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Nothing good was happening.
Niyx walked with a monotone expression through the underground, the sound of her own steps muffled by the thick air. The walls were damp, alive, pulsing with the same energy that fed the roots of the Tree of Fantasy.
Her plans had gone far too wrong.
'Damn it… I thought I was being clever. But these space manipulations really screwed me over…'
The communicator hanging around her neck blinked at short intervals. It could connect to any frequency, call out to someone — maybe even the leader of the expedition. But it didn't matter. None of them mattered to her.
Besides, if she wanted to get out, all she had to do was jump.
She'd appear right in the middle of the kingdom — maybe in some elven garden full of frightened nobles — but who cared?
For someone like her, tons of stone and earth weren't obstacles. They were just matter — too soft to take seriously.
She could simply vanish, come up with an excuse, and move on to the next step of her plan. But no.She wanted to play a little longer.
She'd been waiting for that little metamorph pup to interact, to speak, to react. She wanted to observe his instincts up close — the way his eyes shifted when something felt wrong.
The idea had been simple: get close, understand what made him different from other metamorphs — and then decide what to do with him. But…
'He pulled away. Hm… his body must've sensed my intent. Definitely a prodigy.'
She sighed, tired, the soft sound blending with the distant hum of mana.
Corrupted spirits began to appear at the edge of her perception — spheres of living energy, twisted, crawling like hungry insects, some taking on distorted human shapes.
Niyx kept walking, indifferent. With a single touch of mana, they disintegrated — nothing more than shimmering dust fading into darkness.
It was all so… dull.
Those creatures didn't scream. They had no blood scent, no trembling pain. There was no real weight in destroying them. She couldn't even devour them — no flesh, no bones.
"Too weak," she muttered, bored.
One of them tried to attack her from behind.
Before it even got close, her forearm had already moved with absurd precision — a sharp swing, a snap through the air, and the spirit split cleanly in two, vanishing in silence.
Niyx didn't even look.
Her mana expanded like an invisible membrane around her body, a second skin, sensitive to every shift within its reach.
Nothing escaped her. No surprise attacks. No wasted movement.
It was instinctive perfection — a mastery of body and energy only someone like her, a forty-year-old metamorph shaped by battle and solitude, could reach.
The ground ahead trembled.
The tree's roots quivered like pulsing veins, and a strange warmth ran through the soil.
Niyx lifted her gaze, pink eyes reflecting the glow on the walls. For a second, something brushed against her senses — a scent.
Familiar. Warm. The same smell that intrigued her.
She shivered slightly, a slow smile curling on her lips.
'So you're still alive, little one… good.'
Instinctively, she began to run, her feet barely touching the ground. The cave twisted around her, paths multiplying, corridors collapsing.
She followed the scent, cutting through cracked tunnels and shattered pillars, until the energy around her began to change — the air grew heavier, and his breathing echoed somewhere ahead.
When she finally saw him, Victor was standing with his back to her, motionless before a fork in the path. The bluish light from the roots pulsed weakly against his skin, casting slow-moving shadows across the cavern walls. He was silent, weighing whether to take the right or left path.
Niyx stopped. Perfectly still, almost melted into the shadows, she watched him with predator's eyes. Her breathing was calm, body slightly tilted forward — ready to move, if needed.
For a moment, she thought of simply revealing herself and starting a casual conversation, or maybe teasing him, just to gauge his reaction. But then, an idea flashed through her mind.
'I already ruined my introduction as someone strong and trustworthy. So this is all that's left to do…'
The wild gleam in her eyes faded. Her shoulders relaxed; her face softened. The sharp aura around her, once like a drawn blade, now melted into something almost… fragile.
She took a deep breath — and ran.
"Thank God!" she cried, voice trembling, feigning relief.
The sound echoed through the tunnels, shattering the heavy silence of the cave.
Before he could react, Niyx threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Her body collided against his — the gesture as unexpected as the warmth that came with it. The touch was real, warm, a vivid contrast to the cold underground air.
"I… I thought I was trapped alone…" she murmured, her voice low, shaking. "When everyone disappeared, I thought I'd die down here…"
Victor froze. His body locked up instantly. Muscles tensed; his breath shortened. His mind tried to process what was happening but could only form a single dry question:
"You… what?"
Niyx lifted her face. The smile that followed was delicate, sweet — so human it was almost impossible to doubt.
"I'm so glad I found you," she said — and for an instant, her voice sounded genuine.
Victor blinked, confused. Something inside him screamed that this was wrong — dangerously wrong.
But the air around them carried no hostility. Only that unexpected touch, her faint perfume, and the warmth of her skin against his.
And for the first time since he'd met her, he hesitated.
'So I guess I'll just be the frightened damsel.'
She held the embrace, watching him discreetly. She waited for a reaction — retreat, disgust, instinct. But nothing came. Victor remained still, staring blankly ahead, as if something within him had stalled.
'No way… he didn't fall for that? No, my acting never fails. There has to be a logical reason for this.'
Her mind raced through hypotheses. Maybe he was cautious, still sensing the danger in her. Maybe he was controlling himself. It was common for young metamorphs to avoid naturally stronger predators — a basic species instinct.
But before she could reach any conclusion, his answer caught her completely off guard.
"I'm glad you're okay," he said calmly, almost serenely, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "Let's stick together and find a way out, alright?"
For a moment, Niyx went blank. Empty mind. Distant stare.
'What?'
That didn't make sense. None of it did. He should have run, or at least stepped back. He should've followed his survival instinct — and yet, the boy was accepting her.
'He's… going against his own instincts. Why?'
It was unthinkable. A metamorph pup would never approach something their body recognized as a mortal threat. But there he was — calm, confident, staring straight at her.
"O-okay," she answered, sniffing softly, pretending to sob.
Inside, her head was burning. None of her previous manipulations had triggered such a response. He was an anomaly.
Meanwhile, inside Victor's mind, a storm raged.
'What does she want? She's lying. She's dangerous. I need to get away. I have to run. I need her gone — someone get her away from me!'
But his face showed the opposite — serene, almost kind. He gently released the hug, his hands brushing lightly against her shoulders.
They were nearly the same height — maybe she was an inch taller.
"Perfect. Let's stay close so we don't get teleported apart again," he said without hesitation.
For a moment, Niyx only watched him, her gaze steady, trying to understand. Was she being fooled instead?
Their steps echoed faintly over the pulsing ground, the sound muffled by the humidity saturating the air.
Niyx walked pressed against his side, clinging to Victor's arm as if afraid of being left behind.
The contrast between them was almost comical — she moved lightly, confidently, feigning subtle tremors in her fingers; he was rigid, every muscle betraying a discomfort that never reached his face.
Victor kept a neutral expression, eyes fixed forward. The weight of her touch was almost imperceptible, yet it bothered him like an invisible splinter.
Still, he said nothing.
'She's way too calm for someone who was panicking a minute ago… but I can't accuse her without proof.'
They crossed a long corridor, the roots of the Tree twisting over the ceiling, glowing in blue tones. Niyx, however, seemed detached from it all. Her pink eyes kept drifting toward him, analyzing, studying every reaction he tried to hide.
She tilted her head slightly.
"Hey…" she called softly, almost childlike. "What's your name?"
Victor hesitated for a second before answering.
"Victor."
"Victor…" she repeated, tasting the sound. "Hmm. Nice name."
She smiled, pretending to be shy. "I'm Niyx."
"Niyx, huh?" he said, just to avoid sounding rude. "Weird. Never heard that one before."
She let out a short, muffled laugh. "Yeah, my parents had strange taste."
'Lie.'
The thought crossed her mind automatically, accompanied by an almost amused spark in her eyes.
Nothing in that story made sense, but she spoke with such natural ease that anyone would believe her.
"How old are you, Victor?" she asked, turning her face slightly, still clinging to his arm.
"Fifteen," he replied without thinking much.
'Lie.'
She smiled inwardly. The way he avoided eye contact, how carefully he measured every word… it was delightful to watch.
"I'm twenty," she said softly, almost bashful. "So, I guess I'm older."
Another lie, Niyx thought.
Victor simply nodded. "Yeah. A little."
'Twenty, huh? You don't even believe that yourself', he thought.
They walked in silence for a few meters. The sound of water dripping from the ceiling was the only noise between pauses. Niyx seemed too comfortable, her body close to his, her smile easy. Victor, on the other hand, felt his entire body on alert — every breath she took seemed to weigh in the air.
'If I'm rude, I might make her nervous. But if I keep this up… she'll think I'm an idiot.'
"Victor…" she called again, breaking the silence. "Have you… always been this calm?"
"Hm?"
"I mean…" she tilted her head, laughing softly. "Most people would be freaking out down here. You seem… used to it."
He looked away, fixing his eyes on the wall ahead.
"It's not the first time I've been in a place like this."
That wasn't a lie. This place reminded him of the labyrinth he'd faced in Cirgo.
Niyx lifted her chin, curious. "Really?"
"Yeah," he replied, leaving no room for questions.
'So defensive. Adorable.'
She smiled, hiding it behind a tired sigh.
"I just want to get out of here soon… this place gives me chills."
"Don't worry," he said, a faint protective tone in his voice. "We'll find the exit."
Inside, Niyx had to fight the urge to laugh.
'How sweet.'
But outwardly, she only looked at him with feigned gratitude, eyes glimmering with perfectly acted tears.
"Thank you, Victor. Really," she said, squeezing his arm gently.
Victor kept his gaze forward, face expressionless.
'She's way too strange… but if I show suspicion, she might get angry.'
Victor didn't know what Niyx was — his ability only told him she was human. Trusting that, he simply assumed she was just… weird. But deep down, he felt he was walking beside something that could kill him — and that was one reason he was trying so hard to stay calm.
And so they continued: a metamorph trying to seem human, and a predator pretending to be fragile — walking side by side, each believing they were deceiving the other.
Nothing good was happening.
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