Vera's heart leapt into her throat the moment the klaxon tore through the air, as the searchlight pivoted sharply, pinning Adrien in its harsh, blinding glare.
Towering over the debris, a monstrously tall automaton zeroed in on him. The mechanical beast surged forward, the deafening shriek of its revving chainsword chewing through the night. Vera watched from the shadows, her knuckles white, as the ghost desperately tried to lead Adrien away. But the nightmare was only beginning. From the surrounding darkness, more metallic silhouettes began to detach themselves from the fog, more Wardens.
She forgot to breathe, 'How many of them are here? I thought there was only one Warden.'
Adrien moved with a fluid grace that seemed almost impossible against such lumbering giants. He threw his weight into a roll, dodging a lethal swing, before launching himself over a stack of rusted crates with effortless parkour precision.
'That's it, Adrien,' Vera cheered inwardly, her chest tight. 'Just run. Get out of there.'
Her hope was brutally cut short, as a harpoon tore through the air, missing Adrien by mere inches, but he didn't slow down, diving low and sprinting directly beneath a third Warden, this one noticeably scarred, its left hand missing. No sooner had he cleared its shadow than he was forced to dive behind a heavy metal shipping container to escape a sudden, blinding torrent of fire from another Warden's flamethrower. The heat rolled over the yard, scorching the air.
Suddenly, the harpoon-wielding Warden fired again, and the spear pierced the steel container with a deafening screech of ripping metal. With a violent jerk, the machine easily dragged the massive crate backwards, completely exposing Adrien as he scrambled for cover.
Through the chaos, the ghost screamed at Adrien to run, and this time, the raw panic in its voice made Vera's blood run cold.
Then she saw what the ghost had already realised.
It wasn't just that the Wardens were surrounding him. The ground beneath them began to vibrate with heavy, rhythmic thuds. Looming out of the smoke was a true monstrosity. It dwarfed the other machines, but it wasn't bipedal like its counterparts. Instead, it crawled forward on four massive, insectoid legs, a heavy-plated quadruped designed for absolute devastation.
To Vera, the creature resembled a mechanical centaur, its iron torso rising from a powerful four-legged chassis. In its right hand, it brandished a massive, roaring bident, the twin prongs wreathed in roaring chemical fire. Despite its colossal size, its speed was terrifying. Hissing fiercely as it vented thick plumes of superheated steam from its joints, the metal beast closed the distance to Adrien's location in a matter of seconds.
Adrien darted behind the corner of the building, vanishing from Vera's sight.
Before she could even process his escape, the centaur-like Warden reared back and hurled the flaming bident. The weapon cut through the air like a meteor, striking the structure exactly where Adrien had been heading. A deafening explosion rocked the compound, unleashing a violent torrent of fire and shockwaves that blew out the remaining windows.
Vera gasped, her heart hammering against her ribs. A cold dread washed over her—there was no way anyone could survive that. But as the seconds ticked by, she realised her system interface remained quiet. No notifications popped up. No death alerts. A flicker of desperate hope ignited in her chest; if the system hadn't flagged it, Adrien might still be alive, and he might have made it.
'I can't just sit here by the edge of this vent, she told herself, forcing her shaking limbs to move. I have to keep going. If that ghost was right, this shaft leads deeper into the dungeon. It has to be safer than staying here. I'll find him inside.'
Turning away from the devastation, Vera began her frantic trek through the ventilation shaft. It was a gruelling, claustrophobic nightmare. In some wider sections, she could manage a low, hurried crouch, but mostly she was reduced to a painful crawl, her elbows scraping against the cold, dusty metal.
"I am glad you did not freeze. Good on you for moving."
"Kyaaa!!"
The disembodied voice echoed right behind her ear, and startled out of her wits, Vera jerked upward. Her tactical helmet slammed hard into the low metal ceiling with a loud, metallic clang.
Rubbing the top of her head, she turned around as best she could in the cramped space, glaring fiercely through the fogged-up lenses of her gas mask at the floating apparition.
"Can you not just pop up out of nowhere and scare the life out of me?" Vera hissed, her voice muffled by the rubber of the mask.
"My apologies, lass," the ghost replied, offering a sheepish, translucent shrug. "Though, if it makes you feel any better, you should be happy to know your companion... Adrien, was it? His name was Adrien, right?"
"Yes! Did he make it? Is he safe?" Vera asked, a desperate surge of hope cracking her voice.
"Well... I certainly hope so," the ghost replied smoothly.
Vera froze, staring at the translucent figure. A hot flash of righteous anger flared through her chest, replacing her relief. "What do you mean, you hope so? We only listened to you because you promised you'd lead us to safety!"
The ghost merely shrugged, entirely unfazed by her outburst. "Lass, I am tethered. I cannot wander too far from where my old bones lie. Your friend Adrien plunged headfirst into a pipe to escape. He slid down, certainly, but whether the other end opens into a haven or a bottomless abyss? I haven't the faintest clue." He gestured down the cramped shaft. "As for this vent you are currently dragging yourself through, I know it leads out of this sector. But whether the next room is safe? Again, no idea."
"Why didn't you tell us that from the very beginning?!" Vera hissed, her fists clenching against the dusty metal floor.
"And when, exactly, was I supposed to do that?" the ghost asked, speaking with the slow, agonising patience one might use on a stubborn child. "Even if I had laid it all out for you, there are only three ways out of this sector. At least I can guarantee this vent leads somewhere. That pipe he took? A complete mystery to me."
Vera caught her breath, zeroing in on his words. "A third way? What's the third way?"
"The third path requires unlocking the main sector doors," the ghost said, his expression turning grim. "But I highly doubt you two, with your current... limitations, possess the means to acquire the key."
"You don't know what we're capable of," Vera snapped, fiercely defensive of both herself and Adrien.
The ghost let out a sharp, mocking snort. "Please. Do either of you even know a basic spell? Your weapons are scrap metal. Your armour is tissue paper. If you truly possessed an ounce of real power, you wouldn't be skulking through the dust like mice. You would have stood your ground and broken those Wardens."
Vera's eyes widened behind her mask as the pieces suddenly fell into place. The anger drained from her, replaced by a cold realisation. "You mean... the key is with the Wardens?"
"Precisely. More specifically, it is sealed inside the core of that centaur monstrosity," the ghost said, a sudden, fierce flash of pride lighting up his faded eyes. "When I still drew breath, I single-handedly shattered seven of those machines. That one-armed Warden you saw out there? That was my handiwork. Alas... the centaur type proved too much, even for me."
"I see."
The spirit's voice seemed to drift like smoke in the heavy air. "If I remember correctly, you two had some questions. Unfortunately, I cannot speak with Adrien unless he steps into this realm again, so tell me, what is it you wish to know? Of course, I have inquiries of my own. I hope we might engage in a mutual exchange of information."
"I would like that," Vera said.
"Excellent. First, how may I address you?""My name is Vera."
"Vera. Good, good." The ghost leaned forward slightly, the phantom fabric of his clothes shifting without a sound. "When you mentioned Princess Jefimiya earlier… did you read of her experiences within the dungeon? Did she leave behind a memoir? It has been years since our passing. Even if she had survived, she would be ancient by now, correct?"
Vera's chest tightened. The weight of the truth felt heavy in her throat. Looking at the spectral figure, she offered a small, cautious deflection. "Senior, would you mind sharing your name first? You have mine, but I am at a disadvantage."
The ghost blinked, momentarily taken aback, before bowing with practised, old-world elegance. "Ah, forgive my lack of manners. I am Gavrilo Šaponjić, sole heir to the Earl of Šaponjić. The pleasure is mine, Lady Vera."
Vera returned the gesture, though her stomach twisted with unease. "Well met, Lord Gavrilo. But I fear I am the bearer of grim tidings. Princess Jefimiya never escaped these walls. Just like you, we encountered only her spirit."
Silence descended upon the chamber, thick and suffocating. Gavrilo stared into the gloom, his ethereal features tightening with a grief that time had failed to dull.
When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "I see. That is… a heavy sorrow to bear." He paused, looking up with a sudden, desperate flicker of hope. "And what of the world outside? My father… how did he take the news of my passing? Who holds the mantle of our house now?"
Vera winced, the words catching in her throat. She hesitated, hating the cruelty of the math she was about to lay bare.
"About that, Lord Gavrilo…" Vera began softly, unable to meet his hollow eyes. "When we spoke with Princess Jefimiya, we calculated the timeline. You and your companions lived over twelve hundred years ago. I am so sorry… but your family line is entirely lost to history."
The revelation struck Gavrilo like a physical blow, yet he didn't unravel. Unlike Jefimiya, who had completely broken down and fled into the dark, the young noble anchored himself. He swallowed hard, forcing a brittle, composed mask back over his ethereal features."I see," he murmured, his voice tight but controlled. "Feel free to ask your questions, then. I shall do my best to enlighten my juniors."
"I'm so sorry, Lord Gavrilo, and—"
"Stop. Please, don't." Gavrilo cut Vera off with a sharp, raised hand before she could offer any hollow comforts. "Do not apologise for the cruelty of time. The moment I drew my last breath in this wretched place, I knew I might never see my loved ones again in the mortal realm. But hearing that centuries have washed over the world… that my soul has been rotting here for a millennium…" He closed his eyes, his spectral form flickering under the strain. "Vera, ask me something else. Speak of anything else. Just steer my mind away from these thoughts."
Vera gave a tight nod. But before she could pivot the conversation, Gavrilo caught her off guard.
"Why did you enter this place so horribly ill-prepared?"
"We didn't mean to," Vera admitted, checking her gear as they moved. "We stumbled onto the entrance by accident. Based on the data we gathered, we deduced it would be a low-level run. A straightforward dungeon. We had no idea it would be… this. And worst of all, the entrance sealed behind us. We can't turn back."
Gavrilo let out a harsh, mocking scoff. "You should never take a dungeon lightly, especially one shrouded in complete ignorance. Let this be a bitter lesson to you, should you actually survive to see the sky again. Modern youth… reckless and impatient."
Vera's brow twitched. 'How exactly am I supposed to explain to an NPC that this zone is right outside the beginner spawning area?' She grumbled inwardly. 'Standard dungeons are just about farming mobs, clearing a puzzle or two, and claiming the loot, and they aren't supposed to be so hard.'
"Fine," Gavrilo muttered, eyeing her equipment with deep scepticism. "But why are you relying on such primitive firearms? I assumed that after a thousand years, weapons would have evolved past such crude machinery, and what of magic? Did you skip your arcane training entirely?"
Vera squeezed her shoulders through a claustrophobically narrow bend in the vent, her breath hitching before she could answer. "Actually, these guns are top-tier. They're the most accurate, high-spec models we could acquire on the market right now."
Gavrilo stared at her, his expression a mix of pity and disbelief. "You are entirely serious, aren't you?"
"Yes," Vera confirmed, her tone flat with grim reality.
Gavrilo looked as though he had been physically struck, his spectral form swaying slightly as a profound sorrow washed over him. "If my tutors could see what the future has wrought, they would die of sheer shame. A millennium has marched past, yet civilisation has only degraded. And what of your magic? Why did you skip your arcane studies entirely?"
"First of all, mages are incredibly rare nowadays," Vera explained, shifting her weight as they moved. "Arcane studies are astronomical in cost. If you're a rogue mage unaffiliated with any major faction in the kingdom, just getting your hands on a single spell book is a bureaucratic nightmare. First, you need official state clearance. Then, you have to shell out an exorbitant amount of gold just for a basic, low-tier spell."
She paused, navigating a tricky drop in the passage. "There is a workaround, of course. You can sell your soul to the Royal Military, pledge yourself to a noble house, or take vows with the Church. But then you're nothing more than a contracted slave. They'll groom you and dictate your growth solely to serve their own interests."
Gavrilo frowned, his aristocratic sensibilities deeply offended. "That is deeply troubling. But what of the academies? Do they not offer a neutral ground for merit?"
"Well, I can't speak for the neighbouring empires, but around here? Only high-born nobles are permitted to step foot inside an academy."
A bitter, humourless laugh escaped the spirit's lips. "Then I see it clearly now. It is no wonder your world has decayed into such a stagnant state."
Sensing an opportunity to steer the conversation toward survival, Vera seized the opening. "Lord Gavrilo, if civilisation has changed that much, can you tell me more about this dungeon? Princess Jefimiya mentioned that this place wasn't originally a dungeon at all, but a ruin. Could you elaborate on that?"