Eryndor tightened the straps on his gauntlets as the party stood before the dark ravine leading into the earth.
Today… the beast would die.
Nyko, the ratfolk survivor, pointed sharply at the path ahead. "The mining tunnels are through here. We used to… work there."
His voice trembled only for a moment, but he quickly hid it. No one paid much attention—everyone was too focused on the coming battle.
For hours, they descended deeper into the earth until a faint metallic tang filled the air.
Elara whispered, "This smell… gunpowder?"
They emerged into a vast cavity. Broken rails, abandoned tools, and collapsed wooden supports littered the ruins of an old mining station. But the most striking thing was—
Explosives.
Piles of them.
Enough to blow apart mountains.
Nyko swallowed a lump in his throat and forced calm into his voice.
"We used these to break through thick crystal walls. They're still usable. We should take as much as we can."
Xaren's eye sockets brightened with eerie light.
"Perfect. I'll use some assistants."
With a simple gesture, faint green magic swirled through the cavern.
Small skeletons formed—thin, limping, but obedient.
Each took armfuls of explosives and followed silently behind the group.
The path to the lair grew narrower and darker. The deeper they went, the colder the air became. Even the hounds grew uneasy.
After two more hours, Nyko raised a shaking hand.
"…We're here."
The opening was narrow, like the jagged mouth of a starving beast.
Inside…
A monstrous black snake filled the cavern.
Spikes like broken obsidian jutted from its scales.
Its body coiled around mounds of bones—thousands of them.
Krog's fists shook.
Even Eryndor felt a cold rage settling in his stomach.
But Nyko's expression…
It flickered.
For a heartbeat, hatred so sharp it looked murderous burned in his eyes.
But then it vanished—almost too quickly.
No one noticed.
Xaren whispered, "Begin."
The skeletal carriers marched inside the cavern. Their bones made no sound, their forms gave off no scent.
The beast did not stir.
Explosive after explosive was placed around the sleeping monster.
Under its coils.
Along the cavern walls.
When the skeletons returned, Eryndor nodded.
"Everyone back."
They retreated to a safer distance.
Eryndor triggered the detonation.
Nyko watched, eyes trembling faintly. Krog exhaled. Raxor clenched his teeth in anticipation.
Eryndor whispered:
"Burn."
BOOOOOOM!!
The world shook.
The blast tore through the cavern, ripping stone and flesh alike.
The spiked serpent jerked awake, releasing a thunderous, enraged hiss.
The cave ceiling cracked violently.
And then—
CRASH!
CRASH!!
CRASH!!!
Massive crystal formations plummeted from above.
They pierced straight through the snake king's body.
Black blood sprayed in thick arcs.
Its coils writhed violently as more crystals collapsed, pinning it deeper into the rubble.
The cave walls buckled, rock and dust cascading downward until the entire tunnel collapsed—
leaving only the creature's enormous head exposed, trapped in the narrow entrance.
It looked at them—
wild, furious, desperate.
It opened its mouth to roar—
—but froze.
Its eyes widened.
It recognized someone.
The beast hissed a broken whisper:
"Y–You… it… was… y—"
Before the truth could escape its maw—
SHHHK!
Eryndor drove his blade straight through the serpent king's skull.
The beast convulsed once, then fell still.
Silence returned to the underground.
The serpent king was dead.
The dust still hung in the cave's entrance, glittering faintly as it settled over the half-buried corpse of the Snake King. Eryndor wiped the blood and soot from his blade, but the unease inside him refused to settle.
This was wrong.
A creature capable of wiping out entire villages… crushed and killed in minutes?
It shouldn't have been possible.
He turned slowly toward Nyko
Nyko noticed the suspicion in Eryndor's gaze immediately.
"We caught him unguarded," Nyko said. "Asleep. That's the only reason we succeeded. If we fought him directly… none of us would be standing right now."
His explanation somehow made sense.
And yet the feeling didn't go away.
Something was wrong.
Something they couldn't name.
But Eryndor pushed the thought aside and straightened. "We move to the last village," he announced. "The one under the hound tribe's control."
Before anyone could respond, Nyko's voice cut in sharply. "You won't find anyone there."
Eryndor froze.
The others turned toward him.
"I came from there," Nyko continued, swallowing hard. "The hound tribe killed the adults… and took the childrens with them. The village is empty now. A ghost village."
Eryndor shot Raxor a questioning look.
Raxor shook his head. "I don't know. Haven't been there. But… if the hounds attacked, that is exactly what they would do."
The air grew heavy.
Eryndor exhaled slowly, thinking. "Then our next step is Hollowpaw. Elder Mina needs to know about all of this. We'll regroup and—"
"Boss"
Nyko's voice again—this time almost pleading.
"Before you return… please take me to Mistden."
Every muscle in Eryndor's body locked.
"What?" he whispered.
"Absolutely not."
He turned on Nyko with rare anger. "I will never go back to that cursed place. And I'm not dragging you back to Mistden just so Tornak can have another toy to play with ."
Nyko didn't argue.
He simply looked at Eryndor, revealing tired, sunken eyes.
"I already know how Tornak treats my people," Nyko said. "I've once lived there."
A pause.
"I am dying, Boss."
Nyko continued quietly, "I know the wounds inside me… they won't heal. I only want to see my family once more. Just once. Before I go."