The howl echoed through the labyrinth, shaking the very ground beneath them. It wasn't just a sound—it was a force, a violent tremor that sent shivers racing down Kieran's spine.
From the shifting shadows ahead, something massive stirred.
Something ancient.
The air grew thick, heavy with a presence that felt utterly wrong.
Selene's hand tightened around her dagger. "This is bad."
Kieran exhaled sharply. "Yeah. No kidding."
Before them, the darkness moved.
Not like a shifting shadow, not like mist or smoke—
It coiled.
It rose.
And then—
It opened its eyes.
---
A Beast From Before Time
Two glowing orbs of pale, spectral light cut through the abyss.
Then another pair.
Then another.
And then—
A dozen more.
The creature that emerged from the depths of the labyrinth was not of this world.
It was hunger given form.
A colossal, many-eyed monstrosity, its body shifting between shadow and reality. Towering at least twenty feet tall, its shape was indescribable—something between a beast, a wraith, and a nightmare.
Its mouths—because it had more than one—curled unnaturally across its shifting form, filled with teeth that never seemed to end.
When it moved, the darkness moved with it.
And when it breathed—
The air itself trembled.
Kieran's throat went dry. "...What the hell is that?"
A new notification flashed before them.
---
[The Labyrinth of Shadows: Boss Encounter]
Calamity-Class Entity: The Hunger That Devours
Estimated Success Rate: 3.8%
Escape is impossible.
You must kill it or be consumed.
---
Selene clicked her tongue. "They really don't want us getting out of here."
Kieran clenched his fists.
Escape is impossible.
That meant one thing.
They had to kill it.
---
The First Strike
The Hunger That Devours didn't wait.
It lunged.
A mass of tendrils and teeth burst from its body, rushing toward them at impossible speed.
Kieran reacted on instinct.
Abyssal Threads.
Dark tendrils shot from his hands, weaving together to form a barrier.
For a split second, the attack collided—
And then the Threads snapped apart like brittle twigs.
"Shit—"
Kieran barely managed to dive aside as the attack tore through the stone floor, carving a crater where he had just been standing.
Selene moved even faster.
A blur of silver and shadows, she flipped backward, her dagger flashing as she carved through one of the creature's attacking tendrils—
Only for it to regrow instantly.
Her eyes narrowed. "Regeneration. Figures."
Kieran cursed. "So we have to hit something vital."
Selene's gaze flickered to the glowing eyes of the beast.
"Then let's start there."
---
The Battle Begins
Selene vanished from sight.
Kieran followed.
They split apart, moving at different angles to confuse the creature.
Selene was the first to strike.
She reappeared in mid-air, her dagger already descending.
A blade of twisting shadow and silver—
Aimed directly for one of the creature's many eyes.
The Hunger That Devours reacted.
Faster than something of its size had any right to.
A massive tendril lashed out, striking at Selene with enough force to shatter bone.
Kieran's heart nearly stopped.
Abyssal Threads.
He pulled.
Selene's body jerked in midair, yanked just out of range of the attack—
But her strike missed.
Her dagger scraped against the creature's shifting flesh, but it wasn't enough.
It roared.
The labyrinth shook.
And then—
The creature focused on Kieran.
---
A Fight Against Death Itself
A wall of tendrils and mouths surged toward him.
There was no time to dodge.
No time to block.
So Kieran did the only thing he could.
He attacked.
Shadow erupted from his body.
Not just Abyssal Threads—
Something deeper.
Something darker.
A pulse of void-like energy exploded from his form, swallowing the entire area around him.
The creature's attack froze.
For just an instant.
And in that instant—
Kieran moved.
He cut through the shadows.
His Threads wove together into a single, massive spear.
A spear of pure abyss.
He threw it—
And it hit.
The Hunger That Devours let out a sound that wasn't quite a scream.
Not pain.
Surprise.
Its form rippled.
And for the first time—
One of its eyes shattered.
---
The Turning Tide
Selene landed beside him, breathing heavily.
"That thing—" She glanced at him. "Whatever the hell you just did, do it again."
Kieran exhaled sharply. "Not sure if I can."
That attack—that pulse of energy—hadn't been intentional.
It had happened.
A reflex.
Something deep inside him had reacted to the presence of the Hunger That Devours.
Selene frowned. "Then let's stall until you can."
Kieran nodded.
They attacked together.
Selene blurred into motion, moving too fast for the creature's tendrils to track, slicing and slashing through anything that got in her way.
Kieran struck from a distance, weaving Abyssal Threads into weapons, into traps—anything to keep the creature off balance.
Bit by bit—
They wore it down.
---
The Final Blow
The Hunger That Devours weakened.
Its movements became slower.
Its regenerations took longer.
And then—
Kieran felt it.
The same energy as before.
A deep, abyssal pulse.
It was building up again.
This time—
He didn't suppress it.
He let it take over.
Shadows erupted around him, the air twisting, distorting—
And then—
His Threads changed.
They were no longer just shadows.
They were something more.
Something beyond reality.
Kieran raised his hand.
A spear formed.
A spear of pure oblivion.
He didn't hesitate.
He threw it.
Straight into the core of the Hunger That Devours.
The impact was instant.
The creature froze.
And then—
It imploded.
A shockwave ripped through the labyrinth, sending dust and debris flying.
When the air cleared—
The Hunger That Devours was gone.
Nothing remained.
Only silence.
And then—
A final notification.
---
[You Have Defeated The Boss of the First Floor.]
The Path to the Second Floor Opens.
Rewards Will Be Granted.
---
Selene let out a breath.
"Well." She glanced at Kieran. "That was fun."
Kieran just shook his head.
They had won.
But deep down—
He knew.
This was only the beginning.