Kieran and Selene crossed the massive cavern cautiously, walking towards what seemed like another narrow passage at the end.

Their breaths shallow as the faint glow of Drakite veins lit their path.

The air grew heavier with every step, carrying a metallic tang that made Kieran’s skin crawl.

Very quickly, they entered the passage.

The jagged walls of the mine loomed around them, shadows flickering in the faint blue light of the impossibly rare and radiant Drakite veins embedded in the rock.

The light pulsed faintly, almost alive, casting an eerie glow that painted the cavern in shifting shades of azure.

Kieran tightened his grip on his dagger, the faint hum of the Crest in his palm a distant comfort.

Selene’s golden eyes darted ahead, sharp and vigilant.

“We should tread lightly,” she murmured, her voice low but steady.

“This place doesn’t feel right.”

“Does anything in these damned Wyrmlands?” Kieran muttered, his tone sardonic.

But he heeded her warning, his steps slowing to match hers.

They rounded a bend, and the narrow passage suddenly opened into a vast chamber.

Kieran stopped in his tracks, his breath catching as his eyes widened in disbelief.

The cavern floor stretched endlessly before him, a vast and unbroken expanse that seemed to swallow the very light.

The jagged walls curved away into the darkness, their distant edges obscured by shadows so deep they might as well have been the void itself.

The ceiling arched high above, a cathedral of stone where faint, flickering reflections of Drakite veins created the illusion of stars in a night sky.

Everywhere he looked, the sheer scale of the place dwarfed anything he had ever known, its immensity pressing down on him like the weight of a mountain.

It was a space so vast, so incomprehensibly large, that it felt more like a world unto itself than a part of the mine they had descended into.

And within that vast expanse - were bones.

Skeletons.

Countless human and dragon skeletons lay tangled together, their remains forming a grotesque monument to a battle of unimaginable scale.

The corroded remnants of armor clung stubbornly to shattered human frames, their once-proud craftsmanship now dulled and broken by time.

Blades, spears, and shields lay scattered, many warped and blackened as though subjected to intense, unnatural heat.

Some dragon skeletons towered over the human remains, their colossal ribcages arching high enough to dwarf the tallest of warriors.

Wings that must have once cast shadows over battlefields now lay in fractured disarray, their mighty bones scarred and splintered.

Skulls, some crowned with horns as long as spears, bore gaping fractures and scorch marks, testaments to the ferocity of their final moments.

The sheer number of the dead overwhelmed Kieran’s senses.

There had been an army here—no, a force of legends, united in their strength.

Dragons and humans alike had wielded incredible power, their combined might enough to shake the heavens.

And yet, they had fallen.

All of them.

“What in the void happened here?” Kieran whispered, his voice trembling and barely audible, the enormity of the carnage pressing heavily on his soul.

"Whatever they faced," Selene murmured, her golden eyes wide with awe, "it was beyond anything this world should have unleashed."

The insignia of the Void Talon Clan, a fabled dragon clan shrouded in myth and mystery, was faintly visible beneath the grime and corrosion. Known for their unparalleled mastery of shadow and void magic, they had once been counted among the mightiest of dragon lineages, their influence stretching across Drakonia.

But centuries ago, the Void Talon Clan vanished entirely, leaving behind no trace of their strongholds, their vast treasures, or their powerful drakes. Scholars debated their fate—some whispered of betrayal, others of a failed attempt to breach the divine realms. None had ever uncovered the truth.

Now, here, in this forsaken cavern, their sigil—a taloned claw clutching a blackened star—lay emblazoned on shattered armor and rusted banners. Could this place, with its haunting silence and endless dead, hold the key to their enigmatic disappearance?

“This wasn’t just a battle,” Selene said, her voice low and heavy with foreboding.

Her golden eyes widened as realization struck, the weight of it pulling her breath short.

“This was their last stand,” she murmured, her tone awash with both awe and dread.

“It might be,” Kieran said, his voice steady yet grim.

“But one thing’s certain—it was a massacre.”

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Kieran’s gaze swept the chamber, his heart pounding as he tried to make sense of the scene.

He spotted deep gouges in the rock walls, as if something massive and clawed had torn through the stone itself.

The air carried an unnatural chill, and the faint glow of the Drakite veins seemed dimmer here, as though even the magic in the stone recoiled from the carnage.

A faint, wet squelching sound reached their ears, freezing Kieran in place.

He turned his head slowly, his breath catching in his throat as he spotted movement in the shadows.

Dozens of creatures writhed in the darkness, their bodies pale and translucent, pulsing with an eerie, greenish glow.

Each was no larger than a clenched fist, their forms grotesque and unsettling, with gelatinous bodies that quivered unnaturally as they moved.

Tendrils like tiny, coiling vines extended from their cores, clinging to the Drakite veins with leech-like mouths, oozing a dark, viscous fluid.

Despite their small size, their pulsing, luminescent bodies exuded an ominous presence, making the radiant Drakite beneath them seem dim and lifeless by comparison.

Occasionally, one would detach and lunge at another, devouring its kin in a grotesque display of survival.

“What the hell are those?” Kieran hissed, his voice tight.

“Mana parasites,” Selene whispered, her golden eyes narrowing.

“They feed on Drakite and each other. They’re born from corrupted magic.”

Kieran’s stomach churned as he watched the creatures.

The parasites moved with an unsettling rhythm, their forms shifting and writhing like living nightmares.

Some were no larger than his fist, while others had grown to the size of wolves, their bloated bodies pulsating with stolen energy.

Selene’s hand shot out, grabbing Kieran’s arm as he instinctively took a step forward.

“Don’t,” she warned, her voice sharp.

“They sense movement and magic. Stay still.”

Kieran froze, his muscles tensing as he forced himself to remain motionless.

The Crest pulsed faintly in his palm, as if responding to the corrupted energy in the cavern.

He gritted his teeth, willing the light to dim.

“What are they doing here?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“Corrupted Drakite,” Selene replied, her tone grim.

“Something poisoned the veins, twisted the magic into something vile. These parasites thrive on it. This mine wasn’t abandoned—it was overrun.”

Her gaze shifted to the skeletons, and her expression darkened.

“Judging by this, someone tried to wipe them out. A hybrid force of humans and dragons, maybe an army. They failed.”

Kieran’s throat tightened as he glanced back at the bones.

He couldn’t imagine the kind of power it would take to destroy so many warriors, let alone dragons.

The thought made his skin crawl.

“If they failed,” he said, his voice low, “how the hell are we supposed to survive this?”

Selene’s jaw tightened, her golden eyes scanning the parasites with unwavering focus.

“By not being seen,” she said simply.

They stood in tense silence, watching as the parasites continued their grotesque feeding.

The faint squelching noises and occasional wet snaps of bones being crushed made Kieran’s stomach churn, but he forced himself to stay still.

Minutes passed, though it felt like hours, before Selene finally moved.

Her grip on his arm relaxed, and she gestured toward a narrow path on the far side of the cavern.

“There,” she said softly.

“If we move slowly, we can get through without drawing their attention.”

Kieran nodded, swallowing hard.

“Lead the way.”

Selene moved with practiced precision, her steps silent as she weaved through the bones and debris.

Kieran followed, his every sense on high alert as they crept toward the path.

The parasites didn’t seem to notice them, their focus remaining on the Drakite veins and each other.

Just as they reached the edge of the chamber, a loud crack echoed through the cavern, freezing them in place.

Kieran turned his head sharply, his breath catching as one of the larger parasites lunged at a smaller one, tearing it apart in a frenzy of teeth and claws.

The movement sent ripples through the pack, and for a terrifying moment, several of the creatures lifted their eyeless heads, as if sensing something beyond their immediate prey.

“Move,” Selene hissed, her voice urgent.

They darted into the narrow tunnel, the walls closing in around them as they put as much distance as they could between themselves and the parasites.

Kieran’s heart pounded in his chest, his breath coming in shallow gasps as they ran.

The tunnel twisted and turned, descending deeper into the mine.

The glow of the Drakite veins grew fainter, and the air became colder, the oppressive chill biting at their skin.

When they finally stopped, their path blocked by a collapsed section of the tunnel, Kieran leaned against the wall, his legs trembling with exhaustion.

He turned to Selene, his emerald eyes sharp despite his fatigue.

“What the hell were those things?” he demanded, his voice tight.

“And why didn’t anyone deal with them before it got this bad?”

Selene shook her head, her golden eyes grim.

“Mana parasites are rare, but when they appear, they’re nearly impossible to eradicate. They feed on magic, grow stronger with every kill. If this mine was overrun, whoever fought them didn’t stand a chance.”

“So, they eat magic. That explains why they’re all clustered here.” He gestured toward the cavern, where veins of Drakite gleamed faintly.

Selene nodded, her voice tight. “But they don’t just feed. They grow stronger. More numerous. And when their numbers swell, they swarm. That’s what happened here.”

Kieran’s eyes flicked to the endless bones scattered across the cavern floor.

“You’re saying they took down an army? A force strong enough to include dragons?”

Selene’s gaze lingered on a massive dragon skeleton, its shattered ribcage evidence of a brutal fight.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” she said quietly. “They overwhelmed them. These creatures don’t just feed on Drakite—they feed on life energy too. Once they attach, they drain their prey dry. Even dragons couldn’t hold out against their numbers.”

Kieran felt a chill creep up his spine as he glanced back at the parasites, their faint glow casting an eerie light on the cavern walls.

“An entire army wiped out by these things,” he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief.

“Not just wiped out,” Selene said, her voice heavy with foreboding. “Erased. The Void Talon Clan was a powerhouse, Kieran. If these creatures could destroy them, imagine what they could do if they ever got out of this place.”

Kieran’s fists clenched, a simmering anger rising in his chest.

“So, what stopped them? Why didn’t they just swarm the surface?”

Selene’s lips pressed into a thin line. “They keep their population in check themselves, you saw it earlier. They eat each other, that’s why they never really had enough momentum to swarm the surface.”

Kieran’s jaw tightened, his frustration mounting as he surveyed the desolate scene.

Before he could speak again, a faint rumble echoed through the cavern, the ground beneath their feet trembling.

Both of them froze, their eyes snapping toward the shadows deeper in the mine.

“That didn’t sound good,” Kieran said, his voice low.

Selene’s hand instinctively went to her side, as if reaching for a weapon she no longer had.

“No,” she said quietly, her golden eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. “It didn’t.”