The air was thick with tension and the smell of moss. Screeches echoed through the altered Glen Woods as chaos broke loose. Green spiders the size of bulls swarmed from the canopy, and wood elementals erupted from the ground like angry spirits.
Three parties—twelve in total—fought back-to-back in a rapidly formed circle. Lucian and Cordelia were among them, flanked by two others.
One of the spiders lunged forward. Cordelia extended her hand.
"Bind."
A blue ring of runes shimmered beneath the elemental's feet, and ethereal cuffs snapped shut around its legs like glowing manacles, tripping it violently.
Lucian stepped forward, mana flaring. He shot two mana bolts, then flexed his hand and shaped a condensed sphere of energy. With a crack, it burst into a pulse of force, flinging a spider across the field.
"On your left!" Cordelia shouted.
A massive spider burst from the thickets and lunged. Lucian twisted, but not fast enough—it hit him, launching him into the air.
He flipped, hands moving quickly.
"Featherfall."
His descent slowed. Cordelia chanted, her staff glowing.
"Sigil Step."
Glowing glyphs appeared in mid-air like footholds. Lucian stepped across them, shifting direction, and landed right on the spider's hairy back. He pressed his palm to its head.
"Wind Sphere."
A compressed orb of swirling wind exploded outward, blasting a hole through the monster's skull. It collapsed with a gurgling screech.
From above, another spider dropped.
Lucian drew his sword mid-air, feet already finding another sigil step.
"Force Impact."
He vaulted over the beast and threw his sword with a shout. It embedded into the spider's back—and detonated. The resulting shockwave shredded chitin and scattered limbs.
On the ground, Cordelia hovered above a boulder using her magic, then scattered a shimmering dust from a pouch.
"Comet's Trail."
The dust lit up, trailing light like a meteor. The boulder zipped forward with explosive force, knocking through several advancing elementals.
Another elemental stepped into a shaft of sunlight.
"Luminous Chains," she whispered.
Light coalesced into radiant bindings that anchored it in place. Lucian and another adventurer rushed in, blades flashing. The elemental crumbled.
As the dust began to settle, people glanced at Lucian and Cordelia with new respect.
A few called out praise. Others simply nodded in approval as they began collecting spider parts—fangs, venom sacs, silken pouches.
A rustle—
A spider lunged.
A spear zipped through the air and pinned it to a tree.
Eri walked into view, calm as ever. His white mask gleamed.
Lucian blinked. "You're late."
"I was early," Eri replied. "You were late."
They hurried to the webbed prisoners. The spiders had trapped some adventurers in giant cocoons, leaving them for a reserved meal. Cordelia cut open one cocoon—and Durn rolled out, groaning.
"Lucky bastard wasn't eaten," Eri said, handing Cordelia a few communication stones. "I meant to give you these earlier."
They all sat around, allowing them to catch their breath. Durn took a big bite out of the bread Cordelia handed him. "Apologies, young mistress. I'll repay you tenfold."
He noticed Cordelia sitting unusually close to Lucian but said nothing.
Lucian sat near her as the adrenaline faded. "That shimmering dust... and those luminous chains. What were those?"
Cordelia adjusted her robe with a smirk. "Chains are Abjuration. A sub-branch of Celestial Magic—Sun School. Difficult, very affinity-based. And the dust? Ground petals from glowing flowers. Stardust. It's required for Comet Trail. Sunlight, too."
Lucian's mind was already spinning. He could feel a new spell sketching itself.
Then she leaned forward, pointing at his sword.
"So it was a sword all along? Hahaha—were you planning on saving it for a dramatic reveal?"
Lucian smirked. "Look who got her confidence back. Weren't you the one quivering yesterday?"
He got a hit on the arm as a reply.
Eri finished chewing. He stood.
Everyone fell silent.
"I have something to reveal," he said.
And just like that, the forest quieted again—only the trees whispering in the aether-laced wind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deep within the twisted groves of the dungeon, far from the clamor of steel and spellfire, a pocket of eerie calm lingered beneath the canopy. Faint green light shimmered through the leaves above, casting long shadows on the moss-covered earth below.
Three figures occupied the clearing.
The first sat in silent meditation, robes drawn close, his hands resting calmly on his knees. No beard. No hair. Just a gaunt face etched with lines of stress and purpose. The cultist mage, Vael.
Beside him, leaning against a rock with bandaged arms sat Bee, the axe-wielding berserker. His breathing was slow, but the tension in his jaw betrayed his agitation.
And perched lazily on a branch above, legs swinging, was the slim girl with black hair and curved daggers—Serene. Her hood was drawn low, but her smirk was unmistakable.
Minutes passed in silence before the mage stirred. His eyes opened.
"Where is Aa?" he asked, his voice soft and emotionless.
The axe man answered without hesitation. "Dead. Speared clean through."
Still, the mage didn't react.
Serene's head tilted curiously. "You're quiet. No grief for your little shadow?"
"There is no grief in necessity," he replied flatly. "Loss is the cost of delay."
Serene laughed, a sound like wind chimes tangled in storm winds. "Cold as ever."
The berserker frowned. "The one who did it… masked bastard with a spear. Fast. Precise. He didn't even flinch when I charged."
Serene nodded, still swinging her legs. "He was fun. Efficient. Strong. I hope I get to fight him next."
Vael stood slowly, brushing dirt from his robe. He said nothing for a moment, then reached into his inner fold.
The metal orb.
It opened with a sharp click.
Within, the obsidian shard pulsed—veins of darkness swirling inside. It distorted the air, blurred the light, made the world feel slightly… off.
The mage closed it immediately.
A scowl tugged at his face for the first time.
"The plan is delayed," he muttered, voice low but simmering. "Too much resistance. Too much noise. I can feel it—the shard wants chaos. It needs chaos."
He turned to them fully.
"Kill them all. Adventurers. Survivors. It doesn't matter. Drown the dungeon in blood. And once the fear takes root..."
He looked toward the deeper woods, where the green light grew more vivid.
"Then we corrupt it."
And far beyond their location, where even beasts refused to tread, the very heart of the dungeon pulsed.
An old, gnarled tree stood by the rift.
Its leaves shimmered with hues of emerald and jade.
Its roots pulsed faintly with an unnatural rhythm.
And though it bore no eyes, no mouth, and no voice...
It watched.
It remembered.
And above it, like a scar in the sky—
The rift to the Aether Sea trembled.