Vivi sank into the freezing cold water. The lake ate her, water pressing against her skin.

She forced her eyes to stay open. The fiend was directly below her, descending into the dark waters at a steady pace. Vivi attempted to swim down, but the pressure of the water was too harsh. She grabbed onto the rocky ledge and pulled herself further into the water.

A piranha’s sharp teeth charged at her from the side of her vision.

Vivi flinched, nearly letting water into her lungs by surprise. She swatted at the piranha with her nails. Lucius grew them to claws. The piranha’s teeth clanked against Vivi’s claws. Their weapons were stuck together.

Vivi slashed with her free hand, killing the fish. Lucius gathered two wisps of ether from the kill.

Down! Vivi screamed in her thoughts. She pushed and pulled herself after the fiend’s small blurry figure below her.

Suddenly, the fiend disappeared into the ledge.

Vivi paused, but only for a moment. There was no time to sit around. She pulled herself down toward the spot where the fiend had disappeared.

A hole! Vivi thought, finding a crawlspace within the ledge.

The crawlspace was entirely dark, for all but two pink glowing eyes. The fiend was no longer provoking a chase. Instead, she looked panicked. The fiend kicked at Vivi’s face, trying to push her out. The kick was powerless.

The water was far more dangerous. Vivi’s lungs were about to explode, body freezing cold. Her ears were entirely locked, feeling like they were going to burst. The pressure of the water tried to send her back to the surface.

The fiend, too, looked like she needed air. She swam ahead. Vivi followed, using the crawlspace's rough surface to pull herself forward.

Air!

The tunnel opened up into another larger lake. Vivi saw light above. She dove straight up, swatting at another piranha on the way.

Finally, her head dipped above water. She gasped for air. Her eyes stung. It took a moment for vision to return.

Vivi identified the nearest exit. She swam straight out of the piranha-infested waters, pulling herself onto the dirt.

She secured herself onto the ground and collapsed onto her arms. Vivi coughed violently. Water had gotten into her lungs. Her fingers were pale; she could barely move them.

But she was alive. She lifted her head.

The cave was bright, magically gloomy. Flowers and plants grew between glowing crystals. The flowers bloomed with thriving black roses. The crystals themselves were perfectly clean and sharp, far more smooth than the worn-down crystals of the free-dungeon. Icicle-like crystals hung from the ceiling, covering the cave in crystalline light.

Water splashed behind her as piranhas hopped above water, fighting amongst each other. Vivi watched nervously. Carla and the blue cloaks had seen Vivi jump into the water. Any second now, their figures could pop up, catching Vivi for good.

The blue-cloaks never came. The cave around Vivi was entirely silent. She sat still, catching her breath.

A cold shiver brought her back to reality. She was drenched beneath her raincoat. She coughed again.

“We made it…” Lucius said in awe. He flew off from Vivi’s core to examine the surroundings. “Ether… There is so much ether everywhere!”

Where’s the fiend? Vivi asked. She didn’t get eaten alive, did she?

“No, she’s up there, glaring at you,” Lucius said.

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Vivi lifted her head. On the opposite end of the lake, a small crawl space poked out from the wall. The fiend stood atop it, watching Vivi from above. The fiend grimaced, clearly not all too happy to have visitors.

“I knew following her was a good idea,” Lucius said. “The little ones are always the most nimble.”

I don’t think she wanted us to follow her… Vivi thought.

“Thank you!” Vivi said out loud. “We’re not here to hurt you. I’m Vivi. What’s your name?”

The fiend showed her tongue. She turned around, disappearing into the crawlspace. Vivi was left alone in the cave’s silence.

Vivi sighed. “Not a friend, I guess…”

“Nevermind the fiend,” Lucius said. He was brimming with excitement. “Look around you, Vivi.”

“Where are we?” Vivi asked.

“I think we’ve found the jackpot,” Lucius said. “There’s so much ether around here. And not a demon in sight.”

Vivi could guess what he meant. The thriving vegetation and smooth crystals were far too beautiful to survive untouched in the chaos of the free dungeon. This part of the dungeon had been abandoned for a longer time.

Had the fiend brought her to the path behind the double doors? The hidden dungeon?

Wherever she was, survival was the first priority. Vivi stood up and said, “The blue-cloaks saw me disappear into the lake. I doubt they’ll dive into the piranha-infested waters, but they’ll start looking for me. They know you exist. Our secret is out.”

“None of that will make it to the Stewards,” Lucius said. “Issues between gangs stay between gangs. I think.”

“I’m also freezing,” Vivi said. She was shivering. “I need to get dry. Getting sick means we’ll die. There’s no telling how long finding a way back will take.”

“It’s hard to get sick with ether taking care of your health,” Lucius said. “You will live. But you’re right. We have enemies now. The blue-cloaks will try to kill us every chance they get. We’ll need to grow strong enough to defeat them. Once you make enemies, your only option is to defeat them.”

Vivi hugged herself, sighing. She would have given anything to cuddle up in a warm blanket with a cup of Grandpa’s tea. Tea sounded like a total luxury. A thing of the past that Vivi would never taste again.

Even a cup of hot water would have been nice…

The world, of course, had different plans.

Lucius’s ears perked up, eyes focused at the tunnel leading to the next room over. Vivi watched for what he was looking at.

Then she sensed it too. Ether sizzled behind the corner, a subtle misty aura creeping closer. Vivi forced herself into stance.

The monster revealed itself with slow but heavy steps. It was another stone-leaf, similar to the one that spawned in Ven’s encampment. This one was evolved, carrying far more ether.

“A tank monster,” Lucius said. “Wielding around five hundred ether. It’s alone. Tanks are useless when they fight without support. We can beat it.”

The stone-leaf stepped forward with clumsy steps. Vivi had plenty of time to think and plan. None of her attacks could pierce the monster head-on. What about weak spots? The monster had black eye-holes, ether oozing out of them. The holes were small, protected by solid awning-like eyebrows. One of Lucius’s claws could barely fit through. But would that be enough to kill?

The monster was getting uncomfortably close. Vivi stepped to the side, intending to walk around the monster. It was slow and clumsy, studying it should have been easy.

Can I run? Vivi asked herself. No, that was too risky. She could have ran around the monster, but the only path led deeper into the dungeon. The dungeon was undoubtedly filled with even more difficult monsters. Vivi had to defeat the stone-leaf right here, right now.

She circled around the monster carefully, examining its weaknesses. A strength rune could have easily cut through the stone vines. With steel, however, Vivi would struggle.

Suddenly, vines shot out from the monster’s body.

Vivi was caught by surprise, barely managing to dodge the first vine, She blocked the second with both of Lucius’s claws.

The third vine tangled around her body, holding her tight. The monster lifted her into the air, then retracted the Vine, slowly pulling Vivi closer.

“No!” Vivi shouted. She held out her hand, and her sword materialized. In a panic, she hacked at the vine.

The vine was tough, and her swings were weak. She struggled to put strength due to the awkward angle of her swings. She continued swinging, not knowing what to do.

Lucius filled Vivi’s stomach with ether, protecting her from the vines’ pressure. Then, he retreated from Vivi’s core, flying for the monster’s eyes. He thrust his claws deep into the stone-leaf’s eye-holes.

The monster let out a loud crackling sound. Vines grinded against each other as the stone-leaf panicked. Lucius retracted his claws, then thrust them back in.

The monster swung its club at its own face, trying to get Lucius off.

Lucius dodged in time. The stone-leaf hit itself in the head.

The blow made the monster lose footing. It collapsed on its back.

Lucius continued hitting the eye holes with his claws. The stone-leaf attempted to lift its clubs, but the arms were too heavy. It had nothing to defend itself against Lucius’s onslaught of attacks.

The stone-leaf disintegrated into ether.