I continued down the dark, narrow path ahead of me.
The cool breeze of the dungeon kept getting colder the deeper I went.
But it wasn't just cold.
It felt alive.
Like the dungeon itself was breathing.
Every few moments, a breath of icy air pushed past me—irregular, uneven.
In.Out.
I slowed.
Paused.
Listened.
Shuffling.
Feet dragging against stone. Slow. Heavy.
And beneath it—a low groan.
I went still.
Focused.
Pulse Tremor.
The vibrations barely reached me. A weak, distorted signal that almost vanished the moment it touched my senses.
Yet my hearing told a different story.
Something was moving closer.
More than one.
The vibration felt wrong. Suppressed. Earlier, it had been faint but usable. Now it was worse—like the dungeon itself was swallowing the tremors before they could travel.
I can't rely on this anymore down here.
The shuffling grew louder.
And there was more of it now.
Multiple bodies, moving through the darkness.
I couldn't see them—but I knew they were coming.
I shifted quickly, pressing myself behind a stone wall just as the shuffling reached the hallway.
A groan echoed.
Then another.
That sound—
It was familiar.
I frowned, thinking for a moment.
…Vireloch?
The shuffling suddenly grew faster. Heavier. Like something had started to move with intent.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
At first, it was only a blur. A shape barely visible in the pitch-black corridor.
Then it noticed me.
I felt its perception slam into me.
The blur sharpened.
Purple eyes ignited in the dark.
A faint glow spread across its chest.
It charged.
Roaring as it came.
Behind it, I heard the pounding footsteps of many more.
There wasn't time to use Sovereign's Sight.
But instinct told me enough.
Vireloch.
The creature's claws ripped past me as I dodged easily to the side. My fist followed immediately—driving straight into the glowing core I knew so well.
I reached in.
Ripped the stone out in a single, clean motion.
The Vireloch collapsed instantly, its body losing form and slumping into wet mud against the floor.
The stone in my hand felt… off.
Smaller.
Weaker.
And the sense of death leaking from it was far fainter than the others I'd taken before.
…Are these lower level?
The thought barely finished forming before a flood of purple light burst around the corner.
So many I couldn't count.
Roars filled the corridor—deafening, overlapping.
They lunged at me all at once.
I moved.
I weaved past the first by kicking up onto the wall and sticking to it—
then leapt down onto another, smashing it into the stone floor,
and tore its core free as it went limp from the impact.
I crushed the stone in my grip, forcing a fracture through it, then hurled it forward.
It struck three charging Virelochs.
The explosion detonated instantly.
A massive purple pulse tore through them—bodies erased, stones shattered, the blast feeding on itself as it expanded outward.
The Vireloch I had dodged earlier came at me from behind.
I twisted aside as its massive claw raked down where I'd been a heartbeat earlier. I grabbed its leg mid-swing and hurled it into the wall.
It hit with a wet splatter.
The purple pulse from its stone washed over the wound—but too slowly.
I was already moving.
I reached for its core—
But something fast lunged at me.
Too fast.
The claw grazed me as I dodged, slicing skin.
The speed shocked me.
Just for a second.
And that second was enough.
Two Virelochs rushed me while I was off balance.
Solar Thread—
No.
No sunlight. Not down here.
I let one claw strike me.
The moment it did, I seized it.
Spun.
And hurled the creature straight into the second Vireloch.
They collided violently, both slamming into the wall and bursting apart on impact.
Purple light pulsed from their bodies.
I moved to finish them—
A sudden brightness tore through the corridor.
A purple beam screamed across the hallway, lighting everything in its path.
Behind me—
Something grabbed me.
The faster Vireloch clamped onto me, locking its grip tight as the beam drew closer.
It's going to sacrifice itself.
A small smirk tugged at my expression.
If you're that interested in sacrifice…Why not do it for me?
I drove my body upward with explosive force, tilting midair as the Vireloch slammed into the ceiling.
The impact thundered through the hallway.
Stone cracked. Dust poured down around us.
Its grip loosened.
I yanked it forward, placing it between myself and the beam as it adjusted course toward me in the air.
The beam burned straight through the Vireloch's body.
Its stone pulsed wildly—faster than anything I'd seen in this fight.
The healing surged through the Vireloch's body as I held it against the beam, torn flesh sealing just enough to keep it alive.
When the beam finally faded, the creature sagged in my grasp—burned, broken, alive only because of the stone.
I tore it free and flung myself forward.
Straight at the Vireloch that had fired the beam.
I moved too fast for it to track.
Wall to wall.
Side to side.
My body clung effortlessly as I ran along the stone, then flipped to the ceiling—dropping behind it.
I drove the stone into its back with brutal force.
Crushed it.
The explosion erupted inside the creature, tearing it apart from within.
The hallway shook violently.
As the blast expanded, I leapt—letting the pulse fling me across the corridor toward the two Virelochs that had nearly healed.
I landed in front of them as they swung.
Caught both heads in my hands.
Slammed them into the wall.
Flesh splattered across the stone—and across me.
Their cores pulsed again.
I crushed them both and hurled the stones forward—straight into the next wave of Virelochs just entering the hallway.
The two stones fused midair.
Power spiraled.
Pressure surged.
Then—
An enormous explosion erased everything in front of it.
Virelochs vanished as if they had never existed.
The shockwave slammed into me.
Dust and debris roared past, tearing at my grip as the ground buckled beneath my feet.
I dug in, barely holding my footing as the air itself seemed to shove me backward.
Only when it passed did I look up.
The ceiling was collapsing.
Stone fractured and gave way.
The hallway turned into a death trap.
I spun and ran.
Blocks tore loose ahead of me, smashing into the floor as I sprinted forward. I vaulted over falling stone, weaved through narrowing gaps, shards raining down close enough to graze me.
One misstep and I would've been crushed.
Behind me, the dungeon caved in—walls and ceilings collapsing in a rolling wave as deep, distant groans echoed from somewhere far below.
Then…
Silence.
The rumbling slowly faded.
I stopped.
Turned.
The path I had taken—the route toward the dungeon core—was gone.
Completely buried.
I sighed softly.
How am I supposed to find the core now…
Dust hung thick in the air. I scanned the ruined hallway.
No alternate paths.
Nothing.
As I moved forward, a sudden breath of cold air swept past me.
Stronger than before.
Different.
Not just cold—
It felt like something breathing in frustration.