As the party finally pulled themselves over the ledge, they began to climb a narrow cliff that curved sharply to the left.
'Even though my body feels so light in the Depths, I'm exhausted from all this constant walking. And it's not like we can even rest with monsters everywhere,' Nakate thought, sweat dripping down his face as if he were sitting in a sauna.
When they rounded the corner, relief burst out of him."Finally!" Nakate shouted, his voice echoing through the Depths.
Lix and Cole immediately shushed him."Oh—my bad," Nakate muttered, embarrassed.
But there it was: the gate.
Two guards stood before it, clad in full armor. One leaned heavily on a massive messer, the other held a trident upright, posture stiff and unyielding. Their silent presence seemed carved into the very gloom of the city walls.
As the trio approached, both guards fixed their empty stares on them. Nakate hesitated, then stepped toward the one leaning on the messer, ready to speak.
But before he could, a low, ragged groan seeped from the guard's helmet—like someone wheezing through a punctured lung.
Nakate froze.
Cole placed a firm hand on his shoulder and gave a small shake of his head. Without another word, they passed through the gate and into the city.
***
The city unfolded before them, a vast drowned kingdom sealed within towering walls that stretched higher than the eye could follow. The air carried a faint green glow, as though the Depths themselves had bled into the stones.
At the center loomed a massive spire, crowned with strange, suspended lights that drifted and pulsed like dying stars. The glow painted the city in ghostly hues, every surface bathed in pale teal.
Some of the buildings leaned as if crushed by unseen weight, while others seemed untouched, preserved in their strange perfection. Narrow windows and arched doorways stared back like hollow eyes.
Nakate felt as though countless gazes lingered on him, waiting in silence for him.
Nakate's grip on his rapier tightened as he and his group walked forward.
"Now then," Lix began, holding up her book, "we need to ring three bells to open the central gate. According to this, The main city at the center of the Depths houses two main districts—the District of Commerce and the Varicosa District. The city is patrolled by Watchers, which summon pairs of Lesser Angels when they spot intruders. Depths creatures can also occasionally be found inside."
She flipped a page and continued, "The Varicosa District is marked by its bright paths and buildings with red roofs. That's where we are now. The other one the District of Commerce is different. It's the section with a gate that has a ramp leading inside. From there, you can also access the Cathedral of Interstice, where one can ascend into the Depths trial."
Closing the book, she looked up. "Since our gate didn't have a ramp, that confirms we're currently in the Varicosa District."
"Wow, that book knows its stuff," Cole muttered. "But we'd better get moving. Do you know if the first bell is close to us?"
"Yeah," Lix said with a nod. "The first one should be in a church not far from here, near an area filled with barrels." She then turned her eyes toward Nakate, as if expecting him to add something.
Nakate straightened slightly. "Let's get going, then. Since you have the book, you can take the lead, Lix."
Lix led the way down the dim, teal-lit path, her footsteps echoing faintly through the silence. The city stretched around them like a corpse preserved in stone—its walls cracked yet strangely whole, windows dark and watching, archways leading into nothing but shadow.
Nakate couldn't help but imagine what it might have been like when life still filled these streets. He pictured banners fluttering from the towers, the chatter of merchants in crowded markets, and lanterns glowing in the narrow windows. But now… only silence answered.
'I could almost see this place as the capital of Owlisland,' Nakate thought, his hand brushing against the cold stone. 'The way the buildings rise and press so close together… it feels medieval, like something out of history books. Makes me wonder—does Lumen still look like this? Or has it changed from how the Celtor looked? And how long ago was it that the South Luminant drowned?'
The teal stone seemed to hum faintly under his touch, and the thought lingered with an unsettling weight. This city wasn't just old—it felt like it was waiting.
They followed the path until it opened into a place littered with abandoned loot, most of it corroded with rust. Broken weapons, shattered crates, and collapsed barrels lay scattered across the stone. Nakate glanced around and thought, 'There are plenty of barrels here… and those look like old merchant stalls. I'd guess this was once a marketplace.'
Near the edge of the plaza, he noticed a small gate sealed shut. Through its bars, he could just make out the faint outline of an elevator resting inside. With no way to open it, he turned his eyes away and pressed on with the others.
As they wandered deeper into the marketplace, Nakate couldn't shake the feeling that unseen eyes were watching them from the shadows between the ruined stalls. The silence felt too heavy, broken only when a faint cry echoed through the air—a man's voice, strained and pained.
They followed the sound until they came upon him. The man's skin was pale, almost white, and patches of faint scales shimmered faintly under the blue glow of a nearby fire-pillar. Nakate immediately remembered the blacksmith of the Spire. An Etrean. Lix had told him once that the Etreans hailed from the Eastern Luminant, also known as the Etrean Luminant, where they had a kingdom of their own.
The man was huddled beside the fire, knees drawn close, his body trembling. Nakate stepped forward cautiously and asked, "Are you alright?"
The stranger lifted his head slightly, revealing sharp features and weary eyes. He seemed middle-aged—though younger than the Spire's blacksmith—and spoke in a deep, wavering voice.
"Flames would call the Ferryman… that's what they told me… I-... I thought he would give me gifts, like the tales of old. But that monster…"
It was as if the man hadn't acknowledged Nakate at all—his eyes glazed, his words drifting into the void. Only when Cole spoke did the silence break.
"I guess his sanity's already gone," Cole said flatly. "He's lost himself… just like the Celtorian guards at the gate. Best to leave him be."
"Oh… I'm sorry," Nakate murmured, lowering his head in pity. His gaze lingered on the man—who, for the first time, stirred and looked up. His eyes locked on Cole, wide and trembling, as though he'd just seen a ghost.
***
The man started to scrach his arms till his bone started to be visible they bled violently and the man swiftly got up and started to slowly get away from the group while trying to stare at Cole and Lix constantly
The man slowly got up while staring at Lix and Cole; his whole body trembled, and he started to scratch his arms till they bled.
"Wow, that man is not okay. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already gone insane enough to see ghosts around us," Lix said, her expression a mix of surprise and unease.
"Yeah, I gue—""Nakate was cut off by a sudden wet, slithering noise. Tentacles. His heart skipped as he whipped his head around. Shadows rippled between a cluster of barrels arranged in a ring.
He stepped closer—only for Cole's sharp voice to cut through the stillness."Get away! That's a Nautilodaunt!"
Nakate stumbled back in fear. A rare monster. Some called it a Squibbo.
The creature emerged from the barrels, its form grotesque and uncanny. It stood barely five feet tall, yet its presence towered. Its entire body writhed with living black tentacles that never stopped shifting. Broad coils formed its arms and legs, while a dense, tangled mass made up its torso. From its shoulders and head dangled thin, messy strands, almost like hair.
Four glowing white eyes pulsed at the center of its face.
And in the blink of an eye, it appeared before Nakate. A fist of writhing tentacles slammed into his stomach, shattering ribs. Pain exploded through him as he was thrown across the market square.
His body slammed into a stone wall, the breath knocked out of him. Blood bubbled from his lips. His grip on his rapier slipped as darkness tugged at his consciousness. Through blurred vision, he felt Lix shaking him.
Seconds passed before his vision steadied. He could barely make out Cole moving like a phantom, weaving through the Squibbo's strikes. Shadows folded and unfurled around him—Cole stepping in and out of them with impossible speed.
'He's using some kind of Shadowcast ability… stepping into his own shadow,' Nakate realized.
But strangely, Cole wasn't relying on mantras. He fought with nothing but broken, rusty tools scavenged from the ruins.
Lix's voice cut through the haze. "He's using Shade Step to avoid its blows. And see—he's striking with whatever he can grab. But there's a problem. Nautilodaunt tentacles can sharpen to parry weapons."
"Would he fight better with a rapier?" Nakate asked weakly, thinking of offering his own.
"No. You can support him if you keep up with the Squibbo's movements."
"What about you, Lix?"
"I'm useless here. My combat relies on mantras, and Nautilodaunts… they're immune to the song."
Nakate gritted his teeth. He couldn't just stand by. With a cry, he lunged forward, rapier in hand, trying to predict the monster's next move. But Cole and the Squibbo moved too fast—two blurs of shadow and tentacle. Nakate could only catch Cole's presence when he stepped through his shadow.
Then, for a heartbeat, both fighters stopped—Cole and the Squibbo frozen, locked in a silent understanding. Neither could land a decisive blow.
Nakate seized the opening. He darted forward, blade trembling but steady. The Squibbo's head snapped toward him, just enough for Cole to step into his shadow and snatch Nakate's dagger. Nakate thrust, barely missing, but Cole struck true—the Storm Dagger driving into the monster's back.
Sparks erupted. Electricity surged, paralyzing the creature. Nakate spun, rapier flashing, stabbing again and again.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six—
Tentacles lashed out, wrenching the blade from his grip. In an instant, the Squibbo reappeared behind him. A massive shove sent Nakate flying again, and the ground erupted beneath Cole's feet. Boiling water surged upward, searing his body.
Cole vanished into shadow at the last second, emerging behind the beast to continue their duel. Blow for blow, strike for strike—neither gaining ground.
Nakate gasped, each breath a lance of fire in his lungs. Blood spilled from his mouth. He needed to think. Some way to tilt the fight.
'The Storm Dagger. Its enchantment could send arcs of lightning through its target… completely at random.'
He dove for the dagger that Cole previously dropped from using shadow step, he snatched it quickly from the ground, and searched for an opening.
Cole pressed with a broken longsword. The Squibbo shattered it and countered with a heavy punch. Cole answered with a shadow gun, but blue light flared over the creature's body, neutralizing the mantra.
Nakate's eyes widened. In that instant, he saw it—a trace of lingering black fog clinging to the Squibbo's chest. Shadow residue.
'Wait… it's not immune. It's using some kind of mantra to neutralize others.'
"Lix!" Nakate shouted. "Hit it with something—anything!"
Confused but trusting, Lix raised her hand. Green light swirled at her fingertips before she fired two glowing bullets. Gale Shot.
The Squibbo turned, blue light flickering as if disrupted. Nakate lunged, driving the dagger deep into its chest. No electricity. Just steel. His luck had run dry.
Cole didn't hesitate. He stepped into his shadow, his leg engulfed in pure darkness. "Shadow Chains!"
Two dark portals opened above the monster, chains lashing out to bind it. But again the blue light flared, and the bindings disintegrated.
Cole gritted his teeth and shouted, "Eclipse Kick!"
He stepped once, then twice—his shadow shifting beneath his feet like liquid. Raising his leg high, he brought it down with devastating force.
The impact landed square on the Squibbo's body. Darkness erupted, followed by a deafening explosion...
...
...
...
Nakate could only hear the ringing in his ears. Smoke choked the air around him, and through the haze he could no longer tell who had won—or if the fight was even over.