The chamber pulsed with a life of its own. The walls rippled as if they were made of liquid shadow, the faint glow of the carvings casting eerie, twisting patterns across the jagged stone floor. I sat slumped on the ground, my chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. My body felt like it had been hollowed out and filled with molten lead, every muscle trembling from the strain of the Trial.
In my hand, the orb glowed faintly, the swirling shadows within it now eerily calm. It was as if they were waiting for something. The tendrils of power that had lashed out to save me earlier were gone, leaving only a faint warmth in my palm. But the weight of the orb, its significance, pressed down on me like a physical burden.
The Keeper stood across the chamber, its towering form cloaked in smoke and shifting runes. Its glowing white eyes bored into me, unblinking, as if it could see through my very soul.
"You have passed the first stage," it said, its voice resonating through the air like a deep drumbeat.
"First stage?" I croaked, my throat raw. "What the hell was that supposed to be?"
"The Trial of Submission," it replied, unmoving. "You have proven that you can wield the power of the shadows. But this is only the beginning. The shadows will test you further. You must learn to command them—or they will consume you."
I glanced down at the orb, its faint glow pulsing in time with my heartbeat. The shadows inside swirled lazily, as if mocking me. Control them? How was I supposed to control something I barely understood?
"What is this thing?" I asked, holding up the orb. My voice cracked as frustration bubbled to the surface. "What did you do to me?"
The Keeper tilted its head, the movement unnaturally smooth. "The orb is a fragment of the dungeon's core," it said. "It is tied to the very fabric of this place, a source of infinite potential—and infinite danger. It has chosen you as its host."
"Chosen me? I didn't ask for this!" My voice echoed through the chamber, raw and desperate. "I didn't want to be here! I'm not some hero, or some powerful hunter. I'm a nobody!"
The Keeper's eyes flared brighter, and the room seemed to darken, the faint glow of the carvings flickering ominously.
"A Zero," it said, its tone sharp and mocking. "You cling to this identity like a shroud, yet you stand here, alive, where others would have perished. Do you truly believe yourself unworthy?"
I clenched my fists, anger rising in my chest. "What does it matter? I didn't have a choice. You forced me into this!"
The Keeper stepped closer, its towering form casting a massive shadow over me. "You always have a choice," it said, its voice softer but no less commanding. "Now, you must make the most important one. Will you embrace the power offered to you—or will you let it destroy you?"
The orb pulsed again, its glow intensifying. The swirling shadows inside began to shift violently, as if reacting to the Keeper's words. I could feel their pull deep within me, a strange mix of temptation and dread.
"I don't even know what this power is," I admitted, my voice trembling.
The Keeper raised a long, smoke-like arm, its glowing runes flaring brightly. The chamber began to shift. The walls twisted and warped, their shapes distorting as though they were alive.
The floor beneath me cracked violently, and glowing runes spiraled outward from the orb in my hand, linking to the carvings along the walls. I tried to step back, but my legs wouldn't move.
"What's happening?" I shouted, panic rising as the hum of the dungeon grew into a deafening roar.
The Keeper's voice was calm, unwavering. "The shadows will bind to your soul. They will amplify your potential, but only if you accept them. Resist, and they will consume you entirely."
The orb in my hand grew hotter, and the shadows within it began to leak outward, forming black tendrils that slithered across my arm. A sharp pain shot through me as the tendrils tightened, coiling around my chest, my legs, my throat. I gasped for air, but the pressure only grew stronger.
"Decide, Kei Hayato," the Keeper said, its glowing eyes fixed on me. "Will you bind yourself to the shadows, or will you be devoured by them?"
I gritted my teeth as pain wracked my body.
The shadows were relentless, forcing their way into my very being. My thoughts were a whirlwind of fear and anger, confusion and doubt. Why me? Why now?
I thought of the hunters who had mocked me, of Toru's sneer and Misaki's cold dismissal. I thought of my entire life, spent in the shadow of others, invisible and unimportant. A Zero.
But I wasn't dead.
I'd survived when no one else would have.
And as much as I hated the Keeper, the dungeon, and this cursed orb, I couldn't deny the truth: without the shadows, I would have been nothing more than another corpse.
I clenched my fists, ignoring the searing pain as the tendrils tightened their grip. My vision blurred, and the hum of the dungeon pounded in my ears, but I forced the words out.
"I accept."
The moment the words left my lips, the shadows surged.
The tendrils pierced through my chest, flooding my body with raw energy. Pain exploded through me, a searing heat that burned from the inside out. I screamed, my voice echoing through the chamber, but the shadows didn't relent.
Images flashed through my mind, too fast to comprehend—a swirling void, a blazing light, a massive beast with glowing red eyes, and a city swallowed by darkness. Each image sent another wave of pain through me, but beneath the agony, I felt something else.
Power.
It coursed through me, wild and untamed, threatening to overwhelm me entirely. My body trembled, and my vision went white as the tendrils coiled around my heart, binding themselves to my very soul.
"You have chosen," the Keeper's voice echoed faintly, distant but unmistakable. "The binding is complete."
The shadows recoiled, snapping back into the orb, which now glowed with a steady, ominous light. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
When I finally opened my eyes, the chamber had changed. The walls no longer twisted and shifted; they were solid again, the carvings glowing faintly. The air felt different, lighter somehow, though my body was anything but.
I pushed myself to my knees, my limbs trembling. My entire body felt alien—stronger, but unfamiliar.
The Keeper stood over me, its glowing eyes unblinking. "You have awakened," it said.
I glared at it, my breaths still ragged. "What… what have you done to me?"
"The shadows have accepted you as their host," it replied. "Your potential has been unlocked, but the path ahead is perilous. The shadows are a force of chaos—they will demand much of you. Fail to control them, and they will consume you entirely."
I glanced down at my hands. Black veins pulsed faintly beneath my skin, trailing up my arms like marks of corruption. The orb in my hand felt heavier now, its glow steady but menacing.
"What kind of power is this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
The Keeper's runes flared briefly as it gestured toward the far wall. A new passageway had opened, its entrance framed by glowing symbols that pulsed in time with the orb.
"Go," the Keeper said. "The dungeon will test you further. Survive, and you will understand."
"And if I don't?" I asked bitterly.
The Keeper's eyes flared brighter. "Then you will die."
I gripped the orb tighter and stepped toward the passage, my chest heavy with uncertainty. Whatever waited ahead, there was no turning back now.