"Where are we? I can’t see anything, I can’t feel anything." There was a hint of panic in Amunet’s voice as controlled as it was. It was underlaid by a hint of threat as though she would skewer Grey through if he had led her to her death.
The only reason she hadn’t already was because there really hadn’t been any other option. The only other thing she could think of was returning to their starting point, but because of the illusion they had been trapped in, she wasn’t even sure where that was anymore.
Plus, even if they did return, she had no idea if it would be worthwhile.
The thought was only birthed because she was hoping that maybe the small fountain would have some secret, or maybe any one of the other items. From what she knew about Rare Instances, ones like these almost always had some sort of hidden trick or deduction you had to make to survive them.
But... there was also the chance that they were simply meant to die.
The Genesis Games weren’t some casual place you could just hope to receive handicaps and favoritism in. It was a death game that only had any sort of structure because some powerhouses had decided to attach a reality TV show to it.
But beyond the Tutorial Zone, there were no real guard rails, and those that existed were quite few and far between.
Amunet was very much aware that there just might not be a way out of here.
"I have a hunch." Grey said back, but Amunet didn’t hear him.
"Hey! I’m talking to you! Where did you go!"
Amunet’s senses were completely vanishing. It even felt like the firm grip that Grey had on her hand was slipping away.
’She can’t hear me? Damn. You’d think for someone relying on shadows to hide themselves that they’d do better than this.’
But Amunet was a newbie to this world just like Grey was. It wasn’t reasonable to expect her to know anything more than he did, while Grey himself was only so resistant to these things because he had been lucky enough to learn Mental Fortitude thanks to Stella and her people.
’Only one shot at this.’
Grey pinched her. Hard.
"OW!"
"Can you hear me now?"
"Wait, yes. Why do you sound so far away?"
"Ignore the darkness, focus on your Neural Frame, namely your ears and your hand. That way you won’t forget I’m here again and start stabbing things."
To her credit, Amunet calmed down quickly.
"But what is the plan here?"
"I’m not sure yet, but let’s keep walking straight."
"Is that supposed to be reassuring?"
"Maybe?" Grey said with a chuckle. "Didn’t you hear that conversation between the witch and the vampire pimp?"
"Vampire pimp?" Amunet snorted and then sniffled as though to cover it up. "Is that how you categorize monsters in your head?"
"Yes. Yes I do. And what about it?"
"Just finish what you were saying."
"Right. In their conversation the voluptuous witch—."
"Let’s just stick with vampire pimp, alright?"
"Voluptuous?"
Amunet didn’t answer.
"Thick?"
"Can you focus please?"
Grey laughed. He had always liked to socialize with people, but everyone he met nowadays wanted his head. He hadn’t realized how crazy it was driving him until now.
"Well in their conversation she said something about accidentally slipping into their territory and darkness spreading."
"You think this is the way out?"
"It might be." Grey nodded even though Amunet couldn’t see it.
"But I can’t tell left from right here at all. I’m barely sure we’re not walking on the ceiling. It might just direct us back inside."
"I’m just doing my best to walk forward in one direction right now. If it leads us back, then it leads us back. But this is our best bet for now."
Grey was only telling part of the truth. What he said was accurate to his thoughts, but there was another aspect he wasn’t mentioning. That being his Legendary Pending Quest.
It was quite curious that the curse of that mission stole away his senses, and that this darkness also did the same. The moment he had seen the stretch of darkness, he had felt it was all too similar to the fog that had assaulted him, though considerably diluted.
Amunet hadn’t even been able to tell he was still holding onto her hand until he pinched it. That was eerily similar to the curse he was experiencing right now.
As far as Grey could tell, the one and only reason he wasn’t blind right now was because Prometheus had cured him of it at the cost of Energy Reserve.
Because of that, he didn’t even have a single point of energy remaining, and he couldn’t afford to buy more Cyber Cores right now either.
This was all to say that Grey was on a time crunch. Not only did he only have until tomorrow at noon to make it to his "canon event", but he also needed to either clear this Legendary Quest or solve his Energy Reserve issue within three days otherwise he would end up losing a sense to this curse and likely losing his iron jaw in the process.
He couldn’t afford to spend days trapped in here, and he certainly couldn’t afford to die.
’Come on.’
Grey suddenly felt like his body was slipping through something and he finally saw light.
He gasped for breath almost as though he had been holding it and he pulled Amunet out to a world that could only be said to be barren.
The soil was greyed and dried, the trees in the distance were decayed with ash and rot, even the moon above seemed so much paler than usual, but instead of being brighter, it just felt... dull. It would be hard to imagine that any sort of sun could rise in this place.
’No sun, but why does it feel like it’s midday?’
Grey was sure the feeling wasn’t coming from the bracelet. It really did feel bright as day here despite the dreariness.
"So... it really is the Mechanical Jaw Lineage..."
The familiar voice of a certain witch suddenly echoed.
Grey and Amunet’s heads both spun in the direction to find a robed woman standing a dozen or so meters away in complete silence.
"What do you say, descendant of the Mechanical Jaw? Will you help me put the Vampire Prince in his place?"