Chapter 10: Days

They all sat on uncomfortable rocks in the cave Vrey had led them to, a bonfire circle with no bonfire, The sound of water dripping breaking the silence that ruled the damp cave as they stared at each other, shadows covering half their faces created a sombre vibe none of them could shake off, Above them hung stalactites exuding flickering lights that filled the cave with soft dim light. Rylan looked at Vrey, the intensity of the aura around him had softened which meant he had been releasing that amount of energy to scare of any lurking threat's but now that they were in somewhere he considered to be safe he had settled himself.

“Callum.” Maerik called out softly and Vrey turned to face him with a blank expression on his face. “What happened?”

Vrey was quiet for a while, just staring blankly at Maerik before he finally answered. “Do you know what happens, when your resonance stat crosses a certain threshold.”

Rylan noted he said threshold instead of giving a specific number, Which probably meant it wasn't standard.

“What do you mean threshold?” He asked, wanting a straight definitive answer instead of assumptions.

“It’s not standard, mine was 17, Jersa was 15 and Mylo was 13.” He replied. “When you cross that threshold the game drags you here and you're no longer able to log out.”

Rylan and Maerik had checked on their way here, they could still log out at any giving time so they most likely hadn't crossed the line of no return and since they entered of their own volition, they could leave whenever they felt like it, a small ember of hope lit in Maerik's chest, He wasn't trapped, Not yet. He wasn't like Rylan, he was genuinely scared, which was why he had come here in the first place.

“So basically, we just need to stop before that happens.” Maerik said, a hopeful smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he spoke.

“I doubt that, although I have no proof, I don't think it'll be that easy to walk away from this, You two can log out now but I don't think that would solve the problem.” Vrey explained, Rylan stared intently and a smile curved his lips.

“How did you know it —”

“How do I know it didn't bring you here, Cause you fell from the sky, That was forced entry.”

“Three experiments aren't enough to make a theory fact.” Rylan fired back, agitated for a reason unknown to him.

“True but out of the three of us who were here before, two of us were brought here and one forced his way in. He fell just like you two but don't take my word for if, instead answer this question?.” He paused then leaned against the wall, opened his system and turned the notification to them, it read “welcome to the border.”

“Have you received a welcome message?”

Rylan didn't reply which was a reply on its own.

“You don't break into someone's house and expect a warm welcome.”

Rylan kissed his teeth, he had wanted to keep their ability to log out a secret in case things went south but Vrey had just thrown that out the window.

“What happened to the other two?” Rylan asked, a question that instantly changed the temperature of the cave.

Vrey's jaw tightened. “How long did you say I've been active?” He asked a completely unrelated question.

“What does that hav—” Maerik started but Rylan stopped him. He had learnt that in every pointless ramble, was an underlying point. So he indulged him and answered.

“A couple of days.”

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips but no one said anything funny. “I knew you weren't relieved enough to see me. I've been here for__A fucking year.” The last few words filled with so much malice that the energy that left him and consumed the space matched it.

They both struggled to stay on their feet but immediately he noticed what he had been doing he took in a breath and let it out and the pressure they had been feeling followed.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry—i’m sorry.” He profusely apologized as they rose back to their feet, dragging in lungfuls of air trying to catch their raggedy breath. “They couldn't survive, They didn't have what it took. They died months ago.”

“Fuck.” Was the only thought that went through their mind, no wonder he knew so much about this place, No wonder he was so fucking strong. But he wondered, what would a year in this kind of place do to a person, What would it do to the mind of someone who just wanted to play a game and have fun. He was definitely not this strong when he got here so he'd have to survive countless beast as strong as the Grey Yeti to still be alive, Something was off.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” He apologized, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Can we change the subject, It's hard to talk about this.”

Understandable.

“What do you know about Resonance?” Maerik awkwardly asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Vrey turned to him.

“Be specific.”

“What does it do?”

He stared at Rylan for a beat before he answered. “Exactly what you think it does, I'm sure you've felt it. Every time that stat increases you can feel the power around you more clearly and it's going to keep getting clearer and clearer till eventually it's a part of you. Which is why it only increases when you use that power.”

“So the second the stat shows on your interface—It’s already too late.” Maerik added, a grim look plastered across his features.

“Yes.”

He immediately turned to Rylan. “We need to leave.” The urgency in his voice clear as he rose to his feet and began to walk towards the entrance, he pulled up his system, His heart sank as he saw the log out option greyed out. “Why.” He staggered backwards, the crippling weight of fear on his shoulders.

Rylan immediately came to his side and saw the greyed out text. Worry lines creased his forehead and For a second his calm facade dropped.