Jae looked at Riven and said,
"Wait, something doesn't add up in that story of yours. How did you get back? And how did you destroy the dragon eggs?"
Riven rolled his eyes, clearly reluctant to reply to Jae.
"I can't tell you how I got back. But I didn't destroy the eggs. All I did was give them to another creature. Well, not actually give but... you know what I mean."
Eros looked at him and said,
"But if you gave the eggs to another creature, then why is the dragon following you? And how didn't it notice you on its body?"
Riven locked eyes with Eros and replied,
"It's simple, really. Probably the dragon has a good sense of smell, but in the sewers it shouldn't be able to smell me out with all the shit around. And about how it didn't notice me on its body, that's quite simple too. If a harmless ant is on your body, will you notice it? Yeah, maybe. But it's nothing but a harmless little pest to you. So probably the dragon didn't consider me a threat to its life. Well, I sure showed that bastard."
Jae looked at him and said,
"Sure you did. Crazy bastard."
Varik finally spoke after a while of just listening.
"Your revenge didn't feel like revenge to me."
Riven looked at Varik with a dangerous expression but just looked away after a bit.
After a moment of silence, Varik finally said it.
"Time to go. Nira, did you bring any lanterns with you? We'll need them."
Nira replied,
"Yes, I brought three lanterns."
Varik tapped his head like he was thinking.
"Three huh. Okay, you take one. I'll take one. And give Jae one. Eros shouldn't need a lantern to see in the dark. And everyone, we need to stay together. We don't know what lurks in the shadows."
With that, Nira brought out one lantern. The remaining two were handed to the other Firstborn. They used two knives to strike a spark that lit the lanterns. The lanterns gave off a soulish blue light. It was very strange, because flames were supposed to be red.
They walked in silence. The sewers stretched on forever, long and dark and wet. The air was thick, heavy with the smell of rot and something else they couldn't place. It clung to their skin, their clothes, their breath. Eros gagged more than once. Even Jae, who always had something to say, stayed quiet.
The tunnel walls were coated in old slime. Water dripped from somewhere above, echoing around them like distant footsteps. No one spoke. The only sound was the squish of their boots in the sludge and the soft breathing of the group trying to stay calm.
"This place reeks," Eros muttered, holding his mask tighter over his nose. "Like something died in here."
"Something probably did," Nira replied quietly.
Riven led the way. He didn't say much, just kept moving like he knew where to go. Maybe he did. Or maybe he just didn't want to stop.
They passed broken pipes, rusted grates, old bones. Rats skittered across the floor. Some of them were too big, too quiet, with red eyes that watched them from the shadows. A few Firstborn kept their hands on their weapons, just in case.
The tunnel narrowed, forcing them to walk in single file. At some point, the air got even worse, like something had been sitting there for years, rotting slow. Eros almost threw up.
Then they saw it.
At the end of the tunnel, just past a curve, something huge was curled up near an old brick wall. It looked like a pile of black muscle and torn skin, breathing slow. Worms slid in and out of it, and steam rose from its body like it was still fresh. It didn't move. Not yet.
Everyone stopped.
"What... the hell is that?" someone whispered.
No one answered.
Eros finally responded
"It all makes sense now there's no monsters down here and why the Sunderkin are on the surface"
Finally they saw it in all it disgusting glory
It looked like a wolf-like monster it was huge with long arms, bent legs, and a twisted body. Its fur is black and wild, dirty and soaked with dried blood. Its mouth stretches too wide, full of sharp, broken teeth, and its glowing orange eyes burn with rage.
Parts of its body are badly rotten. The flesh on its chest and side is torn open, revealing dark, decaying muscle. From these open wounds, fat white worms crawl in and out, squirming through the rotten meat. Some parts of its skin are missing, showing bone and old blood underneath.
When it moves, it drags its limbs like they're too heavy, and every step leaves behind the stink of death. You can hear the wet sound of the worms wriggling inside its body. Its long tail is like a whip, made of stiff, matted hair and sharp bone at the tip.
This monster doesn't just look rotten—it is rotten. It spreads disease and death wherever it goes. It howls with a sound that makes your skin crawl, like a dying thing calling out from a grave.
Jae looked at Nira and jae wait we are supposed to fight that disgusting thing