Kael and Riven pressed their backs to the stone, breaths shallow. The scout clung to the ceiling like a spider made of shadow and bones, tendrils curling across the rocks. It paused, sniffing the air, then slowly crawled past the chamber entrance.
Silence.
Kael met Riven's eyes. They nodded once, then slipped deeper into the tunnels.
After winding through a maze of half-collapsed corridors and ancient rune-marked halls, Riven finally stopped at a stone wall covered in moss. She pressed his hand against a rune carved into the stone.
With a low grind, the wall slid open—revealing a hidden chamber glowing with soft golden light.
The base.
Inside were racks of enchanted weapons, a crystal-charged forge core, bundles of scrolls and supplies, and armor wrapped in dragon-hide and shimmerthread. Dusty, but still intact.
Riven exhaled. "Still here."
They grabbed everything they could. Kael strapped on a chestpiece reinforced with pulse-crystals, twin daggers that hummed with speed magic, and a greatsword with a jagged obsidian edge etched in runes. Riven slung on she old armor, lighter and built for speed, and grabbed a crossbow that fired bolts laced with explosive magic.
Then—
A shriek.
The scout.
It slammed into the base's doorway, skittering in with twitching limbs and burning eyes.
Kael didn't wait.
He charged, blade flashing in the light. Riven flanked it, sending a bolt straight into its jaw. The creature screamed and lunged, knocking over shelves and setting scrolls ablaze with wild magic sparks. It took everything they had—blades, bolts, fire spells, and grit—but finally, Kael drove his sword straight through the scout's core.
It fell.
Hissing.
Burning.
Dead.
"We have to move. Now," Riven said, panting. "The noise—it'll call the guardian."
Kael nodded and they ran.
Through winding halls, down one last stair of black stone… until the tunnel opened wide.
A chasm. And on the other side—a huge sealed door, covered in glowing runes.
And in front of it…
The Guardian.
A towering beast of obsidian and living flame, its arms forged from the same blackstone that built the mine itself. Its head a burning helm, and its voice a rumble like an earthquake:
"None may pass."
Kael stepped forward, firelight glinting off his new armor.
He raised the obsidian blade.
"Then I'll make my own path."
The guardian charged—Kael met it with a roar.
Steel clashed with molten stone. Riven darted around the beast, launching bolts into weak spots, while Kael struck with power-charged swings. The runes on his blade lit with each strike, cutting through the guardian's defenses.
It punched the ground—Kael rolled. Fire exploded behind him.
He leapt, drove the blade deep into its shoulder. The guardian howled.
Riven threw him a spell scroll—Kael caught it, activated it midair, and slammed the blade—surging with wild magic—into the creature's chest.
The guardian burst into flame and light—then crumbled.
Silence.
Smoke.
Victory.
Kael collapsed to one knee, panting. The massive doors behind the fallen guardian creaked…
And began to open.