Aeron's breath was ragged as he stood over the fallen warrior, his dagger still slick with blood. The cavern was silent now, save for the distant dripping of water against stone. The battle had left the air thick with tension, but the real war was still inside his head.
Kael had spoken.
Not in growls or broken murmurs like a mindless dungeon beast. No, this was something else a name, a recognition, a warning.
"You… carry his shadow."
Aeron's grip on his dagger tightened. The words still echoed in his mind, twisting into something that unsettled him more than the fight itself.
Nyxus, the fallen war god bound to his contract, had not spoken since the battle ended. That alone was unusual. Aeron could always feel his presence like a second voice in the back of his mind, whispering, taunting, guiding. But now?
Silence.
Aeron exhaled, glancing down at Kael. The warrior's body was unmoving, but Aeron knew better than to assume he was dead. There was still something in him some force keeping him tethered to this world.
He crouched beside Kael, pressing two fingers against the warrior's throat. A faint pulse. Still alive.
"He's lingering," Nyxus finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate. "Not fully here. Not fully gone."
Aeron frowned. "Then what is he?"
A pause.
"A remnant of something that should have faded long ago."
That wasn't the answer Aeron wanted.
Before he could press further, a sharp noise echoed from above.
His body tensed immediately, his instincts flaring up. He turned his gaze toward the cavern's entrance, where the darkness loomed, swallowing the pathways beyond.
Someone was coming.
He could hear the faint shuffle of boots against stone too light to belong to another dungeon beast, too controlled to be a reckless adventurer.
Aeron moved quickly. If the guild had sent someone to check the dungeon, he wasn't about to get caught standing over a fallen warrior.
Kael would have to wait.
Grabbing his cloak, he pulled it over himself and melted into the shadows. The dungeon's darkness welcomed him, the edges of his form blending seamlessly with the cavern walls. He became unseen, unheard.
Just as the first figure appeared.
Aeron's eyes narrowed.
It wasn't just one person.
Two figures stepped into the cavern, their weapons at the ready. Their movements were careful, methodical trained.
Guild members.
And not just any guild members. Hunters.
Aeron recognized the way they moved, the way they scanned their surroundings. He had been one of them once. Before the betrayal. Before the dungeon mission that had left him for dead.
He gritted his teeth. The guild's reach was wider than he'd hoped. They were tracking something here.
His eyes flicked to Kael's motionless body.
Were they after him?
Or were they after something else?
One of the hunters stepped closer to Kael, kneeling beside him. Aeron caught a glimpse of their insignia a silver fang etched into dark leather.
They weren't ordinary hunters.
They were enforcers.
That meant they were here on orders. Someone had sent them specifically for this dungeon.
Aeron stayed perfectly still, watching as the second enforcer surveyed the cavern. Their gaze swept over his hiding spot, lingering for a moment before moving on.
His heart pounded.
If they found Kael and realized he was still alive, what would they do?
Would they take him back to the guild?
Or would they silence him?
Aeron needed to make a choice.
Reveal himself and take them down.
Wait and see what they were after.
Or… use them to get the answers he needed.
Nyxus' voice slithered into his mind again, quieter this time.
"Be careful, Aeron. This is bigger than you think."
He already knew that.
And that was exactly why he couldn't afford to make the wrong move.
Aeron stayed still, his breath controlled, his body molded into the shadows. The enforcers were trained, but they weren't him. They didn't know what it was like to survive the impossible.
One of them knelt beside Kael's body, checking for a pulse.
"Still alive."
The other enforcer cursed under his breath. "That's a problem. Orders were clear eliminate all anomalies in this dungeon."
Aeron's eyes narrowed. Anomalies? That word didn't sit right with him.
Kael wasn't just another warrior. He had spoken Nyxus' name, recognized something in Aeron that even he didn't fully understand. And now, the guild had sent enforcers to clean up what? A loose end?
Something wasn't adding up.
The kneeling enforcer pulled out a dagger. "Orders are orders."
Aeron didn't hesitate.
He moved.
In an instant, he closed the distance, his dagger flashing in the dim light. He struck the enforcer's wrist, knocking the blade aside before grabbing the man's collar and yanking him down hard. The enforcer hit the cavern floor with a crack, his head bouncing against the stone.
The second enforcer spun, sword already drawn, but Aeron was faster. He ducked under the swing, driving his elbow into the man's ribs before sweeping his leg out from under him.
A fight that should've lasted minutes was over in seconds.
The first enforcer groaned, trying to push himself up, but Aeron planted a boot on his chest, pinning him down.
"Who sent you?" His voice was cold, controlled.
The enforcer spat blood onto the floor. "You think I'll tell you anything, traitor?"
Aeron pressed harder, his foot crushing the man's ribs. "Try me."
A sharp laugh. "You have no idea what you're up against."
Before Aeron could react, the enforcer bit down hard. A faint crack, a choking sound, and then nothing.
Poison.
The guild was tying up loose ends.
Aeron turned to the second enforcer, but the man was already fading, his body twitching as the poison did its work. Dead men couldn't talk.
A deep, rumbling sigh echoed in his mind.
"Sloppy."
Nyxus sounded unimpressed.
"You should've acted faster. Interrogation is pointless when dealing with those who have nothing to lose."
Aeron clenched his fists. He knew Nyxus was right, but it didn't make the situation any less frustrating.
The guild had expected resistance. They had sent men who were willing to die rather than be captured.
Which meant whatever Kael waswhatever he knew was important enough to kill for.
Aeron turned back to the fallen warrior.
If the guild wanted him dead, then Aeron needed him alive.
He crouched beside Kael, checking his condition. The man was unconscious, his breathing shallow but steady. Whatever had kept him alive in this dungeon hadn't given up on him yet.
Aeron exhaled sharply.
This just got a lot more complicated.
He had planned to lay low, to recover and rebuild his strength before making any real moves against the guild.
But now?
Now he had a man the guild wanted dead, enforcers willing to kill themselves rather than talk, and a mounting suspicion that his past and Nyxus' history were more connected than he realized.
"What now?" he muttered under his breath.
Nyxus chuckled, low and dark.
"We see what the warrior has to say… if he wakes up."
Aeron sighed, lifting Kael onto his shoulder.
One thing was certain hiding just became impossible.
Aeron moved swiftly, Kael's weight pressing down on his shoulder, but he didn't slow. The cavern walls pulsed with an eerie glow, remnants of mana lingering from whatever battle Kael had fought before Aeron found him.
He needed to get out. The enforcers were dead, but dead men had trackers. If the guild had truly been watching, it wouldn't be long before more came.
"You're reckless."
Nyxus' voice was sharp in his mind.
"You should've left him. Another burden will only slow you down."
Aeron grit his teeth. "If the guild wanted him dead, then he's worth keeping alive."
Nyxus chuckled darkly. "Oh? And here I thought you weren't the hero type."
Aeron ignored him, scanning the cavern for an escape route. The tunnels branched off in three directions, but only one felt… wrong. A pressure in the air. A faint hum against his skin.
A hidden passage.
His instincts screamed danger, but he had little choice. The enforcers had come from the main path doubling back was a death sentence.
With a final glance at the bodies, Aeron adjusted his grip on Kael and stepped into the unknown.
---
The air shifted.
The tunnel wasn't just dark it was unnatural. The walls were smooth, too perfect, as if they had been carved by something other than human hands. Symbols flickered at the edges of his vision, vanishing the moment he tried to focus on them.
Kael stirred slightly against his shoulder, muttering something Aeron couldn't make out.
Then the ground trembled.
Aeron froze. His muscles tensed as he listened.
A deep, guttural growl echoed from further down the tunnel.
Something was awake.
Nyxus' presence flared in his mind.
"You're walking into a grave, boy."
Aeron's hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger.
He had survived worse.
---
The growl reverberated through the tunnel, low and primal. Aeron shifted his grip on Kael, lowering him carefully against the cold stone wall. His pulse quickened, but his mind remained sharp he had no intention of dying here.
Nyxus' voice slithered into his thoughts.
"Something ancient lurks ahead. It doesn't recognize you yet, but that will change the moment you move."
Aeron exhaled slowly, adjusting his stance. Ancient. That could mean many things, but none of them were good.
The tunnel stretched forward into a darkness thicker than any he had encountered before. His eyes, enhanced by the system's passive perception, barely cut through the void. But he could feel something waiting.
The air carried the faint scent of charred stone and decay. He recognized it immediately the stench of a dungeon boss.
His fingers tightened around his dagger. A full fight wasn't an option. Not with Kael unconscious and his own body still recovering from the earlier battle.
"You're not seriously thinking about fighting, are you?" Nyxus scoffed. "Even with my power, you're still at a disadvantage."
Aeron ignored him. He crouched low, muscles coiled, and listened. If he couldn't fight, he had to outthink it.
The growling intensified, shifting into a guttural series of clicks like it was tasting the air.
Then the temperature dropped.
A shadow moved within the void.
The beast had seen him.
Aeron's mind raced. Running blind into an unknown dungeon was suicide, but staying here meant death. His options were vanishing fast.
Then, Kael stirred.
It was a weak movement, barely noticeable, but enough. His breathing steadied, and his fingers twitched toward the hilt of his blade.
Nyxus chuckled darkly.
"Well, well. Seems like your new friend isn't entirely useless."
The beast's growl deepened, and then it charged.
Aeron had seconds to react. His instincts screamed. His body moved. He grabbed Kael and threw them both to the side as something massive barreled past them, slamming into the stone wall. The impact sent cracks splintering through the cavern, dust and debris filling the air.
Aeron hit the ground hard, rolling to shield Kael from the debris. His vision blurred, but he caught a glimpse of the monster scaled, hunched, with gleaming violet eyes that pulsed like embers.
It wasn't just a boss.
It was something worse.
And it was hunting them.
---