If I told people about this delve, it would surely surprise them that for the most part, our descent went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as a group of a dozen people descending into the Abyss could go. The important part was that nobody was severely injured, and that was paramount when it came to traversing the lower parts of the Second Layer.

It had already been tedious enough making it through the Inverted Forest with just Melva and Vio. But now that our group was three times that size, weight distribution among the upturned canopies along with finding gaps we could all cross made the process downright nerve-wracking. I was genuinely shocked nobody fell. The scarred woman almost lost her balance once or twice, but her male companion saved her. I figured the two of them were in a relationship of some kind by how they acted around each other, though I made no comments to anyone about it. It was best to just leave them alone.

The further we descended, the more my excitement began to wane. It was still there, but that gnawing dread was making itself present once again. Its cause was obvious, and it lay just below the trees: the Great Fault. Here I was once again, and I almost wished I had that same brazen confidence I did then.

We were now gathered by the same shaft I'd descended into all that time, newer ropes having joined the collection of old ones. As I stared at the yawning darkness, my heart was pounding for the worst reasons possible. I managed to keep a straight face as the group descended into the hole, but of course Melva could pick up on my apprehension.

She lightly elbowed me to get my attention, smiling comfortingly when our gazes met. I was shocked she wasn't afraid, but she could have been for all I knew. I made myself take a deep breath. If Melva was going to be strong for me, then I'd do the same for her. With that affirmation to myself, I dropped down into the tunnel after Llyr.

The moment my feet hit the bottom of the shaft, those positive feelings evaporated. For a moment, I swore I was having one of my nightmares, but I managed to snap myself out of it. The tunnel wasn't pitch-black, it was illuminated by our headlamps. There was no grinding stone, just the mutters of the other Delvers. I wasn't faced with Melva's corpse or my parents, I was staring at Llyr as he gave me a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. I nodded, even though I felt as if I wasn't fully attached to myself then, like my thoughts were lagging behind my actions. The scraping of stone in the tunnel behind me made me jolt, but the sound of Melva's voice a second later calmed me down.

"C'mon, let's not get left behind," she said, lightly nudging me so I'd move. I was thankful for that nudge, since it felt like my boots were stuck to the ground then. Swallowing hard, I made myself walk.

I'd nearly forgotten how monotonous it was to traverse the tunnels of the Third Layer. We walked until our ankles and backs began to protest, and then we walked some more. During our first day in those tunnels, we only stopped for a break once. The discomfort seemed to be unanimous, and we all just wanted to keep going. We fortunately had conversation to break the silence this time, and the only grinding and scraping stone I heard was caused by us. It still didn't stop me from being on edge, though.

In darkness, time was something impossible to comprehend. Even when we happened upon holes and vents to the main shaft, the bright yellow glow leaking in was unchanging. All we could go off of were our body's natural rhythms telling us when we needed to sleep. And slowly, those rhythms began to take over, dragging the pace of some of my fellow Black Whistles.

When more than a third of the group was flagging, Shiro shifted priority to finding a place to set up camp. This was when I was brought to the front of the group as one of the few people who had more than plentiful energy. It seemed my ruined sleep schedule was good for something. By then, we had arrived at a natural crossroads in the tunnel system, giving us many opportunities to find a place to camp.

Alongside the group leader, I was searching with the male companion of the scarred woman, an unwanted development but not one I would complain about. He hadn't openly mocked me like she had, just seemed more concerned about my being there. In fact, he'd seemed more concerned in general with his worried gaze always bouncing about. He was more openly nervous than Llyr, a feat I honestly didn't think was possible. Meanwhile, Vio and another woman were paired off in a second group. We then fanned out to search the nearby tunnel offshoots while everyone else remained at the crossroads.

Many minutes of searching turned up no caverns we could use or anything similar. While Vio did find a cavern, less than half the group could fit down the tunnel he found it in. The only thing we could find was a section of tunnel that ended in a dead-end thanks to the ceiling collapsing. It wasn't ideal, but it was something.

Once we set up some glowstone lanterns for light, everyone started making themselves comfortable. Rations were passed around, and bedrolls were laid out, all of us happy to rest. I along with my friends found ourselves closer to the collapsed wall with Shiro's insistence. The newer Black Whistles would be more closely watched over, and I didn't mind that at all.

"Shit, my feet are killin' me," Melva groaned. She dramatically sprawled out on her bedroll, taking up as much space as she could.

Vio gave her a confused look. "You haven't complained until now, why the sudden about-face?"

She looked at him, eyes narrowed. "'Cause it's this damn place, I can complain if I want," she replied. "An' we can't even have any Neritantan or baracocha this time."

"We scared them all away, that's why," I said. I wished we could've had either of those as well; our ration bars had no flavor whatsoever. It was like biting into a piece of wood. No, even wood had more flavor.

Like us, the rest of the group had broken up into smaller subgroups, each gossiping about whatever they pleased. The whole scene came off as oddly peaceful to me, at least until I started listening in on what the others were saying. The group next to us weren't being exactly quiet either, making it easy for all of us to hear their conversation.

"Yeah, it was something my kid told me," a Black Whistle with graying hair said. "Every time he comes home now, he has some new ghost story from one of his friends to share. I'm worried he'll start giving his brother nightmares..."

"What was it?" a woman asked, looking concerned.

The man rolled his eyes. "Apparently, one of his friends told him that if you looked into a mirror on your birthday, your reflection would have a broken neck or something, and then you'd die before the day was over," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Disgust filled me when I heard those words. What kind of rumor was that? Hopefully Aedia didn't hear that story, though it was a coincidence, if not a horrible one. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt the same way. The female Black Whistle grimaced, saying, "That's an awful thing for a child to be repeating. Where did he hear that?"

"The Wharf District, apparently," the man said. "Of course there's people dying on their birthdays, there's people dying every day there!"

Another member of their group shrugged, looking dismissive. "Living there's basically a death sentence. Once you're in, you'll only come out as ashes."

Melva scoffed, drawing my attention back to her. Evidently, she had been listening in as well. "Ya don't actually believe that, do ya?" she asked. "People can come outta poverty, it's just hard as hell."

"You're right about that," Llyr spoke up. "My relatives originally lived in the Wharf District when they first came to Orth. They'd brought spices with them and sold them on the streets of the central district until they could get enough money to buy the building the shop's run out of now."

"See, even the stick's right," Melva said, much to Llyr's embarrassment. "An' people dyin' on their birthdays... utter shit." She gave me a grim look.

I shrugged, purposefully trying to keep a blank expression. "You don't need to say anything," I said. "It's fine."

"Maybe we should tell a ghost story of our own to distract us from that," Vio suggested jokingly.

"I'd rather not be thinking about anything else frightening," I said. I already have enough to think about. Of course, I kept that comment to myself.

When it came to who would take first watch, to my disappointment, I wasn't chosen. In fact, I was assigned one of the later watches. Although I wanted to get my turn over with, I also wanted a good reason to avoid sleeping for as long as I could. I'd packed a finite amount of Aedia's sleep aid, and it didn't always work. The last thing I wanted was to go from one nightmare to another and risk sending the rest of the group into a panic. One by one, people started nodding off. Llyr was surprisingly among the first to fall asleep, seeming to pass out only seconds after closing his eyes.

"I didn't take him for someone who could fall asleep so quickly," Vio commented.

"You're one to talk," Melva retorted. Vio didn't disagree, shrugging as he turned over onto his side.

"Now watch me do it too," he muttered. True to his word, it didn't take him long to follow after Llyr. How anyone could fall asleep so quickly was a mystery to me. Now only Melva and I were left, and she could likely sense my apprehension about sleeping.

"Ya doin' okay, kid?" Melva whispered. I looked at her and nodded, and this seemed to make her relax. She then got to her knees, turning her attention to her pack behind her. "See, what'd I tell ya?" she asked as she rooted through it, trying to be quiet. "We still got a long way to go, but we'll be fine."

I smiled nervously. "You don't need to keep telling me that."

"I need to, 'cause it's not just for you." She glanced at me, a corner of her mouth slightly quirked up. "'Fore ya ask, I'm fine, really," she assured. "Havin' ya an' Vio's enough for me. Makes me positive that there's a way out if we need it, an' we ain't there again. 'Sides, I got this to help." She pulled a flask from her bag, and in seconds she had the cap off and was taking a swig from it.

"What is that?" I asked. I should have been surprised since alcohol wasn't allowed on guild delves, but this was Melva.

"Spirytus vodka," she replied. "Expensive, but the strongest shit ya can get in Orth. I've been savin' it for the Third Layer." She took another swing before capping the flask and stashing it back in her bag. For how awful seeing her do that made me feel, I couldn't fault her. It made sense she could find comfort in that. Now satisfied, she rolled onto her back and folded her arms behind her head. "Actually try to sleep, kid," she said. "If ya need to wake me up, go ahead an' do it, I won't mind."

I truly did appreciate her consideration, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being talked down to, like I was a child again. "I will," I lied. Before she could say anything else, I said, "Goodnight, Melva," and closed my eyes. I didn't want to hear anything else on the matter.

For several minutes after that, I could sense Melva watching me, waiting for me to fall asleep. Only when I purposefully slowed my breaths to make myself appear that way did I hear her turn over, and soon after that, I could hear her softly snoring. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up, leaning back against the tunnel wall. Now I just had to wait until it was my turn to be on watch.

I hated that I couldn't tell how much time had passed. I swore multiple hours had passed by the time the first watcher finished their shift. I hated even more that I was exhausted. Weariness dragged at every part of me, my tightly-coiled nerves being the only thing that kept me from nodding off.

The more time passed, the more difficult it was proving to stay awake. It wasn't like I could read to pass the time since turning on a lantern would wake the others, and diving into my thoughts frankly just scared me more. I could do nothing but stare ahead into the darkness, waiting.

As the third watcher cycled out, I really was falling asleep, continuously dozing off before waking myself back up. Okay, I needed sleep, there was no avoiding it. How much time was left in the night? I was supposed to be the sixth person on watch, and we would cycle through seven people in total before we all had to wake up. I'd sleep until my turn, and I'd stay awake the rest of the time. Two hours would be enough, I just had to hope I wouldn't get any nightmares. With my mind made up, I felt myself sinking into a doze yet again, my thoughts growing hazy as my eyelids closed. Just two hours.

Darkness, complete and utter blackness. I stumbled forwards, my hand trailing along the tunnel wall as I blindly reached out with my other. All I could hear were my ragged breaths and the pounding of my heart, but I didn't slow. I swore something was behind me, and it was only getting closer with each step I took.

Suddenly, I was weightless. The ground under me had fallen away, and I was plummeting down into an endless void. Before I could scream, someone grabbed my arm, and I was jolted to a sudden stop. The person's grip was firm, and I was briefly blinded by a headlamp when I looked up. Still, I could still tell it was Melva, and I let out a sigh, relieved I'd been saved.

"Don't worry, I got ya," she reassured me. She held out her other hand for me to grab, and I reached up to take it, only to stop when her face suddenly warped with pain. Confusion had only a second to register before she screamed, and she was violently yanked back from the edge of the hole.

Panic struck me once again. I yelled her name, tightening my grip on her hand as I almost hoped to pull her down with me. To my horror, the sound of grinding stone filled the air. Claws pierced into my legs and torso, hooking themselves in deep. I cried out again, the claws digging in deeper as they pulled down.

Melva and I clung to each other, even as we were being pulled ruthlessly from both sides. We didn't know why we held on, but we still did, even as our tendons strained and our muscles began to tear. I swore the claws were scraping my bones, they'd dug in so deep. It was only a matter of time until they won out, and they eventually did. Our hold broke, and Melva was dragged away. I desperately reached back up, but the darkness swallowed me, countless claws and teeth ripping me apart as I screamed.

I continued screaming as I awoke. There was nothing but darkness, and it threatened to choke me. I could still feel the claws digging into my flesh, stabbing, tearing pains all over my body. Something else then grabbed me. I screamed again, thrashing and struggling to free myself. There was something beyond my panic, tones that could've been voices, but all I felt was terror. I had to get away, I had to escape!

Whatever had grabbed me then wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I was about to retaliate when green-white light flooded my vision, blinding me. Shock and confusion rendered me frozen, and one voice came through loud and clear this time.

"Len, calm down!"

Through the spots in my returning vision, I could start to make out where I was. Lanterns turning on, people moving about and shouting... I was in camp. And the thing holding me was Melva, her arms wrapped securely around me as she embraced me. She was okay. Fear still churned in me as everyone else had been thrown into panics of their own, an obvious result of my outcry, but my focus was on Melva as she hugged me tighter.

"It's all right, kid. We're still in these damn tunnels, but you're safe," she said. Just hearing her voice brought immense relief to me. I rested my head on her shoulder, letting myself be embraced. I was trembling, feeling sick to my stomach with my teeth clenched so hard I thought they might break. I hadn't had such a visceral reaction to a nightmare in years...

"Mel, what's going on?" I heard Vio ask.

"He had a nightmare, if it ain't obvious enough," Melva said.

"Len, a-are you okay?" Llyr asked hesitantly. I looked up at my friend, our gazes meeting in sincerity and melancholy. However, I was the first of us to look away this time, squeezing my eyes shut against the lights and sounds that were now starting to give me a headache.

Through the outcries that still rang through the tunnel, another voice cut through it all like a knife. "Everyone, calm down!" Shiro demanded. Almost all sound ceased in seconds. Everyone looked at him, who was now standing as tall as he could. "Be quiet, and listen. Is there anything worth getting into a panic over?" For a few moments, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. More importantly, nothing presented itself as any threat. "There's nothing, right?" Shiro asked, affirming our thoughts. "Now that we've established that, let's—"

"What the hell was that?" a Delver asked, cutting the leader off. It took only seconds for me to recognize it as the scarred woman, whose face now looked sharp and menacing in the shadows created by the lamps. "Why'd he scream?"

I was too ashamed to admit why, and Melva seemed to sense that as she said, "It's nothin'."

"Bullshit, it's 'not nothing,'" the scarred woman spat. "If he still thinks pulling jokes like that's fine, then he doesn't deserve to be a Black Whistle, or even a Moon Whistle."

I'd never seen Melva look so angry before. "If ya think that was a joke, then there's more wrong with ya than I thought," she growled. The scarred woman was about to retort with something when her companion hesitantly spoke up.

"A-a joke or not, he can't go screaming like that. It could cause a panic like it just did, or even worse, attract unwanted attention. What would we do if a Talpiclor or something else came down on us?" My body seized when I heard that name, a whimper leaking through my gritted teeth. I felt Melva stiffen as well, turning her glare to the man.

"It's not his fault he screamed," she started in a low, dangerous tone, "an' there ain't gonna be any Talpiclor comin' after us, so kindly shut the hell up."

"Stop it, all of you," Shiro stated sternly, glaring at Melva and the others. "Let him explain the situation himself."

In an instant, all eyes turned to me. I stiffened, choking on my words for seconds on end before finally getting them out. "I-it was a nightmare. I've already had a couple since the delve started, but the reason why I have them was because of something that happened h-here." I couldn't stand to look at the other Delvers anymore, bowing my head. "M-my apologies for waking you all."

"You should be," the scarred woman said. "You sent us all into a frenzy, and now we'll be stuck down here with you doing this every night?" I honestly couldn't answer that.

"Just stop it," Vio interjected. "You haven't ever been tormented by past memories? Wounds, accidents, deaths? I'm sure we all have, but some cut deeper than others." He aimed a glare of his own at the woman. "Would you want to confront what gave you those scars?"

"That's none of your business, runt," she muttered.

Vio's lips pursed into a tight line, fighting a grimace, but he didn't waver. "Then that proves my point," he said simply.

Hushed conversation leaked from the rest of the group, a mixture of thoughts and opinions. "That guy's right," some said. "It's still a problem, though," others reasoned. And a few harshly quipped, "Of course he would have an issue like that." I felt I didn't have a leg to stand on, so I said nothing in retaliation.

"Again, everybody quiet down," Shiro said. "We still have a few hours before we have to set out, and I'm sure all of us could use that remaining time to sleep. But that doesn't mean this should happen again." He sighed, looking at me. "Try to find some way to keep your nightmares under control. We'll be here for several more nights, and we can't have reactions like that, especially once we get deeper."

What else could I do but agree then? "I-I understand," I said. "I do have a sleep aid, but I can only make it with boiled water, like tea. For now, I'll take my shift for watch, even if it's not my turn yet." I had no plans on sleeping for the rest of the night, and Shiro seemed satisfied with my response. Gradually, the others tried to salvage their remaining hours of sleep, and the lanterns began to turn off. I grabbed my goggles, helmet, and knife, preparing to head to the front of the tunnel to start my shift.

"'Try to keep 'em under control.' Easy for him to say," Melva grumbled.

I looked at her, feeling utterly drained both physically and mentally. "Melva, just stop it," I stated, and she instantly went silent. I softened my expression and voice, feeling guilty about snapping. "Thank you, but don't defend me. Neither of us can do anything about it."

"Do you want any of us to stay awake with you?" Vio offered.

I shook my head. "I-I'll be fine." Without another word, I left my friends behind and made my way to the front of the tunnel. I could feel the stares of the other Delvers on me but desperately ignored them. At least I was wide-awake now, I could better focus on my task. That was what I did, and thankfully there were no other disturbances.

For the entirety of the next day, I was at the back of the group. It wasn't like I'd been put there by Shiro. I'd made myself stay at the back, still feeling too ashamed to be around the other Delvers. None seemed to object to me being there, so they were likely glad I wasn't among them. Sensing my lingering guilt, Melva and the others tried to talk with me more. I did my best to keep my spirits up.

The inevitable came again, where we would split up the most-alert and search for a place to stay for the night. Despite the tiredness dragging at me, I'd grown used to putting on a more energetic façade whenever I was tired, so I was again chosen.

To my discomfort, the scarred woman joined myself and Shiro to search, and she made a point to stare at me from my left side. It still didn't mean I couldn't feel her gaze. Although I'd displayed neutrality when it came to her mocking, I made it my goal to find a suitable cavern. I shoved down my fear and anxiety and pushed through any tunnel I could fit through, determined to prove I was indeed capable. And thankfully, I soon found something.

The entrance to the cavern I came across was tucked away in the bend of the tunnel I was searching, a large, vertical gap in the wall that led out into an open space. It was somewhat cramped, with the ceiling being no more than four and a half feet high. But the cavern was wide, and across the space was an opening to the fault's central shaft. From where I kneeled, I could see dark shapes flashing by as screeches leaked in and echoed about. The opening itself was small, a good sign since that meant only small creatures could enter from the shaft. Not only that, we could safely light a fire in here.

There was a slight caveat to the cavern, however, and it came in the form of ripped-off fur and dried hide scraps scattering the ground. Shards of eggshells lay among them, evidence of this place being the site of a nest. I didn't dare enter, instead backing out before sounding off three short bursts from my whistle: a signal I had found something. It didn't take long for the other two members of my group to join me at the entrance.

"Did you stumble into something's den?" the scarred woman asked me icily, to which I nodded. Shiro entered the cavern himself, carefully picking up an eggshell so it wouldn't break.

"Seems like this was a Gray Scorer nest to me. Look, the shells have gray streaks on them." The name sounded vaguely to me, sketched images of gray-feathered birds supposedly the size of carts coming to mind. "They leave their eggs to hatch alone, and once they do, the hatchlings abandon the nest. All we need to do is clear this mess out, and we can stay here for the night."

That evening, we had the luxury of making soup rather than just eating the ration bars. The soup still had chunks of the bars mixed in, but the innate flavor of the broth combined with some spices Llyr had brought along enriched it all the more, at least for us. Llyr wasn't willing to share his spices with the rest of the group.

As the time to rest drew near, I used some of the boiled water to brew myself a cup of Aedia's sleep aid. I really didn't intend on using it, rather doing it so I'd stop getting looks from the more disgruntled group members, and I poured it out the outside vent as soon as I got the chance to. A waste, but at that moment, I didn't care. To make sure I wouldn't sleep this time, I situated myself as close to the vent as I was allowed to be. Being the decently heavy sleepers they were, neither Melva nor Vio complained about the extra noise. As for Llyr, he didn't object either.

I was the first of us to fall "asleep," with more acting, of course. I made sure to lay in an uncomfortable position so I really wouldn't fall asleep, and thankfully my friends bought my act. With how many people were in the delving party, I didn't even need to take a watch shift tonight. I wished I'd been assigned one.

Again, I found myself the only one awake. I didn't know how long I laid there, staring at the cavern ceiling. Above the snores and occasional sleep-talk of my fellow Black Whistles, I could hear the shrieks and cries of the creatures beyond the vent. Curiosity tugged at me when I heard these sounds, begging me to investigate. Consideration was fleeting, though really, it wouldn't hurt to look. It wasn't like I'd be sticking my head out there. What else could I do to pass the time?

Carefully, I sat up and grabbed my goggles. My friends were definitely asleep, which was a relief to know. Not even the person on watch seemed to notice I was up. It was difficult to move in the limited space, but I crawled over to the vent, sitting beside it and daring to gaze out.

A menagerie of creatures filled the air, twisting and diving with little effort. There were those that looked at home in the air, soaring alongside those that didn't have wings. Membranous skin clashed with feathers galore. Beaks, snouts, and gaping, grinning maws filled with teeth were bared to predators and prey alike. Colors varied from the warmest reds to the coolest greens, all standing out in the brightness filling the shaft.

My pulse thrummed in my throat, forming a lump I couldn't bring myself to swallow. I was caught between being mesmerized and afraid, discovering that my hands were trembling slightly when I clenched them. What I'd experienced in these tunnels had only been a taste of what was truly out there, and it had gotten to me this badly. What was going to happen when I went deeper? Nausea bubbled up in me as the fear again returned. I was approaching the threshold of what I desired, but what cost would I have to pay for it?

"Len, you're awake?"

I swore I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Llyr whisper. At the very least, my heart jolted into my throat, and I choked back a surprised yelp as I turned to look at him. He'd propped himself up on his elbows to look at me, though he looked away the moment we made eye-contact.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I replied simply. "And you can't make me sleep. There've been many nights where I haven't slept at all, so this is just going to be another one."

I could hardly see Llyr's face then, but I could tell he was frowning. "That doesn't mean you won't feel awful the next day, and I know you didn't fall back asleep last night. You'll feel even worse tomorrow," he said. "We're going to need all the energy we can get, for walking and in case..." He trailed off.

My body tensed. "In case what?" I asked.

"I-in case something... happens," he finished. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that after last night. But there's always a possibility something horrible could happen, and that's something I can't avoid thinking about, you know me."

I smiled a little, relaxing again. "And I'm glad you haven't said anything about those kinds of things." I turned back to the vent, content to immerse myself in the outside sights. Llyr then let out a resigned sigh.

"All right, if you insist on doing this, then I'll stay awake with you," he said.

I held back a groan. "No, Llyr, you need to sleep," I said, stressing my words.

"Then you sleep too," he said, his tone bearing a sharpness I rarely heard. "Please don't fake it just to make me feel better. If you do that, I-I'll tell Vio to tell Melva, and I'm sure she won't be happy about that."

I looked at him blankly. "So I can have another nightmare? I'm not in the mood for that."

Llyr's eyes widened before his expression grew pained. "I hate hearing you talk like that..." he muttered. "When I'm always so negative, you're that positivity to balance it out for me. I-I don't mean to make you feel worse, it's just how I feel about things."

"I hate it as much as you do," I said, sighing myself. "Aedia said she wants the 'old me' back, and I want that back as well. There's so many times where I wish I could forget everything happened so I can stop worrying as much, stop having these nightmares." Bitterness crept into my voice. "But I can't. My parents can't come back, my sight won't be fixed, and these scars won't go away. They'll be there forever, haunting me whether I'm awake or asleep."

For a minute, I thought I'd silenced Llyr when he didn't respond. I felt both relieved and guilty if that was the case, though the guilt was stronger. Then again, when didn't I feel guilty now? But I was proven wrong when Llyr did speak up again. "I-I really wish I could help you. I have my own methods for keeping my nightmares away, but I don't know if they would work for everyone," he said in a shaking voice, twisting his hair around his fingers.

With that, my heart sank. "You have nightmares?"

He nodded. "Not as often or as bad as yours, but I have them. I dream about falling, either splattering on the ground or never hitting the ground at all." He gripped his right arm as he said this, grimacing. "I don't know which one is worse, honestly," he said with a weak, nervous chuckle.

"You don't act like that at all," I said. "How do you cope with it?"

"I-it was something my mother taught me," he replied. "I start by relaxing myself completely, making sure I can feel every muscle relaxing. As I do that, I try to think of things that comfort or calm me, like my family, or I imagine myself drawing or tending to my plants. It sounds kind of cheesy, but it does work most of the time."

For most, this information would have been useless. It sounded like a no-brainer to go to sleep calm. After all, you couldn't sleep tense. But for me, tense was my calm when it came to sleep. The only thing I'd used to calm myself was Aedia's sleep aid, but it didn't stop my thoughts from running wild. "And you think this could help me?"

"Perhaps it could," he said with a shrug. "What calms you?"

I thought for a moment. "Reading, watching Aedia draw, small talk, sightseeing." My chest clenched. "Just... Aedia in general."

"Then try thinking of her," Llyr said. "Imagine her being here with you, and hopefully that might help."

It was horrible that my first thought after he said that wasn't a positive one. I was tempted to scoff, even. After years of nightmares, trying everything I could to keep them away, why should I believe that merely thinking of Aedia would be all I needed? But then I thought back to those times when she had stayed with me, the night before I'd returned to the Abyss and when I'd been sick. Her being there with me had kept my nightmares at bay. Yet at the same time, what if Llyr was wrong?

"Len?"

Llyr pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked back at him. At the same time, he looked away, obviously having been staring at me again.

"I'm okay, I was just thinking. I... want to believe what you suggested will help me, but I'm a bit... scared about it." My face heated when I realized how childish that sounded.

"I'm scared of sleeping too sometimes, so you're not alone," he said. "I'll stay awake until you fall asleep if that helps."

"You don't have to do that," I said. He'd stayed awake with me for this long, he didn't need to lose any more sleep.

In another surprising bout of sterness, Llyr said, "I want to. I-if you don't mind, of course." It was gone as quickly as it came, and his face flushed. "I wouldn't want to give you false hopes and let a repeat of last night occur again, right?" He said this in a joking manner, even if he was cringing the whole time. I appreciated his honesty.

"If you truly want to, then alright," I conceded. "I only say this because if I keep saying no, you'll also keep saying no, and we've already spent enough time awake."

"That's pretty accurate," he said. "But I suppose you want to try and sleep, then." He turned his attention to the outside vent, situating himself so he wasn't directly facing me. "Goodnight, Len."

A corner of my mouth lifted up into a smile, and I laid down on my bedroll, closing my eyes. "Goodnight." Of course as soon as I had to relax, I'd be coiled tighter than a spring. If only I hadn't dumped out the sleep aid...

I attempted to focus on relaxing myself while also not focusing at the same time, a surprisingly difficult feat. But I gradually felt myself uncoil. My breaths grew slower, my thoughts starting to haze. I imagined myself back at home, reclining in bed with Aedia beside me. We stared up at the ceiling like it was the night sky. She was saying something, but I didn't hear it. All I cared about was that she was with me. Even as I sank into the darkness of sleep, I felt as if she was with me.

I awoke to someone shaking me, Melva's voice piercing my returning consciousness. I barely had enough time to open my bleary eyes before she shoved a ration bar in my face, the rich aroma of coffee accompanying it as she held a tin cup filled with the liquid. Still groggy, I sat up and took the food from her. Nothing like the taste of sawdust to wake you up in the morning.

"Damn, that took forever," Melva commented through a full mouth. She took another bite from her own ration bar. "I can't believe it, ya were sleepin' like a rock!"

I was fully awake now, and I was shocked she even had to wake me up. "I-I can't believe it either." There hadn't been any nightmares, not a disturbance of any kind. A smile crept onto my face. I still felt some doubt around this, but at least last night it had worked!

"Good morning, Len," I heard Llyr say, and I turned to look at him. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, looking hopeful. "Did you sleep well?"

"I... actually did." My smile widened. "Thank you."

—~*~—

For the next week, we traversed the Great Fault. Our progress slowed as the tunnels became smaller and more maze-like, and we even lost our way a few times. On a few lucky occasions, we supplemented our dry diets with Neritantan and baracocha when we came across it. The bulk of our rations were meant for the Third Layer because of its unfavorable hunting environment, but that didn't mean we shouldn't conserve our resources.

With that, it didn't mean there weren't other issues. The distant growls of unknown creatures warded us off from certain tunnels, and on a few occasions we were dragged into hallucinations by inclines we couldn't avoid. I also still had nightmares once or twice, but they weren't nearly as bad as before. I was just relieved I wasn't waking up screaming, even more so knowing that I now had a way to counter them.

Yet another morning came where I awoke in the stifling tunnels, the cavern ceiling less than two feet above my head. It was difficult to not complain in some way because of how claustrophobic I felt. For the past day or two, an irritated yet excited air had settled on the group. They wanted out of this place, and my friends and I weren't in any means not immune to the frustration as well. As we had breakfast, Melva was checking the depth meter she brought.

"How far down are we?" I asked. The Third Layer bottomed out at about seven-thousand yards, or four miles. We passed the six-thousand mark early yesterday morning, and the tunnels had been more straight-forward than before, so we had to be close.

"Nearly six-thousand an' eight-hundred," she said with a smirk. "We're nearly there, right?"

Vio nodded. "Yes. We'll be crossing a lot of flat-creepers near the top of the layer, so we'll definitely be stretching our legs."

I was more than relieved when I heard that. We'd be back out in the open in far more dangerous territory, but we would be out of these tunnels. A sense of jitteriness filled me, fueled by the coffee I was drinking. "You don't know how happy that makes me feel," I admitted sheepishly.

"You're happy?" Llyr commented. "Finally, I can do what I wanted to come down here for. Imagine all the flora... Yellow shining grass, water shrooms, and that field of Eternal Fortunes." He let out a wistful sigh. "I have to see them, a mostly-undisturbed field like that must be capable of producing some amazing samples!"

Vio chuckled. "I don't think we should go that far down considering this is your first delve here." But Llyr wasn't listening. He had his notebook out and was looking through a list of plants he'd made, excitedly talking to himself. "And there he goes again," Vio said. "I thought he'd be the most worried out of all of us, but that's clearly not the case."

"I believe worry's the last thing anyone would feel after being here for so long," I said, smiling a little. "Any change of scenery is welcome."

Vio nodded in agreement, finishing off his cup of coffee. "You've definitely been in a better mood as well," he commented.

"'Cause he's actually been sleepin', that's why," Melva said. "I won't ask 'bout the details, but I'm happy for ya, kid."

"It has something to do with that, yes. But I'll feel better once we're out of here," I said.

"Speaking of which," Vio started, glancing over his shoulder, "it seems like we're going to head out soon. We'd better start packing up." Sure enough, the others were growing restless, gathering up supplies as Shiro snuffed out the small fire we'd lit the night before. A silent agreement rang out among us, and we finished off our food so we could do our part.

I expected the descent to take the entirety of the day. We apparently needed to exit out of a select few tunnels or else risk stepping out into an easily-fatal freefall. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

I saw it before the rest of us at the back of the group, the blue-green glow flowing into the tunnel from someplace ahead, painting the tunnel walls in cool colors. In opposition to that, a distinct heaviness began to fill the air. It was suffused with moisture with a tinge of heat, almost refreshing compared to the stale air I'd been breathing for days now. Feeling that alone was enough to make my heart start pounding.

We soon came to a halt, with whispers of conversation starting up at the front of the group. Confusion hit me momentarily, but it was quickly dispelled by logic. Who would walk out of a tunnel without checking if it was safe first? I was proven right when Shiro called back so everyone could hear.

"Watch your step, we're stepping down into water. Maintain this formation until I say otherwise, no spreading out," he instructed. "We're going to establish a base camp first in the western glades about three-hundred yards down, then we'll go from there."

A new surge of impatience hit me as we started moving again, a mixture of desperation to leave and curiosity clawing at me. Melva was in front of me, so she exited first. I could already see the lush greenery around her, the fog billowing in the blue-tinted air.

"Holy shit..." she muttered, then glanced back at me. "C'mon, ya gotta see this." I didn't hesitate for a second, jumping from the tunnel into water three or four inches deep. My boots were made to repel water, so wet socks weren't an issue for me. It didn't matter to me anyways as I waded away from the tunnel exit, my eyes as wide as they could open and my mouth slightly agape. There was simply too much to take in, overwhelmingly so, but it was in the best ways possible.

We had exited out into the top of a flat-creeper, already a little ways down into the layer. Because of that, amagiri stalks reached above my head several dozen feet. They were thicker than the largest trees of the Forest of Temptation, singing aloud a song of age and rich growth. Their canopy-like caps seemed to be holding up the pale gray and yellow sky of the Great Fault's central shaft, where I could still see the outlines of the creatures that called it home. Water poured over the edges of the flat-creepers in misty falls, and they could only be compared to cups overflowing with water.

Our own flat-creeper was a great deal smaller than the ones towering over us. It had a radius of about twenty feet, and beyond this single cap were dozens of others, spreading out in a blue and deep green forest thick with hanging vines and steam that rose up from the pooled water. Even through my boots I could feel its heat, and I could already feel a light sweat breaking out on my forehead from the humidity that drenched the air.

I couldn't stop looking at everything. A fuzzy, light sensation filled my head, pure and utter disbelief. The stories I'd heard, the sketches I'd seen, it was everything I'd hoped for, and these were only my first few seconds seeing it! I resisted the urge to turn in endless circles to take in the view over and over again. I was only stopped when Llyr left the tunnel, making me take a few steps forwards.

"You look like you have stars in your eyes, Len," Llyr said with an awkward laugh before breaking eye-contact to look around himself. Vio was the last one to leave the tunnel, smiling when he saw my apparently starry-eyed expression. I gave him a sheepish look, and his smile only grew as he patted me on the arm.

"Well, we're here, Len," he said cheerfully. "Welcome to the Fourth Layer, the Goblet of Giants."

——————————~*~——————————
This art of Len was done by JustANormalNana on Amino. I know you're not on here, Nana, but thank you so much for this beautiful interpretation of Len!