Jorin stared at the fiery outline of the door carved into the ground, his brows furrowed. "So... do we open it now?"
"No." Serah’s voice was sharp and steady.
Jorin blinked at her, frowning. "What do you mean ’no’?"
Serah’s crimson eyes didn’t waver as she studied the faint glow of the rectangular shape. "I don’t know the exact mechanism behind this door. Whatever method we use to force it open could trigger alarms—or worse, alert Drosmir and his guards. And with just the two of us here, that would be suicide."
Jorin leaned back on his heels, lips pressing into a thin line before he let out a small sigh. "Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t think of that." He scratched at his jaw, thoughtful. "So then how do we get down there?"
Serah lifted a finger and pointed directly at him. "With earth magic. Isn’t that obvious?"
Jorin tilted his head, looking back at the ground beneath their feet before scoffing lightly. "Yeah, obvious. Guess the frustration of the past few days has gotten into my head." A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"I figured," Serah said calmly, her tone carrying the slightest hint of amusement. "Anyway, get on with it."
At her command, Jorin crouched low, placing his palm flat against the earth. His eyes closed as he slowed his breathing, concentration radiating off him. Almost immediately, the flames Serah had conjured flickered out, leaving the ground bare once more. He pushed his senses downward, feeling the earth like it was an extension of himself. He probed deep into the stone and dirt, following the contours of the hidden structure beneath. After a long, silent moment, his eyes finally opened.
"Well?" Serah asked, expectant.
"It’s massive," Jorin replied, straightening to his full height. "Definitely a pathway, wide enough for traffic. And it stretches pretty far. Couldn’t even make out the full length of it."
Serah hummed low in her throat. "Mmhm. Any chance you can drop us straight into it?"
"No problem," Jorin said with a shrug. "But not here. We need some distance from this entrance in case someone’s watching. Last thing we need is leaving a hole right on their doorstep." He was already moving before he finished speaking.
Serah gave him a measured glance, then followed silently, her steps blending with his.
When they had put a considerable distance between themselves and the false entrance, Jorin came to a stop. He studied the ground a moment, then raised his hand. With a subtle, deliberate gesture, the earth shifted. Soil and rock split apart as a wide, circular hole opened beneath them—large enough for a grown man to pass through without difficulty. The opening yawned deep, black and endless, the air from below cold and stale.
Serah stepped forward, peering into the abyss. She extended her hand, summoning a small ball of fire that glowed warmly in her palm. Without hesitation, she dropped it into the hole. Both of them watched as the ball plummeted downward, its light illuminating jagged earthen walls as it descended. Finally, after a long fall, the fire struck solid ground far below, flickering weakly before vanishing.
"It’s quite deep," Serah murmured.
"Yeah," Jorin agreed, staring into the darkness with her. Then, with a mischievous tilt of his mouth, he gestured toward the opening. "Well, ladies first?"
Serah side-glanced at him, unimpressed, before sighing through her nose. She said nothing, only stepped forward and let herself drop gracefully into the blackness.
"My turn," Jorin muttered as he followed after her, stepping into the hole without hesitation.
The moment his body vanished into the darkness, the earth closed seamlessly above, erasing all trace of their descent.
After plummeting for what felt like a long moment, Serah burst out of the hole above, landing in a steady crouch. She rose swiftly, brushing the dust off her coat before her sharp eyes swept the shadows around her. The air was thick, damp, and the dimness cloaked everything in obscurity, leaving her unable to make out much.
Just seconds after, another figure dropped from the darkness above. Jorin landed with a clean roll before springing to his feet, his gaze flicking about with the same cautious curiosity. He tilted his head toward Serah.
"Uh, mind making some light, princess?"
Without hesitation, Serah lifted her hand. Flames flickered to life, coalescing into a glowing orb of fire that floated above them, flooding the tunnel with warm, steady light. Shadows fled, revealing the space they had descended into.
Their eyes widened slightly at the sheer scale. It wasn’t just a cave—it was a roadway tunnel, carved wide and deep, stretching endlessly in one direction, while the other sloped gradually upward, like a hill buried underground.
"Seems Drosmir really poured his sweat into this slave business," Jorin muttered, scanning the walls, tracing the unnatural precision of the stonework.
"Yeah," Serah replied, her voice low, eyes locked on the uphill stretch. "Judging by the incline, that way leads back toward the surface where we came from. Which means this way"—she motioned toward the endless stretch—"is where we need to go."
Jorin smirked faintly. "Already knew that, boss." Without waiting for more words, he began striding down the darker direction.
Serah shot him a sidelong glance before following, her flame orb drifting with her steps.
They walked in silence, their senses sharpened, eyes darting across walls, ceiling, and every shadow that flickered in the firelight. Though their instincts urged them to move faster, they held back, their pace steady and deliberate. Rushing could lead to disaster—they had no knowledge of traps, twists, or sudden guards. And if they were discovered too soon, it could unravel everything.
A handful of soldiers, sure, they could handle. But even a few missing men would raise alarms, and word would surely reach Drosmir. That was a risk they couldn’t afford, so they pressed forward at a cautious but efficient pace.
Nearly two miles in, the tunnel shifted. The walls expanded outward, opening into a broad chamber where the pathway split into three separate tunnels, each one smaller than the colossal route they had been walking.
Serah slowed, her gaze flickering from one opening to the other, mind analyzing in silence. Finally, she spoke. "These must be the feeder tunnels—the routes buyers take to reach the main road. And this massive tunnel is the vein where they all converge before heading straight to Drosmir’s chamber."
"Yeah, seems about right," Jorin agreed, his lips curling slightly. "But that might make things messy for us. Think about it—if the buyers all pile in here, trying to pull off identity theft in a crowd like that? Risky. We’d stick out and maybe get caught."
Serah shook her head slowly, confidence unshaken. "Not necessarily. Look at this tunnel here," she said, pointing toward the one branching off to the right. "If we follow it back, just like we found this meeting point, we should find a smaller convergence—buyers coming from only one direction. Not the full crowd. And that is where we make our move. Less eyes. Easier to slip in and take an identity."
Jorin eyed her for a beat, weighing her words, then shrugged lightly. "Makes sense. But... what if you’re wrong?"
Serah’s gaze never wavered. "Then we improvise. We do the theft here if we must. One way or another, we’ll find our way in." With that, she adjusted her coat and began walking decisively toward the right tunnel. "Now come on. We don’t have all night."
Jorin huffed a soft laugh, shaking his head, but quickly fell in step beside her. The flame orb drifted with them, stretching shadows long across the tunnel walls as they pressed deeper into the labyrinth.