answered by a chorus of ethereal voices, a constant reminder that these halls were privy to the deepest secrets of all who dared to tread within. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something else—something ancient and knowing.

"Can you feel it?" Siyeon's whisper barely cut through the cacophony of voices. "The caverns... they change you."

"Only if you listen too closely," Bora countered, her eyes darting between the stalactites above. "Keep your wits about you."

"Indeed," Handong affirmed, leading them onwards. "Our story is ours alone to shape. Let the caverns echo with our resolve."

The path before them twisted and turned, an ever-changing labyrinth within the bowels of the Whispering Caverns. Handong's boots crunched against the gravel, her silhouette a constant beacon for Bora and Siyeon to follow. Her eyes, sharp as hawk's, scanned the surroundings, seeking out the subtle shifts in the terrain that spoke of hidden dangers.

"Stay close," she ordered, her voice carrying the weight of command. "The ground here doesn't take kindly to strangers."

"Kindly or not, it won't slow us down," Bora replied with a grin, her own steps light and assured.

They came upon a chasm, its edges jagged like the maw of some colossal beast. Handong halted, knelt, and peered into the abyss, the darkness below swallowing her gaze whole. She could feel the deceptive calm of the cavern, the way it seemed to hold its breath, waiting for them to make a wrong move.