The light faded.
Owen stood in a vast chamber carved from crystalline stone. The walls pulsed with a violet light that was rhythmic like a heartbeat. The ceiling stretched impossibly high, disappearing into darkness. The floor beneath his boots was smooth, reflective, showing his own image distorted and wavering.
He wasn't alone.
Twenty other hunters materialized around him, scattered across the chamber. Most were humanoid. A few weren't. One was a being made entirely of interlocking geometric shapes that rotated slowly. Another was a reptilian with four arms and a tail that crackled with static.
Everyone's CE signatures read between one and three-stars. It seemed to be that the dungeon had sorted them.
Then a voice echoed through the chamber in a way that was not spoken, but felt. It resonated in Owen's chest, in his bones.
"Welcome to the Argentus Dungeon. Floor 1 of 50. Objective: Survive. Rewards scale with contribution. Death is permanent. Begin."
