Suna walked inside the safe room and the darkness engulfed her senses. She could feel that it was not normal darkness but held a hint of magic in it.

It sucked at Suna’s will to move forward and made her forget why she had come here for. Suna took one step in front of her and instantly felt her mind blank due to the magic in the air.

Suna’s magic tried to fight against the darkness but it slipped past its hold like water. Suna had no chance in a confrontation of power. So she had to deploy other methods to keep herself safe.

Her magic formed a shield around her to keep the foreign magic out. It was a tough job and drained her of most of her magic, but it allowed Suna to keep her will intact as she moved. It would have to be enough for her to rely on.

Suna walked and walked but she saw no end in sight. There was only darkness and despair in front of her. She was not even sure if she was moving ahead or in a loop. There was just no winning against this foe.

So Suna gave up the defense and she gave up her protection. Instead, she used it all in a single blast and used it to propel herself forward.

The impact on Suan’s body was heavy and it would leave her with aches Suna would not be able to deal with herself. She might even need a doctor to treat her more serious wounds or risk being crippled for life.

These were all the risks Suna was willing to take for her goal.

The force of magic had propelled her far enough to be able to see something white and shining through the darkness. It was the first ray of light and it finally gave Suna a direction to walk into.

It was a safe box right in the middle of the room. It held a small shining pendant on top of it which was emitting white light. But the most surprising fact about the room had to be the small body that lay on the box and slept away.

It looked like a corpse but held enough color to still be alive. Suna did not dare to be able to touch it and confirm it for herself.

That’s why she used her communicator with the other two members of her party. She had no idea what she should do in such a situation but the other two might. Nao at least always knew what should be done in any situation.

So Suna called them and received instructions. Her heartfelt relief to know that her friends were coming but she was also worried for them.

Suna should have told them about this place and the nature of darkness but she had forgotten to in her panic. It was a grave mistake on her part which made Suna almost drop her communicator.

But she caught it and tried dialing back to the other two.

“Did you call your partners in here? How foolish of you. Or maybe it’s clever of you. It would rid you of two eventual competitions” Suna felt her head turn toward the voice on top of the box.

It was the kid who had been sleeping just moments ago. Had Suna’s voice woken him up or had the kid been awake the whole time and taken this chance to observe her?

“I don’t want my friends to be harmed. They are just coming in to help me. Also, who are you and what are you doing here? Are you the guard here? The one in control of this darkness?” Suna asked as she snapped into attention.

She did not take her eyes off of the kid and kept an eye out for any sudden moments from his side. Who knew what this kid could do.

“Relax relax, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not a guard either so not your enemy. I was just here to steal something with my friends but ended up alone here in this darkness. My friends are likely dead already out there so don’t keep hope for your friends” the kid replied but he looked far too cheerful for his situation.

No one who had lost his comrades should look that happy or content. Not if the person himself was in a bad situation. It all made Suna suspicious of the kid.

“You say all your friends died out in the darkness but how is that possible. You couldn’t have been in there for more than a day or two at the most. Your body would have given up without water” Suna pointed out the obvious flaw in the kid’s reasoning.

The kid did not even pretend to panic as he heard Suna out. If anything, the smile on his face grew in size and his eyes closed in contentment. What a weird kid this was.

“Of course, I’ve not been here for that long. In fact, I think I’ve been here for only a few hours. It is still the day before the tournament right?” the kid asked and Suna nodded in assurance.

If Suna believed the kid’s story then he had only been here for a few hours. Not enough time to starve or show any signs of depravity. Still, Suna could not make herself believe the kid’s words.

“You might be telling the truth about coming here to steal as well as having a team but there is no way they all got killed by mere darkness. The magic is not the killing type and at most would force you out and make you forget. So tell me, where are your teammates? Are they lying in waiting to ambush us?” Suna asked as she crossed out all the illogical conclusions.

There was no way for her to know how much danger she had put her friends into when she allowed them to walk in here without proper intel. But she could still rectify it if she gathered information from the kid.

“My partners did die since they were all fools. There is something in the darkness, something dangerous and horrible. But you can’t see or hear it in the darkness. I only knew it because of this light source I had” the kid tried to assure Suna of his words and Suna felt herself falter.

The kid was making sense and Suna was weak to any pleading.

“How do I believe you kid? After all, I don’t hear the monster right now and I’m in your light source” Suna asked as she challenged the kid.

However, then she heard it. The small rumbling sound coming from far away.