Her souls peeled out of her in thin, silver threads, each line pulling toward the Praying Man like he was a drain at the bottom of a bathtub. His murmured prayer hitched and his faint smile stretched just a bit wider. Then white light swelled around him.

  Enochia stepped back instinctively as the man dissolved into the fog. The air pressure shifted, a low hum vibrating her ribs as the mist thickened, then violently burst outward in a little shockwave.

  The new creature was taller and wrapped in heavy, soot-stained robes. Thick mechanical tubing snaked from his back like metallic veins, pulsing faint wisps of smoke. Chains hung from his arms and belt, each one weighed down with rusted holy symbols, crosses clinking faintly as he took his first breath.

  His hood sagged over his head like melted fabric, dripping in stiff folds, but the thing beneath it wasn’t a face.

  Rather, it was a mask shaped like stained glass, fractured with red and blue panels which arranged in church like patterns.

  Also, the most glaring thing was a massive drill-like tool in his right arm.

  Enochia staggered back a step. “You—You’re supposed to be a mining unit?! This thing looks ready for battle, holy badass!”

  She circled him once, keeping a very respectful distance from the drill. “Alright, big guy. Lemme see those stats.”

  ─────────────────────────────

  STATUS:

  Name: Lesser Excavator

  Level: 15

  Grade: 4

  HP: 250 / 250

  STR: 10

  AGI: 0

  VIT: 5

  FAI: 0

  LCK: 0

  DEF: 0

  ─────────────────────────────

  ─────────────────────────────

  Lv. 10 — Burrow Drill

  Cost: 5 HP per second??Cooldown: None

  Effect:

  ? Activates the Excavator’s core drill for rapid ore extraction.

  ? Can break down Grade 5 and 4 material deposits.

  ? Cannot be used on living targets.

  ─────────────────────────────

  Enochia squinted at the last line. “DAMN that last restriction because I was absolutely about to weaponize this man.”

  She placed her hands on her hips, surveying her new summon, shaking her head. “Nevermind, his stats are garbo… But hey—you’re a mining unit!”

  Surprisingly, that got a reaction.

  The Excavator’s fingers tightened into a stiff metal fist, and with a sudden whirring KRRRRRRRRRRRRT, the drill on his arm spun to life. The sound was unmistakable: the exact nightmare shriek of a dentist’s drill amplified through a cathedral organ.

  Enochia recoiled so hard her spine almost left her body. “OH MY GOD, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” she yelped, hands clapped over her ears. “Holy— I felt my childhood trauma activate!”

  The drill sputtered down with a choking rattle, the glowing stained-glass mask flickering like a confused blink.

  Enochia stared. Then she grinned.

  “Okay… okay wait, that was actually adorable,” she said, stepping closer. “You totally reacted! Dude, can you understand me?”

  He just stood there, silent as a stone altar, staring at her with that eerie mosaic face.

  “…Man,” she whined, poking at the air. “Don’t be shy, I know you heard meeee—”

  [Creations of Tier 4 possess slightly heightened perception. However, they remain barely conscious. They may occasionally respond to the user’s emotions or commands, but full comprehension is limited.]

  Enochia stared at Roo’s message, then let her head fall back with a sigh so theatrical she could’ve won an Oscar. “Damn. Okay, never mind,” she conceded. “Tier 3 creations probably understand speech, or, like… have a brain cell. But still. Progress from that monk!”

  She paced in a circle, tapping her chin. She wasn’t about to let some defenseless metal baby go wandering into Hell by itself. The drones were fine, they could go invisible and float out of danger. But this guy? He looked like he’d trip over a rock and shatter that cute little face.

  With a flick of her hand, she murmured: [Dispel]

  The unit’s body simply broke apart into drifting fragments that flowed into her palm.

  “Nice,” she breathed. “I’m gonna use you soon big buddy. But not now.”

  She shook out her hands and slapped her cheeks, then spun back toward the door she had fled from earlier.

  Time to finish what she started. Or, more realistically, time to walk back in and pray she wouldn’t die.

  She pushed the door open. The creepy metal deer-thing statue still stood in the center like some demonic art exhibit. But she ignored it, letting her eyes lock instead on the place where the black dot had flickered.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Up close, her theory began forming.

  “Okay… okay,” she murmured under her breath as she approached. “The sad guy must’ve come down here already, found these blueprints and realized he couldn’t use them. Then went wild and nuked the room. That’s what this looks like.”

  She wasn’t fully convinced though. Roo could have placed the blueprints here intentionally, since it was guaranteed she’d find them sooner or later. But she wanted to believe the man had already handled whatever danger was here.

  “Please,” she whispered to nothing in particular. “Please be a goodie.”

  She stepped forward until her foot crossed the threshold into the dark space, and as soon as she did, darkness swallowed her whole.

  An unimaginable chill tore down Enochia’s spine so violently that her knees buckled for half a second, teeth clacking together before she could stop them. Hell wasn’t cold… Hell was lava, ash, sulfur, heat that baked your lungs. And yet this felt like standing outside in short sleeves in the dead of December.

  Her breath came out shallow and fast as her hands trembled.

  “Okay,” she whispered, forcing the word past her lips. “Okay… don’t panic. Don’t be dramatic.”

  The space felt unfinished. Depth felt unreliable, distances blurred the longer she stared, and the darkness was still total.

  And right in the middle of it all floated a single black orb.

  It wasn’t big, flashy, or even particularly intimidating at first glance. There were no symbols etched into it, no glow and no aura screaming legendary item here. The darkness around it felt thinner somehow, like everything nearby was being quietly pulled toward it.

  Her heart hammered. But beneath the fear, something else stirred.

  Excitement.

  “…Yeah,” she muttered, swallowing hard. “That’s loot. That is absolutely loot.”

  She steeled herself, squaring her shoulders, every instinct screaming at her to turn around while she still could. But Enochia had never been good at listening to that voice. She reached out and grabbed the orb, and the second she did, the orb detonated.

  The moment her fingers closed around it, an overwhelming force slammed into her chest and hurled her backward like she weighed nothing. She flew clean across the room, crashing straight through the metal statue. The impact didn’t stop her though, as she continued flying until she slammed into the far wall.

  [-10 HP]

  “FUCK!” she gasped, coughing as she slid down onto the floor.

  Slowly, the orb drifted through the wreckage, passing through the twisted metal remains of the statue. It stopped directly in front of her face, no more than a foot away, as if… examining her.

  For one stretched, suffocating second, nothing happened at all. The orb simply hovered there, long enough for her to wonder if she’d imagined the tension crawling under her skin. Then it vanished, and before her breath could even hitch, it reappeared inches from her forehead, close enough that she felt the space around it collapse.

  Then, less than a second later, it slammed into her forehead. Her sight flared into nothing but white, sound collapsing into a thin, screaming ring, and for a heartbeat she couldn’t tell whether she was standing, falling, or dead again.

  [WARNING! SYSTEM INTERVENTION REQUIRED]

  [User Enochia Adams. You have been chosen by a Creation far beyond your current capacity.]

  [The detected Creation exceeds the operational limits of this system. Its existence predates multiple world layers. Its recorded level is significantly higher than the current world level.]

  Her fingers dug into the grime beneath her.

  “…Excuse me?” she croaked.

  [The Creation has recognized its original ???.]

  [Recognition confirmed.]

  [Due to incompatibility between User parameters and Creation parameters, emergency suppression protocols have been enacted. The Creation will be forcibly weakened. Its strength, influence, and manifestation will scale to the User’s level at all times.]

  The pressure eased, just a little. Enough for her to breathe again.

  The panels kept coming, one after another, like Roo was struggling to compress something incomprehensibly vast into words she could understand.

  [This Creation is not native to this Ring.]

  [It is not native to this Layer.]

  [It is not native to this Cycle.]

  Her heart thundered.

  [Classification pending.]

  [Potential value: Grade ?.]

  The darkness around her peeled back just enough for her vision to return, leaving her slumped against the wall.

  Roo’s final message appeared.

  [Congratulations, Enochia Adams.]

  [You have bound yourself to something that should not have been in this world.]

  Enochia sat there panting against the wall, lungs dragging air like she’d just sprinted a mile straight uphill. And then the shock broke. Her mouth twitched, her eyes widened and suddenly she was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.

  Then she laughed.

  It tore out of her chest, echoing through the ruined chamber. “FUCK YES,” she shouted, slapping the floor with the flat of her palm. “YES. YES YES YES!”

  The sting of the wall impact, the warning that had flashed across her vision moments ago, all of it dissolved into irrelevance under the sheer rush flooding her veins. Whatever had just happened, whatever Roo had just told her, this was the best thing to happen in her journey in Hell!

  She pushed herself upright. “Okay—okay—holy shit,” she muttered, breathless. Her mind raced, piecing together Roo’s words, replaying them over and over until they started to feel real. A Creation beyond the world’s level. Her grin stretched wider with every thought. This was destiny grabbing her by the collar and placing her on the path to get out of here.

  Then the practical side of her brain kicked in, sharp and curious as ever. “Wait,” she murmured. “Where’s the blueprint?” She scrolled. Nothing. No crafting requirements, no soul costs, no material lists. “Okay… so not a blueprint. Weapon?” She checked again. Still nothing. “Not that either?” Her brow furrowed, confusion threading through the excitement, until something new caught her eye.

  A fourth icon, one that hadn’t been there before.

  Her breath hitched as she focused on it, the symbol resolving into something unmistakable now that she was looking for it. Elegant, branching antlers, stylized into a sigil that made something deep in her chest stir. Her gaze drifted back to the shattered remains of the metal statue she’d plowed through moments earlier. The deer-like form.

  “Oh,” she whispered, awe creeping into her voice. “Ohhh… you weren’t just decoration, were you?” This was something that had been waiting. This was a creation, not a blueprint. And best of all, one that hadn’t cost her a single soul. It had chosen her.

  Her heartbeat steadied with anticipation. She rolled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “Alright,” she said, voice clear and ringing with delight as she opened the Creations tab and focused on the new icon. “No wasting time. Come out here, you beautiful monster!”

  Her grin sharpened, eyes gleaming as she spoke the name that felt right the instant it crossed her mind. “Come on out, Cervain,” she said softly. “Knight of the End Days.”