X ran with all her might, never once looking back as she used the shifter to navigate the dungeon’s winding tunnels.
Minutes blurred into what felt like hours, yet the exit never came into view.
I wonder if he’s still— No. Think positively. He must survive.
She skidded to a halt at an intersection where three tunnels branched apart. Drawing the black box from her robe, she raised it toward the first path. The glow remained yellow. The second tunnel—red, instantly. The third—red again.
Without hesitation, X sprinted down the first.
Should I have helped him back there?
The thought died the moment she remembered his eyes—blackened, almost demonic.
He should be fine… I guess.
Her feet carried her forward relentlessly. Neither man nor dungeon dweller revealed themselves along the way.
Several more minutes passed before she reached a swirling, colorless portal.
X stopped short, a breathless smile spreading across her face. The exit. Finally.
She closed the shifter and returned the box to her inner robe, then glanced back down the tunnel she’d taken. The dungeon lay silent—eerily so.
I don’t know if it’d be better to wait here or outside.
She exhaled slowly, turning toward the portal once more. There’s no telling when something unexpected could happen. Outside was safer, she believed.
Without another thought, she charged forward.
The world twisted violently. Darkness and damp stone gave way to open sky and moonlight as she stumbled into an expansive forest. Wind swept through tall grass, carrying the scent of sunflowers—yet it couldn’t fully mask the stench of rot and animal waste.
X barely noticed.
Her attention snapped to the scattered group gathered several paces from the exit portal.
Some wore heavy armor. Others favored revealing outfits, windbreakers, or stylish trench coats. Their conversation died the instant she appeared.
X narrowed her gaze as every pair of eyes locked onto her.
Not good. There’s no telling who—or what—they’re affiliated with.
A man with pitch-black hair and a sharp, angular face openly ogled her, licking his lips.
Should I retreat back into the dungeon?
She took a step backward—and froze.
Something cold pressed against the back of her neck.
“Careful now,” an unfamiliar voice murmured behind her. “Let me see those hands.”
X’s pulse spiked. She raised her arms slowly. This is bad. I didn’t sense him at all.
“Who are you?” the voice asked.
“I’m not a threat,” X said quickly. “I entered the dungeon with my party, but something went wrong. The dungeon dwellers lost their minds.”
“You’re lying,” someone cut in.
X recognized him immediately—the leering man from earlier.
“I’m not,” she snapped.
“But you are,” he replied smugly.
Several gazes shifted toward him, curiosity flickering across their faces.
He stepped forward, smiling. “What beast was your party hunting?”
X hesitated, sensing the trap beneath the question.
“Answer her!” a burly man in thick armor barked.
The blade at her neck pressed deeper, biting skin.
“The Fyro Warthogs,” X said sharply.
The man chuckled and turned toward a group in windbreakers. “That was your hunting ground, right?”
They nodded.
Fuck.
“Did you see her—or her party—near the den?” he continued.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Wait!” X interrupted. “Like I said, something unexpected happened. The dungeon dwellers attacked from all sides. I barely escaped in the chaos.”
“So you never reached their lair?”
“Yes.”
The man laughed, shaking his head. “You’re a terrible liar. If you never reached it, how did everyone else get out before you?”
“I—I got lost,” X stammered, then caught the expressions forming around her.
From their expressions, she could tell the lair was close to the exit. Saying otherwise only made her even more suspicious.
“Just tell the truth,” the man said. “Do we look like—”
“Enough!” another voice roared.
A man raised his broadsword. “The longer we waste time, the more those Raventhorn bastards recover. I don’t care who she is—we’re getting the treasure.”
His armored party marched past X without a glance. After a moment’s hesitation, the group in trench coats followed.
Treasure? Raventhorn?
Questions swirled in her mind.
The pressure at her neck vanished.
She turned, watching the broad-shouldered man head for the portal—
And then a rough hand clamped around her wrist.
X whipped her head around.
The leering man smiled at her.
Her mouth opened—but no sound came out. Strength drained from her limbs with each breath.
“Kuura, let her go,” a woman in revealing clothes shouted. “You fucking rapist.”
“Your words wound me,” Kuura replied lightly. “I’d never do something so crude.” He smiled wider. “But do you really want to stay while the others loot the treasure?”
X locked eyes with the woman, desperation burning through her gaze.
The woman hesitated… then looked away.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered—and ran for the portal.
Kuura chuckled softly, his free hand brushing X’s cheek.
“It’s just us now,” he whispered.
X glared at him, teeth clenched, voice trapped in her throat.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, lips grazing her neck. “I won’t hurt you. I’ll make you feel—”
“Get off… pig.” X managed to say, though the words slurred, her tongue refusing to obey her will.
“Feisty,” Kuura chuckled. “I like that.”
He lifted her carefully, carrying her toward a secluded stretch of forest, his grin twisting into something uglier.
“You really are beautiful,” he murmured. “But it’s no fun if you aren’t willing.”
He retrieved a coin threaded onto a thin string and began to sway it slowly before her eyes.
“I’m only doing this because I like you, alright?” he muttered.
X couldn’t respond. Her thoughts grew foggy, vision narrowing until the coin was all she could see—left, right, left, right.
She felt her will being peeled away, layer by layer, powerless to stop it.
“You want this, don’t you?” Kuura asked softly.
“I… I—no—”
The slap came without warning.
“You want this, right?” he repeated, smiling. “Don’t resist.”
“No—”
Another slap snapped her head to the side.
“Don’t fight the hypnosis,” he said calmly. “You want this…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Footsteps echoed from afar.
Kuura raised his head, frowning. “Who’s there?”
Silence answered him.
“Show yourself!” he roared.
The forest remained eerily still.
He glanced down at X. She lay sprawled on the ground, cheeks flushed, breaths shallow and uneven. Her body twitched faintly, caught between consciousness and collapse.
Kuura licked his lips and reached for his belt.
The bushes rustled—unnaturally.
Kuura froze, then drew a dagger. “Who’s there?!”
Seven hulking figures emerged from the foliage.
Blackened hoods concealed their faces. Their scar-riddled torsos were bare, their weapons slick with dried blood. Crimson eyes gleamed beneath the shadows.
“W-who are you?” Kuura staggered backward.
The figures advanced with the inevitability of executioners.
Snarling, Kuura reached into his mouth and ripped free his canine teeth. Longer, jagged fangs burst forth in their place. His eyes shimmered with an unnatural luster.
“Take one more step and—”
The executioners suddenly pivoted—toward X.
“You’re awake?”
The words had barely left his mouth before the figures surged again, their forms swelling grotesquely.
Kuura charged straight through them.
Dozens of blackened needles erupted where he would have dodged—but he passed through the illusions as though through smoke.
A pitch-black barrier snapped into place around X.
Kuura smirked. “You underestimate me if you think I can’t see through illusions.”
His dagger glowed crimson as he drove it into the barrier.
Boom.
He struck again. And again.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface.
Laughing wildly, Kuura kicked—
The barrier shattered.
He froze.
X still lay there, unmoved, breathing softly—exactly where she had been.
His eyes darted across the forest. “Did they escape…?”
A small sac appeared before his face.
It detonated.
Blinding light exploded outward.
Kuura screamed, clutching his eyes—and then came the pain.
He collapsed, body impaled by hundreds, if not thousands of black needles.
“I didn’t expect you to fall for something so simple,” X said coldly, now standing over him.
“H-how…” Kuura gasped, blood filling his mouth. “How did you break the hypnosis?”
“Save your breath.” X spat on him. “Before you die, tell me—where did you get those eyes?”
Kuura laughed weakly, choking. “Kill me. I won’t tell you—”
“You’re going to die,” X said calmly. “Slowly. Painfully. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
She folded her arms. “Where did you get the eyes?”
Kuura laughed harder. “You can’t scare me… even death isn’t the end.” His eyes gleamed ferally. “Congratulations, missy—you just made yourself a target of every member of Mxyrath—”
X laughed. “That explains the fangs and eyes.” She sneered. “A gutter rat.”
His death will do wonders for my reputation.
“You’re a bloody Scavenger?” Kuura hissed in realization. “You vile—”
X drove his own dagger into the back of his neck and twisted.
She spat once more, then retrieved the black box. With practiced efficiency, she extracted his eyes and fangs. The box glowed lilac before swallowing them whole.
X straightened, exhaling slowly.
That could have gone much worse if I didn’t have countermeasures against hypnosis.
She turned toward the dungeon entrance. “Where the hell is that guy?”
Remaining here wasn’t an option—especially with the chance of other Mxyrath members nearby.
She unrolled a scroll. A miniature map projected itself, several locations marked in red.
We’re in Targarth already…
She frowned as she closed it.
If he doesn’t show up within twenty minutes, I’ll meet him at the Gido hideout.
She glanced once more at Kuura’s corpse, kicked it aside, and spat.
“Pig.”
X moved into the shadows, watching the dungeon entrance.
A hand landed on her shoulder.
She screamed, body jerking violently.
“Who knew you had such a cute voice?”
Adam chuckled.
She didn’t respond—only trembled.
He attempted to move around her. “Hey—don’t tell me you passed out standing—”
He froze.
His eyes landed on the damp fabric at the back of her clothes.
Did she—? No way.
His mouth opened. Closed.
“…I’ll just… go ahead,” he muttered. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
He vanished.
X stood frozen, face burning.
He noticed… didn’t he?
Mortified, she bit her lip, then bolted into the bushes.
I need to change.
