The chamber had a second exit, and among its numbers, only four people knew where it was, or that it even existed.
Godfrey.
His personal guard.
The second in command.
And Neon.
It seemed like a privilege, but was actually a knife hanging over their heads to all but Godfrey. The second exit was man made, carved out by hand over weeks of hidden labour. And as soon as they were done, he had them executed because he believed they were too "chatty", and would reveal its location. He wanted secrecy in a group were knowledge held their loose ends.
Neon walked with quick strides through the knotted passage made by jagged rock and uneven ground. From the bunker, the walk to the exit was supposed to be quick, but on a path that looked like a hundred blankets pieced together, it was all but that. Still, he didn't slow down once.
Behind him, Mira struggled to keep up with Thea on her back. Every few steps she stumbled, and it didn't help matters as Thea became more inanimate over time. She barely moved, didn't try to lessen her weight or make it easier, only the periodic weak groan followed by the dark tremor of her mark told she was alive.
Mira's face darkened further as understanding flushed in.
She finally knew why communities of beasts had suddenly flooded the chamber. Why they weren't tearing each other apart and acting like a coordinated force. It was because of Thea... because they were drawn to her mark.
And if they truly were, then leaving the belly of rocks they were in wasn't freedom. It was assured death. Even with numbers, weapons and tactics, the chamber was yet to find good footing in the battle. What chance would they then have if that armageddon was redirected solely on them?
Still they kept moving, because staying meant almost the same thing.
Ahead, Neon climbed over a piled of rubbled stone, not sparing a glance to check whether they had followed through. Mira gritted slightly and upped her pace. But her haste cost her a step.
She tripped and Thea fell from her back, landing side first with a helpless huff. Mira rushed to aid her stand, but internally admitted the fact that Neon had been right about Thea slowing her down.
Then mistakingly, her hand touched the mark...and everything changed.
A terrible sensation surged through her body. Her body shook as it felt like strings of her spirit were being pulled from her battle seed with extreme violence.
Mira ripped her hand away instantly. For a moment she expected her hand to decay, or transmutate, or both.
But nothing happened, nothing but her own nervous breaths ringing into damp air. No... that wasn't the only thing that happened.
The second difference laid with Thea herself. The mark had quieted down. It still swirling and bubbled, but no longer like it wanted to capsize a ship. Thea looked down at her arm in disbelief, and so did Mira. Realisation caught in their throats.
"Spirit..." whispered Mira.
The mark consumed spirit. That was why Thea always looked dehydrated...or exhausted rather.
Mira pressed her hand against the mark again, this time with readiness. The suction returned again a silent whirl. Her spirit flowed with uncontrollable steadiness into Thea's arm, filling Mira with a deeply uncomfortable sensation.
The mark slowly further, pulsed less. Then more and more, but it was still well alive. Thea inhaled, but choked on her breath.
"...Mir..."
"No need for thank yous," she interrupted as she glanced ahead.
"We are falling behind."
Thea nodded and rose weakly, for the first time not needing Mira's help. Together, they hurried deeper into the tunnel.
***
Back at the foregrounds, the battle beated on.
Slaughter had become the order of the day as the predators poured over defense lines with bodies of nature's shame. Bark filled the mist and corpses took shifts with the land. An opera of sounds danced as screeches echoed over clangs of steel and the desperate war cries of the ushers.
Standard and tactics had decayed with time among the human ranks. But a semblance of intelligence still remained in their movements.
Barely.
A crag-back lunged through the frontline and hacked an usher apart before others could save him. These beasts had turned out to be extremely dangerous, once its opponent didn't exploit the soft mesh under its jaw. Two other Ushers rushed at it, one throwing his spear to distract it, and the other flanking it from the side.
The spear bounced off the predator with not but a mild dent to its effort. The predator caught sight of the blind spot and struck the other one with its hind leg, flattening his ribs and knocking breath half out of him. The first one rushed it, through a weapon he had specially made at its chest.
It was a sickle shaped knife with a few heavy rocks attached for momentum. It didn't penetrate cleanly, but did get a moan out of the beast. The crag-back swung its claw out, forcing a heavy set block that buckled the leg of the usher.
All around, subset battles took shape similar to this.
The humans were losing ground.
But that didn't mean they had lost it completely. A man cradled within the battle thrust his hand toward the ground, pouring his spirit in with a grimace.
Roots shot up with TNT level detonation. Like an entire ecosystem growing at ten thousand times regular speed, thick vines wrapped around several predators, pulling them together for other nearby ushers to dismember them.
He repeated the tactic, and the other Ushers followed up without seamlessly. But it wasn't enough.
"They just keep coming!" roared someone among the crowd.
Another predator lashed into their formation with greater density. A good number of men flew back with open flesh as the defensive line bent yet again. Although it might have been strong, it could not resist the combined might of dozens of humans possessing abilities and was soon brought down.
Still, with much effort. Nothing everyone knew what abilities they had. And for those who did, barely anyone knew how to effectively control it.
Through the boughs of dead bodies, a thin woman flicked her fingers sharply through the air. Her comrades spared a confused glance her way, wondering if she had gone mad. And at such wrong timing. But she knew what she did.
Invisible strings shot forward, through the air, and into the masses. At first, it was just that. Then the hit predators began slowing.
The areas hit by it began to change, decaying like it was on a speed run challenge. The predators held on for several seconds, then collapsed into piles of hardened viny flesh.
The woman trembled briefly, then continued launching out strings. Predator after predator, she cut through the numbers. But more kept coming.
The humans killed dozens. Then dozens more came. But when the beasts killed, nothing came but emptiness and the promise of defeat.
Then suddenly, like a flip switch, something changed.
The oppressive haze pressing against their senses weakened.
"The mist..."
Not entirely, but enough. The predators felt it instantly, frenzy in their guttural shrieks dimmed. Blind aggression faded to dog barks. The amount of limbs throwing dropped by more than half in moments.
Then they turned, towards the forest. Confusion spread across the human faces, then–
"They're retreating!"
Suddenly, the exhaustion in the eyes of many gleamed into vigor, as they rushed forward.
Not for revenge. Not to prove anything. Not for any tactic.
For greed.
Coordination in retreats was something that even wishing stars couldn't get done perfectly. And with that fact, they knew that the fleeing beasts would be easier to kill.
The man with the plant ability slammed both palms against ground. Teams of roots sprung up, walling the exit and most beasts within.
Ushers descended on the disorientated beasts, cleaving through their ranks before they would band together again.
But they didn't, ensuring the complete shift of the battle.
Moments ago people had been fighting because stopping meant death, now they did so because incentive forced their hands so generously.
They were preying on the predators, as ironic as it might have been. The beasts died in clusters as some tried to fight back, and others to escape.
The humans gave them no respite, even the wounded pushed themselves up once they realised how many cores they could realise from this.
Eventually, the predators made it through the barrier. But the damage had been done. To both sides.
But the predators had gotten the brunt of it a bit more.
No one roared in triumph. Exhaustion demanded otherwise. They simply smiled, and fell to the ground one after the other.
The battle was over–
For now at least.