----Page 35----
Crrr… crkkk… crsshh…
The ice surged outward in a breathtaking wave, crawling up the Shaman's legs, chest, neck, and finally the gem embedded in its body.
A thin crack spread across its surface.
The necromancer's voice shook in silent panic.
No… no, no. I'll be trapped…!
With a frantic burst of black mist, his real form erupted out of the gem just before it froze completely.
He crashed to the floor, coughing, trembling like a drowned man dragged back to life.
He was thin, almost fragile. Long blue hair fell over half his face, hiding a haunted gaze. His clothes hung in tattered shreds, bones clinking around his wrists and neck.
Dark, swirling markings ran across his arms and cheeks like living shadows.
He lifted his head…
And froze.
Kinon was already behind him.
Sword raised. Blade gleaming with frost.
His expression was unreadable.
One clean downward strike. That was all it would take.
The necromancer's breath hitched. Eyes wide opened.
"W… Wait. Please, please do not kill me. I surrender. I surrender completely."
He flung both hands up so violently they nearly dislocated, shaking hard enough to rattle the bone accesories he wore.
Kinon did not move.
Lysera froze mid-step.
Nivara's fan stilled.
Tauren stopped flapping his wings.
The entire battlefield held its breath.
The necromancer pressed his forehead to the floor, voice breaking apart.
"I… I will tell you anything. Anything you want. Just… please… please don't kill me."
Kinon's grip tightened on his sword.
He could feel the raw terror trembling through the boy's fragile frame, hear the silent pleas echoing in the frozen chamber. Every eye was on him, waiting, expecting judgment.
And yet, beneath the edge of his raised sword, Kinon felt the weight of his own conscience—a cold, unyielding truth. He had the power to end this life in an instant, but he was no murderer.
He never intended to be. Every instinct screamed to strike, but every fiber of his being whispered restraint.
Lyresa whispered softly.
"Master…?"
Kinon exhaled, quiet and long.
"Why did you run?"
The necromancer stiffened…
then sobbed.
Kinon exhaled slowly, the cold air drifting between them like a blade.
"What are you doing here?"
The necromancer froze, every muscle tightening, every breath shallow…
Then he broke, a ragged, desperate sob tearing from his throat.
"To survive… even if it meant becoming something I never wanted to be."
Kinon's blade lowered by a few inches.
Not sheathed.
Not drawn back.
Just wavering.
"You tried to kill us," Kinon said.
"I know. I know. You think I wanted this? You think I chose any of it? I lived every second waiting to die, choking on fear, drowning in monsters and darkness and rules that ate pieces of me away. I survived because I had to, because there was no other choice."
The necromancer trembled.
"I give up. Please. Just do not kill me…"
Silence pressed down like a weight.
Frost creaked beneath their feet.
The entire chamber seemed to wait for Kinon's decision.
Finally, he asked.
"What should I do with you?"
The necromancer's shoulders shook violently.
"Spare me," he whispered.
"Please…"
There was sincerity in his voice… and despair.
Kinon stared at him for a long moment.
"Then undo everything," he said quietly.
The necromancer blinked up, startled.
"Everything? Well of course that girl over there will die if she's not been treated."
"Also, I wanted you to show us the exit to this tower." Kinon added.
"I… I can. I will," the necromancer blurted, nodding rapidly.
He raised his trembling hands and whispered in a strange, twisted language.
Reality bent around the sound, cracking and warping.
A soft ripple of power spread outward.
The no healing restriction vanished instantly.
The crushing pressure in the room dissolved.
"However," he continued.
"The door will not open until you kill a Guardian Floor. That was not part of the rule I set."
Lysera sheated her rapier. While, Nivara's expression remained calm.
"It seems we have no choice… we'll have to wait for Kaien to open the door for us."
Tauren tensed.
Kinon narrowed his eyes.
The necromancer lowered his head in response.
"I.... I am cursed," he said quietly.
"The curse of my clan, the Cursed Bringers."
Kinon did not interrupt.
The necromancer continued, voice hoarse and empty.
"We were born with a cursed tongue. Words that twist reality within a radius. Commands that become truth. But because of that power, we were hunted."
His markings flickered like dying embers.
"A group called the Nullscribes. They record forbidden knowledge and destroy anything that threatens their control. They deemed us dangerous. They slaughtered my entire clan."
He bit his trembling lip.
"I ran for my life. They cornered me at a pit, a bottomless one. And I…"
His voice thinned.
"I chose the fall. Either way, I would die. At least not by their blades."
He swallowed.
"But I lived. I lived and fell into the Abyss."
Nivara covered her mouth with her crimson fan.
Firen continued.
"The Abyss is chaos. Monsters tearing each other apart. Humans cannot survive there. So I created a rule. I created a vessel, an immortal goblin shaman. And I hid inside a gem linked to it."
He laughed bitterly.
"It was the only way to live."
Kinon listened quietly, expression unreadable.
"I fought. I killed. I pretended to be strong. Eventually I was chosen as an elite warrior for the Abyss Monarchy. But…"
His voice softened into something fragile.
"I never wanted to kill anyone."
No one spoke for a long moment.
Then Kinon asked:
"Your name?"
The necromancer hesitated… as if saying it hurt.
"Firen."
Kinon repeated softly.
"Firen."
Firen inhaled sharply. His eyes widened, as though he had not heard his name spoken gently in years.
Kinon slowly lowered his blade.
"This ends here. No more killing."
He looked directly into Firen's trembling eye.
"You do not have to run anymore."
Firen's breath caught… and for the first time since appearing…
He smiled. A small, yet uncertain smile along with tears fallen down his cheeks like waterfalls.
A simple smile, something he had forgotten how to make.
°°°°
However...
Firen's faint smile lingered only a moment.
Then he collapsed fully to his knees, clutching his ribs as his body trembled violently. Without the gem or the Shaman vessel, he was painfully fragile.
Nivara rushed forward first.
"Master, the no healing restriction is fading."
She placed two fingers in the air, red mana spiraling softly around them.
"I can heal again."
Kinon nodded. "Help the wounded adventurers first."
Nivara bowed her head and flicked open her crimson fan.
"Understood."
Lysera stepped forward, boots soft against the frost.
Her eyes narrowed at Firen.
"Master, this man threatened your life. Are you sure about this?"
Kinon did not look away from the trembling boy.
"He surrendered."
Tauren crossed his arms, wings beating with suspicion.
"Hmph. Weak. Skinny. Overly dramatic."
He jabbed a thumb at Firen.
"And he smells like old books and grave dust."
Firen flinched. Cracked a force smirked towards Tauren.
"I can bathe if you want…"
"Oh look," Tauren muttered.
"It talks politely now… and it even manages to crack a lame joke with that weird little smile."
Kinon gave him a tired look.
"Tauren."
"What. I am just saying the obvious. What if he runs off again and bites us on the back?"
"I will not," Firen yelped. "I said I surrender."
"Not helping," Tauren muttered.
Dravion stepped forward, eyes wide.
"That ability… reality twisting through words… that is incredible."
Firen lowered his head.
"It is not impressive. It is a curse. Everything has a price. Every rule I cast eats away a part of me."
Kinon frowned. "You lose something?"
Firen nodded.
"Memories, mostly." He tightened his grip on his sleeves.
"My clan used to say that a Cursed Bringer's life is paid in moments of themselves."
A quiet silence followed.
Kinon whispered softly.
"Don't worry your safe now."
Firen blinked, startled by the kindness.
Kinon crouched.
"Firen."
The boy stiffened at the sound of his name.
"Yes…?"
"You said the tower doors will not open unless a guardian dies."
Kinon met his eyes.
"You removed that rule. That means no one here has to die. Right?
Firen shakes off his head, that's not it.
I only lifted the rules that healing magic or potions were forbidden. But the tower exit wasn't mine.
"So you mean, the door will not open, not until you kill a floor guardian."
Tauren raised a brow.
"So if no one has to die…" He leaned closer.
"What happens to you, brat?"
Firen shrank. "I… do not know."
Lysera crossed her arms.
"He is human. A real one. Killing him would be nothing but murder."
Kinon stood.
"Firen."
The boy looked up again, terrified and confused.
"You are coming with us."
Firen froze. "Me? Why?"
"Because you are alone," Kinon said.
"And because you did not choose to become this."
Firen's lips trembled.
"I… I do not know how to live outside the Abyss."
"Then learn with us."
Firen's eyes widened.
"Even after I tried to kill you…?"
"You tried to survive," Kinon corrected.
"You did not act out of cruelty."
Lysera nodded firmly.
"As long as Master has chosen to spare you, I will accept you."
Nivara glanced back and smiled warmly.
"He deserves a life beyond suffering."
Tauren groaned. "He better not snore."
Firen blinked rapidly, tears forming.
"You are… serious?"
Kinon reached out a hand.
"Yes."
Slowly, hesitantly, Firen took it.
When he stood, his long blue hair fell over most of his face, hiding the tears slipping down his cheek.
"Thank you," he whispered.
The adventurers, healed their wounds using potions, while the wounded rougue was now stable due to Nivara,' closing her wounds with fire magic, then the healing magic from the potions do the trick.
"So Master, should I go upstairs and tell to spark boy to open the exit for us?"
"No need to that, Kaien knows what to do, I'm sure he's dealing with it right now."
°°°°°
Frost still whispered along the cracked stone of the chamber, settling over the defeated Shaman.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the tower, Kaien twirled his spear as he faced Dorgan, the golem's stone body cracking under the cold that now ran unchecked.
Dorgan planted his stone feet heavily, deep fractures spreading across his torso. Shadow ichor dripped weakly from the gaps.
"Strange," Dorgan rumbled.
"My body… it is not regenerating."
Kaien smirked.
"Guess your healer just quit his job."
Dorgan staggered.
"No. The Guardian rules… he should still be able to recover me…"
Kaien shrugged.
"Maybe your necromancer friend got messed up harder than you think."
A loud crack split the chamber. Dorgan's shoulder shattered, stone falling away like dried clay.
"This cannot be…" Dorgan growled.
Kaien rested his spear on his shoulder.
"You Abyss guys always talk big. Without your cheat rules, you are just a pile of rocks."
Dorgan roared and slammed a massive fist downward. Kaien stepped aside as if avoiding a slow punch.
"You are getting slower."
A thin frost line crept deeper across Dorgan's chest.
Kaien vanished.
A burst of wind exploded upward.
When he reappeared, his spear was already buried in Dorgan's core.
Dorgan froze.
"You… human. I was supposed to ascend. I was promised…"
Kaien grinned.
"Looks like your promise just got canceled."
He twisted the spear.
Dorgan's core shattered.
His body collapsed piece by piece.
Stone fell. Shadow ichor evaporated.
Then a thunderous click echoed across the hall.
Kaien raised an eyebrow.
"Huh."
The massive gate of the Floor trembled…
then opened.
He smirked.
"Looks like my job here was done."
Kaien stepped forward, spears over his shoulder as he walked towards the stairs down to where Kinon and the other was.
°°°°
Meanwhile, outside the tower...
Arin kept his aim steady.
"That is an understatement."
Soft footsteps echoed through the fog.
A silhouette approached. Small. Slim. Covered in a ragged hood. Gliding instead of walking.
Two burning red eyes stared at them from beneath the hood.
Arin's breath caught. Rynveil tensed, mana gathering in her hand.
Arin spoke, voice sharp and low.
"What are you?"
The girl said nothing. Her head tilted slightly, and a horrifying, playful smile spread across her face.
Her voice floated through the fog.
"I found her."
Arin's eyes widened. Rynveil's hand froze against the barrier.
The fog swallowed her silhouette… only the red eyes remained. Burning. Watching. Waiting.