I woke to sounds.
At first I couldn’t tell if it was a dream. Then I heard it again.
Dull impacts. Metallic. Rhythmic.
Pickaxes.
Somewhere above.
Then another sound— a muffled thump. A vibration ran through the stone, the walls, my body.
Explosions.
They were real.
I tried to scream.
“A-ah—”
Only a rasp tore out of my throat. Dry. Ragged. Painful.
I clutched my neck. It hurt—like I hadn’t used it in centuries.
Water.
The thought was simple. Almost animal.
With a shaking hand, I gathered mana. Water appeared at once—dirty, warm, uneven. I didn’t wait.
I drank. Greedily. Too fast. Water ran down my chin, my chest; I choked, coughed, and kept drinking.
The world cleared a little.
I drew a deeper breath.
“HELP ME!”
My voice cracked, but it was a voice. Real.
“SAVE ME!”
I screamed. A long time. Until my throat turned back into pain.
And then—
The pounding stopped.
Complete silence.
I froze.
Then I screamed even louder. With everything I had. Until darkness swam in my vision.
I screamed until I collapsed.
Darkness.
I came to.
And screamed again.
Again—silence. Again—work stopping.
I screamed without pause. Two hours. Or more. Time broke again down here.
My voice vanished. Only a whisper remained.
And then—
Light appeared above.
Small. Thin. Alive.
It drifted down slowly. Dust motes danced around it. For the first time in ages, the stone felt warm.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
I laughed and cried at the same time.
“Finally…” I whispered.
Finally.
I reached toward the light.
And for the first time in a very, very long time, I believed someone had truly found me.
A minute later.
Or two.
The light grew brighter.
At first it was slender, almost timid. Then it began to push back the darkness, as if afraid of scaring me. The shadows retreated. I heard voices.
Real voices.
Not in my head.
Alive.
“Here…” someone said from above.
“Did you hear that?”
“That wasn’t an echo.”
I crawled.
Slowly. Awkwardly.
Every movement answered with pain.
“Save me…” I rasped. “Please…”
My throat burned. The words came out torn.
“Help…”
The light lowered. I saw silhouettes. They came closer.
“How did she get down there?” I heard.
“There was… nothing here…”
They climbed down.
Three of them.
Dwarves.
I didn’t believe it at first. I stared at them like they were a dream that would vanish any second.
“Oh gods…” one of them whispered. “You… how long have you been here?”
I tried to answer.
“A lo—” I breathed.
My voice broke.
“A long…”
Hissing instead of words.
One of them turned away sharply.
“Quick,” he told the other. “Give her something.”
Someone rummaged through a bag. A piece of cloth was pressed into my hands.
“Cover yourself,” a voice said gently.
I wrapped it around myself as best I could. My hands shook.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you… thank you…”
The words spilled out on their own. I cried. I couldn’t stop. Tears ran down my face, dripping onto the stone.
“That’s enough,” one of them said. “You’re out now. We’re getting you up.”
They tied a rope around me. Tight. Secure.
Tugged it a few times.
“All set!”
“Pull!”
And they hauled me up.
Up.
I sobbed and laughed at the same time.
“Finally…” I kept whispering. “Finally… finally…”
The tears wouldn’t stop.
When they lifted me, light struck my eyes.
I screamed in pain.
It felt like my eyes were burning from the inside. I couldn’t open them. The world was white. Too white.
Voices all around me.
So many voices.
“Who is she?”
“How did she end up down there?”
“How long was she there?”
“Is she alive?”
Someone held my shoulders. Someone said something soothing, but I couldn’t make out the words anymore.
Joy crashed over me like a wave.
Too strong.
Too real.
I let go.
And blacked out.
With one thought burning brighter than any light:
It’s over.
I woke up.
Something soft beneath me. Not stone. Not cold. Not pain.
I opened my eyes.
Light still stabbed them—sharp, painful, but… I could see.
I squeezed them shut. Then opened them again.
And started crying.
Green.
White.
Warm.
Down there, there weren’t colors. There was only black and red—fire’s reflection.
But this…
This was sunlight.
Real.
I covered my face with my hands and cried harder. Not from pain. From happiness. I lay there, crying and laughing through tears—just because I could. Because I was alive.
An hour passed.
Or more.
I didn’t count.
Then someone knocked.
Softly.
The door opened.
An elf came in.
He carried a plate of food.
I didn’t think. I lunged for it.
Ate greedily. Fast. With my hands. Too fast. I choked, gagged, and kept eating. The elf took a step back. Then another.
He said nothing.
Just left.
Food.
Real food.
I ate like a wild animal. And cried. And laughed. Marveled at the taste—warm bread, salt, butter. I’d forgotten food could be like this.
Ten minutes later the door opened again.
He returned.
With another plate.
I started eating again.
But this time he spoke.
“You were found in the mountain,” he said calmly. “You were screaming. For a very long time.”
He paused.
“How did you end up there? Do you… remember?”
I froze.
The fork slipped from my fingers.
I tried to answer.
“I… I… I…”
The words wouldn’t come.
I started crying.
At first quietly. Then harder.
“It’s all right,” the elf said gently. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
He left.
The door shut.
I was alone.
And then my memory came back.
Father.
Archangels.
Brothers.
War.
Fire.
Stone.
I clenched my teeth.
The Demon King.
Because of him.
Because of him—everything.
My suffering. My prison. My years.
“I’ll destroy him,” I whispered. “I’ll destroy him…”
But then other names surfaced.
Merlin.
Arthur.
Did they win?
Slowly, I turned my head toward the window.
And saw a city.
New.
Beautiful.
Being built.
Towers. Bridges. Streets.
And the strangest part—
Elves.
Dwarves.
Humans.
Together.
I watched for a long time.
A very long time.
Then I lay back down.
And for the first time in endless years,
I fell asleep
not in fear,
but in peace.
