The moment his foot passed the threshold of the entrance, something felt wrong. Last time, it was like jumping into a cool and refreshing pool, only to arrive dry on the other side. This time, it was hot. He could feel the warmth radiate up his legs and then wash over him as he descended into blackness.

  He heard a voice in his head. A familiar voice. The same as the one who’d spoken when he touched the Summon Stone.

  [Seek the depths of Twilight vast, use the Ember in your grasp. Travel farther and you will find, a means to soothe the Titan for a time.]

  The warmth ceased, and the cool, reassuring chain in his grip called him back to reality. He sucked in a breath and looked around. The entry chamber was a huge, circular room with a single archway leading into a hallway.

  Eric reached the bottom. There, Seraphine was standing near the tunnel entrance that led into the dungeon’s depths along with the guards. He let go of the chain, though a cool sensation lingered on his right palm. Looking down, he saw an inverted version of the Blackflame Sigil that hovered above his left hand. The white and black had swapped places; that flame was white with the black-edge background.

  What in the depths is this? he thought.

  A message from The Paths appeared in the corner of his vision.

  [Entering the Twilight Depths.]

  [This is your first time entering this mega dungeon. Floor-one destination set.]

  [New Dungeon Entered.]

  [Ember Acquired.]

  [Explanation: Embers are a unique resource only the holder of the Blackflame Mage Class may utilize and are completely invisible and undetectable to all others. They are acquired when you enter a mega dungeon, enter a dungeon, REDACTED.]

  [Use: Embers can be spent to evolve a Skill, Trait, Rote, or Body Enhancement. This evolution may alter the name of the ability or add an affix, and add a new functionality, but it will keep the same Rank.]

  [Would you like to use your Ember?]

  “No,” Eric whispered, his words covered by the sound of his allies’ booted feet and Peter’s armored greaves hitting the ground. He watched as the white flame vanished, and the cooling sensation in his right palm faded.

  [You may use it in the future by calling up the Index.]

  I didn’t have anything like that last time, so I’ll hold onto it for now to think about what is best to use it on. That voice is the same one from before I was sent back in time. It seems there’s a way to keep the Titan asleep at the bottom of the Twilight Depths. Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of my time in here.

  He looked up as Seraphine cleared her throat. “Summoned, this way, please.”

  Eric looked back to Peter and gave him a nod. “You should be in the front, mister Vanguard.”

  Peter pulled the hammer from the loop on the back of his armor and rested it on his shoulder. The massive, two-handed weapon would do some serious damage. But more than that, he was a Vanguard-type Class: built to get hostile attention, take damage, and dish it out. “Sure. Let me take the lead.” He walked past Eric.

  Eric looked at the two others. “Shannon, you should be in the back. But you’ll probably also be spreading out to the sides to do flanking shots because you’re hard to detect.” His eyes shifted to Naomi. “Next to me in midline.”

  Naomi reached into her pocket and pulled out the MAB. She waved her hand over it, there was a flash of green sparks that settled onto the miniature shape, and the object grew in size to its full size. “Ready.”

  Seraphine led the Summoned, the ten guards behind her, and she spoke as they walked. “The guards and I cannot interact with what you will encounter down here. As a reminder, this is a blind run. You will not be told what challenges await you. You will only be allotted the resources you have now at your disposal. I will be evaluating and scoring you based upon a rubric provided by the Consortium. We do have a few potions, and some of the guards here with me have Warden Classes. You may wind up injured here, but we won’t let you die. At worst, we will drag you back to safety.”

  Peter sighed. “Well, at least you can keep us from dying. Silver linings, I guess.”

  Eric looked at the walls. The cream-colored stone was immaculately set in large bricks, with practically no seam between them. Dim, white-grey glowstones studded the ceiling and gave off a bright light, the ambient dungeon’s mana filling them.

  We’ve got five chambers to go through. Duskbound Zombies in the first, then a room with an acid-pit trap, Graveborn Striders after, then an obstacle course, and finally the floor boss, the Corpse Amalgamation.

  Eric knew the strategy required to beat each of the obstacles or foes, and so as he walked behind Peter, he felt confident. There was no dread like the last time. And though he lacked defensive Skills and Rotes, he had firepower.

  Seraphine let the Summoned pass her. “We shall be nearby, ready to respond if needed. Good luck.”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The group approached the end of the tunnel. The space opened up into a huge cavern, where the environment changed. The polished stone faded away, and they were now in a natural cave system. Moss that glowed a bright green clung to the walls, ceiling, and stalactites in clusters, dimly illuminating the space. Stalagmites broke the room up into sections and hid any possible foes.

  Peter looked around. “So . . . what do we do?”

  Eric walked up next to him and waved Shannon and Naomi forward. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “We plan. Shannon can go in and scout, while you step in and let whatever is nearby know that we are here. Maybe yell out something.”

  “Oh, like a battle cry?” Peter clarified.

  “Sure, like that.” Eric looked back to Naomi. “Be ready to fire when you see something hostile.”

  “Got it,” Naomi replied.

  Eric looked for Shannon, but she was already gone. “Okay, go ahead, Peter.”

  Peter took a few steps forward into the room and shouted out, “Hey, you fuckers! Whatever you are. Come get some!” He kept walking onto the uneven stone surface.

  That was when the noises began: the gurgling, moaning, and wet slapping noise of flesh on stone. Eric readied a Blackflame Bolt, holding the tension of the projectile in his palm as he scanned for signs of movement.

  A moment later, he saw the first of the Duskbound Zombies. They were almost stereotypical of Earth zombie culture: shambling, heavily injured corpses. But these were more deadly. In place of hands, they had tri-pointed claws that dripped a minor poison Eric knew the effects of very well, as the ichor acted as an analgesic and caused intense vomiting. Their teeth also dripped a virulent neurotoxin that would slowly lock up a person’s joints, keeping them from moving.

  I should focus on lighting up the distant ones. More time for them to burn.

  Eric let loose with the Rote and the flaming dart surged forth, slamming into the farthest zombie’s face. The backblast of heat reached him despite being across the room from his target and separated by a good fifty feet. The zombie’s moans of pain were echoed and replied to by the dozens of other zombies that began moving toward them. He rotated and fired off Blackflame Bolts one after another, sending a single shot into each of the backline zombies that were the farthest away. Each was a round to the head, and the burning inflicted by Blackflame Blaze would, hopefully, drop them before they reached Peter.

  Peter let out a whoop. “Fucking zombies? Hell yeah! This is just like The Walking Dead!” His muscles bulged and the weapon he held began blazing with a crimson aura that dripped like a bloody miasma.

  He’s using Skills already? Fuck, I should’ve had a talk with him about spending Sigils too soon.

  Peter ran forward and reached the closest zombie, which had another two abreast of it. He let out a swing, and Eric winced as the sound of a massive crack reached his ears from Peter’s swing breaking the sound barrier. His weapon sent out a shockwave that pulverized the zombies and sent them flying back, shattered corpses crashing into the cavern walls.

  “The left!” Naomi shouted. Eric heard the bang of her gun go off right next to him. He turned and saw that there were some zombies coming at them from the left side. Quickly glancing to the right, he spotted more of them. Still a small distance off, but going for him and Naomi both instead of Peter.

  “Get closer to Peter,” Eric ordered as he moved forward, firing off bolts at the farthest-away targets to make the most use of the burning affliction. He felt winded already, and his breathing was coming shakily as he kept using mana on his Rote.

  Naomi kept taking shots, and each one found its way to a target, blowing off arms and legs, or drilling into torsos. “I can’t get the fucking head!” she shouted. “I need to make some adjustments. Fuck! I’m such a bad shot!”

  Eric saw one of the zombies get within reach, so he pulled Naomi away, putting his arm up in the way to take the incoming claw-swipe on his forearm. But the zombie went flying to the left and was pinned to the wall—a massive arbalest bolt stuck out of its temple.

  Shannon shouted from across the room. “Woohoo! Headshot!” She then vanished from sight again, but her voice came from behind one of the stalagmites. “I’ll cover you two, just help Peter!”

  Eric turned his attention to the front and frowned as he saw Peter use another Sigil to fuel the same mighty blow Skill. “Stop using Sigils!” he shouted.

  Peter glanced back, then looked to the front once more and slammed his hammer into a zombie’s head. “Why?!”

  “We have more chambers to deal with! You’re blowing all your resources too soon!”

  The Reaver grunted in acknowledgement and kept swinging, thankfully without activating his Skill, and mechanically put down zombie after zombie.

  Eric scanned the backline of zombies but couldn’t see the ones he had ignited. He did feel a slight trickle of warmth along his back though, and his mind felt a little bit sharper. His sore muscles and mana channels relaxed and were soothed.

  Must be Vital Heat activating as the zombies die from the burn.

  The surge of bodies became more and more compressed, until there were almost three dozen zombies surrounding Peter in an arc from the front. Shannon had been picking off the ones on the sides that headed for Eric and Naomi, while the two of them had been firing into the mass before them.

  “How about now?” Peter shouted. “Can I use another Skill?”

  “I got it!” Shannon’s voice replied from their right. Eric barely saw the initial firing of the arbalest round, though he watched as it split into dozens of duplicates in the air, which each found their mark. The whole group of zombies was thrown to the left, pinned to the ground, each other, or the stalagmites. “Woohoo!”

  Peter moved from one zombie to another, bringing the hammer down on each of their heads.

  No point in me using any more mana right now.

  Eric pulled out his short-sword and set to dispatching the pinned and dying zombies, finishing them off with simple efficiency. He glanced back at Naomi, who was still standing there, holding her gun and hyperventilating. “Peter, you got this?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Peter replied.

  Shannon had popped out of the shadows and set to stabbing the zombies in the head alongside Peter. “We got this!” She sounded thrilled as she cackled and stabbed down. “Take that, you fucker!”

  Eric sheathed his short-sword and walked over to Naomi, grabbed both of her shoulders, and shook her slightly. “Hey. You with us?” He leaned in closer and whispered, “Remember, we’re being watched.”

  “I . . .” She made eye contact with him, and he saw a trace of fear behind her eyes. The same fear that he’d seen from fresh recruits thrown into the meat grinder of battlefield combat. “It was so fast, so violent . . .”

  “We’re being judged,” Eric chided once more. “Come on, you have to show you’re a badass. Compress. Shove all that shit down. Compartmentalize—I know you can.”

  That snapped Naomi out of her temporary fugue, and she nodded, becoming all-business once more. “Let’s get the rest of these dealt with.” She slung the gun over her shoulder, pulled out a dagger, and set to work with the rest of them.

  Eric spared a glance at the tunnel entrance and saw Seraphine taking notes on a small pad. Some of the guards behind her were surreptitiously making notations of their own.

  Hopefully, we impressed them. Now to finish the zombies off.

  Eric pulled out his sword once again and began the grisly work.