Naota ran from the cavern they’d been in, but behind him he could hear the steady crash of the beast against the wall he’d constructed around it. The vines slithered down from the ceiling and snaked across the ground, following his quickly retreating footsteps. Each crystal shook and vibrated until one by one they dropped from the cave walls with loud thunks. The light refracting from them shone towards the vines so brightly that the green whips burned and sizzled, causing them to retreat back.

He snapped his fingers as he ran and everything he’d brought with him returned to his person in their appropriate places, but he still had to adjust himself as he ran. Ahead of him he could hear the girl calling back to him, and he saw her just as she opened a portal for the both of them. When they were out of all of this he’d have to praise her or at least talk with her to learn how she’d become so adept at such a young age. Hopefully it wasn’t hurting her.

The tunnel walls around them began to shake, causing dirt to fall and patches to form. Whatever had been upstarted was causing this tunnel to collapse. “Go, kid!” he yelled to her, and put a hand on her shoulder to make sure she made it through just as he did. When they were out the other side he realized that she’d taken them to a village. There was absolutely nothing about it he recognized, and that included the plant life. They had to still be on Onnen. His chest was rising and falling, heavy and fast as he tried to catch his breath.

When he was sure she was somewhere safe he knew he’d have to go back to that maze of tunnels to survey the damage, and hopefully repair some of it. Dirt smudged on his neck and cheeks which he tried to scratch away as he knelt down to try and check her. “You’re using powerful magick, are you all right?”