The dungeon sank deep into the earth like an open wound. The air was heavy, thick with metallic smells and chemical scents impossible to identify. At the heart of this underground labyrinth lay a large experimentation chamber, dimly lit by pale magical lamps.
Rows of thick glass jars lined the walls. Inside, figures floated in suspended animation: men and women with varied skin tones, pale or dark, and twisted creatures, half-human, half-monster. The greenish liquid they were immersed in rippled occasionally, as if alive.
At the center of the room, leaning over a wide stone table engraved with runes, stood a man in a white lab coat stained by time. His long, messy white hair looked as if he had forgotten the existence of mirrors long ago. His cold, calculating eyes were fixed entirely on the specimen lying before him.
This man was Kaerzan.
Emotionless, he handled his tools with terrifying precision, noting every reaction, every anomaly. To him, the thing on the table was neither living nor monstrous. It was raw material. A potential answer to a much larger question.
The metallic door of the room creaked open.
Kaerzan didn't even look up.
A figure stepped in, framed by the dim light. Short violet hair, sharp features hardened by combat experience. His presence radiated the calm lethality of an assassin. Across his back rested a massive weapon, wrapped in thick bandages that hid its true nature.
He stopped a few steps from the table.
— Kaerzan, we need to go, he said in a calm but urgent tone.
— The specimen you were searching for has been located.
At these words, the scientist finally paused.
Kaerzan slowly lifted his head and met the violet-haired man's gaze. A faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed his lips.
— I see, he said, his voice cold and empty.
He removed his gloves, placed them neatly on the table, and straightened up.
— Very well, he said after a brief pause.
— Let's go.
Behind them, the jars continued to whisper in the darkness, silent witnesses to forbidden experiments… and the beginning of a new disaster.
The next morning, in a completely different world of light and luxury, Selena stood in her room.
Big.
Too big.
Spacious enough to hold a massive bed, bookshelves full of books she rarely touched, and expensive carpets that felt almost ceremonial under her steps. A perfect room. Coldly perfect.
She zipped her bag with methodical care.
Weapons.
Change of clothes.
Potions, neatly organized.
Nothing that spoke of her rank.
Everything that revealed her choice.
Daughter of an immensely wealthy duke, Selena should have been at the Royal Academy, drowning in privilege, surrounded by overly polite teachers and overly confident students.
But no.
She had chosen the guild.
The monsters.
The mud.
The blood.
The danger.
Because, against all social logic… it was more alive.
When she left her room, the long corridor of the mansion stretched before her, silent, frozen, almost hostile in its elegance.
And in the middle of that silence stood a man.
In his thirties.
Hair black, perfectly styled.
Posture straight, rigid, like he had been carved from duty itself.
His eyes were black too. Not ordinary black. Deep, dense, unsettling black. The kind of gaze that made you feel judged… and found lacking.
He stared at her.
— You're going on a mission.
It wasn't a question.
— Yes, she answered calmly. With Blanek. And other adventurers.
A crease of annoyance appeared on the man's face.
— Since when do you let anyone accompany you besides Blanek?
His voice hardened.
— He's supposed to be your guard. You have no right to let anyone near you.
Selena looked at him.
Not with anger.
With fatigue.
The kind of fatigue someone feels when hearing the same refrain over and over for years.
— Sigh.
— I understand.
She passed by him and headed for the exit.
But just before she disappeared down the corridor, he spoke again.
— Your father will be back soon.
A pause.
— He wants to have dinner with you in two days. Make sure you're back before then.
One word echoed in her mind.
Father.
Selena furrowed her brows, clenched her jaw… and kept walking without replying.
The man remained still, watching her leave.
A few seconds later, a woman roughly the same age joined him.
— So? About Selena?
He exhaled, already mentally elsewhere.
— You know very well that me and kids… it's two different things.
He paused, then added with a trace of annoyance:
— And Selena is even worse. Normally, you should talk to her. Not me.
He turned away.
— I'm going to train.
The woman watched him walk off, half-amused, half-resigned.
Outside, Selena finally passed through the massive doors of the mansion.
The villa spread behind her, magnificent, luxurious…
A perfectly decorated cage.
The sun illuminated the immaculately kept garden.
And in the midst of this artificial perfection, Blanek waited, leaning casually against a tree.
— Ah, finally. I was getting impatient.
— Yes. Let's go.
Blanek stepped closer, glancing her over briefly.
— Everything alright? You look upset.
He tilted his head slightly.
— The old man?
Selena looked away.
— It's fine. Let's go.
Then, firmer:
— Let's not keep Rael and Lyo waiting.
Blanek gave a faint smile.
They left the garden without looking back.
Behind them, the villa sank into its golden silence.
Ahead of them waited a dungeon, danger…
and a freedom Selena would always choose, even at the cost of risk.