As the boys stepped into the cave's dark entrance, the black mist pressed against their bodies. The freezing, black mist blanketed their skin, tingling through them as if tiny worms were crawling on their skin's surface.

"I don't like this," Mike complained, rubbing his arm.

"Agreed," Chad whispered back. His whisper bounced off the mist in a slightly louder echo. 'Weird,' he thought.

Renn slowly walked, her eyes glowing brightly, as her magical sight attempted to penetrate the dark mist to see what was beyond it. She still couldn't see anything.

Drake followed his familiar as she moved slowly forward, forcing his way through the thick mist. It had a pressure all its own. It felt alive…wrong.

With one hand, Drake formed a firewall, throwing it forward through the freezing, dark mist. The mist sucked it in, then a sizzling sound was heard. The fire didn't part the black mist; it was sucked through it.

Forming an energy beam, he shot it forward, the mist sucking the glowing green energy into its depths, but the black mist didn't part. Drake was trying to see what was in front of him, but nothing seemed to work.

Next, Drake tried his whirlwind, the air moving at high speed. The boys' hair blew in its powerful wind, but the mist stayed, unmoving. "I'm running out of ideas," Drake complained. "Open to suggestions…"

Neither of his friends had any idea how to penetrate the mist. The little lantern seemed to work, but it didn't spread its light far enough. They could only see each other as long as they stayed close to Drake. They could only see several inches of the green thread that they were following.

Sounds echoed through the cave, bouncing off the cold black mist. It was difficult to tell where the sound was coming from. It was in front of them, yet all around them at the same time. It was the sound of footsteps, hitting the wet rock of the cave.

"There is someone in here with us," Drake whispered, yet the black mist amplified his words through the cave. "We need to keep going," he told them quietly. "Follow the thread, it's our lifeline."

With Renn in the lead, they made their way through the long tunnel entrance. The sound of feet echoed as they inched their way forward. The sound was not coming from their own feet. Someone or something was pursuing them. They didn't know if their pursuer was behind them or in front of them. Because of the echo of the caves and the dark mist, it was impossible to tell which direction their pursuer was coming from.

With their weapons held ready, they continued following the bright green thread. It was slow going due to visibility, but they had to keep moving. The closer to their destination, the better.

"What about the map? It will tell us at least if the person after us is human," Mike said quietly. He wasn't sure if looking at the map would show anything. It was just a suggestion.

"It's too dark to read the dimension map; we can barely see each other, much less the map. I don't think my ascension quest map shows that either. It seems to show us where to go, but that's it."

After taking several more steps, a shape flew toward them. Renn jumped up and caught it in her mouth. It was a strange-looking bat. Due to Renn's speed, they were unable to see what level the beast was. His system, however, was.

{A member of your cohort has slain a Level 1 beast, Cave bat}

{Your cohort grows stronger}

{Mana +1}

Drake smiled. Each time one of them killed something, their entire group grew stronger.

He felt it was strange that it was only a level 1 beast, considering the area they were in was supposed to be level 5. He was grateful that it was only a level 1 beast. He wasn't sure if fighting something stronger was a good idea in the caves where the strange black mist was located. It would be a hard battle, not being able to see their opponent or each other. They could accidentally harm one of their allies instead of their foe.

They took several more steps. The sound of flapping wings amplified as a horde of bats headed their way.

"Don't lose track of the direction we're supposed to be heading," Drake hissed. "We have to take care of some bats."

Chad cut in, preparing his sword. He couldn't fire his bow, not being able to see his target. "Keep Renn in front of us; that way, we know what direction to head. She is leading, so keep her that way."

It was a good suggestion, one that would keep them going toward their goal and not back outside the cave. They needed to finish their quest as soon as possible.

Stepping back away from Renn, they readied their weapons and waited for the barrage of flying beasts. Drake hoped they were all the level 1 cave bats, nothing harder to kill. It was bad enough that they couldn't see where they were going. They would be fighting blind, while trying to maintain their position so they didn't get turned around during the fight.

Breaking through the dark mist, bats flew at them, and a high-pitched squeak echoed through the tunnel as they flew toward them. Renn jumped up, grabbing one out of the air, nearly swallowing it whole as Drake, Mike, and Chad swung their swords, slashing at the bats as they came into range.

Many of the cave bats flew past them, ignoring Drake and his cohort, but others attempted to attack. Renn was munching on them like they were her favorite snack while Drake and his friends swung at them using their glowing swords.

Mike's electrical currents flashed up and down along the blade, causing the bats to electrify. If one touches another of its horde, the electricity would spread to them, causing electricity to spread above them like wildfire, taking down multiple bats at once.

Chad swung his sword, letting the white power it contained consume the blade. The bats shied away from the bright light of the sword's power. It was too bright for their eyes; they were too used to the darkness of the cave. The bright light rendered them completely blind.

It was an endless storm of leathery wings and high-pitched shrieks that echoed through the long tunnel. Drake, Mike, and Chad continued to swing their swords like mad, trying to keep the swarm of bats from attacking them all at once.

After nearly fifteen minutes of fighting, the bats flew past them toward the way that had come, disappearing out of sight. The sound of their leathery wings and high-pitched shrieks was disappearing into the dark.

Drake looked around, relieved that they had maintained their position. All they had to do was head in the direction where Renn was. She was the lead, and by some miracle, she had stayed that way.

"Let's go," Drake stated, rubbing a long gash on his arm. The bat's sharp claws were shot, and he couldn't stay completely away from him. He wasn't the only one injured; so were Mike and Chad. Chad quickly used his sword, healing them before they began to follow the bright green thread again. The cold black mist was still present, but they were finally moving forward again.

As they slowly walked forward, they listened for the footsteps that they had heard earlier. The dark tunnel was silent; all they could hear was their own footsteps as they continued toward their destination.

Silence once again surrounded them. The freezing dark mist began to fade, but only a little at a time. The cold, dark mist was thinning, allowing them to see more of the glowing green thread the farther along they got inside the cave.

After some time, the gold dark mist finally faded, leaving them inside a large chamber. There were cave entrances in several areas. The green thread was heading to the one directly on their right. Drake made note of the direction; he wanted to make sure they didn't get lost on their way out. He doubted that the green thread would still be present after they completed the quest.

Suddenly, Renn lowered her large head. A menacing growl escaped her throat as she faced the tunnel directly in front of them.

Drake studied the large opening that appeared to lead into another chamber in the cave system, but didn't see anything. He trusted his familiar. She knew when there was danger. Right now, it was clear that she was sensing danger.

Drake quickly uncoiled his whip, leaving the strap on his sword unhooked, ready for him to pull it from its sheath if it was needed. Due to the small space, Chad held his sword; A glowing white power illuminated the blade. Mike held his own sword tightly in his gauntleted hand, lightning pulsing up and down the elegant blade. The boys were ready for battle.

Renn continued to growl.

From the darkness of the chamber, a figure stood out and grinned menacingly.

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