[Corven's Dungeon]:
[3rd POV]:
The humans weren't the only ones to sense such immense darkness. The beasts of Corven's dungeon did, too. Though the only signs of theirs that they did was the increase in jumpiness from the weaker beasts, aggression from the stronger ones and weariness from the more experience beasts. The boss monsters, however, had another reaction.
In the west, towards the mountain ranges where Celeste and Achlys were hunting and exploring the terrain, at the very peak of the tallest mountain, cultivating while hibernating was the biggest mountain lion one could ever have laid eyes on. It laid on a pile of skulls and bones, some of which were animal, others human.
It had dark brown, almost golden fur, razor sharp teeth the size of daggers and claws as sharp as short swords. It was easily the size of a small house — And its aura — it was giving off Peak Tier SS rank power… Power on par with a Legendary ranked cultivator.
As darkness descended upon its territory, it opened its eye and unleashed a mighty and impressive roar that could be heard for miles.
It was a roar, however, that was followed by many more, each separated by distance but no less equally formidable in their challenge. Though the other two groups didn't sound like mountain lions, they were all Tier SS in rank.
The bosses of the dungeon were awake.
Emerging from his cave, the Lightningwind Mountain Lion King and his two queens began their descent from the mountain. They've ben asleep long enough; a new power has risen — And the King wanted to meet it.
And, unbeknownst to its guests, the other two dungeon bosses and their mates felt the same way…
[Corven's Dungeon, Near The Center of the Shadowflame Bear Territory]:
[Cimon Morpheus]:
Ducking below the claw strike of yet another Tier S Shadoflame Bear, Cimon used Dreamspire, his silver, Demigod ranked spear, spinning it at practically superspeed as he repelled the black flaming breath of another peak level Tier A ranked Shadowflame Bear. The flames were searing and hot, but, thanks to Cimon's experience facing countless monsters in the Labyrinth that made up the dreamscape territory he'd been training in during his slumber the past month and a half, Cimon had minimum difficulty deflecting the worst of it away from him. He'd become so resistant to the pain and heat because of that place, he paid no mind to the blisters forming on his hands and fingers from the heat. They were of little worth to him and his fluidity in combat using the very heat conductant spear in his hands only proved that fact true.
Quick as a viper, Cimon swung his spear in a long arc, decapitating three peak level Tier A rank bears, one of which was the one who had just breathed a stream of dark fire at him.
'Thanks to my trials in the 4th territory of the realm of Lemnos, my combat skills are on par with High level Chaotic rankers, allowing me to contend with even Low level Legendary and Tier SS ranked combatants and hold my own against mid-level opponents of the same rank,' Cimon thought, as he pierced the neck of a fourth bear, this one at Mid-Chaotic rank.
CRACK.
A crack in Cimon's spear caused him to frown. 'My spear's on its last leg. I should use my Dream Synthesis ability to upgrade it.'
Cimon's Dream Synthesis ability was a gift from his brother, Morpheus, long ago, when Cimon first enter his realm. It allowed Cimon to synthesize dream matter and physical matter to create something better from the union. The only catch was that only those he shares direct blood with could use whatever is synthesized into existence, and that's only when he mixes physical matter in the synthesization process — If whatever is synthesized is only done so with dream matter, then only he could use the resulting object.
Cimon's Demigod ranked spear, Dreamspire, was formed by synthesizing a Legacy ranked spear he received from his mother and another he found in Morpheus' castle in which the god of dreams let him keep. The result of Dreamspire being, not of Legacy rank but of Demigod rank, was a surprise of its own, but one not unwelcomed.
'Now I need to use the skill once more,' Cimon finally killed the final bear around him, peering into his own Dreamspace — a private inner world, separate from Lemnos and the waking world, in which he stored things of value. He possessed his own storage ring, but the more important things he usually stored in his Dreamspace. 'I have just what I need thanks to that last run in that place.'
In his Dreamspace, Cimon saw a pile of weapons, gear and artefacts he'd gained as loot during his last trial — The lowest ranked weapon there was Legacy rank while the highest ranked one was Legendary in rank. Some were swords, most were spears — There were even some halberts and long battle hammers, though that last one wasn't really Cimon's typical fight style. In combat, he preferred efficiency, reach and agility above physical strength and brute force.
Still, maybe one day he will practice the hammer… It can't be bad to have a little experience with the weapon. Though, Cimon sensed, he's more likely to start practicing with the halbert before that time ever arrived.
Looking out of his Dreamspace, Cimon took in his environment, using his Consciousness Sense to pick up on any possible monsters nearby. There weren't any that weren't currently occupied — Mostly by Jabari, Marxes and J.C, who were all handling the Tier A monsters and below that were nearby, providing Cimon the perfect cover to begin his synthesizing process. The other, more stronger bears Cimon had already defeated; they laid dead in a somewhat cluster around Cimon, who, nodding to himself, looked back inside his Dreamspace, bringing out a Peak Chaotic ranked Partisan weapon and a Peak Chaotic ranked war spear.
'It's not likely that these weapons will be of any help in what I am tasked to do, but, at least, in this world, they will be more than helpful,' Cimon thought to himself. Cimon doubted any mortal could achieve what he was tasked to do by the 4th territory of Lemnos itself, but he tried not to focus on that too much. 'At least, in this way, they will be put to better use.'
"Well, here goes nothing," Cimon began. "Dream Synthe—."
Before Cimon could even activate the ability, darkness enveloped the entirety of the dungeon, swallowing every light source and silencing every creature. There was no sound, no light, no stars nor Sun — Only darkness.
Cimon frowned.
'Why does this feel familiar…?' Cimon thought, not truly worried about the surrounding darkness so much as the source — And why would he? He was of the shadow realm house of Morpheus; the darkness was his ally. 'Hmm…,' Cimon's eyes suddenly widened as dread filled his being as he thought of the answer. "Corven!"
Then, completing the Dream Synthesis, Cimon picked up the new weapon — a war partison spear with three blades, two side shorter blades and the middle one, longer and sharper than the other two. It was all silver and, like the previous Dreamspire, it was soulbound, Cimon could feel it. It was 11 feet long, with increased reach and a deadlier aura. Mid-level Legendary ranked.
Cimon wasted no more time. Grabbing his newly improved weapon, he rushed towards the direction where the darkness was thickest, spreading his silver wings out as he flew forward with determination.
[Corven's Dungeon, Near the Peak of the Mountain]:
[Achlys Keresa]:
Achlys rushed down the mountain, her raven violet wings taking her as fast as they could. In her rushed, she passed by Celeste, who had been in the middle of taking on a number of beasts. She gave her a few words of wisdom: "You had better run as far and as fast as you can. And hurry. We need to get our asses down the mountain now!"
Celeste, noticing the urgency in her friend's voice, wasted no time. She didn't ask what was going on nor who or what was chasing them. She merely let her white feathered wings sprout from her back and took off after Achlys,
ROARRR!
ROOOARR!
Even through the thickest of darkness, both Achlys and Celeste could hear the roars of beasts — The vibrations in the air told of a great power. Tier SS level power. The darkness swallowed the light around them, but, as underworld descendants, they welcomed it, if only being a bit confused by its source.
"What the goddess is going on?!" Celeste practically screamed as the duo forced their wings to beat faster and faster. "Why are we being chased by Tier SS ranked beasts? I thought this was a red Dungeon. Tier SS ranked beasts shouldn't be active here. And what's with this darkness?"
Tier SS ranked beings weren't normally found in red gates, or Dungeons. There were very few instances in all of Planet Mythos that they could be — All of which could be counted one hand. Pallas wasn't even Tier SS ranked and now three of said rankers were coming after the duo.
ROOOAARRR!
"I assume this Darkness woke up the boss of the mountains and whatever was asleep with him," Achlys screamed against the wind. "I wouldn't put it past whatever god is pulling our luck that the other monsters' bosses have also awoken. We need to meet up with the others quickly."
"And… this Darkness…Oh gods," Celeste's eyes widened in horrified realization. "Corven!"
The two girls exchanged a nod, racing ever faster than ever before, flying at sound barrier breaking speeds. Yet even as they picked up their speeds, the sounds of their pursuers never ceased — Their High level Legendary equivalent power levels weighed heavily down upon the duo even as they picked up speed.