The creature that lunged from the darkness was not what Anakin expected.
Not that he'd had much time to form expectations—between the weighted darkness, the new reality, and the general absurdity of his situation, monster taxonomy hadn't made it high on his priority list. But still. The thing that came at him with claws extended and hunger in its eyes was disappointing.
It was roughly the size of a large dog, with matted fur that might've been gray or brown, maybe some unfortunate combination of both. Its eyes glowed faintly in the dark, reflecting non-existent light in a way that should've been impossible but clearly wasn't. Four legs, too many teeth, and claws that scraped against stone as it moved.
A beast. Just a beast.
Anakin's grip tightened on the loose stone in his hand. The weight was solid, reassuring in a way, nothing else about this situation was. His heart hammered against his ribs, but his hands were steady. That was good. That was useful.
The creature didn't bother with intimidation or posturing. It just came at him, fast and low, aiming for his legs. Smart, actually. Take out the mobility first, then finish the meal at leisure. The strategy was sound, if predictable.
Too bad Anakin had other plans.
He stepped left, not back, and the creature's momentum carried it past him by inches. His makeshift weapon came down hard on the back of its skull, and there was a satisfying crack that echoed through the chamber. The impact jarred his arm, sending vibrations up through his shoulder, but the stone held. The beast stumbled but didn't fall, twisting mid-stride to face him again with a snarl that showed far too many teeth.
Blood dripped from its head, dark against the stone floor. The creature shook itself, spraying droplets across the chamber, and its snarl deepened into something almost like rage.
"Alright," Anakin said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline singing through his veins. "Round two."
The creature circled him now, more cautious, learning from its mistake. Its eyes never left him, tracking every small movement. Anakin matched its pace, keeping the distance constant, watching the way its stone clicked before each step. The chamber was maybe fifteen feet across, rough stone walls on all sides except for the three dark passages leading away into deeper darkness. No room to run, not that running would help.
He was being rather too calm about all this, wasn't he? The whole "waking up in a deathly nightmare" thing should probably warrant more panic. But Anakin just shrugged internally. Panicking wouldn't keep him alive. Besides, there was something almost exhilarating about the simplicity of it—kill or be killed, survive or die, no complicated politics or social dynamics to navigate. Just instinct and violence.
The creature lunged again, and this time Anakin was ready. He'd seen the way it moved, the slight hesitation before the attack, its weight shifted to its back legs like a coiled spring.
He sidestepped, and the stone came down again. This time he aimed for the spine, putting his full weight behind the blow. Something crunched, a wet sound that made his stomach turn even as satisfaction flooded through him. The creature's back legs gave out. It hit the ground hard, howling in pain and rage, trying to drag itself forward with its front legs alone.
The howling was loud, too loud, echoing off the walls and probably calling every other nightmare creature within hearing distance. Anakin didn't waste time feeling sorry for it. He needed to end this fast, before the noise brought company he couldn't handle.
He brought the stone down on its skull again. The howling cut off into a wet gurgle. Then again, and the creature stopped thrashing. Once more for good measure, because he'd read enough survival stories to know that assuming something was dead got you killed.
The creature went limp.
Anakin stood there, breathing hard, his hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline crash. Blood spattered his clothes and face, warm and sticky, smelling like copper and something fouler. The stone in his hand was slick with it, dark liquid dripping between his fingers to pool on the floor below.
He'd killed something. Actually killed it. With a rock?
The absurd part was how easy it had been. Not easy like simple—his muscles ached and his hands hurt, his heart which was still pounding like a war drum was proof of that—but easy like inevitable. Like his body had known what to do even when his mind hadn't. Some part of him had been waiting for this, prepared for violence in a way that should've worried him but mostly just felt useful.
Huh.
A low voice rang in his head, and Anakin froze.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Stone Hound.]
The words materialized in his mind with absolute certainty, the meaning clear even though he'd never heard them before. A beat of silence followed, and Anakin held his breath.
[You have received a Memory.]
[Your fate is mending]
[You have received a Fragment of Fate]
The runes materialized before him without prompting, a shimmering script hanging in the air like they'd always been there.
Fate Fragments: 3/700
Three fragments from one kill. Anakin stared at the number, doing the mental math. Seven hundred divided by three was... roughly two hundred and thirty-three. He needed to kill two hundred and thirty-three of these things just to hit whatever milestone waited at seven hundred. Then another hundred for the thousand mark that felt significant for reasons he couldn't quite explain.
The prospect should've been daunting. Instead, it just felt like a goal. A clear, quantifiable objective in a situation that had been nothing but uncertainty and confusion.
He could work with goals. He concentrated on the runes describing his memories
[Memory: Gauntlets of the Stone Guard]
Memory Rank: Dormant
Memory Type: Armor
Memory tier: 2
Memory Description: [Once, a knight named Igris stood watch over the ancient gates. His armor was said to be unbreakable, forged from the bones of the earth itself. These gauntlets are all that remain of his vigil.]
Memory Enchantment: [Featherweight][??]
Ah yes, he had forgotten about that, sunny was the only bastard who could actually see what his memories did, he on the other hand had no idea what the two enchantments did, well the first one was quite obvious, and the second one he could not even guess.
Stone gauntlets materialized around his forearms and fists, gray as storm clouds and textured like rough granite. They extended from his knuckles to halfway up his forearms, articulated plates that moved with his fingers like they were part of his own body.
Of course he knew the nightmare spell made the memory for the user's fitting, perfect.
Anakin flexed his hands experimentally, and the stone shifted smoothly, no resistance or heaviness despite clearly being solid rock. The enchantment made them feel weightless, like wearing nothing at all.
He made a fist and examined the gauntlets more closely. The knuckles were reinforced with thicker stone ridges, clearly designed for impact. Not sharp like a blade, but blunt and devastating.
"Igris," Anakin said aloud, testing the name. The description had mentioned armor, plural. Not just gauntlets. Which meant there were more pieces somewhere out there in this hell—chest piece, greaves, helmet maybe.
A side quest, then. Something to hunt for if he survived long enough to escape this nightmare of stone corridors and hungry beasts. The thought of having a complete set of armor that felt like wearing air but hit like an avalanche was almost enough to make him smile.
Almost.
He focused, and the gauntlets disappeared in bright sparks of brilliant small lights He. Then summoned them again, feeling them materialize with that strange sensation and the shimmer. It did take a few seconds to materialize but that was ok.
Anakin dismissed the runes and took stock of his situation. The chamber was quiet again, but not for long. He could already hear the sound of claws on stone, getting closer. Multiple creatures, moving through the passages. Coming to investigate the noise, or coming to feed on their dead fellow creature.
The sound of approaching creatures grew louder, echoing from the left passage. At least three, maybe four, moving fast through the darkness. Anakin backed toward the far wall, putting solid stone at his back and giving himself a clear view of the entrance. His hands hung ready at his sides, the stone warm against his skin despite feeling like nothing at all.
No point in getting surrounded if he could help it.
The first creature burst from the passage at a dead run, Anakin recognized it immediately. Another Stone Hound, this one bigger than the first. It spotted him and howled, the sound bouncing off the walls with enough force to make his ears ring.
Then two more emerged behind it. And a fourth. All of them fixing their glowing eyes on him with single-minded hunger.
"Four," Anakin said to the empty air, to himself, to whatever god or cosmic force had decided this was a fun way to test an aspirant. "That's twelve fragments if I win."
The lead hound charged.
Anakin moved to meet it, stone fists ready.
The first hound died fast. It came at him with the same straightforward aggression as its predecessor, Anakin simply sidestepped the lunge before bringing his gauntleted fist down on the back of its skull. The impact was devastating. Stone met its bone with a crack that echoed through the chamber, and the creature's head caved in like an eggshell. It collapsed instantly, momentum carrying its corpse into the wall with a meaty thud. It was surprisingly bloody for a creature made of stone.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Stone Hound.]
[Your fate is mending]
[You have received a Fragment of Fate]
The voice of the spell rang inside his head again, notifying him of the confirmed kill.
Anakin stared at his fist, then at the very dead Stone Hound. The gauntlets hadn't just protected his hands.
"Okay," he said, grinning now despite the blood and the pain, it was all so absurd "I can work with this."
The second and third came together, one from each side. Smarter. They'd seen what happened to their packmate and adjusted their strategy. Anakin couldn't dodge both at once, so he didn't try. He went forward instead, closing distance with the one on his right and taking the hit from the left.
Claws raked across his arm, tearing through cloth and skin above where the gauntlets protected him, and pain exploded up his shoulder. But his own strike hit true, a cross that caught the right-side hound across its jaw. Its teeth shattered, bone cracked, and the creature went down in a heap.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Stone Hound.]
[Your fate is mending]
[You have received a Fragment of Fate]
The fourth hound hit him from behind.
The impact drove him to his knees, its considerable weight crashing down on his back, teeth searching for his neck. Anakin twisted, got his protected forearm up to block. Teeth scraped against stone and slid off harmlessly. The enchantment might make the gauntlets weightless, but they definitely did more.
He grabbed the hound's head with both hands and squeezed.
It took all his strength and some more, but he managed to crack the skull of the fiend "Ugh, your breath stinks, dont you guys know how to brush?" with a wet crunch, the hound went limp in his grip, Anakin shoved the corpse away.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Stone Hound.]
[Your fate is mending]
[You have received a Fragment of Fate]
The third hound, the one that had clawed his arm, was circling for another pass. Blood dripped down Anakin's bicep, warm and sticky, but the wound wasn't deep. He could still move well enough
"Come on then," Anakin said, his smile was all teeth. "Let's see how fast I can fill this counter."
The hound charged, and Anakin met it head-on, stone fists ready to paint the walls red. Maybe he really had gone insane.