Tai’s eyes gazed around the room and then spots something hanging from a rope. then he sees it. a woman. Hanged with a rope around her neck. her organs spewed out and blood everywhere forming into a pool of pure blood. Tai from looking at the grisly scene almost throws up again but stops himself and falls to the ground on his knees.

Tai's chest tightened as he struggled to push himself to his feet, the room still spinning from the gruesome sight he had just witnessed. The air was thick with the metallic stench of blood, and every inch of his body screamed in revolt against what he'd just seen. His mind raced, trying to make sense of it all, but the terror was overwhelming.

"Stand up, Tai! There's another person here!"

Bloom's voice cut through his haze of horror, sharp and urgent.

Tai's eyes flickered around, trying to focus in the darkness. His body felt heavy, unwilling to cooperate, but the force of Bloom's words dragged him back to reality. His gaze darted from shadow to shadow, heart pounding in his chest.

“BEHIND YOU TAI!”

Tai spun around just in time to feel a heavy blow send him crashing backward. His body collided with the cold, sticky floor with a sickening thud. The lantern tumbled from his hand, its dim light sputtering before plunging the room back into darkness. Tai groaned as he struggled to push himself up, his arms shaking.

But then, the dim glow of the room flickered back to life, and Tai's eyes widened in horror.

Standing over him was a grotesque figure. A towering, mutated goat with the distorted features of a man. Its body was twisted with inhuman proportions, muscle rippling beneath a thick coat of matted, black fur.

The creature's head, while vaguely human in shape, was monstrous, with dark, hollow eyes that seemed to burn with malice. Its mouth, twisted and wide.

"You humans disgust me,"

it growled, the words thick with venom.

"You kill my people.You sell them like cattle, without a second thought. And then, you use your vile magic-your wizards-to change us, twist us into something we were never meant to be."

The creature's voice seethed with hatred, its glowing eyes narrowing as it loomed over Tai.

"I hate the wizards. I hate the humans who've done this to me."

Tai's heart pounded, his body frozen in a mix of shock and terror. The creature's words echoed in the thick air, each syllable a blow to his already frayed nerves. This wasn't just a monster-it was something far worse, driven by deep rage, a creature twisted by dark magic and vengeance.

The mutated goat took a step closer, its hooves clicking menacingly against the blood-soaked floor.

"I will make you pay," it spat, its voice dripping with malice. "All of you. You will feel the pain of what you've done. I will kill every human in this city, and torture them like the girl you saw.”

Tai staggered to his feet, coughing up blood. The taste of iron filled his mouth as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. His vision blurred for a moment, but he forced himself to focus, eyes locking onto the grotesque figure across the room. The mutated goat was unscathed, standing imposingly in the shadows, its bloodshot eyes gleaming like a predator’s.

“Not every human is bad,”

Tai rasped, struggling to keep his voice steady,

“FIRE BALLLL!”

A massive ball of fire erupted from his hands, hurtling toward the goat. It soared through the air like a comet, but the creature’s reflexes were sharp. The goat twisted at the last moment, and the fireball grazed its right arm, leaving a trail of smoke and scorch marks on its fur. The smell of burning flesh mixed with the stench of sweat and blood, but the goat hardly flinched.

It backed away into the darkest corner of the room, where rusted weapons and old tools littered the floor. Its large, clawed hands wrapped around a one-sided axe, the steel gleaming under the flickering light of the fire. The goat’s hooves scraped against the stone floor as it lifted the weapon, its grin revealing rows of jagged teeth.

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Tai’s breath came in shallow gasps. The pain in his side was unbearable, but he couldn’t afford to let it slow him down. The goat let out a low, guttural growl and charged at him, the axe swinging in a wide arc.

Tai sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the first strike. The axe whistled through the air, missing by inches, but the force of the swing left the goat open. Tai spun, launching a flame head from his palm. The fiery serpent shot forward, hitting the goat square in the chest, knocking it back with a thunderous crash. The beast stumbled, but it didn’t fall.

The goat let out a terrifying roar and lunged again, axe raised high, flames licking the edge of its weapon. This time, Tai wasn’t fast enough. The axe connected with his side, the blunt side scraping against his flesh, sending him flying. He hit the ground hard, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. His right arm was a mess of bruises, and the heat from the battle made him feel like he was burning alive from the inside out.

Pain clouded his thoughts, but somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice shouted at him.

“Tai! Stand up! You need to fight! Or you will die!”

Bloom’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Die?!”

Tai thought frantically, his vision swimming.

“I… can’t… I can’t die here… not like this.”

The world seemed to slow, the ringing in his ears drowning out everything else. He gritted his teeth, the burning pain in his chest almost too much to bear, but he forced himself to move. His legs trembled as he pushed himself up, his blood mixing with the dirt on the floor.

He took a deep breath, his fingers trembling as he formed a new incantation.

“Fire ball… fire ball… FIRE BALL!”

His voice grew stronger with each word, desperation fueling his magic.

Four blazing orbs of fire shot from his hands, each one screaming through the air toward the goat. The beast attempted to dodge, but Tai was quicker this time. Two of the fireballs struck their mark. One slammed into the goat’s face, the heat and force of the impact making it stumble backward. The other hit its chest, knocking the air out of its lungs and sending it crashing into the stone wall.

For a moment, everything was still. Tai’s chest heaved as he watched the goat, flames still licking at its fur. The mutated creature was on its knees, eyes wild and full of fury. But then, with a groan, the goat collapsed onto the floor, its body twitching and seizing as the fire consumed it from within.

Tai stood there, his whole body trembling. Blood dripped from his wounds, and he was barely able to keep himself upright. The battle had taken everything from him, but in the end, it was enough.

“Good job,”

Bloom’s voice came, softer this time.

“You defeated the mutated goat. But you’re bleeding—you need to heal yourself .”

Tai’s hand reached into his pouch, his fingers weak as he pulled out a small vial of glowing liquid. He uncorked it with a trembling hand, bringing it to his lips. The healing potion burned as it slid down his throat, mending the worst of his injuries, but it couldn’t erase the exhaustion that weighed him down.

Once the potion took effect, he steadied himself and wiped the blood from his face. “Gondo gave me some potions for good luck but, Let’s explore the room. We need to find something… something about the pink grave,”

he said, voice hoarse.

Bloom nodded, stepping forward. “We’ll figure it out. But first-“

Then the ground trembled beneath Tai, still trying to shake off the effects of the brutal fight. But just as he was about to take a step forward, a sickening crack echoed from the shattered body of the goat.

“Not yet,”

the goat’s voice rasped from the floor.

“I’m not done yet.”

Tai froze, disbelief flashing across his face.

“What? I thought you died.”

The goat slowly rose, its bones creaking as it reformed itself, the gaping wound in its chest slowly closing up.

“It’s my special skill—‘From the Grave.’”

The creature’s laugh echoed like a death knell.

“It allows me to come back from the dead. Did you think you could defeat me so easily?”

Tai’s heart pounded as the beast’s eyes burned with renewed fury.

“Good. That was too easy of a fight for a beast like you.”

The goat’s voice dripped with venom.

“Aren’t you a cocky human? You’re going to regret your words.”

Before Tai could respond, the goat grabbed its axe and charged, a primal roar escaping its throat. This time, Tai wasn’t going to give it the chance to overwhelm him.

The goat lunged, its axe raised to crush Tai in one savage blow. But Tai was faster. He ducked just in time, the axe swiping through the air where he had been a split second earlier. Without hesitation, Tai leaped backward, pulling out his water wand with precision.

“Water cage!”

Tai shouted, his voice steely with determination.

A torrent of water surged from the wand, swirling around the goat in a massive, constricting barrier. The beast struggled, thrashing against the water’s grip, but the cage held tight, trapping the goat inside. It snarled, its claws slashing uselessly at the liquid walls, but it couldn’t break free.

Tai’s eyes narrowed with resolve.

“This ends now.”

He concentrated, and a spear formed from the water, sharp as a blade. With a swift motion, he hurled it forward, the spear piercing through the goat’s chest with a sickening crunch. The creature howled in pain, its eyes wide with disbelief as it looked down at the spear, but the fight was already slipping from its grasp.

The water spear shimmered and faded, but the bloody heart, still impaled on the end of it, dropped to the floor with a sickening thud. The beast’s body crumpled to the ground, lifeless once more. Tai stood over it, breathing heavily, his chest heaving from the adrenaline.

For a moment, everything was still. The quiet was deafening.

Tai let out a sigh of relief and glanced down at his hands, still trembling from the battle. His body ached, but he felt a strange surge within him as he checked his stats.

“Hey, Bloom,”

he said, his voice hoarse,

“my strength is gone up by +4.”

“That’s great,”

Bloom responded, her tone calm but pleased.

“But that’s not the only thing that’s improved. Check your durability.”

Tai raised an eyebrow and quickly scanned the numbers. His durability had increased as well. It wasn’t a massive increase, but it was enough to give him a sense of reassurance.

“You’re right,”

Tai murmured, glancing at the fallen creature.

“I guess all that bloodshed helped me improved.”

“But,”

Bloom continued,

“we still need to explore this room for clues about the pink grave. Come on.”