«What time is it in your head?»

"It's hot," Dynatós coughed, following behind Mr. Valen as they avoided patches of lava flowing through cracks in the wall.

The smell was unbearable: rotten eggs, choking fumes, and sudden hot mist shooting from the walls.

It was like a high-pressure cooker, and yet both men endured, as if their bodies had adapted to such temperatures.

After filling Dynatós' bowl with precious minerals, they ventured deeper into the cave where they found nothing, and yet they went deeper still.

Mr. Valen looked around, his face expressionless but with a hint of amazement. "You can't feel that?" he asked suddenly, stopping in his tracks as he turned to Dynatós.

Upon being asked this question, Dynatós was confused. "Feel what? The heat?" He asked wondering why the man before him had suddenly stopped moving.

Mr. Valen, on the other hand, merely shook his head, disagreeing with Dynatós' answer. "With every step, I feel this... comforting energy in the air. Since arriving in this world, I've sensed it intermittently, but here it's..."

"Hell energy?" Dynatós asked, his brows raised in surprise, as he muttered. "Well, that's because we perceive hell energy as heat.. Wait, you don't know what hell energy is? You said 'since you came to the world' are you an alien?"

"My, that's offensive," Mr. Valen responded, eyes narrowing as he continued. "I've granted you ample time. Shouldn't you be disclosing that interesting piece of information I saved you for? And elucidate further on this 'hell energy'."

Of course, Mr. Valen wasn't truly offended; rather, he was perturbed by something else.

You see, hell energy wasn't the only thing he felt in this cave, he also felt something else, like something wrong was watching him, but it seemed that he was the only one affected.

Mr. Valen's question seemed to breed hesitation within Dynatós, no, judging by the way his face soured (the way he stepped back against the scorching wall), one would say he was nervous.

That did not deter him from speaking though, with a gulp, (a deliberate swallowing of spittle), Dynatós finally conversed. "Hell energy is everywhere, unchanging until absorbed, it's the energy Wizards, true practitioners breathe and live on, most can't even perceive it without a breathing manual, the fact that you can perceive it as heat just means you have talent with the laws of fire, but you still can't absorb it without the manual."

«He avoided the question.»

"What," inquired Mr. Valen, brows slightly raised, "is a breathing manual?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like," Dynatós said. "A manual to better perceive and absorb hell energy."

To Dynatós' words, Mr. Valen remained quiet, turning back to resume his walk.

The man followed behind him, and the two walked, and walked until the heat became abysmal.

"I-I can't continue," Dynatós breathed, his brows scrunched as he held his knees. "I'll wait here."

Saying that, he watched as Mr. Valen turned around and observed something. 'I didn't notice this because of the way he speaks, but his eyes are not normal, they're smaller... he is an alien."

Such a detail would be dismissible if one wasn't paying attention yet obvious, if one were looking for it.

Staring down at Dynatós, Mr. Valen finally spoke again. "I will only ask one more time, what is this interesting piece of information you have for me?"

"A Codex shard," Dynatós breathed, his voice cracking as he expanded. "It's an immensely valuable item. It is said that the first one to gather 30 pieces will discover a map... a map leading to the tomb of Lilly The Undying Witch. If you save me I can take you to it."

«Finally, now we can begin.»

"And where," Mr. Valen asked, his voice probing as he leaned forward slightly, "is this valuable material?"

Raising his form, Dynatós scratched his head and breathed in, the smell of rotten eggs assaulting him. "It's in Obsidyra, South of Noctarion in Nyxfall City, it's part of the goods I stole and managed to hide before being caught and deployed to the army as punishment. Then, I stole again-"

"I don't care about your criminal history," Mr. Valen grunted before saying. "Tell me more about this Undying Witch."

"Ehh," Dynatós scratched his head, gathering his thoughts. "Lily the Undying Witch Of The Purple Moon is nothing short of legendary. She shaped the very foundation of Wizardry and Witchery as we know it. She was slain by the first rulers of the Thornak and Verdinain Empires, uniting with thousands of mighty Witches and Wizards."

"I see, that's interesting," Mr. Valen mused before muttering. "So she was buried in secret? What valuable material would you possibly find in a grave?"

Dynatós watched the man before him closely and shivered when he saw just how calm he seemed in this hellish environment. 'I've heard that some aliens can become Hellfire Adept right off the bat without even learning any techniques. Is he one of those types? Does that explain why he's stronger?'

As Dynatós thought, Mr. Valen remembered the place where he had been captured and imprisoned by those men and noted that it did seem like a tomb.

He was then curious as to what kind of books these people had really recovered from said tomb, so he asked. "What kind of valuable materials can you get in a tomb?"

"I-I," Dynatós suddenly stuttered his eyes winded, his lips stuttering from being pulled out of his thoughts so suddenly. "It's like they're begging you to steal haha-"

He began with a certain pause, which Mr. Valen noticed. He also noticed how Dynatós seemed to somehow fear him more than he did before; nevertheless, he listened to what the man had to say.

"You see, when a powerful Wizard/Witch gets his hands on valuable material, he or she has to keep it safe in a secret location. This is due to how cutthroat the world is; everything could be stolen, so it's a good idea to keep your valuables in a safe place. These valuables can include void shards, gold, silver, weapons, Nethercraft Techniques, Breathing manuals-"

"Slow down-" Mr. Valen warned but Dynatós just continued after a gulp, pouring his mind out.

"Most people like to leave the location of their tombs a mystery, so even if they die, only those lucky enough to stumble on it and strong enough to survive the traps will get the treasure," the man said.

There was a brief silence after his words.

"I see," Mr. Valen broke the silence, his mind flashing to the details of the book he had memorized, unfortunately, even though he knew the symbols he could not understand the language in its written form just yet.

"Let's head back," Mr. Valen commanded before walking back the way he came.

Dynatós seemed exhausted from all the talking, but he still spoke. "Will you help me?"

His words echoed in the narrow cave, bouncing off the walls and into Mr. Valen's ears, prompting the man to stop in his tracks.

Dynatós watched as the man in front of him looked back, his face was expressionless but he was sure of it. That demonic gleam in his eyes, he seemed pleased.

To Dynatós' question, Mr. Valen mused for a while before saying. "Very well."

-----------

Meanwhile, while Dynatós and Mr. Valen spoke, something watched them from above.

The cave ceiling was jagged, uneven, a labyrinth of stone teeth jutting downward.

Through the murky air, through the searing heat, infrared gaze tracked the two figures below.

'Found. You. Subject 01,' a fragmented thought echoed in its mind as it remembered how it had first lost sight of the man for a period of time.

The bodies of the two men below glowed, pulsing with warmth against the cooler rock.

The smaller one flickered, his heat signature erratic, strained while the taller one burned steady, unnervingly calm, his thermal outline sharp and unyielding as they moved.

The being followed, silently, patiently never making a sound.

From its point of view the world was all shades of heat, it could see beyond the walls deep into the scorching rivers of lava blazing white.

The walls throbbed dull orange, and the two intruders stood out like embers in the dark.

As it followed, it noted that the smaller one moved clumsily, his heat spiking with exertion.

The taller one was different, his temperature didn't fluctuate, he didn't pant, he didn't even waver, it was odd. 'The. Others. Had. Not. Adapted. This. Quickly.'

The predator's curiosity spiked, it could have long since done the job it was supposed to do, but it didn't.

Rather, it shifted along the ceiling, clinging to the shadows, matching their pace, when suddenly, the taller one paused, his head tilted slightly as if sensing the weight of its unseen eyes.

'What?' the being thought as it It stilled, not a breath, not a twitch, it became invisible.

"Valen, what's wrong, what are you looking for?" Dynatós' voice could be heard, but Mr. Valen did not answer.

Below, the tall figure lingered, his heat signature unwavering, his gaze scanning the darkness above.

Then, he turned away walking towards other head signatures mining minerals from the walls.

The moment passed, but the being waited, and after a while, it followed again.

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