The silence that followed the Warden's death pressed heavy on the chamber. The chains that once rattled and snapped in endless fury now lay broken and limp across the floor. The body of the Warden—Kael's jailor, tormentor, nemesis—was a mangled heap, blood pooling beneath him.
And yet, Kael was not satisfied.
His chest heaved, claws flexing open and closed as he paced across the cracked stone. The golden feral glow in his eyes had not dimmed. If anything, it burned brighter. The victory should have been his. He had beaten the Warden into submission, shattered his chains, ground his pride into dust. But when the moment of triumph came, the kill had been stolen.
"Mine," Kael growled, his voice a guttural rasp between beast and man. He slammed a claw against the wall, stone splintering beneath the blow. "He was mine!"
Lyra flinched, gripping her staff tightly. "Kael, please… it's over. You defeated him. That's enough!"
But Kael's snarl cut her words in half. "Enough? No. Not enough. The hunger…" He clawed at his own chest as though to tear out the emptiness gnawing at him. "It won't stop. It won't ever stop."
Moro slithered forward, his monstrous form half-shadow, half-beast. "Then feed, master. Feed until the hunger bends." His eyes gleamed with predatory wisdom. "The dungeon never starves. It gives only to those who take."
Kael's breath came ragged, the voice of his companion sinking into his bones. Hunger was not something to be reasoned with. It was a beast of its own, coiled inside him, demanding.
And then, from the shadows, came that voice again. Smooth. Cold. Certain.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Kael spun, claws raised, his fangs bared. There she was again—Selene. She leaned against a broken pillar with infuriating calm, her silver hair catching the dim torchlight, her chains coiling lazily at her feet as though alive.
"The gnawing emptiness," she murmured, her eyes locked on his. "The dungeon clawing at your soul, demanding more. You could've finished him… but the hunger wouldn't allow it. Not yet."
Kael's teeth clenched, a low growl vibrating in his throat. "You think you know me?"
Selene's lips curved into a faint, mocking smile. "I know exactly what you are. The dungeon's child. Born of its chains, but not bound by them. That makes you dangerous… and fascinating."
Lyra stepped forward, her staff raised protectively. "Stay back. You've caused enough."
Selene's eyes flickered to the priestess, then back to Kael, as if Lyra's presence was beneath her notice. "I didn't steal your kill, beast. I ended what you already began. You broke him, Kael. I merely gave him the end he deserved."
"Liar." Kael's claws dug into the stone floor. His body screamed to rip her apart, to silence her smug composure. But beneath that rage, something else coiled in his gut—a recognition. Power. She hadn't hesitated to kill the Warden. She hadn't flinched at his feral state. She had looked into the abyss… and smiled back.
Selene tilted her head, silver hair cascading like liquid light. "You want to hate me, but the truth burns worse, doesn't it? You know I'm right. The hunger inside you won't fade. It will grow. The more you feed it, the more it feeds you. That's why you're still alive."
Kael roared, the sound shaking the chamber. "Enough!"
But Selene only chuckled softly, as if the outburst pleased her.
Then the air shifted. The dungeon stirred.
From the corners of the chamber, shadows thickened. Dozens of eyes gleamed in the dark. Twisted forms emerged from the cracks and tunnels—flesh warped with chitin, jaws bristling with too many teeth, bodies that pulsed as though they were alive and dying all at once. The dungeon's scavengers, drawn by the Warden's fall, now slithered forth to claim the corpse.
Lyra's face paled. "Monsters… so many…"
Moro growled low, his form bristling. "Good. Let the master feed."
Selene spread her hands, her silver chains rattling faintly. "Here is your chance, Kael. Prove to me you are more than a prisoner. Show me your hunger."
The creatures lunged, a wave of claws, mandibles, and shrieking voices.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He leapt forward with a feral roar, claws slashing through the first beast, tearing it open in a spray of ichor. Another pounced from the side; Kael grabbed its skull and crushed it against the stone, blood spattering across his chest.
More came, swarming him, biting into his arms and legs. He snarled and spun, ripping them free, his golden eyes blazing as the dungeon's pulse thundered in his veins. The hunger roared inside him, driving his claws deeper, his fangs sharper. Every kill filled him—and yet left him emptier still, demanding more.
Lyra tried to strike with her magic, but Moro stopped her, his voice dark. "Do not interfere. This is his trial."
Selene watched with quiet intensity, her eyes never leaving Kael as he tore through monster after monster, his body drenched in blood, his movements more beast than man. Each strike was brutal, merciless, efficient. He wasn't just killing. He was devouring—spiritually, if not physically. The hunger was his weapon.
When the last beast fell, its body crumpling into the pool of gore, Kael stood over the carnage, chest heaving, his claws dripping red. His eyes glowed like twin suns in the dark, his breath coming in ragged, animalistic growls.
Selene stepped closer, slow and deliberate, her chains hissing against the floor. "Beautiful," she whispered. "The dungeon feeds you, and you feed it. But soon, Kael… soon it won't be enough."
Kael's head snapped toward her, his fangs bared. "If you get in my way again—"
Selene's smile widened. "Then you'll kill me?" She leaned forward, her eyes shining with amusement. "Try."
The tension crackled, thick as steel chains. Lyra clutched her staff tighter, her face pale with fear. Moro coiled at Kael's side, silent but watchful.
And Kael… Kael trembled, not with weakness, but with the raging hunger that refused to be satisfied. He looked at Selene, at the corpses at his feet, at the dungeon itself—and realized this was only the beginning.
The hunger was no curse. It was his destiny