The roar isn't just sound. It's weight. Pressure. The kind that makes your ribs ache, like something heavy pressing down on you from the inside out.
Lira's breath hitches beside me. The glow from the cavern ceiling flickers as the predator steps forward slow, deliberate, as if it knows we can't run far.
The problem is… it's right.
My left leg's barely holding. The gash across my side keeps leaking warmth, sticky under my shirt. And Lira? She's trying to keep her spear up, but her hands are trembling. Not fear. Fatigue. She's burned out from the last fight.
The predator's outline sharpens massive shoulders hunched, claws curved like black sickles. Its eyes are molten gold, pupils thin slits that pin me in place.
Lilith's voice slithers through my skull.
Oh… that one's hungry. And it doesn't want meat. It wants to play.
Not helping. Not now.
"Move," I rasp, grabbing Lira's arm and pulling her toward the narrow rock passage behind us.
She stumbles her chest brushes my shoulder as she tries to regain her footing, breath hot against my ear. "Kai—"
"Go!"
The predator lunges.
I don't see claws. I see movement, a blur of shadow and gold. We dive into the crack in the rock just as its arm sweeps past stone explodes above us, shards raining down.
We hit the tunnel floor hard. Pain flashes white in my vision. Lira groans, rolling onto her side. I push myself up, grit in my teeth, and see the beast's head trying to wedge into the passage.
Its jaws snap, teeth scraping the rock.
"Keep moving!" I shove her ahead. She has to crawl the tunnel's barely high enough for me to hunch.
We shuffle forward, the sound of stone grinding behind us as the predator forces itself deeper.
The tunnel narrows, the air growing damp and cold. My palms slide against wet rock. Lira's hips bump into my chest as she crawls too close for comfort, her movements awkward but fast.
Lilith hums in my ear.
Mmm… such close quarters. You could reach out… steady her. Just a touch. She wouldn't mind. Fear makes people crave warmth.
I grit my teeth and ignore her, focusing on the scraping sound behind us. It's getting louder.
We round a bend the tunnel opens slightly, but the floor drops.
"Careful," I warn.
Too late. Lira slips, yelps, and slides down the incline. I lunge, catching her wrist, but her momentum yanks me forward. We tumble together, the slick stone making it impossible to stop.
We crash into shallow water with a splash. Cold hits me like a slap.
I surface, coughing, pulling Lira up beside me. She's soaked, hair plastered to her face, her clothes clinging tight to her curves. Her chest heaves, the water streaming off her like glass beads.
The predator's roar echoes above, muffled by the tunnel. It can't fit here not yet.
Lira's eyes meet mine, wide and alert. "We… we lost it?"
"No," I say, scanning the dark ahead. "We bought time."
The cavern we've fallen into is dim, lit only by faint blue glows clinging to the walls clusters of fungus, bioluminescent veins weaving across the rock. The air smells stale, metallic.
She wrings water from her sleeve. "Where are we?"
Lilith's voice lowers, almost a purr.
The Grave Below. The place where rules are forgotten. Where they send broken toys.
I feel my skin crawl. "Grave Below?" I whisper.
Lira frowns. "What?"
"Nothing," I mutter. No point in telling her I've got a parasite in my head giving horror-movie commentary.
We wade forward, the water up to our thighs, the cold numbing my legs. My wound stings every time I move.
The cavern narrows again, forcing us to squeeze sideways through jagged walls. At one point, Lira stops, her back pressed to my chest, her breath quick.
"It's… stuck," she says, shifting her hip where it's caught against a rock edge.
I set my hands on her waist not thinking, just doing and guide her sideways until she slips free. Her breath catches, but she doesn't say anything.
When we step out into the next chamber, we both freeze.
Bodies.
Dozens of them, scattered across the stone floor. Players or what's left of them. Their armor is cracked, their weapons snapped. Some still clutch their gear like they died fighting.
The blue glow paints everything in ghostly light.
Lira swallows hard. "What… happened to them?"
Lilith's voice answers for me.
They failed. The System doesn't like failures.
My pulse spikes. "We keep moving," I say, pulling her toward the far tunnel.
We don't get far.
A splash echoes behind us.
I spin.
Something moves in the water. Slow. Deliberate.
It's not the predator — smaller, but the way it glides just under the surface makes my gut twist.
Lira whispers, "Kai…"
Then a voice — not Lilith's — calls from the shadows:
"Well, well. Looks like I'm not alone down here."
A man steps into the glow. Leather armor, mismatched plates, a jagged blade in one hand. His grin is too wide, his eyes too sharp.
"New arrivals," he says, licking his lips. "And you brought me a girl."
Lira stiffens beside me. My hand tightens on my weapon.
The water behind him ripples whatever's under there is getting closer.
The man tilts his head. "Tell you what. Hand her over… and I might let you keep breathing."
Lilith's laughter is a whisper in my skull.
Oh, Kai… the fun's just beginning.
The man's smirk doesn't waver as he steps closer, boots splashing in the shallow water.
"Don't make me ask twice," he says, pointing the jagged blade toward Lira.
I keep my tone level. "You should turn around."
His grin twitches. "Bold. But you're limping, bleeding… and I've been eating well down here."
I don't like what that implies.
The water behind him ripples again this time more violently. I see a brief flash beneath the surface. A pale, eel-like form. Something huge.
He notices my glance and laughs. "Oh, her? She's mine."
Lira's whisper is tight. "Kai… there's something—"
"I know."
The man's voice drops to a mockery of warmth. "You look tired. Let her go. I'll keep her warm for you."
Lilith hums in my skull.
Oh, Kai… he's a scavenger. But even scavengers can bite deep. Show him your teeth.
My fingers curl around my weapon's hilt.
The man steps closer, tilting his head like he's trying to decide where to cut first. "Last chance."
Then it happens.
From behind him, the water erupts.
The pale thing bursts out long, serpentine, with a jaw that splits into four pieces lined with teeth. It wraps around him before he can scream.
He thrashes, slashing wildly, but the creature's coils crush his torso with wet cracks. Blood mixes with the spray as it drags him under. His last shriek is cut short by a gurgle.
Lira staggers back against me, breath sharp. "What the hell—"
The water is still again, but now I can't tell where the thing is.
I don't wait to find out. "Move!"
We sprint or at least, we try. The water's heavy around our legs, slowing every step. I glance back once and see a ripple following us, like a shadow under the surface.
We hit a dry ledge and scramble up. My wound screams, but I force myself forward.
The tunnel ahead is low and narrow, and I can feel the stone scraping my shoulders as we squeeze through.
A wet thud echoes behind us. The creature's head slams into the rock opening, jaw splitting again as it snaps. Its teeth scrape stone, showering sparks in the blue light.
We push deeper until we spill into another chamber and stop dead.
It's not empty.
Rows of crude cages line the walls, each made of scavenged metal bars and bone. Some are empty. Others… aren't.
Figures sit hunched inside. Players. NPCs. Hard to tell which in this light. Their eyes track us, some blank, some burning with something else entirely.
One cage door is open, swinging slowly on rusted hinges.
Lira's voice is barely a breath. "Kai… we shouldn't be here."
She's right. Every instinct is screaming.
Then a sound soft footsteps comes from the far end of the chamber.
A woman steps into view. Her skin is pale, her hair black as the cavern shadows, falling in wet strands. She's barefoot, wearing only ragged cloth wrapped around her body.
Her smile is calm. Too calm.
"You made it far," she says. "Most don't."
I keep my weapon ready. "Who are you?"
She tilts her head. "I keep the lost ones company. And you…" Her eyes slide to Lira, lingering. "You're very bright. Too bright for this place."
Lilith's whisper is almost delighted.
Oh… she's not human. And she's hungry in ways you can't imagine.
The woman steps closer. I notice now the faint webbing between her fingers, the way her pupils narrow in the light.
Behind her, the water ripples again.
The woman's eyes never leave Lira.
It's not the kind of stare you get from a rival. It's the look a predator gives a rabbit.
"You're not supposed to be here," she says.
Her voice is low, smooth, carrying too easily in the chamber.
My grip tightens on the sword hilt. "We're leaving."
Her smile twitches upward. "You can't. Not without my permission."
Lilith's voice drips into my mind like honey over a blade.
She's testing you. And if you fail, she'll strip the girl before your eyes of her skin first.
A shiver runs up my spine. "What are you?" I ask.
The woman tilts her head, wet strands of hair swaying. "Once, I was like you. But the grave changes things. It reshapes what's useful… and discards the rest."
She takes another step. Her bare feet make no sound against the stone, but I can smell her now salt, blood, and something faintly sweet.
Lira stiffens beside me, clutching the torn sleeve at her shoulder. The waterlogged fabric clings to her skin, revealing more than she probably realizes, but she doesn't care. Her eyes are locked on the woman.
"We don't want trouble," Lira says, her voice shaking but steady enough.
The woman's lips curl. "Then drop your weapons and kneel."
That's not happening.
I shift my stance, putting myself between them. "I've killed worse than you."
Her pupils narrow to slits. "Have you?"
The chamber seems to grow colder. Then, from somewhere in the water behind her, the pale, eel-like creature surfaces again its split jaw opening and closing, teeth grinding.
Lira lets out a sharp gasp. "That's the thing from before—"
The woman doesn't even look back. She raises one hand, fingers flicking like she's coaxing a pet. The creature stills.
"I feed it," she says softly. "And in return, it keeps my little garden safe."
She gestures to the cages.
Some of the prisoners flinch. Others smile faintly, as if they've given up long ago.
"Why keep them alive?" I ask.
Her smile sharpens. "Some for trade. Some… for later."
Lilith hums.
She's stalling. She wants you to get close. If you do, you'll never leave.
The eel-creature's eyes milky and dead-looking fix on me.
I make my decision. "Lira, stay behind me."
I rush forward before the woman can react, swinging for her midsection. My blade cuts air she's already moved, fluid as water, sliding sideways with inhuman grace.
Her hand snaps out, catching my wrist. Her grip is like iron. She leans close enough that I can feel her breath on my cheek.
"You're warm," she whispers. "I could take so much from you."
I wrench free, slashing again. This time the blade grazes her shoulder. Black ichor hisses where it hits the stone. She hisses too not in pain, but irritation.
The eel creature lunges.
Lira screams my name.
I dive aside as its jaws snap where my head had been. Its teeth sink into stone, cracking it. The sound rattles my skull.
The woman moves toward Lira now. Too fast.
I grab a chunk of broken stone and hurl it at the eel's eye. It recoils with a guttural screech, and I sprint after her.
She's already on Lira, one hand tangled in her hair, the other sliding toward her throat.
"Get away from her!" I slam into her with my shoulder. We both go down hard, skidding across the wet stone.
She's stronger than she looks. We grapple, her nails too sharp, too long raking across my chest. Heat blooms under my skin where she cuts me.
She leans in, lips parting like she's going to bite.
That's when Lira smashes a rusted metal bar down on her head.
The woman staggers back, hissing, ichor dripping from her temple.
I grab Lira's arm. "Move!"
We sprint toward the far tunnel, the eel thrashing wildly behind us, smashing cages. Prisoners scream. Water churns.
The tunnel ahead slopes upward. That's good. Higher ground might mean safety.
But the sound following us the slithering, wet drag of the eel is getting louder.
We burst into another chamber, this one smaller, lit only by faint bioluminescence from the ceiling fungus. It's almost beautiful if not for the bones scattered across the floor.
I hear the eel entering the tunnel behind us.
Lira's chest is heaving, sweat and water making her hair stick to her face. Her torn sleeve hangs loose, showing the gash on her shoulder. Blood runs down her arm.
"We can't outrun it," she gasps.
"I know."
I scan the chamber. There a crack in the wall, narrow but maybe wide enough for us. "There."
We scramble toward it.
The eel bursts in, mouth opening so wide I see the slick, pulsing muscle in its throat.
I shove Lira through the crack first. She squeezes in, grimacing.
The eel lunges. I dive after her its teeth scrape my boot as I disappear into the dark.
The passage is tight, scraping my back and chest. I can hear the eel thrashing on the other side, its hiss echoing like steam in a pipe.
We crawl until the sound fades.
Finally, we drop into a tiny cavern just enough space to sit. My wound is bleeding badly now, soaking through my shirt.
Lira tears a strip from her sleeve and presses it against my side. Her hands are shaking, but she keeps her eyes on mine. "You're not dying here. Not like that."
Her closeness, the warmth of her hands, the glint in her eyes despite the fear for a moment, the danger feels far away.
But Lilith breaks the moment.
Kai… this is not over. That woman knows the tunnels. And she won't stop hunting you.
I meet Lira's gaze. "We can't stay here long."
She nods. "Then we move. Together."
Somewhere deep in the tunnels, a hiss echoes.
Closer than before.