The darkness was a physical presence, thick and suffocating. It smelled of ancient dust and cold, damp stone, a silence so profound it felt like a weight on my ears.

“Focus your mana, Thalia,” Cassius’s voice cut through the void, not a command so much as a lifeline. “Summon a light.”

I drew a shuddering breath, the chill of the air scraping my lungs, and closed my eyes. I didn’t picture a star; I reached for the feeling of one—a nascent core of warmth and power deep within my own soul. I coaxed it outward, weaving the threads of my mana together. A sphere of soft, impossible light bloomed in my cupped hands, pulsing with the gentle hues of lavender and pink. It was a piece of me, a defiance against the oppressive gloom.

Just as I released it to hover in the air, something smooth and cold as grave dirt coiled around my ankle. Ice flooded my veins, a paralyzing shock that locked my muscles. Before a scream could even form in my throat, I was yanked from my feet.

My back slammed against the stone floor, the impact driving the air from my lungs in a choked, desperate gasp. The world became a dizzying, nauseating blur as I was dragged into the abyss, my new light a receding star.

“Thalia!” Cassius’s roar was a physical force, a shockwave that seemed to momentarily halt my violent journey.

Gritting my teeth against the fire in my shoulder, I twisted, forcing a torrent of mana into my palm. I lifted my head just enough to see it: a knot of congealed night, a writhing mass of animated shadow with tendrils like whips of solid darkness. A Shadowveil. It was pulling me into its formless body. I aimed and unleashed a lance of amethyst light. The blast struck true, and the creature didn’t just die; it unraveled, dissolving into a silent puff of black smoke.

My ears were instantly filled with new sounds—the tearing of fabric amplified into a chorus of piercing shrieks erupting from the darkness around us. I scrambled to my feet, legs trembling violently, as Cassius met me halfway. His sword was already in his hand, its polished steel gleaming in the lavender glow of my light. Suddenly, another Shadowviel materialized from the wall at his back, a fluid horror of grasping limbs.

“Cassius!” I thrust my hand forward, but he was already moving. He whirled, a single fluid motion of lethal grace, his blade a silver arc that cleaved the monster in two. The halves dissolved before they hit the ground.

As if on cue, three more nightmares flowed from the stonework. I didn’t hesitate. Reshaping my will, I imagined a blade of my own. A sword of pure lavender light, humming with latent power, solidified in my right hand. Cassius charged the two Shadowveils scrambling down the wall, his movements a dance of deadly precision.

My attention snapped to the one looming over me, its shadowy tendrils lashing out. I swung my mana sword in a wide, desperate arc, severing one of the limbs. The creature shrieked, a high, deafening sound that vibrated through the stone beneath my feet. While it reeled, I gathered raw power in my free hand and thrust my palm forward, unleashing a concussive blast of pure light. The moment the wave of energy made contact, the creature was annihilated.

I turned just in time to see Cassius’s steel blade extinguish the last of his opponents. My eyes darted through the gloom, searching every corner, my heart hammering against my ribs. The chamber was still and silent once more.

My hands were shaking, a fine tremor from the adrenaline still singing through my veins. Cassius started toward me, but a new threat erupted from the ground—a thorny barricade of thick, shadowy tendrils shooting up to form a wall between us. I focused, my breath catching in my throat. I willed my mana to flow across the floor like liquid moonlight, to snake around the base of the tendrils, constricting them like spectral vines. When my mental hold was absolute, I clenched my fist. The Shadowed tendrils crumbled into harmless nothingness.

My breathing was ragged. A fleeting smile touched Cassius’s lips. “Good work.”

His words died in his throat. My eyes widened in horror at the new shape charging from the shadows behind him. It was different. It was silent. A Silent Scourge. It moved with a terrifying speed that was utterly soundless, a blur of skeletal limbs and impossibly long claws that didn’t even scrape the stone. Its eyes were like burning embers, locked on Cassius.

“Cassius!” I sprinted, throwing myself behind him and projecting a shield of pure will. The barrier shimmered into existence just as the Scourge struck. It wavered under my exhaustion, and a razor-sharp claw tore through it with a shriek of tearing light, sinking deep into my shoulder.

A white-hot fire erupted in my flesh, a violation so profound it stole my breath. I felt the horrifying warmth of my own blood begin to trickle down my arm.

Gritting my teeth against a wave of nausea, I launched a blast of energy, but the Scourge sidestepped it with fluid ease. I tried again, only for it to dodge with the same eerie grace. It was toying with me. Desperate, I changed tactics. I abandoned singular blasts and imagined my mana crackling and alive, superheating it into raw, untamed lightning. The chaotic energy erupted from me in a brilliant web, striking at the Scourge from all sides. It recoiled with a piercing, silent shriek that I felt in my bones.

Seizing the opening, Cassius lunged, his sword held high for a downward slash. But the creature was too quick. It pivoted with impossible agility, its smoldering eyes never leaving me.

It was uncanny, as if the creature could see my intent before the mana even left my fingertips. It anticipated every move. I abandoned precision and pictured my energy as a flurry of spectral claws, relentlessly swiping at it from all angles. I refused to let up, pushing past the searing burn in my shoulder.

Finally, one of the ethereal slashes connected, tearing a deep gash across the Scourge’s torso. It shrieked—a sound of pure agony that was Cassius’s signal. He exploded into motion, his blade a silver blur that severed one of the creature’s legs in a single, powerful stroke.

The Scourge lost its balance, shrieking as it tumbled backward. Before it could recover, Cassius was on it, plunging his sword straight through its chest and pinning it to the stone floor. Its ember-like eyes flickered for a moment and then extinguished. Its form dissolved into a final wisp of shadow, leaving nothing behind but silence and the echo of my own ragged breathing.

My adrenaline began to abandon me, leaving me shaking and cold. My eyes scanned the shadows one last time, but the chamber remained empty. All that was left was the throbbing, searing pain in my shoulder—a pain I could no longer ignore. My sleeve was soaked through, a dark stain already creeping down the front of my shirt.

Cassius’s sharp eyes took in the wound as he strode over. “Can you…” I began, my voice hoarse as I held up the hem of my cloak. “Tear this for me?”

He took the fabric without a word. For a long moment, the only sounds were the harsh rasp of our breathing and the sharp rip of cloth. His hands, which had just wielded a sword with such lethal force, were careful as he began to wrap the long strip around my wounded shoulder.

“This will sting,” he said, his voice low and strained. “I have to make it tight. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

He pulled the makeshift bandage taut. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit down hard on my lip, a low moan of pain escaping my throat. It burns, it burns, my mind screamed in a useless mantra.

“Done,” he said softly.

I let my arm fall heavily to my side. My small sphere of lavender mana still hovered loyally nearby, casting a gentle, wavering light over the scene.

“We need to keep moving,” Cassius stated, his composure audibly frayed.

I nodded, cradling my arm. “Agreed. The last thing we need is another greeting.”

We started down a long, dark hallway. “Any idea where we are?” I asked, my voice echoing slightly in the oppressive passage.

“An ancient ruin, I suspect.”

A wave of guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry. I must have messed up the teleportation spell.”

“I do not think so,” he replied, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I can sense elven magic here, but it’s… distorted. I can’t get a clear read on its source.”

“Distorted?” I leaned against the cool wall for a moment, the stone a welcome anchor. “Why? And more importantly, how do we get out?”

“The distortion is likely a symptom of the ruin’s decay,” he explained, his eyes, lit by my magic, scanning our surroundings. “But I don’t believe this is one of your ‘activated’ ruins. Those are sealed, usually marked by statues standing sentinel. This place feels open, broken… porous. The creatures weren’t guardians; they simply wandered in.” He paused, his gaze dropping to the floor ahead. “Watch your step.”

The ground was a treacherous mess of rubble and shattered stones. I tried to lift my leg over a large chunk of rock, but my whole body felt weighted with lead. I swayed, a wave of dizziness washing over me.

“Give me your hand,” Cassius commanded softly, his own already extended.

I placed my trembling hand in his. His grip was firm and steady, a stark contrast to my own weakness, and he guided me safely over the obstacle. He didn’t let go.

“Finding a way out will be a matter of luck as much as skill,” he continued, his voice a low reassurance in the dark. “But the fact that I can sense the elven magic at all, however faint, means we can’t be too deep. An exit must be nearby.”

“Well, that’s something,” I managed, my voice thin.

“Let’s hope our luck holds,” Cassius replied grimly.

A heavy silence fell between us then, punctuated only by the crunch of rubble under our boots. Each step was becoming a monumental effort. A deep chill had settled into my bones, raising goosebumps on my skin that had nothing to do with the temperature. I hugged my good arm around myself for a pathetic scrap of warmth and risked a glance at my shoulder. The makeshift bandage was completely saturated.

Just keep moving, I chanted internally, forcing one foot in front of the other. Don’t you dare stop.

Just as I felt my resolve beginning to crumble, my heart leaped. Ahead, at the far end of the corridor, a brilliant rectangle of light was painted against the far wall. Sunlight. Hope, pure and undiluted.

“We’re almost there,” I breathed, the words catching in my throat, thick with an overwhelming sense of relief.

I forced another step toward the light, a destination that now seemed a mile away. My vision began to shrink, the brilliant rectangle of sun narrowing into a pinprick as darkness crept in from the edges. A cold sweat slicked my skin, and the leaden weight of my body became unbearable. What’s happening to me?

I turned my head, trying to find Cassius, to form his name on my lips. All that escaped was a choked, useless syllable. “C-C…”

The stone floor tilted and rushed upward. Just before impact, a strong arm hooked around my waist, stopping my fall.

“Thalia!”

His voice was a distant echo, a distorted rumble, as if I were sinking deep underwater. The last pinprick of light winked out, and the world dissolved into a silent, weightless black.