45

The air in the fourth-floor room was so dense that Darius felt his lungs fill with a viscous, heavy substance with every breath. A cold sweat ran down his back, and the humidity clung to his skin like a second skin. Every step he took echoed with a sound that was lost in the darkness, as if the walls themselves were watching him, stalking him. The torches they carried barely managed to penetrate the blackness, revealing grotesque outlines of stalagmites that seemed to writhe like specters and roots that pulsed with a sickly life. The smell of damp and rancid stone stung his nose, mixing with a sickly-sweet aroma that churned his stomach.

"What kind of place is this?" Darius thought, his mouth dry and a lump in his throat. He had explored countless dungeons, faced beasts and bandits in the darkest corners of Eldoria, but he had never felt so... oppressed. It was as if the very air was imbued with a malevolent energy, a presence that watched him, judged him.

He looked at his companions, their faces pale under the flickering torchlight. Kael, the young scout, walked with wide eyes, his breathing quick and shallow. "Poor kid," Darius thought. "I wish he had listened at the camp. Maybe we could have avoided this." Anya, the thief, bit her lower lip, her usual confidence replaced by an unease she couldn't hide. Even Eliana, the mage, with her aura of serene wisdom, seemed disturbed, her forehead furrowed with worry lines.

"We should have listened to Kael," Anya murmured, her voice barely a whisper that was lost in the dense atmosphere. Darius looked at her, surprised by the fragility in her tone. Anya, the woman who faced bandits and beasts without batting an eye, was now trembling before the unknown.

Darius didn't answer. He knew Anya was right, but fear was a poison that spread quickly. He couldn't allow it to take hold of them. Instead of words, he offered a gesture of confidence, a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Hold your positions," he ordered, his voice echoing strangely in the chamber. "We're close to the end. I can feel it."

Eliana nodded, her fingers tracing runes in the air. "Please, let the magic protect us," Darius thought, watching as a faint but comforting blue light enveloped the group. He scanned the walls, looking for any sign of danger. The gems embedded in the rock emitted multicolored flashes, creating a hypnotic spectacle that turned his stomach. For a moment, he thought he saw humanoid figures lurking in the shadows, but when he blinked, they disappeared. "Hallucinations," he told himself, trying to calm his nerves. "They're just hallucinations."

A chill ran down his spine. It was as if an electric current had passed through his spine. He felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, and his heart began to beat loudly, as if it wanted to escape from his chest. He looked at his companions and saw the same terror reflected in their eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

And then, from the depths of the chamber, a figure emerged.

At first, it seemed small, almost insignificant. A teenager in a dress woven with bright leaves and flowers, her green hair falling over her shoulders like a waterfall of luminous algae. But as she approached, Darius felt a chill that froze his blood. Her eyes... those amber eyes that burned with a supernatural intensity, pierced him like daggers.

And on her head, two long, sharp horns, like those of a gazelle, curved upwards, adorned with gems that shone with an inner light.

Sitting on a throne of dark rock, covered with moss and luminous flowers, with runes carved that emanated an ancient power, the girl watched them with a serenity that contrasted with the oppressive atmosphere of the place.

"Welcome," she said, her voice echoing strangely as if it came from the walls themselves. "I'm glad you've come this far."

Darius swallowed, his throat dry. He tried to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat. The girl, despite her youthful appearance, exuded an aura of power that overwhelmed him. It was as if he was standing before an ancient god, a being that defied the laws of nature.

"What is this?" Darius thought, his mind confused. "A girl? With horns? And that power...?" He felt small, insignificant, like an ant in front of a giant.

"W-who are you?" he finally asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The girl smiled, a sweet smile that didn't reach her amber eyes. "I am Aurora," she replied, her voice like the tinkling of broken glass. "And you have invaded my home."

Eliana, her face pale and an expression of horror in her eyes, took a step forward. "I have to know what it is," she thought, with a courage that contrasted with the fear that gnawed at her insides. She held out a hand, concentrating her energy on the "Soul Perception," the technique that allowed her to see the life force of creatures, their aura, their essence. But when she tried to use it on the girl, she encountered an absolute void. A darkness that absorbed all light, a nothingness that left her on the verge of mental collapse. With a strangled cry, she put her hands to her head, her body trembling.

"There's nothing..." she whispered, her eyes wide. "There's no life force... It's as if... she's not alive... or as if she's too powerful for me to perceive her..."

Her words echoed like thunder in the chamber. The other adventurers looked at her in disbelief, fear taking hold of them. Darius felt the ground move beneath his feet. It was not an earthquake, but something deeper, more sinister. It was as if the dungeon itself was awakening.

Aurora, with a fluid movement, rose from the throne. The roots on the ground writhed around her as if they were worshiping her. Her eyes shone with a cold, inhuman light.

"I won't give you another chance," she said in an icy voice, extending a hand towards them. "Prepare to die."

And at that moment, all hell broke loose. The stalagmites that adorned the chamber came to life, stretching towards them like gigantic claws. The adventurers barely had time to react, throwing themselves in different directions to avoid being crushed.

"Defensive formation!" Darius shouted, but his words were lost in the chaos.

Aurora watched everything with a serene, almost amused expression. She raised a hand, and the creatures they had defeated on the lower levels reappeared, this time bigger, fiercer. The giant rats roared, showing sharp fangs, while the shadow spiders threw sticky webs that immobilized their victims.

The adventurers fought with all their might, but it was useless. Every blow they connected seemed to bounce off an invisible shield, and every time one of them fell wounded, Aurora seemed to become stronger. Her eyes shone with a supernatural light, absorbing the fear and pain of her enemies as if it were an intoxicating nectar.

Kael was the first to succumb. A bloodcurdling scream escaped his lips as a giant rat knocked him down, sinking its fangs into his leg. Before anyone could help him, the roots on the ground enveloped him, dragging him into the shadows.

"No!" Darius shouted, running towards him, but he was intercepted by an invisible barrier that threw him back.

Anya tried to use her daggers to cut the roots, but they regenerated instantly, as if they were fueled by the same energy that flowed through Aurora. The thief recoiled, panting, while tears of frustration ran down her face.

Eliana, desperate, launched a fire spell directly at Aurora, but the flames dissipated before touching her, turning into motes of light that floated around the girl like obedient fireflies.

"It's... impossible," Eliana whispered, falling to her knees. Her magic, which had always been her greatest strength, was completely useless against this being.

Aurora advanced with an unsettling grace, each step echoing like thunder in the oppressive silence of the chamber. Darius, immobilized by an invisible force that crushed him against the ground, watched her with wide eyes. He felt a cold sweat run down his back, and his heart beat with the force of a war drum. "It can't be," he thought, his mind clouded by terror. "This can't be happening."

Eliana, beside him, sobbed silently, her body trembling uncontrollably. Anya, her face streaked with tears of frustration, clung to her daggers as if they were a lifeline. Mael, the veteran scout, had shrunk into a corner, his gaze lost in the void. Kael... Kael was gone.

Aurora stopped in front of Darius, her shadow covering him like a shroud. She tilted her head, her golden eyes shining with a cruelty that contrasted with her childlike appearance.

"Your emotions are fascinating," she said in a voice that seemed to caress his ears, but at the same time chilled his blood. "Fear, desperation... they are so delicious."

Darius tried to scream, to curse, anything to break that paralysis that imprisoned him. But his body didn't respond. It was as if he was trapped in a nightmare, a lucid dream where reality was distorted at the whim of the demon girl. His gaze locked on Aurora's eyes, those golden wells that seemed to contain entire galaxies, universes of pain and suffering. And at that moment, he understood. There was no escape. There was no hope. He was facing something that transcended his understanding, a cosmic power that crushed him like an insect.

I will die here Darius thought, with a bitter resignation that flooded his soul. And I won't even be able to fight. He remembered his home, his family, the shared laughter in the tavern after a successful adventure. Images that now seemed so distant, so unreal. "I'm sorry," he murmured in his mind, addressing his fallen comrades. "I have failed you."

Aurora extended a hand, her pale fingers brushing Darius's forehead. A chill ran through his body, a feeling of cold that penetrated him to the bone. He felt as if his vital energy, his essence, was fading away, absorbed by the girl. And then, darkness.

Anya, seeing Darius fall, felt the last thread of hope break. "I can't... I can't anymore," she thought, her legs trembling and her vision blurred. She had faced countless dangers, but she had never felt so powerless. She looked at Eliana, who was still sobbing on the ground, and at Mael, huddled in his corner, his gaze lost in the void. "Forgive me," she whispered, her voice broken by despair.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow. But instead of pain, she felt a pressure on her mind, a force that dragged her into the darkness. And then, nothingness.

Mael, hidden in his corner, watched the scene with a mixture of terror and resignation. "So this is the end," he thought, bitterly. He remembered his life, full of adventures and dangers, of victories and defeats. He had lived more than many dared to dream, but now, in the face of this unfathomable power, he felt like a helpless child.

"At least I will die with my boots on," he said to himself, with a last flash of pride. He closed his eyes, waiting for the cold embrace of death. But instead, he felt a force that enveloped him, that absorbed him. And then, silence.

Sebastián, from the shadows, watched the massacre with his heart in his throat. Despite knowing that Aurora was not in danger, seeing her unleash such power filled him with a mixture of awe and fear. "It's... incredible," he thought, his mind confused. "I have never seen her like this." He felt a pang of pride seeing Aurora master her power.

And something more... an emotion he could not identify. It was as if a part of him felt attracted to that destructive force, to the terrible beauty of Aurora at that moment. He shook his head, trying to push away those thoughts.

When it was all over, Aurora turned to where Sebastián was hidden. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Sebastián felt a mixture of pride and relief to see that she was unharmed, but also something deeper: an unconscious admiration for the force he had just witnessed. And that other emotion... that disturbing attraction that troubled him.

Aurora smiled slightly, a smile that did not reach her amber eyes, before disappearing into the darkness, leaving behind only the echo of her crystalline laughter.