Chapter 8: The Forsaken Sanctum

A Path into the Unknown

The pulsing glow from the tunnel ahead wasn't natural.

It wasn't the eerie green of dungeon fungi, nor the flickering orange of torches placed by explorers.

It was something deeper, something that didn't belong in an E-rank dungeon.

Ryosuke exhaled slowly, his breath visible in the unnaturally cold air.

His fingers twitched at his side, still adjusting to the new energy coursing through his body.

🔹 [Warning: Incomplete Awakening.]

🔹 [Directive: Seek the Forsaken Sanctum.]

🔹 [Coordinates: Acquired.]

The message still hung in his vision.

Incomplete?

Was this why he still felt different but not… whole?

His gaze flickered to Nyx, the monstrous entity that had once tried to consume him but now knelt in silent obedience.

Even now, it didn't move unless commanded. But Ryosuke could feel it.

A presence in the back of his mind, waiting. Watching.

Nyx had existed in this dungeon before him.

Did it know what was down there?

Ryosuke's eyes narrowed.

"…Lead the way," he commanded.

Nyx stirred for the first time since its subjugation. Without hesitation, it turned and skittered into the glowing tunnel.

Ryosuke followed.

The Descent

The passage twisted downward in an unnatural spiral. The deeper they went, the more wrong the dungeon became.

The walls were no longer stone, but something smoother, almost polished.

The veins of pulsing light weren't growing from the surface.

They were part of it.

As if the entire dungeon was alive.

Every step made his skin crawl, but Ryosuke pushed forward.

🔹 [You are approaching the Forsaken Sanctum.]

The air shifted.

The heavy stillness that had surrounded him throughout the dungeon lifted slightly, replaced with something…

Ancient.

Nyx stopped.

For the first time since its submission, it hesitated.

Ryosuke didn't like that.

If even this thing—this parasitic abomination—was hesitant to move forward, then what the hell was waiting for him?

His throat felt dry, but he steeled himself and stepped past Nyx.

"I'm not stopping here."

Nyx clicked its mandibles, but after a moment, it followed.

The Door Without a Door

The tunnel ended abruptly.

Ryosuke came to a stop, staring at what lay before him.

A massive wall of obsidian-black stone, pulsing with veins of violet light.

It was smooth, impossibly so—no cracks, no breaks.

No doors.

But the moment his gaze locked onto it, the System flared to life.

🔹 [Identifying…]

🔹 [Welcome, Forsaken One.]

🔹 [Sanctum Access Granted.]

The wall shuddered.

A deep, grinding sound filled the air as the smooth surface rippled, shifting like liquid stone.

Then, it simply vanished.

Beyond it was darkness.

A vast, endless expanse of black mist stretching beyond what his eyes could see.

Ryosuke's pulse quickened.

Was this even a part of the dungeon anymore?

A single step forward and he would be leaving behind everything he knew.

He turned to Nyx. The creature remained at his side, motionless.

It was waiting for him.

Slowly, Ryosuke took a deep breath.

And then—

He stepped through.

The Forsaken Sanctum

Cold.

That was the first thing he felt.

A bone-deep, soul-consuming cold.

Not from the air. Not from the environment.

But from within himself.

The darkness was absolute for a moment. Then—

Light.

Pale blue torches flickered to life along unseen walls. Shadows twisted unnaturally as the glow spread.

The space was enormous, an endless cathedral of black stone. Archways stretched high above, their edges sharp like the ribcage of some colossal beast.

There was no dust. No sign of decay.

This place had not been abandoned.

It had been waiting.

🔹 [Welcome, Forsaken Lord.]

Ryosuke tensed.

That title.

He had seen it before—in the moment of his rebirth.

His fists clenched at his sides. "What the hell is this place?"

The System responded immediately.

🔹 [This is the resting place of the Forsaken.]

🔹 [Your inheritance awaits.]

Inheritance.

The word sent a shiver down his spine.

What had he become?

Before he could move forward, something shifted in the shadows.

The Guardian of the Forsaken

A low, echoing rumble filled the chamber.

Ryosuke's breath hitched.

A presence unfurled from the depths of the Sanctum.

🔹 [Entity Detected: Warden of the Forsaken.]

The shadows twisted, coalescing into something huge.

It wore tattered, obsidian-black armor, its face hidden beneath a hood of shifting void.

Two burning violet eyes stared down at him.

Nyx hissed, its body lowering slightly—not in aggression, but recognition.

Ryosuke's fingers curled into fists.