Something dark stained the ground ahead.
Blood.
His heartbeat quickened. "No…"
He ran toward it, the dim light flickering wildly with every step. His boots splashed through puddles of blood as he reached the source—
—and fell to his knees.
A massive boulder lay crushed against the ground, and beneath it, the lower half of a man.
The upper half was twisted, battered, and lifeless… but the face was unmistakable.
Silver.
Lux's voice broke. "No, no, no… Brother, wake up! Come on!"
He shook him gently, then harder, desperation rising with each motion.
"You can't leave me here! You hear me?! We're supposed to get rich together!"
But Silver's open eyes only reflected the trembling light.
Lux's hands fell still. The silence pressed down like the stone itself. His voice cracked again, softer this time — a whisper swallowed by the dungeon's cold air.
"Brother… don't leave me…"
Tears slipped down his face, landing on Silver's lifeless hand.
After a long moment, Lux reached out, trembling, and gently closed his brother's eyes. The faint light from his spell flickered weakly — as though mourning with him.
He tugged one of his daggers from his belt and held it tight, the metal reflecting his grief.
Lux moved slowly, his feet crunching over gravel . The dim glow from his light spell flickered weakly, barely enough to push back the thick shadows clinging to the dungeon walls. His breathing echoed — uneven, shallow.
He kept glancing over his shoulder every few steps. The silence behind him wasn't comforting — it was too quiet. The kind of quiet that hides movement.
"Silver…?" he whispered, though he knew there'd be no answer. His voice sounded small, like it didn't belong in that place.
A faint drip echoed from somewhere deeper inside — then a soft scuttling sound, like claws dragging against stone. Lux froze, his dagger shaking in his hand. His heartbeat was so loud he could almost hear it bouncing off the walls.
Then came another sound — a low, drawn-out creak, like the dungeon itself was breathing.
"...No, no, no—" Lux muttered, taking a step back before breaking into a sprint. His light danced wildly as he ran, illuminating fleeting shapes on the walls — markings, eyes, maybe faces — he didn't stop to check.
After what felt like forever, he stumbled to a halt. His lungs burned, his legs trembled, but there — through a narrow crack in the wall — he saw light.
He peered through, and his heart leapt when he saw them — Rita and Ron, running, terrified but alive.
For a moment, relief washed over him. "They made it…" he whispered, pressing his hand against the rock.
But then his expression changed — curiosity creeping in. Why were they running?
He squinted through the crack, trying to see what was chasing them. But the shadows behind them seemed to move on their own .
Lux's dagger slipped slightly in his hand.