Sid POV

  The cave opened before Sid like a hollowed wound in the earth. Rough stone walls were heavily coated in thick spiderwebs. The webs were neither clean nor delicate. They sagged under their own weight, layered over one another, catching dust and fragments of debris.

  Embedded among them were clusters of pale, translucent spider eggs, pressed into the rock as if grown there rather than placed. Some were half-buried in webbing, others exposed, their rounded shapes faintly glowing where the cavern light touched them.

  It was almost exactly what Sid had seen in the photos. Almost. The difference lay at the center of the cavern.

  A small pool that radiated a gentle blue light was in the center of the cavern, filling the space with an eerie clarity. It was bright enough to see without strain. There were no torches, no crystals mounted to the walls, and yet, what he saw before him was nearly as bright as the photos.

  “Quite a steep drop.” Varun stepped up beside him and peered down from the edge.

  The tunnel they stood in did not meet the cavern floor. It opened halfway up the wall, forcing anyone entering to deal with the height immediately.

  Sid leaned forward and looked down. He estimated about twenty feet, maybe three Rohans stacked on top of each other. A jump would not kill them, but it would hurt. A twisted ankle or worse would cripple their mobility.

  He clicked his tongue, irritation stirring as he once again lamented the absence of a healer on their team.

  “Let’s go back.” Rohan’s voice came out fast and subdued. His gaze kept darting between Sid and Varun instead of settling on the cavern, as if the sight itself made him uneasy.

  “You think those eggs would give out skill crystals?” Varun turned toward Sid instead of answering Rohan. He kept his voice low, careful not to carry it into the cavern. No enemies were visible, but that meant little.

  Sid felt a flicker of approval. Varun adapted fast. He had learned to see value where others saw danger. The eggs were the real reason Sid had pushed them this far. That, and the possibility that some unlucky prey had left behind usable gear.

  Sid stepped back into the tunnel, raising two fingers in a subtle gesture for them to follow. The further he moved from the opening, the dimmer the light became. The glow from the pool thinned until it barely reached their feet, leaving the walls in uneven shadow.

  “Yeah, I think they might drop crystals,” Sid said, holding Varun’s gaze. Without the glow from Mana Web, the tunnel felt darker than before. The blue glow was now their only source of light.

  Varun’s face lit up, and he edged towards the cavern.

  “Don’t be reckless.” Rohan reached out and caught Varun’s hand. His grip was firm, his jaw clenched tight. “What if the mother comes back and chases us?”

  He turned to Sid next, urgency creeping into his voice. “Please tell him to stop.”

  Varun yanked his arm free and raised a finger at Rohan, his eyes narrowing and teeth grinding together as he prepared to retort.

  Sid stepped between them before the argument could take shape. “I want to check out the cave too.” His voice cut cleanly through the tension. He kept walking toward the edge, making his intent clear through motion more than volume.

  Rohan always defaulted to caution, to retreat. Varun leaned toward risk and reward. They had played out this pattern too many times already, and Sid didn’t want to repeat the routine.

  They were living on borrowed time. The Matriarch could return at any moment, or the goblins could charge in screaming for loot. Waiting too long was suicide.

  His original plan had been to discuss their approach inside the tunnel, where the shadows gave them cover. Instead, he was being forced to do it right at the cavern’s edge. If the threat of discovery kept his team from arguing and pushed them into focus, then he would use it.

  “Sid, why are we doing this?” Rohan’s gaze moved between Sid and Pallavi, as if hoping one of them would voice the doubt he could not fully argue himself. His tone lacked conviction, already sensing that most of the group had decided in favor of checking the cave.

  “You can’t go through life without taking risks, Rohan.” Sid turned to face him. His voice stayed low and even, measured in a way that carried more weight than volume.

  Behind him, the pale blue glow from the cavern’s pool spilled into the tunnel, throwing Sid’s face into shadow. His features blurred at the edges, his expression harder to read, turning him into a dark outline framed by glow.

  “If you want to understand why we’re here, and how we might ever get home, you need to be brave enough to look for answers.” His cadence was steady, almost rehearsed, like he was delivering a speech.

  Rohan sighed. His shoulders loosened, and his brows relaxed as he gave a curt nod, not quite convinced but no longer resisting.

  Varun stepped up beside Sid and looked out across the cavern. “I’ll go break a few eggs and see if they drop crystals.” His voice was light, almost cheerful. A knowing grin tugged at his lips, as if he were privy to some secret that eluded the rest of them.

  “I’ll come with you,” Sid said. His gaze kept sweeping the cavern, drifting to the glowing pool at its center and then to the dark opening that likely served as the main entrance. His eyes returned to those two points again and again, measuring distance and risk.

  “How?” Pallavi asked from behind them. She had joined without announcement, Rohan close at her side. “We didn’t bring the net. We don’t even have a rope.”

  Sid’s shoulders sank a fraction. His lips pressed together before he released a quiet breath. In the future he remembered, he had never stepped into this cavern. Everything he knew about this place came from a report written for the Archon, a document that mentioned a tunnel leading into the lair but nothing about a sheer drop waiting inside.

  A twenty-foot fall would have meant nothing to the demigod. It would barely slow someone like Rohan.

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  Still, that was not the point. Sid had intended to retreat after killing one or two elite spiders—exploring the cavern was not part of the plan. Even if it had been, they would not have brought the net. It was too bulky to bring inside a tunnel.

  “Or why?” Varun asked, his voice losing its earlier humor. “Why do you want to go by yourself? I can check if the eggs drop crystals. I can collect them too.”

  Sid took a slow breath, giving himself a moment to shape his response. “I want to check that glowing pool. What if it’s a portal back home?”

  The effect was immediate. Pallavi stiffened, her posture going rigid. Rohan’s eyes widened, surprise cutting through his fear. Even Varun’s brows furrowed, his expression sharpening with sudden focus.

  Sid watched their reactions closely. He felt the familiar twist of discomfort settle in his chest. He hated lying to them. The lie sat heavy, made worse by how reasonable it sounded. He knew how it made him look, how easily it turned him into someone who manipulated trust.

  But the glowing pool had not been in the original photographs. That detail mattered. If his memory was right, and if his suspicion held, then the pool was not just an anomaly. It was something rare. Something that manifested only under specific conditions. One of the most valuable finds a dungeon could offer, surpassed only by a hidden realm.

  “You really think we can get back home?” Rohan asked. The excitement in his voice was impossible to miss, and he did not even bother lowering it like the others had.

  The sound hit Sid harder than he expected. It felt like a punch to the gut. Seeing the hope on Rohan’s face made the lie taste bitter. He looked away briefly, his jaw tightening as guilt stirred under his calm exterior.

  Pallavi’s eyebrows rose as she leaned back. Surprise flickered across her face, but it did not quite turn into relief. She looked thoughtful rather than happy, as if already weighing consequences.

  Varun looked openly suspicious. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth pulled into a thin, skeptical line. He looked like someone testing a story for cracks.

  “Yes, we will find a way back home,” Sid said. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders, forcing steadiness into his posture. His voice came out calm and assured, the kind meant to settle doubt.

  He lifted his hand and pointed toward the glowing pool. “I’m not sure if that’s the way back home, but it looks like it could be a portal to somewhere. Like the ones you see in movies.”

  Varun gave a brief shake of his head. “Fine. I’ll check out the pool before I crack the eggs.” He interlocked his fingers and stretched his arms forward, joints popping softly as he loosened up.

  “Wait,” Sid said, placing a hand on Varun’s shoulder. “They might be trapped. Some kind of alarm might trigger if you get close to the pool or the eggs. Like in the movies.”

  Varun stiffened at the touch. Sid felt the moment his confidence wavered. Varun had always been quick to act and slow to think, and the idea of an unseen alarm unsettled him.

  “We need to be fast. You can break the eggs and check for crystals while I check the pool.” Sid shifted his stance, shoulders squared, projecting resolve through his posture.

  The presence of the pool changed everything. The spider eggs were no longer the main objective. According to the report, most eggs produced ordinary spiders that dropped common skills like Wall Walk. Only about one in ten eggs gave out an uncommon skill, usually Mana Web.

  Sid was not sure whether any alarm-type skills protected the eggs. There had been no mention of such measures in the report, but that could simply mean the previous team never triggered them. They had reached the lair after all the spiders were already dead.

  The Matriarch, however, was known for mind-based abilities. If any creature could sense danger to her brood from a distance, it would be her. The possibility lingered, tightening Sid’s chest.

  Pallavi cleared her throat, loud enough to pull everyone’s attention. “How do you plan to get down there?” Her eyes stayed fixed on Sid, sharp and expectant.

  “Yeah, we need to solve that first.” Rohan’s voice carried a spark of eagerness now, his eyes brightening as if an idea hovered just out of reach.

  Sid turned to Varun and tilted his head.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Varun said, stepping back. “I’ll break my back if I try carrying you down.”

  “No.” Sid lifted his hand with his palm facing down in a calming gesture. “I was thinking of making a temporary foothold.”

  “How?” Rohan asked. His expression changed as he spoke, eyes narrowing with interest. It looked like he knew what Sid was getting at and was waiting to see if he was right.

  Sid looked between Rohan and Varun, weighing their expressions. “I’ll need both of your help.”

  When they gave their nods, he began laying out his plan.

  “Hold that position.” Sid crouched at the edge of the tunnel and looked down at Varun. The cavern floor sat roughly twenty feet below, close enough to reach, but far enough to punish any mistake. One solid foothold would make all the difference.

  “You better aim right, Rohan.” Varun’s voice carried an edge, half warning and half threat.

  He clung to the cavern wall roughly ten feet above the ground. Both feet pressed into shallow grooves in the stone, one leg bent so his thigh ran nearly parallel to the ground. One hand supported his weight while the other held a bag braced against the rock. The strain showed in his arms. That bag would serve as the foothold Sid needed.

  “Send it.” Sid said, tapping Rohan on the shoulder.

  Rohan lay flat at the tunnel’s edge, stomach pressed to the stone. He leaned forward until he could see straight down. His right arm extended, and a faint glow gathered at his fingertips as Mana Web formed. His breathing slowed as he focused.

  He released the Mana Web, aiming for the edge of the bag farthest from Varun’s face. The web needed to bind the bag and anchor Varun to the wall without spreading across his face. If it covered his face, breathing would become a problem.

  Sid watched closely. Flash Step alone might not support the combined weight of two people at its current level. Mana Web was the true anchor of the foothold.

  When the web settled and held, Rohan pushed himself up and stepped away from the edge. A small, relieved smile flickered across his face as he made space.

  “I’ll kill you if you step on my head,” Varun said. The irritation in his voice was real, edged with strain. He had not liked this plan from the start. In his view, Pallavi and Rohan should have lowered Sid down together while he waited below to catch him and break the fall. It was simpler and felt safer. But the others had overruled him, and now he was stuck halfway down a wall acting as living scaffolding.

  Sid lowered himself to the tunnel floor and slid closer to the edge. He then climbed down the edge of the tunnel, aligning himself above the foothold, elbows pressed to the stone.

  Pallavi crouched beside him, planting her feet firmly. She reached out and clasped his forearm with both hands, bracing herself before taking any weight.

  They needed precision. A slip or misalignment would send him straight down.

  Sid shifted his grip from the rock to Pallavi’s arm.

  “Easy, easy,” Pallavi said. Her tone stayed even, though her arms trembled as she lowered him.

  Sid felt the bag meet the soles of his boots. The impact was light, controlled. He bent his knees at once, keeping his balance as the webbing flexed under his weight. From there, he eased himself down using Varun as a scaffolding and dropped the remaining distance to the ground with a muted thud.

  He stayed still for a moment, letting the tension drain from his legs. Above him, the webbing loosened and peeled away from the stone. Varun released his hold and dropped beside him shortly after.

  Now came the moment that mattered.

  Sid turned toward the glowing pool, his heartbeat picking up as he started forward. Each step brought him closer to the light, closer to the answer that would decide whether all of this had been worth it.