The ruins stretched endlessly, every broken wall leading into another. Alpha's footsteps echoed, uneven, his body already trembling from exhaustion. The taste of dust coated his tongue, bitter and metallic. His hands were raw, smeared with dried blood—his own and that of the corpse he had killed.
But the silence did not last.
From the far end of the ruined street, the sound of chains began again. First one set. Then two. Then more.
Alpha froze.
Figures emerged from the haze of dust. Shackled silhouettes, stumbling forward in jerks and stumbles. Their bodies were half-decayed, bound together by the same clinking metal. Three of them, dragging chains across the earth, their hollow eyes fixed on him.
His breath hitched. One had nearly killed him. Three would tear him apart.
Run. His mind screamed the word, but his body refused. His legs quivered, his heart roared, yet something deeper—something heavy and bitter—rooted him to the ground.
Where could he run? There was no outside, no escape. The labyrinth stretched forever, reshaping itself into despair.
If he ran, he would die. If he fought, he would die.
His hand tightened on the jagged stone shard he had taken from the ruins. It was pitiful, barely a weapon, but it was all he had.
The first corpse lunged.
Alpha ducked, rolling across the cracked stones, the chains whipping past his head. Pain screamed in his ribs as he slammed into the ground, but he forced himself up, slashing wildly with the shard. The edge tore across rotted flesh, ripping free a spray of black ichor.
The creature snarled but kept moving, swinging its chains down. Alpha barely raised his arm in time; the chain smashed against it, sending agony lancing up his bones. He stumbled back, his vision sparking white.
The second came from the side, claws reaching. Alpha twisted, teeth clenched, and drove his shard into its throat. The corpse gurgled but did not stop, its hollow gaze staring straight through him.
Why won't they die?
His breath was ragged, panic clawing at the edges of his mind. The world narrowed to teeth, chains, and darkness.
But then something happened.
The third corpse swung wide, too wide, its shackled hand crashing against a broken wall. The force cracked its own bones, staggering it. For a heartbeat, the labyrinth seemed to slow.
Alpha's eyes widened. Instinct took hold.
He lunged.
Grabbing the chain still dangling from the corpse's arm, he yanked hard, pulling it off balance. Before it could recover, he slammed the shard into its skull with a roar, again and again, until bone gave way and the creature collapsed.
The body twitched once, then lay still.
A light flickered in its chest.
Alpha staggered back, chest heaving, as something bright and solid pushed through decaying flesh. A crystal. Small, no larger than a coin, but shining with pale, dreamlike light. It hovered for a moment, then clinked softly to the ground.
Alpha stared at it, his eyes wide.
The other corpses hissed, chains rattling, but for the moment he saw only the crystal. He bent down, hesitating, his hand trembling as he reached for it.
The instant his fingers touched it, warmth spread through his body. Not comfort. Not peace. Something rawer, sharper. Like a spark touching dry tinder.
---
[ Dreamstone Acquired ]
Somvryn: 1
---
The faint text burned across his vision, then faded.
Alpha's lips parted. His breath caught in his throat.
The corpses were still there, shambling forward, but the stone in his hand pulsed faintly, and for the first time since stepping into Viren, he felt… not strong, but less fragile.
A thread of defiance cut through the fear.
"Come," he whispered, his voice hoarse, "I'll kill you too."
The second corpse lunged, its chains lashing forward. Alpha ducked low, rolling under the swing, and came up with the shard raised. He rammed it into the creature's jaw, splitting bone. Black ichor spilled, and he wrenched the shard free with a savage cry.
The first corpse swung from behind, chains clattering. Alpha spun, too slow, the metal smashing into his shoulder. Pain exploded, dropping him to his knees. His vision blurred, and he tasted blood as it filled his mouth.
But he clutched the dreamstone tighter, forcing himself up through sheer stubbornness. The spark it had given him still lingered, a whisper reminding him he was not powerless.
He hurled himself forward, tackling the chain-bound corpse. They crashed into the ruins, bones snapping against stone. The thing clawed at him, teeth snapping inches from his throat, but Alpha slammed the shard into its temple again and again until the body stilled.
Another light flickered. Another stone fell.
His hand trembled as he snatched it up, the warmth rushing into him once more.
---
[ Dreamstones: 2 ]
---
The second corpse still shambled forward, broken throat wheezing, but Alpha's fear had shifted. It was still there, but behind it, something else had risen. Something sharp. Something alive.
He wiped the blood from his face, raised the shard, and whispered to himself, "Not chains. Not anymore."
The last fight was ugly. Brutal. His body was a map of bruises, his arms shaking, his breath ragged. But when the final corpse fell and the dreamstone clinked against the cracked stone floor, Alpha stood over it—not as a slave, not as prey.
But as someone who had survived.
The ruins were silent again. The chains had stopped. The air still stank of rot, but the faint glow of the three dreamstones in his palm lit the darkness.
Alpha closed his fist around them, chest heaving. The warmth inside him did not erase the emptiness, but it carved a crack through it.
The labyrinth was watching him. Testing him. Feeding him.
And though he did not yet understand why, Alpha realized one truth as he stumbled deeper into Viren:
If he could claim more of these stones, perhaps—just perhaps—he could carve something beyond emptiness.