The descent down the ladder took much longer than expected. The further Maya climbed, the longer it seemed to take to reach the bottom.

As she continued downward, a pungent stench began to waft through her nostrils. The smell was so repulsive that Maya had to fight back the urge to vomit, her face contorting in disgust.

Finally, her foot made contact with something wet and splashed as she stepped off the ladder. She carefully removed her hand from the ladder and looked around.

Maya figured that she was in a sewer or a similar underground channel. The walls were damp and slick with moisture, and the narrow passageways were partially filled with murky water. She continued walking down through the sewers and eventually found the source of the stink: a decaying carcass. The sight of it was enough to make her stomach churn.

Maya quickly averted her gaze and hastened her pace; eager to move as far away as possible from the carcass. But as she moved, she picked up on additional sounds echoing in the sewer that weren't her own footsteps.

Suddenly, a loud, ear-piercing screech through the tunnels, causing Maya to instinctively duck. The sound of a loud splash echoing from behind her.

Turning her head to identify the source of the noise, Maya saw a pale, bald humanoid creature. It had sharp, elongated nails and a menacing scowl. Its eyes glinted with a predatory hunger in the darkness of the sewer. The thing appeared like the ghouls she heard stories of when she was younger; and it looked about just as unfriendly as she expected.

The ghoul lunged at the Shapestealer again. She strafed to her right, narrowly avoiding its sharp claws. The ghoul's movements were quick and erratic, but Maya remained focused, her eyes locked on the creature.

For a few tense moments, the ghoul and her stared at each other in a silent standoff. The ghoul's hissing breath and the faint dripping of water from the sewer walls were the only sounds echoing in the narrow space.

The ghoul pounced again. Maya dodged to her left, barely escaping its grasp. But this time, she was ready. As she moved, she quickly drew her dagger, seizing the opportunity to counterattack.

She thrusted her dagger into the ghoul's neck. The creature let out a choked screech as the blade pierced its flesh. With a twist and a pull, she withdrew her dagger, watching as the ghoul collapsed.

Maya caught her breath, her heart pounding from the adrenaline. She glanced at the fallen ghoul to make sure it wasn't moving anymore, then carefully tucked her dagger back into her cloak.

She quickly turned away and walked away from the ghoul. However, as she went further into the sewers, the sounds of snarls and shuffling movements began to echo through the tunnels.

Maya started running. Every so often, she glanced over her shoulder and saw a pack of ghouls trying to chase her.

Fortunately, she eventually caught sight of a steel door embedded in a wall. She made a beeline for it.

She skidded to a halt near the door. By this point, the Shapestealer knew she couldn't outrun the ghouls anymore. So, she transformed into her Shadow Knight form.

She clasped her hands together and conjured a shadow sword. She then used it to cut through the nearest ghoul, beheading it instantly.

Another ghoul lunged at her with its mouth open. Reacting quickly, Maya used the hilt of her shadowy sword to pummel it to the ground. The creature hit the sewer floor with a thud, its head crushed open.

As she dealt with one, two more ghouls attacked her simultaneously. They clawed and snapped at her, their movements frantic and desperate. After a brief struggle, she managed to shake them off, pushing with a few good hits to their heads.

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She then activated [Phantom Stride] to turn invisible temporarily. The ghouls paused, looking around in confusion, unable to see her.

While invisible, Maya moved silently behind one of the disoriented ghouls. She reappeared just as she thrust her shadowy sword through the stomach of the unsuspecting creature. It let out a final screech before collapsing.

The last remaining ghoul lunged at Maya, targeting her head. Its sharp claws scratched against the surface of her helmet, producing a grating sound.

In response, Maya slammed the side of her helmet against the wall. The impact was strong enough to severely injure the ghoul, its grip loosening due to the sudden pain.

While the ghoul was dazed, Maya thrusted her shadowy sword directly into its chest. It let out a strangled gasp before collapsing to the ground.

***

After finishing off the final ghoul, Maya stood still for a moment to steady herself. She didn't need to breathe in her Shadow Knight form, but she could still feel tiredness.

Regaining her focus, Maya approached the steel door she had spotted earlier. She tried the handle: but it was locked. Not one to be deterred, she reared back and kicked the door as hard as she could. The force of her enhanced strength caused the door to swing open with a loud creak.

Stepping through the now-open door, the Shapestealer found herself in a room filled with dozens of ritual circles. On top of the circles were deformed corpses, their twisted forms eerily reminiscent of the ghouls she had just fought.

Maya cautiously walked past the ritual circles, the creaking of the wooden floorboards under her armored feet breaking the eerie silence. As she moved, she couldn't help but think about the origins of the ghouls. The connection between the deformed corpses and the ritual circles seemed too strong to be a coincidence.

Continuing her exploration, Maya's eyes fell upon some scattered notes on the ground. Many of the papers were too damaged to decipher. Others were written in a language foreign to her.

Yet, amidst the debris, Maya noticed a leatherback journal lying on the floor. She picked it up, carefully sifting through its contents. The journal was in a sorry state; many of its pages were torn or so damaged that they were unreadable. However, as she flipped through the journal, she found a few pages that were still legible.

The journal entry was written by someone named Atris. It detailed several attempts to create artificial life using magic. The entry was meticulous, describing the use of various materials in these experiments. Red meat, garlic, and ash were among the substances listed, each accompanied by notes on their effects and the outcomes of the rituals.

His goal, as he meticulously noted, was to create a "super soldier". An artificial being of unparalleled loyalty and strength, without the constraints of mortal frailty or moral judgment.

He described combining various materials together from the mundane like red meat and garlic to the more…esoteric such as basilisk eyes and phoenix ash, yet, each experiment had apparently led to failure.

The ghouls were supposedly the result of these failed experiments. Abominations that superficially resemble mortal life but were devoid of a conscious or soul. They survive solely on instinct and the natural desire to survive, but cannot express any greater cognition beyond that.

After absorbing the unsettling details in Atris's journal, Maya closed the leatherback cover with a sense of unease. She pondered the implications of what she'd read, wondering about the nature of the Tower. This place is cursed, she thought to herself.

However, Maya knew she couldn't afford to get lost in her thoughts. She had to stay focused. So, she set the journal aside and turned her attention back to the task at hand.

She approached the only other door in the room except the one she had entered. Trying the handle, she found it securely locked. A quick search of the room was needed to find a way to proceed.

Her gaze swept across the room, eventually landing on one of the corpses. Its gnarled hand tightly clutched an object. Approaching cautiously, Maya realized it was a key. She gently pried the key from the corpse's cold, stiff fingers, feeling its weight and significance in her hand.

With the key now in her possession, Maya walked over to the locked door. She inserted the key into the lock and turned it. There was a satisfying click as the lock disengaged and the door unlocked.

Maya stepped into the next room. It was filled with empty racks that once might have held equipment or materials. Scattered across the floor were heaps of deformed corpses, much more than in the previous room.

In the center of the room was a large ritual circle, more elaborate and ominous than the others she had seen. Atop this circle stood a woman clad in plate armor. The armor was a striking mix of silvery steel with black underlayers. She had just under shoulder length red hair, contrasting with the metallic sheen of her armor. A sheathed sword was tied to her waist.

Maya approached the armored woman with caution. As she drew closer, she noticed the woman's eyes were closed, as if in deep meditation.

Just as Maya was about to reach out or call out to the woman. Her eyes snapped open.