In the endless blackness where no sound dared exist, something began to stir—a heartbeat. Slow at first, then faster, echoing through the empty realm like drums in a cavern.
*Ba-dump… Ba-dump… Ba-dump*
The goddess' eyes widened as she stared through the veil. Her chest heaved up and down slowly. On the other side, she saw Lucius—bloodied and exhausted... but alive. The black flames still flickered faintly around the corner, casting defiant shadows across his form.
"He—he really did it. He survived."
Her trembling hands slowly lowered from the barrier. For a moment, she didn't move. Then her fingers touched her lips as if to confirm he was real, not a vision conjured by her guilt.
"Ha… Haha… Hahahaha…" She laughed quietly at first, then louder, one hand pressed against the dark surface she used to watch him through.
"He did it… He actually did it." Her voice cracked between awe and disbelief—soft, almost childish in wonder.
Her long red hair fluttered as if stirred by a phantom wind, each strand glowing like molten silk. Her gown—crimson as blood—flowed around her legs in slow, weightless motion.
The godess put her hand on her cleavage, fingers sinking into her skin as she felt her heart pounding wildly. Her pearl-white flesh shimmered faintly, light from the projection sliding across its smooth surface like water over marble. "He shouldn't have been able to do that. But he…"
Her dark eyes softened, feverish, lips curving into a trembling smile. "…you tore through the impossible, just like you promised."
She took a step forward, her bare feet leaving faint glimmers of red light in the air.
"You were supposed to die," she whispered, her voice trembling as though the admission itself felt unreal. "I knew you would die. But you didn't. You defied me. Defied the crypt. Defied even the laws binding this realm…"
Her lips parted, her breath catching. "You're perfect."
Her arms slid slowly around herself, hugging her bare shoulders, fingertips trailing along her smooth, pale skin. The faint shimmer of starlight ran down her arms like liquid silver. Her red hair fell over one side of her face as she tilted her head, eyes still locked on his image through the veil.
"My Lucius…" she whispered, voice fragile, heavy with emotion. "You don't even know what you've done to me."
She bit her lower lip, a quiet, breathy laugh escaping her. "A man who spits in the face of death… and wins?"
Her smile grew faint, wistful—tinged with hunger, reverence, and something dangerously close to longing. "Do you even realize what you are, De Sante?"
She lifted her hand again, pressing her palm against the veil. Her reflection shimmered faintly—dark eyes shining, red hair floating like a living flame, her flawless skin bathed in devouring dark. She whispered to the image she could not touch, her voice trembling with both devotion and desire.
"You're not just my champion anymore…"
Her voice fell to a whisper—half prayer, half possession.
"You're mine."
And as she closed her eyes, whispering his name again and again, the darkness around her seemed to tremble—
There were movements within the darkness, red lights—eyes, staring at her. They all kept quiet.
Not in awe… but in fear.
"What do you think, my children?" She smiled fully, revealing a pair of fangs that had never shown before.
Her cheeks were flushed with a bright red colour and she clapped her face with her hands, looking at Lucius' image.
"He's back."
...
Lucius stood in the middle of the boss's chamber.
He frowned.
'That didn't take long.' his lips twitched and he turned his head to see the wound on his shoulder.
He fell on his butt, grabbing his shoulder. He looked around the dungeon, scanning the surroundings for potential threats.
[Your rewards have been calculated. Check your inventory for acquired items]
Lucius squirmed as he felt his flesh weaving themselves back together. The blade drove almost all the way through his shoulder so he couldn't move the arm for now.
He turned to his side, feeling something creeping up his shoulder.
He ignored the centipede, looking towards the body of the knight. He stretched his arm out a dark aura forming around him.
[You have completed the tutorial. You would be transported out of the dungeon in 10 seconds]
"Finally..." Lucius let out a breath, looking at the ceiling of the cave.
A smile formed on his face as he remembered the view of an open sky. One day without real daylight wore on him badly.
'I really want to see her expression right now.' a slight chuckle left his lips as he thought of a particular goddess that said he would die here.
...
The roar of helicopter blades tore through the air above the massive white gate, their searchlights slicing across the fog-draped ruins that surrounded the dungeon's entrance—which was once a restaurant. The gate itself loomed like a divine monument—it resembled a mass of energy still humming faintly with residual power, runes floating along its frame pulsing as if alive.
A dozen armored figures stood at its base, each one wearing different artifacts that radiated mana so dense the air shimmered. Some carried relics that gleamed with holy light. Their cloaks fluttered in the downdraft from the helicopters, eyes fixed on the gate that had finally gone still.
The entire area around the district had been cleared out of people.
Inside one of the choppers, a woman gazed down at her phone with a wide smile on her face.
"We're over 7 million viewers live! Make sure to keep the cameras steady." She looked down, seeing the heroes holding their weapons in case of anything.
In front of all the heroes is a woman with long, yellowish blonde hair.
She was clad in a stark, golden armour bearing the symbol of a star on it—the symbol of the church.
Close by, there was an elderly man with white hair, holding a singular sheathed Jian. Hank Elis of the black Lion guild was also here, along with Elizabeth Elis.
All of a sudden the gate trembled, sending a shockwave that swept the surroundings as light blinded the scene.
When the light faded, the gate was gone. Nothing but a swirling haze of dust and a few lingering traces of white energy remained, dissipating into the night air like the last breath of a dying god.
"Gate collapse confirmed," a voice called through a radio. "No residual anomaly detected. Wait—there's… something."
As the dust began to settle, a silhouette appeared at the heart of the crater where the dungeon once stood.
All the heroes withdrew their weapons, getting ready to attack.
A man—lean, tall, and unmoving—stood there. His clothes were torn and burned in several places, his shoulder still faintly glistening with dried blood. The black soot and dust clinging to him obscured most of his face, save for a faint outline of his jaw and the dim glint of his red eyes beneath his hair.
The blonde woman at the front narrowed her gaze, lowering her blade slightly. "A survivor?"
The man didn't move. The helicopters' spotlights framed him in gold and shadow, the dust swirling gently around him like the remnants of a storm.
Lucius looked to the skies, using a hand to block the lights.
"Identify yourself!" one of the heroes shouted, stepping forward cautiously, his artifact flaring with light.
Lucius tilted his head slightly, the gesture slow and deliberate. For a brief second, the light from above caught his eyes—two faint embers flickering beneath the grime. Then, without a word, the air around him warped.
A black shimmer rippled outward, like shadows folding in on themselves.
And just as the heroes began to advance, he vanished.