Chapter 192: Reckless
Selindra stepped forward, boots sinking slightly into the blackened snow. She knelt by the archway, brushing ice off a section of the script with her glove. Her lips moved silently as she traced the patterns, brow furrowing.
Lucen tilted his head. "Can you even read that?"
"Not fully," Selindra admitted. Her voice was flat, but her eyes stayed locked on the script. "Fragments. Old tongue. Warnings. Binding. Something about—" She stopped.
Lucen raised a brow. "About?"
She looked up at him, and for the first time since they’d met, there was hesitation in her eyes. "Consumption."
Lucen chuckled, low in his throat. "Lovely. Guess we’re the entrée."
Varik didn’t move. He simply studied the archway like he was staring down an opponent. His voice came quiet but firm. "How do we open it?"
Selindra shook her head. "That’s the problem. It doesn’t open. Not normally. The seal isn’t mechanical, it’s alive. Feeding off the abyssal bleed."
Lucen’s smirk widened. "So, what—you knock politely and hope it invites us in?"
Selindra shot him a sharp look. "You joke too much."
"And you think too much," Lucen replied, voice smooth. "Balance, Selindra. Balance."
He stepped closer, ignoring the sudden tightening in the air. Each step made his mana core ache, but he liked the feeling, sharp, dangerous. He stopped right before the archway, close enough that the shifting script blurred into a headache behind his eyes.
His fingers twitched, mana sparking faintly at the tips. "I could force it."
Varik’s voice cut sharp. "No."
Lucen turned slightly, one brow raised. "What, scared I’ll blow us up?"
"No," Varik said simply. His gaze was steady, unyielding. "You’ll give it what it wants."
For a beat, no one spoke. The silence was thicker here, pressing against their skin, pressing against their thoughts.
Selindra stood slowly, brushing frost off her gloves. "He’s right. The vault reacts to power. If you force it, it will feed. That’s how these seals survive centuries."
Lucen studied her for a moment, then let his grin curl. "Cute. You two actually agree on something."
Varik didn’t respond. He didn’t need to.
Lucen turned back to the archway, his reflection warped in the black ice. The pulsing script seemed almost to lean toward him, like it knew.
’It’s mine. Whatever’s in there—it’s already mine.’
He forced the thought down and stepped back, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Fine. So, what’s the plan? We sit here and hope the door gets tired of staying shut?"
Selindra’s eyes narrowed. "We wait. Elira will want a containment team before we go further."
Lucen barked out a laugh. "Oh, sure. Let’s just camp outside the abyssal relic and hope nothing eats us while we knit scarves. Brilliant plan."
Her glare sharpened, but Varik spoke first. "She’s not wrong. Charging blind into abyssal contamination is suicide."
Lucen’s grin faded, his voice dropping softer. "For most people."
Varik’s gaze flicked to him. Just for a moment. Enough.
Selindra didn’t miss it. Her eyes narrowed, suspicion sharp as a blade.
The ground pulsed beneath them, faint but real. A low vibration that rolled up through their boots. The archway glowed brighter, script flaring like molten lines. The air thickened, sharp with ozone.
Selindra stiffened, hand dropping to her blade. "It knows we’re here."
Lucen’s smile returned, slow and dangerous. "Good. Saves us the trouble of knocking."
The script shifted again, faster now, almost frantic. The hum rose, building. The vault was waking, whether they touched it or not.
Varik’s hand settled on his sword hilt, his voice low, steady. "Form up."
Lucen’s mana surged, eager. He flexed his fingers, sparks dancing between them. "Finally. I was getting bored."
Selindra drew her blade in one smooth motion, gray eyes locked on the arch.
The first crack split the stone with a sound like thunder.
And the vault began to open.
—
The crack running through the arch widened with a sound like mountains splitting. Ice and black stone sheared away in jagged shards, scattering across the dead snow. The air thickened until it was hard to breathe, metallic, electric, each inhale cutting like cold glass.
Lucen’s system pinged once.
[Environmental Warning: Abyssal Contamination Detected]
[Passive Resistance: Insufficient | Mana Strain +2/sec]
’Great. Breathing counts as a workout now.’
He rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers. Sparks of blue and red mana coiled between them, impatient.
Beside him, Selindra’s stance had shifted, blade out, both hands wrapped on the hilt, weight settled low like she expected something to lunge through. No hesitation. No nerves. Just cold calculation.
Varik didn’t move much at all. He stood steady, one hand on his sword, expression the same unshakable calm that drove Lucen insane sometimes. Like nothing on this side of existence could surprise him anymore.
The vault groaned, light bleeding from the shifting script. Then, with a final wrenching sound, the arch split wide, and something stepped through.
It was massive. Ten feet tall at least, its form humanoid but warped, black armor fused to its flesh like it had grown there. A face hidden behind a jagged helm, glowing lines pulsing through cracks in its body like molten rivers. Its eyes, if they could be called eyes, were two pits of red fire.
Lucen’s mana core stuttered at the sight. The thing radiated pressure, the kind that pressed down on your spine until your knees wanted to fold.
[Guardian Manifestation Detected]
[Estimated Threat Level: S+]
Lucen’s lips curled in a sharp grin. ’Cute. A warmup.’
The guardian’s first step shook the ridge, a deep booming impact that rattled his teeth. Steam hissed off its body with each movement, the air warping around it.
Selindra moved first. Her blade blurred, faster than Lucen’s eyes could follow. One second she was still, the next she was there, her strike arcing toward the guardian’s knee.
Sparks screamed as her blade hit. The guardian staggered back a step, but its armor held, cracked faintly, smoking, yet intact.
Selindra didn’t flinch. She slid back, adjusting her grip, eyes sharp and measuring.
The guardian roared, a low, grinding sound like steel torn apart. It swung an arm the size of a tree trunk toward her.
Varik was suddenly there. His blade met the blow mid-swing, the impact ringing out like a cathedral bell. Shockwaves blasted outward, kicking snow and shards of crystal into the air.
Varik didn’t move an inch. Not a step back, not a falter. Just anchored.
Lucen muttered under his breath, "Show-off."
Still, he was already moving. Mana surged down his arm, gathering into a spear of light and sound. [Shockweave Bolt.]
He hurled it high, catching the guardian across the helm. The explosion cracked like thunder, blue arcs splitting across its head. The beast reeled, its roar shifting into a pained metallic screech.
But when the smoke cleared, its eyes still burned red.
Selindra darted in again, her blade a blur of silver in the gray air. She carved across the guardian’s arm, sparks cascading as she cut through layers of fused armor. This time the blade bit deeper, black ichor spilling out like molten tar.
The guardian swung again, furious now, both arms coming down in a brutal smash.
Varik met it. His sword cut upward, a single arc that split the blow. The air shook. Fragments of black stone flew in every direction as his blade carved through one arm entirely. The severed limb crashed into the snow, steaming and twitching.
Lucen whistled low. "And here I thought I was flashy."
His mana surged again. This time he spread it wide, carving sigils in the air with practiced precision. [Ignition Burst.]
The ground under the guardian flared, a circle of searing red exploding upward. Fire roared, engulfing its legs in a violent column. Black armor cracked further, glowing fissures racing across its body.
The guardian staggered, roaring, but it wasn’t down yet.
It turned, and for the first time, its eyes fixed on Lucen.
’Oh. Fun.’
The pressure doubled. Its steps thundered toward him, each impact shaking the ridge like a drumbeat.
Lucen’s grin widened. "Come on, then."
He drew his sword, letting mana flood it until the steel hummed, edge glowing faintly with that new surge-shift he’d unlocked. Sparks crawled along the blade.
The guardian’s fist came down.
Lucen moved sideways, barely, rolling across the blackened snow. The fist slammed into the ground where he’d stood, a crater blooming out, shards flying like shrapnel.
Lucen came up swinging. His blade carved along the guardian’s forearm, flame bursting along the steel’s edge. [Piercing Flare.]
The cut burned deep, leaving a molten groove. The guardian shrieked, staggering, but its other arm swung toward him like a hammer.
Before it landed, Varik’s blade flashed through, intercepting. The impact cracked the air again, and Varik shoved the blow aside like swatting a branch.
"Focus," Varik said, calm even in the middle of the chaos.
Lucen shot him a grin. "I am focused. This is me focused."
Selindra didn’t waste a second. She was already at the guardian’s back, her blade stabbing straight through one of the glowing fissures. The creature convulsed, ichor spraying, its roar shattering the ridge air.
Lucen took the opening. He raised his hand, mana pouring out in a spiral. [Crater Bloom.]
The ground split beneath the guardian’s feet. A violent eruption of stone and fire blasted upward, launching it off balance. It crashed to its knees, both arms thrashing.
Varik was already in motion. His blade rose once, then fell, a single, perfect strike.
The guardian’s helm split down the middle. Red fire burst out, extinguishing in an instant.
The body toppled forward, shuddered once, then went still. Steam hissed as the black armor cracked and flaked away, dissolving into the air.
[Guardian Defeated]
[XP Gained: +8,200]
[Level Up: 29 → 30]
Lucen’s system chimed in his mind. His core pulsed sharp, then steadied. He exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Well. That was fun."
Selindra cleaned her blade with quick, precise motions, her face unreadable.
Varik sheathed his sword in silence. His gaze lingered on Lucen just a fraction longer than usual.
Lucen caught it. Smirked faintly. "What? You thought I’d trip over myself out here?"
Varik didn’t answer.
Selindra did. "You’re reckless."
Lucen grinned. "Reckless keeps me interesting."
Her gray eyes held his for a moment, searching, suspicious. But she said nothing more.
The vault behind them pulsed again, brighter. The script crawled faster, the hum rising.
Lucen tilted his head, still grinning. "Round one was cute. What’s next?"