Before Lune could think of any way to stop the fall, though there wasn't really any way to do so, the creature plummeting beside him crashed against the roof of the temple.
The impact was catastrophic.
The monster's body tore through the ancient stone with a sound like thunder splitting the earth, crushing through layers of weathered tile and timber, disappearing into the structure below.
Lune followed only a moment later.
The world became a blur of spinning darkness and fragmentary pain before he finally met the solid surface below.
Everything went black.
His world remained dark for longer than he'd imagined possible, consciousness slipping away into some deep, quiet place where even pain couldn't follow.
It was only when the voice of the system rang in his head that he managed to snap out of that daze.
[You have slain a Black Stage Awakened Monster, Hollow Stalker.]
The moment Lune's vision returned, he forced his head to turn to the side. The effort sent fresh agony lancing through his neck, but he needed to see.
The monster lay splashed across the stone floor only a few meters away, its body twisted at impossible angles, dark blue blood pooling beneath its shattered form.
The fall had killed it. The same fall that should have killed him.
Lune opened his mouth, perhaps to laugh at the absurdity of it all, or perhaps to scream, but the only thing that left his mouth was blood... too much blood.
'Shit…'
His gaze drifted around the chamber, trying to make sense of where he'd landed. Torches still burned in iron sconces along the walls, their flames casting dancing shadows across ancient stone. The chamber was circular, perhaps twenty meters across, with walls covered in faded murals depicting figures bowing before an empty throne.
On the far edge of the room, elevated on a small podium, sat a large throne-like chair carved from black stone that seemed to drink in the torchlight rather than reflect it.
And as fate would have it, he appeared to have landed on some kind of stone altar or table positioned in the center of the chamber.
He tried to turn around further to study the chamber, but his body refused to listen.
His breathing came in shallow, painful gasps. Every inhale and exhale was a struggle. He didn't need a medical assessment to know several things inside of him were broken.
He could feel his consciousness slipping away again. Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision, obscuring more and more of his view with each moment.
But before that darkness could consume him, a sudden voice echoed through the chamber... or perhaps through his mind. He couldn't really tell, though he didn't really care either.
[You're a servant of the Hollow God. You have been asked to bring a sacrifice, but you have sacrificed yourself instead. Your loyalty knows no bounds. The void stirs from your resolve. Its legacy shall be bestowed upon you.]
Lune's eyes widened slightly, but even that slight movement was a struggle.
He would never do something so meaningless as sacrificing himself. All he ever did was try to survive. But apparently, in his fatal fall, he landed on the altar and triggered something in return.
[Please accept your bestowal.]
[Your Title has changed.]
[You are now the Void's Heir.]
A moment of silence passed, heavy and expectant. The torches around the chamber flickered, their flames bending toward him as though drawn by some invisible force.
Then the voice continued, this time ringing clearly inside his head rather than echoing through the chamber.
[You have completed your Quest.]
[Your First Expedition is now over.]
[The rewards for your achievements await...]
Lune's earlier confusion vanished, replaced by a sudden grin of realisation. He was going live.
He began to laugh.
It was a broken, rasping sound that sprayed blood from his mouth with each cackle. Each breath hitched as only half of his chest rose while the other half caved inward. Every convulsion drove the shattered ribs deeper into his lungs, and yet he continued to laugh, louder and louder, against his body's refusal, against the eerie silence around him, and against the excruciating pain screaming for him to stop.
And somewhere within that mad laughter, the voice of the system spoke once more.
[Prepare to receive your Rewards...]