The air shimmered as they stepped through the dungeon's archway, light flaring so bright Zane had to shield his eyes. The damp, suffocating weight of the dungeon fell away, replaced by crisp wind, the faint scent of pine, and the distant chirp of birds.
For a moment, none of them moved. Adrian blinked rapidly, disbelieving. Lyra pressed a hand to her chest, as if to make sure she was really breathing free air. Zane stood rigid, every muscle coiled, waiting for the ground to shift again, for the mist to roll back and drag them under.
But it didn't.
They were standing in the same forest clearing they had entered from sunlight spilling through the canopy, green moss soft underfoot, the faint shimmer of the dungeon's gateway fading behind them.
Adrian's voice was hoarse. "We're… out?"
Lyra exhaled shakily. "It's over…" Her hand tightened on Zane's sleeve, grounding herself.
Relief threatened to overwhelm them, but it lasted only a heartbeat before a familiar voice cut through the clearing.
"Back already?"
The three of them turned in unison.
Kane stepped out from behind a tree, arms folded across his chest, the faintest smirk tugging at his mouth, but it didn't reach his eyes. His gaze swept over them, sharp and measuring, lingering far too long.
Then he frowned.
"Three minutes," Kane said slowly. "You were gone for three minutes."
The words dropped like stones.
Adrian's jaw went slack. "Three minutes? That's impossible! We've been—" He cut himself off, struggling to even form the thought. "Days. It's been days in there."
Lyra's brows furrowed, her voice cracking. "Three days. At least three. I… I remember every second."
Kane didn't so much as blink. "Doesn't change the fact. From the moment you entered to right now, not even three minutes have passed." His tone was iron, absolute.
Adrian staggered back a step. His whole body screamed against the claim, but Kane's eyes, steady, unyielding, told him there was no lie.
And then Kane's gaze shifted. Landed on Zane.
His smirk vanished entirely.
Kane took a slow, deliberate step closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied him. The half-white, half-black hair. The mismatched gaze, one eye glowing purple, the other blue. Features that hadn't existed when he walked in.
"…Explain yourself," Kane said at last, his voice low and dangerous. "What in the holy hells happened to you?"
Zane didn't answer. His throat tightened. Every word that rose to his tongue caught and died before it could leave. He wasn't ready to tell Kane about the bloodline. About the crown. About the power that had burned him hollow.
The silence stretched long enough to feel suffocating.
Kane's expression darkened. His stance shifted, weight rolling onto the balls of his feet, the smallest of tells, but one that screamed danger to anyone paying attention.
Adrian glanced at Lyra, then at Zane, then back at Kane. His chest tightened. He could see this spiraling into something none of them were ready for. Kane wanted answers, and Zane wasn't going to give them.
Finally, Adrian stepped forward. He forced his voice steady, though his hands curled into fists at his sides.
"I'll explain."
Kane's gaze flicked to him, sharp as a blade.
Adrian swallowed hard. The weight of Zane's and Lyra's eyes pressed against him, an unspoken agreement passing between them. They couldn't keep silent forever, but neither could they tell Kane everything.
And so, Adrian began to speak.
Adrian cleared his throat, stepping forward.
"It wasn't just monsters," he began, forcing the words out. "The dungeon… It's broken. Twisted. It shifts like it's alive. We barely made it through."
Kane's expression didn't flicker. "That doesn't explain this." His eyes cut back to Zane like knives. "Hair and eyes don't just change in three minutes."
Adrian lifted his chin, refusing to let the silence crush him. "Zane was cursed."
That finally got a reaction; Kane's brows rose, though his jaw stayed tight. "Cursed."
"Yeah," Adrian pressed on, nodding quickly. "It happened during one of the shifts. The mist itself… I don't know how to describe it. It clawed at him, changed him. We thought we'd lose him."
His throat tightened at the memory of Lyra screaming, blood painting the floor. "He was—" Adrian broke off, shaking his head. "Worse than I've ever seen anyone."
Lyra finally spoke, her voice soft but steady. "We used every healing potion you gave us. Every single one. And the curse broke, just like that." She looked Kane dead in the eye. "That's why he's standing here."
Kane's gaze flicked between them, unreadable. "And the hair? The eyes?"
Adrian swallowed. "Residual. The curse left a mark, even after it was broken. But it's gone. He's not rotting, he's not losing his mind, he's just… different now."
Kane could tell that single sentence carried a meaning far deeper than what it revealed on the surface.
Kane stared at Zane for a long, suffocating moment. Zane didn't flinch, didn't look away, though his fingers dug into his palms behind his back.
Finally, Kane shifted, his arms crossing once more. "Fine. Suppose I believe that." His tone made it clear he didn't, not at all. "You still haven't explained the rest. You were gone for three minutes. Yet you claim—"
"Three days," Adrian interrupted. "We lived through three days."
Lyra nodded firmly. "We fought. We bled. We starved. Those Memories weren't fake."
"It was real," Zane added quietly, his voice rough. "Every second."
Kane tilted his head. "Three days for you. Three minutes for us."
"Time dilation," Adrian said, the words spilling faster now that the dam had cracked. "The dungeon bent time. Slowed it. Or sped it. I don't know which. But we weren't imagining it. We fought D-Ranks, Kane. More than one. I almost saw them die, Kane. We barely—"
His voice cracked, and he cut himself off, jaw tightening.
Lyra's hand brushed Zane's sleeve again, clenching it as she spoke. "It's the only explanation. The dungeon runs on different laws than the world outside. That's why we came back… like this." Her eyes flicked to Zane again, full of unspoken meaning.
Kane's frown deepened. He didn't move, didn't speak, just watched them all in turn.
Adrian forced himself not to look away. "That's the truth. We don't know why. We don't know how. All we know is we survived."
Silence pressed between them. It wasn't awkward; it was thoughtful. The forest seemed to lean in, waiting.
Finally, Kane exhaled through his nose, slow and sharp. "Three minutes…" He shook his head, muttering almost to himself. "And you come back bleeding, broken, and cursed. If this is the kind of trial the dungeon spits out, and you survive, that means you're also a lot more dangerous than I thought."
Adrian almost let himself sink in relief, almost before Kane's gaze snapped back to Zane, hard and cold.
"But I'll say this once." Kane's tone cut like steel. "If you're hiding something— which you are, and if that change wasn't just a curse, then sooner or later, it'll come out. And when it does, no excuses will save you."
Zane held his gaze, the knot in his chest tightening until it hurt. For a moment, he thought about saying something, anything, but the words stayed buried.
"…Understood," was all he said.
I'm sorry, Kane, it's just not the right time.
Lyra shifted closer, brushing her shoulder against his, subtle but grounding. Adrian caught the gesture, lips thinning.
Kane finally stepped back, tension rolling off him in slow waves. "We'll speak more later. For now, get yourselves cleaned up. You look like hell."
He turned, striding toward the car without waiting for them to follow.
Adrian let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He looked at Zane, then Lyra, then back at Zane again.
"Well," he muttered, half to himself, "that could've gone worse."
Lyra didn't answer. She just tightened her grip on Zane's sleeve.
Zane stayed silent, the weight of Kane's words, and the lie Adrian had just made, pressing against him like another chain he couldn't break.