Chapter 131 – The Dungeon's Whisper
Thirty days.
That was how long the world had allowed him to breathe.
The noble boy — Azel Vernath — walked through the stone gate of the northern dungeon with his party. His hands trembled slightly as he held his iron blade. The others — his teammates, his so-called friends — laughed ahead of him. He smiled faintly when they looked back. They didn't see the tiredness in his eyes, the hidden bruises under his armor.
For Azel, this was supposed to be the mission that proved he belonged.
> "After this, I'll be part of the real squad… maybe they'll stop calling me useless."
He whispered it under his breath as the torches burned low.
But above him, unseen, two lights floated in silence — Shen's deep blue and Lare's dim gold — watching every step as destiny finally drew near.
---
They entered the Depths of Cryne, a labyrinth rumored to hold old Arcane bones and silent traps. The tunnels were wet with moss and the smell of iron. The further they went, the quieter it became — no monsters, no echoes, only breathing.
Then, Azel noticed something.
Their formation had changed.
The leader — Dren — was walking ahead, but the other two lagged behind him, whispering and glancing at Azel. When he tried to speak, Dren raised a hand.
> "Azel… you go check that path on the right. Alone. You're good with traps, right?"
Azel hesitated. "But it's dark—"
> "You want to prove yourself, don't you?" Dren smiled, the kind of smile that made Azel's stomach twist.
He nodded. He stepped into the side passage. His torchlight flickered against damp walls, and the air grew colder. When he turned back to call them, no one was there.
Just footsteps.
Soft, deliberate.
---
From above, Shen's soul stirred.
The Drift around him shimmered — like the boundary between worlds was thinning.
> "It's close," Lare's voice echoed faintly across the void, though no lips spoke.
The link between the boy's fading fate and Shen's waiting soul began to pull tight. The glow around Azel's body flickered — destiny fraying at its edges.
Azel turned back down the tunnel just as steel met flesh.
> "W–Wait! Why—"
Dren's blade pierced his chest. The other two smiled coldly. "You were slowing us down. Your death will make it look like we were ambushed."
Azel fell to his knees, torch rolling away, light dimming. His voice broke in a whisper — "I… I didn't do anything wrong…"
Blood dripped onto the stone. The last echo of his life trembled in the air — and in that instant, the barrier cracked open.
---
A storm of white-blue energy burst through the dungeon air.
The dying boy's soul lifted, threads unraveling — and Shen's waiting essence surged forward like a tide.
> "Now," Lare's faint voice called through the current.
Shen's blue light shot downward, piercing the boundary of worlds. The air around the boy's body shimmered as the souls intertwined — one fading, one awakening.
The brothers' laughter froze. Their torches went out. A cold wind roared through the tunnel.
Azel's body twitched once, then twice — eyes snapping open, now glowing faint blue.
The killing blade slipped from Dren's hand. "W–What the hell—"
A voice came from the boy's lips — calm, deep, not his own.
> "This body… still breathing."
"Then I'll return the breath to the world."
The torches reignited in black fire.
The betrayed boy was gone.
In his place stood Shen Karguro reborn — soul of the Drifter, heart forged again inside mortal flesh.
His eyes narrowed, and the dungeon trembled.
> "Lare… I'm back."