Chapter 101 – "The Portal to the Lost Dungeon"
The next morning.
At HQ, sunlight pierced through the dirty windows of the main hall.
A few hunters were still dozing in chairs, others trying to hide their dark circles behind sunglasses.
That's when Valor walked in, grinning from ear to ear, hands in his pockets.
— Morning, folks! So, how was the night?
Ryn, still half-asleep, yawned:
— Fine… and you?
Valor stretched, looking satisfied:
— Honestly? Haven't slept that well in ages!
Nova, without lifting her head from her coffee mug:
— You lie like you breathe. Bet you spent the night complaining about the mattress again.
Valor feigned outrage:
— Hey, not my fault HQ spends all its budget on Lya's explosions!
Lya, sitting on a crate, rolled her eyes:
— You exaggerate. And you could've slept outside — rocks are comfy.
Ryn laughed:
— Let him be, Lya. He probably meant it's been a while since we've been useful.
Valor crossed his arms:
— Meh… don't push it. I can't save the world every day — gotta rest sometime, right?
A voice rang out behind them — calm, but sharp:
— Interesting. So you consider doing nothing a form of training?
Everyone turned.
Liora had appeared in the hallway, arms crossed, radiating the aura of someone who absolutely wasn't joking.
Lya, whispering to Ryn:
— Oh no… the commander's awake before ten. That's never a good sign.
Liora, unfazed:
— Today, I have a special mission for you.
Lya: — Please don't say it's more reconstruction…
Liora: — No. This time, it's a portal. One that leads to a dungeon.
The word made every head lift.
Nova, smiling:
— A dungeon? Interesting… it's been a while.
Lya: — Rare that we're called in for those these days.
Liora, dryly:
— Exactly. You've had it too easy lately. Time to stretch your legs.
Valor: — Hey, what do you expect us to do? If there's no threat, it's not our fault!
Liora's icy stare silenced the room.
— Even without threats, you could've trained, she said slowly.
Lya, quietly to Ryn:
— She's bold. She never trains, and she wants us to.
Liora: — I hear you, Lya. And it's not the same between us.
Lya (hissing): — Oof. Busted.
Liora summoned a hologram above her hand. A map materialized, marked with a red dot.
— Here's your destination. A portal appeared here. You'll inspect and secure it.
Valor groaned:
— Seriously… couldn't you assign this to someone else?
A voice called from the back of the room:
— Valor, stop whining.
Elyon had appeared, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, looking amused.
Liora: — Don't worry, Elyon. He complains, but he'll go. And that's an order.
At that moment, a blue light shimmered, and Zarion appeared, coffee in hand.
— I'll go with them, he said simply.
Liora nodded:
— Alright. You're free to join.
Then another voice joined the mix.
Valen, with miniature Elyonna on his shoulder, raised his hand:
— I can go too!
Liora, without hesitation:
— No. You're staying here.
Valen raised an eyebrow:
— Why the favoritism?
— Because if another threat arises, we'll need you here.
Valen: — Seriously? You've got yourself, your son, Naël, and half of HQ!
Liora, unmoved:
— You're still staying.
Valen threw his arms up:
— Discrimination!
Elyonna, chuckling:
— Looks like you lost your "main adventurer" privileges.
Valen: — I'm writing a formal complaint.
Zarion approached the designated group: Lya, Nova, Valor, and Ryn.
— Let's go. And try not to fight before we arrive.
Valor, teasing:
— Look at the pro — acting like the boss now!
Zarion snapped his fingers.
A bright blue magic circle formed beneath their feet.
— Off to the dungeon.
Valor: — Wait, did you check the destination?
Zarion: — Nope. But if we end up in a volcano, at least we'll be warmed up.
Lya, rolling her eyes:
— Great… another "Zarion-style" mission.
A burst of light enveloped them, and the group vanished in a surge of energy, leaving Valen, Elyon, and Liora staring at the empty space.
Valen, arms crossed:
— I bet they'll come back covered in mud and excuses.
Elyon, smiling:
— Or with a pet dragon.
Liora: — As long as they don't bring a cursed portal into the living room, I'm fine with it.
Chapter 102 – "The Portal of the Purple Mist"
A burst of blue light surrounded them—then everything went dark.
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
Then came the sound of bodies hitting the ground, followed by a collective groan.
Valor, sprawled on the floor, weakly raised a hand:
— Zarion… tell me we're not in a volcano.
Nova, sitting up:
— No, but judging by the heat, we're not far off.
Lya, emerging from the ground like a ghost, brushed dust off her clothes:
— Seriously, couldn't you have calibrated your teleport spell?
Zarion, perfectly calm:
— Calibrate? Nah, suspense is more fun.
Valor, grumbling:
— I'm sure Liora did this on purpose. She wanted us to land in a magical deep fryer.
Around them, the landscape looked straight out of a nightmare.
Dead trees twisted like claws, thick violet mist, and cracked ground leaking black energy.
In the distance, a massive vortex pulsed in the air — a whirl of unstable energy, beating like a sick heart.
Lya, arms crossed:
— Ryn, can you purify this mess? The forest and the dungeon's exterior.
Ryn, with a soft smile:
— Gladly.
She made a fluid gesture. A wave of light burst from her hands…
But before it could spread, a deep rumble echoed through the mist.
The ground trembled.
The air grew heavy.
And the shadows began to move.
Lya, drawing her daggers:
— Did you hear that?
Valor, still lying down:
— Nope. I'm trying to ignore death noises. It's therapeutic.
A mana fissure suddenly opened before them, releasing a massive shadow.
Distorted, oozing figures crawled out of the portal, their warped cries echoing through the air.
Nova, eyes glowing:
— Looks like the fun's starting. Dungeon guardians incoming.
Lya, with a feral grin:
— Perfect. I needed a warm-up.
She dashed forward, daggers slicing arcs of silver energy.
Each strike cleaved through multiple creatures.
She spun, flipped backward, and snapped her fingers.
Orbs of shadow appeared around her.
— Explosion!
A shockwave tore through the mist, obliterating the monsters.
Valor, raising his hands:
— Behold the chain master!
Energy links burst from the ground, snaring a whole group.
A runic circle formed beneath his feet.
— Disintegration.
A white flash. When it faded, only silver dust remained.
Nova drew his sword, the blade pulsing with midnight-blue aura:
— My turn. Void Art — Second Movement: Multiple Accelerations.
He zipped across the battlefield.
Dozens of strikes landed in rapid succession, leaving only streaks of light.
The creatures were sliced clean.
Ryn, focused, chanted a divine incantation:
— Celestial Purification!
A rain of light fell from the sky, cleansing everything in its path.
The violet mist vanished, the trees revived, and even the air felt lighter.
Lya, impressed:
— Well done, Ryn. Zone purified. Mission accomplished.
Valor, confident:
— Too easy. That means trouble's coming.
And, as if to prove him right, the mist returned.
Thicker. Darker.
The trees withered again.
Nova, frowning:
— The mist's coming from inside the portal… it's regenerating.
If we want to stop it, we need to reach the dungeon's core.
Valor:
— And I bet it's all the way at the bottom, huh?
Lya, sarcastic:
— Exactly. Brilliant deduction.
Zarion, analyzing the mana flow:
— If you feel pressure rising, don't breathe too deeply. The mana here is unstable.
Valor:
— Thanks for the tip. We'll breathe responsibly.
They approached the portal.
The vortex pulsed, sucking in surrounding light.
Violet lightning danced in the air.
Lya, sighing:
— Great. Another cursed thing.
Valor:
— I swear, we should have a loyalty card by now.
Ten sealed portals, the eleventh's free.
Nova, amused:
— With a reward?
Valor:
— Yeah. One week without monsters, explosions, or Zarion.
Lya:
— So… an impossible dream.
Zarion, placing a hand on the portal:
— This isn't a passage. It's a link to a corrupted dimension.
Someone's trying to open it from the inside.
Ryn, hesitant:
— Do we go in?
Lya, firm:
— Always.
The group stepped forward.
The vortex swallowed them one by one.
And when the last light faded…
a distant laugh echoed from the depths of the dungeon.
A laugh… human.
Chapter 103 – "Whispers of the Purple Dungeon"
A freezing breath wrapped around them the moment they crossed the portal.
The world flipped inside out — literally. In a heartbeat, they were hurled into another dimension.
Nothing here obeyed the laws of physics.
Pillars floated upside down, others orbited like satellites around an invisible core.
The sky — or rather the suspended purple sea above — rippled slowly, like a living sheet of fog.
Within it, shadows swam. Shapeless. Eyeless. But disturbingly present.
Valor looked up, squinting.
— Is it just me, or did we just enter a demonic aquarium?
Lya, with a feral grin.
— If it's an aquarium, I hope there's fish on the menu.
Nova gave her a sideways glance.
— What do you mean?
Lya:
— Ever since I devoured that attack during the old dragon fight, I haven't had anything to chew on.
Valor took a step back.
— …You're just weird, honestly.
A whisper rose in the mist.
Multiple distorted voices echoed around them:
"Why have you come, mortal…"
"The Heart of the Void awaits…"
Nova gripped the hilt of his sword.
— I hate places that talk.
Valor shrugged.
— As long as it's polite, I'm fine.
Suddenly, a violet bolt split the sky.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Figures emerged from the dungeon walls, as if the stone itself was reluctantly spitting them out.
Their faces were hidden behind cracked masks, each marked with a single glowing mauve eye.
Zarion, calm, without flinching.
— Don't look them in the eye. These things read memories through visual contact.
Valor, eyes wide.
— Too late. They already know I'm hungry.
The creatures attacked.
They leapt silently, leaving trails of shadow like claw marks in the air.
Lya let the strikes pass through her as if she were intangible.
The attacks phased through her harmlessly.
Then, with a fluid motion, she summoned a dagger and drove it into a creature's chest.
The beast began to dissolve, but Lya extended her hand and absorbed its energy before it could explode.
Nova, focused.
— Void Art, First Movement: Spatial Slice!
He swept the air in a circular motion.
A wave of invisible blades surged outward, slicing through multiple figures at once.
Their ethereal screams faded into the mist.
But then the ground… liquefied beneath their feet.
Ryn, alarmed.
— The mana's reacting to our attacks! It's absorbing everything — even our energy!
Zarion frowned.
— This dungeon is alive… it's trying to digest us.
Valor, panicking.
— Digest? No no no! I'm not on the menu! And I'm way too anxious — demonic digestion doesn't handle nerves well!
He took a deep breath, raised his hand with mock solemnity.
— Alright, leave it to the expert. I've got this.
A supernatural chill swept through the area.
The entire ground froze instantly, ice spreading as far as the eye could see, solidifying the black mana.
Lya stepped back.
— Next time, warn us before turning the battlefield into an ice rink!
Valor, proud.
— Noted! But hey, at least the ground won't eat us now, right?
Ryn placed her hand on the frozen surface.
A burst of silver light purified the magical anomalies around them.
The atmosphere stabilized — briefly.
Zarion, standing apart, suddenly looked up.
— He's coming.
The mist condensed before them, forming a humanoid shape.
A tall figure cloaked in black, white hair streaked with violet.
His energy made the air vibrate, as if even the dimension bent to his will.
Lya, wary.
— Who are you?
The voice echoed, deep and distorted:
I am the Echo.
The Gatekeeper.
And I am here… to see if you deserve to leave this place alive.
Valor raised a hand with a nervous smile.
— Wow, what an honor! Really! But are you sure you've got the right address? We were just here to deliver a magic pizza, nothing more!
Zarion, eyes sharp.
— Stay in position. He's a high-level guardian. He tests intruders before… let's say, dissolving them.
The Echo slowly raised a hand.
The ground transformed into a massive runic circle, violet lightning snaking around it.
Each symbol pulsed with ancient energy, as if the floor itself was chanting a forgotten spell.
Lya's grin widened.
— Perfect. I was just getting hungry.
She dashed forward, daggers ready to strike.
Valor looked skyward.
— Seriously… she's going to end up snacking on a demon.
The clash between Lya and the Echo shook the entire zone.
Waves of purple mana rippled through the air.
Nova prepared to intervene, Ryn was already tracing a support circle, and Zarion watched closely — a rare glint of interest in his eyes.
The battle against the Guardian of the Mist… had begun.
Chapter 104 – "The Guardian's Trial"
The impact between Lya and the Guardian echoed across the entire zone.
The ground warped, floating pillars trembled, and the purple mist seemed to recoil with a breath.
Lya, like a specter, dove into the ground, vanishing into a fluid shadow.
Nova appeared before the Guardian, eyes sharp.
— Void Art, Second Movement: Multiple Accelerations.
He moved at blinding speed, slashing in every direction, carving lines of void into the air.
Then he leapt back, leaving behind a trail of spatial distortion.
Ryn, from a distance, launched several orbs of white energy.
They exploded on contact with the Guardian, purifying everything in their path, tearing through the mist with bursts of light.
Valor extended his hand, wearing his usual arrogant grin.
— And the finishing blow… delivered by the great me.
He clenched his fist.
— Spatial Prison.
A translucent cube formed around the Guardian, closing in like a cosmic jaw.
Ryn's orbs continued to detonate inside, shaking the structure.
Lya popped her head out of the ground, hair tousled.
— Looks like that was pretty easy.
Valor puffed out his chest.
— All thanks to who? The great me.
Nova, arms crossed.
— Stop bragging. You barely did anything.
Lya, smirking.
— Shame… I didn't get to test the power I absorbed from the guy I devoured.
Valor, skeptical.
— What is it? Bet it's not cool. He was weak anyway.
Lya:
— It's a secret.
The explosions ceased.
A strange silence settled.
Ryn, watching the cube.
— Looks like we got him.
But the Guardian, trapped inside, swept the Spatial Prison aside with a single motion.
The cube shattered like glass.
Nova stepped back.
— So it's not over yet.
A murderous aura filled the air.
The ground began to tremble.
The mist tightened around them.
Zarion, still in the back, finally spoke.
— Brace yourselves.
Valor, tense.
— Uh-oh… I think he's mad.
The Guardian charged straight at Valor.
He raised his hand.
— Chains, appear!
Energy chains burst from the ground, but the Guardian dodged them with terrifying fluidity.
He reached Valor, ready to strike — but his hand was stopped cold.
Invisible threads held him back.
Valor, with his other hand, had woven a mana web.
He stepped forward slowly, placing his hand on the Guardian's face.
— Nice face. Shame it's so angry.
The threads wrapped around the Guardian, immobilizing him.
Then Valor coated his hand in mana and delivered a crushing blow, sending the Guardian flying into a floating pillar.
The Guardian growled, got up, and lunged at Lya.
He struck several times — but his blows passed through her like through a ghost.
Nova, focused.
— Spatial Slice!
He slashed the air, severing the Guardian's arm in a burst of purple mana.
Ryn transformed into light.
Two daggers appeared in her hands.
She dashed across the battlefield, leaving a glowing trail, then sliced through the Guardian before reappearing in a breath.
— Disintegration Magic: Final Impact.
A blast of pure light engulfed the Guardian.
Valor, exhaling.
— Whew… that was pretty easy, huh?
Nova:
— Don't get cocky.
Zarion, arms crossed.
— You're stronger than I expected. Alright… let's keep going.
Lya, grinning.
— Surprised, Zarion?
Zarion:
— You're pretty strong.
Valor, raising his arms.
— What's so surprising? Don't forget the great Valor is with them.
Zarion, deadpan.
— Right.
And the great Valor almost got digested by the ground ten minutes ago.
Lya:
— And flirted with a spectral Guardian.
Nova:
— And shouted "I've got this" right before getting charged.
Valor, arms crossed.
— You're just jealous. That's all.
Ryn, smiling.
— Come on, heroes. The dungeon hasn't finished speaking to us.
The group moved forward.
The mist slowly faded, but the whispers… they remained.
"The Heart of the Void is watching you…"