Darkness swallowed the entrance of the Emberfall Mines.
Kael stood at the threshold, blade in hand, the faint light of his system interface reflecting off jagged stone. Behind him, Arin held her staff tight, its head glowing faintly with runes of flame. The villagers they had rescued were now hidden within a reinforced cellar, protected by barriers Arin summoned from the last of her stored mana.
Kael took a deep breath. "You ready for this?"
Arin's expression was tight. "I've been dreaming of this moment for three nights. Let's finish what they started."
[Dungeon Entered: Nest of the Hollowed – Difficulty: High]
[Party Bonus Active: +5% Resistance / +3% Movement Speed in Dim Light]
The tunnels twisted downward, slick with moisture and scorched with heat. Roots hung like claws from the ceiling, and the deeper they descended, the thicker the air became. A sound—wet, chittering—echoed faintly from the deep.
Kael's system screen flickered with motion alerts.
[Enemy Approaching – Hollow Spawn – LVL 11]
"Left flank," he warned.
From the shadows burst a twisted humanoid—skin peeled away, eyes white with rot, bones protruding like weapons. It shrieked, leaping toward them.
Kael stepped forward, blade flashing in a downward arc.
[Heaven's Arc – Critical Hit: -520 HP]
The Hollow Spawn collapsed before it touched the ground.
"That one was fresh," Arin muttered. "You think they're still turning people?"
Kael grimaced. "Only one way to find out."
They moved deeper, clearing corridor after corridor. More Hollowed came—some crawling on walls, others fused into larger grotesque bodies that spewed acid and flame. Each encounter tested their growing synergy.
Kael fought like a storm—precise, fluid, deadly. His Arcanoblade technique allowed him to switch between slashes of steel and surges of elemental energy. Arin backed him with bursts of flame, setting whole nests alight with glyph-inscribed fireballs that melted bone.
At the midpoint, they found a chamber filled with cages—some empty, others still occupied.
Survivors.
Kael shattered the locks while Arin broke down barriers.
A middle-aged man with sunken cheeks looked up at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "You're… not one of them?"
"No," Kael said, cutting his bonds. "We're here to burn them out."
[Optional Objective Completed: Rescue Survivors – +1200 XP]
[Reward Gained: Healing Tincture x2, Arcane Dust Pouch]
Arin knelt beside a teenage girl, soothing her trembling hands. "How many are still alive down here?"
"Not many," the girl whispered. "The big one… he feeds the pit. Those he doesn't kill, he turns."
Kael felt a chill. "The pit?"
They followed the trail deeper, past symbols carved in blood and bones arranged into foul runes. At the lowest level, the tunnels opened into a vast chamber—a hollow dome of stone and shadow.
In its center lay the Pit.
Dozens of bodies floated in a pool of corrupted mana, bound together in a ritual of undeath. Above it stood the largest Hollowed yet—a beast stitched from corpses, bearing multiple arms and a black crown of bone.
[Boss Detected: Grave Sovereign – LVL 15]
[Warning: Corruption Aura Active – Gradual HP/MP Drain]
Kael's grip tightened. "Boss fight."
Arin's flames ignited around her. "We take it together."
The Grave Sovereign turned, three mouths snarling in unison. It raised a weapon of fused femurs and charged.
Kael met it head-on.
Steel clashed against bone. Each swing of the Sovereign's weapon shattered stone, sending shockwaves through the chamber. Kael dodged, parried, and countered—each movement enhanced by the System's flow algorithms.
[Dodge Bonus: +7% Evasion]
[Skill Triggered: Arcstrike – 170% Damage + Arcane Burn]
Kael's sword flashed with blue fire, carving a path through one of the beast's limbs.
Arin unleashed a glyph-enhanced flame wave, blasting its torso and igniting the necrotic flesh. The beast screeched in pain but swung again, sending Kael flying into a wall.
[HP -170]
[Warning: Bone Shard Debuff – Healing Reduced 20%]
"Kael!" Arin shouted.
"I'm fine—burn it!"
She didn't hesitate.
Arin planted her staff, drawing a flaming circle around her. Glyphs rose, spinning in the air.
[Flamecaller Ultimate: Ember Crucible – Area Burst + Ignite]
The room exploded in searing fire.
The Sovereign howled, trying to extinguish the blaze, but Kael was already back—his sword glowing white-hot.
[Skill Triggered: Heavenfall Cleave – Arcanoblade Special]
[Effect: Guaranteed Crit + Mana Burn]
Kael drove his blade through the Sovereign's core.
With a deafening roar, the beast erupted in light—and then silence.
[Boss Defeated – +3000 XP]
[Level Up – Kael: LVL 10 | Arin: LVL 8]
[Loot Gained: Crown of the Hollowed (Rare), Core Dust x3, 400 Gold]
The pit began to crack and collapse.
Kael grabbed Arin's hand. "Time to run!"
They barely escaped the collapsing chamber, emerging into the moonlit surface once again, covered in soot, blood, and triumph.