The air in the cavern was heavy, thick with the poisonous green glow of the Miasma Shroud's territory. I watched Aaliyah closely, my eyes calculating. The Summoner's Bell was the prize—a Rare-rank Heirloom that provided versatility without the cost of consumption. A perfect addition to my arsenal.
"Dax is right," Aaliyah admitted, her voice hollow. "If the Guild Master is running a smuggling route, he can't risk anyone finding out. He sent us to kill the Shroud, but also to disappear. If the Shroud fails, he'll simply send a clean-up crew."
"Focus," I cut in, my tone brooking no argument. "The Soul Echo pulse. Now."
Aaliyah nodded, closing her eyes. She gripped the Summoner's Bell and channeled her remaining power. The tarnished brass bell didn't ring, but it emitted a faint, invisible wave of energy—a silent, concentrated Soul Echo pulse that radiated through the chamber.
The effect was instantaneous and profound.
The sickly green light of the crystalline growths on the walls flared violently, then flickered, as if the Shroud's control had momentarily short-circuited.
The Miasma Shroud did not attack. It was far more cunning than a brute. The pulse hadn't hurt it, but it had disrupted its sense of location. It relied on the thick, suffocating fog—its essence, Toxic Fog—to cloak its movements and confuse its prey. The Soul Echo had momentarily lifted the curtain of the illusion.
A loud, wet, slipping sound echoed from the far wall. The Miasma Shroud was attempting to disengage and conceal itself rather than attack head-on. It knew it had been detected.
"There! The passage on the left! It's retreating!" Aaliyah exclaimed, pointing frantically.
I didn't waste time looking. "Juts, cover the rear. If anything moves, use the Stone Skin card and run toward my voice. Do not fight."
"Be careful, Dax," Juts whispered, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his borrowed knife. He was scared, but obedient. His faith in me was still a vulnerability I needed to exploit.
I charged toward the sound, activating my Rare Gauntlet. The obsidian surface pulsed with the dark purple energy of the Plated Gorgon Essence I had just absorbed. I needed speed and the ability to punch through a toxic defense.
I found the Miasma Shroud trying to dissolve into a thick wall of crystallized mist. It was a fluid, amorphous creature, resembling a large, undulating cloud of dark green mist, with two glowing red eyes and long, whip-like tentacles made of condensed poison.
I launched myself at it. The Miasma Shroud immediately whipped a tentacle, releasing a concentrated burst of Toxic Fog directly at my face. This wasn't the slow poison of the cavern; this was a high-dose, paralytic attack.
I didn't breathe. Instead, I channeled the energy of my gauntlet into a defensive maneuver. I created a sudden, explosive burst of Rock Rabbit essence—the Stone Skin ability, but used in reverse. The gauntlet released a momentary, outward-facing dust cloud that wasn't designed to protect me, but to force a reaction from the Miasma Shroud.
The Shroud, sensing the solid particles in its pure mist form, instantly pulled back a fraction of an inch to avoid being contaminated by the dust. That fraction of a second was all I needed.
I plunged my obsidian gauntlet directly into the center of its cloud-like body.
The Miasma Shroud screamed—a high, rattling sound—as my gauntlet, super-hardened with the Gorgon's essence, pierced its ethereal core. The dark purple light of my artifact flared, and I channeled the raw, predatory power of Essence Absorption.
The Shroud fought back, its poisonous essence surging into my arm, threatening to liquefy my tendons. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the blinding pain and the momentary paralysis in my fingertips. I forced the essence out of the creature and into my artifact.
The Miasma Shroud collapsed, its misty form dissipating into nothingness.
Floating in the air was the prize: a Rare-rank Miasma Shroud Essence and a translucent, dark green Miasma Shroud Card.
I didn't rest. I quickly absorbed the essence into my gauntlet. The obsidian surface glowed with a new, dark, swirling green undertone, mixing with the purple. My gauntlet was evolving quickly, becoming a thing of formidable, terrifying power.
I then turned back toward Aaliyah, who was slowly dragging herself forward, her eyes wide with relief and admiration.
"You... you did it," she breathed, clutching her Summoner's Bell. "You really killed it. The Guild Master will have to accept us now. I'll make sure they give you credit—"
"You will give me nothing," I interrupted, my voice flat.
Juts entered the cavern, freezing instantly as he saw the scene: the dissipating monster energy, Aaliyah slumped against the pillar, and me standing over the remains.
Aaliyah's eyes widened in dawning horror. She recognized the cold, predatory intent in my gaze. She tried to raise her Summoner's Bell, but she was too slow, too weak.
"Dax, what are you—" she started.
I moved with the same savage efficiency as in my past life. I didn't waste effort or words. My common artifact—although it may have been low-level, it was fast. With a quick, brutal motion, I struck her hand, shattering the delicate bones of her wrist and sending the Summoner's Bell skittering across the cavern floor.
Before she could scream, I kicked the Summoner's Bell into a deep crevice in the floor. I then reached down and swiftly snapped her neck. Her body went limp instantly, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. A valuable resource was now gone, but a greater one was secured.
I retrieved the Summoner's Bell from the crevice, dusting it off.
Summoner's Bell (Rare-rank Heirloom)
Acquisition Method:Acquired by Force.
Value: High. Grants tactical versatility without requiring essence consumption.
Juts rushed forward, his face pale with shock. He hadn't seen the final, fatal action, but he saw the result: Aaliyah, dead, her neck at an unnatural angle. He looked at me, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and confusion.
"Dax! What happened? She... did the Shroud get her?" he stammered, his voice trembling.
I looked at him, my expression unreadable. I knew he hadn't seen it all. I had made sure of it.
"Yes," I said, my voice heavy with controlled false sorrow. "The Miasma Shroud had a final, reflexive attack. A delayed poison. It hit her as it died. She died protecting us, Juts. A tragic accident of the Labyrinth."
I reached into Aaliyah's pouch and retrieved the few Rare Artifacts she carried, as well as the map of the smuggling route she had hidden. "We must honor her sacrifice. We will take her artifacts back to the Guild Master and tell him the truth: we succeeded, but she perished due to a final, toxic burst."
Juts, trembling, looked from the dead hunter to me, then back to the crevice where I had moments ago kicked the bell. He noticed the absence of the Summoner's Bell on the floor. It was a detail he would dwell on, a seed of doubt that would slowly grow into suspicion.
"Come," I said, turning away from the body. "We have the essence, and we have the proof that the Guild Master is a smuggler. The gates of Vigan are about to open for the Jackals."
The Guild Master's test had failed. He had sought to bury us, but I would return with a new artifact, a new essence, and a dark secret that would give me absolute leverage over the entire city.