The door sealed shut behind me with a deafening *boom,* plunging the cavern into silence so heavy it pressed against my ears.
"Well," I muttered into the dark. "That's comforting. Definitely not a death trap."
The runes on the massive stone slabs flickered once, then died, leaving only faint blue torches lining the walls ahead. They sputtered to life one by one, like a trail of glowing breadcrumbs, inviting me deeper.
The floor was smooth stone, unnaturally so. No cracks, no moss. Just cold perfection, as if it had been carved yesterday instead of centuries ago. The air carried the smell of dust, old magic, and something faintly metallic—blood, maybe.
I tightened my grip on my sword. Every hair on my arms stood up.
The path narrowed into a long corridor, the ceiling arched high above, shadows pooling in the curves. As I stepped forward, my boot clicked against a tile that sank half an inch.
"Uh oh."
*Click.*
The walls hissed. Slits opened, and a volley of darts whistled through the air. I barely managed to duck, one grazing my shoulder.
"Great. First room, and the welcome gift is poison darts. Classy."
I ripped off a strip of my tattered sleeve and tied it around the cut. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. If this was how Eclipse Hollow greeted guests, I couldn't wait to see dessert.
Careful now, I inched forward, scanning the floor. Sure enough—several more tiles had faint scratches around the edges. Pressure plates.
I tested one with the tip of my sword.
*Click*.
A hidden blade swept out of the wall, slicing the air where my torso would've been.
I stepped back, breathing out a shaky laugh. "Oh, fun. So it's that kind of dungeon."
From there, it became a miserable game of hopscotch. Step here, avoid that tile, hug the wall—oh, nope, wall tries to stab you. Twice I almost lost my balance, and twice I had to remind myself: this place was supposed to make me stronger, not turn me into diced meat.
Finally, I staggered into a circular chamber.
The walls were covered in carvings—warriors in battle, beasts roaring, figures kneeling before a great eclipse in the sky. The floor had a spiral pattern etched into it, leading to a pedestal in the center.
And on that pedestal?
A single crystal orb, black as ink, swirling faintly with silver motes.
I approached slowly, every sense screaming at me. Dungeons didn't just leave shiny toys lying around.
Sure enough, as I reached for it, the carvings on the wall *moved.*
Stone warriors peeled free, their eyes lighting up with dull crimson fire.
"Oh, of course." I drew my blade, backing into the center. "Nothing says 'welcome' like homicidal statues."
The first one lunged, stone sword swinging down. I barely deflected, the impact jarring my arm to the bone. My weapon—a simple iron sword—groaned against the enchanted stone.
They came at me in pairs, slow but relentless. I dodged one strike, rolled past another, slashing at cracks in their joints. Chips flew, but it was like trying to carve through granite with a kitchen knife.
One statue's blade nicked my ribs, burning white-hot. Another smashed its shield into me, sending me sprawling.
I scrambled up, panting. "Alright. New strategy. Less getting hit, more hitting them."
Easier said than done.
But then I noticed it—the spiral pattern on the floor. My earlier training with games whispered at me: mechanics weren't random.
I sprinted along the spiral, statues clanking after me. The closer I got to the pedestal, the slower they moved, as if something resisted their advance.
Heart hammering, I reached the orb and slapped my palm against it.
The chamber shuddered. A pulse of silver light erupted outward, crashing into the statues. They froze mid-strike, then crumbled into heaps of rubble.
I collapsed to one knee, gasping. "Hah… hah… Not terrifying at all. Totally under control."
The orb's glow dimmed, and the pedestal sank into the floor, revealing another doorway ahead.
I staggered through, determined not to give myself time to think too hard about how close I'd just come to decorating the walls.
The next corridor sloped downward. Water dripped from the ceiling, echoing through the stone. It was colder here, damp. My breath fogged in the air.
The walls glimmered faintly with veins of silver ore. Pretty, if I wasn't busy trying not to die.
A bridge stretched across a wide chasm, no rails, just slick stone spanning a black void. Torches lit the way, though faintly, as if daring me to trust the path.
Halfway across, the bridge shifted.
I froze. Then the first stone slab tilted, dropping into the abyss.
"Of course," I muttered. "Can't just walk across. No, let's make it a carnival ride of death."
The slabs ahead began falling one by one. I bolted forward, leaping as each tile vanished into the dark. My foot slipped on the edge of one, arms flailing, stomach lurching.
"Not today!" I hurled myself onto the next slab, barely catching my balance.
The last stretch crumbled just as I lunged for solid ground. My palms scraped against stone, pain flaring, but I pulled myself up. Behind me, the bridge collapsed entirely, stones vanishing into the endless void.
I lay there for a moment, chest heaving. "Ten out of ten cardio. Dungeon gets points for creativity."
Pushing myself upright, I entered the final chamber.
It was massive. A cathedral carved into stone. Pillars rose like giants, torches casting long shadows. At the far end, an altar glowed with silvery light beneath a mural of the eclipse.
But between me and it… stood something else.
A guardian.
It looked human at first glance, but too tall, too thin, its face hidden by a mask of onyx. A spear crackling with dark energy rested in its hands.
The pressure it radiated was suffocating. My knees wanted to buckle.
The figure's voice echoed, not from its mouth, but from the walls themselves:
"To claim power, you must endure trial. Fail, and you are nothing but dust."
I tightened my grip on my sword, throat dry. "Yeah, yeah. You sound like my old gym teacher."
The guardian surged forward, faster than I expected. Our weapons clashed, the shockwave ringing in my bones.
This was no lumbering statue. Every strike was precise, deadly. A slash aimed at my heart. A sweep for my legs. A thrust that nearly skewered me.
I dodged, blocked, countered desperately. Sparks flew as iron met enchanted metal. My arms screamed with each impact.
I couldn't win head-on. Not like this.
Then I saw it—the cracks in the floor, glowing faintly with runes. Another mechanic.
I baited the guardian, retreating until it stepped onto one of the glowing tiles. I dove aside just as the rune flared.
Chains of light erupted, binding its legs for a heartbeat.
"One chance," I hissed. I threw everything into a single strike, aiming at the joint of its arm.
The blade sank deep. The guardian let out a soundless roar, staggering. The chains faded, but the opening was enough.
With a final desperate cry, I drove my sword into its chest.
The figure froze. Then, with a shattering sound, it dissolved into shards of light.
Silence fell.
The altar's glow brightened, spilling silver radiance over me.
I dropped to my knees, every muscle trembling. My vision blurred, but I could see it—power thrumming in the air, reaching for me.
The voice whispered again, softer this time.
"Rise, Seeker of Eclipse."