The light was illuminated by the drops of water dripping from the stalactites. The cave room was still dark, but when a drop of water leaves the stalactites' sharp stony surface, it emits a faint shimmer of light, as if it were something divine. After a drop falls on the rocky ground, the light fades away. A little pond has developed on the ground, collecting all of those water droplets in one spot.

When a drop of water falls on the pond's surface, a ripple is generated throughout the pool of water. It could be my imagination, but the ground seemed to quake... Maybe my dizziness is causing me to have hallucinations? With the last breath of energy I could muster, I leapt forward towards the water without hesitation. As I approached the pond, I tripped over a rock and fell into the pool of water. The comforting warmth penetrated my skin and travelled throughout my entire body. I didn't drown because the water was only up to my abdomen's depth. I dipped my face into the water and gulped a mouthful down my throat.

A warm tingling sensation coursed through my veins as if I were reviving. As I drank more water quietly, my parched skin began to fill with vitality. My muscle fibres entwined. I had no idea that drinking water could perform such a feat. I had been on the verge of death only moments before, yet suddenly I was brimming with energy from head to toe.

I floated on the surface of the water, facing the cave's ceiling, after drinking enough to satisfy my thirst. Even now, I couldn't see much of this cave. The light emitted by the water drops falling from the stalactites was barely enough to catch a few glimpses of the cave here and there.

As I floated on the surface of the water, I closed my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I felt at peace. This water was incredible. It quenched my thirst, satisfied my hunger, and healed all the wounds on my skin in minutes. Not even scars were left behind. Even the fractured bone in my right arm felt like it was back in place. My paralysed shoulder has regained sensation. It was as though I had been granted a new body. However, it did not help me gain any muscle that I had already lost in the last few days. I was as slender as a stick now, weightless, soulless... I must have been pale from the lack of blood. Even though I felt a surge of energy in my body, I knew it was only fleeting. If I leave this pond without supplementing myself with something palpable, I’ll die within a day.

Time passed as my skin absorbed the ethereal energy from its pores in the same way it does with sunlight. As energy poured into my body like a torrent flood, it surged out even faster, like a tap left open. With the flow of time, my thoughts became clearer and my body lighter.

I blinked open my tired eyelids to investigate this hidden labrinth. Then a gleaming streak of light welcomed my eyes, forcing them to close once again. As a reflex, I covered them with my left palm. It was the first time in a long time that I saw the light, so close to disappearing. Can such a place exist on Earth? I had my doubts.

I opened my eyes, peering through the gaps between my fingers to identify the source of the light, and another wave of adrenaline swept over me. Maybe it's coming from the cave entrance, or maybe it's from people looking for survivors who came across this cave? I had hoped. It seemed plausible. What else could it possibly be? With my desire to find the truth as soon as possible, I finally identified the source of the light.

I was still floating on the surface of the water, my entire body pointing upwards. As the water dripped from the stalactites, some fell into the pond, while others landed on my body, even on my face from time to time, before losing their translucent glow.

The golden ball that Madam Madison handed me in her final breath was the source of illumination. The glow became stronger as more drops dripped on the ball hanging from my neck, and it pulsated like a living heartbeat. As the illumination faded, the drawings on the ball became more vivid.

I took the necklace off my neck and examined the ball more closely. Except for the light it created, there was nothing extraordinary about it. I lifted the ball with my fingers, allowing additional drops to fall on it. The scene in front of me astounded me.

When a drop of water landed on the golden ball, the light from the water drop was absorbed by the ball, and the light pulsing from it became even brighter. The drop, which had lost its translucent glow, slid down my arm and eventually reached the pond I was in. After observing the same thing happen several more times, I concluded the ball was absorbing whatever that miraculous light energy that water drop had.

It was as though the ball was operating as a battery, taking light as its source. But I had no idea what its limit was. Even after so much time had passed, it was still absorbing, as if it had a bottomless pit inside it. The drawings on the ball got more complex, etching themselves deep into the ball.

I could tell by looking at it that if this little thing reaches its limit, the gold-plated surface will burst open along the drawn lines on it. But how long would it take? Will I be able to hold on to my life that long? I could live on the energy my body was constantly absorbing from the pond, but wrinkles were appearing on my skin. It was a sign that I had lingered in the water for too long, and whatever therapeutic effect this water had was diminishing as I was becoming immune to it. I think I could survive for a week. I don't have a choice in this matter either. Except for withering to death here.

When I discovered water here, I assumed there might be other wildlife... or at the very least, plants that grow over rocks. Water is associated with the formation of life. But, even if I wanted to go out and look for something... anything that could be called life in this blinding darkness, I had to let go of my curiosity over this golden ball. My gut feeling was telling me that if I forced this ball to its limit, something good would happen, and I hoped that I was right. Even if I were disappointed in the end, what else would I have to lose, anyway? Surviving was my best hope now, whether inside or outside. At the very least, I'll have this therapeutic water to help me, as well as the light emitted by the falling water drops. But I won't have any sense of direction or chance for survival if I go outside.

To find an exit, I could use this golden ball as a torch, but it will quickly run out of energy and lose its light. If this happens while I'm in the middle of exploring the cave, I'll get lost. That would be the absolute worst-case scenario. I don't want to starve to death or go thirsty for a week, either.

It is critical to look for alternative nutrient sources. So I'll depart once I find out what happens with this ball. The water in the pond would have lost all of its miraculous properties by then, and I would have no choice but to leave.

I separated the chain from the ball and placed it on the surface of the water, where it floated, drowning one-fourth of its surface. My face creased into a relieved grin. If I had to hold the ball, causing water drops to fall directly from the stalactites all day long, my arm would go numb. I sighed when I stepped out of the pond. My ragged clothes were soaked with water. As I noticed a few drops falling on the ball, the light it emitted became even brighter. As more light penetrated every nook and cranny of the cave, the darkly coloured cave revealed more of itself.

I lay back on the stone floor, etching the scene in front of me into my mind. As more and more drops rained on the pond's surface, waves caused mild shocks around the rocky cave. Getting out of this situation was the only aim I had in mind, and I needed to achieve it for the people I had watched die in front of me, as well as for myself, to find answers to the muddled questions in my head.

The sound of water drops echoed in my ears like a pleasant lullaby as I gradually drifted off to sleep.