The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

The further away from Nightfall Rep and Zalan walked, the more Zalan felt like he was being watched. It was an eerie, but somehow familiar feeling. Like a nightmare he was experiencing déjà vu over. He kept looking over his shoulder, trying to find the source of the sensation. It only grew the more he entered the darkness. The hair-raising sensation reminded him of when he was trapped under the Island of Remains.

"Do you feel that?" Zalan asked.

"I feel nothing but apprehension for the road ahead," Rep admitted.

Zalan decided that he was just feeling a little paranoid in the darkness. He was able to grow just a hint more calm upon witnessing the Nightbloom flowers in full bloom, creating a path ahead. They were surprisingly ubiquitous. The aroma of peaches was pleasant and almost inviting. Zalan was impressed by how large and pink the flowers grew in their natural habitat. The pink flower was such a stark contrast to the darkness surrounding it, Zalan could spot them before he could see any terrain ahead of him. He suddenly considered that this might be something done to lure prey into the Depths of Despair. An aromatic, beautiful path to send naive creatures to their doom. He hoped that no monsters could be so sophisticated.

Both Rep and Zalan made sure not to step on any of the fragrant flora in their path. He didn't know Rep's reasons for respecting the flowers, but Zalan wanted to make sure that Ma back in Oriton never heard of any hint of him disrespecting her favorite flowers. He had no intention of falling back on her bad side, even when miles away from her. He could only imagine what kind of consequences she would come up with to teach him a lesson. Likely something involving Oshrad and his toes.

Zalan realized that he was starting to peer the more he walked. The need to squint felt necessary just to see a normal distance ahead in the darkness. The deep abyss felt even closer than before, slowly closing in the more they progressed. Glancing at Rep, Zalan wondered why he was reducing his Elemental Flame. The further they walked from civilization, the more Zalan was in need of the comfort of light.

"Can you turn up the flame? Back to what you had a few minutes ago?" Zalan asked.

"I have not changed the output at all." Rep looked at his flame.

"But it's getting darker," Zalan said.

"I know, I see it as well. It is not the fault of my Elemental Flame. I believe the darkness we currently see is unnatural. It is encroaching on the light," Rep said.

"What? No. That doesn't make sense. Dark is the absence of light. Darkness isn't made of anything, it just exists where light isn't cast," Zalan explained.

"Not this darkness," Rep said simply.

Zalan stared at him in disbelief. He looked at the flame Rep held above his arm. It was large, dancing at a height above Rep's head. Easily a few feet tall. But it didn't produce nearly enough light to account for its size. The light was disappearing somewhere. He couldn't help but somehow agree with Rep's assessment. And the more they walked, the more it looked like the darkness inched toward the fire. Like an inkwell getting small enough to snuff out the flame.

Zalan rubbed his arms together, realizing that he was also cold. The warmth of the fire wasn't reaching him, even as he stood next to it. Zalan began to shiver, both in the brisk air and the discomfort. The Depths of Despair was not just a set of mines. There was something else going on, making it a cold, dark place. And they weren't even inside yet, so far as Zalan could tell. It was no wonder people got lost.

He patted his pocket, then went stiff with fear for a second when he realized it was empty. He sighed in relief a moment later, remembering that Rep had the Homeseeker. He hadn't accidentally left the Artifact behind.

Rep stopped short, standing still as he looked out ahead of him. Zalan stopped as well, noting that Rep's firelight felt more like a dim flashlight than an open flame. Zalan looked to Rep, waiting for an explanation. He wondered if Rep had suddenly got the feeling like he was being watched as well. Without meaning to, Zalan looked over his shoulder to double check nothing had appeared. He could barely see a few feet behind them. Shivering at the feeling of the world closing in, he looked at his companion.

"Everything okay, Rep?" Zalan asked.

"No. Well, perhaps yes. We have arrived," Rep said in a low voice.

Rep raised his hand, increasing the intensity of his flame tenfold, but only slightly increasing the illumination.

Zalan's heart quickened as he saw the edge of the mouth to the cave. It looked like a macabre entity ready to consume them as soon as they stepped foot inside. Zalan had to scrutinize the edges for any evidence that it was actually a living being that could close the mouth. They both stood stunned at the opening. Zalan felt a cold breeze from within, and he could see nothing inside. At the edge of the opening were a few overturned and pieces of carts and mining equipment, all decaying and rusted. Neither Rep or Zalan made a move forward.

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"Should we call for Finnegan?" Rep asked, his voice still quiet.

"Why? Do you see him?" Zalan asked, also feeling the need to be just above a whisper.

"No. But perhaps he is near the mouth of the cave. We may be able to rescue him and carry him back to the city," Rep suggested.

"Oh, yeah, great idea," Zalan agreed.

Rep and Zalan both were searching for an excuse to turn around and leave. Neither wanted to suggest to the other that they were too scared to enter. They looked around with their eyes, not making any moves forward. Rep's fire reduced back to its regular size. Zalan rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Do you think we should call out for Finnegan?" Rep asked again, doing all he could to delay the inevitable.

"Yeah, one of us should go ahead and shout out his name," Zalan said.

Rep and Zalan stood in silence. They waited for the other, not wanting to be the one to attract a dark creature of the mines to their location. They looked to one another, their fear stark in the dim firelight. Rep's eyes twitched occasionally, flitting between different points of the entrance in quick bouts of paranoia. Zalan couldn't stop running his hands over his hair or neck.

"Finnegan?" Zalan spoke, like calling someone on the other side of a classroom.

There was no echo. No response at all.

"I think we're just gonna have to go in," Zalan accepted.

"I was hoping you would not say that." Rep swallowed, then nodded.

Breathing deeply, they steeled themselves. Then, without communicating, they took a step forward simultaneously. Zalan felt like he was crossing into another world, despite it not changing at all with a single step. They hesitated after the first step, as though both expecting a trap to be sprung. Nothing happened, and they continued to walk within.

They made a few steps inside, then stopped to turn around. The darkness of the mine's entrance compounded with the darkness of the night. Rep's fire was even worse at illuminating the immediate area, like a dying battery on a flashlight. They could barely see a few feet ahead of them.

"The Depths of Despair," Rep acknowledged, his voice carrying a slight echo.

"The Mines of Madness," Zalan said, trying to get a good look within. Nothing but a dark abyss looked back. While he could hardly see it, he could sense how wide it was. Tunnels leading endlessly, wide enough for the giant evil head to move freely.

"How deep should we go?" Rep asked.

"What do you mean? We're here to find the Elemental, right? So, as far as that is," Zalan said.

Rep looked deeply into the gulf of unending darkness. He swallowed hard and shrugged reluctantly.

"Right," Rep mumbled. "I suppose that makes sense."

Both Rep and Zalan flinched when they heard something shuffle ahead of them. They knelt down, both pulling their swords from their sheaths. Zalan listened intently and figured that he was hearing footsteps. Regular ones, sounding a lot like a human's gait.

"Finnegan?" Zalan whispered loudly. "We're here to get you out of here."

Rep gripped his weapon tightly, increasing his flame to try and see further. It did little good. The outskirts of the cave looked as though they were eating away the light, leaving them with only a fraction of the flame's typical output. The silhouette of a figure began to emerge from the blot of darkness ahead of them. It looked human enough.

"That… That can not be," Rep said, looking rapidly between Zalan and the figure.

"What?" Zalan asked, losing his nerve over Rep's panic. He could barely make out the shape and wasn't sure what he should be seeing.

"The one approaching us... It looks exactly like you," Rep said.

Zalan was going to ask Rep to clarify, until the figure stepped into the firelight enough to reveal its face. Zalan's eyes went wide with fear. It had his face. His body. And a sinister smile. It looked like him, but if he took a bath in gray paint. Head to toe, the entire body and the clothes atop it were the same monochrome gray, like Zalan passed through a black and white filter.

Rep and Zalan reacted quickly, holding their swords out defensively.

"Rep, what kind of monster is that?" Zalan asked quickly.

"I have no idea. I have never known a monster to take on anyone's form before," Rep said.

"Then how do we fight it? Can we just kill it like anything else?" Zalan took a step back as the uncanny version of himself took another step forward.

"You want to kill me? You might regret that," Gray Zalan mentioned peculiarly.

Rep and Zalan flinched. They hadn't expected it to speak. It carried Zalan's voice with confidence. Zalan shivered uncomfortably. He was already thrown off by the creature, but now he hated it. There was no more curiosity, he wanted it gone. The Gray Zalan smiled slightly at their reactions.

"What are you?" Rep asked the creature.

"You should know who I am. You brought me to this realm against my will," Gray Zalan replied, nodding to Rep. "But 'Zalan' is kind of a depressing name. I'm gonna go with Gray."

Rep frowned deeply. Zalan had a pit in his stomach. It somehow had access to Rep's thoughts. Was it crawling around in his own thoughts?

"We should just take it out quick, before it messes with our heads too much," Zalan said.

"You may want to die and let this all be done with, but I have no intention of rolling over and allowing you to kill me," Gray replied.

Zalan scowled at his words. He wished he could take it out at a distance. The gray Zalan smirked, as though listening to his thoughts. He opened his arms wide, revealing his unprotected stance for any projectiles.

"Flank it when I strike it with fire," Rep said, aiming a hand.

Gray went into action before Rep could start his attack. As soon as Rep's arms were raised, Gray threw both arms forward. The creature threw two bolts of lightning, striking Rep with enough force to throw him off his feet. Zalan stared in horror and anger. The fake version of him had Elemental Lightning Power.

"I regret to say that you may find that I'm a little harder to beat than your regular monster," Gray said haughtily, imbuing his arms with lightning.