The silence in the new tunnel was a blessing after the deafening chaos of the energy node room.
Alden took several deep breaths; the air here, though confined and smelling of old stone, was less thick with the acrid stench of ozone and overheated metal.
His body protested painfully with every movement, the bruises from the slide, the throbbing pain from his bandaged left arm, and a general fatigue that was beginning to weigh heavily.
Beside him, Scott was still shaking his head, visibly shaken by the violence of the explosion.
"Damn it, Khan," Scott finally let out, his hoarse voice echoing in the narrow passage.
"Next time you have an 'intuition' to blow up an entire facility, give me a little more warning so I can at least cover my ears. My ears are still ringing." Alden managed a tired smile.
"It wasn't exactly part of the plan. But at least we made it out, and the Reverse Guardian won't be bothering us anymore."
"I certainly hope not," Scott grumbled.
He swept the tunnel with his flashlight.
The walls were of rough-hewn rock, and the ground was uneven, strewn with small debris.
"So, what's your famous 'sense of direction' telling us now? Where are we, and more importantly, how do we get out of this hole before more critters fall on our heads?"
Alden closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on his "Sixth Sense (Rudimentary)."
The skill was still new, its perceptions subtle, but in the relative calm of this tunnel, he could discern them better.
He could feel the Labyrinth's energy flows, the currents running through the walls, the floor.
There was a tangle of passages, a complex network, but one direction stood out, a path that seemed to vibrate with a less hostile, more… upward energy.
"That way," he said, pointing to one of the two forks that lay a little further ahead.
"This passage seems to go up and lead towards areas where the energy is more stable. That could indicate a proximity to the upper levels, the ones actively maintained by Xerx."
Scott looked at him, a flicker of skepticism remaining in his eyes, but also a hint of curiosity.
"More stable, huh? After what we've just been through, anything that doesn't threaten to explode at any moment seems like an improvement. Let's go. But if we stumble into another room full of psycho ghosts, I swear I'm leaving you to deal with them alone." Of course, this statement was just a joke on Scott's part; even though Alden was the more proactive of the two, Scott was trying to gauge Alden and thus intervened as little as possible, since this mission was assigned to Alden.
They set off down the passage indicated by Alden.
It was indeed sloping upwards, and the air gradually became less stale. The rock walls sometimes revealed more recent metal structures, reinforcements or maintenance conduits bearing Xerx markings, half-faded by time and humidity.
"Your senses are really sharp, or whatever you call it, seems to be working," Scott admitted grudgingly after ten minutes of walking without major incident.
"Looks like we're getting closer to the security points, or at least, a less deadly version of this nightmare." Alden didn't answer, focused on the impressions from his System and the surrounding noises.
He had learned to be wary of the Labyrinth's apparent calm.
He thought of the time ticking away. Less than two hours before Lys's deadline.
They had activated the beacon, but getting out of here was just as crucial.
Suddenly, his "Sixth Sense" sent him a different kind of alert.
Not a direct threat, but a presence.
A living, organic, and non-hostile presence?
It was a faint sensation, an echo of fear and weakness.
"Wait," Alden said, stopping abruptly. Scott, surprised, almost bumped into him.
"What now? Giant spiders? Hungry ghosts? A welcoming committee of Mana shadows we took care to avoid?"
"No," Alden replied, listening intently and focusing on his perceptions.
"Someone… Not far. And it doesn't seem to be a threat to us. More like… in trouble."
He pointed to a small crevice in the rock wall to their left, half-hidden by a recent rockfall. The sensation seemed to be coming from there. Scott frowned.
"You want to go check it out? We don't really have time to play good Samaritan, Khan. Our priority is to get our asses out of here."
"I know," Alden said. Normally, he would have agreed with Scott. But this sensation… it was strangely insistent.
And after the ordeal they had just been through, the idea of leaving someone in distress, if that was indeed the case, weighed on him. Perhaps it was another lost student, or someone who could help them.
"Just a quick look," Alden said. "If it's too risky, we turn back immediately. But if it's a person, we can't just ignore them."
Scott let out an exasperated sigh, but he didn't protest further.
"Alright. But make it quick. And if it smells like a trap, I'm dragging you out by the scruff of your neck, injury or not."
Of course, Scott had been on board with the suggestion all along; he was just testing his companion's behavior, but he couldn't remember a team of people exploring this dungeon recently, so he was perplexed and, for once, truly on his guard.
Alden cautiously approached the crevice, moving a few unstable stones aside. The opening was narrow, leading into a small, dark cavity.
He sensed a faint glow coming from inside, and a sound… a soft whimper.
He leaned in, trying to make out something. Inside, huddled against the back wall, a figure was visible.
A young woman, wearing the tattered uniform of a first-year Xerx student.
Her dark hair was tangled and dirty, her face pale and marked with scratches.
She seemed unconscious, or at least, very weak. Beside her, a small personal terminal lay, its cracked screen still emitting a faint glow.
It was Selene Valerius; Scott, who had followed behind Alden, recognized her immediately.
Alden stood stunned for a moment.
He didn't expect to find a student here, so deep in the Labyrinth, and in this state.
How did she get here?
Had he really left her in the control room on the upper level?
Or was this another section of the Labyrinth, and she had gotten lost after their initial separation in the confusion of the reconfiguration?