The lower corridors of the ship were quieter than the upper decks.
No voices.
No movement.
Only the low metallic hum vibrating through the walls as mana currents flowed beneath the structure like veins beneath skin.
Dim blue lights lined the corridor edges while Aldric drifted lazily several inches above the floor ahead of Kaelira, one hand in his pocket and the other loosely holding a bottle.
Kaelira still wasn't used to it.
That casual floating.
The way he treated gravity like an inconvenience.
They passed through another heavy doorway and entered a wide storage ramp near the lower cargo levels.
Rows of empty metal cages lined the walls, alongside scattered wooden crates of varying sizes—some large, some small.
Aldric finally stopped.
Then pointed toward several thick metal crates stacked near the edge of the loading platform.
"Grab one."
Kaelira blinked.
"…Huh?"
Her ears twitched slightly as she looked between him and the crates.
"I thought we were going to the engine. Why did we come here instead?"
Aldric didn't even look at her.
"Shut up and grab the damn box."
Without waiting for a response, he drifted higher into the air, crimson eyes faintly glowing as his gaze swept across the storage area.
Searching.
Inspecting.
Kaelira stared at him for another second before sighing dramatically.
"You're really committed to being unpleasant all the time."
No response.
Only silence as Aldric continued drifting through the cargo ramp like an irritated ghost.
Kaelira finally approached one of the metal crates.
The closer she got, the more she could feel it.
A faint leakage of mana from within.
Dense.
Heavy.
She crouched and unlatched the reinforced locks.
The lid hissed open.
Blue light spilled outward immediately.
Inside—
countless glowing blue stones packed tightly together.
Mana ore.
Kaelira's eyes widened slightly.
"Huh…"
She reached down carefully, fingers hovering near one of the glowing stones.
The mana radiating from it felt heavy. Condensed. Refined.
"Mana ore…"
Her tail flicked once behind her.
"I thought he said there were reserves stored near the engine itself."
Still no response.
Kaelira looked over her shoulder.
Aldric wasn't listening.
His attention had already shifted elsewhere.
Toward an old wooden crate stacked near the back wall.
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
Then the crate lifted into the air.
Floating.
Pulled upward entirely through mana.
Aldric smirked faintly.
"Well," he muttered, satisfied, "at least this trip wasn't completely worthless."
Kaelira stared at him in disbelief.
"We came down here because the ship is running out of fuel."
"And?" Aldric replied casually.
"You're looting alcohol."
"It's called multitasking."
The wooden crate drifted beside him as he floated back toward her.
Then his gaze dropped to the open mana ore container.
"How long does it take to pick up a damn box?"
Kaelira clicked her tongue and sealed the crate with both hands.
The metal lid clanged shut with a heavy echo.
She bent, grabbed the reinforced handles, and lifted.
The moment she did, her eyes widened slightly.
Heavy.
Extremely heavy.
The mana density inside made it feel multiplied, as if the weight itself had been rewritten.
For a brief moment, she understood why the pilot had warned her.
If these ruptured…
Yeah. That would be bad.
Still, she hoisted it onto her shoulder.
A grin tugged at her face as she glanced toward Aldric.
"I'm not that weak, you know."
Aldric looked unimpressed.
"Yeah. Go pat yourself on the back later."
Another crate beside her lifted into the air under his control.
"Now move."
He turned toward the deeper corridor.
"The faster we finish this," he said flatly, "the faster I can go back to drinking in peace."
Kaelira sighed.
"You somehow make every situation sound worse."
Aldric smirked faintly.
"And yet you're still here."
The corridor doors ahead slowly opened.
Beyond them, deeper within the ship, something pulsed again.
---
The deeper levels grew warmer as they descended.
The walls themselves vibrated faintly now—not violently, but steadily, like the pulse of something vast buried beneath steel and mana circuitry.
Ahead, another reinforced security door began unlocking with a low mechanical grind.
Blue runes lit across its surface in sequence.
Kaelira adjusted her grip on the mana ore crate.
Even through the casing, the mana felt almost alive.
Beside her, Aldric floated forward lazily, dragging both an ore crate and the wooden alcohol box through the air.
His priorities remained… questionable.
"You know," Kaelira muttered, "a normal person would focus on the giant flying ship potentially falling out of the sky."
Aldric didn't look at her.
"Normal people are boring."
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
The doors finally opened.
A long maintenance corridor stretched into the ship's depths.
And somewhere far below—
something pulsed again.
Low.
Heavy.
---
Elsewhere in the ship—
a door slid open softly.
Draven stepped into the corridor.
The black cat now rested comfortably atop his head, tail hanging lazily over one side with dignified indifference.
Waiting nearby, exactly as promised, stood Lyriana.
The moment she saw him, she straightened slightly.
Draven looked at her calmly.
"Alright," he said.
A brief pause.
"Let's go."
Lyriana nodded once.
They began walking together.
Silence followed naturally.
Not awkward.
Not forced.
Just quiet.
Their footsteps echoed softly across the metal floor as dim mana lights stretched ahead into the corridor.
After a while, Lyriana spoke.
"How are Lucifer and Elenya doing?"
A brief silence.
Draven glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then looked forward again.
"They're fine."
Lyriana nodded slightly.
"I see."