My heart raced and sweat beaded on my forehead.
I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed.
We were right. It was a trap. But it was far more elaborate than I could’ve had ever imagined.
Even after we killed her, Lysandra somehow found a way to fuck me over. And by Spurius Axul's order? He saw the future - WHAT?!
I looked down at my hands – the unmistakable aura of Erebus' mark surrounded me.
[You are marked by Darkness]
I ran my hands over my face, staggering back in disbelief.
I had failed.
It was all over.
The world is doomed.
Spurius Axul had us all in the palm of his hand, planning everything a thousand years ago.
“Spellsword, what’s wrong?” Goren asked, sounding worried. “What did you see?”
I shook my head. “The trap...”
“Yeah…?”
I met his gaze, the weight of my failure crushing down on me. “It was set for me specifically.” I muttered. “I’m marked.”
Goren’s eyes widened in horror. “YOU’RE WHAT?!”
He rushed to my side, grabbing my shoulders, his eyes scanning me frantically as if trying to see the mark for himself. But he couldn’t see it – only I could.
I shoved him off. “Knock it off. Believe me, I’m marked, for fuck’s sake. It’s over.”
Goren staggered back.
“No, no, no, no, no…” he muttered, falling to his knees, his face buried in his hands.
Images of Yana filled my mind.
I drugged her. I cuffed her. All so she wouldn’t be here. All so she’d be safe while we ended this.
But it was for nothing. I can’t end it. Now that I was marked…it was over.
Then, suddenly, Goren sprang to his feet. Without uttering a word, he rushed toward the mural, summoning his sword. It glowed with magic as he struck the stone, shattering it.
He kept going – hacking at it over and over – until, at last, a hole was revealed in the center – the one from the memory fragment.
He reached inside and pulled out the dark gemstone.
“Key item.” He said, staring at it. “Gemstone Key. The System can't lie. This is it, Spellsword!"
I barely reacted. I stared blankly at the ground, drowning in regret.
“Spellsword, snap out of it!” Goren shouted. “We can still do this.”
I ignored him, wrapped in my own failure.
Then – a fist slammed into my face, and I hit the ground.
Goren stood over me, his fists clenched. “Get you shit together, Spellsword!” He roared, grabbing the back of my armor, hauling me to my feet. “We have the Key. Let’s go face him!”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll never descend thirty levels without dying – not with both of us marked.”
“What is this sissy talk, Spellsword?” Goren snapped. “Fight! Fight, goddamn it! Fight! If you have something to fight for – you fight!”
Then, he punched me again, dropping me to my back.
Goren loomed over me, holding out his hand. “We can still do it! You can’t give up!”
I stared at him.
The man I wanted nothing in common with. The man I only teamed up with to defeat a greater evil. The man who had killed me and Yana multiple times in previous loops. And now…he was the one acting like the real hero. Not me.
He was right. I couldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever. The initial shock of being marked got the better of me. But all is not lost.
I took a deep breath, slapped both my cheeks, and grabbed his hand.
He pulled me back to my feet.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. “Thanks. I needed that.”
Before he could reply, a tremor shook the chamber. Then, the sound of the familiar monsters echoed from outside the chamber, getting closer. The entire roster of them. Ina flash, they were already here.
One by one, they filled the chamber.
So, this is what being marked feels like…
Goren and I stood back-to-back as they surrounded us.
Then, an idea flashed through my mind.
“Kill me.”
“What?!” he shouted, his gaze still on the monsters. “But you’re already marked…Will it delete the mark?”
“No.” I replied. “The mark won’t go away, but I’ll respawn in Gaelith’s chamber. I’ll fill you in and we’ll bypass the monsters completely. Just give me the Key.”
It seemed like when the stakes grew higher, Goren asked fewer questions.
He turned around, handing me the gemstone, and I quickly stored it in my second inventory.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
[Item Acquired: Gemstone Key – Added to Inventory #2]
Then, Goren’s blade found a gap in my chestplate.
Pain exploded in my chest. Slowly, my vision faded to black.
[Health: 0% - You Have Died]
[You’ll now reawaken at Checkpoint #1]
***
“…The fifth level is literally just one floor above us.” Goren sighed, exasperated. “We needed Gaelith – “
“Shut up!” I cut him off before he could finish.
His eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t give him time to react. I immediately filled him in on what had happened.
“YOU'RE WHAT?!”
“It doesn’t matter.” I said, shaking my head. “You already punched me back to my senses.” I summoned the Key from my inventory, holding it up. “We have this now.”
The System recognized it as: Gemstone Key. With the description being pretty telling: A Key to seal Darkness.
It doesn't get any clearer than this.
“Fuck!” Goren still looked in disbelief learning that I was marked, but eventually, he nodded. “Okay. No time to waste. Let’s go.”
Just as we were about to leave, the Déjà vu System flashed a message.
[All components present: Darknessbound Core, Gemstone Key, Eye of Axul, Essence of Darkness, Axul's Ice]
[Instructions on Imprisoning Darkness had been added to Inventory #2]
[Item Acquired: THE Instructions – Added to Inventory #2]
“Wait.” I stopped him. “My System just gave me the instructions.”
“Instructions?” Goren echoed, confused.
I summoned the new item – a piece of parchments covered in text.
“Well?! Read it!” Goren demanded, impatient.
My heart raced. Monsters would be coming soon – that’s what being marked meant. But at the same time, in our current predicament, there was no safe place in this tomb to stop and read. Here and now was as better place as any.
The parchment read:
Heyooo, it’s Pix here!
Okay, long story short – this is what each of these things does and how to use them together. DO NOT mess up the order!
- Believe it or not, Erebus has a heart. He probably doesn’t call it that, but in simplified human terms – it’s a heart. Like, an actual heart.
- With the Darknessbound Core close, he’ll freak out and start growing bigger, trying to hide his heart inside that oversized body. DON’T GET DISTRACTED. Ignore the transformation and use the Eye item to find the heart.
- Once you spot the heart, use the Ice item to freeze the rest of him, leaving only the heart exposed - the Ice item will do this on its own.
- Get up close (Yeah, I know it sounds insanely scary – but you HAVE to. Also, he's frozen, so no real danger).
- Combine Darknessbound Core, Gemstone Key, and Essence of Darkness (the Déjà vu System will react automatically) – then aim the combined Prison at the heart.
- Expect heavy mental resistance from him, but FIGHT THROUGH IT!
- If you did everything correctly AND IN ORDER, Erebus should get sucked into the Prison.
- Goodbye, Darkness.
- Easy, right?!
- JUST FOLLOW THE ORDER, OKAY?! Don’t screw this up.
- Go read number 10 again. Seriously.
xoxo, Pix
“Who the hell is Pix?” Goren asked, baffled. “And what the hell does 'xoxo' mean? Could be important..."
“Really, Goren?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s what bothers you right now?”
He shrugged innocently, and I sighed. “Look, it’s pretty simple. We just need to follow the order, and we win. Let’s go.”
We turned toward the exit, but before we could take another step, a shriek cut through the air.
We barely had time to react before three Blood Wraiths came flying straight at us, their claws aimed right for our throats.
I rolled away, Wind Rush moving me faster. Then, I pivoted and lunged at the closest enemy.
I intercepted the wraith’s clawed strike with Silverfang before rounding it with two successive Enhanced Dash Steps, slicing it in half. The creature let out another shriek as it dissipated into black mist.
To my side, Goren melted into his shadow, reappearing behind the second wraith. Twin daggers in hand, he drove both into its back before twisting sharply. The wraith exploded into black mist, dissolving into nothing.
The third one lunged at me from the left, but I was faster – way faster. I feinted to the right, then Enhanced Dash Stepped to the left. One clean, diagonal sweep with Silverfang resulting in a critical hit was all that was needed to slay it.
“Easy.” Goren said as he flicked the black mist off his daggers as if it was tangible.
I barely had time to agree before more shrieks filled the chamber. More were coming.
A second wave surged into the room – this time seven Blood Wraiths.
“Alright, round two then.” Goren muttered.
They came at us from all angles, but we were a lot stronger, way faster, and by far smarter.
I activated Horizon, sending a wide arc of wind slicing through two wraiths at once. Their forms twisted before dispersing into mist.
Goren drew three of them and dodged effortlessly, weaving in his own attacks. He slashed upward, cutting one apart before immediately spinning around and driving his dagger into another. He slid under the last one’s attack, before pivoting and jumping at its back and finishing the job.
Meanwhile, the final two wraiths came for me.
It almost felt like they were moving in slow motion, so I didn’t even bother dodging.
I activated Explosive Strike, slamming Silverfang into the ground. The following blast erupted forward, hitting the wraiths. Then, I used Enhanced Blade Rush and swung the glaive in a wide arc, catching both. Killing both.
More shrieks. More Blood Wraiths – dozens of them – phased through the walls, cutting off our only exit.
I tightened my grip on Silverfang. “This isn’t going to stop, is it?”
“Nope,” Goren confirmed. “When ol’ Erebus wants you dead, he follows through. Trust me, I would know.” He chuckled nervously.
I sighed. “Which means we need to leave.”
“Already ahead of you.” Goren smirked, summoning a weapon from his inventory. It was staff made of blackened steel with a large, glowing blue orb mounted at its top. “Just get behind me.”
I didn’t argue, using Enhanced Dash Step to get into safety.
Goren raised the staff and slammed its base against the ground. Then, a massive pulse of magic erupted forward. The blue light flooded the area in front of us, washing over the countless Blood Wraiths like a wave. They were stuck in place, stuck mid-motion, flickering.
“This is my trusty farming weapon - Oblivion Orb.” Goren grinned. “Now, go crazy.”
And so we did.
We cut them all down in seconds. Me with Silverfang, Goren with his daggers, striking them all down as the paralysis continued for at least half a minute.
I exhaled in relief. So far, so good.
“Alright, let’s move before more – “
A deep, guttural sound echoed from the walls, making a shiver run down my spine.
“Oh, fuck.” Goren muttered, shaking his head.
“What?” I asked, feeling like he knew something.
“Earlier, I thought about which bosses are still left for us to slay, believing only Gaelith’s Darkness remained.” He said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “But unless you took the wraith-one out on your own, then we should still have it on our list.”
“The wraith-one…” I muttered silently as right on cue it appeared.
A massive apparition, three time the size of a man, wearing a tattered black cloak that billowed. A hood obscured its face, but beneath it, a black void churned – an abyss as deep as Erebus’ Darkness.
It held a scythe, but not like any normal weapon. The blade was not entirely metal as well – an arc of shifting black mist, surrounded by shadows that coiled around it and twisted non-stop. It didn’t reflect light – it consumed it.
A red glow emanated from deep within its hood.
My System reacted.
Death – level ???.
Goren and I didn’t move.
Neither of us said a word.
Because we couldn’t.