Chapter Text
He hadn't meant to go into the cave. It wasn't his intention in the slightest, but mining coal on the surface had slowly slipped into scouting for iron and that itself finalised as a hunt for diamonds. Diamonds meant a deep dive underground. And that should have been the end, he should have been happy with his haul, he should have packed up and left. The only thing is, Oli didn't do that. He didn't do that at all.
This time, his greed and want pushed him too far, he dug too deep. And when the cavern widened into a barely discernable drop, lit by smouldering blue fire, he should have left. The crumbling Deepslate buildings would lay unexplored and no one else need ever feel the fear that infected his body as he gazed a transfixed gaze into the pinpricked abyss. But there was a certain cryptic lull to the area, an aura of mystery that couldn't help but tickle the adventurous side of the Enderian's brain, egging him forwards until Oli stood at the edge of the sheer descent, looking straight down at the icy amalgam of the ground below.
It was time to make a judgement call.
Acting on impulse before his better instincts could decline, the Enderian closed his eyes and willed a shift, opening them to have teleported onto the floor of the cave. Oli had misjudged his landing slightly, making him stumble, throwing a hand out as he tripped, a hand that landed dangerously close to the elusive blue fire seemingly burning on the surface of the ice that coated the terrain. He scrambled up quickly, heart pounding, and his head already regretting the idea to come down in the first place. The Enderian took a hasty glance at his surroundings, swallowing back fear and discomfort. He gripped his sword tight in both hands, sidestepping up the natural incline, but ready to flee and teleport at a moment's notice.
A harsh, cold wind swept through the cavernous space, setting off a cascade of shivers down his body, the air having little regard for the material of his dark suit, chilling him to the core. The jaunty sway of natural movement offset the Enderpearl charm on his belt, the chink and crinkle of the chain startling him momentarily. Oli tensed quickly, whirling in a circle, sword outstretched limply.
"Kee it together..." He whispered to himself, each exhalation exuding a puff of visceral air. The atmosphere tasted acridly of smoke, but without any of the sweltering heat and suffocation it usually brought. Instead, such feelings were replaced with glaciality. He didn't enjoy the feeling of pulling in oxygen through his mouth, it left his throat scratchy and raw and dry.
Oli kept moving, cringing at every ringing footstep. The buildings lining the side of the apparent road he walked on were alight with cerulean, and extinguished lanterns were crucified to the rocks above, chains squeaking with the weep of effort. Every instance of his being was screaming to leave, to go back. Just teleport back up from where he'd come down and run, never looking back. It would have been so easy to do such a thing and get on with his life, but Oli, being stubborn and afraid of acting like a coward, even in confidence when there was no one around to observe his actions and paint him as such, kept going.
The tunnel was beginning to narrow, and shadows cast by the flames now curled up the walls and tickled the ceiling in their fight for space. The Enderian swore that soon enough the entire surrounding area would be shadow. He had a friend who was a Shadow-Walker, but he knew even she would be afraid of a place like this, despite being perfect conditions for her species.
The path twisted sharply, burrowing into the rock, the floor and ceiling travelling to the same fixed point, slowly but surely squeezing the passage to be smaller and smaller. Despite how many times Oli had bragged about how unequivocally tall he was (He wasn't tall. He was five-foot-six), he was glad at this moment it was all a joke to cover up a slight insecurity because the gap to walk in was beginning to get tight. Maybe this would be the end of the road and he could just leave, having learned nothing, and just brush this off as a bad memory. However, as for many things for the Enderian lately, this didn't go to plan at all.
The path continued to wind, before coming to an abrupt stop at a smooth wall. Oli squinted, pushing his glasses further up his nose, intrigued by the slight indent and sparkle of turquoise in the wall. He took a shaky step closer, getting a clearer look. In the middle of the tiny alcove was an object, circular in shape and beaming with bright mint-green light. It was strange, upon closer inspection looking like an Enderpearl, but bigger. It might have just been a trick of the light, but the Enderian swore he saw movement from inside like some form of elusive smoke. Even for the chaotic mix of magic and hybrids he lived in, it was otherworldly, and he didn't like it.
Oli let out an audible chuckle infused with concern and worry. He really shouldn't, but it was tempting. The first time, he had to snatch his arm away from where it had moved, seemingly of its own accord, to reach for the orb-shaped mystery. The second time he swore his fingertips brushed the spherical object before he realised, dropping his sword with a clatter to use his other hand to pull it back. Now was the perfect time to turn and leave, as quickly as possible. But the third time Oli tried to take the orb from its pedestal, he just let it happen.
His hand closed around the object, lifting it gently like a mother with their child, to cradle it to his chest. It was rather warm to the touch, and the heat seeped through him like liquid down the throat. He next noted its smoothness. There was not a scratch or blemish on the surface. Oli didn't have any ideas as to the material it was comprised of, it felt like glass, but the slight periodic pulse and limitless hum it emitted proved likely otherwise. There was something inexplicably magical and unsettling about such a thing, not aided by the frantic increase in the volume of the drone it exuded, beginning to echo around the cave. The Enderian flinched and shrank against the wall as the sheer power of the sound continued to climb and pierce his ears in the process, pitch heightening to a screeching cry.
Then the resonance reached its peak and Oli wasn't really Oli anymore.