As Shion and her group began their trek back to the surface, Shion was still processing everything that had happened in the arena, her thoughts lingering on the battle with the ghost, but she felt an urgency now. She needed to see her father and tell him of what she had seen, and every step through the dungeon felt like it brought her closer to that goal. But as they reached the tunnel they had initially descended through, a grim realization awaited them.

"Uh… guys," Logue muttered softly, holding up his knee as he rounded a corner ahead of the others. They rushed to join him, only to be met with a wall of jagged rocks and rubble. The tunnel they had come through was completely blocked, collapsed in on itself.

Shion’s heart sank. “We can’t go back the way we came,” she said, stating the obvious but feeling the weight of the situation all the same.

“Of course, of course, that happens,” Terrence growled, impatient. His tail flicked, casting an edgy shadow on the walls.

“There’s another route, but it’s less direct,” Logue said, stepping up, recalling the maze of tunnels they'd bypassed. "But it’ll take us through some older, less stable caverns.”

"I'm not afraid of a little detour, surface-dweller," Terrence snarled, his teeth readjusting his blade in its sheath. “Lead the way.”

With tensions rising they pressed onward, leaving behind the blocked path and diving deeper into the dungeon’s maze. The deeper they went, the more the familiar tunnels gave way to older, less traveled parts of the dungeon. The walls here were slick with moisture and overgrown with strange fungi that glowed faintly. The faint sounds of distant creaks and groans of rock made Shion uneasy. It was as if the dungeon itself was alive, shifting and waiting.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. The glow from strange plants bathed the room in a soft, eerie light. The cavern floor stretched wide, dotted with stalagmites and uneven patches of stone, and from this room, several tunnels branched out like the threads of a spider's web. Going forward, the ground sloped gently downward toward a wide expanse of stone. But it was what lay at the far end of the cavern that made Shion’s breath catch.

A huge, hairless creature was crouched in silence, its skin pale and stretched tight over its muscular frame. It twitched every so often, as if in restless sleep, but the rhythmic rising and falling of its broad, muscular back suggested it hadn’t noticed their presence. The thing was monstrous, with long, clawed arms and a body so large it nearly filled the far side of the chamber.

"That’s… a cave lurker," Logue whispered, his voice barely audible. “Nasty thing when it’s awake.”

Shion’s eyes were locked on the creature, her heart pounding in her ribs. The thing was a monster, its sharp claws glinting in the faint light, arms seemingly powerful enough to tear through the very stone. The creature was facing away from them, its massive bulk blocking what seemed to be the only exit on the far side of the cavern.

Shion stared at the beast, her mind racing. "We can’t fight that thing," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Her companions looked equally tense, their eyes darting between the sleeping lurker and the distant exit.

“Then how do we get past?” Terrence muttered, his maw hovering over his sword, though he knew as well as anyone that fighting wasn’t an option.

“It hasn’t noticed us yet, and it’s facing the wrong way," Logue said, eyeing the creature’s twitching form. “If we’re quiet enough, we might be able to slip by.”

But even as he said it, the group hesitated. The cavern was too open, the distance too long to cross without the risk of something going terribly wrong.

"Quiet won't cut it," Shion whispered, her mind whirling for another solution. “One wrong move, and it’ll tear us apart."

As the group crouched in the shadows, their tension palpable, Fetch, who had been silently observing the situation with their usual detached curiosity, suddenly piped up. “Not all creatures wake from noise… some wake from intention.” Their voice was soft, but the cryptic tone sent a chill down Shion’s spine.

Terrence squinted at Fetch. "What does that even mean?"

Her party's hushed squabbling faded from focus as Shion scanned the cavern again, desperate for the answer. An idea started to form, something crazy but maybe just crazy enough to work.

“Wait,” Shion whispered, her eyes on the fungi. “We can create a distraction.”

Logue raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“These fungi,” she said, stepping closer to the glowing plants that had caught her attention before, her eyes gleaming with a plan. “They react to touch. See how they dim when disturbed?” She ran her hoof gently along the surface of one, and the light dimmed momentarily before stabilizing again.

“So?” Terrence asked, impatience creeping into his voice.

Logue squinted at the fungi, then nodded slowly, catching onto her idea. “It could work… If the lurker thinks something’s moving on the other side of the cavern, it might turn its back on the exit, giving us a chance to slip by unnoticed.”

Shion smiled faintly, encouraged by Logue’s support. “Exactly. We just need to be quiet and quick.”

Terrence still looked skeptical, but it wasn't like he had a better idea in mind. “Fine. But how do we get it to look over there in the first place?”

Shion reached into her pack, pulling out a small metal canister—part of their supplies from earlier raids that was now empty. “We use this. It’ll make just enough noise to catch its attention without waking it fully. Once it moves toward the distraction, we make a break for the exit.” She pressed the canister into Terrence's possession. "And you can do the honors of tossing it,” she grinned sweetly.

Before Terrence could make any reply, protest or otherwise, Fetch suddenly hissed. "Hurry," their usually dreamy voice actually portraying a bit of urgency for once.

This uncharacteristic intonation caused the hair on Shion's neck to stand up. She followed Fetch's unblinking gaze to see the monster had shifted again, its massive head moving slightly, a low rumble emanating from its throat. It was beginning to stir. It was now or never.

With one final exchange of glances, a nod, and a deep breath, Terrence lobbed the canister across the cavern. It bounced off the stone of a different tunnel with a faint clatter, rolling until it hit the far wall, where the glowing fungi flickered wildly, casting strange shadows as the canister settled, setting off a chain reaction of dimming lights leading away from the main cavern.

The creature stirred with a guttural rattle. Its massive body shifted as its nostrils flared, sniffing the air. Slowly, it began to turn, its attention drawn to the noise and the strange flickering lights in the distance. The ground trembled slightly as it lumbered toward the distraction.

Now.

Shion signaled the others, and they began creeping toward the exit, their footsteps light and precise. Every second felt like an eternity as they slipped across the cavern floor, their eyes locked on the creature’s back.

Logue led the way, his eyes darting between the group and the cave lurker, while Fetch trailed just behind him, unnervingly calm despite the tension in the air. Shion was next, her heart pounding so ferociously in her ears that she felt she might pass out.

Terrence brought up the rear, his usual bravado replaced with uncharacteristic caution. His muscles twitched, ready to draw his blade at a moment's notice, though they all knew it would be useless if the creature turned its attention back to them.

The lurker’s focus remained on the glowing fungi, its attention fully drawn to the far side of the cavern. It's claws scrapped across the stone as it investigated the display, a grating sound that was nearly unbearable.

Just as they were about to cross the threshold into the exit tunnel, the ground beneath Shion's hoof shifted. She caught herself before making any noise, but her movement caused a small rock to tumble from the edge of the path. It clattered down, bouncing off the stone floor with an audible click.

The cave lurker froze.

Shion held her breath. Everyone did.

For a moment, the creature didn’t move, but then its head began to turn, slow and deliberate. Its dark, sunken eyes scanned the cavern, its nostrils flaring as if it could smell them.

“Move!” Terrence growled.

Shion glanced back, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the cave lurker starting to advance toward them. Its bulk filled the cavern, its claws clicking menacingly against the stone. It was only a matter of time before it would be upon them if they didn’t move faster.

Breaking into a run, the group closed the remaining distance to the tunnel. Logue squeezed through first, followed closely by Fetch. Shion scrambled after them, feeling the tight space press against her as she pushed forward. Terrence was the last to enter, casting one last wary glance at the cavern as he squeezed through the narrow opening.

They moved faster now, adrenaline coursing through their veins. The tunnel twisted and turned, narrowing in some parts, but they didn’t dare stop. The sound of their hurried footsteps and the beast's angered roar, echoed along the walls, following them.