1 – The BlackoutThe torches died all at once.Darkness fell like a living weight, pressing against Rayan's skin, clogging his lungs. The chamber — once massive, grand, oppressive — shrank into suffocating confinement.
He could hear the others breathing, shallow, panicked. The wet, heavy breaths of the beast echoed through the stone corridors.
And then came the whispers.
"Rayan…""Rayan…"Not his voice. Not real. But each call vibrated in his skull like it belonged to someone he'd lost.
Serin…
His chest tightened. He could feel the memory of her hand in his, her smile pushing him forward.
2 – The Rules in DarknessA faint glow pulsed from the walls — just enough to show the inscriptions forming slowly. The beast's voice reverberated through the black:
Those who rely only on sight will perish.Those who trust their instincts may survive.
Rayan clenched his fists. He'd survived countless raids relying on his eyes, but this… he had no choice but to rely on everything else.
3 – The First StrikeThe darkness moved.A shape lunged without sound, and Rayan reacted purely on instinct.He swung his sword, connecting with something slick and solid. A hunter screamed — another victim of miscalculation.
The creature didn't just attack with strength. It attacked with fear, striking at hesitation, at doubt. Every mistake was magnified tenfold.
4 – The Awakening SparkRayan stumbled backward, heart hammering. The memory of Serin's last smile burned in his mind — warmth amidst the cold of the dungeon.
A strange sensation coursed through him. His grip on the sword tightened, not from muscle but from something deeper, something inside him awakening.A faint glow traced the edges of his weapon.
What is happening…?
Instinctively, he moved faster, struck more precisely. Each action felt more alive, more attuned. For the first time, he realized he wasn't just reacting — he was adapting.
5 – Navigating the DarknessHe began guiding the others, whispering instructions. "Step left. Hold hands. Don't hesitate. Follow my voice."
They listened, because the alternative was death. Step by step, they navigated traps that had been invisible in the pitch-black — spikes that shot from walls, pits that opened without warning, and the faint scraping of the beast trailing them relentlessly.
Every misstep cost a scream, a wet crunch, a pool of blood appearing out of nowhere.
6 – A Hunter LostDespite their coordination, one of the group panicked."I can't— I can't do this!" she cried, running blindly.
Rayan reached for her, but a shadow struck first. He heard the unmistakable sound of bone snapping. Silence followed.
He couldn't dwell. He shoved the memory aside, focusing on survival. Serin wouldn't forgive me if I froze here.
7 – The Edge of AwakeningHours — maybe minutes — passed. Time was meaningless.Rayan's instincts sharpened. His body moved without thought. The strange glow along his sword intensified, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He realized he could sense the beast's position now, not with sight, but with the subtle pressure in the air, the vibrations in the stone, the faint shifts in temperature.
He was changing.
8 – The BeaconAt last, a faint light appeared — the outline of the next chamber, the exit from the Third Trial.But the beast wasn't done. It lunged from the shadows, massive and silent.
Rayan's sword flared bright, cutting through the darkness like liquid silver. He met the strike, blocking the blow, feeling power surge through his arms in a way that was more than human.
A single thought consumed him: I will survive. I will not let Serin die again.
9 – Cliffhanger EndingThe survivors stumbled into the next chamber, panting, covered in blood, hearts hammering.
The beast's roar echoed behind them, shaking the stone.
Rayan's hand trembled slightly on his sword, but the faint glow remained — a whisper of power he didn't yet understand.
The Fourth Trial awaits.