Clive opened his eyes.
His breathing was ragged and heavy, as if his lungs had just been forced to draw air for the first time. Sweat soaked his entire body, clinging to his skin and clothes. His muscles throbbed with a dull, widespread pain, like the lingering echo of something that had nearly crushed him from within.
But he was conscious.
He was still whole.
And most importantly, he was still Clive.
He drew in a long breath, trying to steady his heart, which had not yet fully calmed. The world slowly came back into focus. Torchlight. Stone floors. Familiar faces.
Inside his body, far beyond layers of flesh and bone, he could feel their presence.
Two spheres of blue energy rotated slowly.
The first was smaller and brighter, its light stable but dim. The core of the small monster whose will he had once shattered. The second was larger and darker, its energy heavy and dense, like something constantly on the verge of exploding. The core of the black-furred monster.
They were not attacking each other.
Yet the tension between them was unmistakable, like two predators forced to share a single cage. There was no sound, no collision, but Clive knew. If the bars of his will weakened even slightly, chaos would erupt.
Footsteps approached.
Dilos stood beside him, relief visible on his face, though it had not fully chased away his concern. "Are you alright?"
Clive nodded slowly. He tried to sit up, but his hands trembled as he supported his own weight. "I made it," he said hoarsely. "But now there are two voices in my head. Two wills. I need to learn how to control them."
Glenn stepped closer and helped Clive to his feet. His hand gripped Clive's arm firmly, not only to support him, but to feel whether something was wrong. His eyes narrowed as he studied Clive's face carefully.
"Something has changed," he said quietly. "Your gaze is different. Deeper. But also… more dangerous."
Clive gave a faint smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "I feel it too. But I still have control." He paused, regulating his breath. "And we learned something today. Cores do not always have to destroy each other. They can be forced to work together. But…" his voice lowered, more honest, "two is my limit. At least for now."
Zorilla stood slightly apart, still sensing the remnants of raw energy lingering in the air. "Has your strength increased?" he asked.
Clive raised his hand, slowly opening and closing his fingers as if unfamiliar with his own body. "I do not know how far yet," he replied. "Tomorrow we test it in the processing corridor."
No one responded immediately.
They all understood what had just happened. Clive had not merely absorbed a second core. He was carrying two living monster wills inside himself and had managed to imprison them with his own will. Something that even Glenn, with all his struggles against anger and trauma, had not fully achieved.
The next day, they entered the processing corridor not as a routine.
That day was a test.
Clive stood at the front line, his sword feeling lighter than ever in his hand. When the first monster emerged from the darkness, his body moved almost without thought.
His speed had increased significantly. A distance that normally required two steps was now covered in a single burst. His sword strikes no longer stopped at flesh or muscle. Thick monster bones split cleanly with a single swing, the cracking sound sharp and dry.
The power was real. Measured. Not wild.
But what stood out most was not strength or speed.
It was his senses.
Clive began reacting before the monster even came into view. He could feel ripples of energy in the air, like a cold touch against his skin. From fifty meters away, he knew something was moving. He could distinguish the type of monster from its energy pattern alone, even before its shape became clear.
More than that, he could feel their state.
Fear.Rage.Hunger.
Those emotions were no longer abstract. They became clear, sharp signals.
Yet beneath these improvements, a subtler danger emerged.
When the seventh monster fell, Clive suddenly stopped. His sword remained raised, blood dripping from its tip. His hand trembled without him realizing it.
Ted, standing closest, saw Clive's eyes flash red for a brief moment before returning to normal.
"What is it?" Ted asked, alert.
Clive took a deep breath. "The black-furred monster," he said quietly. "It wants more. It enjoys the killing." His jaw tightened. "I have to keep suppressing it."
On another occasion, while they rested briefly in the second corridor, Clive suddenly turned toward the darkness. His body tensed, his eyes sharpening in focus.
"There is a monster there," Clive said softly. "Not a common one. Green core. About thirty meters away. Hiding behind a large rock."
His voice was calm, but his entire body was drawn tight like a fully pulled bow.
The group moved immediately and silently. There were no further questions. No hesitation.
That section of the second corridor was narrower, its walls uneven, filled with large boulders that had collapsed from the ceiling years ago. Torchlight could only reach a few meters ahead, the rest swallowed by thick darkness that absorbed sound.
Clive stopped and raised his hand, signaling them to halt.
"There is a shift in energy," he whispered. "It is not moving, but it knows we are here."
Dilos narrowed his eyes, steadying his breathing. "That means it is intelligent."
"That means it is dangerous," Ted added, his fingers already positioned to throw a knife.
They spread out slowly, forming a loose semicircle. Zorilla moved slightly forward as a living shield. Dorde vanished to the right, his steps nearly silent. Glenn stood behind Clive, eyes closed, sensing unseen pulses of energy.
Clive felt everything.
The monster did not attack. It waited.
Inside his head, the two monster wills reacted. The small core felt alert, like something recognizing an unfamiliar threat. The black-furred core vibrated softly, radiating a dangerous hunting excitement.
Clive suppressed them.
"Now," he said softly.
Zorilla stepped forward with a deliberately heavy stomp. The stone beneath his foot shifted, producing a rough sound that shattered the silence.
It was enough.
From behind the large rock, something shot out.
The monster's body was slender, smaller than most corridor monsters, but its movements were extraordinarily fast. Its skin was grayish green, almost blending with the stone. Its legs were long and flexible, allowing it to change position with a single short leap. Its eyes glowed faintly, pale green, filled with vigilance.
It did not roar.
It attacked in silence.
The monster skimmed low across the ground, heading straight for Zorilla's flank, trying to slip past his defense. But before it could reach a safe distance, Dilos moved.
Dilos's sword did not slash. It thrust, aimed precisely at the joint of the monster's rear leg. The creature twisted midair, evading the strike with a movement that bordered on impossible, but it was enough to slow it down.
Ted threw.
The knife flew fast, aimed at the neck. The monster tilted its head by a fraction of a second, just enough for the blade to only graze its skin. Dark green blood sprayed out, yet the monster did not retreat.
Instead, it leapt onto the corridor wall, gripping the stone with razor sharp claws, then launched itself downward toward Glenn.
Clive moved.
He did not think. He followed the pull of instinct, now sharper than it had ever been. His sword swept through the air, cutting across the monster's trajectory. The impact came hard. Metal met claw, producing a shrill sound that echoed through the narrow corridor.
The monster was thrown back, landed lightly, then stopped.
Clive felt something different from it.
Not just hunger or rage.
The monster was afraid.
"It's evaluating us," Clive said quickly. "It knows we're dangerous."
As if it understood, the monster turned and tried to flee into a narrow crevice behind the rocks.
"Don't let it escape!" Dorde shouted.
Dorde shot forward like lightning, cutting off its escape route. With a single swift motion, he severed the tendon in the monster's front leg. The creature collapsed, finally letting out a short, sharp cry. Not a roar, but a panicked shriek.
Zorilla gave it no second chance.
He slammed the monster's body into the stone floor with full force. Cracks rang out. Ribs shattered under the pressure.
The monster was still alive, twitching, its eyes darting wildly in every direction.
Clive stepped forward.
He could feel the pulse of the green core clearly now. Its energy was different from any other core he had sensed before. Calmer, more cunning, like an undercurrent flowing beneath the surface.
His sword rose.
Inside his head, the black furred monster whispered, demanding blood. Clive suppressed it once more.
His strike fell straight into the monster's chest.
Skin and flesh split open. The pale green core was clearly visible, pulsing weakly among the torn tissue. Clive stabbed directly into its center.
The green light dimmed.
The monster's body slackened, then went completely still.
Silence reclaimed the corridor.
Several seconds passed before they truly lowered their guard.
Clive knelt and carefully removed the core from the monster's chest. The green core felt cold in his palm, colder than any core he had ever held. Its pulse was slow and steady, as if it still held a sleeping awareness.
Glenn opened his eyes and stared at the core with a serious expression. "Its energy is different. More refined. But deep."
Ted nodded. "This isn't an aggressive core. But don't be mistaken. Ones like this are usually the most dangerous."
Clive placed the core into the stone container.
Now there was one more.
Their total number of cores increased by one.
Clive looked down the corridor ahead, an uneasy feeling creeping into his chest.
If monsters like this were already appearing in the second and third corridors, then the fourth corridor would not be a matter of strength alone.
It would be a place where intelligence, will, and darkness collided.
That night, they gathered for evaluation.
The stone chamber felt narrower than usual. Not because its size had changed, but because of the weight of decisions hanging in the air. Torchlight flickered weakly against the rough walls, casting long shadows that shifted slowly with the flames. In the center of their circle, the stone container holding the cores lay open.
Blue, green, and red light pulsed slowly, out of sync with one another. Five different pulses, five foreign wills trapped inside a prison of stone.
Clive sat slightly apart, his back against the wall. His body still felt unfamiliar, like a newly honed weapon not yet fully understood. The two cores within him rotated slowly, always present, always reminding him that this power was not entirely his own.
He raised his head.
"We have a new structure now," Clive said.
His voice sounded deeper than usual. Not loud, but dense. As if a faint echo came not from the room, but from within him.
"With two cores in my body, I'm no longer just a frontline fighter," he continued. "I can act as a sensor. I can read the field before we go too far in. I can sense the type of monsters, their numbers, even their intent before we see them."
His gaze moved from one face to another. Zorilla, silent and solid like stone. Dilos, sharp and ever vigilant. Dorde, calm yet filled with restrained violence. Ted, cold and methodical. Glenn, bearing the quietest war of them all.
"When combined with your strengths," Clive said softly, "we are no longer just reacting to threats. We can dictate the battle. Set distance, timing, and position. We can form strategies that do not rely on luck."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"This is no longer just about survival," he continued. "This is preparation for the fourth corridor."
Dilos shifted his position, then added in a flat but firm tone, "And now, with the new green core, we still have five cores remaining." He glanced at the stone container. "Those cores are not gifts. Not trophies. They are burdens. Only those strong enough to master themselves should touch them."
No one argued.
All eyes eventually turned to Glenn.
Glenn looked at the cores for a moment, then shifted his gaze back to Clive. His face was calm, but the tension in his jaw was hard to miss. "When do we enter the fourth corridor?" he finally asked.
The question fell like a stone into still water.
Clive did not answer immediately.
He drew a slow breath, feeling the two monster wills inside him stir, as if listening. He suppressed them with his own will before speaking.
"After I fully master this body," Clive replied. "After I can silence the two voices in my head without hesitation, without wavering."
His tone hardened slightly. "And after all of us are mentally prepared for whatever waits there. Not just monsters. But pressure, fear, and decisions we may be forced to make."
He stood.
Clive's gaze shifted to the door of their chamber. A simple stone door separating them from corridors that had claimed too many lives. As if beyond it, the fourth corridor waited. Silent. Patient. Hungry.
"Because this time," he said softly, but firmly, "we cannot fail."
His hand clenched at his side. The muscles in his arm tightened.
"We have already paid too high a price," he continued, his voice trembling faintly, but not breaking. "Dean and Reis are gone. I will not allow another name to be added to that list."
Silence filled the room.
There were no heroic vows. No grand promises.
But in each of their eyes, a single unspoken agreement was carved deep.
"No one else," Clive said at last.