Liv doesn’t really know how long she’s been plunging through the void she found herself falling through, but she knows it's been long enough to be notable. Everything around her was pitch black, every sense deprived of their function. Her first instinct was to try and scream, though she found she didn't have the voice for it. Thrashing and swimming didn't work either, and neither had her gauntlets light. She wondered for a brief moment if she was dead, and if the afterlife was just an endless plunge into a dark, inky abyss-.

  Liv's thoughts end as her senses return to her. Her first instinct is relief, though the second is pure agony as her back slams against the floor, bouncing once before landing with a loud thud. She groans in agony, bruises blooming across her back like roses in spring, red pouring from her nose and down the ridge of her lip.

  "Ow..." She mules, her brain swimming in her skull. Everything was a bit fuzzy right now.

  “-Liv, Liv, Liv, Liv, Liv, Liv, Liv-,” The voice of her boss rings through her head like an alarm, a tempo for it and it alone for one purpose: to annoy the hell out of her.

  “Yeah, yeah. I can hear ya. Quit it out.” Liv grounds out, slowly sitting up. Pain arcs through her body, her clenched teeth sucking in a desperate breath– anything to distract her.

  “Good, you’re back. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to reestablish a connection with you. Luckily, it seems my worries were unfounded.” It says.

  “Awesome. Can ya do somethin’ ‘bout my body?” She mutters questioningly, taking a gander at her surroundings. The first thing she takes note of is the strange platform she finds herself on. It appears to be a sort of ovoid cut in half, the flat half facing up, chains thicker than her entire body connecting to eight points on its perimeter, suspending it over an ocean of bubbling, infernal magma. She seems to be somewhere underground, stalactites hanging from the ceiling, dripping water that sizzles as soon as they make any contact with the floor creating a muggy atmosphere that hands in the air. Looking back at the chains, each appears to be just a bit shorter than the platform itself, all paths but one inaccessible. It's an arduous task. But did it have to be?

  “I've already wasted a charge on the burn you incurred before. I cannot waste more on injuries purely external. I assume they are painful for you, but they won’t be the end of your life, nor will they hamper your abilities to defeat any demon we may come across. Now, I believe you have chains to climb. Good luck Liv.” It says, it’s voice deadpan. Its voice, however, grows less deadpan as it sees her slowly look down, a glint in her eye. It remains silent for a second before speaking again, a hint of caution in it’s voice.

  “What?”

  “That should not have worked, and I want you to be aware of that.” Her boss says for the hundredth time as she strolls through the small cavern, avoiding the stalagmites that pepper the floor, her head doing the same for the stalactites hanging above.

  “Wouldn’t know it I didn't try it 'fore. It’s one of them calculated risks, ain't it?” She retorts, her gauntlets still releasing a sizzle from the fault lines. A soft glow emanates from their depths, illuminating the blood leaking from her shoulder, a matching bloodstain a few hundred feet away.

  “The risk greatly outweighed the reward. A slight miscalculation, and you would have fallen right into the lava. We would have both perished. Such an utterly foolish move, and you’re aware of it.-”

  Liv rolls her eyes as it continues its assault on her decisions Was an explosion jump necessary? Technically no, but Liv figured the temporary pain was worth the time saved. Better than climbing that pain in the ass chain, at least.

  She continues her path down the muggy cave, taking in the dull sights. It was far smaller than the cavern she was just in, just about eight yards in height and width. Water drips down from the roof of the cave, off the stalactites, forming puddles on the floor around small, sharp stalagmites. It's not as hot as out in the larger cavern, but it was warm enough to form a layer of sweat on her back, her breathing growing ragged as the muggy air diffuses into her lungs. Better than the cold, at least; though, her lungs felt heavy either way.

  “-foolish, ignorant, dumb, pigheaded decisions you could have made. I wonder if the impacts against your cranium somehow removed your ability to be rational.-” Her boss continues. If she didn't stop this now, they never would. Just had to distract it somehow.

  “Aight, aight. Im sorry, im sorry,” She concedes, rolling her eyes as she does, an idea springing to mind, “Hey, wanna do me a favor and gimme some cliff notes. How the hell do these things work?” She stops before quickly adding, "Ya know, yeah?"

  Her boss stops once more, a clearness entering Liv's mind, a brief respite that wasn't long to last, “You listened to nothing when that man was speaking. I should have known, but I thought you listened to the parts of the career you're haphazardly rushing to get into. However, I should know to expect that of you.-”

  “Oi.” Liv interjects, her eyebrows furrowing at the jab.

  “...As I was about to say," It continues, it's voice warier than before, "Stratas are mysterious in nature. Alexis informed us that it's extremely hard to record anything concrete about them as technology related to research, such as a gem called the 'Internet', was destroyed in their awakening. The information lends itself to three categories, the first being the internal functions of a Strata. According to Alexis, the working theory is the Strata itself works as a sort of defense mechanism that centers around a main demon, working in conjunction with said demon to protect itself so it may produce more demons which, in turn, can be released into the world. The theory further posits that Stratas feed on organic material which, in turn, give some of their energy to their demons; though, not every Strata is the same in nature, so you will not be fighting these bugs every time."

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Liv nods, just barely following along with. At least not every single one would be like this, producing those freaky bugs. She shudders, picturing a swarm of the insects flying around the world, destroying anything in their way. They could probably claw through stone, so digging wouldn't work, and getting high up also wouldn't work for obvious reasons. How would you even escape them? Maybe you could turn the swarm against itself with-.

  “-Second off is the general danger levels and how they’re ranked,” It continues, causing Liv snap back. These didn't seem like cliff notes to her, “According to Alexis, there seems to be six levels, those being: Risk, Threat, Perilous, Emergency, Crisis, and Armageddon. Lucky for us, there aren’t many Stratas above the Crisis level, so we don’t need to be too concerned over them.”

  “Mhm.” Liv mutters, already lulling back into the recesses of her mind.

  “Third is defeating or escaping Stratas,’ they continue on, not noticing Liv’s wandering attention, “Stratas can always be destroyed and escaped once you defeat the core demon as that effectively cripples it, making it unable to produce more demons. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. I believe he spoke about alternative ways of escape, but he didn't elaborate further."

  Liv waits for a brief moment before speaking, just a small twinge of accusation in her voice. “I thought I asked for cliff notes.”

  “I can’t cliff note vital information, Liv. The more you know, the more prepared you are, which boosts my odds of survival.”

  “Ya mean our?” Viv retorts, her eyebrow cocking up.

  “My survival is your survival. I am, unfortunately, putting all my support behind you for the time being. No need to be redundant.”

  “Ain’t you kind.” She sighs, scanning for any exit tot he cave. She squints her eyes, seeing an orange light at the end of the tunnel. Thank god, an exit. The light grows more and more as she approaches, though more than it probably should in relation to her. The light seems to split as a strange buzzing hits Liv's ears. Liv's eyes widen with recognition, then horror as she takes a slow step back, hoping against hope she's just imagining things. A dozen of the bug’s buzz toward her, a few yards away as their bulbous heads glow in the light. They screech in unison, a horrifying symphony that sends a jolt of fear through her soul.

  “SKREEE!”

  “SHIT!” Liv shouts, turning tail and running with all her might. Despite her speed, or in spite of it, the buzzing gets closer and closer, their screeching growing closer with every second. She can see the light getting brighter and brighter, her shadow shrinking more and more as the cavern walls grow brighter with their shared light.

  “You’ll have to turn around and fight them eventually.” Her boss pipes up unhelpfully, mentally prodding her mind.

  “LIKE HELL I CAN!” She retorts, her voice coming out strained as she runs full tilt, pricks of pain shooting through her body.

  “Just incinerate them with an explosion. It's simple, is it not?” it questions.

  “AND LET THIS DAMN PLACE CAVE IN ON TOP OF ME? HELL NO.” She shouts, her already ragged breaths growing shallower as she struggles to get oxygen into her body. It was bad enough that she was getting winded, and even worse due to her injuries lancing pain through her battered body with every step, but the worst part was the stalagmites and stalactite. Every step she had to dodge one, stepping around them on floor and ceiling, slowing her down for a fraction of a moment, moments that were adding up quicker than she would like.

  She had to do something, anything, but she couldn't think of anything. Standing and fighting would get her swarmed, blowing them up would cave in the roof above them, and she didn't have the stamina to outlast them. She needed to kill all of them in one fell swoop while also avoiding a caved in roof falling on her. She racked her brain, but couldn't think of anything. Then, in a flash of inspiration, an idea pops in her head, a gleam crossing her eyes

  Quickly, while still running, she no longer tries to avoid the stalactites. One quickly comes into view, one of the thinner ones. She braces herself, a smile appearing on her face as she primes her fist, throwing it forward as she gets into range.

  Her fist impacts against the stalactite, causing it to shatter into debris, the remains skittering to the floor as she continues her sprint. She continues to the next one as the lights grow from not only the bugs encroaching on her, but her gauntlets fault lines, shouting as she does. “HOW’RE THEY LOOKIN’?”

  “If you mean distance,” her boss says, mentally pointing out their location in her mind, almost like another pair of eyes. “They are five yards away.”

  Liv curses under her breath, the next stalactite coming into view. She, once again, primes her fist, throwing it forward once it's in range. The stalactite similarly shatters, skittering against the floor as she continues to bolt forward, looking for the closest one. Ten yards away. She swears, pushing herself further and further, gasping and panting. The buzzing is far closer as she finally arrives at the next stalactite, already priming her fist.

  It, just like the previous stalactite, turns to rubble as her fist impacts against it, the fault lines in her gauntlets gaining an orange, hot glow. She flexes her hands, power humming through the fault lines n her gaunlets. It was ready. She smirks, putting her plan into motion. She slows down moderately, allowing the bugs to slow down.

  “Four yards. Three yards. Two yards. Just a yard away, Liv.” Her boss comments, a bit more emotion bleeding in with every repeat of the demon's distance. Liv waits until the final moment, her heart thundering in her chest as the buzzing reaches a horrid crescendo, their warm breathing ghosting over the back of her neck. At the final moment, she ducks down, kicking herself under the bug-esque demons, watching as they continue forward for a smidge before turning around. By the time they are able to turn, however, she’s already cleared them. It was too late for them

  Liv’s hands meet in a loud, thunderous clap. Her own orange light illuminates the cavern, the walls quaking with the power behind them. Two are instantly incinerated, far too close to the explosion to survive. This, by itself, wouldn’t be enough, most of the bugs merely disoriented by the explosion; however, her aim was never to eliminate them all with the explosion. No, it was something far, far greater.

  As the bugs are knocked back, their bodies bobbing around like drunken toddlers, the roof of the cave finally seems to give. The ceiling caves in fully, stones falling like hail, crushing the bugs one by one, too disoriented to move out of the way. Liv is sent flying away, her body crashing against some of the larger stalactites and stalagmites in her path. She can feel her bones giving, her left humerus snapping with the strain as continues to soar through the cavern, sliding out the other end in a heap of blood and sweat.

  “Haha! BOOM! Look at allat!” She cheers, a smile spreading cheek to cheek. Adrenaline courses through her, muting the pain that should be plaguing her. As she comes down from her high, her excitement quickly fades to dreariness, flecks of blood accompanying her coughs. Her body had, again, taken a horrid beating. Her back is battered and bruised, her arms bleeding from multiple gashes, her left arm hanging uselessly at her side. Her head felt like it was full of cotton, her ears ringing horridly.

  “That was… Clever.” her boss slowly admits, a hint of shock coloring its voice, “I wish you would have taken less damage, though. You've broken too many bones to be standing. You should rest as I tend to your wounds. Try not to fall asleep."

  “Can’t do anythin’.” She chuckles, the pain seeping through her adrenaline filled calm. She looks around, finding the nearest wall. She drags herself over, propping herself against it, an exhausted yawn escaping her lips. She can barely keep her eyes open, exhaustion making sleep a tempting mistress. She could barely move without moving, and sleep would be an escape from the pain, even if she knows sleep isn’t a good idea.

  A minute couldn't hurt, right?