Threads of the Soul

Chapter 484 - 484: Don't delve too deep

Seth took off running, starting the rest of his party who were still debating whether or not splitting up was a good idea. The family members glanced at each other, even if Woe had no eyes in his Behemoth form, and had a silent conversation in the span of a single second before they quickly ran after Seth.They left Hunter standing there in their dust, wondering what in the world was going on. He briefly glanced at the other tunnel, contemplating sticking with the plan of splitting up, before cursing under his breath and running after Seth.

Not that Seth was making it easy to keep up with him. He wasn't running full speed, the tunnels wouldn't be able to handle it, but a hurried jog for him was faster than most of them could sprint. He didn't even slow at the corners, just bouncing off the wall or using his threads to whip himself around them.

It was only thanks to Omelette's connection with him, and some helpful directions shouted by Hunter, that they kept on his path. But even without those helpful hints, the trail of Hollow Corpses he was leaving in his wake would have sufficed.

As he ran, his path illuminated by his threads forming a glowing light rune, Seth kept his eyes forwards and locked on the elusive target he himself was chasing. A boot disappearing around the corner, the hint of a tail coat, a flash of silver eyes in the gloom of the distance.

Always just out of reach. No matter the distance he travelled or how fast he went, it was always just barely on the periphery, as if it was wanting him to chase it. It might seem mad, Seth was very much considering that himself. But he knew what he saw was real, in the deepest part of his gut.

Deep in these caves, he had seen a man in a crisp black suit. Not a Hollow, as he had completely solid silver eyes that pierced through his soul, with well groomed black hair and pale skin. A man that could easily be mistaken for his father.

He had seen this man only twice in his life. In his hallucination on the brink of death, and in a strange dream when he was just a boy. This was the third, and finally he was clear of mind to know it wasn't some hallucination.

So then what? Who or what was this impossible man? And more importantly, where was he leading- Where did he go?

Seth slammed his foot down, cracking the ground slightly as he came to a dead halt in the cross section of half a dozen different tunnels. His eyes darted rapidly between the tunnels, a hint of desperation in his gaze, as he searched for any sign of the man he had been chasing.

But there was nothing. No eyes, no shoes, no man. Here one minute, and gone the next, leaving Seth with only more questions.

A chorus of voices echoed from the tunnel behind him, as the rest of his party finally caught up to him and called out to him. He turned with a heavy sigh as they poured into the crossroads alongside him, more cracks spreading with every new addition.

When the floor finally shattered and collapsed inwards, he really should have seen it coming.

Yelps of shock and cries of fear slowly faded as they fell and, before they could right themselves, they hit the angled floor and began to slide. The dirt gave way beneath their bodies, offering little resistance as they slid deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth.

Seth quickly summoned his [SSX Thready] and began to use it like an actual snowboard, or dirt board in this case, as he surfed down the dirt hill. But instead of flying back up, he surfed over to his siblings, pulled them onto the board, and let them slide even deeper.

His eyes focused on the depths of the tunnel, where he could see a pair of silver eyes staring back at him.

He also eventually remembered to help out Hunter, who was tumbling down the hill, while Omelette glided happily on his arm-wings. They slid for what felt like miles, and perhaps even was. The only way they could measure their depth at this point was the gradually increasing heat and the building pressure squeezing their bodies.

It wasn't just pressure of the air, but of the mana and soul energy that was being projected by whatever dwelled deep beneath the earth. It was so thick that it was not just becoming visible to those without specialised vision, but was literally dripping from the ceiling like water.

Much like water in caves, these droplets had gathered small amounts of minerals in them and over hundreds of thousands of years, had slowly formed stalactites and stalagmites, making it seem as if they were surfing into the snarling maw of an ancient beast.

The 'teeth' of this ancient beast were not just limestone or other mineral deposits. They were glittering like they were polished metal with a glistening rainbow sheen.

Seth didn't waste the opportunity to snatch a few of these up as he passed, his momentum doing enough to snap them off, before he stuffed them into the Transportation bag hanging on his hip.

Aside from these mineral growths of an unknown substance, there were countless patches of Void Crystal. If the Stalagmites were like teeth of a creature, these were the veins. Lurching out from the darkness of the 'throat' in lines that branches off from each other, curled around the ceiling and littered the floor like traps waiting to be stumbled across.

The veins grew thicker and more plentiful, each single crystal was enough to cause certain death for all but one of them, never mind entire veins of the stuff. Just the sight of it all was enough to cause Hunters face to turn completely pale as Seth flew them all over the crystals.

Finally, where the pressure, the heat and the gathered crystals all converged at their greatest point, was the end of the tunnel. A dead end in the form of a wall made of pure Void Crystal, and a bricked stone path leading right up to it.