The dungeon's forest swallowed us whole as we ran after Nolan and Lucas. The thick canopy devoured the last traces of light, casting everything in a twisted, suffocating darkness.
The trees—massive, gnarled things—stood unnaturally tall, their roots stretching through the damp earth like grasping fingers. Every step felt like venturing deeper into something alive.
Pale, ghostly wisps of light flickered through the tangled branches, illuminating the mist coiling around our ankles.
And then, the silence.
Not peaceful. Oppressive.
It clung to our skin, pressed into our chests.
A warning.
The air felt wrong—thick, damp, carrying the scent of rotting leaves and decay.
My gut screamed at me. Something wasn't right.
"Luke! Nolan!" My voice barely cut through the heavy stillness.
Nothing.
We pushed forward.
Then—CRACK!
A blinding flash of electricity slashed through the trees, illuminating the shadows for a fraction of a second. The sharp, gut-wrenching snap of something enormous collapsing followed.
Then—the smell of burned flesh.
I didn't think. I ran.
My heart slammed against my ribs. My feet barely hit the ground.
Rushing toward a lightning strike in a dungeon was stupid—but I didn't care. If that was Nolan's magic, he could be in danger.
The deeper we went, the worse the feeling got. The mist twisted, the forest itself warped around us. The ground felt wrong, shifting like something moved beneath it.
Then—we saw them.
Nolan stood atop the Goblin King's corpse, his sword buried deep in its lifeless heart.
The creature—a grotesque, monstrous thing—lay twisted and still, its horrifying features frozen in an expression of agony.
Sparks of lingering electricity crackled along the blade embedded in its chest.
Silence stretched.
Too long.
Something was wrong.
I forced out a whisper.
"…Nolan?" My throat felt dry. "Lucas?"
They turned.
And they grinned.
Not a grin of relief.
Not a grin of victory.
A smile that made my stomach drop.
Lucas's ocean-blue eyes gleamed unnaturally in the dim light, his smirk too sharp, too wide. Nolan's gaze locked onto mine—cold, calculating.
Their faces weren't those of teammates.
They weren't the faces of people who had just survived a brutal battle.
They were looking at me like prey.
A shiver ran down my spine.
The air pressed in, thick with something unspoken. The mist tightened, curling around us like a living thing.
Then—they moved.
Slowly. Deliberately.
They chose each step.
"You're weak." Lucas sneered. "Trying to let that thing go? Pathetic."
The way they walked—it was controlled. Calculated. Wrong.
I flicked my gaze toward Clara, Damon, and the Athena kids.
They weren't just uneasy.
They were afraid.
Even the Ares descendants, the strongest among us, were stiff—their hands hovering over their weapons, trembling slightly.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
I forced myself to step forward. My voice steady.
"Nolan, is everything all right?"
His smirk twitched.
Then, it faded into something colder.
Disgust.
Like the question itself was offensive.
My stomach twisted.
The nausea hit suddenly.
The world tilted.
A wave of vertigo slammed into me so fast my knees buckled.
Before I could collapse, someone grabbed my arm.
"Ethan!"
Damon's voice cut through the fog in my head. His grip was strong, steady.
"What's wrong? What's going on?"
I tried to speak.
And then—I heard it.
A sound.
A deep, inhuman rumble.
Not from Nolan.
Not from Lucas.
Not from any of us.
It came from the forest itself.
My breath hitched.
A sound so vast it felt like the dungeon itself had come alive.
A heartbeat.
Growing louder.
Closer.
I gasped, clutching my head.
"Something's coming." My voice shook. "Something massive. We need to go. Now."
Damon stiffened. "What? What are you talking about?"
The others exchanged confused glances.
"I don't hear anything."
My blood ran cold.
How?
It was deafening—a presence so heavy it made my chest feel like it was caving in.
Lucas scoffed. "You're losing it, Ethan."
Then—the ground shook.
Not a tremor.
A quake.
The forest groaned, the air vibrating with raw power. In the distance, the snap of breaking trees echoed like thunder.
Something massive was moving.
My panic spiked.
"We have to go. NOW." I whirled toward the others, desperation creeping into my voice. "We need the professor! She's the only one who can deal with this!"
Lucas smirked. "Coward."
Nobody moved.
Except Nolan.
But he wasn't scared.
He was grinning.
Excited.
They weren't going to run.
They wanted to fight.
The ground beneath us split open.
Then
The roar came.
Something so primal, so earth-shattering that it swallowed everything else.
Even the air itself trembled.
The pressure crashed down on me, locking my muscles in place.
The forest erupted.
And then—
something impossible emerged.
I didn't even have time to scream.