Ian, who had inexplicably triggered the SoulHall Elder’s code, let out a strange laugh and then stated his plan:
“Ahem, Prince Arthur, do you still remember the cave we fell into?”
“My plan is: Tomorrow, I will blindfold Your Highness and lead you back to the entrance of that cave. You need to go into the cave alone, without any light source, until you find… Xiao Bai and me, and bring us out.”
“What?!”
After hearing Ian’s plan, Amivy’s face turned pale.
She knew that cave had monsters that ate people.
If she hadn’t been fortunate enough to accidentally find the exit back then, she might have died in that cave.
And now she not only had to return to that dark cave alone, but also had to be blindfolded! Wasn’t this just outright suicide?!
He looked at Amivy’s frightened expression and added:
“Of course, Your Highness has the right to refuse. But this is probably the most direct method I can think of right now. If it succeeds, we can be clear on the direction; if it fails, at least we can eliminate one wrong path.”
Thinking back to the memory of being alone in the darkness, Amivy’s body trembled slightly.
But then she thought that obtaining the Holy Sword might be their only hope of leaving this place, and she hesitated.
Silence spread between the two, broken only by the crackling of the campfire and Xiao Bai’s steady breathing.
After a long while, Amivy gritted her teeth and lifted her head:
“…Fine! I’ll go! But… can you guarantee that you’ll really be in there? That you won’t leave me alone?”
“I swear… on my professional ethics. I definitely won’t abandon you alone…”
Ian said with a serious expression.
Although the word “professional ethics” sounded odd coming from Ian’s mouth, this unreliable promise still gave her a bit of false reassurance.
“…Then it’s settled.”
Amivy took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all her fear.
“Tomorrow, to that wretched cave!”
“A very brave decision, Your Highness.” Ian nodded.
“Then please rest well tonight, Your Highness…”
“Mm…”
Amivy responded heavily and then fell silent.
The night passed without further conversation.
The next day.
When the light of the Crystal Stone reached its brightest, Ian and Amivy once again arrived at the entrance of the massive cave where they had first fallen.
Looking ahead, the cave mouth was still deep and dark, like a giant maw that devoured light.
Just standing at the edge, one could feel the cold emanating from within, mixed with damp soil and some musty smell.
Amivy’s face began to pale again, and her arms holding Xiao Bai tightened unconsciously.
“How is it, Your Highness? Are you alright?”
Hearing Ian’s question, Amivy took a deep breath of the cold, fresh air outside the cave, forcing down the churning in her stomach and her racing heart.
“I’m fine! Let’s just do it!”
At her answer, Ian wasted no time. He took out a clean, thick black cloth and covered Amivy’s eyes.
Amivy’s world plunged into total darkness.
Fortunately, the fluffy feel of Xiao Bai in her arms gave her a little comfort.
But even that last shred of comfort was taken away by Ian.
“Your Highness, please hand Xiao Bai to me and hold my hand…”
Blinded, Amivy heard Ian’s words and froze. After hesitating for over ten seconds, she slowly handed Xiao Bai to Ian.
She had thought that giving up Xiao Bai would make her tremble with fear, but the warmth that immediately came from her hand oddly calmed her down a lot.
After she took Ian’s hand, his voice sounded again.
“Your Highness, I will keep holding your hand until the very last step. Are you ready?”
Amivy nodded firmly, then realized he couldn’t see, and quickly said, “Mm.”
Ian said no more and began to slowly lead Amivy back along the path they had come.
The bright world quickly receded behind them.
When the last faint sensation of light disappeared, Amivy felt as if she had sunk into cold, viscous ink, each step on the edge of an unknown void.
Beneath her feet were uneven rocks, and in her ears, besides the faint footsteps and breathing of herself and Ian, there was only the distant, barely audible sound of dripping water from deep within the cave.
Her fingers tightly gripped Ian’s warm large hand.
Fear, like icy vines, crept up from the soles of her feet, entwining her limbs and heart.
The darkness amplified every subtle sound, and also amplified her memories.
“Kevin?”
She couldn’t help calling out, her voice stirring faint echoes in the empty cave.
“I’m here.”
Ian’s voice came immediately from ahead, steady and close.
With Ian’s response, her heart settled a little.
Perhaps having found a way to dispel her fear, after Ian’s reply, Amivy kept softly confirming along the way:
“Kevin, are you still there?”
“What’s it like ahead?”
“Is Xiao Bai okay?”
And Ian always answered patiently:
“Here.”
“Safe.”
“It’s asleep.”
This continuous response, like a faint but never-extinguished light in the darkness, supported her step by step deeper into this suffocating dark kingdom.
But this comfort didn’t last long.
Just as Amivy was almost getting used to walking in darkness with guidance, Ian stopped.
“Your Highness, we’re here.”
Ian’s voice was very calm.
“Next, you need to complete the final search alone. Xiao Bai and I will be waiting for you up ahead…”
Before Amivy could react, the warmth in her hand was rapidly fading.
“Wait! Kevin! I’m not ready yet! Kevin!”
Amivy shouted in panic, frantically pulling off the blindfold.
But before her was only thick darkness.
“Kevin Caerslana!? Xiao Bai!?”
Amivy called out helplessly, her voice echoing in the cave with no response.
Only her own increasingly rapid breathing and heartbeat roared in the deathly silence.
Darkness, boundless darkness.
In a world where she could see nothing, alone, Amivy remembered the night she had been abandoned.
Panic drenched her like icy water, instantly overwhelming her.
She had not been abandoned for the first time.
In more distant memories, there was also that bone-chilling darkness and silence.
Those deliberately forgotten fragments now rushed into her mind one after another.
A dilapidated, drafty shack, an endless hunger that could never be filled, and the malicious isolation and whispers of other street children in the darkness.
It seemed everyone was mocking her, the bastard without a father.
Her entire childhood was spent witnessing the ugliness of human nature—stones thrown at her, hiding in a wardrobe in the dark night praying those people wouldn’t find her, and her mother’s pleas and cries…
All the memories she didn’t want to face seemed to be wrapped in darkness and poured into her consciousness.
Finally, the protagonist and hero of the story, broke down…