The dungeon smelled like rust and wet stone, and I remember thinking—stupidly—that it felt almost familiar. Like home. My boots scraped against cracked tiles as I stepped forward, shield raised, sword tight in my grip. My arms burned from hours of fighting, but I didn't complain. I never did.
That was my role. Reliable Eron. The one who showed up early, carried extra supplies, took the front line even when I shouldn't have. The one who believed that a party meant something.
"Almost there," Lysa said behind me. Her voice was light, encouraging. The same voice that had dragged me out of bed for dawn quests and laughed with me over cheap ale. "Once we clear the next chamber, we'll be rich."
I smiled without turning. "Then drinks are on me."
I meant it. I always did.
The dungeon corridor widened into a circular chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow. A massive stone door loomed ahead, carved with warning sigils that made my skin prickle. I swallowed and stepped closer, examining the runes like I'd been taught.
Too late, I realized the silence was wrong.
No breathing behind me. No armor shifting. No whispered jokes.
I turned.
They were already backing away.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice echoing off the stone.
Daren wouldn't meet my eyes. He was the leader. He'd been the one who found me starving outside the city gates months ago. He tightened his grip on his spear, jaw clenched.
"The boss is behind that door," he said. "We can't beat it. Not head-on."
Lysa looked at me then. Her eyes were wet. That almost hurt more.
"Eron," she said softly. "You're the toughest one here."
I laughed, because it didn't make sense. "That's why I'm in front. Open the door together. Same plan as always."
The mage, Korrin, muttered, "There's another way."
The door behind me trembled.
Something massive struck it from the other side. Dust rained down. The sigils flared crimson.
My heart slammed against my ribs. "What other way?"
No one answered.
Daren exhaled slowly. "We distract it. You distract it."
Understanding hit me like a blade to the gut.
"No," I said. "Don't joke about that."
The door cracked. A claw punched through stone, black and slick, scraping wildly. Heat rolled out of the opening, thick with sulfur.
Lysa took another step back.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
I moved toward them, panic rising. "We're a party. We swore—"
The floor shifted beneath my feet.
A trap circle flared to life.
Chains of red light snapped up around my legs and waist, locking me in place. I screamed and tried to hack them apart, but my sword bounced off like it was striking air.
"DAREN!" I shouted.
He raised his spear—not at the door, but at the lever embedded in the wall.
"I'll make it quick," he said, not looking at me. "You'll be remembered."
The lever slammed down.
The door exploded inward.
The monster burst free in a storm of stone and fire, a towering mass of horn, muscle, and molten cracks. Its roar drowned out everything. The chains yanked me forward, dragging me toward it like bait on a line.
I fought. I screamed. I begged.
None of them turned back.
The last thing I saw was Lysa's face as the corridor collapsed between us.
Then pain.
White-hot, all-consuming pain as claws ripped through armor, through flesh. My shield shattered. My sword flew from my hand. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of me, vision blurring.
I thought about stupid things as I lay there. About unfinished meals. About a joke I'd meant to tell. About how warm the campfire had felt the night before.
The monster loomed over me, its shadow swallowing the chamber.
"So this is it," I rasped.
The claw came down.
Everything went dark.
I expected nothing.
Instead, I woke up.
Not in my body. Not in pain. I floated in a vast black space, weightless, silent.
Then blue light burned into existence before my eyes.
[Traitor's Ledger Activated] Cause of Death: Betrayal (Confirmed) Betrayers Logged: 4
I stared at the words, numb.
Another box appeared, flickering slightly, like it was amused.
Congratulations, Eron. You were expendable. Now you are profitable.
"What?" My voice echoed strangely. "Am I dead?"
Status: Deceased (Temporarily) Revival Condition Met.
Rage boiled up, sharp and sudden. "Send me back."
The system paused. Then:
New Class Available: Shadow Betrayer Class Requirement: First Betrayal Hint: Poetic justice recommended.
Images flooded my mind. Daren's back. Lysa's tears. The way the lever had sounded when it dropped.
My hands clenched.
"If I accept," I said slowly, "what do I get?"
The answer came instantly.
Rewards Scale With Trust Violated. More trust = more power. Less guilt recommended.
I laughed. It came out broken.
"Bring me back," I said. "Right now."
The darkness shattered.
I gasped as air slammed into my lungs. I was alive. Whole. Lying in rubble near the dungeon entrance, my armor cracked but repaired, my sword resting beside my hand like it had never left.
Night sky above. Cold wind on my face.
They thought I was dead.
I staggered to my feet, heart pounding, every sense sharp. I felt… different. Lighter. Faster.
A blue box hovered at the edge of my vision.
Isolation Meter: 0% Trust Level: Intact (For Now)
Footsteps echoed nearby.
I froze, then smiled slowly as familiar voices drifted through the darkness.
"They won't make it out," Korrin said. "The collapse was clean."
"Eron bought us enough time," Daren replied. "We'll split his share."
My grip tightened on my sword.
The system chimed softly.
Target Acquired: Party Leader (High Trust) Bonus Multiplier: x10 Temptation Level: Extreme
I stepped out of the shadows.
"Hey," I said calmly.
Four heads snapped toward me.
Their faces went white.
"Miss me?" I asked.
The system whispered, almost gleeful.
First betrayal pending. Make it count.
And as I raised my blade, I realized something terrifying.
I wasn't hesitating at all.