The red light shimmered in the distance like a second sun, glowing above the horizon. Violet stood at the edge of the rooftop, wind tugging at her violet coat, wand gripped in her hand.
Her orb vibrated softly. "Dungeon surge detected. Class B. Distance: 14 kilometers."
She narrowed her eyes. "That's closer than usual."
The city below was beginning to stir. Sirens blared in the distance. Magic-powered cars zipped through the streets, heading away from the glowing sky. People had learned to run when the red light came.
But Violet didn't run.
She jumped.
With a flick of her wand, wind wrapped around her boots. Her body lightened, and she landed gracefully on the ground two stories below. She took off running, weaving through alleyways and empty streets, her heart pounding—not with fear, but purpose.
Every dungeon was a clue. Every monster was a chance.
And this one felt important.
---
The red light came from the outskirts, where the city met the wilderness. An old sports dome stood there, long abandoned after the first dungeon outbreaks. Now its roof was cracked and overgrown with vines.
And now, a dungeon portal floated above it like a flaming eye.
Violet arrived just as the city's defense mages were setting up a barrier. Drones buzzed overhead. Magical shields shimmered between tall poles. Uniformed guards moved in formation, their armor etched with mana symbols.
A man with a bright silver cape stood at the center, barking orders.
"Reinforce the south post! Keep non-combatants behind the third ring!"
He turned as Violet approached. His eyes widened slightly. "You again."
"Hello, Captain Rhys," Violet said calmly.
"You're not authorized to be here."
"I'm not authorized to stay home, either," she said with a small smile. "Besides, I'm not just anyone."
He sighed. "I remember. Mage Scholar. Special clearance. Always in the middle of trouble."
She nodded. "That's me."
Rhys looked up at the portal. "This one's different. We scanned it—there's something strange inside."
"Let me guess," she said, stepping forward. "No clear monster readings. Energy levels off the charts."
His eyes narrowed. "How did you—?"
"I've seen it before."
He crossed his arms. "Are you saying this is connected to the last one?"
She didn't answer directly. Instead, she pulled her notebook from her satchel and showed him the strange symbol she found—the circle with three eyes.
His face went pale.
"You've seen this?"
"In a hidden chamber. Deep dungeon. There was a black feather too."
Rhys stared at her. "This is bad."
"No," Violet said. "This is just the beginning."
---
Permission was granted. Violet stepped through the shimmering wall of the outer barrier and approached the portal.
It was enormous—spinning slowly, pulsing with red and black energy. The air around it crackled like a storm.
She raised her wand and focused.
"Scan."
The orb buzzed. "Energy unknown. Structure shifting. Threat level: unstable."
Violet reached out. Her fingers brushed the edge of the portal.
Then everything flipped.
---
For a moment, she was nowhere. No up. No down. Just falling through colors and noise.
Then her feet hit solid ground.
She was inside.
---
The dungeon looked like a shattered cathedral. Black stone walls rose high into the air, broken and twisted. Strange glowing roots crawled along the floors and ceiling. Everything smelled of ash and ozone.
But what truly caught her eye was the center of the room.
A giant stone egg.
Cracked.
And empty.
Dark steam hissed from its base.
Violet stepped forward slowly.
"What hatched from you?" she whispered.
A soft sound echoed from behind her. A footstep.
She turned, wand raised.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
It was a girl.
About her age. Golden hair. Eyes as red as rubies. Wearing a black cloak.
Not a monster.
But not quite human either.
The girl smiled.
"You're late."
---
Violet didn't lower her wand.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The golden-haired girl tilted her head. "That's a funny question," she said. Her voice was calm, soft—like she'd been expecting Violet for years. "I could ask you the same thing. But I already know."
Violet narrowed her eyes. "You were waiting for me?"
"I was hoping," the girl said, stepping closer. "And hoping works best when you're patient."
She stopped a few feet away, standing at the edge of the cracked egg.
"This place," the girl continued, "it's one of the old ones. The deep dungeons. You've heard of them, haven't you?"
Violet nodded slowly. "Yes. I found a symbol in one. And a black feather."
The girl smiled wider. "Then you really are the one."
"The one for what?"
"To decide."
A chill ran down Violet's spine. "Decide what?"
The girl raised her hand. A small orb of light appeared above her palm. Inside the light spun a shape—three glowing eyes within a circle. The same symbol Violet had found.
"You already opened the first door," the girl said. "Now you're standing in the second. But soon, more will open. And you'll have to choose."
"Choose what?" Violet asked again, her voice low.
"Whether the monsters stay caged… or get replaced."
Violet took a step back. "I'm not helping monsters."
The girl's eyes sparkled. "But what if the monsters were never what you thought they were?"
A loud crack split the air. The ground trembled. The dungeon began to shift.
The girl looked up, then back at Violet. "We're out of time."
"What are you?"
The girl gave a mysterious smile. "A Seeker. Like you. Only I'm already wearing the mask."
Before Violet could ask anything else, the girl vanished in a flash of golden light.
Gone.
---
The egg behind her groaned. A long fissure split across its surface. Something moved inside the shadows. Not alive. Not dead. And definitely not human.
Violet backed away. "Scan!"
The orb glowed. "Entity unknown. No match in any monster index."
The stone shattered. A long, shadowy limb reached out, followed by a second. It dragged itself from the broken shell, tall and thin, its body covered in shifting black mist. Three eyes glowed in its face—just like the symbol.
Violet held her wand high.
"Barrier!"
A magical shield shimmered in front of her just as the creature lunged. Its claws slammed into the barrier with a sound like breaking glass.
It hissed.
Then it spoke.
Not in words. In her mind.
"You broke the seal. You lit the sky."
Violet gritted her teeth. "You killed my parents."
The creature paused. Then slowly, smiled.
"Not me. Not yet."
Her breath caught.
Yet?
That meant—
The creature slammed its body against the shield again. Cracks spread. Violet knew it wouldn't hold much longer.
She had to escape.
She spun and ran, retracing her steps. The cathedral walls trembled. Stone fell around her. Behind her, the creature shrieked—high and hungry.
She reached the glowing circle that marked the portal out and leapt through just as the ceiling caved in.
---
Violet stumbled out onto the grass outside the sports dome. Her knees hit the dirt hard.
Captain Rhys rushed over. "What happened?!"
She looked up, eyes wide, panting. "It wasn't a normal dungeon. There was a creature. Not listed. And a girl—no, a Seeker."
"A what?"
"I don't know," she said, standing. "But she knew me. She said I had to decide something. And the monster… it wasn't just a monster. It talked to me."
Rhys looked concerned. "You're saying it was intelligent?"
"No," Violet said, brushing dirt from her coat. "I'm saying it knew me. It was waiting."
---
Back at the library, Violet sat in silence. She looked at the sketches in her notebook. The symbol. The feather. The cracked egg. The girl.
She picked up her pen and scribbled something under the last drawing:
"Not all monsters roar. Some whisper."
She closed the book and looked out the window.
The stars were out again. But one of them—far in the sky—was glowing red.
A new dungeon.
A new call.
And this time, she wasn't just chasing revenge anymore.
She was chasing the truth.