The Undercity was worse than I expected.
I had imagined it as a slum, a place where the forgotten and exiled gathered in dimly lit streets, but the reality was far more brutal. The deeper we went, the more the air seemed to suffocate, thick with the stench of blood, sweat, and something rotten.
There were no rules here. No structure.
The streets were winding corridors of crumbling ruins and makeshift shacks, some built from broken stone, others little more than scavenged metal and cloth.
Laughter echoed from darkened alleyways, but it was the wrong kind, sharp, hungry, waiting for something to bleed.
Figures lurked in the shadows, scarred, hollow-eyed, watching passersby with a predator's patience. Some leaned against rusted pillars, smoke curling from their lips. Others whispered to each other, eyes flicking toward us as we passed.
I had never felt more out of place.
Aiden, on the other hand, walked like he belonged here.
I watched him, trying to figure it out. There was no tension in his body, no unease in his steps. He knew the Undercity, or at least places like it.
I wasn't sure if that made him more or less dangerous.
"Cheer up, professor."
Aiden said, smirking.
"You're about to get a real education."
I didn't answer. My focus was ahead, where the cavern opened into a massive underground coliseum.
The Blood Pit.
It was carved into the earth like some ancient ruin, jagged and brutal, with towering metal scaffolding circling its walls. The pit itself was a sunken battlefield of cracked stone and bloodstained sand, filled with the ghosts of a thousand lost fights.
Spectators packed the platforms above, shouting, drinking, placing bets on who would live and who would die. There was no order here, just hunger.
Hunger for blood. Hunger for power.
And I had just walked into its den.
Aiden let out a low whistle.
"Haven't been here in a while. Place hasn't changed much."
I barely heard him. My attention was on the massive iron gate leading into the arena, where fighters entered. And where their bodies were later dragged out.
A heavyset demon stood by the entrance, arms crossed, a deep scar running down the side of his neck. His horns were chipped, his eyes cold and disinterested.
The Overseer.
He studied me, then smirked.
"You lost, kid?"
I met his gaze, forcing my voice to stay steady.
"I want to fight."
The Overseer chuckled. "That right? And what makes you think you belong in my pit?"
I lifted my wrist slightly, letting him see the mark of my Primordial Echo.
His expression didn't change. If anything, his amusement deepened.
"Fancy little mark. That nobility, or just decoration?"
I kept my face blank.
"It gets me in."
The Overseer snorted.
"Gets you in the upper districts, maybe. Not here."
He gestured to the pit behind him.
"You want in, you pay the entry price."
I already knew what was coming.
"And if I don't have coin?"
The Overseer grinned, showing jagged teeth.
"Then you fight."
Aiden hummed thoughtfully beside me.
"You sure about this?"
No. Absolutely not.
But I didn't have a choice.
I needed Echoes. I needed strength. And in this world, nothing was given freely.
"I'm sure."
I said, even as my pulse pounded against my ribs.
The Overseer chuckled.
"Good. We'll start you with something simple."
He turned and nodded to someone behind the gate.
The iron doors groaned open.
"Get in."
The moment my boots hit the sand, I knew I was in trouble.
The Blood Pit was bigger than it looked from above, the ground uneven and riddled with dark stains. I could still hear the distant echoes of past battles, screams that had long since faded into nothing.
A heavy iron gate slammed shut behind me.
I wasn't alone.
A low, guttural growl made my blood run cold.
Across the pit, a beast waited for me.
It was a Ravager Hound. A monstrous creature twice the size of a normal wolf, with a body of twisted muscle and bone. Its hide was blackened, patches of fur missing where old scars ran deep. Its eyes burned red, locked onto me with a hunger that was nothing short of primal.
The crowd roared above, eager for blood.
I barely heard them. My focus was on the creature in front of me.
The Hound lunged.
It was too fast.
I barely moved in time. It was too fast, closing the distance in a single bound, claws slicing through the air where my throat had been. I threw myself to the side, hitting the ground hard. Sand and blood clung to my skin as I rolled, my breath coming ragged.
Pain flared through my shoulder. I had moved too slow.
The Hound turned, circling me. Its eyes locked onto mine, and in them, I saw something worse than hunger.
I saw understanding.
It knew I was weak.
I scrambled to my feet, my mind racing. Think. Think.
I had no weapons. No real combat experience. I had read about fights like these, written them even, but writing and living were two very different things.
The Hound lunged again.
I wasn't fast enough.
Claws raked across my ribs. Pain exploded through my side, ripping the breath from my lungs as I staggered back. I barely stayed on my feet. Warmth spread beneath my coat. Blood.
The crowd roared.
I was losing.
I was going to die.
No. No, I refuse.
I forced my mind into focus, scanning the ground. The sand was uneven. Jagged pieces of stone jutted out in some places.
The Hound charged a third time.
I didn't dodge.
Instead, I dropped low, grabbing a sharp shard of stone just as the beast leapt, and drove it upward.
The stone pierced its eye.
The Hound screeched in agony.
I was thrown back, but this time, I didn't hesitate. I pounced onto its back, the stone still clutched in my hand, and plunged it deeper into the wound.
The Hound thrashed, its claws scraping across my chest as I struggled to hold on. Its powerful limbs thrashed beneath me, throwing me from side to side.
I was barely keeping hold, slipping with every moment. My body was weaker than this beast's. The weight of its strength was crushing me.
But I couldn't stop.
I couldn't die like this.
I fought harder, my hands trembling as I gripped the beast's throat, forcing it back down, my knee pressing against its chest.
"COME ON!!"
I screamed, my voice cracking as the Hound writhed beneath me. Its claws gouged deep into my side, but I held on, refusing to let go.
"DIE!!"
I shouted again, my heart pounding in my ears. The Hound's breath was hot against my face, its fangs snapping, but I didn't let go.
It was still stronger.
I could feel it, the fury and rage beneath its fur. It was still trying to throw me off. Still trying to end me.
I gritted my teeth, feeling the beast's breath grow slower. I was exhausted. I was on the edge of collapse.
And then, with every last ounce of strength I had left, I screamed, a guttural cry that tore from my throat as I snapped its neck in one swift motion.
The Hound went still.
It died in my arms.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy, but I barely heard them. My chest heaved with each breath, every one feeling like it might be my last. My hands shook as I pulled away from the lifeless creature beneath me. Blood soaked the sand, and I could still feel the echoes of the fight in my muscles. But as I sat back, staring down at the beast's body, it was hard to shake the feeling of… something else.
I had just killed it.
But I didn't feel triumphant. I didn't feel anything but… empty.
The moment hung in the air, heavy with the weight of what had just happened. The beast wasn't the only one desperate to survive in this world. It had been just like me, thrown into this arena, forced to fight for its life. It wasn't malicious. It was trying to survive, just like I was.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my racing thoughts.
It tried to kill me. It was the same as all the others down here, fighting for dominance, fighting for survival. But as I looked at its still form, I saw something more than just a predator. I saw helplessness. The same helplessness I'd felt when I stepped into this world.
The Hound's death didn't feel like victory. It felt like the inevitable outcome of a world where only the strong survived, and the weak were forced to fight until they couldn't anymore.
I knelt beside it, my hand shaking as I reached out. The Hound's body was still warm, and I couldn't shake the feeling that this was me, trapped, desperate, trying to survive in a world that didn't care how much I wanted to live.
Then, the familiar pull came.
A low, soft hum, like a whisper in the back of my mind, urging me to reach for it. The Echo.
The air around me seemed to shift as I leaned forward, my fingers brushing against the creature's still body. A faint, almost imperceptible glow began to rise from its chest.
The Echo. It wasn't a grand, bright light, it was a flicker, barely noticeable. But it was there, and it was mine.
I hesitated for only a moment before reaching out to take it. The moment my fingers touched the faint glow, a rush of energy surged through me. It wasn't overwhelming, not like I'd imagined. But it was… real.
The power flowed into me, and I felt the Hound's desperation, its fight to survive in this cold world. It wasn't just a beast, it was a reflection of the system we were both trapped in.
And just like that, it became a part of me.
I didn't feel stronger in any obvious way, but something had changed. There was a certain clarity in my chest now, a sense of shared purpose. I realized then that this Echo wasn't just a souvenir from a fight, it was a piece of the Hound's life, its struggle, its desperation to live.
I exhaled slowly, closing my eyes for a moment. I couldn't just kill to survive. I had to understand it, like the Hound had understood its own fight for survival.
I looked down at the dead beast one last time.
"Thank you."
I whispered, barely audible over the noise of the crowd.
The words felt strange, like they didn't belong in a place like this. But I meant them. I wasn't thanking it for the Echo, but for showing me something. Something I hadn't fully grasped until now.
It wasn't just about survival. It was about the cost of it. The price of living in a world like this. No one was exempt from it, not even the beast I had killed. And now, I was part of that price.
The Overseer's voice broke through my thoughts, gruff and uncaring.
"You survived. Go claim your prize."
I nodded slowly, pulling myself to my feet. The sand beneath me felt heavier now, like a burden I hadn't fully understood before. The fight was over, but the real struggle had only just begun.
I turned and walked away, the crowd's cheers still ringing in my ears, but I didn't hear them. The world outside the pit hadn't changed, but somehow, I had.