"Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked, ducking under yet another low-hanging crystal formation. My hand brushed against the rough stone, coming away damp with mineral-rich moisture. The tunnel had been growing progressively narrower for the past hour, the rough-hewn walls closing in until we were forced to walk single file.

Estella's laugh echoed off the walls. "Getting claustrophobic already? We've barely started!". She somehow managed to twirl ahead despite the tight space. The movement caused her torch to cast spinning shadows across the crystalline walls.

"I just hope these crystals are load-bearing," I muttered, carefully edging past another formation.

Behind me, Tirion's armor clinked softly with each careful step. The bunny-eared knight had taken rear guard, with Lysa protected between us. "The guild's information was quite specific about the route," he said. "These tunnels were carved during the first king’s time, meant to discourage casual visitors."

"Or tomb raiders," Lysa added dryly, her shadow magic occasionally flaring to provide better visibility in the darker sections. "Which, technically speaking, is exactly what we are."

"I prefer to think of us as treasure hunters," Estella corrected cheerfully.

“So if we had a first king, who’s the current king?” I asked.

"The First King," Lysa said carefully, "was the one and only king. He was a great and wise ruler. But when he died, there was no one qualified to replace him. And so, the Undercity chose a different path."

“That’s right. Monarchy is so last century. Republics are the preferred form of governance nowadays.” Estella added. She struck a mock-serious pose, holding an imaginary scepter. "All hail the democratic process!"

Tirion snorted. "Says the girl who makes her audiences bow before her performances."

"That's different," Estella protested, wagging a finger. "They bow to my talent, not my bloodline."

“A republic?” I asked.

“That’s right.” Tirion cleared his throat. "The Undercity is now administered by the Shadow Council. Eight individual who govern from the shadows."

"The Emissary, the Messenger," Lysa began counting off on her fingers, "the Guide, the Witch, the Oracle, the Builder, the Witness, and the Wanderer. The eight who govern the Undercity."

I stopped dead in my tracks, nearly causing Tirion to bump into me. "Wait. The Guide is on the Shadow Council?"

"Of course," Estella said, tilting her head curiously at my reaction. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"But... they're just..." I gestured vaguely, trying to reconcile my first impression of the eternally grinning guide with this new information. "They're supposed to be for new people.” It felt weird

Lysa raised an eyebrow. "Just for new arrivals? The Guide is one of the most influential members of the council. They see everyone who enters the Undercity, assess their potential and direct their paths."

"Well, that explains the creepy omniscient act," I muttered, remembering those glowing yellow eyes and too-wide smile.

"Creepy?" Estella laughed. "The eternal smile is a bit much, I'll give you that. But there's something oddly endearing about them. Like a teddy bear that you want to hug."

I frowned. "And the Witch…"

"Agatha sits on the Shadow Council," Estella said. "Though most know her better as the Witch."

"Wait, back up," I said, steadying myself on a crystal formation. "That creepy old woman who sent me to kill rats is on the council? The one with all the suspicious tea?"

"Not just on the council," Lysa interjected quietly. "She's one of the longest-running member. They call her the Witch of the END."

I paused. "That's... an interesting title choice. Very dramatic. What's the END supposed to mean?"

"No one knows anymore. Or if they do, they're not sharing," Tirion said. "All council members bear similar titles."

"The records are... inconsistent," Lysa added. "Even in the oldest texts, the meaning is either absent or deliberately obscured. The title appears in fragments dating back to the First King's time, but the context is always missing."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Or maybe they just thought it sounded impressive," Estella said with a forced brightness. "You should hear them all together - the Emissary of the END, the Messenger of the END, the Wanderer of the END..." She trailed off, then added more quietly, "Though nobody uses the full titles except in ceremonies."

"Ceremonies?" I prompted.

"State functions, mostly. When they gather to make major decisions." Estella said. "It's quite something to see - eight figures speaking with one voice in the shadows. Even the Guide drops their smile then."

I thought back to those unsettling yellow eyes, that too-wide grin. The idea of that smile finally falling... "Must be serious business."

"The END itself is serious business," Lysa said softly. Her shadow magic flickered, almost nervously. "There are theories, of course. Some say it's a prophecy, others a warning. A few believe it's a reminder of something the world forgot. Or chose to forget."

"And what do you believe?" I asked.

She met my eyes steadily. "I believe there's a reason why even the Shadow Council speaks that word carefully."

I stared at the rough tunnel walls as my mind raced through the implications. Agatha the Witch and the tutorial Guide, both members of the Shadow Council. I'd had just met them hours ago without any idea who they were. Turned out, they were running the whole damn city.

The rat quest suddenly felt less like a tutorial and more like an evaluation. Had the Guide's creepy grin been amusement at my assumptions? And Agatha... was her cryptic tea-offering a political test? I'd walked into the lair of two council members without realizing it. In any other game, that would be like accidentally wandering into an endgame boss room at level 1.

“Come on Noctus, we’re almost there.” Estella called out.

The tunnel opened into darkness so complete it seemed to swallow our torchlight. As we stepped forward, the space revealed itself gradually: a vast circular chamber that made our footsteps echo into infinity. My neck craned back, trying to trace the massive pillars that vanished into the darkness above.

Ancient Tomb Entrance Note: Some doors should stay closed

The pillars' surfaces weren't smooth, they were covered in intricate etchings. Strange patterns of dots and lines, flowing in precise arrangements I didn't recognize. Some seemed to shift when I wasn't looking directly at them, as if refusing to be properly seen.

"Watch your step," Tirion warned, his shield scraping against something. "The floor's not level."

He was right. The chamber floor sloped subtly downward in a spiral pattern, leading our eyes to the center. Broken pieces of what might have been tiles crunched beneath our boots, the fragments still holding traces of long-faded pigments.

Between the pillars, crystalline formations caught and reflected our lights, creating the illusion of stars in the artificial darkness of the chamber. The effect was beautiful and unsettling. Each step we took changed their configuration, making them dance and swirl around us.

"Look at all those little lights," Estella whispered, her eyes wide as she studied the patterns. She raised her hand, and the crystal-cast points seemed to follow her movement, leaving trails of ghostly radiance. The effect made her look like she was conducting an orchestra of light.

"I've never seen anything like it," Tirion muttered, his usual stoic demeanor cracking slightly. "What are they supposed to be?"

Lysa's shadow magic pulsed uneasily. "The magic here... it's old. Older than anything I've encountered in the Undercity. And it feels... expectant."

"Over here," I called out. Against the far wall was a massive slab of black stone, easily three times my height. Its surface was etched with those same mysterious dots we'd seen on the pillars, but these formed distinct patterns, circles within circles, all flowing toward a central image.

"This is it," Lysa breathed, her shadow magic flaring instinctively as she approached. "The Tomb of the First King."

The central relief made me pause. A lone figure stood atop what I first thought was a mountain until I looked closer. Not a mountain. Bodies. Countless twisted forms piled beneath the figure's feet. His sword pointed upward into a field of etched dots, somehow darker than the black stone itself. Below the grim scene, lines of text spiraled outward in concentric circles.

"Can you read it?" I asked Lysa, watching her fingers trace the letters with purple light.

She nodded slowly, her voice taking on an odd resonance. "Parts of it. It's an old dialect." Her finger followed the spiraling text. "'Here lies the one who saw truth in darkness... who turned his back on false light... who knew the worth of what was lost...'" She pulled her hand back suddenly. "The rest is damaged. But it feels like a warning."

"Warnings are like dancing - it's more fun when you ignore the rules!" Estella said, her fingers trailing along the door's intricate edges. "Come on, let's-"

Her hand brushed something, and ancient magic surged through the chamber. Every etched dot on the door blazed with deep purple light, the circles of text illuminating one by one like ripples in a dark pond. The light spread to the walls, the pillars, until we stood in a sphere of purple starfire.

Warning: Ancient Magic Activating Danger: Magical Resonance Exceeding Safe Levels Recommendation: Immediate Retreat

"That's... not supposed to happen, is it?" I backed away slowly.

Tirion moved to shield Lysa, his armor reflecting the eerie light. "This is beyond any tomb guardian I've heard of."

The last circle lit up with a deep violet flare that made my eyes water. The magical resonance sent vibrations through my bones, like standing too close to massive speakers at a concert. The figure in the central relief shifted. Not the dramatic movement of a statue coming to life, but something more unsettling. Like when you catch movement in a mirror from the corner of your eye, subtle yet eerier.

Then came the voice, not in our ears but directly into our minds.

"PROVE YOUR WORTH, SEEKERS OF TRUTH. SHOW YOUR REJECTION OF FALSE LIGHT."