Stephan crouched and lifted Olath onto his shoulder with ease. The boy barely had time to protest before Stephan tightened his grip around his legs.

"You'll only slow us down," he said, his voice calm but sharp. "Hold on tight."

Death stood ahead of them, her violet eyes glowing faintly in the dark. Stephan nodded at her. "You take the front. Anything that gets in our way… cut it down."

"As you wish, my liege," she replied, her tone cold and reverent.

Then, without another word, they moved.

Death took the lead, her bare feet striking the damp earth in a blur. Her silhouette flickered in and out of Stephan's Ki-sense. Behind her, Stephan followed at full speed, his steps soundless, every muscle tuned to precision.

Then came the first sound. A wet screech.

Something crawling fast along the ceiling.

"Sanguivores," Stephan hissed.

Death didn't hesitate. She raised her hand, and a violet arc sliced through the dark. A shriek followed....short and sharp. The creature hit the ground, lifeless before its body stopped twitching.

"Keep moving!" Stephan barked.

They ran faster. The tunnel wind whipped past them, dust swirling like smoke in the narrow space. More shadows darted from the sides....thin, malformed things with glistening fangs and clawed limbs.

Olath clung tightly to Stephan's shoulder, too terrified to speak. Every breath echoed in the pitch-black dark.

"Move fast," Stephan said, his voice low but carrying authority. "No stopping. No sound."

Death glanced over her shoulder once, violet eyes glowing faintly through the dark. "Understood, my liege."

Then she turned forward again and bolted ahead, her movements blindingly fast , a blur of shadow and soul light. The air rippled in her wake.

Stephan followed, his body flowing with precision and controlled power. His Ki flared faintly around him, a golden shimmer radiating from his skin, illuminating the path just enough for him to see , but not enough to draw unwanted attention.

Or so he thought.

The moment his Ki light rippled through the tunnels, the echoes changed. A low screech reverberated from somewhere ahead. Then another. Then dozens.

Olath felt the vibrations before he heard them, the scratching, the clicking, the sound of claws dragging across stone. His voice trembled. "Great more are awake…"

"Keep going!" Stephan ordered.

Death didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted, the sound of her feet merging with the rising cacophony of screeches. Her aura flared.

Something lunged out of the dark.

Death met it midair, her hand snapping up, catching the creature by the throat. Its flesh sizzled under her violet light. She twisted her wrist and slammed it into the ground, the impact echoing like thunder.

"Move!" she barked, and they did.

Stephan ran past her, his Ki pulsing brighter now, scanning the tunnels ahead like a sonar , the waves bouncing off the walls, revealing paths in his mind's eye. The right tunnel led to a dead end. The left led to a drop. Straight ahead, faint airflow, an opening.

"This way!" he shouted.

But his Ki pulse also drew them in.

From every side tunnel, Sanguivores poured out, crawling, flying or slithering on all fours. Their pale, veined bodies glistened in the dim Ki light, their mouths gaping open with too many teeth.

Death spun around and struck the first wave. Her movements were savage elegance, kicks that broke necks, elbows that shattered ribs, hands glowing with violet soul fire that burned holes through their chests.

Stephan drew his Ossuary Sword. The blade sang, its bone-like ridges glowing faintly gold. The first Sanguivore leapt at him, he sidestepped and slashed. The creature split apart in a clean, silent cut.

Another dropped from the ceiling. He ducked, then thrust the blade upward, impaling it clean through. He ripped it free, blood spraying against the tunnel walls.

Olath screamed as one lunged toward him from behind, but Death appeared out of nowhere, her heel connecting with its jaw. The skull shattered, and its body collapsed before it even hit the floor.

"Hold tight, gnome," she hissed without looking at him.

Olath didn't dare breathe.

They kept running, but the tunnel ahead began to narrow. The Sanguivores kept coming, faster now, drawn like flies to the golden pulse radiating from Stephan. Every time his Ki flared, it lit the tunnel, and summoned another swarm.

"Damn it," he muttered. "The Ki's pulling them in."

"Then stop using it!" Olath shouted.

"If I do, we'll be blind."

Death turned her head mid-run, her eyes flashing. "Then let me lead. I see in the dark."

Stephan hesitated for half a second, then nodded. He dimmed his Ki aura until it was no brighter than candlelight, enough to feel the ground beneath his feet but not enough to summon an army of monsters.

The screeches behind them grew louder. The floor trembled. The swarm was gaining.

Death dashed ahead again, cutting down anything that lunged in front of her. Her strikes were almost beautiful, each movement clean and effortless. When a Sanguivore tried to flank from the wall, she simply raised her arm and drove her fist through its skull. When another pounced from above, she kicked upward, her heel smashing its ribs and sending it flying into the ceiling.

"Keep going!" she yelled.

Stephan followed close behind, slicing down the stragglers she missed. The Ossuary Sword cut through bone and sinew with ease, its glow leaving afterimages in the air.

He felt Olath trembling on his shoulder. "You alright?"

The boy nodded quickly. "I–I think so!"

"Good. Don't look back."

Olath made the mistake of doing just that.

Behind them, a wave of Sanguivores filled the tunnel, dozens upon dozens, their bodies crawling over each other, their eyes glowing red like coals in the dark. They moved like a living tide, and their screeches built into one deafening roar.

"Stephan!" Olath cried. "They're...."

"I know!" he snapped. "Death! Move faster!"

Death didn't respond , she was already pushing her body beyond its limits, tearing through the horde like a storm of violet fire.

But even she was starting to slow. The tunnel was tightening, forcing her to fight while moving sideways, ducking under low stone arches and avoiding crumbling ceilings. The Sanguivores didn't care, they clawed through rock and bone alike to reach them.

One managed to grab her arm. She snarled and turned, slamming her fist into its face. Another latched onto her leg, she kicked back hard, sending it flying into the wall where it splattered like rotten fruit.

"Death!" Stephan called out. "Left turn ahead!"

"I see it!" she shouted back.

They turned sharply, and ran straight into a nest.

Hundreds of eyes blinked open in the dark. The stench hit them first, rot, blood.

"Oh, for the gods' sake…" Olath whimpered.

The Sanguivores began to rise, piled on the walls, hanging from the ceiling like grotesque bats.

"Run or fight?" Death asked, her tone almost calm.

"Both," Stephan said, eyes hardening.

Death smiled. "As you command."

She launched forward, a violet streak in the dark. Her fist met the first creature, then another, then another. Her kicks shattered stone. She spun, her hair flaring like black flame, cutting through monsters with terrifying grace.

Stephan followed, slashing in rhythm with her, one cut, two, three, bone breaking, blood flying, claws snapping against his blade. His Ki flared again, unrestrained this time.

The entire tunnel glowed gold and violet, their energies intertwining, pulsing through the dark like lightning veins.

The Sanguivores howled in agony, drawn to the power even as it destroyed them.

"We're almost there!" Stephan yelled over the chaos. "The air's changing.... I can feel wind!"

Death crushed another Sanguivore's throat. "Then we finish this quickly."

A larger one dropped from above, bigger than the rest, its limbs bloated, its mouth splitting from ear to ear. It slammed into Death, throwing her backward into the wall.

"Death!"

"I'm fine," she hissed, pushing off the stone. The creature lunged again, but she caught its arm mid-swing and drove her knee into its chest. Bones cracked like branches. She then twisted her wrist, ripping its arm clean off before impaling it through its own skull.

Stephan cut down two more trying to flank her, then kicked one into the wall. "We need to move!"

Death nodded. "Now!"

They sprinted again, full speed this time. The ground sloped upward, the air growing colder but fresher.

The swarm behind them didn't stop. They chased relentlessly, their shrieks echoing through the tunnel.

Stephan felt Olath clutching his shoulder, terrified. "We're not going to make it!" the gnome cried.

"Yes, we are!" Stephan shouted. "Hold tight!"

He poured all his remaining Ki into his legs. The golden light exploded around him, bursting through the tunnel like a flare. Every Sanguivore within range screeched in pain as the energy burned through their flesh.

"Now, Death!"

Death spun mid-run, her hands glowing bright with soul energy. She thrust them forward, and a massive wave of violet light tore down the tunnel, swallowing the horde in one blinding surge.

The world shook. Screams filled the air, then silence.

They burst out of the tunnel's mouth, straight into the open air.

The sudden brightness stabbed at their eyes. The sun hung low above the mountains, they were finally out.

Stephan landed hard, rolling across the rocky ground with Olath still clinging to him. Death followed right after, stepping out of the tunnel's mouth, her body steaming faintly from overuse of energy.

Behind them, the tunnel entrance collapsed, sealing itself with a final echoing rumble.

For a long moment, none of them spoke.

Stephan finally stood, breathing hard, sword still in hand. "We made it."

Olath slid off his shoulder, panting. "We… we actually made it."

"This is it," Stephan said quietly, sheathing his sword. "Magodilin."

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