Leaving the Dungeon… or Not?

Eris sat on the chill stone floor, her breathing still erratic from the battle.

Her fingers ran over the Ring of Dimensional Veil, the enigmatic treasure just given to her. It glowed faintly, a barely perceptible heat seeping into her flesh.

"A ring that hides one from certain beings."

It was not a normal dungeon prize. It seemed more like a warning.

"We will meet again."

The monster's words lingered in her head. Whatever it was, it had recognized her. And not as an adversary.

As a subject for study.

"Eris?" Leon's voice brought her back to reality. "You've been quiet for too long. We should leave."

She took a deep breath, pulling herself back into the present. Yeah. The dungeon was cleared, and all that was left was to depart.

Standing up, she dusted herself off and walked toward the large stone doors at the far end of the chamber. The exit.

She pressed her palm against the cold rock—

Nothing.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She pushed harder. Still nothing.

System Alert:

Warning: Exit Temporarily Unavailable.

Unknown Interference Detected.

"…You've got to be kidding me."

"Eris, what's going on?" Leon asked warily.

She turned to face the room again. "The exit isn't working."

"What?"

She stepped back, looking around the room. The boss was down. The reward was taken. By all reason, the dungeon should be releasing her.

And the doors were still closed.

System Alert:

Detecting Cause…

Unknown Energy Signature Detected.

Something flickered at the edge of her vision.

The shadows on the walls rippled, small distortions that moved like liquid. They weren't moving as they should. They weren't natural.

Eris's gut churned. "Leon, tell me you see that."

"I see it," he vowed sullenly.

And then something emerged.

A human shape coalesced out of the spinning darkness—a man, but twisted. His form rippled, as if reality itself strained to hold it back.

And then he spoke.

"You were not meant to live."

Eris's blood turned cold.

"Oh, joy," Leon snarled. "A sore loser."

The figure advanced, its body wobbling in and out of existence, like a mirage on the verge of shattering.

Eris gritted her teeth. "I just killed a king of the dead and gazed into the nothingness itself. You think I'm afraid of you?"

The darkness did not answer. It struck.

Shadow Step!

Eris disappeared from her standing place as the figure's clawed hand ripped through the area where she had been. The wall she stood behind did not shatter or crack—it simply was not there, erased from existence.

"That attack… feels a lot like that being's abilities," Leon remarked.

"Yeah, saw the same thing!" Eris snapped as she jumped up behind the beast, attacking with all her might.

Shadow Strike!

Her sword cut through the form, severing it in two—

Only to have it put itself back together in a flash.

Eris's gut dropped. "Oh, that's not right."

The shadow rotated, its distorted shape now taller, sharper, heavier.

System Alert:

Warning! Entity Classification: Abyssal Remnant.

Threat Level: HIGH.

"Abyssal? That's new," Leon grumbled.

Eris dodged another attack, just barely avoiding the void-strengthened claws that would most certainly annihilate her on contact.

Think, think, think!

She couldn't attack it head-on. Regular attacks weren't working, and the longer she battled, the more powerful the entity was growing.

"It's linked to the thing we found before," Leon explained. "That thing didn't hurt you, but this one did. That means—"

"It's here to wrap things up," Eris translated aloud. "It's attempting to remove me."

Since she couldn't beat it, she could fool it.

She glanced at the treasure chest she had pillaged beforehand. The Ring of Dimensional Veil.

It was meant to prevent detection.

Did it have some other ability?

"Leon, I'm going to do something ridiculous," she growled.

"I would be surprised."

Eris squeezed the ring into a fist, calling on it to surge.

"Work. come on!"

Power flashed out of the ring in a living throb, vibrating through her in a weightless wave.

The Abyssal Remnant grasped.

It stumbled, staggering, as if dazed, having no idea where she was.

Eris's heart seethed with terror. It worked.

It could not perceive her.

The beast spun its head, raking the area—but its burning eyes swept clean through her.

Then—without another sound—it melted back into the shadows, vanishing completely.

The room went silent.

The exit doors groaned, the unknown interference fading.

System Alert:

Exit Unlocked. Proceed to leave the dungeon?

Eris exhaled slowly.

Then she laughed. "Holy hell… that actually worked."

"You are either the luckiest or most reckless person I've ever met," Leon muttered.

Eris grinned. "Why not both?"

Her hands still trembled slightly as she stepped toward the now unlocked exit. That was too close.

She didn't know who—or what—had sent the thing to follow her around, but one thing was certain.

Something out there did not want her there any longer.

And it hadn't succeeded.

That meant…

They would come back.

And next time, she'd be ready.

With that last consideration, she walked out of the exit portal.