Chapter 10: Chasing Phantoms
The silence in the house solidified into a new, terrible normal. My father became a ghost, navigating around me with a polite, distant caution that was worse than anger. Kaelen's absence was a constant, aching void. I tried to focus on the only thing that made sense: the grind. But even the satisfaction of leveling up felt hollow, a numbers game I was playing alone in the dark.
Three days after the fracture, the city-wide alert system buzzed on my father's terminal. A new, unstable rift had been detected forming on the outskirts—the "Abyssal Reef," a partially submerged cavern system with a high concentration of water and shadow-element monsters. Projected rank: High C, bordering on B. The Guilds were scrambling for a response team.
A cold certainty settled in my gut. Kaelen would be on that team. It was exactly the kind of high-risk, high-reward mission he would now gravitate towards.
I didn't wait. I used Dungeon Walker, the coordinates of the nascent rift burning in my mind. The teleport was less smooth than usual, the mana in the area chaotic and unstable. I appeared not in a dungeon, but at the edge of a gaping, swirling maw of violet energy torn into the world, pouring forth a briny, oppressive mist. The air crackled with the birth-cries of a new dungeon.
I slipped inside before the first Guild scouts even arrived.
The Abyssal Reef was a nightmare of bioluminescent fungi and pitch-black water. The ground was a treacherous network of slick rock and glowing coral. Strange, clicking sounds echoed from the depths. My Shadow Stride was invaluable here, allowing me to glide over patches of unstable ground and murky pools.
I moved with a purpose, not just to level, but to reconnoiter. I needed to map the threats, find the boss, and ensure Kaelen's path wouldn't lead him to a death I couldn't prevent.
The first creatures I encountered were Lurker Eels, Level 41. They launched themselves from dark water, their bodies coated in a paralyzing slime. I adapted quickly, using my new skill, Shadow Bind. Tendrils of darkness shot from my hands, snaring an Eel in mid-air. It thrashed violently, but the C+ tier hold was enough. A single, precise thrust from my Umbral Blade ended it.
[ Defeated Lurker Eel (Lv. 41). Experience Gained. ]
[ Apocalypse's Greed Activated. +0.01 to Intellect. ]
It was efficient. Clinical. I pushed deeper, encountering Abyssal Crabs, Level 43, with shells that deflected glancing blows. I used Shadow Bind to trip them, exposing their softer underbellies for a killing strike. The rhythm of combat was a welcome distraction—assess, bind, execute.
After clearing a nest of Crabs, the surge of energy came.
[ Level Up! You are now Level 31. ]
[ +3 Free Stat Points. ]
I allocated the points without ceremony. Two to Agility, one to Stamina. The constant use of my skills was a drain, and the Stamina would help my overall resilience. My body hummed with the incremental increase, but my mind was already on the next corridor, the next threat.
I found the rift's boss chamber: a massive, submerged grotto. In the center, half-hidden in the dark water, was a Bioluminescent Horror, Level 50. It was a monstrous, squid-like creature, its body a pulsing canvas of hypnotic, shifting lights. Dozens of tentacles, each tipped with a venomous stinger, writhed around it.
[ Target: Bioluminescent Horror (Lv. 50). Status: Territorial. ]
[ Ability: Hypnotic Patterning - Can stun and disorient targets who look directly at it. ]]
This was bad. Kaelen's direct, frontal-assault style would be a death sentence here. He'd look at the thing, get stunned, and be torn apart.
As I was formulating a plan, I felt it—a familiar cluster of life signatures entering the dungeon. Kaelen's team. They were moving fast, too fast, following the cleared path I had inadvertently created.
I melted into the shadows of the grotto's ceiling, becoming one with the dark stone. Minutes later, they arrived. Kaelen, the shield-bearer, the ranger, and the mage. They saw the Horror, and as I feared, Kaelen's gaze locked onto its hypnotic patterns. He staggered, his grip on his greatsword slackening.
"Don't look at it!" the mage screamed, firing a weak arcane missile that splashed harmlessly against its hide.
It was too late. A tentacle shot out, aiming for the stunned Kaelen. I acted on instinct.
Shadow Bind.
A coil of darkness lashed out from my perch, not at the Horror, but at Kaelen's ankle. I yanked hard, pulling him off his feet just as the stinger-tipped tentacle whipped through the space where his chest had been. He crashed to the ground, the impact jolting him out of his stupor.
"What the—?" he yelled, scrambling up, his eyes scanning the darkness, no longer looking at the Horror.
The team, now aware of the threat, fell into a disciplined formation. The shield-bearer advanced, drawing the tentacle attacks. The ranger fired arrows at the creature's main body, while the mage layered protective wards.
And Kaelen? He fought like a man possessed. But his style had changed. It was less reckless, more calculated. He used Lightning Rush not for a single powerful strike, but for constant, harrying hit-and-run attacks on the tentacles, severing them one by one. He was learning. Adapting. He'd clearly put his recent level-up points to good use, his Strength and Agility making him a formidable, agile threat.
I became their unseen support. I didn't attack the Horror directly. I used Shadow Bind to snare tentacles moments before they struck a party member. I created small, localized shields of shadow to deflect sprays of acidic ink. I was the third dimension in their two-dimensional battle, a guardian angel they hated and needed in equal measure.
The fight was long and grueling. When the Horror, crippled and enraged, made a final, desperate lunge for the mage, Kaelen saw his chance. He roared, channeling all his power into a Lightning Rush that turned him into a living bolt of energy. He slammed into the creature's central mass, his greatsword piercing deep.
The Bioluminescent Horror let out a final, gurgling shriek and collapsed, dissolving into a pool of glowing ichor and experience.
Panting, chests heaving, the team stood victorious. The shield-bearer clapped Kaelen on the back. "Incredible finish, Vance! Your control over Rush is getting insane!"
But Kaelen wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, on the patch of darkness where I was hidden. He couldn't see me, but he knew.
"I had it," he said, his voice cold and loud in the grotto. "I didn't need your help."
The rest of the team fell silent, confused.
He took a step forward, addressing the shadows. "I saw your binds. Your little tricks. Stop following me."
He turned and stalked away, leading his bewildered team out of the grotto. As he left, a wave of energy washed over me, the system rewarding me for my indirect role in the boss kill.
[ Defeated Bioluminescent Horror (Lv. 50). Experience Gained. ]
[ Level Up! You are now Level 32. ]
[ +3 Free Stat Points. ]
[ Apocalypse's Greed Activated. +0.01 to Spirit. ]
I allocated the points—Agility again—my hands trembling not from exertion, but from a fresh wave of despair. He was growing stronger, more capable. He was right; he almost had had it. My help was becoming less about saving him from certain death and more about tilting the odds, a habit he was learning to resent.
I looked at the loot the Horror left behind—a gleaming, Abyssal Pearl (A-tier). It was a powerful alchemical catalyst. Useless to me. I left it lying in the ichor.
I had gained two levels. I had a new skill that was proving its worth. But as I teleported back to my silent, empty room, the only thing I felt was the widening chasm between me and the brother I was sworn to protect. He was chasing phantoms, and I was trapped in the cage of my own making, leveling up into a loneliness that no stat point could ever fix.