In the heart of Sunfall's main city, the Everhart household was filled with the gentle aroma of simmering stew, curling through the air like a warm embrace.
Elena stood in the kitchen, absently stirring the pot, her thoughts far from the simmering stew.
Her fingers tightened around the spoon, until a sudden, invisible jolt struck her chest.
Her eyes widened.
"Luci…"
Clink—clatter—clang!
The spoon clattered to the floor.
Clutching her head, she stumbled back, breath ragged.
She dropped to her knees near the counter, trembling as if the very ground had betrayed her.
From the nearby sofa, Darius looked up from his book, instantly alert.
"Elena?" he called out, immediately reaching toward her. "What's wrong?"
Tears streaming down her cheeks, she turned to him and clung to his chest.
"I… I just saw something. A vision. Lucion… he's in pain. So much pain…"
She buried her face into his shoulder.
Darius held her gently, stroking her back. "Shh… calm down, dear. Breathe."
"But it felt so real," she sobbed. "I felt it in my bones…something terrible happened to him."
"I know, I know," he said softly, his voice like a steady tide.
"He just left today. And I know how much you care about Lucion. The house feels too empty without him…maybe that's why you had that vision. Just your heart playing tricks."
She sniffled.
He tilted her chin up.
"But think about it, honey… our son just left on his first journey. He'll make friends, learn how the world works. That's something to be proud of, isn't it? We should celebrate it."
She looked up at him through watery eyes, puzzled by the sudden shift in tone.
His silver-grey eyes were calm, glowing softly with a warm light that always managed to ground her.
Her cheeks flushed.
Darius smiled and leaned closer—then, without warning, swept her into his arms.
"W-Wait… what are you doing now?" she asked, her face already buried in his chest.
His brows furrowed in confusion, but his voice remained calm.
As he walked, he said, "What do you mean? I'm just helping my wife to the couch."
Gently, he carried her over and set her down with quiet care.
"Dummy," she muttered under her breath.
He blinked at her, still confused.
"…What now?"
"Nothing," she said, turning away with a little snore-like sigh.
He didn't press further. Just smiled softly and walked back into the kitchen, switching off the stove.
Elena peeked up from the cushions.
"Wait… what are you doing now?"
He turned, that familiar smirk playing on his lips.
"Didn't I say we should celebrate tonight?"
"Celebrate…? Now?" she blinked, still flustered.
"We're eating out. Lorien Street. Your favorite."
"But…" she started.
"No arguments, honey," he said gently. "It's already decided."
She nodded and gave him a tired smile, though the fear still lingered in her eyes.
'Maybe… it was just my imagination. Just nerves… because he left today.'
'He's never been away from me this long before.'
'Oh… I can call him. Just hearing his voice would be enough…'
Her hand twitched toward the table.
But before she could reach for the telephone, Darius's voice gently cut through her thoughts.
"Hey… honey, he's fine. Believe me, okay? Don't call him. Not yet—at least not today."
He stepped closer, his tone soft but steady.
"You know how he is. If you call now, you'll only make him worry more."
Elena paused, her fingers curling slightly as she pulled her hand back.
She lowered her hand with a faint breath. "Hmm… maybe you're right. I was overthinking."
'What was I thinking… calling him now? That would've only made him worry more…'
Darius came beside her and placed a hand gently on her cheek.
A single droplet clung to her lashes. He wiped it away without a word.
"I'll change first. You get ready after me," he said, heading toward their room, just past the door to Lucion's now-empty bedroom.
Elena let out a soft sigh.
"Sometimes, you're just the most unromantic romantic I know."
Inside their room, Darius closed the door and exhaled.
Then his hand moved to his ribs, fingers brushing over the spot.
A flicker of pain not his own.
'He really is in pain. That vision wasn't just hers…'
His brows furrowed.
'At the station this morning… when I hugged him, some of my mana must've transferred.'
Walking to the drawer, he changed into a formal black suit and adjusted his dark blazer.
A matching rounded hat completed the look.
He paused at the mirror, gaze steely.
'I shouldn't interfere… not yet. This pain, he must bear it. Only then… maybe he'll…'
He paused, doubt flickering through his mind. 'Was I too hasty?'
'He's still young.'
A quiet sigh escaped him.
'I've already altered some of his emotional states… helped stabilize him. He should be calm… if the bond is truly working.'
He glanced out the window, eyes distant.
"Be strong, son."
With that, he stepped toward the door.
Meanwhile — Within the Dungeon
Lucion stumbled through the narrow passageway, clutching his side where pain radiated like fire.
"Damn it… how did it close the distance so fast?"
His breath came in ragged bursts, each inhale scraping against his ribs like broken glass.
"That thing… does it have some kind of teleportation skill?"
'It was just ahead. And then it appeared right in front of me…'
His eyes narrowed, mind racing.
'If it can vanish and reappear like that… I'm dead.'
But then, a sliver of doubt crept in.
"…Wait. It didn't use that trick earlier, not when it had the chance."
He let out a shaky breath.
'Could be a time limit… or a cooldown.'
For a moment, the thought offered a flicker of hope.
But it didn't last.
He grimaced, the weight of reality crashing down again.
"It doesn't matter. Even if it can't use it again, I'm in no shape to fight."
He glanced down bitterly. "My armor's shattered. The dagger… gone."
'I just need to escape. Somehow. Before it catches up.'
His thoughts spiraled, images flashing in his mind, his mother's smile, his father's steady voice, the comfort of home.
"Why now?" he murmured. "Why am I thinking about them now?"
He let out a bitter laugh.
"Isn't this the part in TV dramas where someone dies… and starts thinking about their family? Ha."
'Strange... in a situation like this, how am I this calm?'
'This is my first encounter with something like that.'
"Maybe I've really gone crazy."
But then…
A ripple in the air behind him.
That overwhelming, omniversal aura again.
His eyes widened.
"No… this again?"
His breath caught.
"Don't tell me it's that beast… again."
He didn't wait for confirmation. He ran.
Clack—clack—clack!
His footsteps echoed sharply, frantic slaps against the muddy ground.
The passage lay close to the river, its presence seeped into everything.
Drip… drip… drip…
The sound of water dripping echoed through the tunnel, rhythmic and steady, like a heartbeat in the dark.
Veins of moisture traced the stone, weaving through the walls like liquid threads of moonlight.
Moss clung to the damp surfaces, soft and thick, while tiny creeping vines sprouted from the cracks—glistening, pulsing faintly as though breathing with the dungeon itself.
His breath came in ragged bursts as he pressed forward, chest heaving with effort.
Then the corridor twisted sharply.
Up ahead, a smaller tunnel emerged.
Narrower. Darker.
Its walls were lined with more of that strange, glimmering moss—
glowing faintly in the half-light,
like a beckoning path deeper into the unknown.
"Another tunnel?" he muttered, breath catching.
'I've never seen one like this. Could the inheritance really be hidden this deep… and this strangely?'
"Or… could it be a trap?"
'No. That player got his second profession here... he wouldn't have survived if it were a death trap.'
The oppressive aura behind him pressed closer. He had no choice.
He dove into the narrow passage, clutching his side as pain lanced through him.
Behind him, drops of blood trailed along the floor—
Unnoticed.
His ribs screamed louder than anything else.
The air changed instantly.
Thick fog rolled in around him—cold, choking, unnatural.
"What… fog again?" he muttered, blinking hard. "How is it foggy here?"
Then a thought struck him.
'Wait… this is the summit's fog. Did I… find the way out?'
But the sight brought him no comfort.
Not this time.
Because every time he thought he was safe—
Something worse always followed.
"The presence… I can't feel it anymore."
He staggered to a stop at the edge of a broken corridor, gasping for air.
"I… I think I lost it," he breathed.
He leaned against the wall, heart pounding like a war drum, lungs scorched.
"Looks like… I'm far enough now..."
"Haa… haaa…"
His chest heaved, each breath ragged and burning from the constant running.
Silence. Stillness.
But not peace.
Then…
The tunnel trembled beneath him.
HOOOOOOWL—
A deep, bone-chilling howl tore through the fog—
Echoing. Monstrous. Ancient.
It wrapped around him like a death sentence.
A cold shiver slithered down his back.
"It's… still chasing me?"
His pulse surged, thudding in his ears, pounding in his throat.
"Damn it…"
Rustle. Rustle. RUSTLE.
The leaves and debris behind him stirred violently, too precise to be mere wind.
Tap… tap… THUD.
Heavy pawsteps. Measured. Closer.
He turned.
A monstrous shadow loomed through the grey fog, blotting out the light.
Red eyes glowed like twin embers, unblinking.
'Is this it?'
'Is this where I die?'
he thought, as if the answer had already been carved into his bones.
But he didn't move.
Not because of fear but because he knew.
The wolf would reach him in an instant.
There'd be no time to dodge. No second chance.
And yet… he laughed.
His voice cracked, half-crazed.
"Come then! I'll burn what little mana I have left.
Even if it shatters my cultivation. COME!"
He raised his trembling hand, forcing mana to gather.
Desperately trying to form Bullet Seed.
But the Blaze Wolf didn't move.
It just stood there.
Watching.
Those red eyes locked onto him, unmoving, unreadable.
Its breath steamed in the cold, grey fog.
A low, bitter chuckle escaped his throat.
"Heh… don't look down on me now."
His golden eyes narrowed, voice rising with defiance.
"I won't disappoint you this time."
The Blaze Wolf growled, a low, guttural sound that echoed through the stone like distant thunder.
Then, the fog began to shift.
Until now, Lucion had only been able to see its eyes.
But as the mist rolled away, almost like it was obeying a silent command, he finally saw it fully.
It was standing tall on three legs.
All at once, the narrow tunnel lit up in a brilliant golden glow.
The choking fog peeled back, forming a clear path deeper into the tunnel.
The ground trembled faintly beneath his feet.
What had once seemed like a cramped passage now stretched wide.
The stone walls folded outward, expanding into a massive space.
From the outside, it had looked like little more than a crawlspace.
Now, it opened up into a vast chamber.
A hidden hall, veiled by illusion until this very moment.
Lucion froze, eyes wide.
Shock.
Awe.
Disbelief.
But all of it vanished the moment the Blaze Wolf started moving toward him.
His crimson resilience still hadn't formed Bullet Seed.
The mana spark flickered, unstable.
He stumbled back, heart hammering.
"Damn it… I can't accept this…"
But…
The Blaze Wolf passed him.
Without even a glance.
Its massive paws thudded against the muddy floor as it walked right past him and stopped.
There, at the end of the newly revealed path, was a throne.
Upon it sat a skeleton, slumped yet regal.
One bony hand held a rusted sword.
The other, a book.
The throne was half-consumed by vines and time.
And yet, something about it radiated an overwhelming presence.
As if the very air around it had become too heavy to breathe.
The Blaze Wolf sat at its feet.
Head bowed.
And then it howled.
A long, mournful cry that shook the tunnel and rattled Lucion's bones.
AwooOOOOOOOOOO...
'What… what is going on?' Lucion thought, his vision swimming.
A strange numbness crept over his eyes, like a veil sliding down over the world.
His knees gave out.
'I… can't… stay awake…'
The world tilted. Spun.
Thud.
The last thing he felt was the cold mud against his cheek.