Chapter 100 – News from the World Above
A deafening crash echoed through the damp stone walls of the dungeon. The thunder of battle shook the 29th floor of the Cave of the Forgotten a relic of a forgotten age that refused to be buried by time or memory. Blow after blow, I struck with unrelenting force, my claws and venomous chains dancing in a brutal harmony, tearing apart every skeleton and ghoul foolish enough to block my path.
No sweat dripped from my body after all, I was no longer human. But fatigue, mental strain, and emotional turmoil still clung to me like invisible chains. Each step I took felt heavier, not from the enemies I faced, but from the weight of my thoughts... thoughts left behind in the base, where one person haunted me in every moment of silence: Sofia.
Was she still alive? Was she...
A monstrous growl snapped me back to the battlefield. A massive Bone Golem, wielding a spiked mace, charged at me with brute force. I deflected its swing using my chain, now coated in thick black poison. Twisting my body midair, I lashed out, plunging my claws into its skull. The satisfying crack of shattering bone rang out, and the monster collapsed in a heap of fragmented ivory.
Just as I turned to engage the next wave, a voice slipped into my mind telepathy. Deep, heavy, and unmistakably familiar.
"Queen..."
Tyrant.
My reaction was instant. I opened a mental link to him even as I swatted away an attacking ghoul with a flick of my chain.
"Tyrant?!" I called sharply, tension thick in my voice. "What happened?! Sofia what’s her condition?!"
Seconds passed. Each one dragged like a century. I braced myself for the worst. If she had...
But Tyrant’s voice returned, steady and calm as always.