58. In The Darkest Part of The Cave

58. In The Darkest Part of The Cave
At the dining table, a variety of delicious dishes were served on plates of different shapes and colors. But this time, it wasn’t the taste that drew attention—it was the strangeness of the food’s appearance, which looked unusual in the eyes of Rose and Liuz.
“Try this one!” Liuz exclaimed, pointing at something that looked like a jellyfish coated in purple jelly.
“No way, you try it!” Rose quickly replied.
They exchanged glances for a moment before bursting into laughter. Memories of their adventures on foreign planets made their laughter even louder, especially when they recalled the time Liuz went missing after accidentally eating a plant that turned out to be a predator.
“This one’s good! You’ll like it,” said Aelion suddenly, offering a plate of food toward Rose.
Liuz glanced at Aelion’s face, and for some reason, a faint trace of jealousy appeared. Without thinking, he grabbed the plate and took a spoonful first.
“Liuz, that’s for me!” Rose exclaimed in disbelief.
“I’m just testing the flavor. It’s good!” Liuz replied casually, handing half of it to Rose.
Aelion only smiled at Liuz’s behavior. But unexpectedly, Princess Kaeyls, who was seated not far from them, had also been watching.
“Is there a dish you’d recommend for me as well?” she asked, her voice soft but filled with meaning.
“For you, Princess, um… this one! And this, and this—uh, this one’s delicious too, you should try them all,” Aelion stammered, nervously pushing nearly every dish in front of him toward her.
Kaeyls chuckled softly, her eyes narrowing with amusement at how flustered Aelion was.
From the end of the table, Eldorin called out, “So, does that mean we’re not allowed to eat?”
“Looks like we’re just two single guys tagging along,” Aelfric joked, nudging his shoulder.
“Haha, not at all! I’ll prepare more food for you,” Aelion said quickly.
“No need, I was just kidding,” Eldorin replied, laughing along with Aelfric’s grin.
Lady Liriel came over with several more plates, smiling warmly. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of food. Eat your fill before you begin your search.”
Kaeyls picked up her drink, but Lady Liriel casually poured more into her glass and said in a relaxed tone,
“Aelion has never had a girlfriend. He’s a good man and a hard worker. If you like him, Your Highness, you may take him as your consort.”
Kaeyls immediately spat out her drink. Aelion panicked, flustered, and quickly wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulders.
“Mother! What are you saying?! My apologies, Your Highness—my mother tends to speak without thinking. Please, enjoy your meal.”
Kaeyls rose to her feet, her expression serious.
“What do you mean? Are you refusing to be my consort? Are you rejecting me?”
“That’s not it! I’m unworthy of such an honor. Please, Your Highness, don’t take it to heart,” Aelion replied hastily.
Kaeyls exhaled softly and sat back down. Though her face remained calm, her appetite was clearly gone.
Once the meal was over and all supplies were prepared, the group set off toward the deepest part of the cave beneath Virelda Meadow—a vast grassland that hid an ancient mystery. Along the way, Liuz and Rose observed every detail of the surroundings with curiosity.
“Do other planets have places like this too?” Rose whispered.
“Not really. This is my first time seeing a cave of this kind,” Liuz replied, studying the strange rock walls around them. “The chemical particles in here… they’re different from any I’ve ever encountered on other planets.”
“Have Earth scan it,” Rose murmured.
“Already did. Since earlier, actually. But even Earth can’t make sense of some of the data it’s picking up,” Liuz said, referring to the advanced scanning device built into his wristband.
Aelion stopped walking. “We’ll start flying from here,” he said, spreading his translucent wings that shimmered like rainbows in the dark.
The others followed, while Rose—who had no wings—suddenly began to float.
“Whoa, whoa!”
“Quiet. Just pretend you know how to fly. Enjoy the ride,” Liuz whispered, secretly using his telekinesis to lift her into the air.
After flying for a while, they finally reached the deepest part of the cave. Aelion took something out of his pocket — the object glowed brightly, illuminating the surrounding area.
“Wow, Liuz! Look!”
“Ah, so there’s Noctilume crystal here too? My planet has it as well. I usually use it as a lamp in my room,” Liuz replied, clearly familiar with the sight.
“Oh, it doesn’t exist on Earth.”
The crystal’s light was bright enough to guide their steps. Strangely, even as they ventured deeper, there was still plenty of oxygen—no toxic gas, despite the total darkness of the place.
Rose moved closer, clutching Liuz’s arm anxiously.
“What if there’s a monster in here?” she whispered.
“There could be!”
“Don’t scare me! It’s getting darker the deeper we go!”
“So you are scared. Come here, I’ll hold you—or do you want me to carry you instead?” Liuz teased softly.
“Stop teasing me here, Liuz!” Rose snapped, clearly annoyed—but she clung even tighter to him, unable to hide how terrified she was of the cave.
As they went further in, the cave walls suddenly shifted. Everyone immediately tensed, afraid that the rocks might collapse. But it wasn’t that—something was moving, avoiding the light from Aelion’s crystal, slipping deeper into the shadows.
“What was that?” Kaeyls asked.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t see it clearly. Probably just a cave creature disturbed by our presence,” Aelfric guessed.
“If it’s a rare creature, would Princess Kaeyls want to collect it?” Eldorin teased.
“I only like cute animals! There’s nothing cute in a creepy cave like this,” Kaeyls grumbled.
They continued walking—but Rose, who had been beside Liuz all along, seemed to have something else on her mind.
“Was that a giant snake? I thought I saw a long black tail,” Rose whispered.
“It didn’t look like a snake to me—it was more like a huge tentacle,” Liuz replied.
“A huge tentacle? Are you sure that’s what you saw?” Rose asked, trying to confirm.
“Yes, I’m quite sure. It looked a bit like a mutated kraken from Earth,” Liuz explained.
“A kraken? You mean the giant octopus that lives in the deep sea? Wow, you’re exaggerating, Liuz! This is a cave, not an ocean—there’s not even water here!”
“I said similar, not the same. If it’s mutated, it might be able to survive without water,” Liuz clarified.
“Stop scaring me, Liuz!”
“Why would I scare you? Look—over there!” Liuz pointed at something that suddenly lashed out, a sticky tentacle shooting forward and wrapping around Princess Kaeyls, pulling her in an instant.
“No! Help me!” she screamed.