Kael found himself standing in the cavern again, though it was different now. The rocky walls pulsated, veins of black ooze coursing through the stone like corrupted arteries. The air was heavy, filled with the acrid stench of decay, and the faint whispers of an unintelligible language echoed from every direction. The runes that had vanished before now glowed brilliantly, their light searing into his mind as if they carried some forbidden knowledge.

Kael tried to move, but his legs felt as though they were weighed down by lead. The ground beneath him rippled like a living thing, squelching under his boots. He looked down and realized with horror that he wasn’t standing on stone anymore but on a mass of writhing flesh, alive and diseased.

Suddenly, the ground split apart, and Kael fell into an abyss, his descent rapid and terrifying. The walls around him were lined with grotesque shapes—humanoid figures trapped in the stone, their faces twisted in agony as their bodies were consumed by black corruption. Some reached for him with clawed hands, their mouths open in silent screams.

Kael landed with a bone-jarring thud in a massive chamber far larger than the one he’d fought the ogre in. It stretched endlessly in every direction, and at its centre was a pulsating mass of darkness. It wasn’t just a creature or a force; it felt ancient, primal—a being of corruption so vast that its presence seemed to warp reality itself. The entity’s form was fluid and ever-changing, shifting between an enormous, many-eyed monstrosity and a swirling vortex of shadow. Its voice boomed in his mind, incomprehensible yet filled with malice, each word clawing at his sanity.

Visions flooded his mind—images of creatures writhing in agony as the corruption took hold of them, transforming them into twisted, monstrous versions of themselves. He saw villages consumed by darkness, the land itself rotting and blackened as the corruption spread unchecked. Then, he saw himself, standing amidst the chaos, his body covered in the same pulsing, black substance. His sword was raised, but it wasn’t burning with the familiar flames. Instead, it dripped with the same dark ooze, as though it had become an extension of the corruption.

“No!” Kael shouted, trying to shake the visions away. “This isn’t real!”

The entity seemed to laugh, a deep, guttural sound that reverberated through his soul. The runic symbols appeared again, circling him, their glow intensifying until they burned into his skin. Kael clutched his head as the knowledge they carried forced its way into his mind: this corruption wasn’t natural. It was created—born from an ancient ritual gone horribly wrong. Someone, or something, had tampered with forces beyond their comprehension, and now the consequences were spilling into the world.

As the entity’s massive form loomed closer, Kael could feel his strength being sapped. He fell to his knees, helpless as the corruption’s tendrils reached for him. The voices grew louder, overlapping in a cacophony of despair, until they culminated in a single, chilling phrase:

“You cannot escape destiny.”

With a jolt, Kael woke up, drenched in sweat. His breathing was ragged, his heart hammering against his ribs as though it was trying to escape his chest. He gripped his sword reflexively, its faint warmth grounding him back to reality. The cavern around him was silent, save for the occasional drip of water, but Kael couldn’t shake the feeling that the dream had been more than just his subconscious playing tricks on him.

He glanced at the faint glow of the runes etched into the walls nearby. They seemed… brighter than before, as if mocking his fear. Kael sat back against the cold stone, running a hand through his hair.

“Bad dream? got to say this is a nice spot you’ve got here”

Kael hearing the voice in his vicinity spun around jerking his neck towards where he heard the sound, to his ghastly surprise, sitting there on the floor next to him was Salvador, he was wearing an oversized and wrinkled cloak that you’d expect an executioner to wear and he was holding some sort of oversized sickle the blade lingered well above his head, the sickle had blood dripping from it onto the floor but what made it even scarier was the smile on the old mans face.

Kael’s grip on his sword tightened instinctively as he faced Salvador. The old man’s presence was like a smothering shadow, filling the space with an oppressive weight that made Kael’s skin crawl. Salvador’s grin was impossibly wide, stretching his weathered face into something grotesque, and his eyes gleamed with a mix of amusement and malice.

“Salvador…” Kael growled, forcing his voice to steady despite the dread pooling in his gut. “What the hell are you doing here?”

The old man chuckled, a raspy, unsettling sound that echoed in the cavern. “Oh, you know me, boy. Just taking a stroll, enjoying the sights. Thought I’d drop in and see how you’re holding up. Looks like I arrived just in time—bad dreams can leave a man feeling a little…vulnerable.”

Kael rose to his feet, keeping his sword at the ready, its faint flame casting flickering shadows on the walls. “How did you even find me here? And what’s with that… thing?” He nodded toward the oversized sickle, the blade’s crimson trail seeming to writhe unnaturally as it dripped onto the floor.

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Salvador glanced at the weapon, tilting his head as if considering it for the first time. “Oh, this? Just a little keepsake from my…group. Gets the job done, wouldn’t you say?” He leaned forward, resting the sickle across his lap, the motion casual yet deliberate, as if daring Kael to make a move. “But enough about me. Let’s talk about you, Kael.”

“I’m not interested in talking,” Kael snapped, though his unease betrayed his bravado. “Whatever you’re here for, get it over with and leave.”

“Fiery as ever,” Salvador said, his grin widening impossibly further. “But that dream of yours… it wasn’t just a dream, was it? You felt it. Saw it. That pulsing darkness, the runes, the corruption. It’s calling to you, boy. Whispering in your ear, promising all sorts of things, I have it too, so does everyone that encounters..it.”

Kael stiffened. “What do you know about it?”

Salvador’s laughter was cold and hollow. “More than you could imagine. That corruption you’re so eager to learn about? It’s not just down here, Kael. It’s everywhere. And it’s not just random. It’s looking for something.”

Kael’s mind raced. Was Salvador trying to manipulate him again? “And let me guess, you know exactly what it’s after, don’t you?”

“I don’t, some people have came up with ideas but no one really knows, they just know that even diamond rank individuals can’t even overcome so patches of corruption, however we’re in luck as this is a really weak source that hasn’t been able to have a proper feast yet”

“Did you say diamond rank? Is that the rank that comes after gold?” Kael was left stupefied he had never hear anyone talk of a rank past gold and maybe now was his chance to understand this world some more.

“You’re half right, boy,” Salvador said with a faint sneer, his tone laced with condescension. “Diamond does come after gold, but that’s also where you’re wrong. There’s another rank between them—platinum. And yes, since you seem so eager to know, there are ranks beyond diamond as well.”

Kael froze, the weight of Salvador’s words hitting him like a collapsing tunnel. His entire understanding of the world, fragile as it was, crumbled in an instant. He had suspected there might be more ranks beyond gold—it seemed logical in a world of constant growth and power—but he’d dismissed the idea after hearing nothing to support it during his months trapped in this place. The knowledge that not one, but several tiers of strength lay beyond anything he could currently fathom left his thoughts in disarray.

“Wait... platinum? More ranks?” Kael finally stammered, his mind racing. “Why hasn’t anyone mentioned this before? How is this not common knowledge?”

Salvador chuckled darkly, the sound like dry leaves rustling in the wind. “Common knowledge? What a quaint notion. Let me educate you, boy. The ranks above gold aren’t some public achievement for peasants to gossip about. They’re guarded secrets, known only to those who have the power—or the ambition—to seek them. Do you think the lords of your city would allow the common folk to know just how far beneath them they truly stand? No, they let you believe that gold is the pinnacle, so you stay content in your little cages, dreaming of glories you’ll never achieve.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. Salvador’s words carried a venomous truth that he couldn’t ignore. This world was built on hierarchies of power, and the higher you climbed, the fewer people there were to share the air with.

“And you’re saying I’ll never reach those ranks?” Kael asked, narrowing his eyes.

Salvador smirked, leaning back into the shadows like a serpent coiling for another strike. “Let’s not delude ourselves, boy. The path to power isn’t a straight line; it’s a bloody labyrinth filled with predators far more cunning than you. And even if you do survive long enough to scrape the edge of gold, the gap between you and platinum will make you feel like an ant trying to topple a mountain.”

Kael’s fists clenched at his sides. He didn’t need Salvador’s mockery, not when his own doubts already gnawed at him. Yet, beneath the bitterness of the old man’s words, there was a flicker of something else—an invitation. Salvador’s taunts weren’t just insults; they were challenges, and Kael felt the embers of defiance begin to smoulder within him. He wanted to show this bastard how wrong he was, and Kael was also confident in himself and that was because of his fusion, without it what Salvador said might’ve been true however, with it he knew he would rise beyond diamond and beyond whatever came after.

“Anyway, boy, my true purpose for coming here was to recruit you into my... group.” Salvador’s voice carried a veneer of casual indifference, but the undercurrent of sarcasm and bloodlust was unmistakable. His grin widened, revealing teeth that gleamed like a predator's. “Of course, you can say no. It’s not like I’ll kill you or anything.”

The weight of his words hung in the air, heavy with menace. Kael’s stomach churned as Salvador leaned in slightly, his tone dropping to something far more sinister. “You didn’t really think I’d let you live after seeing everything you did, did you?”

Kael had been bracing for this moment. He knew what kind of person Salvador was the instant he witnessed him slaughter the other inmates without a trace of hesitation or malice. The man had killed them as if it were a mundane chore, a mere routine. Salvador didn’t need a reason beyond convenience or necessity—an idea that terrified Kael more than any amount of rage or vengeance.

“Do I really have a choice?” Kael asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil building inside him.

Salvador let the question linger in the air, his expression unreadable. The silence stretched long enough for Kael to begin doubting whether he’d even get an answer. Finally, Salvador chuckled, his head tilting slightly as if amused by the question itself.

“I’ve already given you your options, haven’t I?” Salvador replied, his tone light but laced with a threat sharper than any blade.

Kael clenched his jaw, his mind racing. He hated the idea of bending to Salvador’s will, hated the idea of being used by someone so monstrous. But in this moment, survival trumped pride. He wasn’t in a position to fight back—not yet.

“Okay, fine,” Kael said, his voice tight with reluctant submission. “I’ll do as you say.”

Salvador’s grin widened, his satisfaction palpable. “Good boy. I knew you had some sense in that head of yours.” His tone was mocking, but beneath the ridicule was a glimmer of something else—anticipation, perhaps even excitement.

Kael couldn’t help but feel that he’d just signed a contract with the devil himself.