The smell of sulfur and charred meat persisted as Kurt stood at the entrance with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
He stared into the tunnel that descended into darkness, where heat rolled out in waves, making the air distort in ways that made it difficult to perceive the stone walls beyond.
"This is supposed to be C-rank?" Kurt muttered.
"It was mid tier at best," Emma said from behind him. "Not anymore. The D.A (Dungeon Authority) bumped the rating up two days ago, but we're already committed."
Rook stood nearby, strapping on reinforced gauntlets. "We go in, we clear it, we get paid. Simple."
"Nothing's ever simple," Kurt replied.
The rest of the team gathered, all D-rank fighters who looked at Kurt like he was either a miracle or a curse. If this was their expressions now, Kurt could only wonder how it would be when they actually saw him come back to life.
Rook gave the signal, and they descended into the Hollows.
With each step they took down the sloped tunnel, the temperature climbed, and the stone walls got progressively darker.
And the deeper they went, the louder the distant roar of fire became.
"Stay tight," Rook called from the front. "Emma, take point. Kurt, you're with me."
Emma moved ahead, her steps silent despite the uneven ground and Kurt slowed down to match Rook's pace, his hand resting on the knife at his belt.
He didn't have much in the way of gear, just the blade, a lighter, and his cigarettes. Armor felt restrictive, and if he was going to die anyway, might as well be comfortable doing it.
The tunnel opened into a massive chamber where lava flowed through channels carved into the floor, casting everything in a hellish red glow. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like teeth, and the air distorted from heat.
"Contact!" Emma shouted as a golem of molten rock and fire burst out from the lava.
Its eyes burned like coals, and when it opened its mouth, flames spilled out. It roared and the sound echoed through the chamber like an avalanche.
"Spread out!" Rook barked and the team scattered as the creature charged.
It moved fast, its fists slamming into the ground and sending cracks spider-webbing across the stone.
One of the fighters got too close, and the creature backhanded him towards a wall so hard, he slammed into it in a sickening crunch.
"Steve!" Paul screamed.
But Emma didn't even glance back, preoccupied with the monster ahead. "Shut the fuck up Paul. Keep moving."
She darted in from the side, her blade flashing. She struck the creature's leg, and sparks flew, but the blade barely scratched it, and she cursed, rolling away as it swung at her.
Kurt stayed back, watching intently. When he tried to approach, the heat wave slammed into him, knocking him back before he could get within two feet.
Still on his ass, he called out to Rook while ruffling his hair. "I think it's about time, Rook."
Emma, however, strode over and yanked him to his feet, one eyebrow raised in challenge.
"'I think it's about time, Rook,' really?" she mocked, then smoothly pulled out a Beretta, aimed it upward, and pulled the trigger without breaking eye contact.
A stalactite shattered above and crashed down, crushing the golem beneath tons of stone as molten rock splattered across the chamber floor, cooling rapidly into slag.
"About time for what, Kurt? To die?" Emma holstered her gun with a sigh, clearly expecting a response. But Kurt said nothing.
He simply straightened his coat as the team regrouped, breathing hard. One down, but they'd survived the first encounter.
Rook surveyed the tunnels ahead to find more passages, more heat, more danger. "Five minute break. Drink water, check your gear. Then we keep moving."
The team scattered to the chamber's edges, collapsing against cooler stone. Someone passed around water skins, and Kurt took a long pull, the liquid doing nothing to cut through the sulfur taste coating his tongue.
Across the chamber, one of the fighters, Paul, who Kurt remembered, was checking a burn on his forearm, wincing as another team member wrapped it. The man who'd been thrown into the wall sat with his head between his knees, breathing hard.
"First time?" Lizzie crouched beside the injured fighter, pulling out her potions. Green essence flickered around her fingers as she worked. "Don't worry, it gets worse!"
The fighter stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
Emma was methodically reloading her weapons, each movement precise and controlled. She didn't look at Kurt, but he could feel the tension radiating from her like heat from the lava flows.
Rook surveyed the tunnels ahead, his expression grim. "Five minutes," he called. "Then we move."
Kurt lit a cigarette, a few more left in the pack, and tried not to think about how deep they were. How hot it was. How far they had to go.
"You know," Lizzie said, appearing at his side so suddenly he flinched, "corpses don't bleed the same." Her fingers pressed against his chest too hard, almost painful. "They go all cold and grey and boring."
Kurt tried to step back, but her grip tightened. "Lizzie—"
"You'll come back, right?" Her eyes were too wide, pupils dilated. "You promised. Everyone promises and then they—" She blinked, and the grin snapped back into place. "But you're different! You're magic! Dying and un-dying."
"Just saying," she continued. "I'd be pretty pissed if you went and got yourself permanently erased before I got my turn."
Kurt raised a brow. "Your turn at what?"
Lizzie leaned in close, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered, "You'll figure it out. Or maybe you won't and I'll have to show you." Lizzie's eyes were unfocused for a brief moment, grinning unnaturally.
Then she was gone, slipping back into the group as quickly as she'd appeared, leaving Kurt standing there with the phantom sensation of her fingers still pressed against his chest and slightly disturbed.
Emma finally glanced over. "Get used to it. She gets weirder under stress."
"Alright," Rook called out. "Time's up. Move out."
They pressed deeper into the Hollows, where the tunnels narrowed and forced them into single file. Meanwhile, the heat continued to climb relentlessly.
Sweat poured down Kurt's face, and his cigarette had gone soggy from the overwhelming humidity.
Suddenly, he felt it. A distant vibration through the stone. At first, it was faint, but gradually it grew stronger.
"Rook," Emma said quietly, breaking the silence. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah," Rook replied, his hand moving instinctively to his weapon. "Something big is coming."
The vibration soon became a tremor, and then a roar echoed from somewhere ahead. It was deep and ear-piercing, filling the air with a sense of impending danger.
When the tunnel opened into another chamber, Kurt felt a chill run down his spine.
Three golems emerged from different passages, and unlike the first one, these were twice the size, their bodies marked by molten cracks that spread like veins of lava.
The heat radiating from them was suffocating, turning the air itself into a wavering mirage.
"Shit. Those are different." Emma's eyes narrowed as she assessed the threat.
"Different how?" Kurt asked.
"Different as in the first one was a warm-up." She drew her gun.
One of the golems locked onto Kurt and began moving toward him slowly. He traced its line of sight to his lit cigarette and realized that it wasn't him exactly it was drawn to. Heat sensing perhaps.
"Shit," he muttered.
Kurt tried to approach, but the heat wave was even worse than before. He couldn't get within five feet without feeling like his skin was about to peel off.
Emma stormed over this time and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hauling him close. Her grey eyes were angry. "You think dying makes you some hotshit? It makes you a fucking liability."
"I'll come back," Kurt said, meeting her glare. "Stronger each time."
"And what if you don't?" Her grip tightened. "What if one of these deaths is the last one and we're standing around with our dicks in our hands waiting for you to resurrect?"
Kurt pulled her hand off his shirt. "Then you adapt. That's what you do, right? Everyone dies, nothing matters, move on."
Emma's jaw clenched. He'd just thrown her own words back at her.
The golem roared, closer now and the ground shook.
"Fuck you," Emma said quietly. She stepped back, holstering her gun. "Just stop arguing."
"I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right," Kurt shot back.
"Even with the fucking amnesia..." Emma rubbed her face with her palm. "Go fucking die then," she said and turned away.
The three golems were converging now, moving with terrifying purpose. The team was backing up, but there was nowhere to go, the chamber was a dead end.
Rook sighed at their bickering and stepped forward, his face completely neutral like he didn't care for their drama. "One last check, the resurrection, will it work?"
Kurt pulled up his system screen, confirming his deaths and available points. "Yeah. It will," he said with confidence.
Rook nodded slowly. "Good."
The largest golem, easily fifteen feet tall, emerged fully from the tunnel at a different pace than the first and molten rock dripped from its body, hissing as it hit the ground.
"Bloody hell," Kurt muttered, catching Rook's intense stare at him now.
"Alright. You've confirmed it works," Rook said very vaguely and Kurt's eyes narrowed in response. "Yeah?"
Rook held out his hands. "Kurt. Give me your hands."
Kurt hesitated, a bad feeling creeping in. "Why do I—"
"Hands. Now." Rook's tone left no room for argument.
The golem roared and charged.
With reluctance, Kurt placed his hands in Rook's as the grip tightened, and Kurt's eyes widened. "Oh no—"
Rook hauled back and launched Kurt across the chamber like a human cannonball, his scream echoing across the cavern as he sailed through the air, arms and legs flailing. "I FUCKING HATE THIIII—"
The massive golem turned mid-charge, tracking Kurt's trajectory. It opened its mouth wide, and Kurt saw nothing but molten fire and heat that could melt stone.
The creature caught him and Kurt's scream cut off instantly as the heat enveloped him. His clothes ignited first, a flash of fire that consumed fabric in milliseconds. Then his skin began to blister and char, peeling away in sheets as the golem's molten hands closed around his torso.
He tried to scream again, but his lungs filled with superheated air that seared them from the inside. The pain was indescribable, every nerve ending firing at once, his body cooking from the outside in.
"KURT!" Lizzie's shriek was barely human.
Emma's hand went to her weapon, body moving before her brain could catch up, but Rook grabbed her arm. "Don't. He's already—"
The golem squeezed, and Kurt's ribs cracked audibly across the chamber like kindling.
Paul vomited. Another fighter turned away.
Emma watched, jaw clenched so tight her teeth hurt, as Kurt Manchester died for the third time.
The golem roared again, and Kurt's charred remains crumbled to ash.
[DEATH REGISTERED]
Deaths: 3
Resurrection Timer: 30:00
***
A/N: I hope you're enjoying this so far. Add to Library and send a power stone or two if you're.
And a review or two would mean something to me! Thank you and peace!