Zeni stepped cautiously through the door, her senses on high alert as she prepared herself for whatever danger might lie ahead. The door creaked shut behind her, plunging her into a darkness so absolute it felt like a crushing weight upon her very soul. Her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment she felt a frisson of terror race through her veins. This was no ordinary darkness; it was as if the very essence of night had coalesced around her, swallowing her whole and leaving her adrift in a sea of impenetrable black.

Frantically, Zeni attempted to summon flames, the familiar words springing to her lips with practiced ease. She could feel the power welling up within her, the warmth of Ka flickering against her fingertips. And yet, when she released the invocation, the darkness remained as oppressive as ever. It was as though the light had been snuffed out the instant it was born, devoured by the ravenous shadows that clung to her like a second skin.

Panic gnawed at the edges of her mind, threatening to consume her as she realized the dire nature of her predicament. This was no mere absence of light, but rather a manifestation of darkness so powerful it could bend even the brightest flame to its will. Zeni felt a shiver of dread run down her spine as she pondered the implications. What force could be responsible for such a phenomenon? And what malevolent purpose did it serve?

For a moment, she entertained the notion of retreating, of turning back and abandoning her quest in the face of this insurmountable darkness. But the thought was fleeting, brushed aside by the stubborn determination that had brought her this far. She would not be cowed by shadows, no matter how dark and insidious they might be.

So, Zeni took a tentative step forward, her senses straining to notice any hint of danger lurking within the black void. Each footfall felt like a leap of faith, a blind gamble against unseen perils that could be lying in wait just inches from her outstretched fingers.

As she moved deeper into the darkness, Zeni's thoughts turned to the late nights filled with countless tales from her mentor and other villagers of similar occurrences throughout Kemet-Aaruian history. Neith had spoken of heroes who had ventured into realms of eternal night, guided only by their wits and the unwavering courage that burned within their hearts. Invariably, these stories ended clichely, with the hero emerging victorious, the darkness predictably banished by the strength of their spirit and the purity of their purpose.

But the darkness that surrounded Zeni felt different, more insidious in its nature. It was not a simple absence of light, but rather a living, malevolent force that sought to crush her spirit and smother her resolve. It roiled against her, bearing down upon her like a physical entity that sought to grind her into submission.

And yet, as the darkness continued to swallow her like some fell beast, Zeni found herself drawing upon a wellspring of resilience she’d learned to nourish. Her fear, while still present, began to give way to a stubborn determination, a refusal to be defeated by the void that sought to claim her.

Zeni stumbled through the inky blackness, her perception pressed to the breaking point and her stomach suddenly keenly aware of itself and it’s emptiness as it released a growl of hunger.

Just great, she thought. In the middle of all of this danger, I’m going to end up passing out from low blood sugar.

It was bad enough that this dungeon seemed to defy all logic, with corridors twisting and turning in ways that made her head spin. And now, she found herself in a darkness so profound that it seemed to absorb her whole.

She kept trying to call forth her invocations, but her attempts to illuminate her surroundings were met with failure. The darkness stuck to her like a suffocating shroud, as if it was a living thing trying to choke the life from her. Her pulse quickened, and her palms grew slick with sweat as she let the reality settle in that she was well and truly alone in the dark.

As she crept through the oppressive gloom, her ears pricked at the sound of a distant skittering. It was faint, barely audible over the pounding of her heart, but it was there. And with each passing moment, it grew louder. Closer.

Her instincts screamed at her to flee, to run as fast as she could, but she knew that in this abyss she would only become more lost. So instead, she emboldened herself, gritting her teeth as she prepared for the inevitable confrontation.

The skittering grew louder still, the sound of it now accompanied by a heavy, wet slapping noise that sent shivers down Zeni's spine. The unseen creature seemed to be toying with her, drawing closer and then retreating, its every move leaving her more and more on edge.

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Then, with a sudden burst of movement, the creature lunged at her. Zeni barely had time to react, the monster's unseen claws slicing through the air and raking across her arm. She cried out in pain, feeling warm blood well up and trickle down her skin.

Zeni scrambled to her feet, her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to keep her bearings in the darkness. The creature circled her, its movements a horrifying whirlwind of scrapes and hisses that seemed to come from all around her.

Fear threatened to consume her, but Zeni pushed it aside, focusing instead on the sound of the monster's movements. She knew that she had no chance of winning this fight if she kept trying to simply see her opponent, so she would have to rely on her other senses to guide her.

But the creature was cunning and fast, and Zeni found herself struck again and again by its unseen attacks. Bruised and bloodied, she refused to give in, desperately searching for some way to turn the tide of the battle in her favor.

As she listened, straining to pick out any pattern or rhythm in the creature's movements, she began to notice a subtle pattern. There was a slight pause before each lunge, a tiny hitch in the monster's otherwise fluid movements that gave her the briefest of warnings.

Zeni gritted her teeth and readied for the next attack, preparing to put her gut feeling to the test. As the creature lunged at her again, she managed to dodge just in time, its claws barely grazing her skin.

Not one to ignore minor success, Zeni pressed her advantage, using the sound of the creature's movements to predict where it would strike next. Each time it lunged, she dodged and counterattacked, her strikes landing with a satisfying crunch as she slowly wore the creature down.

But the monster was far from defeated, and it soon changed its tactics, darting in and out of her reach with dizzying speed. Zeni found herself hard-pressed to keep up, her muscles aching and her breath coming in ragged gasps as she struggled to fend off the creature's relentless assault.

As the battle raged on, Zeni became aware of a burning sensation in her limbs, as if her very blood was on fire. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, but she knew that to give in now would mean certain death.

As she dodged another lunging attack, Zeni realized that she needed to end this fight quickly, before her body gave out completely. She racked her brain, searching for a way to turn the tables on her unseen opponent.

And then it came to her. If she couldn't see the creature, perhaps she could force it to reveal itself. Reaching out for the ambient Ka in the dungeon, she found it, as if dusting off an old pair boots that didn’t belong to her, and latched onto its feeling. The world around her, while still blindingly dark, was slightly less so with the familiarity of energy. First, she poured this Ka into herself, drawing on its power and pushed it into one particular aspect: her prowess markers. One in particular was her quarry, and after only a brief moment, she felt her Perception marker become reinforced. She didn’t know if she could do it this way, but she didn’t have much to lose. Tying her Perception into her next movement, she prepared an invocation that she hoped would have the desired effect.

As the monster lunged at her once more, Zeni unleashed her Ka and her invocation: Geb’s Splinters. Tiny shards of sharp pebbles filled the area around her as a cloud of rocky razors smashed against the beast. The creature let out a shriek of pain as the invocation made contact, and Zeni focused on her Ka, seeking the elemental shrapnel with her senses. To her surprise, it worked. Her assailant had, quite fortunately, had several pieces of the deadly debris stuck in its body, and through her Perception, she could see its form briefly outlined in a faint, ghostly light. It was taller than her, standing upright on two legs, but its body was a thin, wicked sliver of sinewy hate.

Seizing her chance, Zeni struck at the now-semi-visible creature with everything she had left, her fists connecting with its wet, slippery flesh. The monster reeled from the onslaught, its movements growing more sluggish and uncoordinated.

With a final, desperate effort, Zeni drew on the last reserves of her strength and using the blade of her truncated spear, landed a powerful blow to the creature's head. The monster let out a strangled cry and hit blood splashed against her hands and forearms. It shivered before collapsing to the ground, its body convulsing once before finally falling still.

Zeni stood over the defeated creature, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Her entire body ached, and her vision swam at the edges, but she had survived. She had faced the beast and emerged victorious.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the oppressive black began to give way to shades of gray, a gradual lightening. As she stumbled away from the corpse of her vanquished foe—not even bothering to loot it—the oppressive darkness began to lift, as if the creature's death had broken a spell. The dim light that filtered in from the dungeon was a welcome sight, and Zeni allowed herself a small, weary smile.

As the darkness continued to recede, Zeni felt a glimmer of hope ignite within her, a spark of defiance that grew stronger with each step she took. With renewed vigor, she pressed onward, her spirit buoyed by the gradual return of light to her surroundings.

The darkness, it seemed, had underestimated her resolve, her sheer determination to overcome the obstacles that stood in her way. But more, she was proud of her own resourcefulness. Pairing her Prowess Marker and her invocation wasn’t something she’d been taught to do, but borne of desperation in the bleak void—and it had worked. It was a lesson that Zeni would not soon forget.

Soon, Zeni found herself awash in a soft, diffuse glow that seemed to emanate from the very air around her. It was a far cry from the bright, welcoming light of the sun, but after her ordeal in the darkness, it felt like a beacon of hope, a promise that she was on the verge of emerging from this nightmare.

Finally, Zeni reached the threshold of a mysterious chamber that awaited her beyond the darkness. Her pulse quickened, anticipation and anxiety warring within her as she prepared to confront…whatever was there. And yet, as she stood on the precipice of the unknown, Zeni felt…grateful. It was gratitude toward the darkness that had tested her so fiercely.

The void had sought to break her, to smother her spirit and extinguish her hope. But instead, it had forged her into something stronger, a warrior tempered in the fires of adversity and made all the more formidable for it.

She smiled as the words appeared in her vision:

Heket Enchantress - Third Level