From where they were, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. However, the four Anchors woke up shortly before dawn, three of them mentally preparing for the journey ahead.
Colonel Jack was the first to leave the cave, carrying a makeshift backpack made from thick leaves, and headed towards another of the holes in the cave, where he had left the creatures he had hunted earlier.
Elora was sharpening her tachi with a stone, the sound of scraping metal echoing between the cave walls.
Lisa, on the other hand, was looking at her dagger, apparently looking for any imperfections on its edge.
Telos was looking through one of the holes in the wall. There, he could see the reason the four of them had woken up.
Apparently, about an hour before dawn, the "citizens" of that remote place are tasked with mining minerals and transporting them to the sanctuary. This served as an alarm, although it also seemed strange to Telos.
Why do they only mine one hour before dawn?
Telos didn't know.
A few minutes later, the colonel returned to the small cave, this time with that backpack full of smelly meat.
Seeing him, both young women stood up, ready to leave. Colonel Jack looked at Telos, apparently nostalgic.
"Well, Telos… We're separated for a long time. I've left some creatures for you to eat in the cave in front. It's not the healthiest thing, but at least it's something."
He sighed.
"Still, you're going to have a tough time. Stay alive…"
Jack turned around, his teeth gritted.
Telos didn't answer.
It was obvious. Those three would search for the Imperial Knights on an arduous journey, yet they had that hope of finding them. But to do so, they had to be swift to avoid danger, strong to face it, and at the same time, self-reliant.
Just watching their journey through the forest in search of the cave would tell. Those three would have suffered less if not for keeping Telos safe.
If they had known the location of the cave, they probably would have abandoned him long ago.
But that didn't bother Telos; he'd already been through it enough to suffer from it. What bothered him was the colonel's expression. Why feign annoyance? To make him believe his death matters to him?
Someone who cares about something sacrifices everything for it. They wouldn't have abandoned it if they truly cared.
Still, Telos said nothing. Why? They would invent multiple excuses to avoid telling him the truth, each one trying to convince him that their situation would be better than Telos's.
He was already used to being alone, to doing everything alone. He didn't need anyone else to survive, and he never will. He needs to do it alone, and anyone who tries to side with him will only be a nuisance.
He can do it alone…
There were no words of farewell; that was almost useless in this cruel world. You could meet again, but chances were you wouldn't.
So it's necessary to say goodbye? It depends. Would anyone say goodbye to someone like Telos? A cold, withdrawn person, a person who used others for his own good. Probably not.
The many footsteps echoed on the walls, the crunch of their footsteps marked the distance, and slowly, Telos was left alone again.
'It's not that bad…'
Before, he was alone and beaten, now, he is just alone. At least it was an improvement….
Telos began to think about what he was going to do from now on. He had enough food, he didn't know for how many days, but it had to be at least a couple... or so he hoped.
Leaving the food in a separate little cave meant he had to keep going back and forth, but it was much better than having the nauseating smell of the creatures constantly around him.
Now that he thought about it…
'I don't have many things to do.'
He thought for a few seconds, and letting out a sigh, he stood up.
'I guess I should start training.'
He started doing squats. At first, he felt uncomfortable because he couldn't feel anything, but after doing a couple of dozen, he began to feel unable to go up. His knees were shaking, his body was sweating profusely, and yet he could barely stand.
He went down again, then tried to come back up. He bit his lower lip hard, a line of blood running down his chin.
After that last one, he fell to the ground, panting rapidly. His heart pounded every second, and his body constantly craved oxygen.
'Only twenty-five…'
He rested for about a minute and then stood back up. He started doing squats again.
He did less and less, felt less and less in his legs, and wished he'd finished sooner. But he kept going. To achieve his goal, he had to keep going; to achieve his goal, he had to get stronger.
He always thought a good mind was enough, but he was wrong.
Only those who are intelligent can be deceived, while those in madness follow their instincts.
Therefore, Telos had to be strengthened to combat both.
Something that Telos was able to learn in a conversation with the colonel was the way in which rank is increased.
To advance in rank, you don't need to fight hundreds of creatures, but rather find the core of your mind... or rather, the minds of the Anchors are blocked by five cores of madness. Finding each core requires passing the test of forgetfulness; passing it will reveal the creature blocking your mind. Therefore, you must find it and eliminate it.
Both tests are difficult; finding the core requires time and concentration, and eliminating the creature requires strength.
Not to mention the test of forgetting. According to the colonel, each person has a different one, so he can't provide any information about it, only that it occurs in the soul.
Telos lay down on the ground, sweaty and tired. After doing squats for who knows how long, his legs finally gave up. Several cramps began to occur, however, that was not the most worrying thing about the training.
It was thirst.
Now that Telos thought about it, he hadn't had a drink of water in a couple of days. The only liquid in his body during this time was blood, which only increased his thirst.
His face was dry, with several wrinkles that seemed to be slightly marked. His lips were cracked, with dried blood on them. His fingers looked like those of an old man, and his body had depleted the little water it had by letting out the sweat.
If he didn't find a source of water, his death was closer than he thought.
"How have I not thought of this before?"
He murmured, his voice barely audible. His throat felt dry and scratchy.
But where could he find a source of water? The forest was quite dense, and given how tired he was now, he'd die before he got there…
'I'm an idiot, a real idiot... shit.'
There was only one option left, the lost city.
In reality, at some point, he was going to have to go inside somehow, but it ended up happening sooner than he expected.
With that, he stood up. He couldn't go in now without ending up dead, especially if there wasn't any water source in the city... It would be a pitiful death.
Therefore, he had to prepare for when midnight came.
***
Telos returned to the small cave. After seeing that night had already arrived a few hours ago, now only the moment of truth remained.
His left forearm had a cut from which blood was oozing weakly, and his sword was almost broken, with a worn edge.
After completing that training and realizing its necessity, he headed into the forest and used his sword to cut down branches and a few small trunks. He also picked up dried leaves from the ground.
He gathered all of that to set traps. After all, at midnight, Azaroth's followers emerge from the depths of the cave and seek out anything with thoughts. Since Telos was going to stay awake, they were going to head toward him.
Telos took his double-edged sword and held it with his right hand. There were minutes left for the creatures to emerge.
The air was cold, and any movement of the small stones in the cave or the whistling of the wind was deceptive and put Telos on guard instantly.
However, the young man had some confidence in those traps that, although improvised, should at least keep the creatures from reaching his position until dawn.
From what he had observed, the creatures were not strong, even the colonel had told him so, so at least there were thousands of them…
'Don't jinx it!'
His heart pounded harder and harder. His grip on the sword grew shakier. His mind grew more and more confused. Telos grew more and more nervous.
The sound of the wind stopped, the air seemed thicker and warmer, and the entire cave seemed to have stopped all movement, even the slightest.
Not a single rock fell from the ceiling, fooling the young man. It seemed as if the cave itself feared what was to come.
His legs found the right moment to start complaining in pain, pleading for instant rest. His hands began to sweat; if it weren't for the strange bandage around the sword's handle, Telos would have had a hard time fighting.
But there was no more time for those thoughts, the sound of hundreds of footsteps flooded the cave... perhaps thousands.