The climb felt longer than it should have. Each stair seemed steeper than the last. Chains pushed forward, her arm hooked tightly under Blue's shoulder, her body trembling with the effort of keeping them both upright.
The heat grew stronger the higher they went. Not in a bad way, in a comforting way. It meant the fire was still going
She muttered something under her breath that sounded like a victory.
When they reached the top, Chains didn't even pause. She guided Blue into the chamber, half-dragging, half- carrying her, and eased her down against the wall beside the fire.
The warmth washed over them. It was the first real comfort they'd had since entering this place.
Chains knelt beside her, letting Blue lean into the stone. Her breathing was shallow, but steady. Her face was pale and wet with a cold sweat. She was shaking. Even with everything they'd stripped from the goblin and everything chains had wrapped around her, it wasn't enough.
Chains exhaled sharply, bracing herself with one hand. Her arms burned, bruised, and broken. Her legs ached. Her back felt like she had been carrying bricks for hours, she swayed, almost tipping forward from the weight of it all.
But she couldn't
Not yet.
She dug into the makeshift sack and pulled out the crude earring. It was bent, crusted with dirt and mucus. But it might be able to work
She straightened the thin metal against a rock, then began sharpening it carefully, scraping one edge into a finer point using the flattest stone she could find. She didn't stop until it could prick skin with the lightest touch. Afterward, she held it in the fire with a piece of torn cloth, waiting until it was glowing hot and then let it cool in the open air.
It was as clean as she could get it here.
She turned back to Blue gently shifting her shoulder. Blue didn't react. Her eyes were open but unfocused. Her lips were dry and trembling.
Chains didn't speak at first. She just knelt beside her and tore another piece of cloth, folding it roughly before pressing it into Blue's mouth, the pain would be sharp.
"Bite down," she said softly
Blue did as she was told, Chains took a deep breath then unwrapped her wound.
The skin was swollen and raw, jagged pieces of flesh were dangling on, it wasn't too deep but it was long and torn. Chains tool threads from her clothes and started stitching, each one felt like it took an hour. Her hands shook.
She didn't really know what she was doing, but she knew it mattered. She had to keep it clean and stop the bleeding.
By the time she tied the last knot, her eyes were stinging from the smoke.
The bleeding had slowed. The gash, still angry, but it was closed. She wrapped it back up with a small piece of her shirt and fell back, just far enough to sit down.
Her head slumped forward, and for a while, neither of them moved.
The fire crackled quietly. The air had the faint scent of ash and blood. Chains sat there, her eyes slipping shut, until a sound broke the quiet.
A groan.
She tensed immediately.
Ser hand went to the dagger, but no threat came.
Another groan. Softer. Pained.
She turned towards Blue.
Chains scrambled forward, too slow, too tired, but fear cut through the weight.
Blue was burning.
Chains pressed a hand to her forehead.
"She's boiling," she muttered. "No, no, no…"
She reached to pull her shirt off, hesitating for only a second. She couldn't even think straight about it, and checked the wound.
The skin was flushed red. Heat Radiated off it like an open flame.
"How is it already infected?" she whispered.
It didn't make any sense she had cleaned everything as best as she could, and that was far too fast.
Blue whimpered again, her head rolling weakly against the stone.
Chains sat frozen for a second, mind racing.
And then… She just whispered, "I don't, I don't know what to do."
She wrapped Blue tighter in what she had and learned her back against the wall. That was all she could do.
Wait.
Blue didn't scream. She didn't thrash. She didn't cry out for help.
But something about the way she shook, tensed and breathless, hit Chains harder than all of that would have.
She sat there, elbows on her knees, watching the sweat roll down Blue's cheek and vanish into the bandages. Her hands were clenched, Just to stop them from shaking.
She couldn't do anything
So she just sat, and waited, and listened to the fire.
Until Blue spoke.
But not in the waking world.
It was quiet at first. Then loud. Then quiet again.
Everything was.. Wrong.
She was somewhere dark, but not empty. The silence didn't feel clean. It was twisted. Warped. Folded in on itself like a hallway turning corners that shouldn't exist. Blue staggered forward, barefoot on a floor she couldn't see, couldn't feel but could, arms outstretched into air that didn't feel like air at all.
Her mind reeled. Her stomach clenched.
She called out.
"Chains?" nothing, "Anybody?!"
Still no answer.
She tried again, louder, "Chains?! Where are you, where am i?"
Her voice echoed, but not how it should have. It came back at the wrong pitch, the wrong rhythm. She felt her breath hit her face as though the sound had circled and returned without crossing space.
Her legs moved on their own. One foot forward, then the other, then again. The dark Didn't end. The path didn't change. It just went on. Forward. Forever
Then came the heat.
It hit like a wave, sudden and deep, but not on her skin. It was inside her Beneath the surface of her thoughts. Burning, but not fire. It was memory. Emotion. Panic. Pain.
She staggered. Fell.
Her hands hit the ground. But the ground pulsed. Something moved beneath it.
She looked up and saw something.
She couldn't describe it.
It was long. Twisting. The shape of a thought she couldn't remember. It didn't move, but it felt like it had. And it was watching her, maybe. Or maybe it didn't have eyes. She didn't want to find out.
She ran.
Her limbs screamed in protest. Her breath caught. She didn't get far.
Her foot caught on something unseen. She went down again, and when she looked up–It was there.
Too close.
It didn't move, did not speak, it just was.
Blue gasped. Her chest felt tight. Her body shivered and spasmed and she couldn't remember why she was running or where she was or what this thing was or—
Then something touched her shoulder.
It wasn't cold
It wasn't hot
It wasn't even really there.
But the pain Lessened.
Not gone. Just duller.
The shaking stopped.
And the darkness, somehow, felt thinner. Like it might crack if she pushed hard enough.
She blinked.
And—