We returned from the village at the beginning of the night.
The physical exhaustion was almost nonexistent, but the day had been long. Even so, when we crossed the guild's doors, I immediately noticed that something was different.
The main hall was quieter than usual.
Not empty.
Quiet.
Some adventurers spoke in low tones. Others glanced discreetly in our direction. There was no open admiration like before. There was expectation.
Before I could ask anything, the receptionist approached.
"Takumi. The council is waiting."
"Now?"
"Yes."
I exchanged a look with Liriel. She gave a slight nod.
We followed the internal corridor of the guild, the one rarely used for ordinary matters. The doors were heavier. The floor more polished. The air colder.
We were led to a room larger than the previous ones.
Three members of the high council were present. Besides them, there was a man I didn't know, wearing a different uniform. He wasn't from the guild.
He was from the kingdom's strategic evaluation sector.
That already said a lot.
"Takumi," the oldest councilor began, "we appreciate you coming so quickly."
"You said it was important."
"It is."
He gestured for us to approach the central table.
On it was an open map. Not of the capital. Not of the nearby villages.
It was a map of the outer regions.
In the western corner, an area was marked with dark red ink.
"Do you know this location?" the uniformed man asked.
"No."
"It is a dungeon classified as Rank S."
Silence settled in.
Rank S was not something common. It wasn't just dangerous. It was territory that, officially, few groups even had authorization to investigate.
"How long has it been active?" I asked.
"Decades," the councilor replied. "It has never been completed."
That caught my attention.
"Previous expeditions failed?"
"Several."
The kingdom's man opened a report and slid it toward us.
"Experienced groups. Some considered elite in their time. None returned from the last known floor."
Lyannis studied the map carefully.
"How many confirmed floors?"
"Twelve."
"Confirmed?" Rai'kanna questioned.
"The records stop at the twelfth."
Which meant there could be more.
The councilor crossed his hands.
"The dungeon was considered unstable. Not due to conventional demonic activity. But because of an irregular energy pattern. Creatures that do not follow predictable behavior."
Liriel remained silent, but I could see the focus in her eyes.
"Why now?" I asked.
The man from the kingdom answered.
"Because magical activity has increased in recent months."
Vespera frowned slightly.
"Spontaneous increase?"
"We don't know."
There was something incomplete about that answer.
The councilor continued.
"The guild does not intend to force you. But considering the recent performance of your group, we believe you are the only ones with enough stability and power to evaluate and, if possible, complete the dungeon."
There it was.
It wasn't just a mission.
It was a milestone.
A Rank S dungeon never completed.
A history of failures.
Disappeared groups.
The kind of challenge that defined eras.
I looked again at the map.
The red area seemed small on paper.
But it carried enough weight to alter the reputation of any adventurer.
"What's its name?" I asked.
The man hesitated for a moment.
"Abyss of Eryndor."
The name sounded ancient.
Heavy.
"Reports indicate that the first floors seem normal," he continued. "But from the fifth onward, the environment begins to change. Structures shift. Paths reconfigure."
"A living dungeon," Elara murmured.
"In a sense," the councilor confirmed.
I closed the report slowly.
It wasn't just a test of strength.
It was a test of adaptation.
Coordination.
Emotional control.
Everything we had been building.
"If we accept," I said, "the guild will formalize it as the main expedition?"
"Yes."
"No interference from other groups?"
"Total exclusivity."
That prevented internal disputes.
But it also meant that if we failed, there would be no immediate reinforcement.
I looked at each of them.
I didn't need to ask.
There was no fear.
There was concentration.
Liriel was the first to speak.
"Takumi."
I knew what she wanted to say.
"Yes."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"We've faced worse things."
Vespera added.
"And we will face them again."
Lyannis smiled faintly.
"But this time, with historical record."
Elara simply nodded.
I faced the council again.
"We accept."
The silence that followed was not one of surprise.
It was confirmation.
The oldest councilor inclined his head slightly.
"Then it is decided. Starting tomorrow, the preparation officially begins."
The man from the kingdom gathered part of the documents, but left the map on the table.
"One final warning," he said. "This dungeon is not just dangerous. It is known for testing individual limits."
"All challenges do that," I replied.
He kept his gaze fixed on me for a few seconds.
"Not all make you doubt what is real."
That lingered in the air.
We left the room without further words.
The guild's main hall felt different now.
As if it already knew.
Some adventurers looked in our direction, trying to read something in our faces.
We showed nothing.
We walked toward the exit.
Outside, the night was clear. The dark sky contrasted with the lights of the capital.
I stopped for a moment before continuing.
"Rank S," Lyannis murmured.
"Never completed before," Rai'kanna added.
Vespera took a deep breath.
"This will put us on another level."
Liriel looked at me.
"You've already decided, haven't you?"
"Yes."
It wasn't just about fame.
It wasn't just about proving strength.
It was about consolidating everything we had built.
A legendary dungeon never completed was more than a challenge.
It was an opportunity to mark our name in the guild's history.
And if we failed?
That possibility existed.
But I felt no hesitation.
I felt focus.
As we walked back to the inn, I realized that something inside me was absolutely clear.
The fame that was beginning to grow needed a real foundation.
And there was no greater foundation than facing the impossible and returning.
I opened the inn's door.
"Tomorrow we start preparing," I said.
They agreed.
No celebration.
No euphoria.
Only determination.
I went up to the room and stood for a few seconds looking out the window.
On the invisible horizon, beyond the hills and forests, an ancient structure existed waiting.
Abyss of Eryndor.
A dungeon that defeated generations.
And now, it awaited us.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
When I opened them, the decision was already solid.
We would not enter it to test luck.
We would enter it to finish it.
And from now on, every step would lead us directly to the greatest challenge we had ever faced.