The cavern walls trembled violently under the savage echoes of Dracus snarls. Pain surged through my limbs with every heartbeat, and breathing felt like swallowing shards of ice. Yet the cloaked girl beside me remained steady, her breathing shallow but determined. Our backs pressed tightly together, united by sheer desperation.
The Dracus had us surrounded, claws scraping menacingly against the stone. Their movements became more deliberate, slow and patient, knowing we had no way out. My muscles burned and quivered, my dagger heavy and slick with blood in my shaking hand.
"We're running out of time," the girl whispered, urgency heavy in her voice. "If you can use that power of yours again, do it now."
I forced down my fear and reached inward. The Essence pulsed weakly within me, uncertain and unpredictable. Closing my eyes briefly, I tapped into it once more, begging it to respond, drawing from the deepest parts of myself.
Essence erupted outward violently, sending a surge of raw power cascading through the cavern. The Dracus staggered back, snarling in surprise and anger. The brief window allowed me a gasp of air, but the backlash left me weaker than before.
"What did you just do?" she breathed in disbelief, her eyes wide with cautious awe.
I swallowed roughly, my voice ragged. "Honestly? I have no idea. But I don't think I can do it again."
The Dracus quickly regrouped, cautiously approaching once more. Their patience had worn thin, and their snarls now carried an edge of aggression, their eyes fixed hungrily upon us.
Then suddenly, the air shifted.
A suffocating presence pressed into my senses, heavy and cold, almost physically pushing against my chest. Even the Dracus paused in their advance, exchanging uneasy glances, clearly disturbed.
I turned toward the girl, whose entire demeanor had stiffened, her breathing erratic. Fear flickered openly in her crimson eyes.
"What's happening?" I demanded urgently, the tension palpable.
Her voice shook slightly, filled with dread. "No… it can't be. Not now."
My gut twisted sharply as I realized what she was sensing. That unmistakable presence—heavy, dark, cruel—felt all too familiar.
"Ren," I whispered instinctively, my stomach dropping. "It's Ren, isn't it?"
She flinched visibly at the name, nodding slowly, eyes wide. "He found us."
The Dracus began retreating, their growls cautious, wary. Whatever Ren was to them, it clearly terrified even these merciless creatures. His mere approach made them nervous, hesitant—afraid.
"I thought he was one of yours," I said bitterly, gripping the dagger tighter.
She shook her head, breathing sharply. "Not anymore. Ren was a Runner like us—my partner, once. But he's not human anymore. He turned on us, joined the Dracus willingly. He's become something terrible."
"Then why is he hunting you?" I demanded, my voice tight with urgency.
"Because I fled the party," she answered bitterly, regret and fear mingling in her tone. "He sees it as betrayal. He won't stop until I'm dead, and anyone with me will be collateral damage."
Ren's presence swelled, drawing even closer. The cavern walls shuddered, and an unsettling pressure rippled through the darkness. A low, silky voice echoed through the tunnels, chillingly calm yet filled with malice.
"I know you're close," Ren's voice taunted smoothly. "There's no need to run. We were allies once, remember?"
The cloaked girl shuddered, her breathing quick and panicked. She quickly stepped toward the chamber wall, desperately running her fingers over faded symbols carved into the stone.
"What are you doing?" I asked sharply.
"There's another passage deeper into the tomb," she murmured frantically. "We can't fight Ren—not here, not now."
"Why? What makes him so dangerous?" I pressed urgently.
She glanced back at me, her crimson eyes burning intensely. "Ren doesn't just wield Null like others awakened on Earth—he can syphon it directly from those he kills. Every time he takes another life, every time he absorbs Null from his victim, he loses more of his humanity. He's barely recognizable now."
My chest tightened painfully, dread seeping into my bones. Ren was already formidable as a human—now, with this dark, corrupted power, he was truly monstrous.
A harsh grinding noise echoed through the chamber as the cloaked girl pressed a hidden mechanism, revealing a narrow tunnel stretching into darkness. Without hesitation, she motioned urgently. "Move, now! He'll sense our exact location soon enough."
I hesitated briefly, glancing back once more at the entrance. I could sense Ren drawing closer, the darkness seeming to writhe and twist around him, heavy and oppressive.
"Trust me," she urged desperately, her voice strained. "Facing Ren right now means death."
Nodding tightly, I slipped quickly into the tunnel after her, the stone sliding closed behind us with a grim finality.
We hurried forward, the narrow passage illuminated dimly by patches of glowing moss. My heart hammered relentlessly, each beat echoing in my ears. Questions filled my mind, each more desperate than the last.
Finally, the girl halted, leaning wearily against the cold stone, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Her crimson eyes met mine, exhaustion evident, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We've bought ourselves time, but Ren won't stop hunting me," she admitted softly. "He's relentless. He'll tear apart everything in his way to get to me."
I stared into her eyes, searching for truth beneath her guarded expression. "Why would you run? What made you leave?"
Pain flickered briefly across her features, a shadow of old regret. "Because what they planned—what Ren plans—is madness. It wasn't just about survival anymore. It became about power. About domination."
She looked away briefly, jaw tightening. "I couldn't be part of that. So I fled. Now Ren sees me as a threat. A loose end that needs to be tied up."
"Then we need to stop him," I said firmly, determination fueling my words. "There must be a way."
She hesitated, her gaze conflicted. "Maybe. Deeper in these caverns, there's something ancient, something the Dracus feared enough to seal away. If we can reach it before Ren does, we might have a chance."
"What is it?" I asked quietly, my voice cautious.
She shook her head slowly. "I don't know exactly. But Ren wanted it badly. Whatever it is, it could either stop him—or make him unstoppable."
I swallowed the cold lump forming in my throat. Ren's twisted laughter echoed faintly behind us, distant yet uncomfortably close.
"Then we don't have a choice," I said, gathering my resolve. "Lead the way."
She straightened, nodding firmly, determination replacing fear in her stance. We began moving forward again, deeper into the shadows, away from Ren's oppressive presence but toward something equally dangerous.
As we moved through the darkness, a nagging dread gnawed relentlessly at my mind.
Ren's betrayal had turned him into a monster. Now, every life he took made him stronger, more corrupt, more unstoppable.
If we couldn't reach this hidden power first, he might become something truly beyond our ability to defeat.
I glanced once more into the darkness behind us, a chill running down my spine.
Would we find the strength to stop Ren before he destroyed everything—or had our fate already been sealed?
No sooner than I asked myself this I realized that this girl with the Crimson eyes was one of the 2 that had rescued me a few months back. This left an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
"Where is the other girl that you were with"
"She also fled the party once Ren proposed his plan to seek power, and so I believe she's also on the run still"
"I'm sorry... I know that right now, I cant do much, but given time, I promise I will bring her back and put an end to all of this"
She looked at me curiously, analyzing me before speaking once more. "Don't make bold promises that you surely cant keep"
I looked back at the girl and gave her a smile "In this world, A man only has 2 things... His word, and his balls, and I don't break them for anyone, but you are an exception"
Perfection, I had quoted a line from a well known movie here and she had no idea what I was talking about.
"Alright, well... You're really weird, so im going to keep my distance from you until I get my strength back.
"What, but"
Before I could finish, I could feel Ren's presence coming towards us. We began fleeing the hidden corridor once more, until we finally came face to face with a gigantic purple stone with an inscription that read "Proximus - Destanatio"
"I can't read the writing, but im certain that once the incantation is muttered, then we can somehow use this to escape"
I cleared my throat and repeated the words, and no sooner than they had escaped my mouth, a gateway opened from the stone and pulled both of us into it, before teleporting us back out to the wastelands where I had clawed my way to the surface from.
"This is it, this is where it started"
"Where did you bring us"
This is where I woke up all those months ago, this is where I started...