"This is...?" Nash muttered, wide-eyed. His gaze fell upon the midline of the door, etched within it unearthly ruminations. His fists clenched, perhaps unwittingly, as his eyes began to water.
Diamond smiled, then pointed forward. "Well, even though this is my first time seeing it, I always knew it would live up to expectations." He stepped forward, trudging Nash along with him. "We should get going, no?"
His face fell as he looked down at Nash. "You're... crying?"
"No..." Nash whimpered, wiping away his tears. "Must've just been the dust."
Diamond scoffed to himself. 'That's the most somber I've seen this kid.'
"Heyyyyy~~!" a voice rang from far behind. It was the Kingsguard from before, slowly gaining on them.
"Yo, Nash, we really need to get going!" Diamond yelled, picking up Nash's slack.
There were two that stood by its gates, each with their own spear--long and narrow. It stretched past their height, adorning a diamond-shaped blade at its end. There was a light, blue hue that bubbled amongst its exterior.
"What do you kids think you're doing?" one questioned, followed by the cross-hatching of both Kingsguards' spears. "Nobody moves past this point."
Nash glared at the one to the left, before blitzing past Diamond. Before Diamond could even begin to catch up, there was a quick clanking of metal and disgruntled coughs of men.
In a single blink, they collapsed on the ground, their armor disfigured into tangled wire.
Diamond looked down, then up as Nash continued towards the door. "What are you waiting for, lady?" Nash urged.
Shaking his head, Diamond caught up with Nash, running alongside him.
They stood just a few feet from the door's material, bathed in its vibrance. It was blinding, but there was something else festering inside of Diamond--strong enough to combat its light.
He smiled.
Nash took a step forward. "So, how do we enter it?"
"Hm... I never really thought about it," Diamond realized, taking his own step. There's only one way to find out, right?"
Hesitantly, he raised his hand forward, feeling as the energy emitted from the door clashed against him like hot steam.
"Waittttt~~!" the voice rang again, this time, closer.
Diamond closed his eyes, then jumped forward.
The moment his skin made contact with the door, there was a boundless luminescence that erupted, acting like a blanket to Nash and Diamond.
It was so bright that its light turned to heat. The smell of burnt flesh crept up Diamond's nose, followed closely by the mind-gratingly sharp sensation of fire crisping his skin. His nerves were singed by their very roots, washing over him immeasurable agony.
With nothing but burnt muscle supporting him, Diamond leaped to his right.
'Nash!'
It didn't stop at just his exterior. It burrowed into his organs, churning and twisting them like toys to be played with.
He roared, although not for long, for even his mind turned to sludge and his eyes to liquid.
Once, there was light and pain. Then, there was nothing. Nothing except his own thoughts.
'Am I dead?' Diamond thought, feeling like an orb of thought in an infinite void.
But then, there was light again. Then sensation.
Diamond rubbed his eyes, biting back against the irritation. Quickly, he clutched his neck, chest, stomach, and legs. "What was that?"
He looked around. The surrounding area was dark, but it was like his body had undergone a complete reset. His sight was blurred, and his balance was off.
A putrid green arose from his throat, wafting his nose with memories of his last meal. "Blurrggghhhhh!"
Trying best not to fall on his own pile of puke, he pushed against the floor with both hands, waiting for his body to catch up. "Where am I?"
There was a quiet shuffling next to him. It was Nash, equally disoriented. "Was it supposed to hurt that much?" he asked, directed at Diamond.
"I don't know, but from the looks of it, it looks like we made it." He rubbed his head, helping himself up from the ground.
His eyes had adjusted a bit to the dark, revealing the area's furthest corners.
It was entire walls of dirt, from the dirt to the ceiling. In some patches, the soil was hardened, but one would take the environment to be underground.
That wasn't all, though. Distanced about two feet from each other, there were ores that jutted from the walls, purple and dim. To the naked eye, it retained the same energy as Way-enhanced food.
"What is that...?" Nash ruminated, stepping to his right where a wall enclosed the area. There, he touched upon a random ore.
The moment he touched it, a spark of power repelled his hand, flinging him back just a couple of inches. "Whoa!" he sputtered.
Just as he'd been shocked by curiosity, there was a loud banging of metal resounding through the cavern. It stole the attention of both Diamond and Nash, coming past one of the many winding open pathways that snaked through the walls.
Without a thought, Nash followed the sound.
"Wait!" Diamond interjected, holding him by the shoulder. "Be careful, this is new territory. There's no telling what we'll run into here."
Nash nodded. "Okay, but don't you think if we go to the sound, we might find someone?"
Diamond raised his finger to his chin, one eyebrow raised. "I suppose so. But let's be careful, I hear there's some horrible beasts."
They trekked through the cavern, Diamond in particular taking heed of where he stepped. On the other hand, Nash seemed unbothered by his environment, going so far as to skip along the path.
"H-hey, Nash, be careful--"
There was a violent grumble coming from the ground. Like a beast's appetite, it aimed for Nash, readying its attack.
Quickly, Nash jumped back. In that single instant, a great geyser of energy burst forth from where he'd been, portraying a tall column of purple radiance that warped the very space around it.
Then, like it didn't have a place to belong, it sizzled, gurgled, and dissipated into nothing.
Nash's mouth hung open, a cold sweat trailing his cheek. Above, where the geyser had ended, the ceiling was indented. "Yeah... I'll be careful from now on."