(TATB) Ch 10: The Flaming Sword, Discovered!

(Skylar)

I picked up the Q-tip, holding it between my fingers and giving it a little spin. I'd always heard they weren't the best for ears, that they could push things deeper instead of cleaning. But I didn't have much of a choice right now; the tickling in my ear was just too much to ignore.

Bracing myself, I gently slid the Q-tip into my ear, feeling the cotton tip brush against the inside. I began to twirl it slowly, letting it work its way along the surface. Almost instantly, the tickling lessened, replaced by a warm sensation. It wasn't uncomfortable—actually, it was oddly soothing, spreading from deep within my ear. I paused, curious, as the warmth continued, growing stronger but without any pain.

"Huh?" I whispered, feeling a strange pulse.

I carefully pulled the Q-tip out, wondering if maybe something had been stuck. As I held it up, my eyes widened in surprise. There, nestled in a tiny piece of earwax at the tip, was a faint, tiny glow—something so small it was almost easy to miss. I squinted, bringing the Q-tip closer, staring with fascination.

"What's that?" I murmured, feeling a strange mix of curiosity and disbelief.

***

(Nemu)

In the dim cavern, I looked down at Vu, barely hanging on, his face pale and eyes half-closed. Every breath he took looked like a struggle. We'd barely made it, but where were we now? The walls of the cave stretched up like towering cliffs, dark and thick with green sludge clinging to every surface. A faint light marked what seemed like an exit, but on the opposite end, darkness yawned in endless depth. And the ground—it felt unsettlingly soft beneath my feet, like it wasn't rock at all.

Then the ground trembled. Sawyer's voice cut through the rumbling. "What's happening?"

I looked toward the entrance, and my heart sank. Some enormous, pale object was sliding into view, blocking out what little light we had. The cave shook harder with each passing second. "What is that?" I whispered, the unease growing.

The vibrations became more violent, and suddenly, I realized what was happening. "Oh no," I gasped as I watched the wall of pale mass advancing closer, pushing waves of the green sludge along with it. Before I could shout a warning, the world seemed to tilt, and we were slammed into the surface, caught in a sticky mess that trapped us like insects in sap.

I tried to push myself up, but the sludge clung to every part of me, weighing me down. Then, the realization struck. I looked around, swallowing hard as the sticky film kept pulling at my arms and legs. "We're not in her..." I started, but the words got lost as we suddenly began to spin, tossed and blurred by the force. My vision blurred; I could barely breathe from the pressure, everything moving too fast to process.

I knew there was only one thing I could do, even if I'd never wanted to. My right hand struggled against the sludge, and I forced my fingers to open, summoning all the focus I had left. "Come to me," I whispered. A faint glow began to form in my palm, and the familiar dark handle materialized, covered in the same sticky layer. "Ew," I muttered, grimacing but grateful. The weight of my weapon was a small relief in the chaos around us.

"Nemu, you aren't going to..." Sawyer's voice echoed faintly, her eyes wide as she realized what I was about to attempt.

"I have no choice." I raised the weapon, concentrating on the blade that flickered with a steady flame, heat radiating from it. I turned, angling it toward what I could only assume was the wall of her ear canal. Bracing myself, I thought, Please, let this work.

And with a deep breath, I struck forward, hoping for the one chance we had.

In an instant, the white wall began to pull back with a force that nearly ripped us from the surface. I barely managed to hang on, my fingers wedged deep into the ridges of the surface, clinging with every ounce of strength I had left. The massive wall reversed at a speed I could hardly process, dragging waves of sticky green sludge with it, pulling us along like a helpless tide. It was as if we were caught in a storm.

The world tilted, and I looked back to see Sawyer and Vu barely holding on. Vu's knuckles were white, his grip slipping in the slick residue. Sawyer's eyes were wide, her face pale with terror as she tried to anchor herself into the shifting ridges of the massive wall.

"Hold on!" I shouted, my voice almost lost in the roaring sound around us. The speed felt impossible—like we were being flung backward by some unstoppable force. My stomach lurched, twisting as gravity seemed to lose meaning. One moment, I was facing the white expanse; the next, I was nearly thrown off as the wall jolted forward, then pulled back again in a sweeping motion.

The earwax-coated surface we clung to began to vibrate violently. My arms ached, fingers slipping, and I could feel my own strength waning. I looked down, hoping to spot any possible refuge, but all I saw were endless, uneven ridges. Just below us, thick beads of sludge started to move, swept upward by the motion. Each drop appeared massive—like a crushing tidal wave—and I knew if we lost our grip, there'd be no coming back.

"Nemu!" Vu's voice broke through, strained, as he managed to look up, his face twisted with exhaustion and fear. I could see it in his eyes: he was reaching his limit, his body fighting to hold on but starting to falter.

And then, as suddenly as it had pulled back, the wall shot forward again, tilting us down and dragging us upward with dizzying speed. The whole expanse began to vibrate, pulsing as though with its own heartbeat, and I realized with a jolt that this wasn't the end of the movement. We were still caught in something far beyond our control.

I braced myself, clinging desperately, but I knew I couldn't hold on much longer. The white surface we clung to shifted upward again, accelerating, and I felt the pull of gravity tugging me down with frightening power.

Everything went still. The relentless pull that had nearly torn us off was suddenly gone, and the dizzying vibrations slowed until silence settled around us, almost as if the entire world was holding its breath.

I gritted my teeth, steadying myself as I pushed up from the slick surface, taking in a shuddering breath. As I regained my balance, a dark shadow cast over us, and I slowly tilted my head upward, barely daring to believe what I was seeing.

A massive, unblinking eye loomed above, filling my entire view. The iris alone spanned far beyond anything I could comprehend, an ocean of color circling the vast black pupil that seemed to swallow us whole. For a second, I felt utterly paralyzed, trapped in that gaze. It wasn't just large; it was endless, impossibly detailed, every slight movement, every flicker of her lashes radiating waves of intensity that pressed down on us.

"I think the Brob sees us," Sawyer whispered hoarsely from behind, her voice filled with awe and fear.

"Yeah, ya think?" I muttered, my voice barely more than a rasp. It was almost absurd, yet there was no denying the sheer, terrifying reality of it.

We stood frozen, mere specks in her sightline. The eye shifted, focusing on us with an intent that sent a chill through my bones, as if she were studying us, taking in every tiny detail, her awareness flooding over us like a storm.