Chapter 220: Storm!!

Miles only smirked.

Maddock tilted his head back and finished the last of his water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Elias slammed his boot against the stone floor.

“Damn it. Was there any marking? Any symbol? Anything carved?”

The scout shook his head.

“Nothing that is visible.”

The silence that followed was heavier than the air.

Elias stood upright again, jaw tight.

“Alright. Rest is over. We move now.”

Kaelo let out a short laugh.

“Well that was a very short rest.”

Monk’s voice came steady as stone.

“We do not have time. The longer we wait, the closer we get to evening. The farther we go, the weaker the connection to the ground. We must finish this quickly.”

Elias raised his radio and turned the dial.

“Hello. Status.”

Only static answered.

He tried again.

Nothing but a low hiss.

“Damn.”

He clipped the radio back to his vest.

They rose together, boots scraping against the floor, beams of light cutting forward as they resumed their march toward the split.

….

Outside the ruins.

Artem stood near the boundary, staring at his radio.

“Come on.”

Static.

He adjusted the frequency.

Still nothing.

He lowered the device, irritation flashing across his face.

“Damn it. I do not want to sit here. Why should I wait?”

The sky above darkened unnaturally fast.

A deep rumble rolled across the forest.

Artem looked up.

Black clouds swallowed the light in seconds.

Then…

A bolt of lightning tore down from the sky, striking somewhere within the forest canopy.

The crack of thunder shook the ground.

Moments later, rain began.

Not gentle rain.

A sudden, violent downpour.

Sheets of water fell as if the sky itself had burst open.

Artem smirked.

He shouted over the roar.

“We are going in.”

One of his men stepped closer.

“But Mr. Artem..”

“Tribals are dead anyway. I am not waiting in this rain.”

Another flash of lightning illuminated the ruins briefly.

The hesitation lasted only a moment.

Then the men began moving.

“Pack your bags. Before everything gets soaked.”

Within minutes, Artem and his group advanced toward the entrance of the ruins, disappearing inside just as thunder shook the forest again.

Back inside the underground chamber.

The group stood before the split.

The corridor is divided cleanly into two dark paths.

No markings.

No symbols.

Just a choice.

Then..

A distant, thunderous sound reverberated faintly through the stone above.

Elias looked up sharply.

“What was that sound?”

Kaelo narrowed his eyes.

“That was from above”

Another vibration trembled through the walls.

“That was definitely an explosion.”

Elias’s expression shifted.

“Damn it. The people above are in danger.”

Monk’s face tightened.

“We must go back.”

Elias turned toward him sharply.

“Are you crazy? If we go back now it will take hours. They will either be dead already or they have handled whatever it was.”

He gestured toward the fork.

“Either way, we will be too late.”

Kaelo hesitated.

“But..”

He exhaled slowly.

“Fine.”

Monk closed his eyes briefly and murmured a prayer under his breath.

When he opened them, they were calm again.

He turned to his remaining men.

“We move.”

They bowed their heads in silent acknowledgment.

Maddock’s lips curled slightly.

He understood what was happening.

Elias stepped into the center between both paths.

“There is nothing here to guide us. No marking. No mechanism. No clue.”

His voice hardened.

“We split.”

The decision was made instantly.

Miles did not argue.

He simply adjusted his gloves.

“Maddock,” he said quietly.

Maddock nodded.

Elias gestured.

“Left path. With me.”

Miles, Maddock, Elias, Hild and a selected few men stepped toward the left corridor.

Kaelo looked once toward Miles.

The monk watched silently.

Then Kaelo turned.

“Right.”

Monk and the rest followed him into the right passage.

For a brief second, the beams of both groups overlapped.

Then they separated.

Two streams of light swallowed by two different corridors.

Above them, thunder roared again.

And deep within the ruins, something shifted.

….

Elias’ group advanced cautiously.

The left corridor narrowed before opening into a short staircase carved from the same precise stone. The steps were worn but intact, leading upward into a darker section of the structure.

“Stairs,” one of the men muttered.

They climbed carefully, boots scraping against ancient edges. The air felt slightly cooler here.

At the top, the passage leveled out again, stretching forward in a straight line.

Then

A sudden violent fluttering exploded from the ceiling.

A swarm of bats burst overhead, wings slapping against stone as they shot past the group in a chaotic cloud.

Hilda ducked instinctively.

“How are there bats here?”

Elias steadied himself.

“There must be food. Water. Air circulation. We are moving in the right direction.”

Another woman in the group raised her hand suddenly.

“Wait. Can you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Hilda asked.

“Quiet.”

Everyone froze.

They turned off their movement.

And then

There it was.

A faint, steady sound.

Water.

Flowing.

One of the men knelt and pressed his ear close to the ground.

“It is below us.”

Elias crouched near the wall and ran his fingers along the lower edge.

He lifted his hand.

Moisture glistened on his glove.

“There is water underneath. This corridor is above a channel.”

Hilda swallowed.

“Who knows what Kaelo’s group is facing.”

Elias stood.

“We continue.”

On the right side of the ruins.

Kaelo’s group moved down a descending slope.

“Careful. There is a drop,” Kaelo warned.

They descended slowly, boots sliding against damp stone.

Monk lifted his head slightly.

“I hear water flowing.”

A man ahead pointed with his flashlight.

“There is a stream.”

A narrow channel of water cut across the corridor, shallow but steady, flowing from one side into darkness on the other.

Kaelo stepped into it first.

“It is shallow. We walk.”

They moved forward, water splashing softly around their boots.

Kaelo hissed.

“Damn this water.”

Monk answered calmly.

“Flowing natural water is a gift from the Almighty.”

Kaelo scoffed.

Suddenly one of the men slipped, splashing down into the stream.

“Careful you idiot,” Kaelo snapped.

The man scrambled up.

“Sorry. The flow just got faster.”

Kaelo stopped walking.

His eyes narrowed.

He listened.

The water no longer whispered.

It rushed.

The stream that had barely touched their boots was now swirling around their ankles.

Kaelo’s expression changed.

“This is not a gift. It is a curse.”

He turned sharply.

“The water level is rising. Move. Faster.”

They pushed forward, trying to clear the channel.

But the water surged again.

From both ends.

The shallow stream transformed in seconds into a rushing current.

Hilda was not here.

It was one of Kaelo’s women fighters.

She stumbled as the current slammed against her legs.

“Grab her,” someone shouted.

Two men reached for her arms.

Another surge hit.

The force knocked her completely off balance.

The water climbed to their knees.

Then thighs.

The corridor began filling.

The current intensified unnaturally, as if gates had opened somewhere unseen.

She screamed.

“I cannot”

The water ripped her from their grip.

Kaelo lunged forward, grabbing her wrist for a split second.

Their eyes met.

Fear.

Pure.

Then the force tore her free.

She slammed against the stone wall, struck the side of the channel, and was dragged backward toward a dark opening where the water disappeared.

Monk stepped forward, trying to anchor himself against the wall.

“Hold her.”

But it was too late.

She vanished into the rushing darkness.

Her scream echoed briefly

Then it was swallowed.

The remaining group staggered backward, fighting the water until they reached higher ground beyond the channel.

Breathing hard.

Soaked.

Shaken.

Kaelo stood there, chest heaving, staring at the churning water below.

“Damn.”

No one spoke.

The water continued to roar through the corridor like a living thing.

And somewhere ahead, deeper in the ruins, the path only grew darker.

Star Harbor. Sterling Security Base.

The war room lights glowed blue against the dark glass walls. Screens covered the front panel, maps layered over live satellite feeds, blinking markers, weather overlays, encrypted signals pulsing in coded rhythm.

Monica stepped inside, heels sharp against the polished floor.

Charles was already waiting.

“Miss Monica, here’s your coffee.”

A staff member placed the cup gently beside her console and stepped away.

Monica picked it up without looking away from the main screen.

“What’s the current update?”

Charles adjusted the display. A digital map of the Sylven region expanded across the central screen.

“They entered the underground ruins this morning,” he said. “Heavy rainfall started about an hour ago. It’s disrupting external signal flow.”

Monica took a slow sip.

“Signal stability?”

“Fluctuating. Morse contact stopped fifteen minutes ago.”

The map zoomed slightly. Red interference zones flickered.

“You said there was a blast last night,” Monica said calmly.

“Yes.” Charles tapped another screen. A blinking marker appeared on the map, slightly offset from the ruins.

“It was in a different sector. We lost the signal from one of our broadcast stations shortly after. Most likely that’s where the blast occurred.”

The pin glowed red.

Monica stared at it.

“I don’t know much about what’s located near that broadcast station,” she admitted. “Boss never allowed me to go deep into the forest.”

Charles nodded.

“We need to remap things when the boss comes back.then”

Thunder rumbled faintly with static through the speakers as the weather feed intensified.

“Fingers crossed,” Charles muttered. “I’ll attempt to contact Chief Zella again if the storm clears.”

“Keep trying,” Monica replied.

Another screen shifted.

Footage appeared.

The captured attackers from the morning ambush. Restrained. Interrogation holding room. Their faces bruised.

Charles glanced at her.

“What do we do with them?”

Monica’s expression changed instantly.

Warmth gone.

Cold precision remained.

“Keep them.”

Her eyes did not blink.

“Boss will personally take care of them.”

Charles gave a short nod.

“Understood.”

Monica placed the coffee cup down.

“Be ready for the signal from him,” she said. “It can come anytime.”

“Every this well prepared” Charles replied

Monica clicked on her keyboard ” I sent protocol guidelines from the President’s office to you, read them carefully, make sure we violate none”.

Charles nodded.

The storm in the forest intensified.

And far beneath the earth, where radio signals struggled to breathe, the real storm was still unfolding.

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