The tunnel seemed to twist endlessly, narrowing with every step as Kieran and Selene sprinted deeper into the earth.

The roar of the Apex Fangbeast echoed behind them, its sheer force shaking loose dust and pebbles from the tunnel walls.

Kieran’s lungs burned as he forced his legs to keep moving, his mind racing to calculate their next move.

The faint glow of the Crest flickered weakly in his palm, a reminder of how little strength he had left.

Selene was just ahead, her movements fluid despite the rough terrain.

“Faster!” she shouted, her voice carrying an urgency that left no room for hesitation.

“I’m already running!” Kieran shot back, his tone sharp with frustration.

The sound of shattering stone erupted behind them as the Fangbeast tore through another section of the tunnel, its primal growl reverberating through the confined space.

Kieran risked a glance over his shoulder and immediately regretted it.

The beast’s molten gaze pierced through the gloom, its massive body moving with terrifying speed despite the cramped quarters.

“We’re not going to outrun it!” he called out, his voice strained.

“We don’t have to,” Selene replied, a note of determination in her tone.

“Just keep moving!”

After what seemed like hours of running, they burst into a massive cavern, the sudden openness making Kieran stagger as his eyes adjusted to the faint blue glow of the Drakite veins.

For a brief, harrowing moment, he expected the Fangbeast to barrel in after them, but it didn’t.

The growls ceased, replaced by an eerie silence that felt almost as oppressive as the beast itself.

Kieran turned, his chest heaving, and stared back into the dark tunnel they had emerged from.

Nothing.

The beast had stopped.

Selene leaned against a jagged rock, her golden eyes scanning the entrance, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“Why didn’t it follow?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Maybe it got bored,” Kieran quipped, though his tone was less amused and more wary.

“Or maybe it realized we weren’t worth the trouble.”

Selene shot him a sidelong glance, her lips twitching into a faint smirk.

“Not worth the trouble? You, maybe. I’m quite the prize.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it was intimidated by your sharp wit,” Kieran retorted, his sarcasm cutting through the tension.

“Probably decided it couldn’t handle the sass.”

Selene chuckled softly, the sound brief but genuine, before her expression grew serious again.

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“Beasts like that don’t just stop,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.

“Especially not an Apex. It doesn’t make sense.”

Kieran shrugged, though unease gnawed at the back of his mind.

“Well, I’m not complaining. Let’s just figure out where we are before it changes its mind.”

Selene nodded, but her gaze lingered on the tunnel, as if expecting the beast to reappear at any moment.

“Something’s off,” she muttered, her voice low.

“That thing isn’t acting like it should.”

Kieran frowned, his hand tightening instinctively around the hilt of his dagger.

“How’s that?” he asked, his tone cautious.

“Apex beasts aren’t mindless,” Selene explained, her golden eyes narrowing.

“They’re territorial, calculated. It should have fought us in the dungeon or stayed in its domain. Chasing us this far—it’s... strange.”

Kieran raised an eyebrow, skepticism flickering in his green eyes.

“Strange is putting it lightly. What’s it trying to do? Herd us somewhere?”

Selene hesitated, then shook her head.

“I don’t know. But whatever it is, I don’t like it.”

Kieran nodded grimly, the weight of her words settling heavily in his chest.

Selene gestured to the cavern ahead.

“We can’t stay here. If it finds another entrance, we’re done.”

Reluctantly, Kieran followed her deeper into the cavern.

The blue glow grew stronger, and the jagged walls glimmered faintly with veins of an unfamiliar mineral.

Kieran frowned, running his hand along the surface.

“What is this stuff?” he asked.

Selene stepped closer, brushing dust from the shimmering veins.

“Drakite,” she said, her tone carrying a hint of reverence.

“It’s one of the most precious materials in Drakonia.”

Kieran raised an eyebrow, skepticism flashing across his face.

“Looks like fancy rock to me.”

Selene’s lips twitched in faint amusement.

“That ‘fancy rock’ is the backbone of both dragon and human societies. Drakite is a conduit for energy, capable of amplifying magical forces beyond anything else in existence. The dragon clans use it to forge their most powerful artifacts, and human settlements would kill to get their hands on it for their weapons and fortresses.”

Kieran leaned closer, his green eyes studying the veins of shimmering blue.

“Then why abandon a place like this? Seems like a goldmine for anyone bold enough to dig.”

Selene’s expression darkened, her gaze lingering on the Drakite.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” she said, her voice quieter now.

“This mine shouldn’t be empty. Drakite this pure… there’s no way they’d just leave it.”

Kieran narrowed his eyes at her, suspicion creeping into his thoughts.

“You seem to know a lot about this stuff. More than someone who’s just ‘in a mess,’ as you put it.”

Selene met his gaze, her golden eyes calm but unyielding.

“Knowledge is power,” she said simply.

“And power is survival. If knowing too much makes you uneasy, maybe you should focus on keeping up.”

Kieran snorted, her deflection doing little to quell his curiosity.

But he let it drop, for now.

As they descended deeper into the mine, the air grew colder, the faint hum of energy from the Drakite giving way to an eerie silence.

Their footsteps echoed unnaturally, as if the cavern itself held its breath.

Kieran’s unease grew with every step, his instincts screaming that something was wrong.

Selene stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she studied the ground ahead.

Faint markings—scratches, almost like claw marks—were gouged into the stone floor, leading toward a narrow shaft that descended even further.

“Those aren’t from a pickaxe,” Kieran muttered, his hand tightening around the hilt of his dagger.

Selene nodded grimly, her gaze flicking to the shadows ahead.

“This mine wasn’t abandoned for no reason.”

As they moved cautiously toward the shaft, Kieran’s thoughts turned over her words.

The Drakite, the abandoned tunnels, the strange claw marks—it all added up to something dangerous, something unnatural.

He glanced at Selene, her sharp features illuminated faintly by the glow of the Drakite.

“Whatever’s down here,” he said, his voice low and steady, “we’ll face it together. But I hope you’re ready for a fight.”