The dungeon shook under the clash of monster and jailor.
Kael's claws tore through another length of chain, sparks flashing as the Warden staggered back. His once-unbreakable binds were shredded, his armor cracked, his breaths ragged. The predator had become prey, but still the Warden fought on, summoning what remained of his cursed strength.
"You… are nothing but the dungeon's mistake!" the Warden roared, blood spilling down his chin. "You should have died in your cell!"
Kael's eyes glowed feral gold, his muscles quivering with raw power. He lunged, knocking the Warden against the stone wall with a thunderous crash. Claws sank into steel, ripping the chestplate wide open, exposing the man beneath.
"I don't die," Kael snarled. His voice was distorted, primal. "I devour."
The Warden gasped as Kael's claws hovered over his heart. Chains flailed, trying desperately to pull their master away, but Kael tore through them, unstoppable. Victory was his. He could feel the Warden's pulse faltering beneath his palm.
Then—
A whisper of chains. A soft laugh.
Before Kael could strike, a streak of silver cut through the air. A chain not of the Warden's making lashed forward, wrapping around his throat in a blink. The Warden's eyes went wide as the chain ripped him from Kael's grasp, slamming him to the ground.
"What—?!" Kael snarled, snapping his head toward the source.
From the shadows, she stepped forth. Pale skin glowing in the dim torchlight, silver hair cascading down her back, chains coiling lazily around her arms as if alive. Her eyes glimmered like cold moons as she looked down at the broken Warden.
"Pathetic," she said softly, her voice smooth as silk. "Brought low by your own prisoner."
The Warden tried to rise, but her chains tightened. "Wh-who… are you…?"
Selene smiled faintly, her gaze sharp as a blade. "The end."
The chains constricted, snapping through armor and bone with brutal finality. The Warden's scream was cut short as his chest caved in, blood spraying across the stone floor. His lifeless body collapsed, chains falling limp.
Kael froze, claws dripping blood, his feral triumph stolen from him in an instant. His roar of victory turned into a guttural snarl. "He… was mine."
Selene turned to him, unfazed by his fury. Her silver eyes studied him like a hunter admiring her prey. "He was already dead the moment you broke his chains. I simply gave him an end worthy of you."
Kael's breath came heavy, his instincts screaming to tear her apart. Yet something in her calm, unflinching presence made his muscles lock. She had killed the Warden as though it were nothing. She had taken his kill.
Lyra whispered from behind him, "Kael… who is she?"
Selene smiled faintly, her chains retracting into the shadows. "A wanderer. A seeker. Call me Selene." Her gaze locked on Kael. "And you, beast… have just proven you are more than this dungeon allows. That makes you… interesting."
Kael growled low, chest heaving. His feral hunger roared at him to attack, but another voice inside hissed caution. Whoever this woman was—she was no ordinary intruder.
Selene tilted her head, silver hair falling like liquid light. "We'll speak again soon."
And with that, she melted back into the darkness, her chains vanishing like whispers in the night.
Kael stood above the Warden's corpse, claws clenched, fury boiling in his veins. He had broken his shackles, defeated his jailor, but the final kill had been stolen. His roar shook the dungeon, echoing with rage and hunger.
The war inside him had only just begun