The morning came quietly, the false sun hanging low over the dungeon plain. Fayde roused himself from the thin mat he had slept on, muscles stiff from the cold stone ground beneath. Around him, the camp was already beginning to stir. Laborers moved between wagons, packing up supplies, while adventurers gathered in small groups to check weapons and gear.
After a quick meal, the Void Walkers assembled near the perimeter of the camp. There was little conversation. Everyone understood the weight of what came next. Clearing the first floor had been simple enough, but the second floor would be different. It would be deeper, more dangerous, and filled with unknowns.
They moved in silence toward the passage leading downward, a wide stone stairwell carved into the earth. Crumbling pillars flanked the entrance, and deep gouges marked the walls, remnants of age or old battles. The air grew colder the further they descended, thick with the scent of damp stone and something older that had no place in the world above.
The second floor opened before them like a graveyard from a forgotten age.
Ruined buildings stretched into the distance, their walls cracked and broken, half swallowed by creeping vines of blackened moss. Shattered towers leaned precariously against one another, some collapsed into rubble. Craters pitted the ground where ancient battles had scarred the earth. Shadows filled the spaces between the ruins, shifting when no one was looking.
They regrouped just beyond the threshold. Fayde gathered the team close, his voice low but steady.
"We will continue using the same formation we have been practicing," he said. "It has been working well so far, and I see no reason to change it. Nes and I will take the vanguard. Reia, you will cover the rear with Allein. Tris, you are our scout and trap detector. Stay mobile, but move with caution. We don't know what we will have to deal with."
Quiet nods answered him.
Fayde slowed his pace and raised a hand. Their formation shifted automatically. He and Nes moved to the front, shields ready, while Reia and Allein guarded the rear. Tris slipped into the debris ahead, moving like a shadow.
They pressed forward through the ruins, their boots crunching lightly over stone and broken glass. The air was still, but filled with faint sounds: the creak of settling rock, the distant scrape of claws against stone.
"This place feels wrong," Reia whispered behind him.
Fayde nodded without looking back. "Stay sharp."
They wove through narrow alleys and half-collapsed courtyards, surrounded on all sides by hiding places perfect for an ambush. Tension coiled tighter with every step.
A low growl broke the silence.
Fayde froze. Nes tensed beside him, his spear lowering.
From the shadows ahead, figures emerged. Kobolds, but different from those on the first floor. These ones wore scraps of scavenged armor, their weapons jagged and cruel. Their eyes gleamed with an unnatural hunger.
Behind them came larger shapes. Lizardmen. Taller, stronger, armed with heavy axes and battered shields.
They had been waiting.
Before Fayde could give the order to pull back, the monsters charged.
"Hold the line!" he barked.
The Void Walkers snapped into formation. Fayde and Nes met the first wave head-on, shields bracing the impact. Fayde felt the jarring blow of a Kobold's spear glance off his shield, but he held firm, shoving the creature aside.
Reia darted along the flank, her blade flashing with wind magic as she cut down a Kobold trying to slip through. Allein raised her hands, a stream of flame bursting from her fingertips to scatter another group.
Tris darted from cover, striking quickly and disappearing again, leaving monsters bleeding in her wake.
The battle was brutal. The Kobolds threw themselves recklessly against them, but the Void Walkers held their ground. Fayde's sword slashed low, cutting through armor and bone. Nes moved like a machine, his spear finding weak points with every thrust.
Then the Lizardmen reached them.
One swung a massive axe in a wide arc. Fayde caught it on his shield, the force rattling up his arm and driving him back a step. Before the creature could swing again, Nes lunged low, stabbing its knee and forcing it off balance. Fayde seized the opening, plunging his sword into the creature's chest.
Another Lizardman closed in on Reia. She ducked under its strike and drove her sword up through its ribs, wind magic hissing around the blade. The monster staggered, only to be finished by a precise bolt of flame from Allein.
More monsters poured out of the ruins, but their numbers were thinning. Their discipline broke. Panic spread.
Fayde saw it and did not hesitate. "Push forward!"
The Void Walkers surged ahead, overwhelming the scattered Kobolds and Lizardmen. One by one, the monsters fell.
When the last shriek faded, silence reclaimed the ruins.
Fayde lowered his sword, breathing heavily. Around him, the others moved through the aftermath in silence, checking themselves for injuries. Blood stained the broken stones where the monsters had fallen, but the Void Walkers had survived with only bruises and shallow cuts.
"Everyone alright?" he asked.
Nods answered him.
Tris reappeared from the shadows, wiping her blade clean. "More will come," she said quietly.
Fayde did not argue. They had made enough noise to draw attention. They could not afford to linger.
"Let's move," Fayde said, his voice low. "We need to find a safer spot before more of them come."
Weapons still drawn, the Void Walkers slipped deeper into the ruins, ready for whatever came next.
The second floor was already proving far more dangerous than the first. They had advanced far into the second floor, but they still had a long way to go until they got to the bottom of the dungeon.
"It is a good thing we didn't have to carry too many supplies," Reia said, trying to lighten the mood. "Being able to return to the base camp makes things a lot easier."
Even with a base established on the first floor, it was not as if they could come and go freely. Each dungeon floor was massive, and it was still necessary to camp out within the dungeon while exploring. They only carried a few days' worth of supplies at a time, but even that required careful management.
"Let's try to keep the noise down," Fayde reminded them. "Tris is scouting ahead, and we have Allein's and Nes's enhanced senses, but we should not get careless."
Their party was holding position for now, waiting for Tris to return from her scouting. Once she made her report, they would decide whether this area was safe enough to set up camp for the night. They had been exploring the second floor for some time already and had a few encounters that were touch and go. With the dungeon having its own artificial day and night cycle, it wasn't difficult to tell how much time had passed.
When Tris finally returned, she gave a small nod.
"It looks clear for now," she said.
"Good," Fayde replied. "We will set up a temporary camp here. Reia and I will take first watch. The rest of you, get some rest."
The others mumbled their agreements and unrolled their mats. Everyone was tired. Sleeping in a monster-infested dungeon was never easy, and resting on thin mats offered little comfort. Fayde and Reia found a spot near a half-crumbled stone wall. It might have been part of a building long ago, but now it was nothing more than another piece of rubble swallowed by the dungeon.
Fayde leaned back against the rough stone, his gaze drifting over the broken landscape. Even now, the ruins felt as if they were watching, the silence pressing in heavier with every passing moment.
Were these really ruins? It certainly looked convincing, but he doubted a real city had ever existed down here. Had the dungeon created all of this by magic? Was it sentient in some way? Or was there another explanation altogether? Fayde had no answers, only speculation.
"Fayde..." Reia's voice broke the silence.
He glanced over at her. She was fidgeting slightly, a habit she had when trying to work up the courage to say something serious.
She had done this before, wearing that same conflicted expression, as if torn between speaking her mind and holding back. Fayde had a good idea what weighed on her thoughts. Ever since he had met her, Reia had changed in many ways. He would not take all the credit for that, but he knew that his presence had been part of it.
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"Do you think... I'm strange because I am a Beastkin?"
Fayde had not been expecting that question tonight, but it did not surprise him. It was clear she still carried those lingering doubts. He knew he would have to keep being patient. Reia had become someone precious to him, someone he could not imagine being without. Yet this fear of hers continued to be a wall between them.
"Reia," he said softly, "no matter how many times you ask, my answer will never change."
She lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you told me that Earth doesn't have Beastkin. Only Humans. Is it really not strange at all?"
Fayde leaned back against the cold stone.
He had always been different himself. He knew what it felt like to be set apart, to be judged simply for existing. Earth might not have had Beastkin, but the cruelty of discrimination was just the same.
"Reia, it is true there are no Beastkin on Earth. But that does not mean things are so different there. People will always find a reason to hate what they do not understand. And there will always be those who accept others for who they are. This world does not have a monopoly on discrimination."
Reia tightened her fingers around the edge of her cloak.
"It is not the same," she said, her voice strained. "Are we even human?"
Fayde watched her carefully. He wondered if the dungeon itself was starting to wear on her. Even strong minds could be worn down by the unnatural weight of this place. Surrounded by monsters and steeped in the dungeon's oppressive atmosphere, it was easy to let doubts creep in.
"You look human to me," Fayde answered without hesitation. "And even if you were not, it would not matter."
Her ears twitched slightly, her gaze searching his face for any sign of hesitation.
"It really does not matter?"
"Nope."
There was a long pause. Reia let out a breath she had been holding, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Even though they had shared similar conversations before, Fayde knew her fears would not vanish so easily.
She hesitated again before asking, "What if you can never return home?"
Fayde thought about it for a moment. When he had first arrived in this world, it had taken time to accept that he might never see Earth again. There were regrets, of course. The biggest was never seeing his daughter again. But outside of that, there was little to miss. In truth, he had found more meaning here than he ever had before.
"Even if I cannot return," Fayde said with a small smile, "I have friends here. I have people who matter to me. As long as you are with me, I am not alone."
He gave her a playful look. "You will not abandon me, right? As long as you stay by my side, everything will be fine."
Reia's cheeks flushed faintly. "Do not tease me like that," she said, flustered.
Fayde chuckled. "But it is true. If I had not met you, I would already be dead."
His words made her fall silent. She lowered her gaze, her expression serious as she fiddled with the edge of her cloak.
"Fayde..." she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"You will not... suddenly disappear one day, will you?"
He smiled gently and reached out to brush her shoulder.
"Do not worry about it. I am not going anywhere. I will stay by your side, at least until you get sick of me."
Reia laughed, the sound soft but real, and for the first time that night, she smiled.
It was a smile that stirred something deep inside Fayde.
He had met many women in his life, but none like her. Reia was strong and kind, wounded but still hopeful. The closer they grew, the deeper his feelings became. He could tell she was beginning to accept him too, even if her worries still lingered.
He could be patient. She was worth it.
The camp settled into uneasy sleep. Fayde remained awake for a while longer, watching the strange, colorless sky above. The silence of the dungeon pressed in from all sides, broken only by the occasional distant scrape of stone against stone. He stayed alert, but nothing disturbed the night.
Morning, if it could even be called that, came again with the dull shift of the dungeon's false sky.
After a quick breakfast, they packed their supplies in silence. Every clink of armor and shuffle of boots seemed louder than it should have been beneath the false sky. Whatever awaited them on the third floor, it would not be easy.
With the third floor looming ahead, Fayde and the others braced themselves. He could only imagine that the third floor was going to be an even more intense experience. According to the scouts' rough maps, the entrance to the third floor was just a couple hours away, giving them time to steel themselves for what lay ahead.
Fayde tightened the straps on his armor, tested the edge of his sword, and cast a steady glance over his companions. Reia was quietly securing her equipment. Nes and Allein stood ready, their expressions calm. Tris gave a subtle nod when their eyes met.
They had survived this far. They would survive what came next.
"Alright," Fayde said, his voice firm. "Let's move. Whatever is waiting on the third floor, it won't be easier than what we've faced."
The false sky loomed overhead as they disappeared once more into the broken ruins.Step by step, they moved toward whatever waited below.