Rowan walked forward with a steady, almost lazy gait. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his expression devoid of emotion, though his eyes darted around the strange realm with a flicker of curiosity. Every step made the mossy ground squelch beneath his boots, the faint red glow from the veins beneath it pulsing in rhythm with the steady hum that filled the air.
He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, his lips curling into a faint scowl. "This is getting boring."
He was restless now, his earlier excitement fading. The monsters that had swarmed him earlier were gone, retreating back into the shadows after their leader fell. Rowan had half-expected more to follow, a bigger challenge, something to really test him. But no, there was nothing. Just this endless, pulsating void and the distant sound of his own footsteps.
He scratched the back of his head and looked around, his gaze sharp and calculating despite the boredom etched on his face.
"Come on, there's gotta be something interesting around here," he muttered.
As if answering his call, the terrain shifted. The pulsing ground gave way to cobblestone, cracked and overgrown with slimy green moss. Ahead, a structure loomed out of the twilight, its dark, jagged silhouette cutting through the swirling clouds above.
It was a castle.
The structure looked ancient, its towering spires crumbling at the edges, as if time itself had tried to devour it. The massive gates at the entrance hung slightly ajar, one of them dangling precariously from its rusted hinges. Dim light spilled from within, flickering and unnatural, casting long shadows across the cracked stone courtyard.
Rowan tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Well, that's new," he said, his tone flat. He stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets and started walking toward the castle.
As he crossed the threshold, the air grew colder. A damp, musty scent wafted out to meet him, carrying the faint tang of decay. The flickering light grew stronger, illuminating the vast, empty hall that lay beyond the gates. The walls were lined with broken statues and torn banners, their designs unrecognizable, worn down by time and neglect.
Rowan's boots echoed loudly against the stone floor as he walked, his gaze sweeping lazily over his surroundings. He didn't stop until he reached the center of the hall.
That was when he noticed them.
Figures began to emerge from the shadows, their movements slow and unnatural. They were humanoid, but their skin was pale and discolored, with patches of rotting flesh and glowing green veins that pulsed faintly under their skin. Their eyes were hollow, sunken pits of darkness, and their mouths twitched and quivered as they stared at Rowan.
For a moment, they said nothing. They just stood there, their heads tilted at odd angles, their twisted bodies jerking slightly as if struggling to maintain balance. Then one of them stepped forward, its voice raspy and broken.
"Help… Help me…"
Its words were barely audible, more of a wheeze than a plea. Rowan raised an eyebrow, his expression flat.
"Help, huh?" he said, his voice laced with mild annoyance. "That's not my thing."
The creature took another step forward, its bony hand reaching out toward him. More figures shuffled closer, their voices joining the first in a grotesque chorus.
"Help… Help us… Hel—"
Rowan sighed heavily. "You're annoying."
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, grabbed the lead creature by the face, and slammed it into the ground with enough force to crack the stone beneath it. The impact echoed through the hall, and the creature's body twitched once before going still.
Rowan straightened, brushing his hands off on his pants. "There. Problem solved."
The silence that followed was deafening. The remaining creatures stared at him, their hollow eyes wide with something that almost resembled fear. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, they screeched.
The sound was piercing, unnatural, like nails dragging across a chalkboard. The creatures surged forward as one, their jerky movements becoming unnervingly fast.
Rowan's grin returned.
"Now this is more like it."
The first creature reached him, its clawed hands swiping toward his face. Rowan ducked under the strike, his fist glowing faintly as he drove it into the creature's chest. It crumpled instantly, its body folding in on itself with a sickening crunch.
Another came at him from the side, its mouth open wide, revealing rows of jagged, broken teeth. Rowan twisted, grabbing the creature by the arm and using its momentum to slam it into the ground. The force of the impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the stone floor.
The creatures didn't stop. They came at him in waves, their glowing veins pulsing faster as they swarmed. Rowan moved through them like a hurricane, his fists striking with brutal precision.
One lunged at his back, its claws aimed at his spine. Without looking, Rowan spun and lashed out with a kick that sent the creature flying into a nearby wall. Another tried to grab his leg, but he stomped down on its head, crushing it into the ground.
"Is that all you've got?" he shouted, his voice ringing through the hall. He laughed, his grin widening as he dodged and countered with a flurry of punches and kicks.
The creatures kept coming, their screeches growing louder, but Rowan didn't slow down. His body glowed faintly, the blue energy surrounding him intensifying with each strike. The ground shook beneath him, cracks spreading across the stone as the battle raged on.
By the time the last creature fell, the hall was in ruins. The once-pristine floor was littered with broken bodies and pools of green slime, the glowing veins of the creatures fading into darkness. Rowan stood in the center of the carnage, his chest heaving, his fists still crackling with faint energy.
He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and sighed. "That was fun," he muttered. Then he looked around, his grin returning. "But I'm not done yet."
He turned toward the far end of the hall, where a massive set of doors loomed, their surfaces carved with intricate, otherworldly patterns. Without hesitation, he pushed them open.
The room beyond was vast and dimly lit, the flickering light coming from torches mounted on the walls. At the center of the room was a throne, and on that throne sat a man.
He wasn't what Rowan expected. He wasn't hulking or monstrous. He wasn't draped in scars or twisted into some grotesque form. He was… ordinary. His build was average—not too muscular, not too thin. His face was pale, almost unnaturally so, and his expression was calm, unreadable.
He was dressed in royal attire, a dark, richly embroidered coat draped over his shoulders. A faint smirk played at the corners of his lips as he watched Rowan approach.
"You're the first to make it this far," the man said, his voice smooth and quiet.
Rowan stopped a few feet away, his grin widening. "You don't look like much."
The man chuckled softly. "And yet, you're still here. Why?"
Rowan shrugged. "I was bored. Needed something to do."
The man's smirk widened. "Is that so? Then allow me to entertain you."
He rose from the throne with a fluid grace, his movements calm and deliberate. For a moment, he simply stood there, his pale hands resting lightly at his sides. Then, without warning, he moved.
Rowan barely had time to react. The man closed the distance between them in an instant, his fist lashing out with enough force to send Rowan skidding backward across the room. Rowan's back hit the wall, cracking the stone, but he recovered quickly, his grin widening.
"Now that's more like it," he said, cracking his knuckles.
The man didn't respond. He lunged forward again, his movements a blur. Rowan met him head-on, their fists colliding with a thunderous impact that shook the room.
The fight was unlike anything Rowan had experienced before. The man was fast—faster than anything he'd fought so far. His strikes were precise, each one aimed to cripple or kill. But Rowan was faster. His body moved on instinct, dodging and countering with brutal efficiency.
Their blows sent shockwaves rippling through the air, the walls of the room cracking and crumbling under the force of their battle. Rowan's laughter echoed through the chaos, his grin never faltering.
"You're not bad," he said, his voice filled with glee. "But let's see if you can keep up!"
With a burst of energy, Rowan surged forward, his fists glowing brighter as he unleashed a flurry of strikes. The man countered with equal speed, their movements a blur as they clashed again and again.
For every blow Rowan landed, the man retaliated with one of his own. Their battle was a dance of chaos and destruction, neither willing to back down.
Rowan's grin widened further, his excitement growing with each passing moment. This was what he'd been waiting for—a real challenge, a real fight.
And he wasn't going to stop until one of them fell.