The tunnel sloped downward, the air growing heavier with every step.
Luna walked a few paces behind Zane, light spilling from her hands and bouncing off the damp stone walls. At first she'd been proud of it—useful, needed—but now her shoulders sagged, her breathing shallow.
"…Are we there yet?" she asked quietly.
Her light flickered for just a moment.
Zane didn't turn around. "You've been a flashlight for a while," he said. "That's rough."
"That's not an answer," she muttered.
He glanced back this time, eyes half-lidded. "We don't need to walk much longer. In about two minutes…" He paused, tilting his head slightly. "…it'll reach us."
Luna froze.
"…Reach us?"
The ground trembled.
Not violently—just enough to feel. A low, rhythmic vibration passed through the soles of her boots, through her bones.
Her light brightened instinctively.
"Zane," she said, voice tight, "are you sure you can handle it?"
He stopped.
Turned fully to face her.
For once, there was no teasing in his expression.
"Do you trust me?"
Luna hesitated only a second.
She looked at him—at the calm way he stood, at the shadows clinging to his feet like loyal hounds.
"Yes," she said softly.
Zane smiled.
The smile barely had time to exist.
A deafening screech tore through the tunnel, sharp enough to make Luna gasp and clutch her ears. Wind rushed toward them as something massive descended from above.
It landed in front of them with a violent crash.
Stone cracked.
Dust exploded outward.
The creature unfurled itself slowly.
It was an owl—but twisted beyond anything natural.
Its wings were enormous, feathers jagged and blackened as if scorched by corrupted mana. Curved, obsidian-like horns jutted from its skull, framing glowing crimson eyes that burned with unnatural intelligence. Its beak was hooked and serrated, dripping with dark ichor, and its talons carved deep grooves into the stone with every movement.
Mana rolled off it in suffocating waves.
It tilted its head.
And smiled.
Zane's smile vanished.
He stepped forward, placing himself instinctively in front of Luna.
Shadows surged.
They wrapped around his arm, condensing, folding, sharpening—forming the outline of a blade, dark and unreal, humming with restrained power.
"Let's do this quick," Zane said calmly. "I can't keep this up for long."
The sword trembled.
Then—
It melted.
The shadows lost cohesion, sliding back into the floor like spilled ink.
Zane's body went slack.
He collapsed.
"Zane—!"
His eyes snapped open for just a second—glowing red.
A black, rose-like marking bloomed across the side of his face, sharp and alien.
Then he went completely still.
"Zane?" Luna dropped to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulders. "Zane, wake up—please!"
No response.
The owl screeched again and lunged.
Luna screamed and threw her hand forward.
A barrier of light erupted between them and the beast just as its talons slammed down.
CRACK.
The barrier shuddered violently.
The creature attacked again and again, screeching, slamming its weight against the light. Each strike sent fractures spreading like spiderwebs across the glowing surface.
Luna's knees buckled.
Blood dripped from her nose, splashing onto the stone.
"I—can't—" she gasped, pouring everything she had left into the barrier.
Her hands trembled.
Her light dimmed.
She looked back at Zane—unmoving, pale, shadows unnaturally still around him.
"…You're my last hope," she whispered desperately, shaking him again as the barrier cracked even wider.
The owl reared back for another strike.
And the light began to fail.