Chris tried to take a deep breath, but the dusty air clawed at his throat, sending him into a fit of coughing.

  “Soa…” He stopped mid-word as the coughing worsened. “Are you alright?”

  He rasped, glancing at the snake coiled tightly around his arm. Soa was still trembling, her scales cold against his skin. He looked around. The tunnel stretched in both directions, but the dim light filtering down from the hole they’d fallen through barely reached a few meters. Beyond that, there was only darkness.

  Chris rummaged through his ring, searching for something to make a torch. He had plenty of burnable material, but no oil, no flint, nothing to start a fire. If only his system had been operational. Everything he needed was locked inside.

  'You’re always unreachable when I need you most.' He thought bitterly.

  Frustrated, he grabbed a jade shard to throw, but froze when it began to emit a faint green glow. It wasn’t bright, but it was better than nothing. Quickly, he tore off a strip of fabric and made a crude mask to keep the dust from his lungs.

  Then he sorted through the shards and bound the least sharp pieces around his left fist. The crystal needed skin contact to shine, and now his hand had become a makeshift lantern.

  “This will do for now.” He muttered. “Now, which way should we go?”

  Both directions looked identical, dark, silent, and unsettling. But from behind came the distant sound of dirt and stone being dug.

  'Shit! They’ve already found us.'

  “Well, I guess that makes the choice easier.” He whispered.

  Chris started forward cautiously, holding his glowing fist close to the ground so he wouldn’t trip over debris. The tunnel twisted and narrowed, sometimes half-blocked by massive crystal formations like the ones he’d seen above. Luckily, the ants had carved paths through them, but unluckily, those paths were ant-sized. Chris had to crouch low, sometimes crawling on hands and knees.

  “Soa, get into the ring, I’ll call you when it’s easier to move.”

  He didn’t have to ask twice; she leapt into the safety of the ring.

  Chris took a risk and unbound the shard, but not before making sure the crystals around him would light up when touched. He stored the shards in the ring; crawling would’ve been difficult with a fist wrapped in them.

  The space wasn’t too tight, but sharp crystal edges jutted out unpredictably, slicing at his clothes and skin. Each time he brushed one, it glowed faintly, lighting the tunnel for a few seconds just long enough for him to move to the next.

  After a long while, the crystals became scarce, forcing him to rebuild his light source. The tunnel widened as he moved deeper, and fewer crystals jutted from the walls.

  'There might be an open area ahead.' He thought.

  He was right. After taking a few more steps, the tunnel opened into a vast chamber, illuminated by dozens of glowing crystals carefully embedded in the walls.

  “Whoa,” Chris breathed. “It’s huge… and deep.”

  Soa peeked her head out of the ring, eyes gleaming in the soft light. Chris gently pushed her back.

  “Not yet. We don’t know if it’s safe.”

  The place looked like some hub, tunnels branching out in every direction. He approached one of the glowing crystals, curious how they stayed lit. On closer inspection, he saw a strange fungus growing over them. The growths were soft and spongy to the touch, but when peeled off the crystal, they began to wither almost immediately.

  He spent a few minutes experimenting, trying to shave off just enough fungus to use without dimming the light. Several crystals grew dim before he finally figured it out. Using bits of cloth, he wrapped a small cluster of fungus-covered shards together and tied the bundle around his waist, a crude but functional lantern.

  “This would almost be fun, if not for the killer ants.” He muttered.

  He looked around.

  'This is the highest level. The exit tunnel should be somewhere on this level.'

  But his thoughts were interrupted by the familiar clicking of approaching mandibles. Chris quickly covered his lantern and slipped into the shadows. Two ants crawled into the chamber, inspecting the crystals. They tapped their antennas together, clicking softly. One disappeared into a side tunnel; the other remained behind, watching.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  'Phew… looks like they’re just checking the lights.'

  He crouched low, ready to wait them out, but fate had other plans. A sudden blue window flickered into existence before his eyes. He flinched; he hadn’t seen one in so long.

  -What did I miss? You look terrible. Where are we?-

  'This is not the time or place for you to show up.'

  -Why?-

  The damage was already done, the ant heard the sound. Chris peeked from behind his cover and saw it approaching.

  'That’s why!'

  -Why are you always in mortal danger when I’m not supervising you?-

  'Must be my charm. Now let me think!'

  -Just kill it.-

  'And then what, genius? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of their nest.'

  -You still have a rope in your inventory. Go down a level; it’s better than waiting for it to find you.-

  Chris glanced around. The ant hadn’t spotted him yet. He quickly tied his rope around a sturdy boulder and began descending toward the next level. It was his first time climbing a vertical wall, and the height made his stomach twist.

  Above him, the ant reached the rope. It screeched and began chewing through the foreign object. The sound echoed through the chamber.

  “Come on, come on…” Chris muttered, climbing as fast as he could.

  The rope jerked violently. Threads snapped. He was still halfway down when it gave way, but he managed to jump, landing hard on the next ledge just as the rope broke free and fell into the abyss.

  “That was too close.”

  He barely had time to breathe before the ant came charging down after him. Chris drew his sword, bracing himself. The creature lunged, mandibles wide.

  He struck first, but the blade bounced harmlessly off the crystal plating on its head.

  'Now what?'

  -Stay away from it and find a gap in the armor.-

  'Easier said than done!'

  The ant attacked again, its jaws snapping inches from him. Chris dodged, barely escaping as the mandibles slammed into the wall, getting stuck.

  -Now’s your chance! Strike!-

  Chris drove his sword into the joint where crystal met flesh. The ant shrieked and thrashed, throwing him back, the blade still buried in its skull.

  “How are you still moving?” He gasped.

  The ant didn’t answer, just charged again. From the tunnels above, he could hear more chittering echoing. Reinforcements.

  'Think, Chris, think! If I can’t kill it, maybe I can stop it from moving.'

  He pulled his spare sword from the ring, readying it as the ant lunged once more. He tried to parry, but the sword snapped in half under the weight of the blow. Desperate, he hurled the broken blade, striking the creature right in one of its unprotected eyes.

  The ant screeched and recoiled, giving him a brief opening. Chris rushed in and struck hard against its head, stunning it.

  He didn’t wait to see if it would recover. He ran.

  -Why are you running?-

  'Because that last hit cracked the bones in my right hand. And I don’t even know if that thing can die!'

  -You can’t just keep running through their tunnels forever.-

  'For now, it’s the best plan I’ve got!'

  He dove into the nearest tunnel, which unfortunately, was filled with the same enormous crystals as before.

  'Damn it, crawling again.'

  He dropped low and crawled as fast as he could. The echoes of pursuit grew louder behind him. Then he noticed the last crystal in the passage was heavily cracked.

  'If I can knock it down…'

  He pressed his shoulder against the crystal, pushing with all his strength. It trembled but didn’t move. The sounds behind him grew louder and closer. He gave one last desperate shove, and the crystal toppled. It struck the next, and the next, collapsing the entire tunnel in a glittering avalanche.

  The path behind him was sealed off.

  Chris collapsed to his knees, panting.

  “Finally… a break.”

  But when he looked up, two massive ants stood waiting on the other side of the chamber.

  “Well, this looks like the end of our adventure.” He said, exhaling,

  He closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable. But seconds passed, and nothing happened.

  When he opened them again, one of the ants was standing over him, its antennae brushing against his face as if examining him.

  'Okay… that’s new. One minute, they’re trying to kill me, the next, they’re calm.'

  A moment later, the creature turned away and began walking down another tunnel. The other waited, glancing back at Chris.

  -You should follow them. Better not make them angry.-

  'Yeah… probably a good idea.'

  He pushed himself to his feet and followed. The ants led him through a maze of twisting tunnels, their nest sprawling like a living labyrinth.

  -Any idea where they’re taking you?-

  'No clue. But I hope they’ve got food. I’m starving.'

  He chuckled to himself as they entered another vast chamber, larger than any before.

  This one was filled to the brim with colossal crystals and enormous mushrooms.

  Really big mushrooms.

  And in the center of it all, their host was waiting.