Becoming A God In Another World With My Crush

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They burst from the entrance of the cave as the ground roared behind them with the dust and gravel trailing their feet, violet light still clinging to their skin. Xander stumbled into the clearing, lungs burning, the crystal still clenched in his shaking hand.

The cave let out a final, deafening groan as chunk of the entrance caved in with a thunderous crack. Xander turned instinctively it, wild-eyed and his breath shallow.

"Eli…?"

Iris froze beside him, eyes wide. The sky above them flared orange with dusk, but it felt cold. She looked back. Nothing came out.

More boulders tumbling forward.

'He's not here.'

"Where is he?" Xander asked, already stepping forward. "Where the fuck is he?!"

Iris didn't speak, another section of the cliffside collapsed with a shuddering roar, the cave mouth shrinking in real time.

'Shit.'

Then Xander bolted.

"Xander, stop!" Iris lunged, grabbing his arm. "You can't—"

"I'm not leaving him!"

"There's nothing you can do—!"

"He saved us, Iris! He healed me, gave us a place to stay!"

"And he told us to run! You go back in there and you'll die!"

Xander yanked his arm free, voice cracked from a dozen things breaking inside him. "I'd rather die than to run away while someone else dies."

Another quake shook the ground beneath their feet. Rocks tumbled, dust clouding the air. She shouted after him—he didn't hear it, he was already running.

Xander was already halfway across the clearing, gravel crunching violently under his boots as the last of the cave groaned behind him.

"Eli!"

The entrance was crumbling with stone and ash collapsing in massive chunks. "Eli!"

He barely noticed Iris shouting behind him, didn't register the way the ground trembled under each footfall...until a figure staggered out of the smoke and dust.

Eli.

With his clothes scorched and cloak torn and blood trailing from his forehead. He moved like he wasn't sure if his legs could carry him anymore.

"ELI!" 

Xander sprinted forward, caught him just before his knees gave way. The older man's weight collapsed into him with a ragged breath.

"I've got you, I've got you—" Xander's voice cracked. "Don't you dare pass out right now."

Eli's eyes fluttered his skin sweaty and pale. "Did… you get it?" 

"Yeah. We got it." 

And then, with a final, thunderous roar, the rest of the cave gave out—collapsing in a storm of dust, shattered stone, and ancient power sealed beneath rubble.

Xander shielded Eli's head as they both dropped to the dirt.

For a second, all was still.

Then...

"Guys!" Iris sprinted across the clearing, skidding to a stop beside them. She dropped to her knees, reaching for Eli's shoulder, her hand trembling. 

She stared at him, chest heaving, violet smudges still clinging to her arms from the crystal's chamber. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "God, I'm so sorry, Eli."

Xander didn't look at her. His jaw was clenched, glasses crooked, his arms still steady around Eli.

"You didn't mean to," he said, voice low. "We just—we thought…" 

Iris bit her lip hard. "That he wouldn't make it."

Eli stirred faintly, eyelids twitching. His voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "One… hell of a plan."

They made it to the edge of the clearing, backs to the collapsed cave, dusk finally approaching as the night drew closer. Xander eased Eli down beneath a wide, moss-covered tree, trying to be gentle even though Eli barely responded. His breathing was shallow. Arms limp. Face pale beneath the ash and scrapes.

"Okay, okay, I got you…" Xander whispered, brushing hair from Eli's forehead. His hands were trembling, but he didn't stop moving. "You're alright. We're alright. We're good."

The satchel thudded to the grass as Iris dropped beside them. Her braids was coming loose, her face streaked with sweat and dust. She dug through the pack with fingers that didn't want to work, finally pulling out the waterskin.

"Here." She held it out, not quite meeting Xander's eyes. "Give him some."

Xander nodded, uncapped it, pressed it gently to Eli's lips. Eli coughed, water dribbling down his chin. His eyes fluttered halfway open, unfocused.

"...the bond…" he rasped.

Xander leaned closer. "What?"

"The crystal... it's awakened…" Eli's voice faded again.

Iris watched silently. Her breathing was uneven. The forest around them had gone still.

She swallowed hard. "You saved him."

Xander didn't look up. He was still holding onto Eli's wrist, checking for a pulse he was terrified might vanish.

"Not yet," he said.

Iris lowered her gaze. "...You both could've died in there."

"You think I don't know that?" Xander snapped, then immediately winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean—"

"No. It's fine." Her voice was soft.

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of everything pressing down like the dust hadn't finished settling.

Then, the ground rumbled.

Xander looked up. "Please tell me that was your stomach."

Iris stood quickly, eyes wide. "What the...that wasn't me, dumbass!"

A roar echoed through the clearing.

Xander's breath hitched. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!"

The trees behind the collapsed cave split apart with a deafening crack—

BOOM!

Stone exploded outward. Dirt rained from the sky. The world tilted and the Hydra burst from the rubble like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Bloodied. Burnt. Yet still alive.

Its scales were torn in places, blackened in others but all seven heads were intact and very pissed off.

Iris screamed as the beast reared up, hissing through cracked teeth. Xander's instinct kicked in before thought did and he lunged in front of Eli, arms spread.

'Say sike right now.'

The Hydra let out a roar that shook the clearing. One of its heads slammed down where they'd just been seconds ago, splintering the earth.

"IT SURVIVED A CAVE-IN?!" Xander shouted, voice cracking.

"Nope," Iris gasped. "Nope. This is some final boss bullshit!"

Another head lunged toward them Xander pulled Iris back just in time as it snapped at the dirt where she'd stood.

"Xander—Eli—he's not gonna wake up," Iris yelled, panic rising.

"I know!"

"What do we do?! We can't outrun it!"

"We won't," Xander growled.

'This is it.'

His eyes scanned the ground, searching until he spotted the glint of metal from Eli's half-open cloak. A small dagger. Not much. But better than nothing.

He yanked it free and stepped forward.

Iris caught his sleeve. "What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like?! I'm gonna kill that fucker."

"You're not a fighter!"

"No," he said, voice low. "But I'm the only one left standing."

His violet mark flared once beneath his sleeve. She looked at him, eyes wide, heart thudding, Xander turned toward the beast. The Hydra stalked forward, lips curled back in a snarl as lifted one of its heads high, ready to strike.

"I'm not brave," he muttered. "But I'm done watching other people get hurt while I hide." Xander smiled at her despite the fear and the shaking of his entire physique. "If this goes badly…" he said over his shoulder, "I'm really hoping you'll cry at my funeral."

"Xander—!"

He broke into a run, straight toward the monster and the mark on his wrist blazed as he tightened his grip.

"You wanna dance?"

The Hydra hissed, smoke curling from its nostrils, Xander raised the dagger.

"Then let's dance, asshole."