The sound came first—scratching, skittering, a hundred tiny claws whispering across stone.
Then they burst from the cracks.
Crawlers. Pale, many-legged, and hungry.
"LEFT!" Gerrin shouted, slamming her shield into a wave. "They're fast!"
Ren flicked his blades into soft joints, dancing like a man who didn't fear pain—because he'd already gone numb to it.
I let the fire out.
My fists lit the corridor. Flame poured from my veins. The Crawlers hissed, cooked from the inside.
🔥 Firebrand (E) Active
🔺 XP Gained
Stat Progress: +1 Vitality
And with each kill, I felt the System press tighter around me.
More fire. More power. More blood.
I wasn't sure if I was burning them or burning myself.
But either way, I kept going.
Because the next room stank of something worse.
She was bound in rags. Sewn mouth. Barely breathing. A child, left as bait—or worse.
I rushed forward.
Then I heard it.
❗ Boss Encounter Triggered: Crawler Matron — The Mother of Teeth
She fell from the ceiling like a tumor torn loose.
A spider-centaur of flesh and bone and throbbing egg-sacs.
One claw. One scream.
Gerrin tried to shield-charge.
She died on impact.
Ren blinked. Gone. Just like that.
It was just me and her.
And the child.
I clenched my fists. Flame crawled up my arms. I screamed into the dark.
🔓 Skill Unlocked: Hellpulse
Area Explosion — Self-harm imminent
"I won't let you have her!"
The fire took me.
I wrapped myself around the Matron's body and ignited everything.
When I opened my eyes, there was no more boss.
Just ash. Bone. Heat.
And the child, still breathing.
I picked her up. Walked through the dungeon like a ghost.
The guards stepped back when I passed.
Saela waited at the gate.
"Gerrin?" she asked.
"Dead."
"Ren?"
"Gone."
"And you?"
I looked at the child in my arms.
"I burned."
And I walked into Dregwatch without another word.
The System pinged softly.
🔹 Level Up
🔸 Title Gained: First Blood
But titles didn't matter.
Not when you couldn't tell where your enemies ended…
…and you began.