Nothing happened.

  My sleep was more or less undisturbed. The only things that woke me up were the sudden thoughts I had about the day’s events–in other words, what you’d expect.

  I got up, confirmed that I got my uses back for my gear and powers, and went on my way. No Husks, no sudden Trial, or whatever. Just me in an empty village. With only one real choice if I wanted to get back to the village. I went to the Hidden Passage and stood there.

  “Interesting,” I said, touching the ground leading to the door itself. “It’s so dry.”

  The riverbed was still muddy, but somehow, this cave was as dry as desert sand. It made me wonder if something more exotic had protected this cave from water incursion. Maybe something like a barrier? That felt magical enough.

  I continued, cracking open the silver door with no big trouble and entering the dry passage with a gust of dry air greeting me.

  “One day, I’ll come back and take these silver doors with me.”

  I passed the threshold. The passage was narrow, the walls natural-looking and untouched by human hands, with luminescent gems embedded here and there. Their faint blue light cast an eerie glow, painting everything in cool, soothing tones. There was no breeze here, but there was a faint hum filling the passage–a quiet listen at a gem had me pretty certain that the gems were producing the hum.

  The door creaked shut behind me, startling me. No way I was sealed in here, right?

  Right. I checked. I could back out if I wanted to. Great. With that settled, I began my trek, praying to anyone who would listen that I wanted to find my home.

  The passage stretched on, the blue light holding steady throughout. Occasionally, I would cross dark passages. My eyes could sort of make out that they had a bend to them, but otherwise, nothing else. These passages were already too narrow for a good fight. I didn’t want to risk anything by straying from the lit path. What if there was a mechanic where the gems repelled Shadow Beasts or something? Yeah, I could take some Levels, but going into an uncontrollable situation with no guarantees? I wasn’t taking that bet.

  Occasionally, purple gems would be mixed in with the blue ones. These gems seemed to pulse to a rhythm, their glow at its brightest temporarily overpowering the blue tones.

  I walked for about two hours, taking the passage’s twists and turns as they came. I hadn’t realized how much I missed exotic fungus until my second hour in here.

  It was as I was reminiscing about all the wacky mushrooms that I heard an echo come up from one of the dark passages I was about to cross.

  It was faint, but it sounded like a whimper and a cry–one that came out of a human’s throat. I stood in front of that passage, utterly stunned and confused.

  A human? There was a human here? And they were hurt? I had to really debate this. Hearing a human in dark passages, now of all times. Was that real? Was there a Shadow Beast that could mimic a human? Was it a Husk that got stuck whimpering?

  “Help… Anyone, please–help–”

  I dropped my backpack and broke into a run, the echo of the cry for help bouncing between my ears. I went down the dark passage, taking two turns, clawing at the rock with New Arm when I could, and stopping short of a slope.

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  “No way.”

  Down that short slope, a Mauler dragged a crying, barely there woman away by her right arm. My own experiences flashed in my mind–she was in the same situation I had been in. She was being pulled away by an overgrown shadow mutt, too!

  “Help,” she whimpered, her eyelids fluttering like she was trying to stay awake.

  I looked down the way they seemed to come from. It was a lower level, with who knows where being at the end of that passage.

  I looked at her again and clenched my jaw. My miracle had been my memories returning. Her miracle–it had to be me.

  God Arm in my hand, I fired at the Mauler’s head.

  The God Arm’s blast erupted with a deafening crack, the jagged arc of lightning lancing through the air and striking the Mauler square in the head. The creature let out a guttural roar, its body convulsing from the bolt. The woman, still clutched in its massive jaws, cried out in pain as the attack “splashed” onto her. Electrified, she sprawled on the ground, water leaking from her eyes and a wet spot appearing on her patchwork leather pants.

  “Shit!” I slid down the slope. “Dumbass! Of course electricity would do something like that!”

  The Mauler shook off the blast, its silver eyes locking onto me with many more sprouting around its body. It lunged, its massive jaws snapping at the air, but I sidestepped the attack with a Level Flicker and drove my metal fist into its side.

  “You’re contending with Level 9 now,” I said, holding up New Arm’s fist.

  The impact sent the creature skidding across the ground, its claws scrabbling at the loose gravel. Its eyes suddenly spun and locked onto the convulsing woman beside me.

  “Don’t you dare!” I yelled, summoning the God Arm again.

  The weapon hummed as its power built. But before the click went off, the Mauler was steady on its feet, its movements unnervingly fast for something so large. It lunged again, this time aiming for the woman.

  I quickly pivoted, sticking New Arm in the way of its jaws. It clamped down, the bite force unable to pierce my arm. Quickly, I stabbed the God Arm into one of its silver eyes, and the weapon fired.

  The lightning caused the shadow of its head to erupt, and my subsequent swing with New Arm pushed the body back. Once more, I fired, the bolt coming out faster this time. It struck the body, and further dispersed the shadows, leaving half of the Mauler’s body to fall over.

  I stood there for a moment, my chest heaving, my body trembling with adrenaline. The woman was still on the ground, her eyes wide with fear and gratitude. I knelt beside her, my voice gentle. “Hey, are you okay?”

  She let out a sigh and her head fell back as she fell unconscious. I caught her right before she hit the ground.

  “Well… We can’t stay here, Miss,” I said with a sigh.

  I cradled her in my arms and quickly retraced my steps, hopeful that I wouldn’t run into any clever Shadow Beast.

  My hopes were never betrayed. I made it back to the lit passage and was able to set the woman down. I was able to get a better look at her here.

  She was a smaller woman, but the tone of her left arm, and some of the pouches strapped to her suggested that she was a hunter. Her hair, shoulder-length and wavy, was the color of dark chestnut, streaked with faint white highlights messily draped around her face. There were a few knots, likely from whatever she had just survived, but it was clear that she had cared for it.

  Her face was pale, with a faint scar on her cheek. A purple neckband caught the eye–it must have been a treasured accessory, and a lucky one at that to have survived a Mauler. Her clothing–looking at it again, she was wearing light and reinforced gear. She must have been a hunter.

  My eyes drifted to her right arm. It was riddled with gashes. Good thing the Mauler had that blood-clotting agent in their fluids or whatever.

  If she woke up and told me that someone had betrayed her and pushed her into that Mauler… Well, let’s just say I wasn’t ready to trust that.

  I stepped away from the woman to survey the passage. A straight shot was coming up and it went on for quite a bit.

  Probably still had hours worth of a journey–and now there was a dagger pressed against my neck.

  “Really? I asked, glancing back at the woman. “Why is it that good deeds are seldom rewarded?