Chương 41: Chapter 40. Out of The Dark

"By the way," Valiant said as they made their way through another identical-looking tunnel, "that whole 'prey' speech back there? Pretty edgy." Adom kept his eyes on the path ahead, testing each step carefully. His body still felt strange - so smooth, so perfect.

"What speech?"

"Oh, you know." Valiant cleared his throat and attempted his best Adom impression: "'Tell me, Helios... what's a vampire that can't heal?' And then that dramatic pause before 'Prey. You were prey all along.'" He chuckled.

"I mean, it worked, but... wow." A few moments of silence passed, broken only by their footsteps echoing off stone walls.

"... did I really sound like that?"

"Like you'd been practicing it in the mirror for weeks? Yeah, kind of." Valiant's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"I wasn't planning to talk at all," Adom muttered.

"It just... happened."

"Hey, if you're going to be dramatic, that was the time to do it. You did just steal his super vampire healing thingy and everything." Valiant hopped over a small crack in the floor.

"Oh man, reminds me of when I was younger. Used to practice these cool lines in front of the mirror. Had this whole routine worked out for when I'd become a famous adventurer."

"Really."

"Yeah! I'd burst in through the window - had to be a window, doors are boring - point my sword at the villain and say..." He trailed off, ears flattening.

"Actually, no. It's too embarrassing."

"Come on." The corner of Adom's mouth twitched.

"You can't stop there."

"Fine, but you can't laugh." Valiant struck what he probably thought was a heroic pose.

"'Your reign of terror ends here, evildoer! Face the justice of-'""Hush." Adom stopped abruptly, holding up one hand. Something scratched against stone somewhere ahead. A familiar sound, like claws dragging across rock. They pressed themselves against the wall, all thoughts of edgy one-liners forgotten. Valiant's nose twitched rapidly as he scented the air.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," he whispered. The scratching grew louder. Closer.

"Oh god, that reeks." Valiant's nose wrinkled as he sniffed the air.

"Like something crawled inside something else that was already dead and then they both rotted together."

"Accurate description." Adom's weighted knuckles materialized from his inventory with a practiced motion. The scratching grew closer, accompanied by a wet, dragging sound. The ghoul lurched around the corner, half its face already sloughed off, revealing muscle and bone underneath. Adom rolled his shoulders - still strange, how smoothly they moved now. Every joint felt fresh, like they'd been dipped in oil and polished. His body was a blank slate, wiped clean of history.

That old knee scar from falling out of the manor's oak tree? Gone. The tiny burn mark on his palm from his first fumbled fireball? Vanished. Even that embarrassing bite mark on his left cheek (the lower one) from when he and Damus had climbed the Lightbringer fence and got chased by their overly enthusiastic gardener's dog - that one had hurt for weeks. All of it, just... gone. He felt alive. More than alive. Better than when he'd first woken up in his younger body.

Everything worked with a precision that seemed almost unreal. Before the ghoul could reach with its mangled hands, Adom's fist connected with what remained of its jaw. Bone shattered with a sharp crack. [Earth Spike] The spell ripped through the creature, stone spearing up through its torso. Black ichor sprayed across the tunnel wall.

"You know," Valiant observed, watching Adom drive a second spike through the thing's skull for good measure, "I've seen you kill plenty down here, but you're really... enthusiastic about the ghouls."

"I don't like ghouls." As if to emphasize his point, the creature's bloated stomach burst open with a wet pop. A mass of writhing maggots spilled out, along with strings of greenish pus and chunks of half-digested flesh. The stench hit them like a physical wall.

"Holy- nope, nope, nope." Valiant clamped both paws over his nose.

"Let's get the fuck out of this dungeon."

"Best thing you've said all day." Adom turned away from the mess, already walking.

"Hey!" Valiant scampered after him.

"I say lots of good things! Remember when I- wait, you're doing that thing again where you pretend not to listen but you're actually smirking. I can see you smirking!" The sound of their bickering echoed down the tunnel, leaving the impaled ghoul and its spilled contents behind.

Two hours of walking had left them both on edge. They'd avoided what fights they could, dealt with those they couldn't, but the constant tension was wearing. Every shadow might hide another ghoul, every sound could be something worse. But finally, they reached it - the anchor being's territory. A massive cliff face stretched up into the purple twilight, its surface broken by jutting rock formations that looked almost like giant steps. Or maybe a throne, viewed from far below. Something moved up there.

The impact shook loose fragments of stone that bounced down the cliff face. BOOM. The sound hit them like a physical force, echoing off the rocks.

"Hey, Adom?" Valiant's voice had gone slightly higher than usual.

"Remind me what those journal entries said about the boss?"

"A titan."

"Right. A titan." Valiant nodded slowly.

"Those are basically just... really big giants, yeah?" Another boom. More rocks fell.

"The notes said he used to be a regular giant," Adom replied, eyes tracking the movement above.

"An adventurer, actually."

"What went wrong?"

"When you defeat an anchor being - a dungeon boss - you can take its core. Become the new boss yourself. If you want." Adom adjusted his glasses.

"The ambient mana shifts to match the new ruler. Sometimes, if they're powerful enough, the entire dungeon's rank increases." BOOM.

"So this guy got ambitious?" Valiant's tail curled nervously around his legs.

"Thought being dungeon boss would be fun?"

"Power's tempting." Adom started toward the cliff.

"Especially when you're already strong. Giants have natural magic resistance, incredible strength. Perfect for controlling a dungeon's core."

"But?"

"But the core changes you. Twists you. The longer you hold it, the less... you, you become." Another step shook the ground.

"Until you're just another monster." They both looked up as a shadow fell over them. Something massive moved at the top of the cliff.

"Well," Valiant muttered, "that's just fantastic. So what exactly are you planning?" Adom pulled out the map, pointing to a marked location near the cliff's peak.

"The portal's up there. We use the crystal's swap ability every time he attacks. Should let us dodge while getting closer."

"Like we did with Helios?"

"Exactly." Adom traced their route with his finger.

"We just need to be fast. Get to the gate, activate it, leave."

"That's it?" Valiant nodded, but his tail betrayed his nervousness, twitching back and forth.

"Sounds almost too simple." BOOM.

"Hey." Adom turned to him.

"After what we pulled with Helios? This is doable."

"You think it'll all go well?" Adom almost laughed.

"Last time I said everything would go well, I ended up in this dungeon."

"That's... not encouraging at all."

"We'll do our best." Adom's eyes hardened.

"And after that... well, Marco and his friends will have a thing or two to learn." Another earthquake-like tremor shook the ground. Valiant slapped his cheeks with both paws, muttering to himself.

"You're Valiant. Be valiant. Come on, be valiant..." Adom smiled, watching Valiant psych himself up. The way he smacked his cheeks with those tiny paws was actually... kind of cute. Like watching a kid trying to be brave. Wait. What the hell was that thought? Adom shook his head.

"Let's go." Adom reached into his inventory, movements slow and careful. The golem materialized. Waiting for his command. They crouched behind a massive boulder, one of many scattered across the clifftop like discarded toys. The air felt wrong up here. Thicker. Every breath tasted like blood and rot. Valiant peered around the edge first. His whiskers went rigid. The titan - a real one - stood near the cliff's edge, surrounded by carnage.

Easily three stories tall, skin like weathered granite, veins of purple light pulsing beneath the surface. His eyes blazed with that same sickly light, darting around with manic energy. Chunks of armor, probably centuries old, still clung to his massive frame, though most had been torn away in what must have been countless battles. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Monster corpses littered the ground around him, torn apart in ways that suggested he hadn't bothered with weapons. Just grabbed and pulled until things came apart. Some looked fresh. Others... not so much.

"... taking taking taking always taking..." The titan's voice carried across the plateau, muttering to himself as he paced. His movements were jerky, like a puppet with tangled strings.

"... mine mine mine all mine shouldn't touch shouldn't BE here not allowed not allowed..." He stopped suddenly, scratching at his arms. Deep gouges marked his grey skin, some fresh enough to bleed.

"... itches itches make it stop make it..." Valiant shot Adom a wide-eyed look, paws moving in rapid gestures. Even without knowing proper sign language, Adom got the message clear enough: What the fuck is wrong with him? The giant slammed his fist into the ground. The impact sent cracks spreading through the rock.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" His voice dropped back to muttering.

"... not real not real just the voices just the..." More gestures from Valiant, more frantic this time. His tail had coiled so tight it looked painful. Adom pointed past the giant's pacing form. There, set into the cliff face - the gate. Ancient stone arch, just tall enough for a person to walk through, covered in faint runes etched into the stone. The archway was empty now, waiting to be activated. Above them, the sky held that same sickly purple color as the titan's eyes.

Between them and freedom: just a raving giant monster who'd lost his mind to power. Simple. Adom glanced at Valiant again, extending his arm toward the gate in a "let's go" gesture. The mouse's eyes went wider than he'd ever seen them, head shaking so fast his ears flopped. BOOM. The ground shook as the titan slammed both fists down this time.

"... coming coming always coming can't stop them can't..." The titan's mutterings grew louder, more frantic. He grabbed his own head, fingers digging into his scalp.

"He's talking," Valiant whispered, voice barely a breath.

"A monster that can talk is a thousand times worse than one that can't. And this one's not right in the head." The mouse pressed himself flat against the boulder.

"We should wait. Find another way." Adom pointed at the gate again, more insistent. Valiant's tail wrapped around himself like a shield. He shrank back further, ears flat against his skull. Any other time, Adom would've agreed completely. Hell, running away from the crazy titan sounded like the smartest plan he'd had all week. But that gate... He pulled out the clover. One leaf left, still glowing faintly. No more time for smart plans. The two-meter-tall golem stood ready.

Adom gave it the signal, and it took off running past their hiding spot, heavy footfalls echoing across the rocky ground. Covered in blue Fluid. The titan's head snapped around, movements sharp and broken.

"WHO'S THERE?" His voice boomed across the plateau, then dropped to a whisper.

"... not alone never alone they're coming they're HERE..." Then a roar: "SHOW YOURSELF!" The golem kept its steady pace toward the far edge of the cliff.

"NO NO NO!" The titan launched himself after it.

"NOT YOURS NOT YOURS MINE ALL MINE!" His words dissolved into meaningless sounds, raw and animal, as he charged across the plateau. Adom drew a breath, counted.

"One..." The golem dodged the titan's grab, feet skidding on stone. Behind it, a massive fist cratered the ground.

"Two..."

"STOP MOVING STOP MOVING!" The titan's voice cracked like thunder. His next strike whistled through empty air as the golem vanished, reappearing twenty feet away.

"Three - hold tight!" [Fluid control] Valiant barely had time to grip Adom's shoulder before they broke cover. The mouse's claws dug in through the fabric as they sprinted toward the gate.

"HUMAN!" The titan's head snapped toward them, eyes blazing.

"HUMAN HERE HUMAN HERE NOT ALLOWED NOT-" His fist came down like a meteor. Swap The impact shattered rock where they'd been a heartbeat ago. Now they were where the golem had stood, still running. The ceramic warrior was already diving into a roll, having anticipated the swap. The titan's head whipped back and forth between them and the golem, movements growing more erratic.

"NO NO TRICKS TRICKS ALWAYS TRICKS!" He slammed both fists down, splitting the ground.

"CAN'T TRUST CAN'T TRUST THE VOICES LIE-" Swap Another near miss. The golem dodged the next hit, body cracking but holding. They were halfway to the gate.

"STOP STOP STOP!" The titan clawed at his own face.

"Not real not real just the voices just the-" His voice dropped to a whisper.

"They're not here they're not-" Then exploded: "HUMAN! REAL HUMAN!"

"Adom?" Valiant's voice was tight.

"He's getting faster-" Swap The ground exploded where they'd been. Adom's legs burned as they ran. The gate was close now, thirty feet, twenty- Pain. White-hot needles drove into his skull. Adom stumbled, vision blurring. A silhouette flickered behind his eyes, reaching-"Adom!" Valiant's voice seemed far away.

"Move!" Shadow fell over them. The titan's fist descended like judgment. [PUSH] Raw force erupted from Adom's palm. They shot sideways as the impact sent fragments of stone flying. His head felt like it was splitting open. That presence pushed against his thoughts, trying to get in-"Get out!" He didn't realize he'd screamed it aloud. The pain intensified. That silhouette grew clearer, familiar somehow-"FOUND YOU FOUND YOU!" The titan's voice cut through everything.

"NO ESCAPE NO-" Swap They flickered to the golem's position. Adom stumbled, nearly fell. Blood trickled from his nose. Valiant's grip on his shoulder tightened.

"Gate's right there!" The mouse pointed with his free paw.

"Whatever's happening, fight it!" Ten feet to go. The presence in his mind pulled harder. That shape reached for him, its features almost clear now- The titan's roar shook the plateau.

"MINE MINE MINE!" Swap The golem almost got hit this time. Five feet. The pain peaked. Adom's vision went white. That presence pressed against his thoughts like a burning brand- [Indomitable Will] [You have successfully resisted potent mind control!] Sweat dripped down Adom's face as he forced himself up, legs shaking. His mind felt raw, like someone had taken sandpaper to his thoughts.

"We need to go!" Valiant's claws dug deeper into his shoulder.

"Now!" The titan was still focused on the golem, his massive hands trying to crush the ceramic warrior.

"BREAK BREAK BREAK YOU ALL BREAK-" [Push] The spell launched them forward. The gate was right there, ancient stone humming with dormant power. Just a few more- Time slowed. [Flow Prediction] kicked in, showing him what was coming. The sticky strands of web fluid would miss him by inches - if he moved now. Adom threw himself sideways, dragging Valiant with him. The webbing shot past where his head had been, so close he felt the air displacement. That sound. That familiar, horrible whisper of spider silk through air.

"How many things are trying to kill us?!" Valiant's voice cracked. Adom didn't answer. He hated that sound. Hated it more than ghouls, more than anything in this cursed dungeon. Because he knew what made it. His hands pressed against the gate's surface, pushing mana into the ancient stone. The runes flared to life, one by one.

"Adom?" Valiant's tail wrapped around his arm.

"The titan-""I know." He spun around. The golem was still dancing between the titan's strikes, but it wouldn't last. Fine. Time to end this. [Pull] Raw force yanked the golem toward them like a shot. The titan's fist crushed empty air.

"ESCAPE ESCAPING NO NO NO-" The gate hummed louder. Through the arch, Adom could see trees, real trees, and snow, swaying in wind he couldn't feel yet.

"Holy fucking shit." Valiant's whisper was barely audible. But it was enough to alarm Adom. So he turned. That's when he saw her. At the cliff's edge, far from the chaos, she stood. Naked, but not in any way that felt human. Milk-white skin that seemed to glow in the purple light, too smooth, too perfect. Her hair floated around her like living silk, moving to currents that weren't there. Two pairs of arms hung at her sides - graceful, impossible things, too long and elegant to be real.

Each finger ended in a crystalline claw. And her face. Eight ruby-red eyes arranged in an inhuman pattern, all fixed on him with an intelligence that made his heart hammer against his ribs. Her features were beautiful in the way a perfectly preserved corpse might be beautiful - flawless and wrong. Her face was a mask of alien stillness, lips white as moon-bleached bone or mother-of-pearl, set in an expression that held neither malice nor mercy. The spider. It had to be. She was evolved. Changed.

Standing there like the incarnation of revenge. His mouth went dry. Had he ever seen the notification for her death? The carp's, yes, but hers...

"MINE MINE MINE!" The titan's voice shook rocks loose from the ceiling. No time. The golem slammed into Adom's chest as his [Pull] brought it home. He absorbed it into his inventory in the same motion. The titan's hand descended like the end of the world.

"Jump!" Valiant screamed. They dove through the gate. The spider's gaze followed them, and in it Adom saw something worse than hatred. Something patient and hungry. A promise written in eight blood-red eyes. The gate shattered behind them with a sound like breaking reality. And white light streamed past them, reality bending as they were transported through space. Valiant's echoing screaming had turned into creative cursing that would've been impressive if Adom wasn't so lost in thought.

The spider's eyes haunted him. He was almost certain she hadn't followed them through - the gate's destruction had been too quick, too final. But that didn't stop his mind from racing through the implications. Would she take over? The thought sent a chill through him even as they hurtled through the light. She was intelligent, patient, and now evolved into something far beyond what she'd been. If she managed to kill the titan... well, the dungeon would probably evolve. Might even jump several ranks at once.

"Sweet merciful fuck, why does it feel like my stomach is trying to escape through my ears?!" Valiant's voice echoed from everywhere and cut through his thoughts. But Adom's mind was already jumping to worse scenarios. Dungeon breaks were rare at this point in time, but they happened. Usually when a boss grew too powerful, too ambitious. And with her apparent intelligence, her obvious grudge... The mouse's complaints actually helped ground him. Right. One crisis at a time.

They had more immediate problems waiting for them in the real world. Two months. He'd been gone almost two months. What had Marco done in that time? The bastard had probably spread all sorts of stories about Adom's disappearance. And the academy - had they marked him as dead? Missing? There would be paperwork, questions, probably an investigation. The thought of dealing with bureaucracy almost made him miss the titan. His parents... my parents! They must be there by now. Had they found any traces?

How would they react?

"I think I'm going to throw up!" Valiant announced from somewhere.

"Don't you dare," Adom muttered, but his heart wasn't in it. His mind was already mapping out what they'd need to do first. Find out what stories were circulating. Re-establish key contacts. Deal with the academy. And somewhere in there, start planning how to handle Marco. The white light began to fade around them, reality reasserting itself. Adom caught glimpses of what waited ahead - snow, trees, a winter sky. Back to the real world. Back to schemes and careful plans.

At least no one would be trying to smash them with giant fists anymore. Probably.

Reality snapped back like a rubber band. One moment they were in that tunnel of light, the next - brutal cold and a face full of snow. Adom rolled across frozen ground, his body remembering old reflexes even as his mind tried to catch up. The wind cut through his ragged clothes like they weren't even there. Somewhere to his left, Valiant's scream turned into a string of curses that ended in a muffled "oof" as he face-planted into a snowdrift. Adom pushed himself up, limbs already stiff from the cold.

Behind them, the gate stood silent and dark, its runes dead. No way back now - not that he wanted one. His breath came out in white clouds as he looked around, shivering.

"V-valiant?" His teeth chattered.

"You alive?" The snow shifted and a very disgruntled mouse emerged, shaking white powder from his fur.

"Define alive. Everything hurts and I can't feel my tail."

"Where are we?" Valiant asked, wrapping his arms around himself. Adom pointed across the dark waters stretching out below their cliff. There, on the horizon, lights twinkled through the winter haze.

"That's Arkhos. We're maybe three hours out." Valiant stared at the distant city in silence.

"We did it."

"Yeah."

"Good." The mouse's expression hardened.

"Because now I'm going to make Marco wish he'd never-""Not so fast."

"Oh come on!" Valiant's tail lashed in frustration, sending up little puffs of snow.

"After everything they did-""The people Gale and Helios worked for?" Adom cut in, his breath steaming in the frigid air.

"They had enough pull to get into my academy. Made a professor - a prominent one - work for them." He rubbed his arms, trying to get blood flowing.

"That same professor disappeared without a trace after."

"What's your point?" Valiant's whiskers twitched with impatience. Adom wove a flame spell between his palms, letting the warmth spread through his frozen fingers. The fire cast dancing shadows across the snow.

"My point is, we've been gone two months. We don't know what stories are circulating, what kind of trouble we might be walking into." The wind gusted, making the flames flicker.

"For all we know, I'm being hunted for something." Adom sighed, more white clouds coming out.

"Look. i know you want revenge. I-""You bet your ass I do." Valiant's voice was hard.

"And you'll have it." Adom reached into his inventory, pulling out the whistle. The clover in his other hand crumbled, its last leaf falling away to nothing in one last green glow.

"But first, we need friends." He raised the whistle to his lips and blew. No sound came out - at least none that human ears could hear. They stood there shivering, snow starting to fall heavier now. Dark clouds rolled in from the sea, promising worse to come. Adom kept the flame spell going, but against the growing wind it barely helped.

"So..." Valiant's teeth chattered.

"What exactly are you doing with that whistle?"

"Like I said." Adom tucked the now-useless clover away.

"We need friends." Valiant looked around at the empty clifftop, ears twitching as snowflakes landed on them.

"Is this another one of your mage stu-""Laddie!" Valiant squeaked - actually squeaked - and jumped about two feet in the air. Bob appeared as if he'd always been there, snow settling on his wild red hair and beard. That familiar grin split his weathered face. It was a face Adom hadn't realized he'd missed so much until right now.

"H-hello, B-bob," Adom managed through chattering teeth. Valiant was still trying to get his heart rate under control, one paw clutched to his chest.

"WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!"