Coughing echoed through the tunnel, bouncing off the walls like the city’s dying breath had followed them underground.

  Adrian leaned forward, palms on his knees, fighting to pull air into his lungs. Every inhale scraped his throat raw, the taste of smoke still clinging to the back of his mouth. Beside him, Alex wheezed through the damp cloth tied over his face, each breath shallow and ragged.

  The dim, flickering light above them made the dust swirl like ash in water.

  “Maybe it’s not that bad in the slums,” Alex said between coughs, his voice thin but laced with dry humor.

  “Yeah. Mold beats smoke. Real upgrade,” Adrian said, letting out a short, dry laugh. His hand brushed against the worn photo tucked deep in his pocket.

  But the laughter didn’t reach their eyes. Both stared ahead, faces tight with exhaustion, the weight of the world pressing down far too heavily to be lifted by a few bitter jokes.

  The sigh wasn’t from the pain. Pain had been there so long it barely registered anymore. It was the way his thoughts kept drifting back to the photo, no matter how hard he tried to focus on anything else.

  Will they end up as just another couple of orphans in the slums? Like I did? Then again… they’d have to still be alive for that.

  He shook the thought away with a dry chuckle and pushed the photo back into his pocket like it was nothing. But his fingers lingered a moment longer than they should have.

  He glanced down at his hand. A few shards of glass glinted in the dim light, digging into his skin. With a sharp inhale, he carefully picked out the shards, grimacing as each jagged edge bit deeper.

  It hurt like hell, but he had to remove the shards. He also noticed a few stuck on his face. His jacket had protected most of his body, but some still got through. His legs were clear.

  “Got lucky there,” he whispered.

  Alex had improved enough to start pulling the shards from his own skin, grimacing with each one and letting out the occasional sharp scream.

  Adrian smirked. “Didn’t know you were so soft.”

  Alex shot him a glare. “I’m totally not. Just hurts like hell.”

  “Glad you’re feeling better, I might not have to carry your sorry ass,” Adrian smirked, nudging Alex’s shoulder.

  Alex shot him a tired grin, wincing as he shifted. “You’re carrying me whether you like it or not.”

  Adrian rolled his eyes but kept the smirk. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t make me regret it.”

  Alex winced as he touched his bleeding arm. “Check my bag. There should be some first aid stuff in there.”

  Adrian nodded and rummaged through the battered backpack. After a moment, he pulled out a nearly empty bottle of some cheap disinfectant.

  “Alright, this’ll have to do,” Adrian muttered, ripping strips from the bottom of Alex’s shirt. He soaked the fabric with the alcohol and began carefully dabbing at Alex’s cuts.

  Alex’s face twisted into a grimace of pure horror as the alcohol burned through the cuts. A sharp, stifled scream escaped him, and his eyes squeezed shut against the sting.

  Alex gritted his teeth, eyes clenched tight. “You really… know how to make this fun.”

  “Shut up and bleed quieter,” he focused on cleaning the wounds as best he could in the grimy tunnel.

  A distant explosion rattled the tunnel walls, sending a tremor through the ground beneath them. Dust fell from the ceiling, mingling with the stale air they were already struggling to breathe.

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  Adrian jerked back instinctively, coughing hard as grit scraped his throat. He slammed a hand over his mouth, eyes watering. “Shit…”

  Alex gasped, coughing violently, claws gripping at the fabric over his face as if trying to hold back the burning. He stumbled back a step, eyes wide and desperate. “Can’t… breathe…”

  They both stood rigid, lungs burning, swallowed by the choking dust that clung to their skin and filled their mouths. The explosion’s aftershocks echoed in their bones, a brutal reminder that the city above was still burning.

  Adrian helped Alex to his feet, steadying him with a firm grip. They tightened the damp cloths over their mouths, trying to filter the choking air as best they could.

  This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  They moved slowly, the tunnel wrapped in dust and shadows. Their flashlights cut through the haze, but the dust hung thick like fog, swirling in the beams and making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead.

  The explosions outside grew more frequent, each blast throwing them off balance. They clung to the tunnel walls for support whenever the ground trembled beneath their feet.

  Adrian was scared shitless. He wasn’t sure what would get them first: the missiles raining down above or the choking dust that made every breath a battle.

  Adrian’s mind raced. He wondered if he would even make it out alive. Not here, not like this.

  Beside him, Alex’s breath came ragged and shallow. He must’ve been thinking the same.

  Adrian thought that if they could move to one of the chambers ahead, the air might be clearer, and they could finally breathe without choking.

  They picked up the pace, urgency sharpening their steps. Every breath burned like fire, muscles screaming with each heavy footfall.

  Adrian glanced at Alex, forcing a dry smirk through the dust and sweat. “If we survive this shit, I’m buying the most expensive coffee this city’s got.”

  Alex cracked a weak grin, coughing but managing, “Deal. Don’t cheap out.”

  Just as Adrian finished speaking, a thunderous boom exploded nearby, the tunnel shaking violently beneath them. Dust and debris rained down, choking the air even more.

  Silence swallowed them whole, broken only by their ragged breathing and the distant echo of destruction above.

  A faint, slow creaking started beneath their feet, the ground fracturing gradually as thin lines spiderwebbed across the tunnel floor.

  Alex shouted. “Don’t move.”

  They froze, muscles tight, eyes locked on the fragile fractures spreading wider with agonizing slowness.

  Adrian’s heart pounded. “What do we—”

  Before he could finish, the earth gave a final shudder and surrendered.

  The floor vanished beneath their feet.

  They plunged downward, swallowed by darkness.

  Every inch of their bodies screamed with impact as they crashed down hard onto the cold ground.

  Pain radiated from his side, sharp and relentless. He forced a breath, ragged and shallow, tasting the bitter tang of earth and something metallic.

  “Alex?” His voice cracked, hoarse and uncertain.

  A low groan answered him. Relief slammed into Adrian’s chest like a tidal wave. He was alive.

  Slowly, he pushed himself up, muscles protesting with every movement. His hand sank into the ground beneath him, soft, wet earth against his skin.

  As his eyes adjusted, he noticed faint, eerie light pulsing softly from clusters of glowing mushrooms growing along the damp walls. Their pale blue and green luminescence painted the chamber in an otherworldly glow, casting long, twisting shadows that danced like ghosts.

  Adrian’s eyes flicked to the pale, eerie glow spreading from the clusters of mushrooms.

  Oh perfect, glowing mushrooms, what could go wrong with that?

  That faint glow from the mushrooms was the only light now; there was no sign of their flashlights. Adrian’s eyes darted around. A few steps away, he spotted Alex struggling to push himself up.

  “We made it... somehow,” Adrian said, voice harsh.

  "Yeah, that ... was nuts," Alex said as he got up.

  Looking around, the place reminded Adrian of the chambers he’d been in before, only this one felt different. Stranger.

  Probably because of those eerie, glowing mushrooms.

  At the center of the chamber stood the casket he had expected to find. Resting atop it was something glowing, a bright cyan light, almost hypnotic in its invitation.

  Adrian’s gaze locked onto the glowing cyan light atop the casket. It pulsed gently, like a heartbeat in the darkness, inviting, impossible to ignore.

  Despite the throbbing ache in his side and the exhaustion clawing at his limbs, something about that glow pulled him forward. A silent promise whispered beneath the chamber’s eerie quiet, tugging at his curiosity.

  He swallowed hard and started moving towards it. Every step felt heavy, like wading through thick water, but he couldn’t look away.

  The closer he got, the brighter the cyan light seemed to grow, bathing the chamber in a cold, otherworldly glow. Shadows shifted and twisted at the edges of his vision, but Adrian forced himself to focus on the glowing object; whatever it was, it felt important.

  Adrian took another slow step toward the glowing cyan light, the eerie glow painting his face in cold shades.

  Then, a muffled voice broke the heavy silence from somewhere behind him.

  “Adrian... stop.”.

  His heart jumped, but for some reason, he ignored it. The light called to him too strongly.

  Adrian hesitated for barely a second before extending his hand toward the glowing cyan light.

  His fingers trembled as they neared it, the soft, pulsating glow warming his skin even before contact.

  The moment his fingertips brushed the surface, darkness.