The rumbling in the darkness beyond the vault grew louder, each step it took caused the walls to shudder, shaking the very air around us. My jaw was clenched, a low involuntary growl escaping my lips. Whatever it was, it was coming closer. The cavern outside was fairly empty, so it was making a beeline straight for us. I used my senses to try and detect another exit, but all I could pick up was the trembling caused by the monster outside. I glanced at Laira, she had drawn her weapon and looked inconvenienced by the visitor.

She definitely didn’t appear to be worried. But then she hadn’t been living on edge the way I had since I got here.

“Try to keep up, little goblin,” she said playing it cool, she exuded confidence as if nothing on this floor could present a challenge to her.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, she had darted out of the vault. I quickly followed after her into the cavern to greet our guest. That’s when I saw it and stopped dead in my tracks under the archway of the vault.

It was nearly three times my height, covered in rough stone that seemed to soak in the light of the dungeon. Its face was contorted, a twisted mockery depicting a human face, its mouth set in a permanent snarl with fanged stone teeth. It was a gargoyle, its eyes glowing red like rubies staring at the pair of us.

Laira recoiled slightly, her posture tense as she looked at the moving statue. “A gargoyle? How in the abyss did you get all the way up here?”

The creature didn’t answer. Instead, it moved forward with slow deliberate steps, each one sending tremors through the floor. Hanging around its neck, an amulet dangled from a thick chain, glowing with a faint green light. A protective barrier shimmered around its stone form, causing Laira to mutter a curse under her breath.

“That amulet,” she said, her voice low. “It’s been enchanted by someone - whoever sent it here, they don’t want us leaving here alive.”

For the briefest of moments, her gaze flickered to me. She didn’t know who I really was, she had her suspicions. But I was still just some goblin wandering around, she couldn’t possibly have thought that gargoyle was here for me.

“Do you think we can take it?” I asked, trying my best not to sound out of my depth.

She gave me a stern look, then focused back on the gargoyle. “It’s shielded against magic. My spells won’t be able to break through that barrier, but it’ll be vulnerable once the amulet is destroyed.”

Sounded simple enough, of course things were never actually as easy as they seemed. Gargoyles are creatures brought to life with dark magic, animated by a force that holds them together despite their rigid, stone forms. And this one looked to have been created specifically to withstand Laira’s power. If we were going to survive, it would take more than sheer brute force.

The gargoyle bared its teeth, then lunged forward without a moment's notice, its stone limbs moving with a surprising speed. I barely managed to dodge out of the way, rolling across the floor as stone fists pummelling into the ground where we had stood a second earlier. Dust and bits of stone spat out in all directions like shrapnel.

Laira danced backwards, gracefully sidestepping as the gargoyle shifted its attention to focus on her. She moved with elegant fluidity, she made dodging its attacks look easy as she precisely avoided each blow. But I could see her hesitation, her frustration at not being able to strike back. Her sword wouldn’t be of any use against its hulking stone body, whatever spellwork had gone into creating that amulet, it was effective.

Laira had started relentlessly summoning blades of darkness in the air, swiping at the gargoyle with her fingers as she unleashed dark purple torrents of magic. Each spell was repelled by the gargoyle’s shield, dispersing around its body and cleanly slicing into the ground and the walls on the other side of the room. It wasn’t that she didn’t have enough power, because each cut in the ground was at least a few inches thick.

After a few minutes it was clear we weren’t making any progress, I had to take a risk. Reinforcing my goblin body, I enhanced my speed and darted forward. Hoping to catch the gargoyle off guard while its attention was on Laira, but as I approached it whipped around with alarming speed. It’s grotesque face staring at me, unmoving and unsettling. It brought a fist down like a warhammer.

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I barely managed to twist out of the way, feeling the air hit me as its boulder-sized hands pulverised the floor, sending web-like cracks out from the point of impact.

“Any ideas?” I called out, skidding back just out of range.

Laira gave me an intense look. “If I did, I wouldn’t be wasting my time trying to wear it down.” Her eyes flickered to the amulet, glistening in the dim light. “We need to break the amulet. If we can expose it, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Seriously, if only things were that simple. But with the shield in the way, reaching the amulet was easier said than done. Still I had taken down monsters bigger than myself before, this shouldn’t be any different. The trick was getting close without being grounded into minced goblin in the process.

Drawing on my enhancements, the veins in my arms and legs gained a black hue as I empowered my goblin body again. I feinted to the left, then dashed to the right, closing the distance in a zig-zag. The gargoyle snarled, its arms creaking as it swung towards me. But I was faster, pivoting around its fist and getting within reach of its chest. With a primal roar, I leapt up, claws extended, aiming for the amulet.

For a split second, I felt my fingers brush against the cold metal. But then the shield flared to life, a pulse of energy throwing me back with enough force to send me sprawling to the ground. I landed hard, the impact jarring every bone in my body. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me, gasping for air. I scuttled back on the ground as the gargoyle approached, bearing down on me as it raised its massive stone hands overhead.

“Valian!” I heard Laira cry out to the side.

Its fists came flying down towards me, still struggling to catch my breath. I knew the goblin’s body needed more time to recover, so I reached out from within the goblin’s body. Pushing against the floor and withdrawing back into the body in one swift motion.

For an instant black inky tendrils erupted from the goblin’s shoulder blade, ejecting it from the floor and jerking it to the side as it rolled over helplessly. I came back to my senses and staggered up to my feet, but before I could even get my bearings, the gargoyle was looming over me again. Ready to try pummeling me into the ground again.

Just as it moved in for the kill, Laira sprang between us, her blade flashing as she slashed across its arm. The blade glanced off the stone, but the blow had enough force that the gargoyle paused for a moment. Laira didn’t retreat, instead, she danced around the gargoyle. Drawing it’s attention, giving me enough time to find the opening I needed.

My heart pounded with adrenaline. I couldn’t let myself get thrown back again. If we didn’t end this soon, it would eventually beat us in a battle of endurance.

I rose to my feet and charged forward again, dodging the creature’s fists as it swiped at me with an unrelenting onslaught. But this time, I didn’t go directly for the amulet. I waited until it reached for me when I was in range, then leapt up onto its arm. Using the momentum to scramble up to its shoulder. The gargoyle twisted and bucked trying to lose me, but I held on, digging my claws into its rough stone surface until they were bloodied.

With a final effort, I lunged forward, clasping my fingers around the amulet’s chain. I channelled every ounce of strength I could muster, the goblin’s hands almost turning black as my power bubbled under the surface of its skin. The chain resisted, magic sparking out and burning against my skin, but I gritted my teeth and stubbornly refused to let go. With one last heave, I felt the chain snap, the amulet broke free and fell to the floor.

The shield around the gargoyle’s stone skin flickered, then vanished into the air.

Laira wasted no time. As if she had been waiting in anticipation for this moment, she leapt into action. Her blade flashing as she brought it down on the gargoyle’s exposed chest. The blade was glowing crimson, cleaving through the creature's core as it let out a gravelly scream. Laira managed to split its torso in half, it let out one last thunderous roar. The body crumbled as stone pieces collapsed onto the floor, its once overbearing figure reduced to a pile of rubble.

I dropped down to the ground beside it, breathing heavily. My hands throbbed where the amulet’s magic had seared my skin, but the goblin’s body had already begun regenerating thanks to the power I had absorbed from the giant bat-like creatures. Laira straightened, watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. She hadn’t sheathed her blade yet, but her gaze was as sharp as the edge of her weapon.

“You’re not just a goblin, are you?” she stated, her voice thick with suspicion. “There’s no way a goblin could have the strength to break an enchanted chain like that.”

Still breathing heavily, I shrugged, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible. “I got lucky.”

She didn’t buy it. Her eyes narrowed, she took a step closer. Her posture was defensive. “You’re stronger than you should be. Faster, too. You’re not like any goblin I’ve ever encountered.”

I met her gaze, holding back the urge to retort. She was perceptive, I’ll give her that. But I still didn’t trust her enough to reveal the truth, especially when I didn’t fully understand it myself. I didn’t know enough about her, or about this place to gauge how she would react.

“Does it matter?” I asked casually, forcing a grin. “I’m just trying to survive here, same as you.”

She continued to study me, her gaze was sharp and unrelenting. I could see the gears turning in her mind. But then, to my relief, she let out a snort and sheathed her blade.

“Fine. Keep your secrets, little goblin.” she said mockingly. “But don’t think I’ll let you off so easily next time, I’ll figure out what you’re hiding.”

With that she turned to examine the remains of the gargoyle, examining the shards of stone as if she was searching for something. I took the opportunity to finally catch my breath, trying to calm my heart as it raced in my chest.

This power I had gained was both a gift and a curse. I had the potential to get infinitely stronger consuming monsters, enhancing my abilities and capabilities with each meal. But I was starting to feel less human, and without a host, I was reduced to a vulnerable mass of shadows. I wasn’t sure if Laira would see me as a threat, but I didn’t want to find out. The last thing I needed was more enemies in this place.

“Next time,” she said, smirking suddenly. “Don’t keep a lady waiting for so long.”

I looked up at her, meeting her gaze. We both stared at each other for a moment before we began laughing. She slumped down next to me as we both took a minute to gather ourselves. She was still suspicious, but for now, it seemed she was willing to let it go. And that was enough for me.