The climb was brutal.
Lucien's fingers bled from gripping jagged stone. Every muscle in his body screamed, but he didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Hand over hand, he pulled himself upward, Edge of the End strapped across his back, Imperium still clutched in his left hand.
Below him, the abyss waited... patient and endless.
Above, faint light flickered. Torches? or something else? He couldn't really tell. But it was something. A destination, a goal.
He reached for another handhold, his fingers slipping on loose gravel. His heart lurched... but he steadied himself, pressing his body flat against the wall.
Focus... breathe.
His right hand found a narrow ledge. He pulled himself.
Then, a sound of skittering claws on stone.
Lucien looked up.
A goblin crouched on a ledge ten meters above, its yellow eyes gleaming in the dim light. It hissed, baring broken teeth, then scrambled down the wall toward him with unnatural speed.
Lucien didn't have time to draw his sword.
He raised Imperium, still gripping the rock face with his other hand, and focused.
Dominion.
The goblin jerked mid-climb, its body yanked sideways by an invisible force. It shrieked, claws scraping uselessly against stone as Lucien hurled it into the abyss.
The scream echoed for a long time before fading into silence.
Lucien exhaled shakily and resumed climbing.
Twenty minutes later, he reached the ledge.
He pulled himself over the edge and collapsed onto solid ground, gasping for air. His arms trembled. His shoulders burned.
But he was up, still alive...
Lucien pushed himself to his knees and looked around.
The cavern stretched endlessly in every direction... a vast, underground city carved into the earth itself. Massive stone pillars rose like the bones of giants, disappearing into shadows above. Bridges of cracked stone spanned impossible distances, connecting platforms and walkways that spiraled deeper into the mountain.
Torches burned in iron sconces along the walls, their light casting long, flickering shadows. And everywhere... everywhere... were the marks of something ancient. Runes etched into the pillars. Statues of armored figures, their faces worn smooth by time.
"What is this place?" Lucien whispered.
His voice echoed, swallowed by the immensity of the space.
He rose slowly, drawing Edge of the End. The blade gleamed softly in the torchlight, its edge sharp and clean.
Somewhere in this labyrinth, Osman was searching for him.
And somewhere deeper still, the exit waited.
Lucien started walking.
The halls were silent too silent.
Lucien moved carefully, keeping to the shadows, his footsteps muffled against the stone. He passed through corridors lined with broken statues and collapsed archways, their carvings depicting battles long forgotten.
Occasionally, he heard sounds of distant roars, the clatter of claws on stone, the low rumble of something massive moving through the depths.
But no monsters crossed his path.
Not yet.
The corridor opened into a wider hall, lined with broken pillars and shattered stone. The air grew colder, damper, carrying the faint smell of decay.
Lucien advanced carefully, Edge of the End held ready.
Then he heard it... shuffling footsteps. Ragged breathing.
Four ghouls emerged from the shadows, their pale skin stretched tight over bone, eyes hollow and hungry. They moved with jerky, unnatural motions, spreading out to surround him.
Lucien didn't wait.
He lunged forward, his blade flashing. The first ghoul fell, its head severed clean. The second tried to grab him from behind, but Lucien twisted, driving Imperium into its throat.
The third charged.
Lucien raised his free hand and pushed.
The ghoul flew backward, slamming into the stone wall with a wet crunch. Before it could recover, Lucien closed the distance and drove his sword through its chest.
The fourth hesitated, hissing, then fled into the darkness.
Lucien let it go. He didn't have time to chase.
He wiped his blade clean and kept moving, deeper into the mine.
The tunnel sloped downward, the walls closing in. Water dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the uneven floor. The torches here were fewer, their light dim and flickering.
A low hiss echoed through the passage.
Lucien stopped.
Ahead, something massive moved in the shadows... scales scraping against stone, claws clicking with each step.
A lizard.
It emerged into the light... three meters long, its body thick with muscle, covered in dark green scales that gleamed like wet leather. Its yellow eyes fixed on Lucien, pupils narrowing to slits. Saliva dripped from its jaws, hissing where it hit the stone.
Acid.
The creature lunged with surprising speed, jaws snapping.
Lucien rolled aside, the lizard's teeth closing on empty air. He came up swinging, his blade striking its flank. Sparks flew... the scales were thick, reinforced.
The lizard whipped its tail.
Lucien ducked, the massive appendage passing just over his head. He focused, feeling the weight of the creature, and activated Dominion.
The lizard's body jerked sideways, thrown off balance. It stumbled, claws scraping against stone.
Lucien didn't hesitate. He darted forward and drove Edge of the End into the soft flesh beneath its jaw, pushing upward until the blade pierced its brain.
The lizard convulsed once, then went still.
Lucien pulled his sword free, breathing hard. His hands were slick with blood.. some of the monsters, some of his own. The climb had torn open old wounds, and every grip of his sword sent fresh pain lancing through his palms.
But he couldn't stop.
The passage widened again, opening into a natural cavern. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like teeth, and the floor was uneven, broken by cracks and crevices.
Lucien stepped carefully, testing each foothold.
A growl echoed from his left.
He turned around.
A ghoul lunged from the shadows, claws outstretched. Lucien sidestepped, letting it pass, then slashed across its back. It collapsed with a gurgle.
But before he could recover, another hiss filled the air.
A second lizard emerged from behind a boulder, larger than the first. Its scales were darker, almost black, and its eyes burned with intelligence.
It charged.
Lucien met it head-on, blade flashing. He ducked under its snapping jaws, struck at its leg, then rolled aside as it spat a stream of acid. The liquid hissed where it hit the stone, eating through the rock like water through paper.
The lizard circled him, tail swishing.
Lucien focused, feeling the flow of mana through Imperium. Dominion had become easier now, more instinctive. He no longer needed to concentrate fully... his will shaped the power naturally, precisely.
He pulled.
The lizard jerked forward, stumbling. Lucien stepped aside and drove his blade into its exposed neck.
It thrashed, tail whipping wildly. Lucien held on, twisting the blade deeper until the creature went limp.
He yanked his sword free and staggered back, chest heaving.
Two down.
Lucien continued through the cavern, his footsteps echoing in the vast space. The sounds of the mine had changed... no longer the distant roar of monsters, but something deeper. A rhythmic pounding, like the heartbeat of the mountain itself.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He was getting closer.
The path narrowed again, leading into another tunnel. This one was darker, the torches spaced farther apart. Shadows pooled in every corner.
Lucien moved carefully, sword at the ready.
A ghoul lunged from the darkness.
Lucien reacted on instinct, not with his blade but with his mind. He raised Imperium and pushed. The ghoul flew backward, crashing into the wall.
Before it could recover, Lucien closed the distance and finished it with a clean thrust.
He didn't slow down.
Ahead, the tunnel opened into another cavern... this one filled with broken mining equipment, rusted carts, and scattered tools. And at the center, coiled around a fallen pillar, was another lizard.
This one was massive. Nearly four meters long, its scales a mottled grey and green. It raised its head as Lucien entered, tongue flicking out, tasting the air.
Then it attacked.
The lizard moved like lightning, its body uncoiling with terrifying speed. Lucien barely had time to raise his sword before it was on him.
Jaws snapped, claws raked and acid sprayed.
Lucien dodged, parried and struck back. His blade found flesh, but the lizard's thick hide absorbed most of the damage. He activated Dominion, yanking the creature's head sideways, but it was heavy... so heavy... and his mana drained with every second.
The lizard's tail whipped around, catching Lucien in the ribs. He flew backward, slamming into a rusted cart. Pain exploded through his side.
He forced himself up, vision swimming.
The lizard advanced, hissing, preparing to strike.
And then, from above...
A blur of motion.
A third lizard dropped from the ceiling, jaws wide, aiming straight for Lucien's head.
Time slowed.
Lucien's hand shot out, Imperium still gripped tightly.
Dominion.
The lizard stopped.
Mid-air. Frozen. Its body suspended three meters above the ground, every muscle locked in place by invisible force.
Lucien's eyes blazed. Mana poured from his core into the blade, holding the creature perfectly still.
He raised Edge of the End.
And swung.
The blade cut through the air with a sound like tearing silk. The strike was horizontal, clean, perfect.
The lizard's body split in two.
Both halves fell to the ground with a wet thud, black blood pooling around them.
The first lizard hissed in rage and charged.
But Lucien was already moving. He sidestepped its lunge, drove his blade into its eye, and twisted.
The creature collapsed.
Silence returned.
Lucien stood among the corpses, breathing hard, his hands trembling. Blood.. his and theirs... covered his arms. His mana was low, maybe half gone. His ribs ached where the tail had struck him.
But he was alive, still...
And ahead, through the next tunnel, the sound continued.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Lucien wiped his blade clean, sheathed it, and kept walking.
He reached a wide bridge spanning a chasm, its surface cracked and unstable. On the other side, a massive archway led into darkness... but beyond it, faint light flickered.
Lucien stepped onto the bridge carefully, testing each stone before putting his weight on it.
Halfway across, he stopped.
The sound was louder now. Closer. Not just a rhythm, but a presence... something massive, something alive, waiting in the depths below.
Lucien's grip tightened on his sword.
The boss.
He crossed the bridge and entered the tunnel, following the sound deeper into the mine.
Elsewhere, in another part of the labyrinth, Osman fought.
Three orcs surrounded him, their rusted weapons raised. They moved clumsily but with brutal strength, each swing capable of crushing bone.
Osman snarled, white fangs bared, and lunged.
His claws tore through the first orc's throat before it could react. The second swung its club, but Osman ducked beneath it, drove his shoulder into the creature's gut, and ripped upward with both hands.
The orc collapsed in a spray of black blood.
The third hesitated, fear flickering in its yellow eyes.
Osman didn't give it time to run. He closed the distance in a heartbeat and tore its head clean off.
Silence fell.
Osman stood among the corpses, breathing hard, his blackened fur matted with blood.
"Lucien!" he roared, his voice echoing through the tunnels. "Where are you?!"
No answer.
Only the distant sound of something massive moving through the depths.
Osman's ears flattened. He looked toward the source of the sound... a faint glow coming from deeper within the mountain.
There.
He broke into a run, claws scraping against stone as he sprinted toward the light.
Lucien emerged into a vast chamber.
It was impossibly large... a cathedral carved from the earth itself. The ceiling rose hundreds of meters above, lost in shadow. Pillars the size of towers lined the walls, their surfaces covered in carvings of warriors and beasts locked in eternal battle.
At the center of the chamber, a massive throne sat atop a raised platform. And beside it, embedded in the stone, was a rusted iron door... sealed shut, its surface covered in chains and runes.
The exit.
Lucien's heart quickened.
But then, the ground trembled.
THUD.
A shadow moved at the far end of the chamber.
THUD.
Something massive stepped into the light.
Lucien's breath caught.
The creature was enormous... easily six or seven meters tall, its body a grotesque mass of muscle and sinew. Its skin was the color of old bone, stretched tight over a frame that looked more like carved stone than flesh. Rusted armor plates were bolted directly into its shoulders and chest, and in one massive hand, it carried a club the size of a tree trunk, its surface studded with jagged iron spikes.
Its head was small compared to its body, but its eyes... pale and milky... fixed on Lucien with cold intelligence.
A translucent window appeared before Lucien's eyes.
[Boss Detected: The Warden – Giant Ogre]
Rank: B
Abilities: Regeneration (Passive), Earthquake Slam, Berserk Mode
Warning: Extreme Threat.
Lucien's jaw tightened.
A Rank B boss. Alone.
The Warden raised its club and roared... a sound so deep it shook the pillars around them.
Then it charged.
Lucien moved.
He rolled aside as the club slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, the impact sending shockwaves through the stone. Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor.
Lucien came up running, closing the distance. He slashed at the ogre's leg, Edge of the End biting deep into its calf.
Black blood sprayed.
The Warden bellowed and kicked.
Lucien barely dodged, the massive foot grazing his shoulder and sending him sprawling. He hit the ground hard, rolled, and came up on one knee.
Already, the wound on the ogre's leg was closing... flesh knitting back together before his eyes.
Regeneration.
"Of course," Lucien muttered.
The Warden swung again. Lucien ducked under the strike, darted forward, and drove his blade into the creature's exposed side.
The ogre roared and backhanded him.
Lucien flew through the air and crashed into a pillar. Pain exploded through his ribs. Blood filled his mouth.
He slid to the ground, vision blurring.
The Warden advanced slowly, club dragging across the stone, leaving deep gouges in its wake.
Lucien forced himself to stand. Every breath was agony. His sword felt heavy in his hand.
I can't win this alone.
The ogre raised its club high, preparing to crush him.
Lucien braced himself...
And then, a howl split the air.
A white blur streaked across the chamber, slamming into the Warden's side with the force of a battering ram.
The ogre staggered, roaring in surprise.
Osman landed beside Lucien, his white fur streaked with blood, his yellow eyes blazing.
"Did you think," Osman said, grinning through his fangs, "I'd let you have all the fun?!"
Lucien couldn't help it.
He smiled.
"Took you long enough."
Osman growled, dropping into a crouch. "Let's kill this thing."
The Warden roared, raising its club high.
And together, Lucien and Osman charged.