Chapter 221: High and low!!

Kaelo’s group did not stop running until their lungs burned.

Boots splashed against damp stone as they scrambled up uneven ground, away from the roaring water channel that had swallowed one of their own. Their breathing filled the corridor like panicked drums.

Kaelo bent forward, hands on his knees, chest rising and falling violently.

“Damn,” he muttered between breaths.

The monk steadied himself against the wall, eyes closed for a moment.

“I think they are not following anymore.”

Kaelo let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

“I guess we cannot win against a colony of snakes with guns.”

One of the men wiped water from his face.

“There were so many. From the cracks. From the water. It was like the walls were alive.”

The monk opened his eyes.

“What is there to laugh at? At each turn we face traps. Water. Creatures. Death. How will we go back? We are losing lives here.”

His voice was calm, but the weight in it pressed heavily on the group.

No one answered.

Then one of the younger men raised his flashlight.

“Look.”

Everyone turned.

Far ahead, at the end of the corridor, there was something different.

A faint glow.

Not the artificial white of their headlamps.

A softer light.

Cooler.

And with it came a subtle breeze brushing against their faces.

Fresh air.

Kaelo straightened slowly.

“There is light coming from the front.”

The monk nodded.

“Then we move.”

They gathered themselves and advanced toward the glow, steps cautious but urgent.

On the other side of the ruins.

Elias’ group faced a different obstacle.

A massive crack split the corridor floor in front of them. It was not a simple gap. It yawned wide and deep, swallowing the beam of their lights.

Elias crouched at the edge.

“Throw the rope.”

A hook was secured and tossed across. It caught against a protruding stone on the other side.

Maddock tested the tension first.

“Stable.”

One by one they crossed, boots gripping the rope, hands tight, bodies swaying over the void below.

Hilda nearly slipped once.

“Careful. Just your left foot,” Elias instructed sharply.

She corrected her step and made it across.

Finally, the last man climbed over.

They regrouped on solid ground.

One of the men glanced back at the crack.

“It is good we came prepared with equipment.”

Elias nodded.

“Leave the rope tied. We will need it when we return.”

“Yes, Mr. Elias.”

They resumed walking.

The corridor felt narrower here, more focused, as if guiding them somewhere specific.

“Let’s keep moving,” Elias said. “We have to find the chamber.”

Miles, who had been unusually quiet, slowed his pace.

“Guess you do not need to walk much.”

Elias glanced sideways.

“What do you mean?”

Miles tilted his head forward.

“There is light ahead. Maybe we have reached.”

Everyone looked.

And there it was.

A faint illumination at the far end of the passage.

Elias’ eyes sharpened.

“Then let’s move.”

Outside the forest.

The rain had calmed.

The heavy downpour reduced to scattered droplets sliding from leaves. Mist hovered between the trees.

Inside a hidden cave near the forest boundary, men in tactical gear adjusted their equipment.

Some bore fresh wounds.

Mud streaked their uniforms.

The forest had tested them too.

A captain stood near the entrance, scanning a handheld device.

“Captain, the rain has stopped finally,” one of the men said. “Did we get signal?”

The captain exhaled slowly.

“It was hell out there. We got lucky finding this cave.”

Another soldier approached.

“Sir. We have the location of the boss.”

The captain took the device and studied the pins blinking on the map.

The distance marker updated.

“Not far.”

He looked up toward the direction of the ruins.

“Move.”

The group shifted instantly, disciplined, silent.

They advanced through the forest like a trained company, boots synchronized, weapons ready.

Above the ground, beneath the earth, and somewhere between both

Three forces were converging.

And none of them intended to turn back.

Elias’s group moved toward the growing light at the end of the corridor.

The passage widened slightly, and the air shifted again. It no longer felt trapped. It felt alive.

They stepped through the final arch of stone—

And stopped.

No one spoke.

Below them, the earth had opened.

A vast circular sinkhole stretched downward, carved as if by divine hands. The stone walls of the chasm curved smoothly, layered with time and moss, spiraling down toward a living world hidden beneath the forest canopy.

At the center of the hollow stood a colossal tree.

Not ancient in decay.

Ancient in strength.

Its trunk was thick and unbroken, bark dark and textured like weathered armor. Branches spread outward in perfect balance, crowned with vibrant green leaves that shimmered under falling droplets of rain.

Water cascaded gently from the upper rim of the sinkhole, flowing down in thin veils along the stone walls, collecting into small streams that nourished the grass below.

Sunlight pierced through the open top of the chasm, beams cutting through mist and rain, scattering across the clearing like golden threads. The grass at the bottom glowed emerald, untouched, undisturbed.

Birds circled lazily in the open air space above the tree. The scent of wet earth and clean water drifted upward.

It was not a ruin.

It was a sanctuary.

From above, if anyone could see it from the sky, it would look like a perfect circular scar in the forest canopy. A giant sinkhole hidden by trees, invisible from most angles, protected by nature itself.

And it was nowhere on any official map of the Sylven forest.

Maddock stepped forward slightly, breath leaving him in a whisper.

“This is heaven.”

Miles’ eyes softened, something deeper passing behind them.

“This is the most beautiful place,” he said quietly.

Elias exhaled slowly.

“Bloody hell.”

Hilda did not blink. Her eyes were fixed on the scene below, absorbing every detail, every shimmer of light and water.

Then someone pointed.

“Look.”

On the opposite side of the clearing, at the base of the sinkhole, carved directly into the stone wall, stood a massive door.

Unlike the decayed structures above, this one was intact.

Solid.

Waiting.

“Hey Elias!”

A voice echoed upward from below.

Everyone looked down.

Kaelo and the monk stood at the bottom of the sinkhole, near the edge of the grassy clearing. Their path had led them downward through natural channels and hidden descents.

Apparently both corridors had converged into the same place—

One from above.

One from below.

Two paths.

One destination.

Elias let out a short breath.

“So both ways lead here.”

Kaelo cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Took you long enough!”

The monk simply watched.

Elias turned back toward his men.

“Place the ropes. We are going down.”

Hooks were secured against the stone rim. Ropes were tested, tightened, double checked.

Below them, the great tree stood unmoving.

And beyond it, the massive door waited.

Not as a trap.

But as an answer.

….

Ropes tightened against the stone rim as Elias’s group began their descent.

Boots pressed carefully against the damp wall of the sinkhole. Hands slid along rope fibers darkened by rain. Water trickled down from above in thin streams, occasionally splashing across faces and gear.

One by one they lowered themselves toward the clearing below.

Kaelo and the monk waited near the base, watching the descent.

Elias landed first, boots sinking slightly into the soft grass. He looked around again, shaking his head.

“Looks like it was a rough way down here.”

Kaelo let out a dry laugh.

“Do not ask.”

His clothes were still damp from the flooded passage. Mud streaked his pants. His face carried the exhaustion of someone who had outrun death twice in a single day.

Elias glanced toward Hilda’s men, who were standing upright despite the long march.

“Wow Hilda. You brought the strongest people with you.”

Hilda brushed wet hair away from her face.

“Umm… I guess.”

Kaelo studied her team more closely.

“They are strong. And survival specialists. Where did you find them?”

Hilda answered calmly.

“They are carefully selected people.”

Her eyes flickered briefly toward Miles.

Miles did not blink.

He did not react.

He simply stood there, hands resting near his vest, observing everything.

Miles tilted his head slightly.

“What about my man?”

He pointed toward Maddock.

Elias sighed.

“Who knows. He might just be lucky. Just like you.”

Miles chuckled softly.

“What a joke.”

Maddock said nothing, but his gaze swept across the clearing, calculating distances, exits, elevation.

The monk stepped forward, eyes on the massive door carved into the stone wall.

“What do we do now?”

Elias walked ahead slowly, boots pressing against the vibrant grass. The sound was almost peaceful.

“That,” he said, pointing toward the enormous door at the base of the sinkhole, “is the door.”

Up close, it was even more imposing. The surface was smooth, carved from solid stone, ancient yet untouched. There were no visible hinges. No rust. No decay.

It did not look abandoned.

It looked preserved.

“We open that door,” Elias continued. “Our men are exhausted. It is noon. We eat first.”

He turned to the group.

“We rest. We regain strength. Then we open it.”

Some of the men dropped their bags immediately, relieved. Others sat quietly, still scanning the perimeter.

The great tree above them swayed slightly as wind filtered down from the opening in the sky.

It felt peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Somewhere far away in Star Harbor.

A masked woman slipped through the back door of a quiet house.

She moved with familiarity.

The lights were off.

Curtains drawn.

The house was silent.

She closed the door softly behind her and removed her jacket. Then she lifted the mask from her face and placed it carefully on the living room table.

Her hair fell loose around her shoulders.

She looked tired.

Not wounded.

Just tired.

She dropped onto the couch and leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a moment.

Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

She dialed.

“Hello Grandma,” she said lazily.

The voice on the other side was calm. Older. Controlled.

“You seem tired.”

“I need some sleep,” the woman replied. “But you will not let me. I told you that person has a well established security firm. Their eyes are on the family twenty four hours a day. Why do I need to watch over them too?”

There was a pause.

“We cannot take any risk, dear,” the older voice said. “We cannot let his family get hurt.”

The woman sighed.

“Fine. I am only doing this because of you.”

A soft chuckle came through the line.

“You grew up well.”

Silence lingered between them.

“Next few months,” the older woman continued slowly, “will be the time I have been waiting for my entire life.”

The call ended.

In a dimly lit room somewhere else, an elderly woman lowered her phone.

Her eyes were sharp.

Focused.

She whispered to herself.

“Miles Sterling… we will meet soon.”

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