The cold shimmer of the teleport gate faded, and the squad stepped onto blackened stone beneath a crimson sky. Jagged cliffs surrounded them, and lightning flickered across the horizon. This was no ordinary dungeon—it felt alive. The air tasted of rust and ash.
Kaen's eyes narrowed. "This place reeks of an old world."
Zian kept close to the group, her senses sharp. "No ambient mana. It's being absorbed into the terrain."
Leon unslung his spear, visibly uneasy. "Why does it feel like we're being watched?"
Lirien crouched by the ground, brushing her fingers over a strange symbol etched into the stone. "These markings are pre-divine era. This gate's been dormant for centuries."
Mira whispered, "Then why now?"
They advanced in formation, Kaen walking casually at the center. Despite his relaxed posture, shadows pulsed around his boots with every step. The deeper they moved into the ruin, the more warped it became—walls turned to bone, paths shifting beneath their feet.
Suddenly, a guttural roar echoed from above. A massive winged beast descended—its scales rippling with demonic runes.
"S-class wyvern!" Leon shouted.
"Formation Bravo!" Zian barked.
Lirien dashed forward first, a blur of speed and white hair. Her rapier flashed as she clashed with the creature mid-air, slicing its wing with practiced precision. Kaen observed, hands still in his pockets.
"Not bad," he murmured. "But let's test something."
He flicked a pebble at the wyvern, and when it hit, the creature's body momentarily froze. Zian took the opportunity, unleashing a radiant burst of light from her blade.
The wyvern screamed as it collapsed, disintegrating into ash.
Kyel stared wide-eyed. "We're… alive?"
Mira caught her breath. "Barely."
Kaen tilted his head. "This was the gate's welcome gift. What comes next will be worse."
Zian glanced at him. "You sound like you know."
"I do." Kaen's smile was unreadable.
Above them, unseen by all but Kaen, glowing red eyes opened within the cliffs.