Inside the cave, the air was damp and heavy. The faint glow of Sylas's lantern painted the walls in shades of gold and shadow as he carefully stepped through hanging webs.
He ran a gentle hand over one of the silken strands, his voice soft, calling into the dark.
"Vespera…? VESPERA."
The sound echoed through the cavern. Silence. Then movement.
A deep, metallic growl.
Sylas froze. The lantern's light shook as he turned — staring straight into the gleaming face of a steel bear the size of a wagon. Its eyes glowed faintly blue, steam hissing from its joints.
Sylas blinked up at it, voice cracking a little.
"Hi… big… guy?"
The bear roared and charged. Sylas flinched, throwing his hands over his face—
THUNG!
He opened his eyes. A sharp, black leg jutted clean through the bear's skull. Its massive body crumpled beside him, steam fading into silence.
Sylas looked up, lantern trembling.
A massive spider, black as oil and twice as terrifying, loomed over the carcass. Eight crimson eyes burned like coals.
He exhaled in relief.
"Hi, Vespera."
The spider hissed, shifting — bones cracking and silk reforming — until the familiar shape of Vespera stood there, human once again. Pale, elegant, and very, very annoyed.
"I told you not to do that," she said flatly.
Sylas held up his hands in surrender. "I know, but how else am I supposed to get your attention?"
Before Vespera could reply, another voice echoed through the tunnels — high, small, and way too cheerful for a monster cave.
"HELLOOOO? Anyone here?!"
Vespera and Sylas both turned as Belos, the kid, came skipping around the corner holding two mini steel bears like plush toys.
The next second, everything went to hell.
Vespera's instincts took over. She spun, transformed mid-motion, and lunged — missing the kid's head by inches and pinning him to the ground by his clothes instead.
Belos squeaked.
Sylas yelled.
And then —
SPEAR IMPACT.
Nyxar's spear embedded itself inches from Vespera's face.
He stepped out of the shadows like he'd walked straight out of someone's nightmare — eyes glowing faintly crimson, voice low.
"Get away from the boy."
The cave trembled as Bella the Bell Beast materialized behind him, the sound of a deep chime echoing off the walls.
Belos squealed again — this time because two giant steel bears had just appeared, flanking Nyxar like armored tanks.
The narrator: "And here we go again — the inevitable 'Nyxar declares war on a living nightmare' moment. Someone's definitely dying in the next 10 seconds."
Vespera hissed, fangs bared.
Sylas shouted, "WAIT, SHE'S NOT DANGEROUS—"
Too late. Nyxar's summons lunged.
The two steel bears collided with Vespera, knocking her sideways. One of the mantis summons joined in, its blade slicing through the air — narrowly missing her head but severing one of her spider legs.
Vespera screeched, retreating instinctively to Sylas's side, crouching protectively before him.
For one tense heartbeat, the cave froze.
Nyxar stood surrounded by his summons — Bella behind him, two bears in front, mantis in the shadows. Belos clung to a summoned deer, eyes wide, two mini bears huddled beside him like fuzzy bodyguards.
Across from him, the massive spider loomed protectively over a very confused Sylas.
The narrator: "Oh good. Two armies in one cave. I always wanted front-row seats to a mutual misunderstanding massacre."
Footsteps.
"WHAT is that sound?!" Ember's voice echoed as she burst into the chamber— then froze at the sight.
Nyxar, weapons drawn.
Summons at full alert.
A deer.
A spider.
A man holding a lantern.
Ember blinked.
"Okay… dude. Slowly back away from the spider."
Sylas, panicking: "She's not dangerous, I swear!"
Nyxar, deadpan: "Right." His hand twitched toward the summoning book again.
Sylas waved both hands frantically. "No, no, no! Please! She was just startled! She didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
Ember turned to Belos — still perched on the deer, clutching his mini bears and trembling — and saw the tear in his shirt.
"…Caught off guard, huh?"
Sylas nodded desperately. "Yes! She reacts to movement. He surprised her!"
Ember sighed, rubbing her temples. She looked at Sylas, then at Nyxar, who still hadn't blinked once.
"Nyxar… stand down."
Nyxar slowly turned his head toward her, voice low, utterly terrifying.
"W. H. A. T."
The sheer menace in his tone made everyone freeze — even Bella's bells stopped chiming.
"I said stand down," Ember repeated, forcing confidence. "He's telling the truth. Look at his face — he's too bad at lying."
Nyxar stayed silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he grunted and dismissed the mantis and Bella, shrinking the two steel bears back into minis and handing them to Belos. The deer stayed, just in case.
Sylas exhaled in relief. "Thank you. Now— how about we all calm down? No attacking, no sudden moves."
He looked back at Vespera. "Right?"
Vespera hesitated, then reluctantly transformed into her humanoid form — missing an arm, which began knitting itself back together with silk threads. She didn't break eye contact with Nyxar once.
"See?" Sylas said. "Calm."
Ember crossed her arms. "Sure. If that's what you call it."
He looked at Nyxar. "You?"
Nyxar didn't blink. Didn't move.
Ember sighed. "That's the calmest you're gonna get."
After a painfully awkward pause, Sylas said, "How about we… sit down?"
Everyone hesitated. Then — somehow — they did. Sylas and Ember sat normally. Nyxar and Vespera, however, sat like predators on opposite ends of a trap — never breaking eye contact.
The narrator whispered: "I've seen lions look less tense before a fight."
Sylas smiled politely. "Right, introductions! I'm Sylas. This is Vespera." He gestured to her. "Nice to meet you all, and sorry about the… stabbing."
Ember nodded slowly. "I'm Ember. That's Nyxar. The kid is Belos. And we appreciate the apology, but that doesn't remove the suspicion."
"Totally fair," Sylas said with a nervous laugh. "Honestly surprised we made it this far without dying."
Ember squinted between Nyxar and Vespera, tilting her head. "Do you two… know each other?"
They both said in perfect unison, "No."
"Are you family?" Ember pressed.
Silence. Both of them blinked.
"WHAT," they said again — simultaneously, same tone, same dead expression.
Sylas frowned, studying them. "Wait, actually… she might have a point. You two do look weirdly alike."
Ember pointed between them triumphantly. "See?! Same hair. Same red eyes. Same 'I'll kill you if you breathe wrong' expression!"
Sylas nodded. "Yeah… it's uncanny."
Now Nyxar and Vespera were just staring at each other — no longer with hostility, but with mutual confusion.
The narrator sighed.
"Ah yes. From mortal combat to accidental genealogy. Another day, another emotional whiplash. Gods help me."