They finally reached the edge of the ancient city, once a shining center of knowledge and magic, now nothing more than a crumbling maze of death and decay. The grandeur of the city had long faded; its towering structures had been reduced to skeletal remains of their former glory, cracked and broken under the relentless grip of time. Twisted vines and overgrown roots clawed at the stone, pulling the city into the earth as though nature itself sought to erase its existence. Mist swirled around them, thick and suffocating, its ghostly tendrils reaching into every shadowed corner of the labyrinthine streets. The silence was profound—unnatural.

Venom moved ahead, her steps light and silent. Years of surviving the streets had honed her ability to blend into the shadows, and here, in this forgotten city, she felt entirely in her element. Her eyes darted between crumbling columns and sagging rooftops, searching for any sign of life—or death.

"This place is dead," Silas muttered from behind her, his voice low and uneasy. His hand hovered near his deck of cards, ready to draw at the slightest hint of danger. "I’ve seen ruins before, but this... it’s like the city itself is waiting for us."

Venom didn’t respond right away, her gaze scanning the dense fog that curled through the streets. "It’s not dead," she finally said, her voice cold. "It’s sleeping. And something in here doesn’t want us waking it up."

They moved cautiously, each step calculated. The mist seemed alive, twisting around their legs as though it was watching them. Silas felt his heart pound harder with every step deeper into the heart of the city. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into something far worse than they had anticipated.

The deeper they went, the more the atmosphere seemed to press down on them. The ruins themselves seemed to lean inward, as if the city was swallowing them whole. The air was thick with magic, not the bright, flourishing kind, but an old, heavy darkness, like the remnants of ancient rituals left to fester.

"Do you know anything about this place?" Silas asked, trying to mask his growing discomfort. "What it used to be?"

Venom paused, glancing at a crumbling tower in the distance before responding. "This city was once called Eremya, the City of Scholars. It was the heart of magic in Furashima centuries ago. Wizards and scholars from all across the land came here to study and practice magic. But..." she trailed off, her expression hardening. "But something went wrong. A great experiment, or maybe it was a battle. No one knows for sure. The city fell into ruin overnight, and everyone who lived here vanished. Some say the city was cursed, that its knowledge was too dangerous to be left in mortal hands."

Silas shivered despite himself. "Cursed or not, it feels like the city didn’t want to die quietly."

"It didn’t," Venom replied, her voice sharp. "That’s why mages still come here, searching for the secrets buried in these ruins. And why it’s dangerous to stay too long. The city... it changes you."

Silas didn’t like the sound of that. His hand instinctively went to his deck of cards, fingers brushing the worn edges. He’d relied on his cards for so long, trusting in their magic to see him through the worst situations. But here, in Eremya, something felt wrong. His power, usually so reliable, felt... off.

They continued through the winding streets, moving deeper into the heart of the ancient city. The air grew colder, the mist thicker, as if the city itself was suffocating them. Venom’s movements were steady, confident, her every step precise. Silas tried to match her pace, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the city was sapping his strength, feeding off his unease.

Then, ahead of them, shadowy figures emerged from the mist. Four robed mages, patrolling the ruins like sentinels. Their staffs crackled with faint arcs of energy, and their eyes, barely visible beneath their hoods, glinted with a cold, malevolent light.

Venom’s eyes narrowed. "Patrols. We can’t let them sound the alarm."

Silas nodded, but his hands were trembling. He drew a card from his deck—a Three of Spades. The moment he saw the low number, his heart sank. He threw the card, hoping it would still carry some weight, but the magic fizzled as soon as it left his hand. The card barely grazed one of the mages, disintegrating in the air before it could do any real damage.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Dammit," Silas cursed under his breath, sweat beading on his forehead. His cards felt weaker here, like the very magic he relied on was being sucked away by the city itself. He drew again—this time, a Six of Hearts. He knew it wasn’t enough, but he had no choice. He launched the card at the nearest mage, but it was like throwing a pebble at a boulder. The mage deflected it with a lazy wave of his hand, a smirk spreading across his face.

Venom moved like lightning, her daggers gleaming in the faint light as she launched herself at the nearest mage. Her blade found its mark in his throat before he could even react, his body crumpling to the ground. She didn’t pause, spinning on her heel to engage the next mage, her movements a blur of deadly precision.

Silas, still struggling to draw a useful card, felt frustration claw at him. He pulled the Seven of Diamonds, launching it with all his might, but the magic was weak, barely enough to stagger the second mage. It was as though his deck had turned against him, each card draining his strength rather than empowering him.

"You need to focus!" Venom hissed as she dispatched another mage, her blade slicing through his chest in a deadly arc. Her movements were fluid, controlled—there was no hesitation in her strikes, no uncertainty. She was handling the situation on her own, and it made Silas feel... inadequate.

"I’m trying!" Silas snapped, but his voice cracked with anxiety. He drew another card, a Four of Clubs. The low number taunted him, mocking his growing sense of powerlessness. He threw it anyway, but the result was the same—it barely fazed the third mage.

Venom, now facing the last mage alone, darted forward. The mage, realizing his comrades were already dead or dying, summoned a barrier of black fire. But Venom was too fast, her dagger cutting through the barrier with ease, slicing through his flesh before he could muster another spell. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, blood pooling around him.

The fight was over. Venom stood among the bodies of the fallen mages, her breathing steady, while Silas panted, his chest heaving with exhaustion and frustration. His cards had betrayed him.

"You okay?" Venom asked, not looking at him directly, her eyes still scanning the area for more threats.

Silas wiped the sweat from his brow, his face flushed with embarrassment. "I’m fine," he muttered, though his voice was tight. "Just... the cards aren’t working the way they should."

Venom finally turned to look at him, her expression unreadable. "It’s this place. Eremya doesn’t just drain magic—it corrupts it. You felt it the moment we stepped inside, didn’t you?"

Silas clenched his fists, nodding reluctantly. "Yeah... it’s like the cards are weaker here, or maybe I’m weaker."

Venom’s gaze softened slightly. "This city’s feeding off your doubt. It was built on the highest forms of magic, and when it fell, all that power didn’t just vanish—it tainted everything. The ruins are alive with it. It doesn’t just weaken your magic—it tests your will. If you let it get to you, it’ll crush you."

Silas swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her words. He had relied on his cards for so long, used them as a crutch to compensate for any weakness. But here, in this cursed city, they were failing him, and it terrified him. He felt vulnerable, exposed in a way he hadn’t felt in years.

"I need to focus," he whispered, more to himself than to Venom.

"You need to trust yourself more than those cards," Venom replied, her voice steady. "We all have our weapons, but if you lose faith in yourself, it doesn’t matter what tools you have."

Silas nodded, trying to push the fear and frustration aside. He couldn’t afford to break down now. Not here. Not when so much was riding on this mission. He took a deep breath, shoving the cards back into his pocket for now. Maybe relying on them too much had been a mistake.

As they continued deeper into the city, Venom took the lead once again. They moved with caution, the ruins pressing in around them like the jaws of some ancient beast. The mist seemed to thicken the closer they got to the heart of the city, curling around them like a living thing. Silas could feel the weight of Eremya’s dark history pressing down on him, and with each step, he felt the city reaching out to claim them.

"This place was once the pinnacle of knowledge," Venom said quietly as they passed a grand, crumbling tower, its top half shattered. "They say that the greatest wizards of Furashima came here to unlock the secrets of the universe. The experiments they conducted... they pushed the boundaries of magic, but it came at a price."

"What price?" Silas asked, his voice low.

Venom’s eyes darkened. "Power. The wizards here were obsessed with it. They wanted to control magic itself, to bend the rules of nature to their will. But magic isn’t something that can be tamed. It fights back. And when Eremya fell... it fell hard. The city became a prison for the knowledge they tried to control. And now it corrupts anyone who gets too close."

Silas shuddered at the thought. The weight of the city’s history was palpable in the air, and he could feel its effects on him. This wasn’t just any mission. They weren’t just fighting enemies. They were fighting the very essence of a place that had once held the greatest power in the world, and it didn’t want to be disturbed.