*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy*
The second dungeon smelled like a grave that had learned to breathe.
The air was thick with damp and spores, a cloying humidity that made each breath feel like swallowing mold. Water dripped in slow, constant rhythm from stalactites, splattering across uneven stone. Every surface was slick. The walls pulsed faintly with a greenish glow from the fungi clinging to them, shedding spores that swirled like fine ash with each step.
Aris covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed. His lungs burned. "Gods... I can taste it."
Orric trudged ahead, his wolfish ears pinned back, nose twitching furiously. The beastkin's sharp profile cut through the dim light, his hand resting on the hilt of his curved blade. "Rot. Poison. We should've expected this. Spore dungeons always try to kill you before the monsters do."
Aris forced a grim smile. "That's comforting."
They pressed forward, their boots sinking into patches of soft fungus. The tunnel narrowed, forcing them shoulder to shoulder, until it suddenly widened into a chamber. Threads like ropes of silk stretched across the ceiling, shimmering faintly in the fungi's glow.
The coughing grew worse. Aris doubled over, spitting, his throat raw. He wiped his mouth and looked up just as shadows began to move.
The first spider dropped soundlessly. Its body was the size of a dog, its legs long and angular, mandibles clicking.
Orric didn't hesitate. His blade sang free, the edge catching what little light there was. He darted forward with surprising speed, slashing through the creature's abdomen. A burst of foul ichor splattered across the stones, stinging Aris's nostrils.
"Behind you!" Aris cried.
Another spider scuttled down the wall, fast and jerking, its legs scraping stone. Aris raised his hand, breath catching. For days he had failed in practice, but now the Witness Stone gave his exp back even for a day. Increasing his levels with a predistributed Templar build. Energy surged up his arm, and suddenly twelve light missiles materialized in the air around him, each one a shard of light trembling with power.
He gasped. It worked.
The missiles shot forward, streaking into the spider's body. It screeched as holes burned through its chitin, curling in on itself before slumping lifeless to the ground.
A laugh burst from Aris's throat, ragged but real. "Twelve... it actually worked!"
"Don't celebrate yet," Orric growled. He spun, his blade flashing as another spider lunged. With two swift slashes he severed its legs, kicking it aside before driving his blade into its head. His movements were relentless, efficient, born of someone who had fought for survival long before entering an academy.
Aris joined him, his confidence sparking. Another cluster of missiles flared at his side, though fewer this time, only eight, but enough. They speared through a pair of spiders climbing the ceiling, knocking them down into twitching heaps.
Side by side, they fought, the chamber filling with the reek of ichor and fungus. Aris's heart pounded, but each missile he loosed steadied him. "I can do this. I'm not useless."
Minutes stretched, the fight a blur of steel and light until silence returned, broken only by the drip of water and their own ragged breaths.
Orric leaned on his blade, chest heaving. His furred ears twitched, listening. "Not bad, Aris. You're keeping up."
Aris grinned despite the sweat and slime coating him. "Keeping up? I think I saved your hide twice."
The wolfkin's sharp teeth flashed in a grin of his own. "We'll call it even."
They pressed onward. Every breath, every chance Aris got charging his only attack skill. The tunnels wound tighter, the silk threads growing thicker, until the air seemed to vibrate with tension. Aris's stomach knotted. Something bigger was ahead.
They stepped into another chamber, larger, ceiling lost in darkness. The ground was covered in matted webs, sticky underfoot. Aris's skin prickled.
Then the ceiling moved.
A massive shape detached from the shadows, descending with horrifying grace. The spider hit the ground with a dull thud, and Aris's breath caught.
It was the size of a man. Its body swelled with pulsing veins of green, eyes glowing like shards of emerald. Its mandibles clicked, dripping venom that hissed as it struck the stone.
Aris froze. His knees wanted to buckle. "This... this is not a training fight. This is death."
The creature lunged. Aris stumbled back, throwing up his arm, but the spider's weight slammed him to the ground. Its mandibles snapped inches from his face. He screamed, shoving against it with all his strength.
"Aris!"
Orric roared and launched himself onto the beast's back. His blade hacked downward, biting into the carapace, again and again. The spider shrieked, convulsing. One of its legs lashed out, slamming Orric against the wall.
Aris scrambled free, chest burning, and saw Orric stagger up. Blood ran down his temple, but he didn't stop. He charged again, blade flashing in a desperate arc.
The spider twisted, mandibles snapping. It caught him mid-swing, sinking its fangs deep into Orric's side.
Orric's scream echoed through the chamber.
"No!" Aris shouted. His hand flew up, desperation tearing through him. His insides burned, blood in his veins burning through like coal, and once more the light surged. Twenty-five missiles of pure radiance erupted around him, brighter than ever before.
He unleashed them all.
The missiles slammed into the spider, one after another, punching through its chitin. Its screech turned to a gurgle as its body shuddered under the assault. It staggered, legs twitching, before collapsing in a heap, ichor oozing across the webs.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Aris dropped to his knees, gasping. His eyes darted to Orric.
The wolfkin slumped against the wall, blood seeping from the bite wound. His skin around the punctures was already darkening, veins spreading with a sickly hue. His breaths came ragged, his teeth bared against the pain.
Aris crawled to him, heart hammering. "Hold on! I can heal—"
He pressed his hand to the wound, whispering the incantation for Healing Touch. Light flickered weakly, closing some of the torn flesh, but the darkness beneath didn't fade.
Orric coughed, his voice hoarse but steady. "Not... just bleeding. Poison. Disease. It's spreading."
Aris's stomach dropped. He remembered the textbooks, the instructors hammering it into their heads: giant spider venom wasn't just poison, it carried infection that ate at the blood itself.
His hands shook as he tried again, pouring more energy into Healing Touch. The wound sealed further, but the black veins kept crawling. He whispered the incantation for Cure Disease, but the spell sputtered, half-formed. The two magics clashed in his hands, canceling each other.
"Damn it!" Aris slammed his fist against the stone. "Come on, come on—"
Orric's hand caught his wrist. The wolfkin's grip was still iron despite the pain. His yellow eyes locked on Aris. "Don't panic. Think. You can... you can figure it out."
Aris swallowed hard. "I can't fail him. Not here. Not after everything."
But as he stared at the wound, at the spreading corruption, all he felt was the weight of his failure. The Witness Stone and blood initiate had given him power, twenty-five light missiles. Enough to fell a monster. But what good was that if he couldn't save his friend from dying at his side?
The chamber stank of ichor and spores, the silence heavy as stone.
Aris clenched his jaw. "I have to find a way. I have to."