The chamber was drowned in black. The torches had long since died, swallowed by the shadows that seeped from the shattered orb.
Airen stood in the silence, blade drawn, his aura flaring faintly against the suffocating dark. Then—he felt it.
Something was moving inside him.
His chest tightened for a heartbeat before a mass of darkness tore its way out, like smoke given form. Shadows spilled forth, twisting, coiling, shaping themselves into something more.
From the haze, a figure emerged.
It stepped out of Airen's chest slowly, as though the void itself had given birth to it. Its body was tall, humanoid in shape but unnervingly alien—woven from writhing tendrils of pure shadow, edges constantly shifting as if it couldn't decide where it ended or began.
Its face was blank, smooth like obsidian carved by the abyss—except for a single eye, glowing faintly in the void. A piercing, otherworldly light that cut through the darkness like a blade.
The figure said nothing.
It simply stood there, head tilted slightly, its single luminous eye locked onto Airen. Silent. Unblinking. Watching.
Airen, for once, didn't feel the need to raise his sword. He stared back, his sharp eyes glinting faintly in the black.
A smirk tugged at his lips. "…Heh."
His grip on his sword loosened, and he chuckled quietly to himself.
"This guy's… pretty damn cool."
The chamber was still cloaked in darkness, but for Airen, the suffocating void no longer felt threatening. With that eerie figure standing in front of him, he only felt anticipation.
Airen folded his arms, eyes narrowing slightly. "So… this is the companion you were talking about?"
[Yes.]
He tilted his head, studying the shadowy being standing silently before him. Its body rippled like smoke, yet its presence was heavy—like standing too close to the edge of an endless pit.
"What does he do?" Airen asked.
[Simple. Ask him.]
Airen raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Fine. Show me what you can do."
The creature's glowing eye flickered once. Then—its body collapsed into the floor, dissolving into pure shadow. The darkness stretched across the ground like water and vanished completely.
Even Airen couldn't sense a trace of it. His sharp eyes scanned the room, aura extended, but it was as if the being had never existed at all.
Then, without a sound, the shadow peeled itself back into form right behind him.
Airen smirked faintly. "…So you can hide in darkness. Not bad."
The creature raised one arm. A sliver of black condensed at its fingertips, humming faintly with unnatural weight. The sliver shaped itself into a knife—its edges jagged, almost vibrating.
With a sudden flick, the knife shot forward.
Ssshhk!
It buried itself deep into the stone wall, leaving a perfect, clean hole. The blade then dissolved, melting back into mist.
The being didn't stop there. Its other hand lifted, shadows swirling upward. This time, a long blade emerged—inky, curved, and alive with writhing black energy. It swung once, the edge carving a line across the stone floor. The cut wasn't just deep—it was absolute, like a piece of reality itself had been erased.
Airen's eyes gleamed, his grin widening. "Oh? So it's not just shadow tricks. You can create weapons out of… this stuff."
[Not shadow,] the system corrected calmly. [That is dark energy. He can manifest it in physical form and use it as weapons.]
Airen glanced at the figure again, his smirk never fading. "Dark energy, huh? Heh… sounds like something dangerous."
[His name is Nyx.]
Airen's grin sharpened. "Nyx… I like it. Fits him perfectly."
Nyx tilted his head slightly at the sound of his name, his single glowing eye pulsing faintly in acknowledgment.
Airen stepped forward, eyes burning with anticipation. "Alright, Nyx. You'll do. Let's see how far you can go with me."
The chamber trembled faintly, as if even the dungeon itself acknowledged the birth of something new—Airen, the predator, and Nyx, the shadow forged from the void.
Airen's gaze lingered on him, curiosity simmering beneath his calm exterior. "Nyx, is there anything more you can do?"
Nyx remained utterly still. Silent. His expression—or what passed for one—was unreadable.
[He won't answer,] the system replied flatly. [He's in a weakened state right now. To unlock his true abilities, you'll need to make him stronger.]
Airen raised an eyebrow. "And how do I do that?"
[Feed him creatures that possess dark energy. The more he consumes, the more power he regains.]
Airen tapped his chin, a faint smile curling his lips. "Dark energy, huh? And where am I supposed to find these things?"
[In dungeons like this one. The deeper you go, the more likely you'll encounter them.]
Airen's eyes gleamed with interest. "Good. That means I just need to keep moving forward."
Nyx gave no response, his form wavering like smoke. Then, without a sound, his shadow-like body dissolved into tendrils of darkness and slipped back into Airen's chest, vanishing completely
Airen flexed his hand once, eyes narrowing. "So that's my companion… Nyx. Weak for now, but interesting."
[He will grow. For now, focus on the next floor.]
Airen nodded faintly and descended the staircase, boots echoing against stone until the sound abruptly died.
The seventh floor stretched out before him.
A forest.
But unlike any forest he had ever seen.
The air was thick, unnaturally silent, the smell of damp moss clinging to his lungs. The trees were pale, their bark the color of ash. And staring back at him… were eyes.
Dozens. Hundreds.
Every trunk, every branch, every stone—even the leaves themselves—bore crimson eyes that blinked slowly, following his every movement. Only the ground remained untouched, black soil devoid of pupils.
The moment his foot touched the forest floor, every eye turned to him at once.
Airen froze mid-step, his face calm, but his muscles tensed as if acknowledging a predator's gaze. The silence pressed down heavier than steel, suffocating.
[Warning. This floor is not ordinary.]
Airen's lips curled into a sharp smirk. "Heh… I can tell. Everything here is watching me."
One of the trees shifted, its trunk bending with a sickening creak. The eyes blinked in unison, and a guttural whisper ran through the forest like a wave of voices speaking at once.
"Intruder…"
Airen tilted his head, aura flaring faintly, his sword resting against his shoulder. "Finally. Something worth my time."