As Zeni peered into the massive hallway, the air seemed to have an aura of vacancy, as though even dust mites had packed their bags and left ages ago. The walls were barren, and the only thing adorning them was a sense of emptiness that stretched on for miles, accompanied by an oppressive darkness that seemed to swallow the light.

With each hesitant step, Zeni felt the weight of nothingness pressing down upon her. The air was heavy, as if it were gasping for breath in the stale atmosphere. The complete lack of any discernible decoration left her feeling oddly abandoned, like a lone sock in a dryer.

She walked through the seemingly endless hallway, her footsteps echoing off the high, vaulted ceiling as if they were the first sounds to have disturbed the area in centuries. As she moved deeper into the dungeon, Zeni found herself muttering under her breath, her voice barely audible against the deafening silence.

"Well, whoever designed this place certainly had a minimalist streak," she mused, her words providing a bit of comfort in the face of the unrelenting emptiness.

She spotted a beautifully wrought symbol in the otherwise barren stretch of floor and smiled.

"Still…this place is incredible," she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath. "I can't believe I'm actually here, finally. In a dungeon. I’m doing straight-up heroine stuff now.”

As she continued her slow, deliberate pace, she marveled at the inventiveness of the dungeon's creators. Even as it had no adornments, the shape of the passage had been meticulously crafted with an almost obsessive level of precision.

"I wonder who built this place," Zeni mused, her voice echoing throughout the empty hall. "Unless the dungeon…built itself? Neith did say they were alive—but, like, did someone make it alive after it was built?"

It was then, while pondering the greater meaning of dungeon sapience, that she heard a soft, wet sound in the distance, like the squelching of mud beneath a boot. The noise seemed out of place in the otherwise quiet corridor, and Zeni's instincts screamed for her to tread carefully.

As she rounded a corner, her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of several grotesque, toad-like creatures. They stood roughly three feet tall, their warty, amphibious skin glistening under the torchlight. Their bulbous eyes glowed with a malevolent rage, and they wielded crude, simple weapons that looked as though they had been crafted from bones and stones.

Zeni took a step back, her breath catching in her chest as she tried to process the scene before her. These runty beings, so out of place in this hallowed hall, seemed intent on guarding something. But what?

"Alright, Zeni," she whispered to herself. "You can do this. You've faced minor sphinxes, scorpions, and those Sand Striders, after all. These...toad things shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Zeni gripped the weapon Aken had helped her forge, her knuckles turning white as she prepared to face the impish toad creatures. She could feel the power of her elemental invocations coursing through her, waiting to be unleashed upon her foes.

Maybe they won’t see me? She wondered.

Then she heard a croak of fury, and watched as, together, the assembly of amphibians began charging in her direction.

“Ah, hell,” she said aloud, and brought her blade up in a defensive gesture. They were fast, and made it to her location in only a moment. Zeni tensed as the lead toad monstrosity bared crooked fangs her way.

Then it lunged at her, its wide, toothy mouth agape, and Zeni barely managed to dodge its snapping jaws. She swung her weapon with all her might, the blade biting into the creature's side and sending it sprawling. But even as it fell, another took its place, slashing at her with its crude bone knife.

Zeni quickly called upon the elemental powers at her command, invoking a ball of flame that surged towards her attackers. It splashed against them, bathing the hall in light and shadows. To her surprise, as the flames died down, the toad men merely croaked in defiance, seemingly unaffected by the intense heat. Their warty skin appeared to resist the fire, leaving them unharmed and still eager for battle.

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“Well, this isn’t good!” Zeni called, reeling back and lifting her hand again to prepare another attack.

She summoned a blast of wind, hoping to possibly bowl at least one of the amphibious beasts over. But once again, the toads seemed impervious, shrugging off the blast as though it were little more than a gentle breeze. Their bulbous eyes narrowed, and they advanced upon her, their weapons raised high.

“Ack!” She exclaimed. “I have got to get stronger Ka! This is pathetic!”

Desperation gripped Zeni as she realized that her elemental invocations were having no effect on these resilient beasts. In a last-ditch effort, she called forth Water of Hapi, hoping to eye-blast her enemies to ribbons. But, to her dismay, the creatures seemed to revel in the deluge, completely unharmed and even more determined to bring her down.

“Shit…” she said. “Of course they like water—they live in that stuff! Think, Zeni, think!”

Her heart pounded in her chest as she dodged and parried, her weapon dancing in her hands as she fought to keep the toad creatures at bay. She could feel her strength beginning to wane, her body screaming in protest as it struggled to keep up with the relentless assault.

With each clash of bone and steel, Zeni's resolve diminished. This was ridiculous! How was she supposed to venture through this dungeon alone if her main attacks were practically worthless? She couldn’t rely on her elemental powers at all to defeat these creatures. She knew she’d have to be craftier than just hitting them with weakened versions of natural elements.

She ducked under a wild swing from one of the toads, using the momentum to drive her weapon into its exposed mid-section. The creature let out a pained croak and stumbled back, giving Zeni the opportunity to focus on another foe. She spun around, her weapon a blur as she struck at the remaining attackers with renewed ferocity.

As the battle raged on, Zeni began to find her rhythm. Despite her tiredness and faltering self confidence, her movements became more fluid and precise with each passing moment. She focused not just on the Ka that gave birth to her elements, but the natural Ka within the dungeon itself. The kind that danced across her muscles and filled her with vigor and stamina.

Hell yeah, she thought. I’m learning—kind of.

She deftly sidestepped a powerful lunge from one of the toad creatures, her blade whistling through the air as it connected with the side of its head. The creature crumpled to the ground, its weapon falling from its limp hand.

Suddenly, one of the group leaped at her and she hardly had time to react. In her mind’s eye, she remembered.

Zeni, standing before the looming figure of Aken, cleared her throat to break the awkward silence.

"So…about that special weapon you forged for me," she began, her voice wavering with anticipation. "You mentioned that there's a secret to it?"

Aken, was a talented blacksmith and, as it turned out, a connoisseur of cryptic statements. He gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh, yeah, the weapon. Well, I added a little something extra to it: a clasp. One that, when activated, may prove quite helpful."

Zeni's raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"A clasp? That's it? What does it do?"

Aken chuckled, a deep rumble that echoed through the workshop.

"You gotta be patient! The clasp is not to be taken lightly. It’s been…imbued. Something to help you when you need it most.”

"But how will I know when to use it? And what if I accidentally trigger it when I don't need to?" she asked.

Aken raised a massive hand, chuckling.

"Ah, don’t worry, Zeni. The clasp has been designed to respond to your intent, not just your touch. It will sense when you need it and act accordingly. Trust in it, and trust in yourself."

She found the secret clasp hidden in her weapon and, driven by desperation, she activated it just as the toad was preparing to land on her.

With a swift, metallic snap, her weapon expanded into a six-foot spear, impaling the attacking beast. The creature let out a gurgling croak, its lifeblood pooling around the spear's point. She’d practiced a handful of times with the variant form, but still, the sudden transformation had caught her off guard. However, Zeni wasted no time adapting to her new circumstances.

Since her elemental attacks were proving ineffective against the resilient toad creatures—and she was still woefully ill-equipped to do practical battle with a huge spear—Zeni decided to employ another aspect of her abilities: her curse invocations. This was an area she’d had the least success with, and had only been able to develop one minor curse to assist her, so far. It was hard to practice when it required intense pain on the part of the party you were lobbing it at.

She focused her energy and unleashed the curse aspect upon her enemies, casting the invocation known as "Fade."

The air around one of the toad creatures seemed to shimmer as the curse took hold, its vision gradually becoming clouded and obscured. Zeni could only concentrate on one enemy at a time with this invocation, but it provided her with the advantage she desperately needed.

As the creature’s sight grew dim, the toad began to stumble and falter, swinging its weapon wildly in an attempt to hit Zeni. She nimbly dodged the clumsy attacks, her spear dancing in her hands as she parried their blows. Her newfound agility—or rather, the toad’s lack thereof—allowed her to exploit the openings created by her Fade, moving in to strike as her enemy flailed helplessly.

Zeni cheered internally with each successful strike, the satisfaction of her apparent tactical prowess fueling her determination. She continued to weave through the toad creatures, her spear a blur as she whittled down their stamina one by one.

Her movements became a deadly dance, a whirlwind of steel and further invoked curses as she avoided her enemies’ increasingly desperate strikes. She traded blows when necessary, her body aching from the impact, but she refused to yield.

And, finally, as the last of the toad creatures fell to her spear, Zeni stood triumphant amidst the carnage. Her breath was short, and her limbs trembled with exhaustion, but she had emerged victorious.

“I did it!” She roared, slamming the haft of the spear against the ground and delighting as it retracted into its diminutive form. “I friggin’ did it, baby!”