The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lucien moved through the twisted trees with Edge of the End strapped across his back and Imperium at his hip. Osman prowled beside him, his blackened fur blending into the shadows, yellow eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
They'd been walking for hours, the ruins long behind them, Jerusalem's broken silhouette growing closer with every step.
"We're not alone," Osman whispered.
Lucien nodded. He'd felt it too... the faint shift in the air, the sense of something watching, waiting.
Ahead, through the gnarled branches, movement.
Two ghouls crouched near a fallen tree, their pale skin stretched tight over bone. They moved with jerky, unnatural motions, heads tilting at odd angles as they sniffed the air.
Guards.
Lucien's hand moved to Imperium's hilt. The dagger slid free with barely a whisper.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the grip, something clicked inside him... a connection, a thread of mana flowing from his core into the blade.
And then, the System spoke.
[Skill Unlocked: Dominion]
Type: Active (Telekinesis)
Range: 10 meters
Effect: Allows the wielder to manipulate objects through force of will. Heavier objects consume more mana. Requires contact with Imperium to activate.
Mana Cost: Variable (scales with weight/distance)
Note: "The dagger that bends the world to its master's will."
Lucien's eyes widened.
Telekinesis?
He didn't have time to process it. The ghouls had caught their scent. One of them turned, mouth opening in a screech...
Lucien raised his free hand and pushed.
The ghoul flew backward, slamming into a tree trunk with a wet crunch. Its neck snapped on impact. The second one lunged, claws outstretched, but Lucien twisted his wrist, and the creature jerked sideways mid-leap, crashing face-first into the dirt.
He stepped forward and drove Imperium through its skull.
Silence returned.
Osman stared at him, ears flattened. "You can do that?"
Lucien looked down at the dagger, still glowing faintly in his hand. "I can now..."
Osman huffed, something between amusement and respect. "It's going to be useful."
Lucien sheathed Imperium and wiped his hands. "Let's keep moving."
They continued deeper into the forest, dispatching isolated monsters as they went goblins scouting in pairs, orcs too slow to react. Each kill was silent and efficien.
And with each use, Lucien grew more comfortable with Dominion. He could feel the weight of objects before he moved them, sense their mass and density. It wasn't unlimited... heavier targets drained his mana faster... but it was powerful.
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, the broken walls of Jerusalem rose before them like the teeth of a dead god.
And beyond those walls, something stirred.
They crouched behind a collapsed watchtower, peering through the gaps in the stone.
The city sprawled before them, dark and twisted still. But near the center, where the old market square had once stood, a light pulsed... violet and black, swirling like a wound.
A rift.
And standing before it, clad in black armor, was a Shadow Knight.
Not the one who had captured Lucien. This one was taller, broader, its helm crowned with jagged spikes. It raised one gauntleted hand, and the air tore.
The rift expanded, growing wider, brighter, until it was large enough for a carriage to pass through.
Monsters began to gather... dozens of them, shambling out of the ruins. Ghouls, goblins, orcs, even a few larger creatures Lucien didn't recognize. They formed a crude line, shuffling toward the rift one by one, disappearing into the swirling light.
Lucien's breath caught. "What... what is this?"
"This," Osman said quietly, "is how they send them."
Lucien turned to him. "Send them where?"
"To our world." Osman's yellow eyes reflected the rift's glow. "The Shadow Knights create these rifts. They open here, in this cursed place, and when they close..." He gestured toward the swirling portal. "...they reopen on Earth. And the monsters pour through."
Lucien felt his blood run cold.
The rifts. The dungeons. The breakouts.
They were creating them. The Templars were creating them.
"Why?" he whispered. "Why would they..."
"I don't know," Osman interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is that rift." He pointed. "It's our way out."
Lucien stared at the portal, his mind racing. "How long do we have?"
"Minutes. Maybe ten. Once the last monster enters, it closes here and opens there." Osman's claws scraped against the stone. "We need to get inside before it seals."
Lucien nodded slowly. "Then we need to blend in."
They worked quickly.
Osman rolled in the dirt, smearing filth across his white fur until it was dark and matted. Lucien found the corpse of a ghoul nearby and sliced it open, letting the black blood spill across his hands and clothes. The stench was overwhelming, but it would mask his scent.
He pulled a torn cloak from another corpse and draped it over his shoulders, pulling the hood low. Beneath it, he tucked his weapons close to his body.
"Ready?" Osman asked.
Lucien looked toward the rift. The line of monsters was thinning. They were running out of time.
"Let's go."
They moved.
Slowly. Carefully. Lucien hunched over, mimicking the shambling gait of the ghouls around him. Osman stayed low, his blackened fur blending with the shadows.
Step by step, they joined the procession.
A goblin glanced at Lucien, its yellow eyes narrowing. Lucien didn't flinch. He stared back, letting the darkness of his hood hide his face.
The goblin grunted and turned away.
They shuffled forward, closer to the rift. The light grew brighter, the hum of unstable mana vibrating through Lucien's bones.
Ahead, the Shadow Knight stood watch, arms crossed, helm turned toward the line of monsters.
Lucien's heart pounded.
Don't look at me. Don't look at me.
The knight's helm turned.
For a single, terrible moment, its faceless gaze locked onto Lucien.
Lucien froze.
The knight tilted its head slightly, as if studying him.
Then, slowly, deliberately, it looked away.
Lucien exhaled shakily and kept walking.
Behind him, Osman muttered, "That was too close."
"Agreed," Lucien whispered.
They reached the edge of the rift. The light was blinding up close, the air crackling with energy. One by one, the monsters stepped through and vanished.
Lucien glanced back one last time.
The Shadow Knight stood motionless, its back turned.
Did it let us go, Lucien realized. Why?
But there was no time to think. Osman nudged him forward.
"Now."
Together, they stepped into the light.
The world exploded into chaos.
Lucien's vision fractured. His body felt like it was being torn apart and reassembled, every cell screaming. Colors bled together, sounds stretched into endless echoes.
Then, suddenly, it stopped.
He landed hard.
Not on solid ground but on stone. A bridge. Ancient, cracked, stretching across an abyss so deep the bottom was lost in shadow.
Around him, monsters materialized... ghouls, goblins, orcs... appearing in flashes of light, scattered across the cavern like dice thrown by an unseen hand.
"Osman?!" Lucien shouted.
No answer.
He spun, searching, but the werewolf was gone. Teleported somewhere else in this massive, twisting labyrinth.
The monsters turned toward him.
Their eyes narrowed. Their nostrils flared.
One of them...a ghoul... hissed and pointed.
"Not one of us."
The others snarled in agreement.
Lucien's hand went to Edge of the End.
But before he could draw it, the bridge beneath him cracked.
A massive chunk of stone broke free, and Lucien's footing gave way.
He fell, the abyss swallowed him whole, darkness rushing up to meet him. Wind roared in his ears. The walls of the chasm blurred past.
No.
His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around Imperium's hilt.
Dominion!
Mana surged through the blade. He twisted his wrist, focusing on the cliff wall rushing past him, and pulled.
The force yanked him sideways, slamming him against the stone. His shoulder screamed in protest, but his momentum shifted. He wasn't falling straight down anymore... he was swinging, arcing toward a ledge jutting out from the wall.
He hit it hard, rolling across the rough stone, gasping for breath.
Above him, the monsters roared, their cries echoing through the chasm.
Below him, the darkness waited.
Lucien lay still for a moment, heart pounding, lungs burning.
Then, slowly, he pushed himself to his knees.
He was alive, alone again, but alive.
And somewhere in this labyrinth, Osman was fighting for his life too.
Lucien looked up at the distant bridge, at the monsters prowling above.
Then he looked down into the abyss, where faint lights flickered... torches, maybe, or crystals.
He didn't know where the exit was. He didn't know where the boss waited.
But he knew one thing.
He had to survive.
Lucien rose to his feet, drew Edge of the End, and started climbing.