[Veylith wants to form a bond with you.]
[Y/N]
Arven didn't hesitate.
[You have formed a bond with Veylith.]
[Veylith]
[Title: Veil of Souls]
[Rank: S-Class]
[Level: 1]
[Skills: Illusion, Mind Reading, Thought Suggestion, Telepathy]
[Shared Skill – Active: Telepathy (Veylith)]
You can now converse with Veylith through telepathy.
[Shared Skill – Passive: Mental Resilience]You now have high resistance against mind attacks.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
* * *
The world snapped back into place.
The vision faded, the presence of Veylith retreating like a ripple into still water. Arven was back in the dungeon chamber. The cold stone beneath his boots, the stale, metallic scent in the air, the faint pulse of lingering mana—it all hit him at once.
He barely had time to breathe.
The chamber shook violently. A loud crack split the air, followed by the sound of stone grinding against stone. Dust rained from above in thick curtains. Chunks of the ceiling broke off and slammed into the ground around him.
"It's collapsing."
He spun around, blinking through the rising cloud of dust. The dust stung his eyes and burned his throat. His vision blurred. The exit was nowhere in sight.
Then—A hand closed around his wrist.
"Follow me!"
The voice cut through the chaos. Firm, confident.
He didn't resist.
A red-haired girl pulled him through the haze, moving fast and light on her feet. Her ponytail bounced behind her. Despite the chaos, she had the kind of smile that didn't belong in a collapsing ruin.
"Nice to meet you, Arven! I'm Lila!"
He almost tripped on a loose tile but managed to keep pace.
"Nice to meet you too," he said, still catching his breath.
There wasn't time to ask more. The sound of groaning stone echoed louder now, close and angry. The air felt thinner.
Arven reached inward, trying to summon Veylith—
[You do not have enough mana to summon Veylith.][Veylith requires 200 mana to summon and 2 mana per second to maintain.]
His total mana was 220.He could summon her, but she'd vanish in ten seconds...
He clenched his jaw in frustration.He held back—didn't summon Skele. Mana was tight. He'd need it for Protection.
ᛉ — Algiz.
A shield burst into being, encasing him and Lila in its glow.The rune flared beneath his skin—warm, steady. For a moment, the chaos outside felt distant, muffled.
They pressed on through the haze, deeper into the ruin.
Then it hit him.
"We're heading to the Swift Boots chamber?"
"Bingo! I figured you'd get it!" she called back, still dragging him along.
She's been watching me for a while, hasn't she? Arven thought.The presence that Skele sensed over the few days was her...
He glanced at her through the dust. Her cheeks were flushed, either from exertion or something else. But before he could say anything, she turned forward again.
* * *
They burst into the chamber.
It was just as he'd left it. The altar still stood, somehow untouched.
But the room had suffered. Cracked tiles, broken traps, traces of corrosion. The air had that sour, burnt smell—magic gone wrong.
Lila finally let go of his arm.
"Arven is slow…" she mumbled under her breath, like she was weighing something. Then louder, "This is yours…" she sighed, as if forcing herself to say it.
Arven pressed a hand over his chest dramatically and shut his eyes, groaning like he'd been fatally wounded.
Then he opened one eye and grinned.
She didn't respond. Her eyes stayed on the floor, deliberately avoiding the boots.
* * *
Arven took a moment to assess the room. His thoughts shifted into strategy mode.
"The biggest issue is that."
He pointed at the spread of black sludge on the ground—dark matter, unnatural and alive. It hissed faintly, eating away at stone. He could feel the wrongness in it.
Toxic. Corrosive. Definitely fatal if touched for too long.
He summoned the Void Hound again.
Skele emerged in a shimmer of shadow, growling low—clearly unimpressed.
Arven sighed. "Still sulking about earlier? I needed the mana, alright."
Skele gave him a pointed look, then walked off toward Lila.
"Still mad I pulled you out during the Duskwither sequence?" Arven asked. "Come on, I needed the mana."
Skele turned his head pointedly and padded away in Lila's direction without answering.
"Alright. Still mad. Got it."
The hound didn't even glance back. Instead, he circled Lila once, sniffed her boots, and gave his tail a slow, deliberate wag.
Arven watched, then spoke casually, but with a slight edge of teasing in his voice.
"He's been wagging his tail at trees lately," he muttered. "Can't figure out why..."
His eyes flicked to her, just briefly.
Lila blinked, caught off guard.
Then—"You caught me."
She crouched down and scooped Skele up with both arms, hugging him to her chest.
"I've been staring too. He's just… adorable."
Skele let out a pleased grunt and nudged his skull under her chin.
Arven shook his head slowly, lips twitching.
"Unbelievable. Betrayed by my own hound."
Arven gave Skele's head a pat.
"Alright bud, your moment to shine."
He cast Ingwaz again—this time on Skele.
The hound shimmered slightly, shielded.
Skele took off, bolting across the dark matter with practiced ease. His undead form resisted most dark corruption. Still, Arven watched closely, heart tight in his chest.
The hound reached the altar, grabbed the boots in his jaws, and turned.
He sprinted back just as fast.
Arven slipped the boots on without hesitation.
The enchantment activated instantly—light on his feet, like the ground barely touched him.
"Let's move!"
He tossed Lila a Kenaz rune.
She caught it with one hand, activated it, and light flared from her palm.
Arven did the same, casting a soft, golden glow down the tunnel ahead.
Skele surged forward, mist curling from his limbs.
The aura pushed the stale air aside, clearing their path as they sprinted behind him.
The ruin groaned all around them—walls shuddering, ceilings cracking.
Loose stones rained down, crashing against the floor. Dust clouds followed, choking and heavy.
"Don't slow down!" Arven called over the rumble.
Lila didn't answer, but she kept pace beside him, boots striking fast and sure against the shifting ground.
The tunnel pitched forward, then righted.
Somewhere behind them, an entire section of ceiling gave way with a deafening crash.
Arven gritted his teeth. The Swift Boots dulled the shock of every step, but his lungs were burning.
Still, they kept running. The faint light at the far distance growing brighter eventually.
Light. At the far end of the tunnel. The exit.
"There it is!" Arven shouted.
They pushed harder, breath ragged, eyes locked forward. One final sprint.
Almost there.
* * *
They staggered out of the collapsing ruin, lungs burning from dust. Arven dropped to one knee, coughing hard.
Lila stepped beside him, brushing her sleeves like she'd just finished a morning jog.
"You alive?" she asked, half-grinning.
Arven looked up. "Barely. That place had it out for me."
"I knew that ruin was bad news," Lila muttered. "The floor kept pulsing like a bunny."
She plopped down on a nearby rock, stretching out her legs with a sigh. Her tone stayed light, but she twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger—a little too many times.
"So," Arven said, "why were you watching me these past few days?"
"Received a quest from your family… to give minimal assistance."
"...Thanks. You really saved my life back there."
"W-Well, I couldn't just let you die," she mumbled, turning slightly.
Her fingers tugged at the edge of her sleeve. "That'd be… bad. I guess."
Grass rustled behind them. Skele padded over, his steps light. Arven glanced over his shoulder.
"There you are."
But Skele didn't come to him. He stopped beside Lila instead, tail giving a single slow wag. Then, without hesitation, he leaned in and bumped his skull gently against her arm.
Lila blinked, surprised.
Arven watched, then said, "He's looking forward to continuing the journey together."
She looked down at Skele, then back at Arven. A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Yeah… me too."
Skele hopped in a small circle, then stopped and looked at Arven.
"Let's go together," Arven said, offering his hand.
Lila took it—quickly, before she could overthink it.
Her grip was light. Her eyes flicked away.
They started down the path, side by side, with Skele padding ahead.
* * *
Far from the sunlit grass and ruin's dust, the air hung colder.
Deep within a forgotten chamber carved from ice and shadow, a man sat alone on a frozen throne. His robes were threadbare, stiff with frost. Wisps of white hair clung to his scalp. His eyes, sunk deep into a face carved by time, were fixed on the dark.
The silence was suffocating. Nothing moved.
Then, his lips parted.
"The sealed memory... has been released."
His breath curled into mist, vanishing in the air.
A low hum stirred from the walls. The ice around the throne cracked.
And in the dark, something old began to awaken.