The tomb air hadn't changed.
It was still damp. Still heavy with dust and old rot. But now it wasn't silent.
Kael's boots crunched against grit with every step, his posture stiff, one hand near the hilt of a rusted short sword he'd scavenged off one of the skeletal corpses. His movements were awkward. Like he was figuring out how to walk all over again.
Aiden trailed a step behind, squinting at the runes underfoot as they followed the path deeper into the passage. He held one hand in front of him, palm up, hoping for another system window. Nothing came. Not yet.
"Hey," Aiden said finally, "how're you feeling? You know. Being… technically dead and all."
Kael glanced over his shoulder, one brow raised. "Surprisingly not the worst I've felt."
"That's—grimly comforting," Aiden muttered.
Kael looked back ahead. "The body still aches. But the pain feels… distant. Muted. And I can see better. Hear more. I feel stronger than I should be, considering I was half-digested ten minutes ago."
"You were just bleeding out, not—digested—okay, actually, I'm not gonna argue."
They reached a split in the hallway. Two doors. One wide, iron, half-caved in by a fallen column. The other narrow, wooden, and mostly intact.
Kael tilted his head toward it. "Left passage leads toward the surface."
Aiden blinked. "You sure?"
"I've been through ruins like these before. Smell the air." Kael paused, nostrils flaring. "There's wind. Damp moss. And faint rot."
Aiden sniffed.
"…Yup. Dungeon funk."
They started down the narrow hallway, the sound of Kael's steps echoing ahead.
Aiden jogged to keep up. "So, uh—about that. What exactly is this place?"
"Judging by the architecture? Pre-unification era. Empire-style stone. Probably a repurposed military crypt."
"Okay… translate for the non-corpse-nerds?"
Kael exhaled. "You're in the lower borderlands of Tis'ren Vale. This used to be outpost land, back before the Crown Wars. Nowadays, the whole region's dungeon territory. A mix of buried sites, wild monster zones, and ruined towns. You can't sneeze without waking up a curse."
Aiden blinked. "So this world is just… casually full of dungeons?"
Kael shrugged. "More than most people are comfortable admitting. Though they're not always like this. Some are active. Some are sealed. Some—like this—are waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
Kael didn't answer.
Aiden shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Guessing the answer's somewhere between 'for prey' and 'for a dramatic plot hook.'"
Kael chuckled—dry and quiet. "You talk like someone who thinks this is a story."
"Habit."
They walked in silence for a moment longer before Kael added, "There's a city not far from here. Veyrin's Gate. Walled trade post. If we can get there, you'll be safer."
"Good," Aiden muttered. "I'd really like a break from bones."
That's when they heard it.
Low. Wet. A snuffling growl—half breath, half rumble—echoing through the passage ahead.
Kael stopped walking.
Aiden froze behind him.
Another growl. Closer now.
From the shadows, a pair of eyes reflected blue against the rune light.
Then the rest of it stepped forward.
It was a wolf. Huge. Scarred. Its fur mottled black and gray, thick with dried blood. One of its ears was torn. Its fangs gleamed. A rune was carved into its left shoulder—scarred into the flesh. Its paws moved silently across the floor, but its head was low, and its nostrils flared.
It was tracking something.
Kael stepped between it and Aiden, sword raised.
Aiden swallowed. "That thing looks angry."
"It's an alpha," Kael said tightly. "Dungeon-born. Smells blood. Probably mine. It'll try to rip you apart first, then eat the body."
"Great. Perfect."
The wolf growled again. The sound rumbled in Aiden's chest.
Then, as if on cue, a blue window flared into view:
[Warning – Hostile Detected]
Species: Dreadfang Alpha
Threat Level: Moderate (Level 5)
• Scent Tracker
• Rend Howl
• Blood Lure (Passive)
Caution: Wounded companion may attract further threats.
"Moderate threat?" Aiden whispered. "That thing looks like it eats bears for breakfast."
Kael moved first.
With surprising speed, he lunged, blade flashing toward the wolf's front paw.
The beast dodged, barely, then snapped forward—jaws slamming shut an inch from Kael's arm. Kael twisted away, bringing the blade down in a wide arc across the creature's back.
It connected—blood splattered across the stone—but the wolf didn't stagger.
It snarled, turned, and leapt.
Kael raised his arm too late. The beast crashed into him with full weight, sending both of them tumbling across the floor.
Aiden shouted, stumbling backward.
Kael rolled, managing to kick the wolf away—but his movements were slower now. Sloppy.
A new screen flashed in Aiden's vision:
[Notice: Soulbound Unit Skill Conflict Detected]
Bound Unit attempting to use human-class combat techniques in undead form.
Efficiency: 42%
Suggestion: Upgrade Soulbound to Undead-Compatible Class.
New Feature Available:
► Evolve Bound Skill Tree to Undead Variant?
Mana Cost: 1
Aiden's pulse spiked. "Wait—Kael's too slow because he's trying to fight like he's alive?"
The wolf lunged again.
Kael blocked, barely—blade catching teeth—but the impact sent him crashing into the wall.
"Hell no," Aiden hissed. "System—Evolve Kael!"
[Confirm Evolution of Soulbound: Kael]
Base Class: Human Fighter
New Class: Undead Fighter
Adjusting Skills…
• [Riposte] → [Bone Reflex]
• [Iron Guard] → [Grave Ward]
Processing…
Mana Consumed: 1
Kael's body stiffened.
His eyes glowed faintly.
The blade in his hand shimmered, the rust shedding like dried skin, replaced with something sharper, cold steel edged in shadow. His armor mended slightly, the leather shifting in color to deep gray, reinforced by bone-like plating across the shoulders.
He turned his head slowly.
The wolf lunged again.
Kael met it mid-air.
He twisted mid-leap, the newly-sharpened blade in his hand a blur of silver and ash. It caught the wolf across the jaw with a sharp metallic crack, sending the beast spiraling past him and slamming into a pillar.
Before it could recover, Kael was already moving.
Not just faster.
Sharper.
There was a weight to him now—a density in every step, like the earth helped carry him forward. His blade wasn't just a weapon anymore—it was an extension of him, flowing with strange, unnatural precision.
The wolf snarled, bloodied but still standing. It lunged again, this time low, fangs flashing toward Kael's calf.
Kael pivoted, using a movement Aiden hadn't seen before—his feet sliding across the stone as if skating on shadow. The sword arced down, slicing through muscle and fur in a clean, brutal cut.
The wolf howled.
Kael didn't stop.
He raised one hand—and the shadows around his feet snapped upward like tethered vines, wrapping around the wolf's legs and yanking them out from under it. The beast crashed to the floor, dazed, exposed.
Kael's eyes glowed brighter. His blade surged forward.
One strike.
Straight through the neck.
The wolf's body jerked once—then went still.
Silence.
Aiden stood rooted to the floor, heart slamming against his ribs.
Kael exhaled slowly and straightened, lowering the blade.
The glow in his eyes faded, but not completely. Something had changed.
Something permanent.
A moment passed before Aiden realized his knees were shaking. His body buzzed—cold, sweaty, drained.
His system pinged.
[Enemy Defeated – Dreadfang Alpha]
+150 XP
Potential Soul Detected.
• Status: Fresh
• Threat Classification: Enhanced Beast
Bind? [Y/N]
Mana Required: 11
(Insufficient Mana)
Aiden blinked hard. "Nope. That's a big ol' not right now."
He wiped a sleeve across his forehead and stumbled forward.
Kael stood over the wolf's body, breathing—well, not quite breathing—but standing as if something inside him still remembered how.
"That," Aiden said, voice thin, "was absolutely terrifying. And awesome. Mostly terrifying."
Kael glanced over his shoulder. "Something changed."
"Yeah, no kidding. You went from half-broken knight to… undead anime boss fight."
Kael rotated his shoulder experimentally. "My body feels stronger. More… responsive. The hesitation's gone. My reflexes are sharper. Like the blade reacts before I do."
He looked down at the sword. It had changed, too—longer now, with veins of dark crystal threading through the steel. Light didn't reflect off it. It just vanished.
Aiden stepped closer, still panting. "System said your human skills didn't work well with your… condition. So I used a feature to evolve you into a class that would."
Kael arched an eyebrow. "You evolved me?"
Aiden shrugged weakly. "It was either that or let Mr. Fangs over there use your face like a chew toy."
Kael looked down at the wolf's corpse, then at his own body. "You said this was a system?"
"Yeah. Like… a full-on RPG UI with stats and quests and skill evolution and everything. I can see your status. I get XP. You're technically my… uh… familiar?"
Kael's mouth twitched into a grim smile. "Undead servant. Bound by soul. I've heard worse job titles."
"Yeah, well, don't get any ideas. I'm not that kind of necromancer."
Another system message flickered into Aiden's vision, smaller this time.
[Soulbound Fatigue Warning]
Mana: 1/14
Sustained combat may degrade link stability.
Recommend rest or meditation to recover.
Soulbound Unit: Stable
(Duration of control: 3 hours at current mana levels)
Aiden winced. "Ugh. Figures."
"What now?" Kael asked.
"System says my mana's bottomed out. I can't bind anything else. And if I keep pushing too hard, I guess our… soul link thing could snap."
Kael nodded. "Then we rest."
He sheathed his blade, shoulders still squared, but the tension in his body finally loosened.
Aiden slumped down against the wall, his legs giving out the moment he let himself stop. He could feel the grime on his palms, the sweat dried into his hoodie, and the hollow throb behind his eyes where the adrenaline used to be.
"Okay," he muttered, "so… lesson one of dungeon life: summoning the undead and evolving them into super-soldiers really sucks the magic out of you."
Kael chuckled faintly, stepping over and crouching down beside him.
"You're new to this," he said. "That spell you used—it's not just power. It's connection. You tied your soul to mine. That's not light work, even with a system guiding you."
"Great," Aiden said, rubbing his temples. "So I'm soul-bonding people and getting magical hangovers."
Kael tilted his head. "You're lucky it didn't kill you outright. Mana starvation can break a mage."
Aiden's face paled slightly. "…That's a thing?"
"It is," Kael said, then gestured to the floor. "But you're not dead. Which means you've got enough left to learn something important."
"Right now?" Aiden blinked. "You want to train me right now?"
Kael smirked. "I'm undead. I don't need sleep."
Aiden groaned. "That's not fair."
"You'll get used to it."
Kael shifted to sit across from him, resting his forearms on his knees. The glow from the runes beneath them pulsed faintly, slow and steady, like a heartbeat far beneath the stone.
"Close your eyes," Kael said.
Aiden squinted at him. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. Mana is like breath. It flows through you. You just need to stop leaking it."
Aiden sighed, leaned his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes.
He didn't expect much.
But as the silence settled in—Kael's voice steady, the air cool and still, the tomb quiet but not threatening—he felt it:
A faint tingle in his fingertips.
Like the system was watching. Waiting.
Like something under the surface had started to listen.
[New Concept Unlocked – Meditation]
Resting while mentally focused restores mana over time.
Caution: Vulnerable while meditating.
Mana Recovery: +1 every 10 minutes (base rate)
Aiden exhaled slowly.
His first point came back, warm and light, like a drop of sun in his chest.
He cracked one eye open. "Huh. It worked."
Kael nodded once, satisfied. "Told you. Don't burn your core every time you panic, and you might live to see daylight."
Aiden managed a faint grin. "Alright, sensei. You win this one."
They sat in silence a moment longer.
Two figures in the dark—one dead, one barely hanging on—bound by magic neither of them fully understood.
Somewhere behind them, the wolf's corpse twitched. Then stilled.
And somewhere far above, faint and distant, wind howled through cracks in ancient stone.