The chamber was vast, its ceiling lost in a haze of shifting mist. Roots hung down like stalactites, pulsing faintly with a rhythm disturbingly similar to a heartbeat. The air was thick and humid, every breath tasting of rot and iron. In the center stood the altar—a block of black stone entangled with veins of crimson light, throbbing as if alive.
The adventurers spread out cautiously, their boots crunching on brittle fragments of stone. None spoke. None dared. The silence was too heavy, broken only by the low hum rising from the altar.
Then the egg stirred.
Altheron stiffened as a pulse of warmth spread across his chest. The sensation was sharper than before—less a comfort, more a summons. His hand clenched instinctively over it, as though to steady himself.
"Altheron," Kaelen's voice broke the stillness, wary and edged. "Something's happening to you."
Before he could answer, the altar shuddered. Roots snapped tight across its surface, veins of red light blazing brighter. A chorus of whispers filled the chamber, no longer distant echoes but pressing, layered voices. They tangled into half-words, fragments of meaning carried on the stale air.
The egg's warmth surged. Altheron staggered forward against his will, each step dragging him closer.
"Wait—stop!" Lyra darted to block him, but the ground quaked, forcing her back.
"Don't fight it," Emi urged, though her eyes flickered with fear. "I think… it's calling to him."
Kaelen cursed under her breath, shield raised as though the altar itself might strike. "Calling him to what?"
Altheron didn't answer. His hand brushed the altar's surface—and the world vanished.
---
Visions of the Forgotten
Flame and shadow roared through his mind.
He stood not in the dungeon but in a place ancient and whole. The air was filled with chanting, hundreds of voices raised in reverence. Men and women knelt in rows, their foreheads pressed to the stone floor. Before them loomed a great statue carved of obsidian, towering and faceless, crowned with antlers of gold. Its hands stretched outward as if both offering and demanding.
A god he did not know.
The worshipers sang to it, their words lost but their devotion undeniable. Light blazed from the altar, pure and white, filling the chamber with sanctity. This was no dungeon—it was a temple. A temple of a forgotten god.
Then the vision shifted. The chanting turned to screams. Shadows poured through cracks in the walls, writhing tendrils of corruption lashing across the floor. The worshipers scattered, their prayers breaking into cries of despair. Where light once shone, darkness crawled.
He saw warriors rise to meet it—ancient guardians clad in armor etched with runes. They fought fiercely, but the corruption consumed without mercy. Stone split, roots blackened, light dimmed. One by one, the guardians fell.
At the center of the chaos, a single figure stepped forward. Hooded, faceless, carrying in their hands a small object. An egg.
Altheron's breath caught—it was the same. The same egg that now pressed against his chest with burning heat.
The figure raised it high, speaking words he could not hear. The egg shone like a star, and the corruption recoiled, shrieking. A seal was made. The temple was bound, its evil locked beneath the waters of the lake.
The vision blurred, fading into darkness. But the whispers remained, now sharper, closer, curling in his ears like claws.
You carry the key…
---
Collapse
Altheron gasped, collapsing to his knees. His sword clattered beside him.
"Altheron!" Kaelen dropped to his side instantly, gripping his arm. Lyra hovered behind, daggers already in hand, eyes darting between him and the altar.
"What happened?" Seren asked, her tone urgent but steady.
He looked up, sweat glistening on his brow. "This place… it's not just a dungeon. It was a temple once—an ancient temple, devoted to a god we don't know. The monsters… the corruption… they're not invaders. They're what's left of it being twisted, consumed."
Kaelen's expression hardened. "Then it must be destroyed."
"No," Seren interjected, stepping forward, staff steady. She looked at him, her gaze calm and unwavering. "The egg… it's not a curse. It's something else, something tied to this place. It reacted the moment we entered."
Lyra snorted, though her grip on her daggers was white-knuckled. "Funny. I thought mysterious eggs were supposed to just sit there until breakfast."
"Laugh all you want," Seren shot back, "but if Altheron hadn't carried it, we'd all be dead already. You saw how the monsters vanish when they fall. There's something… protective about it."
Altheron forced himself to his feet, leaning on his sword. His voice was low, grim. "Seren's right. This isn't some dungeon freshly spawned. It feels… old. Too old. Like we're walking inside the corpse of a god's temple, rotting from within."
The chamber trembled as if to confirm his words.
---
The Altar Cracks
A thunderous crack split the air. The altar groaned as roots snapped free, crimson veins bursting with light. The whispers rose into screams.
The adventurers braced themselves as black energy surged outward, a wave of corruption sweeping across the stone. Where it touched, the walls shifted, corridors twisting into new shapes.
"Our way back—it's gone!" Lyra shouted, pointing as the entrance sealed behind writhing roots.
Kaelen raised her shield, teeth gritted. "Then forward is the only way!"
The egg in Altheron's chest pulsed faintly—not violently, but steady, like a heartbeat guiding him. He clutched it, uncertain whether it was urging them deeper… or warning them away.
The altar split further. From its depths, a shadow bled forth—thick, oily, and alive. It swirled into the chamber, coiling like smoke given flesh.
Seren's staff flared with light, her face pale but resolute. "Something's coming through…"
The shadow gathered, stretching, twisting into form. The whispers unified into a single voice, deep and venomous:
"Intruders… breakers of seals… feeders of corruption…"
The shape solidified—a towering figure cloaked in darkness, its limbs too long, its eyes burning yellow like all the monsters before but magnified a hundredfold. The ground quaked beneath its first step.
The dungeon lord had awakened.
---
Resolve in Darkness
For a heartbeat, fear rooted them in place. Then Kaelen stepped forward, shield raised, her voice cutting through the terror.
"Formation! We hold together, or we die apart!"
Lyra forced a smirk, though sweat gleamed on her brow. "Well… guess I got my ballad after all. Hope someone lives long enough to sing it."
Seren moved to Altheron's side, staff steady. She looked at him with quiet certainty. "I trust you. Whatever happens—don't let go of that egg. It's our only chance."
Altheron nodded, gripping his sword tighter. The egg's faint pulse answered, not with warmth, but with determination.
The shadowed figure loomed higher, spreading arms that dripped with corruption. Its roar split the chamber, shaking the stone itself.
Altheron set his stance, heart pounding, eyes locked on the monster. His words came out as a growl, steady and cold.
"So this is what waits at the heart of the temple."
The chamber shook again as the dungeon lord advanced.
The true battle had only just begun.