The city didn't sleep anymore.
It endured.
Rowan moved at the front of the group, his pace steady, his eyes constantly scanning. The streets they passed through were no longer just abandoned—they were claimed by something else now.
Burned-out cars sat at odd angles, some overturned, others crushed. Storefront windows were shattered. Blood marked the pavement in dark, drying streaks. In the distance, shapes moved—too far to identify clearly, but close enough to remind them the world wasn't empty.
It was occupied.
Behind him, the group followed in tighter formation than before.
Not by accident.
Marcus stayed slightly to Rowan's right, hands relaxed but ready, faint embers flickering occasionally between his fingers. Dana moved on the opposite side, her posture low and balanced, every step controlled. Chris and Lila stayed closer together now, more aware, more alert.
Ivy walked just behind Rowan.
Close enough to act.
Far enough to observe.
They had changed.
No one panicked when distant screams echoed.
No one froze when something howled from a nearby alley.
They adapted.
Rowan slowed slightly as they turned down a wide street.
Then stopped.
"…There," he said.
At the far end of the road—
Something stood where there had been nothing before.
It wasn't a building.
It wasn't a structure.
It was… wrong.
The air bent around it.
A towering archway of fractured stone and swirling light rose from the center of the street, stretching upward like it had been forced into reality. The surface inside it wasn't solid—it churned, shifting like a storm trapped behind invisible glass.
Energy pulsed outward in slow waves.
A gate.
No—
A dungeon.
No one spoke for a moment.
Then Chris exhaled slowly. "…That wasn't there before."
"It is now," Rowan replied.
They moved closer.
Carefully.
The ground near the gate was scorched, cracked outward in a rough circle like the world had rejected its arrival.
And scattered around it—
Bodies.
Not monsters.
People.
Some had tried to fight.
Some had tried to run.
None had succeeded.
Lila swallowed hard. "…They went in?"
Rowan crouched slightly near the edge of the affected area, studying the ground, the marks, the damage.
"Some did," he said. "Some didn't get the choice."
Marcus frowned. "What do you mean?"
Rowan gestured slightly toward the gate.
"Something comes out."
As if responding—
The surface of the gate rippled.
Then something stepped through.
A creature, hunched and twisted, its body stretched thin like it had been pulled apart and forced back together. Its skin was gray and tight over its bones, its limbs too long, fingers ending in jagged claws.
Its head snapped upward.
It saw them.
It screamed.
"Back!" Dana shouted.
Too late.
It charged.
Rowan stepped forward.
His hand sparked.
Thunder Mark.
A thin arc of energy snapped forward, striking the creature's chest. The mark flared faintly, spreading across its torso.
The creature didn't slow.
Rowan moved.
Shock.
He drove his palm into it as it lunged.
Electricity exploded outward—
Stronger than before.
Sharper.
The mark flared—
The effect amplified.
The creature's body locked instantly, its scream cutting off mid-motion as it collapsed forward.
Rowan stepped back as it hit the ground.
[Enemy Eliminated]
[Divine Favor +12]
Silence.
"…That was fast," Marcus muttered.
Rowan didn't respond.
He was watching the gate.
It pulsed again.
Then—
Three more shapes moved behind the surface.
"Yeah," Dana said, stepping forward. "That's not a one-time thing."
Chris swallowed. "…So it just keeps spawning them?"
"Or releasing them," Rowan said.
Ivy stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the gate.
"…It wants something," she said quietly.
Rowan glanced at her.
"…Yeah."
He focused on it.
The system responded.
[Dungeon Gate Detected]
[Type: Minor Dungeon]
[Status: Unclaimed]
[Entry Available]
[Warning: Internal Threat Level Unknown]
A pause.
Then another line appeared.
[Clear Condition: Eliminate Core Entity]
Marcus let out a low breath. "…So we go in… and kill whatever's in charge."
"Or it keeps spilling out here," Dana added.
Chris looked between them. "…We don't even know what's inside."
"That's the point," Rowan said.
All eyes turned to him.
He didn't look away from the gate.
"If we leave it, it gets worse."
The logic was simple.
Brutal.
Correct.
Silence followed.
Then Marcus nodded once. "…Yeah. Alright."
Dana cracked her neck slightly. "Better to hit it first."
Chris hesitated.
Then nodded.
"…Together."
Lila swallowed, but didn't step back this time.
"…Together."
Ivy watched them all.
Then looked at Rowan.
"You already decided," she said.
Rowan finally turned slightly.
"…Yes."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Good."
She stepped forward.
The air shifted around her again.
Not outward.
Inward.
Focused.
[Aphrodite's Grace – Active Influence]
Not for enemies.
For them.
Calm.
Clarity.
Resolve.
No fear.
Rowan felt it.
Didn't question it.
Didn't resist it.
He stepped toward the gate.
"Same formation," he said. "Stay tight. We don't know the terrain."
Marcus nodded, flames flickering slightly stronger now.
Dana moved to the front line beside Rowan.
Chris and Lila stayed behind, ready.
Ivy remained just behind Rowan.
The gate pulsed again.
Waiting.
Rowan stepped into it.
The world shattered.
Light consumed everything.
Sound vanished.
For a moment—
There was nothing.
Then—
They landed.
Hard.
The ground beneath them wasn't concrete anymore.
Stone.
Cold.
Uneven.
Rowan pushed himself up immediately, scanning.
The space around them was enclosed—massive stone walls stretching upward into darkness. Torches burned along the edges, their flames unnatural, casting long, shifting shadows.
The air was damp.
Heavy.
A dungeon.
Behind them—
The gate flickered once.
Then stabilized.
Marcus stood slowly. "…Yeah. I don't like this."
Dana stepped forward, eyes already adjusting. "Too late now."
Chris turned in place. "…We're inside."
Lila whispered, "…We actually did it…"
Ivy rose last.
Her gaze moved across the space, taking everything in.
"…No," she said softly.
They all looked at her.
Her eyes settled on the darkness ahead.
"We just started."
From deep within the dungeon—
Something moved.
Low.
Heavy.
Watching.
Rowan stepped forward.
A faint spark flickered across his hand.
Controlled.
Ready.
"Stay sharp," he said.
The darkness ahead shifted.
And something began to come out of it.