The trembling stopped, and the forest had gone silent. As if the world itself was holding its breath.
The cave was nowhere to be seen.
Alden stood before the now vanishing remains of the white duck's body; the air around it vibrated like a glass about to break.
Something felt wrong.
It felt as if something ancient had woken up.
He felt it in his bones.
A heavy pressure. Not like magic. Not like Aura.
Something more fundamental.
Then the ground beneath the duck's vanishing corpse split.
It was just a thin line at first, then it became wide and wider—until a deep chasm tore open the forest floor.
Something pulsed from within the crack.
A massive and grotesque black heart pulsed with an eerie rhythm.
It wasn't made out of flesh.
It seemed to be made of obsidian. It had golden veins covering it with runes shimmering above it.
It released a heavy heartbeat. Not metaphorical. Not poetic.
The pressure doubled with each beat of its heart.
An eerie silence settled.
Like a calm before the storm.
Alden took a step back, his instincts screaming at him.
His body was already moving before his mind could fully catch up to what was happening.
He saw a shimmering blue portal appear some distance behind the pulsing heart.
I can escape if I reach it.
He didn't know what the heart was—but he wasn't interested in finding out.
His body had already decided it was dangerous.
Every sense screamed at him to run.
He knew—this wasn't something he could fight.
His foot twisted as he kicked off the ground, his [Dance of Chaos] working at full speed.
He flickered through the forest chaotically.
The adaptive momentum effect of his footwork increased his acceleration.
He even used his [Shadow Steps] to run.
The portal was roughly five hundred metres away.
He was approaching it quickly.
Just then he heard a grotesque crunching sound.
[THE DUNGEON WILL COLLAPSE IN TEN MINUTES]
He dismissed the notification.
He didn't even turn back.
He didn't care about any of them at this moment.
He just knew one thing: run away.
He was just a few steps away from the portal.
And then his body froze.
The air behind him shifted.
Just a cold breath on the back of his neck.
Sweat pooled across his skin.
Time stilled for his senses… His heartbeat thundered loudly within his ribcage.
He could hear his own breathing…
The portal was just in front of him.
That's the exit. Just reach it. Just move.
He took a step forward—
But before he could react, a massive force hit him like a mountain falling sideways.
He didn't see the strike.
He only felt himself flying.
Before he could complete his thought, his body tore through a tree.
Each impact cracked something.
He couldn't even scream.
He finally stopped—half-conscious.
He had barely used his shadow manipulation to stop his momentum.
He rolled, dragging his body upright against a broken trunk.
His vision was spinning.
He could taste blood in his mouth.
His left hand was twitching uncontrollably.
But through the chaos of his senses, he felt it.
A figure stepped through the shadows—calm, unhurried and absolute.
Clad in black armour darker than midnight, the figure radiated no killing intent.
That was the scariest part.
"...What…are you...?" Alden breathed, coughing blood.
His shadow manipulation was strained just to keep him upright.
The being stopped a few feet in front of him.
Its face was hidden beneath a jagged black helm.
No words were spoken at first.
Feminine, smooth and cruel.
"How disappointing. I thought the supreme of the world would be a bit better."
The voice echoed with a strange duality—soft yet sharp.
Cold yet quietly furious.
He tried to feel the power radiating out of her…
But there was nothing.
No mana fluctuations... Nothing.
He couldn't guess her power level.
But he understood one thing: She wasn't a monster of the dungeon. She wasn't part of it.
She tilted her head, as if amused by his silence.
"I don't care what crimes you or your ancestors committed… or didn't."
She took another step forward.
"I can leave this dungeon now… if I wish."
She raised one black-gloved hand.
"I felt it," she said quietly.
"That ability which is buried inside you. It called out to me."
"If I devour your core—if I consume that power—I can regain a portion of the power I lost."
"I won't ask for forgiveness. But it is what is necessary for me."
Alden's eyes widened.
He tried to move, to teleport, to do anything.
But the moment he gathered mana—
He didn't even see her move.
Her foot connected again—this time against his ribs.
His body bent unnaturally from the blow, ribs cracking under the force.
He didn't even feel it immediately.
Just the cold numbness of a body giving up.
[ARTIFACT: PENDANT OF WANDERER DAMAGE NULLIFICATION HAS BEEN USED]
Just the kick was considered an attack that could kill him.
She grabbed him mid-flight, slamming him to the ground.
His vision blacked out for a moment before snapping back as she kicked him again, sending him tumbling.
Pain exploded across every nerve.
Not just bruises—cracks.
His bones fractured like glass hit by a hammer.
He tried to form an attack. Shadow coiled, unstable—but the enemy crushed his wrist with a casual stomp before he could shape it.
He screamed, his voice hoarse.
"You're not even resisting properly," she said, almost disappointed.
"You carry such a precious core… And yet you can't even defend it."