The words rang in Soren's mind as he crawled up the slope. In that moment, it felt as if he was moving closer and closer towards death itself. He glanced behind him—watching the magical stones slowly morph back to their original places, closing the tunnel behind them.

This was it.

There was no turning back.

The silence gripped them both as they continued their agonizing struggle against gravity. Many thoughts spun in Soren's mind at that moment. Thoughts of regret, fear, and possibly even excitement… Although floor guardians were usually weaker than the dungeon core's guardian which protects the deepest layer of the dungeon, they were still extremely powerful existences.

He remembered his conversation with Sienna before their departure. She had told him that they had discovered the dungeon's core and that the guardian waiting for them there was likely as powerful as an Ascended Grade Phantasm…

If the Guardian of the entire Avalon Ruins is as powerful as a Saint or Monarch, then most likely, this Floor Guardian is probably in the Mystic Grade…

His heart pumped faster as his lips curled up into a wide smile. The flames of madness within his amber eyes danced wildly.

"Do we have a game plan?" He asked Myrin who was crawling in front of him. Hearing his question, the Soothing Bard shook his head:

"No, not really… I am sure you've made the same assumptions as me—whatever is controlling that horde is probably in the Mystic Grade… Our Tier 1 Soul Weapons don't stand a chance. The best we can do is stay hidden and try to pry as much information as we can before retreating back to the safe zone."

Soren nodded. "Agreed." But that plan would only be feasible of they were able to escape at all… And with how quickly the Soul Skinners were multiplying, they had to gather the necessary intel fast…

Time slowed down to a crawl as they slowly maneuvered up the slope. About half an hour later, they managed to reach the surface—Lyiania broke through one of the dungeon's cobblestone floors.

The pair emerged from the hole quietly—Soren wasted no time to cast Violet Mirage, hiding them both from most prying eyes. Although the Soul Skinners could detect them through their Runic Existences, his spell still made it rather difficult. If Soren had to be honest, the issue mainly stemmed from having to cover both of them in the illusion—something he was still not used to. If he had been navigating the horde alone, he likely would have had a better chance at escaping detection.

Seconds later, Myrin said his goodbyes to Lyiania and canceled the summoning spell. The anima the spirit was demanding could be paid off later. At the same time, Soren was busy mapping their new surroundings.

"Look here," He pointed towards the open end of the corridor they had found themselves in. It led towards a ledge that gave view to the same chasm they had jumped into.

"It seems like we made it back up…" Soren said with a slight frown. "Though, as predicted, we are now on the other side of the chasm."

Myrin chuckled nervously, "Fate really is strange. We tried to avoid this path, and yet, here we are…"

"Indeed…" Soren shook his head then glanced at where the corridor was leading to, "Let us go inside then and see where fate takes us next…"

It was as if the darkness ahead was calling upon them…

Soren felt as if he was drowning in an oppressive silence with every step forward. But more than that, there was a strange layer of darkness that could not be erased even by the light—submerging every inch of the cobblestone tiles in shadows… It felt as if they were walking into the maw of an abyssal beast—one that was closing its jaws on them slowly…

"How much further," Myrin whispered as the grip on his flute tightened.

"[Eyes of the Fairy] is still malfunctioning, but I believe we're close."

"And why is that?"

Soren took a moment to reply, "Because the darkness around us has grown far stronger than a second ago…"

Myrin's eyes widened as he glanced around the narrow corridor. Indeed, Soren's observation was correct—they were now fully submerged in the darkness. It couldn't get any darker than this…

Why didn't I notice… He thought quietly as he matched Soren's steps to maintain the illusion.

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Then, Soren's voice startled him:

"Were here…"

They both paused and looked onto what looks to be the end of the corridor. Though, no matter how they tried, there was no way to see anything around them. Soren had to rely on [Eyes of the Fairy], and yet even that was failing…

"Do you see anything?" Myrin whispered. He made sure his Soul Realm was expanded around them at all times, in case they were met with a sneak attack that needed a quick response.

Soren, however, ignored his question. His gaze was kept firm on something strange beyond the periphery of the hall…

What the hell is that?... He thought calmly, but every bead of sweat rolling down his chin proved the opposite.

Myrin saw how strangely he was behaving and decided to stay patiently silent.

"Yeah… This is worse than I thought," Soren whispered softly, and yet his breath was surging wildly. Without a moment's hesitation, he yanked Myrin downwards as they both huddled to the floor while overlooking the abyssal hall before them.

Myrin glanced at him seriously. "What did you see?"

Soren frowned deeply as his eyes were fixed ahead—still trying to make sense of it all.

How do I even describe this…

What [Eyes of the Fairy] revealed made his blood run cold.

The corridor they were standing in didn't just end—it opened into a vast, yawning abyss. A colossal hall beyond anything he had ever seen stretched before them, swallowed in shadows. Its sheer scale dwarfed many of the city blocks he had seen in Celestine in size…

An underground metropolis. One that seemed purposed for those no longer alive... For miles, all Soren could see below him was a vast network of stone coffins and mausoleums stretching endlessly. Large stone pillars were scattered in between, fitted with the bones of the dead. And on the ceiling of these grand catacombs, even more corpses seemed to be hung from ancient chains, dangling there like a grand display of death's might.

Indeed, the corridor they were standing on was more akin to a ledge than an entrance. If they hadn't stopped at that moment, they would have both plummeted down to their deaths—joining the rest of the corpse citizenry below them.

And yet, none of this brought more fear to his heart than who he had spotted within this ancient underground city. The source of this inextinguishable darkness—he had finally found it.

Soren was able to spot the figure of a woman, standing idly above a tall mausoleum as the shadows gathered around her. She wore a long, elaborate black gown that was tattered toward the bottom—almost resembling an ancient mourning dress.

Distant as she was, Soren wasn't able to get a clear picture of her figure—even her face seemed to have been covered by the hood of her dress. And yet, despite the frigid silence, her presence announced itself to all beings in the hall. Above her head, a radiant white halo could be seen, entangled in strands of darkness beyond grace.

But that wasn't even the most terrifying thing about her.

The Soul Skinners… He had failed to spot them at first, but they were all around this strange woman. It took him a moment to realize it, but when he did, his face instantly turned pale.

An army of monstrous shadow fiends… They were bowing in her direction… Consumed by endless prayer.

Unbelievable… Even breathing became impossible in that moment—afraid that he and Myrin might get detected…

Soren's eyes then trailed to the other side of the metropolis. Another figure stood there—facing the shadowy woman. With [Eyes of the Fairy] trying its best to notice its presence within the sea of darkness, he was able to gather a bit of information about it as well.

It was a colossal skeleton, hovering ominously in mid-air.

Clad in an ornate, crimson-decayed robe that exposed most of his ancient ribcage, the ancient lich loomed with regal confidence before the mysterious woman—as if daring her to surrender. Above him, five ancient pages floated in slow orbit, each etched with pulsing crimson runes.

This was likely the Floor Guardian.

Even though they were far away enough to not be detected, Soren could still sense the putrid stench of death and decay clinging to the air around him, swirling like a shroud as he prepared to face this unexpected enemy.

The woman, too, seemed prepared for the confrontation.

He watched the horror unfold in complete silence as one of the Soul Skinners worshipping her stood up and began to climb the mausoleum upon which she stood on. The moment it reached her, the fiend bowed deeply, then dissolved into darkness—transforming into a colossal scythe made of primordial shadows.

More and more of the surrounding army of fiends joined the madness—enthralled by some unspoken command into throwing themselves into this ritual of sacrifice. An ocean of darkness stirred around the ethereal woman—her weapon growing stronger with every offering…

At that moment, Soren could only keep his silence… Trying to explain what was unfolding to Myrin felt beyond suicidal—and the handsome elf semed to understand that point instinctively.

For a brief moment, he even considered disabling Fairy Bind to allow Myrin to read his thoughts once more… But he decided against it—the shift in anima could likely lead to their detection. Fortunately, that didn't seem to apply to [Eyes of the Fairy] yet. Likely due to Soren's informational target not being significant enough for the two entities to care—at least, not yet…

This was all they could do now.

Stay in absolute silence while witnessing a cataclysmic battle between the keeper of this metropolis and an ancient horror—one who had somehow escaped her own shackles…

A battle that will soon threaten to engulf them all…

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