The Cave

Part One

Two and a half years of travel.

Two and a half years of chasing a trail that dissolved into the air like mist under the sun.

She wasn't the only one searching for him. Many of their old friends had joined the hunt. Even former rivals, and agents of the RIA who had so often used Shin as their scapegoat, followed what little whispers remained.

To the hidden world—and to many governments—Shin had always been a monster. A necessary enemy, convenient to blame, while they conveniently forgot the lives he had saved. Now that monster seemed to have vanished while was still needed.

But to those closest to him, Shin was no monster. He was a friend. Someone who went wherever he was needed, not because of orders or allegiance, but because he felt it was right. He had been a brother, a lover, even a father.

Lizbeth pressed on with the search, but now she had to be there for Rein and Noki as well. The two girls wanted to help, but Lizbeth feared what kind of trouble they might stumble into on their own. Together, the three of them traveled far, searching for clues. Yet nothing appeared.

Rein and Noki insisted on pursuing the trail in South America, convinced that the path to Shin would take them beyond the Amazon, into the shadows of Patagonia, near the city. Lizbeth let them go with a lump in her throat. Nitocris promised to keep an eye on them. Her sadness was not because Lizbeth doubted their strength, but because she knew the truth: at some point, this search had become something more than just a mission. It had transformed into a way of moving forward.

And Lizbeth wasn't sure what she would do if she ever admitted to herself that this path led nowhere.

Lizbeth traveled through cities drowned in neon lights and lost towns where time moved at a different pace. She spent nights in dusty archives, going through records that no one bothered to read. She visited crumbling houses in Eastern Europe and dusty markets in the Middle East, where rumors of Shin dissolved like smoke in the air. She searched for clues in abandoned hospitals, clandestine libraries, and military archives, but nothing she found seemed to bring her any closer to him.

At times, when exhaustion overcame her, she would sit in a dark corner of some forgotten café, watching the shadows dance on the walls and wondering if this search had any purpose beyond her own need to find something, anything, that could give her life meaning without Shin. But the world was changing quickly, and with it, the pieces of the puzzle. The old escape routes that once were effective were now filled with traps and obstacles. Technology, once an ally, now served to track and block every movement, and the secrets of the shadows were becoming harder and harder to uncover.

Several of the books, agendas, and maps she had left behind were part of the search for clues. There were many places marked all around the globe, and some friends had helped cover ground. Through this, they uncovered a secret that Leon had already suspected.

Throughout his years of adventure, Shin had been collecting and hiding dangerous objects, keeping them out of the wrong hands. While investigating his curse, he had encountered countless problems related to cursed objects, OOParts, grimoires, magical weapons, and a myriad of other items— including a complete collection of cars, tanks, and other vehicles that were possessed or cursed. Shin had hidden them in various secret places across many countries: abandoned bunkers, basements of demolished houses, abandoned mines, and other sites, including a cave in a glacier in Iceland.

These places were protected by powerful magic and seals. It was believed that this was Shin's way of ensuring that these objects wouldn't be found. Since he had no magic himself, he had relied on talismans and other objects to secure the places. But this, too, offered a clue. The fact that Shin had left these places behind suggested that, despite his disappearance, he hadn't just abandoned them carelessly. His disappearance could have been entirely involuntary, and he might have gotten caught up in something that was beyond his control.

Lizbeth continued the search until she had exhausted all the points around the world. Meanwhile, Leon and the others would take charge of further protecting these sites, reinforcing them with magic until they could move them to a safe place, where they could gather everything in case Shin didn't reappear.

She paid favors with information, exchanged secrets with spies who didn't even know who they were working for. But Shin remained missing. It was as if the earth had swallowed him whole, leaving no trace behind. The only thing left was the note in his trench coat. She had carried it with her all this time, a reminder that, somehow, he had foreseen this in case of emergency. That if something happened to him, she would be the only one capable of finding the answers. Perhaps it was because of the objects scattered around the world, or perhaps he had simply wanted her to have the coat as a memento.

In the last few months, most of the clues had dissolved, one by one, like sand slipping through her fingers. But Lizbeth did not give up. She couldn't. Every morning, when the first light of day touched her skin, she found herself searching for a reason to keep going. The people she knew, the old war friends, the life she had left behind… everything became more distant as time went by and the trail of Shin more cold.

She stayed in contact with Mimi throughout that time, but their conversations never left her feeling completely at ease. Lizbeth had no idea what was going on, but Mimi was dealing with her own problems.

Even when Lizbeth offered to go if she needed help, Mimi refused with evasive answers that left nothing clear about what was happening. Mimi called from different places, so even if Lizbeth wanted to track her, it didn't work. Somehow, she felt Mimi was trying to keep her at a distance, and that didn't sit well with her.

With nothing else to do, Lizbeth continued her search, occasionally interrupted by some random trouble. The world had become a strange place. Not just for the feys, but also for humans, as the world had taken a turn at the beginning of the new century. From the Y2K scare, to a series of terrorist attacks that shook the world. These attacks had only increased security measures in airports and triggered conflicts between the Western world and the Middle East.

There was one particular event that shook her like none other. It was the attack at the Attraction Hotel. When she saw it on the news, she shuddered for reasons she couldn't understand. She had been in a fast-food joint, and when she saw it, a huge chill ran down her spine. She didn't understand why. It was undoubtedly something horrible. Several terrorist events had occurred, and hundreds of thousands had died in recent months, but this one unsettled her in an inexplicable way. And it kept happening every time she saw those images. They filled her with sadness and terror, almost as if she had lived it herself.

Because of those terrorist events, the feys who lived their lives constantly on the move had to change their patterns of movement, sometimes crossing borders in different ways. As someone had predicted long ago, the circle around the feys and the hidden world seemed to be closing in. Sooner or later, world governments would have to acknowledge it. But no one wanted to touch that hot potato and burn their hands in the process.

It was then that she crossed paths with Van on one of her travels.

***

Prague.

Lizbeth had been wandering the city looking for an esper who was said to be the best tracker in the country. But apparently, the guy had decided to flee the country when, once the object had been found, his employer tried to kill him to keep the secret from being revealed. Lately, all those with similar abilities had been fleeing and hiding. Rumors were circulating that the fight against terrorism was using psychics to track down high-priority targets. There was a rumor that a certain group called Octogonus had been behind the attacks around the world and that they were related to the occult world.

More stranger things had been seen in decades past.

In a dark corner of an old bookstore in Prague, between crooked shelves and the smell of old paper, Lizbeth was searching something related to her own kind when, as she pulled a book from a shelf, she found herself face to face with two green eyes staring back at her from the other side.

Van lifted her gaze from an ancient manuscript and looked at her with the same tiredness in her eyes.

"Don't raise your voice. I had a few personal issues, and I want to make sure we're not being followed. We need to talk," she said, and Lizbeth knew it wasn't a coincidence. "I'll go first. Follow me discreetly, about fifty meters behind."

Lizbeth nodded, and both of them set off. Van led her to a small café where the music was too loud, and no one paid attention to anyone else.

"There's no news on Shin," Van began in a low voice. "But I found a lead."

"If it's the Seeker, you're too late. He's already left the country."

"No, it's not that. It's something similar but different, more dangerous."

Lizbeth felt her heart beat faster. She had learned not to get her hopes up, but if anyone could find the impossible, it was Van. She didn't know if this time she would find answers, but she knew she wasn't going to stop.

Van placed her coffee cup on the table and slid an old notebook toward Lizbeth. The paper was yellowed with age, the ink fresh, but the drawing was clear: a circular object, marked with intricate patterns and concentric circles with various formulas. On the surface, there was what seemed to be a spoon, suspended by the bowl while the handle floated. The drawing was signed with Fu's hanji.

When Lizbeth saw the drawing, her eyes widened in surprise, and Van explained.

"This thing is a magical object, a sort of blend between a geomantic luopan and those compasses from the Song Dynasty they used to find the south. This one has magic. The rumor says it can find anything. That's where the problem lies."

Lizbeth took the notebook and examined it closely.

"I know what you're going to say. But wait. There's only one in existence, in a private collection owned by someone named Bloodworth."

"How did you know?"

"I found it in some documents related to the Book of Mist, a manuscript Fu has in his collection," Van explained, her voice controlled, but with that gleam in her eyes that Lizbeth knew so well.

"Do you know him? Fu?"

"Yes. I know you visited him a long time ago."

"Y-Yeah..." Lizbeth swallowed hard looking the drawing. She remembered that visit, it had been to search for clues about the mysterious Fog Society. Unfortunately, the alchemist Fu had reset his memory in an accident at the beginning of the last century. But that wasn't what mattered to her at the time.

"Anyway. According to the legends, this artifact can find whatever is most desired or needed... or something similar. Or at least that's what Fu translated for me. The problem is, I've made inquiries about the one that exists, and it's not for sale. So... you know what that means. If the story's true... we'd have to steal it… If you want my help… Hey! Blondie! Are you listening?"

Van raised an eyebrow, accustomed to the empty promises of myths, but when her eyes focused on Lizbeth, a chill ran down her spine. She was smiling a little.

"Are you sure about the information?"

Van shrugged. "It's a bit vague as fuck... but I know your sources are running dry. I found this by accident and thought it might help you. I was lucky someone told me you were here and I found you."

"No need to steal it..."

Van looked at her confused. "What? What do you mean?… How loaded are you currently?"

"No need of money either. I know where there's one," Lizbeth said, and for the first time in days, she was genuinely smiling.

That object. She knew it. She had seen it before. Not in books, not in reports, but in her own hands.

For a long moment, she remained silent, analyzing every detail of the sketch. Finally, she looked up and spoke with such enthusiasm that she didn't even recognize her own voice.

"Van... I have this thing."

Van blinked. "What?"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Lizbeth leaned back in her seat, smiling strangely. "If this is true... a long time ago, when I was traveling with Shin, a fey in Galway gave it to me. It was in the shape of a pendant, and I never knew what to do with it. It's small, right?"

"Yes... at least from what Fu said, it's about this size. Quite small," she said, making a circle with her thumb and index finger without them touching.

"Exactly," Lizbeth said, her eyes sparkling.

"But, wait. Are you sure? It has to be a fake. The one that exists cost a fortune to the collector. He bought it over a decade ago for more than two million dollars. I don't think anyone would just give away something that valuable."

"The one who gave it to me said that someday it would guide me home."

Van fell silent, not knowing what to say.

"My home, where my heart is," Lizbeth said, smiling as she looked back at the drawing.

Van stared at her for a moment after those words, unsure of how to respond. Then the noise from the café brought her back to reality, and she leaned in and whispered. "Where is it?"

"What do you have to do?"

"Why?"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Where?"

"Scotland."

***

It didn't take long for them to make the arrangements.

In two days, they had arrived in Scotland, and both of them headed to Emmeline's castle in Edinburgh.

Scotland greeted them with its characteristic damp cold and leaden skies. On a windblown hill, under the shadow of the old renovated castle, Emmeline welcomed them both. She was waiting with her firm posture and her sword within easy reach. After greeting each other like the old friends they were the reception quickly turned into a training session in front of the castle staff and other guards, who sighed, accustomed to the lady's behavior.

Lizbeth barely managed to keep up with her. She didn't believe she had become weaker. Which could only mean that Emmeline had gotten stronger in the meantime. After being slammed onto the ground, it was Emmeline herself who helped her up.

"You've lost weight, girl."

"No, you've gained more muscle. Are you sure your brain hasn't turned into muscle too?"

"Conceited as always."

"Honestly, you look like shit," Van admitted.

Lizbeth brushed herself off a bit, then looked at Emmeline with a concerned expression. "Is it where it always is?"

Emmeline sighed and nodded. "I suppose that's the only reason you came."

"I'm sorry, Emme."

"It's fine, love." Emmeline gestured over her shoulder. "Follow me. The hangar is where it's always been, although I remodeled it a few years ago."

"Hangar? Not garage?" Van asked.

"What's wrong with a hangar?"

"Nothing."

The three of them headed toward the hangar. It seemed that in recent years, Emmeline's collection had changed a bit—there were more modern cars now.

Off to the side, there it was. The chubby one.

The Hunt-House RV rested quietly. It was almost exactly as she had left it. She had visited it a few times in the past, and so had Shin. Once, they had even taken a short trip so that Mimi could enjoy it too. But since then, it had remained still. Thankfully, Emmeline's workshop staff had at least kept it clean.

Emmeline had kept her promise to safeguard that fragment of memory. She had been the RV's guardian all those years—a promise fulfilled, no matter the circumstances. And without paying rent, which was even better.

Inside that vehicle was what Lizbeth had come to retrieve.

She had stored it there, like so many other pieces of her life, inside the old RV where she and Shin had once lived together for a season. A sanctuary of memories frozen in time. And if everything was still in place, that object would still be there too.

"I didn't think you'd come back for this," Emmeline said with a half-smile, watching Lizbeth with the gaze of someone who understood all too well the nature of memories.

Lizbeth felt a lump rise in her throat at the sight. That old vehicle wasn't just a piece of metal—it was an echo of another life.

She stepped inside as if returning home after a long absence.

The air smelled of history: aged leather, old paper, and a faint trace of perfume she hadn't worn in decades. Lizbeth traced her fingertips along the table's surface, the shelves full of books and notebooks, the little marks on the wall where Shin had recorded the highs and lows of their travels. And of course, the two soldier potato plushies in the bed next to each other. When they had gone on a trip with Mimi for a few weeks, they had bought a new stuffed animal that she had found adorable, an orca, which was next to the two soldiers. They probably needed a wash and a change of filling.

And then, in a compartment of the nightstand, she found it. The pendant—untouched, waiting. She held it in her hands and felt its weight, its texture. Something deep within her whispered that this wasn't mere coincidence. Maybe, after all this time, fate had finally left her an answer.

Seeing her walk out with it, Emmeline's expression changed. She held out her hand.

"Let me see it," she said, almost like an order.

Lizbeth obeyed, and the next moment, Emmeline's hand closed around the pendant. "Before you go, at least rest for a couple of days. And eat. You both look terrible. Yes you too, Pinky."

"Don't call me Pinky, Old Hag."

"Your grandma."

Despite their complaints, Lizbeth and Van followed Emmeline's orders without protest.

She gave the pendant to two of the top specialists in magic and called in a few more from the Magic Association. No one had any reference to that object. The differences between Western and Eastern magic were obvious, but they doubted even the Eastern experts would know about it—especially if it wasn't in the digital libraries now shared across continents.

They ran experiments, always using Lizbeth as the intermediary. No one knew if the object had a limited number of uses, so they were careful not to overuse it.

The first test was done outdoors, and the needle pointed west.

The second involved placing a tripod over a map with a pendulum hanging from the pendant. That test failed.

Their conclusion was that the object relied on the emotional bond of the user, and through the pendant, it could detect the signal of what was being sought by using ley lines.

The entire concept of ley lines came from the East, after all. In magical and occult circles, they were still called the Dragon's Veins—and were also tied to the planet's Cursed Vortex.

No one could say how reliable it would be in Shin's case. Psychics and seers had always told him he wasn't from Earth, so his signal shouldn't be tied to the planet originally.

Someone even suggested that maybe the object simply pointed in a straight line, not accounting for the Earth's curvature.

That would imply that... Shin was already watching all his loved ones—but from the stars. Emmeline smacked the one who said it when she saw the shimmer in Lizbeth's eyes, on the verge of tears.

After four days, Van and Lizbeth were ready. Emmeline arranged safe passage for them toward the Empire—where the object's readings seemed to indicate.

Before boarding the private jet in the Edinburgh airport, Lizbeth checked once more.

The object pointed west.

Van and Emmeline still had some doubts, but Lizbeth was resolute.

***

In three days, they arrived.

Emmeline's jet had flown them to the United States Kingdom, and they decided to continue flying a bit more to verify the direction.

The plane crossed the northern U.S.K. until the pendant's needle began to shift southward. Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona.

They were just about to cross into Sonora when the needle shifted direction again.

North.

They had overshot it.

Arizona was the destination.

They landed, said farewell to the pilot, and rented equipment and an off-road vehicle and delved into the desert highways.

They wandered all across the state, like headless chickens, trying to find the right path—but eventually, they found it. A road that veered off the pavement. After circling around a few times, they finally reached the endpoint.

Lizbeth was excited, but her enthusiasm had cooled somewhat. Van could understand why.

They still didn't know where the pendant was truly leading them.

The Nevada sun bore down on them with merciless intensity, the desert stretching out as far as the eye could see—a vast ocean of arid earth and scrubby bushes, the only plants stubborn enough to survive for miles.

Lizbeth and Van left the vehicle in a secluded spot, far enough from any traveled inner road, to continue their search on foot with backpacks loaded with water and other essentials. The warm breeze kicked up small clouds of dust that clung to their faces and clothes, while the crunch of boots on dry ground echoed as the only sound in the silence surrounding them.

In her hands, Lizbeth's pendant moved faintly, its needle trembling and swaying, guiding their steps. It was an ancient piece, forgotten like a gift from decades past, but now it had a new purpose.

Had that fey woman known something more? Why had she given it to her? Or was it coincidence? Each swing of the needle seemed to bring them closer to something, though they didn't know exactly what.

Van walked a step behind, scanning the surroundings with cautious eyes.

"It's not that I don't trust you Lizzy," she said, her voice tinged with warning, "but this place has a bad reputation. I've heard strange rumors about this desert. They say there are remnants of nuclear waste in abandoned mines and caves. That sometimes people go in and don't come back. But of course, those are just stories… right?"

Lizbeth barely acknowledged her, walking steadily forward, the pendant steady in her grip.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," she replied without stopping. "I've been in worse places. People let legends fill the gaps left by fear. That's all. For now, I'd worry more about snakes."

"These guards are roasting my ankles."

"Mine too…"

"If we find a nuclear waste dump and I end up bedridden from radiation poisoning for weeks, it's going to be your fault."

"You've got the same kind of regeneration I do. Radiation doesn't affect you. Wasn't it you who wandered through Chernobyl chasing the Mothman when the incident happened? Right before you and Leon found Rein?"

"Don't remind me of Chernobyl, please…"

Van kept following Lizbeth, clearly unconvinced, but no longer arguing. The hot breeze blew harder, and the temperature seemed to rise with each step they took. In the distance, the barren landscape stretched on endlessly, but the needle never lost its direction. Lizbeth, her face unreadable, couldn't shake the feeling that something was waiting for her nearby.

Could it be Shin?

The pendant needle moved with certainty, pointing toward a destination still invisible to the eye, but undeniably close. She didn't understand why, but she knew the path they were walking wasn't random—that there was something she needed to find, something Shin had left behind. If it was another deposit of strange objects... better not to think too hard about it. And if it was, it had better be a definitive clue—something to end the search.

After some hours, the desert mountains began to shift. In the distance, a dry riverbed appeared, carved between the rocks, forming a canyon that seemed to mark the end of their journey. The landscape here was even more barren, more abrupt, but the needle never wavered.

"This is the place," said Lizbeth with determination, raising the medallion before her. The spoon-needle was stiff, as if glued to the magnetized surface of the pendant.

Van looked at her, a flicker of doubt flashing in her eyes.

"I know," she answered with a slight smile, "but I'm still not convinced Shin was ever here. The last leads pointed to Japan, not this place."

But Lizbeth wasn't listening anymore.

The pendant had brought them here, and that was all that mattered. They continued down into the canyon, the air cooler as they went, until the entrance of a cave shaped like a W appeared before them.

The darkness seemed to embrace them, and without words, both stopped in front of the entrance. Lizbeth looked at the place, puzzled.

"Liz... this…"

"I know... don't say it."

Despite Van's reservations, Lizbeth didn't hesitate. The weight of the decision had already fallen on her long ago, and there was no turning back.

"Stay here. I'll be back soon, just 30 minutes," she said firmly, looking Van in the eyes.

The pink-haired fey looked worried, but Lizbeth expected nothing less.

"I'll take the gear and the ropes. If anything happens, I'll let you know, alright?"

Van, look to the sunset, turned sharply toward her, angry.

"Are you nuts? I don't like this at all. You're not going in alone."

Lizbeth gave her a brief but confident look before turning toward the cave.

"If he's not here, maybe something else is. The Iceland deposit was seventy meters underground, did you know? Who knows how deep this cave goes. I've heard the kingdom's cave systems run for kilometers."

"We should go in together… and wait till morning."

"And if something happens, how do you expect the others to find out if we both end up down there?" She pulled a radio from her side and gave it a shake. "We've got these. If anything happens, I'll call."

"Do you like horror movies?"

Lizbeth frowned. "Some... what's wrong with that?"

"You're about to make one of those decisions that leads to another bad decision and where all the characters end up dead."

Lizbeth stared at her. "What kind of movies are you watching?"

Van huffed in frustration and spanked her. "Bite me, bitch."

"'Ow! What's wrong with you?" Lizbeth rubbed her butt.

"Oh, shut up!"

The argument went on for a few minutes, but Lizbeth had made up her mind. She wanted to finish this before the sun dipped completely below the horizon. After that, they could camp under the desert stars—whatever it was she might find down there.

The inside of the cave was surprisingly spacious, its walls and ceiling lined with strange rock formations that reflected the faint light of her flashlight. The breeze that had followed her in quickly faded as she went deeper, leaving a heavy silence that settled on her like a blanket. She moved forward with steady steps, the compass needle always ahead, guiding her through the darkness.

The echo of her own footsteps seemed distorted, multiplied against the stone walls as the distance between her and the entrance grew. She walked on and on for nearly fifteen minutes, exploring, moving carefully and staying in touch with Van.

Van was worried. She said they had about half an hour of daylight left. Lizbeth told her to set up the tent.

[Very clever... why don't you come out and help me? You have the tent tensioners in your backpack.] Van protested.

Lizbeth estimated she had already walked almost one and half kilometers when the space around her began to open.

Suddenly, the narrow corridor expanded into a vast underground chamber, so immense her flashlight barely lit a corner. It was a place of overwhelming proportions, where shadows seemed to move with lives of their own. But what truly made her heart stop was what she found at the center.

Remains.

Of small animals…

And humans.

The skeletons, scattered across the floor, occupied nearly the entire ground of that vaulted section of the cave. Remains of wolves, foxes, or coyotes, zigzagging lines of snake skeletons. Empty eye sockets of skulls that told a story never to leave those walls.

How had all those remains ended up in that place?

The details were terrifying due to their sheer quantity: remnants of clothing torn to shreds by time, arrows, rusted swords, and objects that didn't seem to belong to the modern era. No, they were really old, hundred years old. Lizbeth stopped abruptly, a pang of discomfort running down her spine. She had been in dangerous places before, but this... she had seen this before.

During World War II.

Mass graves dug by those who, moments later, would occupy them. It evoked the same horror she had witnessed on the battlefields. People and animals from different eras in time had all come to die there in that cemetery beneath tons of earth underground. Or worse. They had come seeking something... and never left.

"Van?" she tried to communicate with her friend. Static. "Van, can you hear me?" More static was the only response. Did some mineral in the cave block electromagnetic waves? She changed the frequency just to be sure.

The heavy air of the cave seemed to press against her chest, and a sense of unease took hold of her.

"No... this can't be," she murmured to herself, trying to process what she was seeing.

The bodies of the fallen men and women seemed almost to invite her to stay.

Her instinct told her she should retreat, leave that place, and return to Van.

Just as she took a step back, something made her stop: a strange vibration ran through the ground, as if the cave itself were awakening with a yawn that made the walls tremble. No, it wasn't that. It was as if the entire place were vibrating.

The echoes of her own footsteps were replaced by a low creaking—like that of a rock sliding. Suddenly, the air became dense and hot, and Lizbeth felt a presence she couldn't see but knew was there, lurking in the shadows. Unable to take another step, she stood paralyzed, wondering if coming here had been a mistake.

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