Kael stood, chest heaving, blade still glowing with heat, as the great stone doors creaked open behind him. Beyond was only darkness—and a strange pulsing wind, like the heartbeat of a world long buried.
But before they could take a step—
It returned.
From the shadows of the tunnel they'd come through, something massive crawled forward on all fours, its claws scraping stone, its eyes burning with ancient fury.
The first guardian.
The one that had stood watch above the mine. The one Kael had only distracted before. Now it was furious. Wounded. Desperate.
It howled—a sound that shook the very walls—and lunged.
Kael barely raised his sword in time. The impact flung him across the room, slamming him into the base of the massive gate.
He groaned, vision spinning, blood in his mouth.
The beast towered over him, drool sizzling as it hit the ground, claws lifting for a final blow—
And then a bolt of lightning slammed into its side.
Riven.
She stood firm, armor crackling with charge, her crossbow glowing with a storm rune Kael hadn't seen before.
"Get away from my friend," Riven growled.
The guardian roared and turned, charging.
Riven didn't flinch.
She ran toward it.
At the last second, she slid beneath its swinging arm and drove a crystal-charged dagger straight into the beast's chest. It reared back, shrieking.
"Now, Kael!" She shouted.
Kael, still dazed, forced himself to stand. He gripped his blade, heart pounding. The runes along the hilt blazed with red light.
With a shout that shook the cavern, Kael ran, leapt, and plunged the obsidian sword straight through the back of the guardian's neck.
The creature froze.
Then cracked.
Then shattered—into ash, into glowing embers, into silence.
Kael dropped beside Riven, both of them burned, bruised, and alive.
"Thanks," Kael said, voice hoarse.
Riven grinned, wincing. "You'd have done the same."
Together, they turned toward the now-open gate.
And what lay beyond it.