There was a continuous silence as each person thought about future events, the many possibilities, and, above all, their survival.
Telos got on his knees and looked through one of the holes in the wall.
There was certainly something Telos never expected to find in this place.
Behind the cave walls lay a vast, ancient underground city, illuminated by the large peaks of bright minerals.
An obsidian surface, as black as darkness, yet damaged by time and dirt, with many parts torn, ripped, and destroyed. There were also structures resembling houses—or rather, they were.
The houses were built of the same dark material, and most of them were also in ruins. However, there was something special about them: on the walls of the houses were enormous golden carvings that Telos couldn't understand.
But what he did know was that those engravings shone in the same direction: the north of the city, or rather, where the enormous sanctuary was located.
The shrine was immensely tall, almost touching the ceiling of the cave. It rose in three peaks, the central one ending in a strange circle with something resembling fangs in its center.
The surroundings of the shrine were filled with cobwebs, making the dark and ominous surface of the shrine look ancient and abandoned. But it wasn't…
Telos knew this for sure because, in addition to Elora's information, he could also make out the figure of humans walking through the city.
The young man looked away.
"So, what are you planning to do?"
Telos asked with curiosity.
Colonel Jack raised his gaze, looking into his eyes. He let out a sigh.
"Among those people you've seen are knights of the Holy Empire. That means they're at least in the hunting grounds of these creatures."
He made a pause.
"That's why we must analyze it and find the Imperial Knights, so that with their help we can defeat the vessel of Azaroth."
Telos frowned.
"What if they don't want to help us?"
The colonel shook his head.
"They must help us; after all, they have the same goal as we. They want to defeat him more than we do."
He looks away from Telos and toward the holes in the wall. He added:
"The three of us will take charge of finding the knights, you stay here. We'll leave tomorrow at dawn."
Telos smiled.
"I see."
The smile faded from his face. In a seemingly carefree voice, he asked:
"Whatever… What workouts would you recommend? I want to improve my physique a bit…"
Colonel Jack looked at him with a wide smile.
"Sure. In your case, you should train your entire body... But focus on your lower body; exercises like squats and lunges are good. For your upper body... simply swing your sword hundreds of times and follow up with push-ups if you can."
He sighed.
"Although this is not enough since you would have to learn martial arts to complement it, that would take a lot of time and especially for you since you are starting from scratch. With a good physique, you could defend yourself."
Telos' face was filled with confusion, as he didn't understand the variety of exercises he'd been given. The colonel, noticing this, began to explain what they were about.
***
It was already night, and Colonel Jack had left the small cave to try to find any loose creatures.
Of course, it was dangerous, but if he didn't do it, they would die of hunger.
During the hours they had spent there, Telos was able to learn more about those three. Above all in the most important thing, their abilities.
For example, Lisa could make her body intangible while her attacks could affect the environment, which explained how she had emerged unscathed from the first battle. This had the disadvantage of constantly consuming her mental energy, which led to her wearing down more quickly.
In Elora's case, it was harder to understand how she had run out of mental energy. Her ability allowed her to infuse ice into her tachi, making each cut extremely dangerous, as it freezes one's body.
Telos assumed there was more to her ability, but hadn't mentioned it out of caution.
Colonel Jack, however, had surprised Telos by mentioning his ability. He hadn't expected it to happen that way.
With the Colonel's powerful physique, Telos imagined his ability would be to enhance his physique with steel or rock... or something like that.
However, his ability had a dual function: the first was to absorb the enemy's mental energy with each cut he made; this works on humans but not on creatures. The second was to corrode the creature's cursed energy, making it a hollow body with enough cuts.
'There's a reason he's a colonel…'
Telos closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.
According to what they had mentioned, at midnight, the creatures that follow Azaroth can detect thoughts no matter how distant they are.
It seems that on the first day, they fought against them all night. The creatures were weak, but the quantity was only increasing over time. The only thing that saved them was that at dawn, the creatures, for some reason, stopped attacking and entered the depths again.
That reason was discovered by them the next day.
The creatures spend hours from the moment it dawns in front of the gargantuan sanctuary. It's unknown why exactly, whether it's because they're kneeling before the devil or because they're receiving assignments for the day. The only thing they know is that daylight is the safest time to leave the cave.
Something they were unable to do today due to the unexpected arrival of Telos, which forced them to go out and bring in supplies at night.
Colonel Jack took charge of the job of his own volition.
Telos opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling slightly illuminated by the blue light that entered.
'I haven't rested in a long time…'
Even though he was lying on a rock, the fact that he could rest was enough. The location didn't matter.
Telos glanced at his side, seeing how the two young women were already asleep. He looked back up at the ceiling.
'The future is strange... How much would it change if I killed them now? Or would it not change at all, but would it simply have remained the same?'
There was no point in thinking about it now.
The crunching of stones reached Telos's ears. The young man didn't flinch, hoping the sound was coming from the colonel.
And if it wasn't?
"I will die."
At that moment, the colonel appeared, with small wounds on his body and covered in blood, although the blood did not belong to him.
He looked confused at Telos.
"You're going to die?"
Telos didn't take his eyes off the ceiling.
"If you had been a creature."
Jack let out a quiet laugh, trying not to wake the young women.
Seconds of silence passed by. Then, Telos asked:
"What would you do if your decisions were not your own?"
The man opened his eyes wide, then put on a solemn face and answered calmly.
"I wouldn't like that life... I would fight against what forces me to, even if it means my death."
Telos didn't react, and after a couple of seconds, he asked again:
"You are a wise man, so I would like to ask you... What is freedom?"
Jack smiled and looked down. Before answering, he took his time to lie down comfortably.
"Well, I'll be honest with you…"
He thought for a little while and continued.
"Freedom doesn't exist."
Telos turned his head to the right, faintly observing the figure of the colonel. Jack added:
"We all need each other in some way. That means the poor must work, and the rich must make the poor work. The weak want to appear strong, while the strong prevent anyone from surpassing them."
Telos asked curiously.
"And those who are strong and rich? Don't they already have the freedom to do everything?"
Colonel Jack chuckled.
"Yes… But you're asking about freedom, right? We humans normally associate it with power and money. I've even given you the example. But that's not true freedom…"
He glanced at Telos.
"Freedom is being able to make your own decisions; freedom is being able to do the things you want. That's why freedom doesn't exist. Everyone has their sense of what it means to be free. Is it not being tied to anything? Yes, but in what way? Economic? Physical? Political? What freedom are you seeking, Telos?"
Telos remained silent. After a short moment, he murmured:
"I don't know…"
Colonel Jack looked away and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep.
"Of course you don't know... But you should know something: absolute freedom doesn't exist. We'll always be tied to someone else in one way or another."
With a sigh, he finished by saying:
"Whatever… It's almost midnight, so we'd better get to sleep. I don't feel like fighting for my life. Good night."