In Larissa and Taro’s group... The walls trembled with each new impact. The shadow stalkers on the other side had intensified their attacks, as if sensing that the structure was about to give way. Lin pressed her hands against the minerals, feeling the vibrations transmit through her palms. "It won’t hold much longer," she warned, turning toward the group. Her face was drawn with concern, eyes darting between the weakening wall and the students she was responsible for protecting. Taro, Umi, and Larissa constantly reinforced the structure, channeling what little remained of their energies to maintain the solidity of the wall. Their faces were pale with effort, sweat beading on their foreheads as they fought to keep the barrier intact. Meanwhile, Mira and Matilda’s rope descended slowly into the dark hole where Ren and Han had disappeared. They had already extended about a hundred meters of line, but the absolute darkness made it impossible to know how much more they would need. "How much farther could it be?" Min asked, peering over the edge of the hole. The light from the wall’s crystals barely penetrated a few meters into the darkness before being devoured by the gloom. Beyond that lay only impenetrable shadow. "Impossible to know until we reach the bottom or feel a tug from the boys," Lin responded, dividing her attention between the threatened wall and the rescue operation. "For all we know, it could be twice what we’ve extended so far..." "Or more," Larissa added, her voice strained from the effort. "We can’t continue like this," Taro panted, sweat running down his face. His living tunnel, though evolved, was reaching the limit of its capabilities against so many enemies. "We need to reach Ren soon or we won’t get out of this." Lin nodded gravely. She wasn’t sure she could keep the students safe... They had placed too much confidence in Ren, who made it seem impossible not to be able to face any mishap in this "easy zone". Now she faced a terrible decision. It was the kind of decision no instructor wanted to make: protect the present group or try to rescue those who had fallen. Each option carried its own weight of responsibility and potential regret. It was then that they saw it. A flash of light, brief but intensely bright, ascended from the depths of the hole like an inverted lightning bolt. It illuminated the chamber for a split second before fading away, leaving ghostly afterimages dancing in their vision. "What was that?" Mira blinked, rubbing her eyes. "Ren," Min had no doubts. "Those are his mushrooms when he forces them." But events weren’t happening alone or in order. A new sound drew their attention. It didn’t come from the internal wall they were having more trouble defending, but from the opposite one, where they had sealed the cave entrance and there were fewer shadow stalkers. It sounded as if hundreds of creatures were moving frenetically on the other side while the air whistled through small cracks in the barrier. "Maybe they want to increase pressure there too," Umi observed with alarm. "If they attack this intensely from both sides simultaneously..." Lin quickly evaluated the new situation. Perhaps it was time to send the children into the escape hole. An attack that broke the walls and came from both broken fronts simultaneously would be impossible to contain. They would be overwhelmed in seconds. But then, as suddenly as it had begun, the noise outside the wall leading to the main exit began to diminish... Finally, it ceased completely. "What’s happening?" Matilda whispered, her eyes wide with uncertainty. Lin cautiously approached that wall, pressing her ear against the stone. The sudden silence was almost as unnerving as the previous commotion. "Something or someone has changed the situation. It’s not night yet, so..." Meanwhile, the other wall, containing the shadow stalkers from the deeper section, continued receiving increasingly powerful impacts. An alarming crack indicated that a section was beginning to give way. "I can’t hold it!" Taro shouted, attempting to repair the crack. His hands pressed desperately against the fracturing stone. Lin made an instant decision. "We need to open the other wall," she declared, pointing toward the now-silent barrier. "It could be help..." After a moment of tense deliberation, the group nodded. With extreme caution, Lin directed Larissa to create a small opening in the silent wall, just large enough for them to see what lay beyond. Then, a familiar face appeared. "Professor Zhao," Mira exhaled with palpable relief, her shoulders sagging as tension fled her body. Indeed, Zhao peered through the opening, his owl markings glowing intensely as he rapidly assessed the situation. Behind him, the passage was clear, the floor littered with the remains of shadow stalkers. "Widen the opening," he ordered. While Taro and the others expanded the opening, a cracking sound indicated that the other wall had finally yielded. The shrieks of shadow stalkers filled the air as they began to flood the space, their translucent bodies gleaming in the dim light as they poured through the fissures. "Behind me!" Zhao shouted, beginning to launch feathers with deadly accuracy. The group hurried through the widened opening, Lin ensuring that everyone passed safely before her, but also covering for Mira and Matilda to keep the line going as the shadow stalkers surged forward. ♢♢♢♢ In Liora and Luna’s group… The last shadow stalker was crushed under the power of Julius’s earth wolverine. With a fluid movement, Julius sealed the final opening through which more creatures could enter. The earth responded to his will as if it were an extension of his own body, flowing and hardening at his command with perfect obedience. "It’s safe now," he announced, turning toward the group of exhausted students. The scene was desolate. First-year students, who should have been enjoying a gathering excursion in which they had already achieved an astonishing goal, now found themselves in various states of exhaustion and shock. Some leaned on each other to remain standing, while others had simply collapsed against the tunnel walls, their faces pale from the vitality drain they had suffered. But this was very strange to Julius. They had shown they had a perfect lineup for this area, and yet they had reached such a bad state... "I’ll have to get you out of here," Julius decided. With precise movements, he began manipulating the earth to create an ascending platform. With it, he reconfigured the ground and raised all the students simultaneously, more difficult but perfect for those most weakened. The earth rose beneath them in a smooth, controlled motion, carrying them upward toward safety. As the earth reconfigured under his command, Julius evaluated the situation. Several students would need immediate attention. The signs of mana poisoning were clear in at least three of them, and vitality loss had severely affected several more. Luna and Liora, exhausted but determined, approached him as he supervised the ascent. Despite their fatigue, they moved with the ingrained grace of nobility, refusing to succumb entirely to their exhaustion. "Prince Julius," Luna began, her normally controlled voice now tense with effort and concern. "Ren and Han are still down there." "They fell through a hole," Liora added, her will-o’-wisp barely a weak flicker. "We have to rescue them." Julius observed them, recognizing the brave effort they were making to remain conscious. Both had exceeded their limits, and their beasts could no longer fully manifest. "I see... I think I understand the situation," he responded gravely. "But look around you." With a gesture, he encompassed all the injured students. "Several of your companions need anti-mana medicine urgently," he continued. "And nightfall is approaching. When darkness comes, this entire area will be infested." Liora tried to protest, but exhaustion almost made her fall. Only Julius’s quick reflexes prevented her from collapsing. His arm steadied her, firm but gentle. "In your current condition, none of you would survive the journey back to camp without protection," he explained while helping her stabilize. "And I cannot divide myself." The frustration in both girl’s eyes was palpable, but even they couldn’t deny the logic of his decision. "But... we can’t abandon them," Liora insisted, her voice barely a whisper. "We aren’t abandoning them," Julius assured, his tone firm but compassionate. "I’ll return as soon as I get everyone to safety... Now, we must move," he ordered. "Every minute counts." With painful but necessary resignation, Luna and Liora nodded. Julius cast one last look toward the sealed depths, where he didn’t know that right now two students were fighting for their lives against unknown dangers. "Hold on," he murmured, before turning to guide the survivors to safety. ♢♢♢♢ Ren’s vision narrowed to a single point, the true core. Although he couldn’t know it... He would receive no help in time; he would have to resolve his situation on his own. The weight of survival rested solely on his shoulders, with Han’s life hanging in the balance alongside his own. The creature, temporarily blinded, thrashed its tentacles erratically, trying to ignore the pain in its damaged eyes. Ren slipped between two tentacles that flailed blindly, dodging by millimeters a third that almost struck him by pure chance. His outstretched hand could almost feel the grip of the spear already, fingers extended toward the weapon that might be their only salvation.