Elgot and the dwarves felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.
Dust, rubble, the roar that shook the entire mountain.
The gate Kano had sealed collapsed on its own.
Everything went silent.
Elgot stood before the ruins, staring at them.
—"No…"
He felt only emptiness.
Beyond those ruins, nothing remained.
No Kano.
The rumble of falling stone echoed through the dungeon as the last fragments of the throne hall crumbled away.
The gate Kano had shut no longer existed—it had fallen, sweeping everything in its path.
Dust rose like a suffocating wall.
Elgot, Rudgard, and the dwarves stood in silence.
Only Revena seemed untouched by concern.
The dust began to settle, and before them opened…
An abyss.
The light of magic crystals far below glimmered like stars in absolute darkness.
No one spoke.
Rudgard exhaled heavily and bowed his head.
Several dwarves followed his lead.
Elgot just stood still, unmoving.
His eyes stared down into that endless void.
His lips moved, but no sound came.
"This is it."
"He's dead."
His fingers loosened helplessly.
His mind refused to accept it.
But before him lay nothing but shattered stone, rubble, ash…
And no trace of Kano.
Revena turned around.
She had grown tired of the silence.
Stretching her arms out, smiling, she said:
—"Well then, we survived, the ruins are cleared. Shall we celebrate?"
Silence.
The dwarven warriors didn't even lift their heads.
Rudgard clenched his fists.
And then…
Lightning flashed around Elgot.
His body shook with the fury ignited inside him.
—"Shut your mouth."
His voice thundered like a storm.
Revena raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.
—"What's the matter? Not happy?"
And in the next instant, Elgot vanished from where he stood.
A heartbeat later his fingers closed around her throat, lifting her off the ground.
The dwarves flinched, but none dared to stop him.
His eyes blazed with white fire.
—"If you weren't needed, I'd burn you to ash right here and now."
Revena did not flinch.
She even smiled.
—"So, now you're no different from the demons? Kill for nothing?"
Elgot gritted his teeth.
Slowly, he lowered her back to the ground, but his fingers trembled for a moment longer, as though he was barely holding himself back.
—"We just lost a friend."
His voice was no longer thunderous.
It was… empty.
—"The only selfless man who wanted to help everyone."
Revena looked at him, savoring his anger.
And then she said something unexpected, even to herself.
—"He's alive."
Silence.
The dwarves lifted their heads.
Elgot froze.
Revena felt cold sweat run down her back.
She didn't know why she had said it.
But she was certain.
Elgot slowly turned to her.
—"What… did you just say?"
She pressed her temples with both hands.
She had never felt such a connection with anyone before.
Not even with her slaves.
He was… a part of her.
Her face went pale as the realization hit.
Elgot stepped closer.
—"How do you know?!"
With a trembling voice, Revena said:
—"Because I can feel him."
Her head rang with a heavy hum.
"It seems when I tried to make Kano my slave, something went wrong. But the magic didn't just vanish. Strange… I don't feel him as a slave, but I don't feel myself bound either. This needs to be studied."
The dwarves stayed silent.
Rudgard cast a grim look at her, then at Elgot.
—"If he's down there, we'll find him."
Elgot didn't want to believe.
But he had no choice anymore.
They began their descent into the ruins.
Far below, the magic crystals shone like stars.
Their light was strange—shifting, flowing, alive.
The dwarves walked in silence, each feeling something unsettling in the air.
Revena touched a wall streaked with ancient ore.
Her fingers caught the faintest pulse of magic.
Rudgard gave her a dark look.
—"Don't touch it. That's not just metal."
Revena didn't notice, but for a brief moment, her eyes glimmered red.
She stopped suddenly.
Pointing sharply ahead, she said:
—"There's your hero."
Elgot rushed forward.
Kano lay crushed beneath the rubble.
His armor torn apart.
His face pale.
Elgot dropped to his knees before him.
—"Kano…"
His fingers trembled as he tried to heal him.
Nothing happened.
Elgot jerked his head up.
—"No… no, no, no… come on… work, damn it!"
The dwarves remained silent.
Revena crouched beside him.
She touched his cheek.
He was burning hot.
—"He's alive. But if we don't hurry—he'll die."
Elgot grabbed his shoulders.
—"No, do you hear me?! Hold on, you can't just die on me!"
And then…
A thought struck him.
His eyes widened.
—"Selina!"
The dwarves looked at him in surprise.
Elgot lifted his head sharply.
—"If anyone can save him—it's her."
Rudgard frowned.
—"She's in the orc city. Even the shortest path there will take two days."
Elgot clenched his teeth.
—"He doesn't have two days."
Revena drew in a deep breath.
—"We'll find another way. If this is an ancient city—there must be old roads."
The dwarves rushed ahead, searching.
Their race against time had begun.
Darkness.
Never before had they gone this deep into these ruins.
Only the magic crystals along the walls cast their ghostly light, creating the illusion of a starry sky buried beneath the earth.
The dwarves marched in silence, their eyes scanning the walls for signs.
Rudgard muttered feverishly, studying the ancient engravings.
Elgot only clutched Kano tighter to his chest.
The boy was barely breathing.
His face pale as marble, his breath almost invisible.
Elgot could hear his heart slowing down.
—"Just a little more… hold on, Kano."
But his fingers trembled.
He was afraid that if he held the boy too tightly, he'd feel the truth—that Kano was already gone.
Revena walked beside him, silently watching.
But her hand kept brushing against her chest, where she felt something strange.
This bond.
Why was it so strong?
Her brows furrowed.
This was not normal.
The dwarves stopped.
Before them opened a vast underground hall, like an ancient caravan hangar.
A forgotten station of the trade routes.
Once, this place had thrived with life: piles of goods, merchants, guards, colossal gates leading to the surface.
But now…
Only stone, dust, and two gigantic gates at the far end of the hall.
At least ten meters high, they were forged from black metal and solid stone.
Carved upon them were scenes of dwarven glory—caravans journeying from this kingdom to the world above.
But now all was cracked, dirtied by time and war.
Rudgard's eyes flew wide.
—"This is it. The exit."
The dwarves rushed toward it, examining the mechanism.
And then one of them froze.
Beside the gate stood an ancient statue of a dwarven merchant, holding scales in one hand and a bird upon his shoulder.
All the birds in this hall looked outward.
Except this one.
It gazed deep into the dungeon.
Rudgard stepped forward and turned the bird's head the other way.
Click.
A heavy rumble.
And then…
The entire hall shook.
Gear wheels, unmoved for millennia, began to turn.
Thunderous echoes filled the chamber, raising clouds of choking dust.
The dwarves shouted, shielding their faces.
Metal groaned and cracked.
The teeth of the ancient mechanism strained under centuries of stillness.
The gates began to open… but in the same breath, they started destroying themselves.
Rusty chains snapped.
One of the hangar's columns cracked, shedding stone.
Rudgard understood.
—"The gates won't hold! We have to run now!"
Elgot didn't wait.
He gripped Kano tighter and dashed forward.
The first thing they saw—was dawn.
Sunlight cut through the dust like blades, tearing apart the darkness of the old kingdom.
And there, on the horizon…
The city walls. Kano's city!!!
Rudgard froze, his voice breaking into a whisper.
—"We… we did it."
The dwarves couldn't contain their joy.
—"Freedom! We made it out!"
They rushed forward, feeling the wind on their faces.
But Elgot…
He didn't hear them.
His legs barely held him, yet he kept running.
—"Just a little longer… hold on, my friend."
Revena followed behind the rest.
But before she took the final step…
She stopped.
Something made her turn back.
Her head shifted toward the darkness.
Her heart clenched.
Something was there.
The darkness was watching her.
Her fingers curled into a fist.
And for only a second, she whispered:
—"What are you…?"
Then, without another pause, she stepped forward.
They emerged from the ancient dwarven kingdom, leaving the darkness behind.
Light fell upon their backs, dissolving their shadows.
Elgot carried Kano, clutching him with the last of his strength.
Revena kept pace, her face grim and focused.
Rudgard and the King's warriors ran ahead, knowing they had uncovered something far greater than just an escape from the mountain.
The mission was complete.