Noon's relentless sun scorched a hidden ravine beyond the eastern canyon, where a pre-Nexus cache—revealed by the beacon's map—lay buried beneath a crumbling stone archway, its entrance pulsing with corrupted runes. Kael El led his team—Drayce, Veyna, Vren, Sira, Jory, and 12 militia and Dusk Enclave hunters—into the cache's dark tunnels, their torchlight flickering off rusted metal walls. Stormforged Blade blazed in his grip, shard-pommel roaring, its hum a defiant pulse against the oppressive gloom. EX: Dragonflame Reaver burned at his hip, Stormhide Armor tight, Lyra's fierce spirit and Rhea's gentle love fueling his resolve. His flirty smirk was gone, replaced by a grim focus, masking a surging alertness—mutated creatures, spawned by corrupted life runes, lunged from the shadows, their claws and fangs gleaming with red-tinted venom. He brushed EX: Gold Dominion, golden veins flaring through the tunnel floor, molten and fierce, amplifying his team's endurance.