The days following Scarlett's birthday passed… quietly.
Perhaps too quietly, especially by the Spire's standards.
We trained.
Sparring.
Mana work.
Sometimes we helped out with minor tasks inside the Citadel, but for the most part we tried to avoid getting involved in serious missions.
We needed to conserve our strength and prepare.
After all, the ruins of Whispering Stone lay ahead of us.
And then-the Wind's Hall of Trials.
The relationship between Scarlett and me was also gradually… changing.
At first, everything was strange.
We both constantly found ourselves at a loss for how to act. Sometimes the conversation would suddenly get awkward. Sometimes our hands would accidentally touch, and we'd both pretend nothing had happened.
Rilay tried to tease us a couple of times.
Karina just smiled quietly.
But gradually, everything got easier.
We still argued.
We trained together.
Sometimes we walked around town.
Sometimes we'd just sit in the evening and discuss our plans.
Nothing special.
But for some reason, that's exactly what seemed… important.
And just like that, May 2nd arrived.
Departure day.
I took the simple leather bag she'd given me after the tournament.
And started packing it.
Food.
Water bottles.
Spare bandages.
A few tools.
I stuffed everything inside, and the bag seemed to swallow it all up.
There was much more space inside than it appeared.
A few minutes later, I realized I'd stuffed it to the brim.
Scarlett stood nearby, checking her rapier.
"Ready?"
"Almost."
I stowed my bag in the arsenal of my soul.
"Now I am."
We left the room.
The rest of the group was already waiting for us outside.
Rilay raised her hand.
"Well then!"
"An expedition to the terrifying ancient ruins!"
"Sounds great."
Karina looked at me.
"Are you leading the way?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Is there anyone else who can take us anywhere just by thinking about it?"
Karina just smirked and clicked her tongue.
"I asked out of politeness-why be so sarcastic?"
A few dozen minutes later, we were standing at the Citadel's gates.
Huge metal doors.
Beyond them lay the wild territory of the Spire.
A place where people rarely ventured.
I took a few steps forward.
And took a slow breath.
Then I summoned the Essence.
Cold energy coursed through my body.
And in an instant, an ash-dark mask appeared on my face.
With small deer antlers.
And long, menacing teeth, protruding at the edges.
The Ashen Wanderer.
I closed my eyes.
I focused.
And set my goal.
I visualized the Ruins of the Whispering Stone.
The mask grew slightly warm.
Thin lines of ash slowly crept across its surface.
And in an instant, I saw it.
A thread of ash.
It stretched forward.
Through the gate.
Far beyond the Citadel.
I opened my eyes.
And said:
"That's where we're going."
Scarlett stood beside me.
"Then let's go."
I took the first step outside the city.
And our team set off.
The road to the ruins of Whispering Stone turned out to be longer than it appeared on the scouts' map.
The ashen thread that my Essence showed led us confidently and straight ahead, but the distance was still considerable.
By our calculations, the journey was supposed to take about a week and a half.
Fortunately, it turned out to be surprisingly peaceful.
For the first few days, we walked across stony plains where the wind constantly whipped gray dust across the ground. Occasionally we came across strange spire-like plants-twisted, as if broken by nature itself.
We encountered monsters.
But mostly weak ones.
A few bone scavengers that crumbled after a couple of hits.
A couple of long-legged creatures that looked like a cross between a lizard and a spider.
Once we ran into a pack of shadow jackals.
But even that only took a few minutes.
Nothing serious.
"It's too quiet," Rilay remarked one day as we were setting up camp.
"I don't like it."
Orpheus replied calmly:
"Sometimes the absence of danger is just the absence of danger."
"Or a prelude to something bad," she added.
Karina just shrugged.
"We've been lucky so far."
And indeed.
Even the nights passed peacefully.
We took turns keeping watch.
We built a small fire.
Sometimes we talked.
Sometimes we just stared into the darkness of the Spire.
But not once during the entire journey were we attacked at night.
Which, for these parts, was… almost unbelievable luck.
Fifteen days passed like this.
And on the morning of the last day, the embers began to die down.
That meant only one thing.
We were close.
After a couple of hours of walking, the landscape began to change.
The stones grew larger.
The ground was covered with strange slabs, as if there had once been a road here.
And soon, ruins appeared ahead.
I was the first to stop.
"We're here."
The others froze as well.
A small ancient settlement stretched out before us.
Stone houses, low walls, several narrow towers, half of which had been destroyed.
Some of the buildings had partially collapsed.
Others were almost completely overgrown with gray moss from the spire.
But what was surprising was something else.
The settlement looked… too intact for a place that had been destroyed by war or something similar.
It was as if the people had simply left.
And never returned.
Karina said quietly:
"This… is an ancient place."
Orpheus examined the walls closely.
"The architecture is different from what we saw in the Citadel."
Rilay whistled softly.
"It's kind of creepy."
And at that moment, I realized what exactly made this place so strange.
The sound.
Very quiet.
Almost imperceptible.
At first, it seemed like it was just the wind.
But if you listened closely…
It sounded different.
As if…
someone was whispering.
Faint, almost indistinguishable voices.
They didn't form words.
But they created the sensation that someone was constantly speaking around you.
Quietly.
Very quietly.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Rilay froze too.
"Do you hear that?"
Karina nodded.
"Yes."
Scarlett slowly looked around.
"Now I understand why they're called the Ruins of Whispering Stone."
The wind swept through the ruined towers.
And for a second, the whispering grew louder.
It was as if dozens of voices were speaking at once, in a language we didn't understand.
I took a step forward.
The wisp of ash finally dissipated.
We were standing at the entrance to the ancient city.
And inside it… there was definitely something.
We entered the ruins cautiously.
Not in formation, but close enough to each other to help at any moment.
Stone houses stood on both sides of the narrow street.
Some doors had been broken down.
Others, on the contrary, were closed, as if someone had once tried to maintain at least some order inside.
But what weighed on us most was the feeling of emptiness.
There were no monsters.
No traces of recent life.
Not even the creaking or distant screams of creatures that were so familiar to the Spire.
Only whispers.
Quiet.
Almost inaudible.
Sometimes it seemed like it was just the wind passing between the ruined towers.
But sometimes the sound became too… meaningful.
As if the voices were trying to say something.
Rilay said quietly:
"I don't like this place."
"I really don't like it."
Orpheus examined the walls closely.
"The stone here is unusual."
Karina added:
"It resonates with mana."
I walked ahead.
The Ashen Wanderer's mask was still on my face.
But my intuition was silent.
We walked down several streets.
We checked out a couple of houses.
Inside-empty.
Sometimes there were strange symbols on the walls.
But nothing that explained why this place was abandoned.
Or why there wasn't a single monster here.
"It's too quiet," I said.
Scarlett nodded.
"I agree."
And at that moment, I sensed something.
Very faintly.
Like a slight pressure in my chest.
I stopped.
"Wait."
Everyone immediately became alert.
"What?"
I slowly turned my head.
And looked down one of the narrow streets.
"I think…"
"Over there."
I couldn't explain why. But the feeling was clear.
As if something were pulling me forward.
We walked down that street.
Then turned another corner.
And came out onto a small square.
In the center stood a stone structure, almost completely sunk into the ground.
At first glance, it looked like just a warehouse or a temple.
But at its base was a heavy stone door.
Half of it was covered in strange symbols.
Orpheus stepped closer.
"Is this… a shrine?"
Karina frowned.
"Looks like an entrance."
Rilay said:
"To the catacombs?"
I could feel it growing stronger.
That strange pull.
"I think… yes."
Scarlett looked at me.
"So what are we going to do?"
I exhaled.
"That's why we came here, after all."
She nodded.
"Then let's open it."
The door was heavy.
But not locked.
Together, we pushed it open.
The stone creaked.
And a chill blew in from inside.
A narrow stone staircase led down.
Darkness.
And that same quiet whisper.
Only now it was…
Closer.
We exchanged glances.
"Great," Rilay muttered.
"Catacombs."
"I love catacombs."
We began to descend.
One after another.
I went first.
When the last of us crossed the threshold…
a crash.
The stone door slammed shut behind us.
We spun around.
Karina immediately tried to open it.
But the door didn't budge.
"It's locked."
And at that moment, Bond whispered to me.
You, have bestowed a new epithet.
I froze.
"Wait."
The others stopped too.
I summoned the Bond and looked at my epithets; among them was now a new one, somewhat similar to the one I had received at the Temple of Eliar.
Purifier of Filth.
The description slowly appeared before my eyes.
"You have come of your own free will to purify this city of the corruption that dwells here.
You are now bound to this place.
You will only be able to leave once the corruption has been destroyed.
Until then… the way out is sealed."
I read the text slowly.
Then I looked at the others.
"You guys too?"
Karina nodded.
"Yes."
Orpheus said calmly:
"A new epithet."
Rilay cursed.
"Great."
Scarlett said quietly:
"So…"
She looked at the dark corridor ahead.
"We're trapped."
I exhaled slowly. And tried to use the Ash Step to go outside.
But nothing happened, as if an insurmountable wall had risen in my path.
Meanwhile, the whispering in the catacombs grew slightly louder.
It was as if something down there… already knew we had arrived.
"Well, I suppose we have no choice-let's go."
With that, I led the way.
The staircase leading down turned out to be much longer than it should have been.
At first, no one said a word.
We just kept going down.
Step by step.
The stone steps were rough and uneven, as if they'd been hewn in a hurry. The walls of the catacombs were barely finished-just plain gray stone, cracked in places from age.
The glowing artifacts illuminated only a few meters ahead.
The rest was lost in darkness.
And all the while, there was a whisper nearby.
Outside, it was barely noticeable, but the deeper we descended, the stronger it felt.
It wasn't just a sound; it felt as though I wasn't hearing this whisper with my ears-it was simply inside my head, creating pressure.
As if dozens of people were talking right behind you.
Sometimes it seemed as though the words were almost forming into speech, but when you tried to listen closely, you heard only an indistinct murmur.
Rilay walked behind us and muttered quietly:
"What a creepy place…"
Karina rubbed her temples.
"The whispering affects the mind."
Orpheus replied calmly:
"Then try to ignore it."
Rilay retorted irritably.
"I think it's hard to ignore something that's inside your head; even if you cover your ears, you'll still hear that nasty whispering."
Scarlett said nothing.
She simply gripped the hilt of her rapier more tightly.
I kept walking ahead.
The Ashen Wanderer's intuition was at work again.
Very faintly. But it was still pulling me downward.
And finally, the steps came to an end.
We emerged from the narrow passage.
A vast expanse opened up before us. So vast that the light from our torches was simply lost in the darkness. At first, I didn't even realize what I was seeing. But once my eyes adjusted, it became clear.
It was a real city. Houses, streets, towers, stone bridges.
Entire blocks of buildings stretched into the darkness, and it was impossible to make them out completely. The cave ceiling was somewhere very high up, where huge stalactites hung, resembling stone fangs.
Our light illuminated only a small section of the street.
But even that was enough to grasp the scale.
Rilay whispered:
"This… is impossible."
Karina said slowly:
"A real city, and so deep underground."
Orpheus looked around thoughtfully.
"So the settlement on the surface was just… an entrance."
Scarlett exhaled quietly:
"It's all so strange."
None of us knew what to do next.
There were too many streets ahead.
Too many directions.
And too much darkness.
I focused.
The mask on my face grew hot.
And a second later…
I sensed the direction.
My intuition had shown the way again.
"That way."
We set off down the narrow street.
Our footsteps echoed between the stone houses.
The whispering became almost unbearable.
And after a while, we noticed a slight change.
First on one wall, then on another. A strange, dark, living fabric appeared. It looked like a mixture of flesh and roots. Black and pulsating, it slowly covered the walls of the houses. It crept over the stone. Sometimes it hung from the roofs in long tendrils.
Karina said quietly:
"Is this… the corruption?"
Rilay raised her gun.
"Perfect."
Scarlett said coldly:
"Battle formation."
We immediately regrouped.
Orpheus and Scarlett in front.
Karina and I slightly behind.
Rilay covered the rear.
The whispering grew too loud, and now… words began to emerge from it.
"…we…"
"…are doomed…"
Then louder.
"We are all doomed…"
"You won't escape…"
The voices came from all sides, penetrating straight into my consciousness.
Karina said tensely:
"This isn't just an echo."
Orpheus added quietly:
"Someone… or something… is speaking."
And suddenly, another voice appeared among them. Broken, desperate.
It sounded as if dozens of people were saying it at once.
"Help…"
We stopped.
The whispering repeated.
"Please…"
"Help…"
That voice was so full of pain that it sent shivers down her spine.
Rilay whispered softly:
"I have a bad feeling about this…"
But the voice spoke again.
Even fainter.
As if its owner were losing his last ounce of strength.
"Help me…"
"We're here…"
The streets of the underground city were growing darker and darker.
We moved slowly.
Step by step.
No one relaxed for a second.
Dark organic tissue already covered almost everything around us-the walls of buildings, the roofs, the broken columns. In places, it pulsed, as if someone's heart were beating beneath the stone.
But despite that…
No one attacked.
And that was the worst part.
The whispering continued.
Now it was almost a constant background noise.
"We're doomed…"
"You too…"
"You won't get out…"
Sometimes, that same plea would resurface among the voices.
"Help…"
Karina gripped her staff nervously.
"It's… psychological pressure…"
Orpheus replied quietly:
"Or the remnants of someone's consciousness."
Scarlett walked beside Orpheus.
Her rapier was pointed forward.
"The most important thing right now is the source of the corruption."
I nodded.
The Ashen Wanderer's intuition continued to guide us.
The further we went, the denser this black fabric became.
The streets seemed to be rotting.
Rilay walked slightly behind us, covering our rear.
She muttered quietly:
"What a disgusting smell…"
And in the next second, it all happened in an instant.
Something burst out of the darkness, so fast and silent that no one had time to warn us.
Only the sharp sound of flesh being pierced.
"Gah!"
Rilay doubled over.
A long, black, clawed hand protruded from her stomach.
The claws had gone right through her side.
Blood immediately began to drip onto the stone.
"RILAY!"
But I was already moving.
An ashen step.
For a split second, the world crumbled into gray ash.
I appeared next to the creature before it even had time to pull its hand out.
And then I saw it.
It looked like a human.
Once upon a time…
But now its body was flattened, as if crushed by a massive slab. It was practically lying on the ground. It moved using its entire chest, pulling itself forward in waves. Its skin was coal-black. Glossy, as if covered in chitin. Its spine jutted out in sharp protrusions.
Its arms were monstrously long. Almost twice as long as its body, they ended in thin claws about forty centimeters long.
Its head turned toward me.
And that was the most repulsive part.
Its face resembled a melted skull, stretched forward. Its jaw split open into three sections. Thin, needle-like teeth glinted in the light. Its eye sockets were almost empty. And only somewhere deep inside did a dim gray light smolder.
Thick black saliva slowly dripped from its open mouth.
The creature hissed.
And its head opened even wider, like a cracked cocoon.
But it didn't have time to do anything.
The sword Noctis Terror flared with fire.
One swift swing.
The blade sliced through the creature's neck.
The creature's head separated from its body and rolled across the stone.
The body twitched.
And went limp.
A black hand fell out of Rilay's wound.
The creature sprawled on the ground.
The whisper of my own bond cut through the cacophony of sounds inside my head.
You have killed the nightmarish minion Creeping Husk.
Now they could see how it moved.
Its claws dug into the stone, and its body pulled itself up in waves.
And judging by the marks on the floor…
It could crawl almost silently.
Even across the ceiling.
Karina was already beside Rilay.
"Don't move!"
Rilay was breathing heavily.
"Damn…"
"That thing…"
There was blood, but the wound wasn't fatal.
The claws had gone through her side without touching any vital organs.
Karina quickly began treating her.
I stood over the monster's body.
Scarlett came up beside me.
She said quietly:
"Seriously…"
Orpheus scanned the darkness between the buildings intently.
And at that moment, from the darkness beneath the roofs, came the sound of claws scraping against stone…
First one.
Then another.
Then more.
From the walls.
From the roofs.
From the ceilings between the buildings.
Dim gray lights began to glow in the sockets of the eyes in the darkness.
The shadows began to stir.
And in the next second, they moved.
The creeping husks broke loose from the walls like a living avalanche.
Black bodies slid across the stone almost silently.
Claws clung to the walls.
The creatures were literally falling from above.
There were so many of them.
"Shit…" I cursed.
"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!" Scarlett barked.
Orpheus stepped forward.
His golden armor flashed brilliantly.
Golden light flooded the street.
The shield in his hand struck the stone.
"HERE."
The magic of his essence kicked in. An aura of menace spread around him; to the monsters, he became the primary target.
And they lunged at him.
The first wave struck.
Claws scraped against the shield.
Some tried to jump on top of him.
Orpheus stood like a fortress.
The shield knocked one creature back.
The sword sliced through the second.
"Why are these black pieces of shit so stinky?!"
And at that moment, the battlefield flashed with blue light.
Scarlett raised her hand.
Mana flared around her.
"Ice."
The street stones were instantly covered in a thick layer of ice.
The crawling husks lost their grip.
Several creatures were literally scattered.
But she didn't stop.
Her white eyes flashed purple.
"Gravity."
The air above the street tightened.
Three crawlers that had jumped from the roof suddenly froze in midair.
For a second.
And then Scarlett clenched her fist.
Gravity crashed down on them.
The monsters were pinned to the ground.
Bones cracked.
But the rest were already closing in.
And then there was a thunderclap.
BOOM.
Rilay's cannon flashed white.
A beam of pure mana pierced the street.
It simply tore the three husks apart.
Rilay was already moving.
Lightning flashed around her body.
She glided across the battlefield at incredible speed.
Reload.
Fire.
BOOM.
Another monster vanished.
But the chaos had already begun.
Because the creeping husks were almost silent.
One broke away from the wall behind Orpheus.
Another crawled out of a dark alley.
A third was already crawling across the ceiling.
I sensed movement.
Too late.
Claws raked across my shoulder.
Pain flared.
"Damn it!"
I vanished.
Ash Step.
The world crumbled to ash.
I appeared above the creature.
Noctis Terror flared with fire.
"BURN!"
A fiery arc sliced the monster in half.
But there were too many of them.
One creature leaped at Rilay.
Another clung to Orpheus's leg.
A third tried to make its way toward Scarlett.
And at that moment, a breeze swept across the battlefield.
Gentle.
Warm.
Karina.
She wasn't visible.
She had become invisible.
But her wind magic moved between us.
The wound on my shoulder began to heal.
Orpheus struck with his shield.
The creature flew into the wall.
But another had already jumped onto his back.
Claws dug into his armor.
I appeared beside him.
Ashen Step.
The sword sliced through its spine.
"You'd better focus on helping Rilay," Orpheus said, clenching his teeth calmly.
Scarlett spun among the enemies like a storm.
Ice froze their paws.
Gravity shattered their bodies.
She raised her hand sharply.
Five crawlers froze in midair.
"Oscar!"
I understood.
Ashen Step.
I appeared beside her.
Noktis Terror traced a fiery arc.
Five bodies fell to the ground.
But the battle continued in the darkness and chaos.
We couldn't illuminate the entire city. And so the blows came from all sides. Claws sometimes caught on our armor. Sometimes they left wounds. Sometimes the monsters almost reached our backs.
But every time, Karina's wind touched us.
And the pain faded.
The battle lasted a long time.
Dozens of bodies began to cover the street. The vile whispers seemed to merge with the Bond alerts about the killings.
Black blood trickled down the stone. Orpheus's light grew brighter; he continued to provoke the enemies, and they continued to die.
Rilay was breathing heavily.
But her gun was still roaring.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Scarlett froze an entire alley.
I swept through it in a fiery whirlwind.
And when the last crawler tried to escape up the wall…
I used the Ash Step.
And the sword sliced him in two.
Silence.
Only a vile whisper remained.
We stood amid a mountain of bodies.
Rilay lowered her gun with a heavy sigh.
Orpheus scanned the street.
"Over a hundred…"
Karina reappeared.
She looked pale.
"Are you all alive?"
Scarlett wiped the blood from her cheek.
"So far, yes."
I could already feel it.
Deep down inside.
The Ashen Wanderer's intuition stirred.
I looked up.
The sound came from the dark streets again.
The scraping of claws.
Lots of them.
So many.
And they were getting closer.
"This is bad," I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"We're in trouble."
Rilay cursed under her breath.
Orpheus gripped his shield.
"How many?"
I shook my head.
"A lot."
A whole lot.
Scarlett understood immediately.
"So we can't wait."
I nodded.
My intuition was already showing the way.
Deep into the city.
"Follow me."
I took off.
The rest followed right away.
We ran through the desecrated streets.
And behind us in the darkness… a whole pack began to move.