Eron slowed as the tunnel widened into a larger chamber. His hovering flame lit uneven stone around him, pushing back shadows inch by inch. He expected an empty space or maybe a regular beast roaming around.
What he saw instead made him freeze in place.
A large reptilian brute lay at the center, looking nothing like lizards from earlier floors. Bulkier body, longer horns, scales streaked with faint orange light. He'd never seen this type before and it was pressed flat on its stomach, claws spread out, body shaking like something pinned it down.
Around it, several adventurers struggled to stay conscious.
Kaelen knelt nearby, both hands wrapped around his staff, head hanging low as he fought to breathe. Derrick lay on his back, chest rising in rough bursts while Garron had his shield pressed deep into stone, arm shaking under unseen weight.
Eron stared at them and this sight didn't match anything he expected in this dungeon.
"What the hell am I looking at?"
His voice bounced off stone walls.
No one answered and not even a twitch came from them.
He stepped in carefully, checking walls and ceiling for signs of a trap, but nothing looked triggered. Pressure wasn't coming from the room itself and it was pressing down on people and the brute, not on him.
Mind racing through possibilities: trap, poison gas, some kind of floor mechanic, but nothing made sense.
"Is this some kind of group exercise? Nap time? Synchronized fainting?"
Still nothing and not even a laugh. Silence only made it stranger.
"Seriously, why is everyone lying down?"
A soft low laugh brushed his ear and Eron tensed, turning slightly.
Valerica's voice rose from his shadow, same calm tone as always. "Ah, I may have forgotten."
Eron frowned. "Forgotten what?"
"My aura," she said, casual like she'd dropped something unimportant. "I didn't bother to hide it and since it doesn't affect you, I didn't care."
Eron stared again at the brute pinned down, then at adventurers who couldn't even lift their heads.
"So this is your doing!"
"You walk fine," Valerica said. "Why should I dim myself for others?"
Eron placed a hand on his face, wiping sweat and irritation in one motion.
"Unbelievable, they're flattened because you couldn't be bothered."
"Because I wouldn't be bothered," she corrected. "Look at them, mortals trembled before power, yet you stand untouched. Doesn't it suit you?"
"Suit me?!" Eron hissed. "They think I did this!"
"And?" Valerica's tone deepened. "Then let them, fear is perception and perception bends reality. Wear it, shadow."
Eron gritted his teeth. "Or it'll get me stabbed."
Valerica laughed again, low and pleased.
"If they try, I'll peel their souls myself."
Eron stared at them again and saw the brute's claws scraping weakly against stone, Kaelen's staff shaking under his grip, Derrick breathing hard with sweat running from jaw to ground, Liora pressing her charm to chest with voice shaking as she prayed, and Garron staying on one knee with shield planted, eyes locked on Eron with confusion and fear.
The more Eron looked, the worse he felt and this wasn't intimidation, it was near collapse.
Pressure pushing them down was so heavy he could almost feel air shifting around their bodies even though it didn't touch him.
He leaned toward his shadow. "You're fixing this now."
Valerica's voice dipped into a playful tone. "Spoilsport."
Pressure in the chamber loosened slow at first, then fully.
The brute let out a strained sound and forced itself upright, legs shaking. Its eyes, wild with terror, locked on Eron for a heartbeat before it fled, tail scraping, body staggering as it squeezed through a narrow gap between rocks and disappeared.
Adventurers gasped for air as their bodies adjusted.
Kaelen almost collapsed again before catching himself while Derrick held his chest and bent forward, trying to steady his breathing. Liora knelt and pressed her hand to ground to keep from tipping over and Garron kept his shield up out of habit, even though pressure was already gone.
The chamber filled with rough breathing.
Derrick spoke first, barely holding himself up.
"I thought that was it."
Kaelen wiped sweat from his face with shaking hands, eyes locked on Eron.
"What… what are you?"
"Human," Eron said flatly. "Pretty sure, at least."
Derrick flinched like he'd been hit.
Liora pushed herself upright, legs unsteady.
"If that was human, then I don't want to see what demon looks like."
Garron said nothing, shield arm trembling with aftereffects.
Serenya stood last. She didn't gasp or stumble. She pushed herself up and took one long breath, adjusting her grip on her greatsword with steady hands. Golden eyes locked on Eron, sharp and measuring as she rested the blade against her shoulder, ready.
She didn't look afraid and didn't fall back, simply stood there, studying him from head to toe.
"You," she said. "Name yourself."
Eron straightened, brushing soot from his arm.
"Eron Vale."
Kaelen hissed under his breath, fear sharp in his eyes.
Serenya raised her hand and shut him up without breaking her stare.
"Vale," she repeated. "What are you doing on this floor?"
Eron opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again because he couldn't tell them truth, he'd sound insane.
"Exploring."
Derrick let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Exploring? Alone? Don't mock us!"
"Derrick," Serenya said, sharp and controlled.
Derrick bit his tongue and stepped back.
She returned her focus to Eron.
"Exploring, and yet you walk with an aura strong enough to bring beasts to their knees."
Eron wanted to shout that it wasn't him, but Valerica hummed smugly in his shadow.
He forced a thin smile. "Lucky day, I guess."
Liora whispered a shaky prayer.
Serenya studied Eron longer and her instincts pulled at her, telling her he wasn't normal, wasn't weak either, but he wasn't moving like a monster.
"You're not with the guild," she said.
"Nope," Eron replied.
Silence again.
Kaelen leaned toward Serenya, whispering,
"Leader, we should retreat."
"No," Serenya said. "Not yet."
Her eyes stayed on Eron, sharp and clear.
Eron sighed, pressing his fingers to his temple.
"Look, I didn't come here to pick a fight and if you're going down, fine. If you're going up, fine, just don't faint on me again because I already have enough problems."
Derrick almost laughed again, but it came out short and strained while Liora muttered something under her breath and Kaelen gripped his staff tighter, eyes darting between Serenya and Eron.
Serenya didn't step back and held her ground, longest-lasting of her group.
"Walk carefully, Eron Vale," she said. "This floor no longer belongs to the dungeon alone."
Eron frowned. "Meaning?"
Serenya's eyes shifted toward the dark path behind him.
"Meaning something has changed and we'll all find out soon enough."
Valerica chuckled inside his shadow.
"See? They already fear you and half the battle's won."
"Yeah," Eron muttered. "Against me."
The chamber stayed quiet, tension thick between both sides and no one stepped closer, no one lowered their guard.
For now, the standoff held.