Mana brushed along my arms, and I reacted instinctively. The shadow-aspected mana rushed through the crystal and entered my core, settling with the taste of cold dust on my tongue.

I cut the absorption once I felt Isaac ramp up his mana usage, and a shell of black wrapped us in its embrace. As we continued to fall, the chill sharpened into something beyond surface level.

The feeling was familiar, albeit uncommon. But my breath was restricted, and something pierced the shadow fabric and slid an ice-cold blade into my thigh.

Isaac squeezed tight, and even though I couldn't see through the shadows, his form lit up like a beacon.

Another blade cut strands off the back of my head, followed by something gnawing at my back.

Something yanked us upward, and air returned to my lungs as the restriction lessened. Isaac's tentacles pulled back, and I flopped to the floor, unable to brace myself as my chin hit the tile.

A strong urge to cough had me hack up something wet and slimy. As I hurled, a blob of black spilled from my mouth and smoked the moment it came in contact with the ground.

"Is... Isaac. What the... fuck," I sputtered between breaths.

I turned my head to the side and saw Sereza curled up in a fetal position, her breathing erratic. Isaac was to her right, holding both daggers up as he stared at the ground beside him.

What's going on?

As Sereza cracked open an eye, Isaac stabbed downward just in time. A large purple-black maw clamped down on the blade.

"Fuck off!" Isaac shouted.

A tentacle sprouted from his back and bludgeoned the creature's skull. A roar that rattled my head came from its mouth, and more of its body rose up, revealing sleek, wet flesh.

Isaac's arm blossomed with shadowy mana, and he jammed his second blade into its eye, twisting as it reeled back. Before it could move, two more tentacles punched its skull and wrapped itself around its snout.

He stood up and hauled the creature out of the shadows, exposing a fish-like body attached to a wolf's skull. It struggled in his grip, and he stabbed continuously, punching through its skin like a sewing machine.

In, out. In and then out. Black, smoky liquid seeped from its numerous wounds, draining the creature dry. By the final stab, the creature had shriveled like a prune, less than half its original size.

With a final jerk, he tore his blade free and stabbed again, this time in the side of its neck. With deliberate slowness, he parted the flesh, and the blade exited the other side.

The wolf skull thudded against the floor, and Isaac's tentacles coiled before launching the body against the wall.

As the body hit the stone with a meaty schlap, he dropped to his knees and panted. His arms hung down, his blades clattering against the tile.

"I... fuck that sucked. Cyrus. Fu-cking heal her before she goes into shock. She can't... handle the mana."

I looked away and found Sereza growing increasingly pale. Spiderwebs of black veins sprouted from her arms and pulsed.

My body ached with injuries, but I clawed myself closer and slapped my claws onto her arm, where the crystal cut into her skin.

It was enough contact, and I absorbed the mana. I could recognize it now for shadow mana. And let it fill my receptacle until her breathing slowed and her body stopped shaking.

Her eyes relaxed, and she groaned. "That. Fucking sucked."

I kept absorbing until I excised the entirety of the foreign mana before I pulled back and rolled onto my back.

Sturmrorex shivered as he slithered up my arm and toward my neck. Áine flew out from underneath my hoodie, and she hopped onto my chest. Her tiny hands reached for my nose, and I welcomed the healing mana as it began to repair my wounds.

"Thank you, Áine," I said. Sturmrorex rubbed my cheek with his horns, and I lazily pushed them away before rubbing his snout. "I'm glad you're safe."

Sturmrorex kept quiet, and I ignored the concern, bleeding through the link. For a couple of minutes, Áine did her thing as I caressed my familiar's scales.

Eventually, Áine hopped off and flew onto Sereza's back, who was still lying face first. Áine activated her skill, and Sereza groaned for a second time.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Isaac stood up, only to roll to the side as a sharp black spike nearly as tall as him jutted from the ground. I sat up and extended my arms, but Isaac crouched and waited.

The spike receded, and a tense silence filled the room before Isaac snorted.

"Somehow, not surprised that felkins are tasty," he joked.

My concern fizzled away, and I flipped him the bird. "Where the fuck are we?"

He stood from his crouch and dusted himself off. "No idea. The shadow realm spat us out, but where I don't know."

I rubbed my temples. "You were the blip, weren't you? If you saw me, Eodyne, and Sereza, why not reveal yourself."

"Because," he said in a cold tone. "I had no idea if you were real. I already met fake versions of the others, and they tried to stab me in the back."

"And you saved us thinking we were real; why?"

"The dungeon hasn't tried to kill itself before," he grunted. He glared at me and whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "And your stupid mind is already trying to kill me."

"What about my mind?"

"Nothing."

He walked over and held out a hand. I accepted the help up and popped my back as I leaned forward. Exhaling, I scanned the small, empty room and closed my eyes.

Outside of Isaac and Sereza, the room was dead, mana-wise.

"Welp, looks like we're safe for now. Unless more of those things want to take a bite out of us."

Isaac shook his head. "We should be good. The dungeon fixed the hole; it'd take a leviathan to breach it. And we didn't dive that deep."

"Shadow users. You're all insane," Sereza complained as she stood up.

Áine hopped off her shoulder and onto Isaac, pushing a brief wave of healing energy before she returned to her spot on my shoulder.

"You think Eodyne will be okay? I didn't see what happened after the island fell," I said.

"She's fine. It'd take a lot more for her to go down. And she has Elanor's guards if she runs into anything," Isaac replied.

I checked my spear as well as my clothes. My jacket and hoodie sported a long tear at the back, but the enchantments weaved into the clothes were already at work repairing the damage.

Isaac crossed his arms and glared. "So where the fuck did you go, Cyrus?"

My eye twitched, and I took a deep breath before explaining all that had happened for the third time. Isaac began to raise his hands, looking suspiciously like he wanted to choke me out.

"Cyrus..." he growled.

I cocked my head. "Yeah? Something wrong?"

It looked like he took every ounce of willpower to lower his hands. Instead, a tendril lashed at the ground before receding into his back. He straightened up and slotted his daggers into their sheaths before turning around.

"We really need to talk about this more when we get out of here. Your god can eat shit."

My eyes narrowed. "Careful. I give him access to my memories every time he visits."

Isaac froze, and shadows began to pool around his feet before he cut his mana off. He cleared his throat and continued walking. "I was joking! I promise!"

I didn't hide the grin peeking at the corner of my lips.

The room had a metal door that Isaac slowly opened. Sereza and I prepared our weapons, but it opened to reveal a dark hallway with no side tunnels or entrances, just another wall at the end with a second metal door waiting.

Starting to think this is a labyrinth kind of dungeon.

This time, when the shadows pooled at Isaac's feet, they elongated into the shape of a man. His clone rose from his shadow and sprouted two shadowy tentacles near its neck.

Isaac leaned against the door as the clone marched down the hall and performed a series of jumps and stomps, among other loud noises.

Sereza raised an eyebrow. "Uh, looks like it's safe?"

The clone reached for the metal door and placed a hand on the knob. Nothing happened; he yanked it open to reveal a blinding blue light.

The light pushed the clone back, but as it stood straight and stepped through the doorway.

Isaac pulled down his mask and frowned. "This place is too damn weird."

I shrugged and began walking. The clone turned around and crossed its arms, but I ignored it and observed the doorway as more details came into view.

The clone turned with me, and I heard footsteps behind us, but I only had eyes for what was inside the door.

Large crystals filled the space, bathed in glowing blue—some the size of Arturous. The middle sported a massive crevasse that sloshed with the sounds of water, but as I leaned forward, I smelled chemicals. It was bitter and clinical, reminding me of antiseptic.

Isaac's clone took the first step inside and approached the edge, so I joined it and stared down.

Black sludge bubbled underneath, opening into a black lake. Crystal clusters sprouted from the sides, and a large pillar jutted out of the center, its material surprisingly clear despite the filth covering it.

I felt a hunger draw me in, the insides of my stomach rumbling.

"Cyrus?" Sereza asked.

I shut my eyes and let the feeling filter through, the pull coming from the center of my chest. It felt connected to something, so I dived into my soulspace.

I searched, staring up at the ceiling of my inner world, but I couldn't find anything obvious. Again, the hunger came, and I searched around.

A skill wisp floated from the lake and hovered near my shoulder, the distinct Chomp echoing throughout the realm.

"Do you know what's up?"

Chomperz chomped again and lazily floated off, leaving me alone once more.

As I opened my eyes, I stepped away from the edge and found Isaac jumping onto a section of crystals.

"What are you doing?" I called out.

"I thought I saw movement. Be prepared."

I raised my spear and channeled mana into the shaft. Venom sprouted from its tip, and I stood nearby, waiting.

Sereza was redipping her daggers into her vials when Isaac leaped to a patch of crystals about ten feet off the ground. He jumped repeatedly, transvering around the circular chamber until he stopped atop a large crystal embedded into the wall.

He used his tentacles to anchor himself on nearby rocks before he scaled the sides and leaned down.

I couldn't see anything special about the crystal, the blue gem giving off bright light from within like the rest.

Yet, Isaac used his sleeve to rub at the crystal. The crystal itself looked clear, so I didn't understand why he wa-

A spike of mana pulsed out, and I readied my own, letting it rush into my throat.

Isaac slammed his fist against the crystal. "Those fuckers!"

"What's wrong?"

He leaned to the side, exposing the front of the crystal to Sereza and me.

Oh...

It was hard to see through the glow, but a man's head shined through the glass.

"Damn," Sereza whispered.