the beginning after the end perfect duo

A wound under the armor

"Healing elixirs! Does anyone have any? We need to stop the bleeding, now!"

Nico's voice cut through the thick silence that had settled over us like a burial shroud. No one moved at first. My eyes swept across the group, catching the shock frozen on each face. Samantha had turned a sickly shade of pale, a hand clamped over her mouth as if holding back more than fear. Beside her, Reginald—who'd spent the last hour sneering at Brald's commands—stood rigid, his usual arrogance washed away by the stark, red reality on the floor. Even Kriol, steady and unshakable Kriol, looked hollow, his gaze locked on the severed limb as if it were an omen.

"I have some. Let me through."

Sylvia pushed forward, cradling a dented metal cup filled with a liquid that shimmered faintly under the dungeon's grim light. Wasn't that just her everyday water flask? The one she sipped from during rests? I blinked, questioning my own eyes, but no one else seemed to notice—their attention was nailed to Brald, to his pain, to the pooling blood.

Mira trailed Sylvia like a shadow, her expression tight with urgency. They reached Brald, who had slumped against the rough cavern wall, his breathing shallow and his eyes glazed with shock. Sylvia didn't hesitate. She lifted the cup to his lips, her other hand steadying his head. He drank in ragged gulps, some of the liquid spilling down his chin, mixing with sweat and grime.

I reached out with my mana sense, feeling for the telltale warmth of a healing spell threading through his body, stitching flesh and calming trauma. But there was no surge of energy, no sudden glow—only the faint, cool whisper of Sylvia's own mana seeping into him. It flowed like a slow-moving stream, winding its way toward the brutal stump of his arm. The bleeding didn't stop with a flash—it calmed, clot by clot, the raw edges of skin and muscle knitting together with quiet, almost unsettling precision. It wasn't regeneration. It was a patch. A desperate, mana-fueled bandage.

Arthur stood a few paces apart, positioned near Lucas and Jasmine, his posture tense, eyes scanning the shadows of the chamber. The weight of our reality settled over the group, heavier than the stone around us. We were trapped. Our leader was maimed. The only exit was sealed, and the only path left was forward—into deeper, darker unknown. Or for me, darker knowns.

Someone had to steer this wreck before we crashed completely. If no one else would, it had to be me.

"Look," I began, voice cutting through the thick silence. "I know this is bad. I know we're exhausted, injured, and scared. But staying here isn't an option. This chamber isn't shelter—it's a trap waiting to spring again. And the batrunners will return. We have to move forward."

Reginald shook his head, the motion sharp with defiance. "He's a double-A adventurer, and he lost his arm in here. What if what's deeper is worse? What if there's no way out at all?"

"We should try to go back," Samantha added, her voice thin but insistent. "There has to be another way. A lever, a hidden passage—something."

Lucas let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "If there was another way out, Nico would've told us. He's the earth mage. He's the one who said we're buried. Unless you suddenly know more about stone than he does, I suggest you get moving." His eyes darkened, voice dropping into something dangerous. "Or I'll make sure you keep your leader company in the corner."

"Enough, Lucas." I stepped between them, my tone firm but calm. "He's right about one thing—we can't stay. The air's already burning my lungs. That acidic fog isn't just uncomfortable—it's eating us alive. Moving forward isn't a guarantee of safety. But staying here is a guarantee of death."

A weak, rasping voice rose from the wall. Brald's eyes were open now, clear with pain but sharp with resolve. "He's right," he said, each word an effort. "I led you in here. I got careless. I'm... a liability now. But sitting here won't fix my arm, and it won't save your lives. Go forward. It's the only choice we have left."