One second the cavern's brittle stone held steady; the next, it gave way like shattered glass underfoot. Bren, Myla, Leia, and Kovan plummeted through the darkness, the world spinning and twisting as gravity dragged them deeper into the unknown.
Then—Bren's body slammed hard against the cold, uneven rock. Pain flared in his ribs; breath was knocked out of him. His vision blurred, shadows pressing in from every side. The weight of silence crushed him, thick and suffocating.
Somewhere nearby, Myla gasped and groaned. He blinked, trying to clear the fog in his mind.
"Bren…?" Her voice trembled, weak but alive—threadbare, but clinging to consciousness.
He reached out blindly and found her shoulder. She was conscious but rattled, eyes wide with fear. Their wristbands flickered faintly—then died, dark and useless.
Bren helped Myla sit up. He knelt beside her, scanning the dark for threats he couldn't see.
"We'll have to find our way out," Bren whispered, his voice shaky, lungs still burning from the fall. God, that hurt. How the hell did we survive that? The cold stone bit through his clothes, but his mind screamed louder than the pain.
Myla nodded slowly, shivering. "The bands… they're dead. No signal. No help."
She threw her arms down. Great. Just perfect. Alone in some cursed underworld, with no way back.
As they both turned to look down the tunnel, there was light far down. Dim, distant, almost unreal. It shimmered weakly, casting a pale glow that barely touched the walls. That could be their way out. It slightly illuminated the tunnels from afar, like a lighthouse in a sea of black.
As they stood together, they realised it was harder to breathe.
The air seemed alive, thick with whispers that scraped the edge of sanity. Each breath tasted stale, laced with something foul. The walls around them breathed slow, pulsing shadows crawling like veins through the stone. They pressed onward, inching toward the far-off light.
Far off, in another tunnel, Leia and Kovan landed hard as well, separate from Bren and Myla. Leia's wristband sparked wildly, then fizzled out with a hiss. She clenched her fists, jaw tight with frustration and fear. Kovan forced a grin, voice rough with nervous humour.
"Well, that's not ideal."
Leia shot him a glare, but even she swallowed the tremor in her heart. The transporter wristbands were dead. There is no way home and no communication with others. They were trapped in these twisting tunnels beneath the earth... cut off and alone.
Both pairs exchanged looks of silent dread, knowing they'd have to find each other the old way... by foot, by instinct, and by sheer will. They turned toward the faint light that shimmered through the dark, just enough to guide them forward.
Bren and Myla moved cautiously through the tunnels, the faint scrape of their boots the only sound in the oppressive silence. The air pressed in on them, dense and charged. The walls closed in, stained dark with the decay of forgotten deaths. Along the way, they passed grotesque corpses—twisted remnants of beasts half-eaten by the creeping shadows, their forms blurred and corrupted beyond recognition.
Nythor's voice whispered deeper inside Bren's mind now, slick and urgent. "We're getting close. The throne awaits."
Close to what? Bren's chest tightened. How do I know this voice? Why does it sound like both a warning and a promise? He clenched his fists, trying to push the dread down. Myla's trembling hands traced an ancient hunter's ward on the cracked stone, a faded symbol meant to hold evil at bay. The trembling in her fingers betrayed her fear.
"Something's watching us," she whispered.
Bren looked at her, worried, scared. She stood and stepped back next to him, eyes never leaving the dark beyond.
Around them, shadows flitted at the edge of their vision, always just out of reach. Like they were alive. Like they were waiting.
Leia and Kovan were no less hunted. In a narrow cavern, a sinewy shadow demon lunged—a grotesque creature with too many mouths, none bearing eyes. It moved like a spider, limbs cracking against the stone.
They dodged with inches to spare.
Kovan's breath came fast. His hunter's weapon appeared in his hand instantly, summoned by instinct. He fought to keep his voice light. "Nice teeth," he joked, though the tension twisted his features.
Leia summoned her weapon also, prepared... ready.
Kovan ran to the wall, vaulted up it in a smooth arc, and attacked the demon from behind. Leia dove for the legs, slicing low. The demon collapsed with a shriek, its body writhing in agony.
Then—it disintegrated into black sludge.
"Ew... I've never seen that before..." Leia muttered, breathless.
Near the walls, faint flares of ancient runes flickered, etched in a language older than time, warning of doom in harsh, angular strokes.
They moved deeper, each step funnelling them toward something vast and terrible.
The cavern opened before them like a maw. At its centre, a throne carved from black stone stood—immense and cracked with age. Shadows pooled at its base like spilt ink.
Upon the throne sat a figure vast and still. A demon of obsidian flesh, muscles like jagged rock, unmoving as the grave. Falros, Lord of Limbo.
Bren's heart hammered violently in his chest. A dark resonance stirred deep within him. I know him. I've seen him before... felt this before.
He tried to warn the others, voice thick with dread. "Guys…"
But then Kovan, brash as ever, stepped into the open chamber and shouted into the hollow dark. The foolishness echoed like a shout into a tomb.
The demon's stone eyes flared open, blazing with infernal fire.
Falros rose, slow and terrible, his presence shifting the very air. Shadows exploded from the walls, writhing like living nightmares. His skin was slick with the same black sludge, dripping like tar from his limbs.
Chaos erupted.
Leia was thrown against the stone like a ragdoll, blood trailing from a deep gash. Kovan fought desperately, his strikes barely keeping the blistering shadow assaults at bay.
Myla wove runes mid-air, their glowing lines a fragile barrier against the swarm of lesser shadow demons pouring from every crack and crevice.
And Bren? He froze.
Rooted to the spot, paralyzed by fear and memory. The screams, the blood, the Trial of Death, all crashed over him like a tidal wave. His breaths came short and ragged. His fingers wouldn't move.
"I can't. Not now. Not like this. I'm useless." Bren panicked
Then, inside him, Nythor's voice surged like wildfire.
"Let me in. Fuse with me. Become more. Or let them die."
Bren's fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. Tears burned in his eyes. Myla's scream tore through the chaos.
"Bren!"
Kovan's shout followed, harsh and desperate. "Run! Bren, move!"
Leia lay still, her breaths shallow and ragged.
Shadows curled slowly around Bren's feet, rising like smoke from a fire. They slithered up his legs, coiling tighter with each passing second as he slowly let his guard down.
He exhaled slowly, voice barely audible. Eyes closed but calm.
"...Fuck it."
Nythor's laughter was dark and cruel.
"Finally."
The shadows roared to life, swirling around Bren in violent eddies, cloaking him like a second skin.
He was lifted from the ground as the shadows surged into him. Unsure if his body could withstand Nythor's full power—but he didn't resist.
The cavern quaked. Falros stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Waiting.
As the shadows faded, they released Bren back to the ground. Smoke-like tendrils of shadow magic rose from him, licking the air.
Bren opened his eyes.
They glowed—not red, but a deep violet-black, pulsing with power unknown.
His breath hitched.
Inside his mind, Nythor's presence rippled an electric pulse. Bren's vision sharpened, every detail crystal clear despite the gloom.
"I feel it... his power, flowing through me. Stronger, darker... unstoppable."
Myla and Kovan stared at Bren, speechless—until suddenly, the entire room turned black. Not darkness... but complete consumption.
The shadows had sealed the light.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Soul Combination Complete.
Fusion with Nythor confirmed. New abilities unlocked.
Mana reserves expanded by 175%.
Shadow affinity increased to Rank B.
Warning: Fusion side effects may include memory overlap, personality interference, and power instability.