CHAPTER 155: [GET KAIRO BACK]

"CAPTAIN!"

"KAI!"

"YOU FUCKING—"

Mel’s voice broke into a roar, his arm snapping forward, green veins glowing as vines began to surge from the water.

He was seconds away from launching them—ready to strike the octopus with everything he had—when two forces stopped him.

Mio grabbed his wrist, holding him back with both hands, and Eli stumbled forward, throwing out an arm to block him.

"Run!" Eli shouted, his voice raw, his throat tight. He didn’t feel danger—no warning pulse, no flare from his ability—but the silence in his chest terrified him even more.

Because Kairo was gone. And none of them knew if he was even—

No. He couldn’t finish that thought.

"But—But the Captain!" Mel’s voice cracked, his tone panicked, desperate. His vines trembled in the air, hesitating between attack and retreat.

"We have to get back! We have to retreat!" Mio barked, pushing Mel again.

His silver threads sparked faintly, tension thrumming through him. "We cannot

beat that thing right now! It’s blocking the path—there’s no way through. We go, now."

"No! Why should we—"

"JUST LISTEN!" Eli snapped, his voice cutting through like a whip. He pushed forward, grabbing Mel by the shoulder and shoving him back, eyes blazing. "Do you want us all to die here?!"

Mel froze, breathing hard. His face twisted, torn between rage and grief. "No, why would you ask that?! I’m just...he Captain... the Captain is—" His voice broke again, softer this time.

"We need to go back for him!"

Zaira moved in, her hand gently finding his. "We’ll find him," she said softly, though her tone wavered. "But not now. We can’t do anything against that. Not like this. Eli and Mio are right—we need to retreat."

Her words hit harder than any order could. Mel’s jaw tightened.

His mouth opened, then closed again, his lips trembling with words he couldn’t say. Finally, he took a step back, gripping Zaira’s hand tightly.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

Mio cast one last look toward the octopus—its enormous shadow still writhing faintly through the ink.

Then, with visible reluctance, he turned and began to move, slow and heavy steps splashing through the black water.

Eli followed, walking backward, refusing to take his eyes off the monster.

The octopus wasn’t chasing. It stayed eerily still, three of its massive tentacles pressed over its wounded eye—the one Kairo had pierced.

The glow from the injury pulsed faintly, red light leaking between its limbs like blood and fire mixing in water.

’It only threw Kairo... now it’s calm,’

Eli thought, his chest tightening. ’Like it’s crying over its eye.’

He finally turned away, his heart hammering—not from fear, but from something far heavier.

The kind of dread that sat deep in the gut.

Each step they took away from the cavern echoed like guilt. The ink rippled behind them, whispering against their boots, dragging at the edges of Eli’s conscience.

He clenched his hands into fists.

’Kairo survived that... right?’

He had to.

Kairo wouldn’t die like that—not from one throw. Not from this. He was too strong.

Too stubborn.

Too Kairo.

But then the image hit him again—the way the tentacle had struck, the force behind it, the sound of impact when Kairo’s body slammed into the stone wall across the cave.

So far. So deep.

Even if he was alive... he couldn’t have come out of that unscathed.

Eli bit down on his lip, his throat tightening as he sent a thought out, desperate and quiet.

’System... are you able to tell me if Kairo—if the target is still alive? His condition?’

No response.

The silence in his head felt deafening.

He gritted his teeth. ’System, come on! You still owe me the other power-up—please! The other tasks, I’ll do them, just... just tell me if he’s okay. Just one word. A simple yes or no.’

Still nothing.

The ink rippled beside him, and Eli’s shoulders trembled as he whispered under his breath—barely audible.

"...Please."

"Please what?" Mio asked quietly, his voice cutting through the lingering silence.

The sound of rushing water had faded the farther they went. The cavern stretched wide and hollow around them, the echoes of the octopus’s roars replaced by the low hum of dripping water.

The ink no longer followed. The air was clearer—barely—but it was enough to breathe again.

Eli’s chest rose and fell in ragged rhythm, every inhale scraping painfully against his throat.

His heartbeat was still too fast, pounding hard enough to make his ribs ache. His ears still rang with the echo of Kairo’s name—his scream, the crash, the silence that followed.

He didn’t answer Mio. He couldn’t.

He didn’t want to come up with some pathetic excuse. Not now. Not when his voice might crack under the weight of everything sitting in his chest.

They stopped near the far edge of the cavern, where the water shallowed into thin, rippling pools. The ink had thinned there, fading into translucent blue again—mocking them with its false calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

Mel was the first to collapse. His knees hit the water with a heavy splash, droplets scattering as he clutched his chest, gasping for air.

Zaira followed seconds later, lowering herself down, her trembling hands pressing into the slick stone floor just to keep her balance. Both of them were shaking, exhaustion breaking through whatever adrenaline had kept them upright.

Mio stayed standing. Barely. His breathing was uneven, his shoulders tight with tension, but he didn’t falter. His sharp eyes—usually so steady, so sure—turned toward Eli.

"What now?" he asked, his tone low but clear.

Eli blinked, dazed. "What?"

"I said—" Mio’s breath hitched as he exhaled slowly, forcing his composure back piece by piece. "What’s the plan, Eli? You were right before—during the fight with the captain. You’re smart. Smarter than any of us here, and right now..." He hesitated, his jaw tightening.

"Right now, I need you to think. A plan—to get us out of this, to get Kairo back."