The stench of blood and decay lingered in the air as Aeron stood over the corpse of the dungeon boss. His new weapon, the shadow-forged blade, pulsed lightly in his grip before dissolving into mist. His body still thrummed with the aftershocks of battle—his muscles coiled, his senses sharp. Yet beneath the victory, there was something else. A whispering rage.
They had left him here to die.
Aeron exhaled slowly, forcing the anger down, but the memories clawed their way back—sharper than any blade.
---
Three weeks ago.
The mission had seemed routine. A reconnaissance job issued by the high-tier guild Eclipse Fang—one of the most powerful organizations overseeing dungeon exploration. A sudden surge of mana had been detected deep within a supposedly low-risk dungeon, and Eclipse Fang wanted it investigated.
Aeron, a promising B-rank hunter, had been assigned the lead. It should have been an honor. Should have been an easy mission.
It wasn't.
He and his team had barely stepped inside before the attack happened.
The walls of the dungeon had shifted, sealing the entrance behind them. The air had grown thick with an unnatural pressure, suffocating, heavy. Then, the monsters had appeared—not the usual lower-rank beasts expected in a dungeon of this tier, but something much worse.
Elite-class aberrations.
An ambush.
His so-called allies—the men and women he had fought alongside for years—had already been prepared. Aeron had seen it too late: the subtle glances, the hesitation in their movements. Then, one by one, they stepped back.
Leaving him alone.
"Aeron, forgive us," one of them had murmured.
Then they turned and ran, vanishing into the darkness.
He had called out, screamed their names, but no one looked back.
The betrayal cut deeper than any wound.
Left behind, surrounded by monsters, he had fought with everything he had. He had pushed beyond his limits, driven by sheer instinct and will. But in the end, it hadn't been enough.
A claw had ripped through his side. His strength had faded. The last thing he remembered was the cold stone floor rushing up to meet him.
And then—darkness.
---
Aeron's fists clenched as he dragged himself back to the present. The flickering dungeon light cast long shadows around him, his own form barely more than a silhouette against the cave walls.
His former comrades had known.
This wasn't just an accident or a tactical decision made in the heat of battle. It had been deliberate. Planned.
The Eclipse Fang guild had wanted him dead.
The question was—why?
"You are remembering, aren't you?"
Nyxus's voice slithered through his mind, smooth and ancient.
Aeron didn't answer right away. He crouched beside the defeated dungeon boss, pressing a hand against its cooling hide. His system interface flickered in response.
[LOOT ACQUIRED]
Mana Crystal (C-Rank)
Beast Core (Mutated Variant)
Shadow Residue (Rare)
He barely glanced at the rewards before speaking. "You knew, didn't you?"
Nyxus chuckled. "Of course. Do you think I would choose a contractor without knowing the weight of his vengeance?"
Aeron's jaw tightened.
Vengeance.
The word lingered in his mind.
There had to be a reason. He had been strong, but not invincible. Skilled, but not irreplaceable. What had made him a target?
"There are things beyond your understanding, mortal," Nyxus mused. "But you are not wrong to seek answers. Your survival was unexpected. That alone will rattle them."
Aeron let out a slow breath.
If the guild believed he was dead, that was an advantage. He wouldn't waste it. Not yet.
He needed information. He needed to know who had given the order.
And he needed to make them pay.
"Then let's start by hunting them in the dark," Aeron murmured.
Nyxus's laughter echoed in his mind, pleased and expectant.
"Now you are speaking my language."
Aeron rose to his feet, his gaze fixed on the lifeless remains of the dungeon boss. Its body was still twitching slightly, as if resisting death itself, but the fight was over. His new abilities—born from his contract with Nyxus—had made sure of that.
But victory wasn't what lingered in his mind.
It was them.
The faces of those who had abandoned him. The guild that had branded him a threat.
He could still hear their voices in his head—hesitant, regretful, but resolute.
"Forgive us, Aeron."
Forgiveness?
No.
Vengeance would come first.
He reached out toward the corpse of the boss monster, activating his Predation Analysis skill. A surge of dark energy pulsed through his fingertips as the system responded.
[Analyzing…]
[Target: Abyssal Fang Serpent (Mutated Variant)]
[Rank: A-]
[Processing Unique Material…]
[Mutation Origin: UNKNOWN]
A frown crept onto his face. Unknown?
Something about this dungeon had felt off from the start.
The Eclipse Fang guild had sent him here under the pretense of a reconnaissance mission, but the moment he had entered, the entrance had sealed itself. The monsters he had faced weren't normal either. It was almost as if…
They had been expecting him.
Aeron clenched his fists.
Nyxus hummed in amusement. "Your mind is sharp, I see. Yes, this was no ordinary dungeon surge. This was something else entirely."
Aeron narrowed his eyes. "Then why not just kill me outright? If they wanted me dead, why not send an assassin? Why use a dungeon at all?"
"Because they feared you," Nyxus answered. "They feared what you could become. And perhaps, there were… other forces at play."
The cryptic response sent a chill through Aeron's spine. He had known Nyxus long enough to understand one thing—the fallen war god only spoke in riddles when there was something more to uncover.
He wasn't just betrayed. He was targeted.
And someone had ensured that if the dungeon didn't kill him, its monsters would.
His fingers traced the edge of the abyssal serpent's scales before the system flared to life again.
[Unique Essence Extracted: Abyssal Fang Residue]
[New Trait Available: Abyssal Predator (Passive)]
A flicker of text appeared in his vision.
[Abyssal Predator (Passive)]
Enhances combat instincts when fighting in low-light environments.
Slight resistance to fear-based status effects.
Boosts agility in confined spaces.
Aeron smirked.
Every battle, every dungeon, every monster would only make him stronger.
And when the time came to face the ones who had betrayed him, they would see what they had created.
"One by one," he muttered under his breath. "I'll hunt them down."
Nyxus chuckled darkly. "Now, this is the Aeron I wanted to see."
---
(Eclipse Fang Guild Headquarters – Shadow District)
The high-rise building loomed over the city like a monolith of power. Inside, the air was tense.
A group of hunters sat around a dimly lit table, their expressions grim.
"No remains?" a deep voice asked.
A man with sharp features and a jagged scar across his cheek nodded. "None. The dungeon collapsed after the mana surge. There's no way he survived."
Silence.
Then, a woman with icy silver eyes spoke. "And yet… there have been rumors."
The scarred man frowned. "Rumors?"
The woman leaned forward, her fingers tapping against the table. "A hunter reported strange activity in the lower districts. Someone is moving through the shadows. Someone strong."
Another hunter scoffed. "Coincidence."
The woman didn't look convinced.
"Aeron should be dead," the scarred man insisted. "We made sure of it."
A long pause.
Then, she said it.
"What if we didn't?"
The room fell silent.
If Aeron was alive… then everything they had done to eliminate him had failed.
And if he was alive—he would come for them.
One by one.
---
(Back in the Dungeon)
Aeron stepped through the fading remnants of the dungeon portal, the cold night air hitting his face like a slap. The city stretched before him, his old home, now an unfamiliar battleground.
The world thought he was dead.
The guild thought they had won.
They were wrong.
His vengeance had just begun.
---