Morvidk's assumed planet stretched across space like an artist's reckless brushstroke—beautiful, perilous, and utterly alien. Beneath roiling magenta skies perpetually electrified by arcs of vermilion lightning, colossal mountain formations rose and fell like petrified waves. Jagged mountain peaks punctured clouds of phosphorescent teal mist, cloaking this desolate landscape in spectral mystery The air, acrid and metallic, whispered secrets of ages forgotten. It was here, that the Blade brothers found themselves hunting.
The planet was an alien enigma, a paradox of savage beauty—jungles thick with phosphorescent flora, trees whose colorless leaves seemed carved from glass, and rivers of luminescent blue. The planet hummed with an ancient, pulsating life, ever watchful, ever breathing.
Yet, within the bowels of this mountain fortress, the planet's vibrant song had dimmed, replaced by an eerie quiet that felt unnaturally constructed. The celestial's bunker, a clandestine haven built from stone and fortified by a rare metallic alloy impervious to scans, was designed to swallow signals whole, rendering technological detection more or less useless. At least it was around The main center of the bunker.
It was here, nestled in an imposing mountain formation whose sides resembled petrified storm clouds, that the Blade brothers navigated silently, wary of each echoing footstep. The narrow passageway pressed around them, walls so close they brushed shoulders against the porous, abrasive stone.
At the head of the cautious trio, Sil led with meticulous precision. Each step, each gesture deliberate, silent commands communicated with glances and subtle shifts of posture. Behind him, Vorden moved like liquid shadow, eyes alert and breath slow, steady. In stark contrast, Raten, though attempting stealth, moved with barely restrained impatience, shoulders tense, eyes glittering with a restless hunger for action.
The silence felt heavier the deeper they descended, pressing against their skin like a living force. It lay like a tangible shroud, disturbed only by the soft, deliberate placement of footsteps. The tunnel, carved through eons by unknown forces, coiled around, its rough, alien walls glittering faintly with bioluminescent fungi. Each step was a cautious endeavor, their movements measured, their breaths carefully controlled.
Sil paused, raising a hand. Instinctively, Vorden and Raten froze, their bodies locked in disciplined stillness. After what felt like hours of serpentine navigation, the narrow tunnel had finally widened, broadened, ushering them into a sprawling cavern. Surrendering abruptly into a cavern whose majesty stilled the breath in their throats. Careful to avoid dislodging loose stones, they fanned out.
Their breath plumed softly in the chilled air, silvery wisps dancing before dissolving into nothingness. The oppressive darkness wrapped around the brothers, as thick as ink spilled in water, pooling through the narrow crevices of the cavern walls. The only light by which to see was from a small illuminating crystal held by Sil at the lead, or the occasional fungi clusters that provided an earie glow here and there.
The lead brother reached into his dimensional storage device, withdrawing a slender, sophisticated scanner, which pulsed faintly in his palm. "Take this," he whispered softly, pressing it into Vorden's waiting grasp. "It should help find the safest route forward, though I am not sure how much good it will do with this strange material everywhere. It's scattered throughout. Probably the culprit for that main hub we're after being so well concealed."
The air here felt cooler, lighter. Yet the cavern was vast and convoluted, branching into multiple pathways that yawned open before them like shadowed mouths, inviting or threatening—impossible to tell. The ceiling soared impossibly high above, vanishing into a dusky void, so distant and dark it seemed as if they'd stepped into the hollow heart of the planet itself.
Sil swept his gaze upward, squinting into darkness. "What the hell could've formed something like this?" His voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed softly nonetheless.
Raten stepped up beside him, tilting his head thoughtfully. "There's no water erosion, no stalactites. Nothing recognizable to clue us in, at least not by any type of our standards on earth."
Their hushed theorizing was abruptly interrupted by a contemplative hum from Vorden. "Hmmmm," he murmured, eyes narrowed as he studied the screen of the portable scanner Sil had handed him moments ago. The brothers glanced back, instantly alert, joining him.
"What'd you find?" Sil asked, voice taut.
Vorden pursed his lips slightly, the glow of the scanner casting an azure reflection across his serious features. "It looks like the far tunnel there," he gestured with a nod towards the rightmost opening, "is completely caved in. So, we're left with these three viable tunnels." He indicated them with a deft movement of his hand, pale fingers gliding across the scanner's controls. "I can scan a short way down each path, but after a certain point, it's just darkness and interference."
Sil let out a resigned sigh, finishing his brother's thought grimly. "We don't know which one leads to Morvidk."
"Exactly," Vorden confirmed, lowering the scanner slightly, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Raten chuckled low in his throat, the sound a soft vibration of dangerous humor. "Well, three tunnels—seems obvious what we should do."
"No." Sil's tone was clipped, sharp with an unspoken finality, cutting Raten off before the suggestion had fully left his lips.
"I didn't even finish," Raten snapped, eyebrows lifting with an incredulous, irritated surprise.
"You don't have to. We're not splitting up," Sil asserted firmly, turning fully to face both brothers, posture rigid and uncompromising.
"Sil," Vorden began diplomatically, "I'm not sure we have a choice here. We can't afford the luxury of checking each tunnel one by one. Bliss is counting on us to reach her quickly."
Raten shrugged, arms folded defiantly across his chest. "And in tunnels this narrow, our numbers count for shit. All we'll do is trip over each other, and slow down any retreat that might become necessary."
A heavy, tense silence hung between them, thickening with each heartbeat, every quiet inhalation. Sil stared at them, the accusation vivid in his narrowed eyes. "So, this is how it is then, you're teaming up against me?"