Incubus Ascension

The fall stretched into an eternity of howling wind and crushing blackness. Liam’s stomach lurched as the three of them plummeted through the void, the mountain’s core swallowing them whole. Cold air whipped across his face, stinging his eyes, while Pyra’s hand gripped his arm like a lifeline. His mind raced, *’We’re going to die. Not like this. Not after everything.’*

"Brace yourselves!" he shouted, voice raw. But even as the words left his mouth, the ground rushed up to meet them.

"Let me handle it!" Pyra cried. In a flash of violet light, she yanked a massive pillow the size of a mattress from her inventory and hurled it downward. It unfurled mid-air with a *whoosh*, swelling into a enormous, cushioned barrier that slammed into the stone floor just as they hit.

The impact still rattled Liam’s bones. Pain exploded through his ribs, but the pillow absorbed the worst of it, leaving them sprawled in a tangled heap rather than broken on jagged rock. He gasped, chest heaving, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. *’Alive. Barely.’*

No time to celebrate. A familiar, predatory silhouette descended from above, V, her eyes gleaming with hungry triumph in the dim glow of bioluminescent veins threading the cavern walls.

Liam’s heart hammered against his ribs. "We need to move. Now."

He scanned the fractured walls frantically and spotted a narrow crack, barely wide enough for a man. "There!" He lunged for it, squeezing inside. The girls followed close behind.

The moment his body pressed into the fissure, a thick, warm substance oozed from the stone like living tar. It clung to his clothes, his skin, hardening almost instantly and pinning him in place. Panic surged. He twisted, but the glue only tightened its grip.

"Liam!" Olivia shouted, clawing at the sticky mass. Beatrix joined her, fire flickering at her fingertips as she tried to burn it away without scorching him.

"It’s too late," Liam growled, voice strained. He could already hear V’s footsteps echoing closer, deliberate and unhurried. "Get out of here. Both of you, run!"

Pyra’s eyes widened. "We’re not leaving you, "

"Go!" he snapped, meeting her gaze with fierce urgency. ’*I won’t watch you die for me. Not again.*’ "That’s an order. Find a way out. I’ll catch up."

They hesitated, faces torn, but the approaching threat forced their hands. With one last desperate look, they slipped deeper into the shadows of the tunnel.

V’s laughter slithered through the dark. She rounded the corner, tall and lethal, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk. "Finally. I caught you, little mouse."

Liam glared up at her, jaw clenched. "Really? That’s your big line?"

Before she could close the distance, he wrenched one arm free just enough to reach into his system inventory. His fingers closed around a stick of dynamite he’d bought earlier on a desperate whim. He lit it with a spark from a basic fire rune and hurled it straight at her chest.

V’s eyes widened. She batted it aside, but the explosion ripped through the confined space. The blast wave slammed her backward, and the mountain groaned in protest. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls. Dust rained down.

A bright pinpoint of light appeared in the distance, swelling rapidly. *’Oh shit. Eruption.’*

Liam tore at the glue with renewed fury, adrenaline burning through his veins. The substance cracked under the strain. He broke free and sprinted down the same tunnel the girls had taken, legs pumping. Behind him, the mountain core shuddered violently.

He skidded to a stop at a narrow junction and slapped a wall of fresh glue from a vial across the entrance. It hardened instantly. V’s furious roar echoed on the other side just as the eruption hit, rock and fire exploding outward in a deafening roar. The glue wall held, if barely.

Liam didn’t wait. He ran until he caught up with Pyra and Olivia, who waited in a wider chamber ahead. This one was different, ancient stonework, carved pillars, remnants of a long-lost civilization half-buried in dust and glowing moss.

His heart stuttered as a system chime rang in his ears.

**Ding! Trial of the Dark Mountain for the Chosen One has begun.**

"What the fuck?!" Liam muttered, eyes wide.

Before he could process it, the world twisted. Reality folded, yanking him into a pitch-black void. He shook his head, trying to orient himself, and stumbled forward.

A horde of monstrous silhouettes materialized around him, twisted beasts with glowing eyes and jagged claws, tearing into each other in a frenzy. The moment they sensed him, the fighting stopped. Every head snapped in his direction. Then they charged.

Liam barely raised his arms in time to block the first lunging horror. Its claws raked across his chest, shredding fabric and skin. Pain flared hot and bright. More came, too many. He fought like a cornered animal, fists and elbows flying, but numbers overwhelmed him. His shirt hung in tatters. Blood slicked his torso. Vision blurring, legs buckling, he felt consciousness slipping.

’*Not yet. The girls are waiting. Vanessa... Rim...’*

He bit down hard on his own arm, the sharp pain jolting him awake. Teeth bared, he fought with everything, claws, fists, and finally his mouth, tearing into the monsters with savage desperation. The taste of ichor filled his throat. His jaw ached. Arms burned. But one by one, they fell.

When the last beast crumpled, Liam stood panting atop a pile of corpses, bloodied and swaying.

**Ding! You have cleared the Trial of the Dark Mountain. Reward: Mythic Grade Scroll.**

The void spat him back into the present chamber. Olivia was shouting, voice cracking with fear. "Liam, get down!"

Disoriented, head spinning, he reacted on instinct and dropped. A bone spear whistled past his ear, embedding in the wall behind him with a *thunk*.

He looked up. Cassandra hovered near the ceiling, wings flared, her beautiful face twisted in cold fury. "You fucked a low-ranked succubus guard but refuse me?"

Anger and exhaustion warred inside him. Liam forced a grin he didn’t feel. "Think fast, Liam," he muttered to himself. Then louder: "I just finished a trial. Want to know what the reward is?"

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed with interest. "How about this, I take you, and you give me the reward too."

Liam laughed, harsh and defiant. "No deal." He unleashed a disruptive skill burst, raw kinetic force that staggered her mid-air.

"Now!" he yelled to the girls. They bolted down another tunnel. Liam followed, sealing the entrance with another glue wall behind them. "Dig toward the surface. Go!"

They worked frantically, tools and skills carving upward until fresh air and daylight broke through. They emerged gasping into the ruined outskirts of Luminarie.

Liam’s steps faltered as he took in the scene. Footprints, hundreds of them, marred the ground like an army had marched through. The city lay ahead, scarred and broken. His eyes widened at the damage, then narrowed with purpose. *’Vanessa. She’s unprotected.’*

He led them straight to her house. Inside, chaos reigned. Vanessa fought a group of monsters with grim efficiency, her blades flashing. Relief flooded Liam at the sight, she had the upper hand. But then a lone beast broke away, charging toward little Rim, who cowered in the corner.

"No!" Liam roared. He jumped forward, driving a empowered strike through the creature’s skull. It dropped dead at his feet.

Vanessa’s eyes lit up. "You finally came back."

Liam nodded, breathing hard. "Inside. We need to talk."

In the brief safety of her reinforced room, he laid everything out, the fall, the trial, the escape. Vanessa listened, face etched with quiet strength. "You’ve been through hell in that dark forest."

"What happened here?" Liam asked, voice tight.

"A horde hit two days after you left," she said quietly. "Defenses failed for no reason we could see. I’ve been fighting nonstop just to keep food on the table for Rim and the others."

Liam’s chest ached with guilt and resolve. He squeezed her shoulder. "We still have to deliver the items to the Academy Director. I’m sorry."

Vanessa nodded, managing a small smile. "Come visit when you can. You’re always welcome."

He returned the nod, then gathered the girls. They rushed toward the Academy, but higher-leveled monsters ambushed them along the way, stronger, faster, more vicious. Liam’s arms burned as he cut through them. *’They’re getting stronger. At this rate, we won’t make it inside.’*

"The sewers," he said suddenly. "They’ll get us to the outer barrier."

They dropped into the tunnels. The moment Liam’s boot hit the slick stone, heavy footsteps thundered toward them. A nightmare emerged, a deformed giant with five heads, fifteen scrambling legs, and a torso built for slaughter. It moved with terrifying speed.

The girls shuddered. Liam’s stomach turned. "Run!"

They fled, the monster slamming into them again and again. Each hit drained their strength, testing defenses to the limit. Liam’s power ebbed with every clash, but his eyes brightened when he spotted the exit ladder ahead.

"Up the stairs!" he ordered, covering their retreat. Olivia went first, then the others. As Liam started climbing, the beast lunged, grabbing his legs and yanking him down. His head cracked against the ground. Blood filled his vision. Dizziness swam through him.

The monster’s maw opened wide, rows of fangs descending toward his skull.

Beatrix unleashed her strongest flame attack. The others piled on. The creature shrieked and retreated into the dark.

"Thank you," Liam rasped, climbing again on shaky legs. They emerged onto the road beside the Academy.

His curse died in his throat. The Academy was surrounded by level 50 monsters hammering at a flickering barrier. "I can’t fight through that. I need to reach Sylvia."

Beatrix’s fire came to mind, how it had melted stone before. *’That could work...’*

Before he could finish the thought, the barrier shattered with a deafening *boom*. The horde surged forward into the Academy grounds like a tidal wave of teeth and claws.