Lucian led the way, his breathing steady but his body tense, ready to react at any moment. The dim blue glow that pulsed from the walls cast eerie, shifting shadows, making the cavern feel alive. His Fallen Robe fluttered behind him, barely making a sound as he moved.
The patterns of blue liquid flowing across the walls fascinated him—it was almost hypnotic. Some of it dripped onto the ground, but rather than sptter, the droplets sank into the stone, as if being absorbed.
Ay, walking beside him, shivered. "This pce is wrong," she muttered.
Lucian felt it too. It was unnatural.
Then came the noise.
A deep, rumbling vibration.
Like something massive shifting, the sound reverberated through the tunnels, growing louder with each passing second.
The group froze.
Lucian immediately raised a hand, signaling silence. He focused.
Then—
A shadow shifted in the distance.
Lucian blinked.
And it appeared.
A Monster Beyond Their Limits.
[Css: Aberration]
[Veil: Runic]
Lucian’s stomach plummeted. Too strong, an runic beast would destroy them, but this was an aberration, they were dead
The thing was massive—a centipede-like creature that stretched across the cavern’s width, its hundreds of legs clicking against the stone with sickening precision. Its body was covered in pulsing symbols, shifting between dark gold and sickly green, exuding an unnatural glow.
It wasn’t just big. It was fast.
Travis groaned. "Again? No, please, I can’t anymore."
Lucian stole a gnce at him. His leg was ruined, swollen and barely holding together. It was a miracle the guy was still conscious.
Then the centipede moved.
With blinding speed.
One second, it was distant.
The next—it lunged forward, the symbols along its body fring green.
It shouldn’t be that fast.
"We are fucked!" Iris screamed.
And then—they ran.
They sprinted blindly, their footsteps echoing through the cavern. The air grew thick, oppressive, as if the tunnel itself was closing in.
The centipede glowed again, and suddenly—
It was gaining.
Lucian’s heart hammered. It was pying with them.
The cavern was a maze—twisting pathways that led to nowhere, tunnels that circled back, dead ends waiting to trap them.
Ronan nearly smmed into a wall before skidding around a sharp turn. "We’re lost!" he shouted.
"No shit!" Ay snapped.
Lucian didn’t answer. His eyes darted around, searching, calcuting.
There had to be a way out.
Then he saw it—
A massive, gaping pit up ahead.
A Bck Maw
It was impossible to see the bottom.
An abyss, stretching into the unknown.
And yet—the air pulled toward it, a silent force dragging everything closer.
It was alive.
Lucian had no time to think.
The centipede screeched, closing in fast.
He made a choice.
"JUMP!"
They hesitated—for half a second.
Then—
They leapt.
And the darkness swallowed them whole.
_______________________________________
Lucian's stomach lurched as he plummeted into the abyss. The air was thick, pressing against his skin like an invisible weight.
Then—silence.
...
...
...
No wind. No sound. Just the eerie sensation of falling without end.
...
He tried to brace himself for impact, but the darkness stretched endlessly below. His body tensed as his Fallen Robe fluttered around him, slowing his descent slightly—but it wasn’t enough.
...
Then—
A shockwave of force smmed into him.
'fuck!!' he hold his arm, sensing that wasn't broke he smiled.
His back collided with something solid, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his spine. He rolled, barely managing to stop himself from tumbling further down what felt like a steep incline.
A groan echoed nearby.
Lucian forced himself up, eyes adjusting to the darkness. He saw the others scattered around the cavern floor, some coughing, others groaning in pain.
Ay was cradling her wrist, which looked twisted. Ronan had a gash along his forehead. Travis—who was already injured—was barely conscious, his breathing ragged.
Iris was the first to break the silence. "What the hell was that?"
Lucian turned his gaze upward.
The hole they’d fallen through was impossibly high—a distant glowing scar in the ceiling. But more than that—
The centipede was gone.
They had escaped.
Or had they?
The cavern they had fallen into was vast.
The walls were lined with the same glowing symbols from the tunnels above, except these were older, cracked, and fading. The air was thick with something unnatural, an oppressive weight that settled on their shoulders.
Ronan pressed a hand against his wound. "We need to move. I don’t trust this pce."
Lucian agreed. There was something wrong here.
Travis, groaning, managed to sit up. His leg was worse than before, swollen and bruised. He wasn’t going anywhere fast.
"Can you walk?" Ay asked.
Travis let out a bitter ugh. "What do you think?"
Lucian exhaled sharply. They needed a pn.
And then—
A whisper.
A faint sound, barely audible, brushing against the edges of his mind.
It wasn’t coming from his Echo.
It was coming from the walls.
He snapped his head toward the nearest one, studying the faded symbols. They weren’t just decorations.
They were words.
A warning.
"Do not wake what sleeps beneath."
A shiver ran down Lucian’s spine.
Then—the ground trembled.
It was faint at first, a low vibration beneath their feet. But then it grew stronger.
Something beneath them was moving.
"Go!" Lucian shouted.
They ran, ignoring the pain, the exhaustion. The cavern stretched before them, the faint glow of the symbols offering just enough light to navigate.
Behind them, the tremors intensified.
A sound.
A deep, guttural exhale.
Something was waking up.
And they were in its domain.
