Anomaly Hunter

Kaisel and Chosa moved with precision through the rest of the cave, dispatching the remaining creatures with efficient lethality. Chosa relied on bursts of speed, weaving between enemy claws and fangs like a blur, while his healing ability mended the minor injuries he sustained. Kaisel was a force of nature, his blade cutting arcs through the crimson haze, always watching Chosa with sharp, discerning eyes.

Eventually, the blood-slicked stone floor opened into a larger cavern. At its end stood an ancient-looking archway of cracked black stone, etched with glowing red glyphs—the door to the mini boss chamber.

As they stepped toward it, Kaisel suddenly froze.

"Wait," he said sharply.

Chosa stopped mid-step. "What is it?"

Kaisel's eyes narrowed, scanning the room ahead. "Something's off... there's an ominous presence. Something here doesn't belong."

They stepped through the archway, the glyphs flaring briefly before fading. The room beyond was massive and silent—too silent. Pools of blood stained the stone. Corpses of the mini boss's henchmen were scattered across the room, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. And at the center, the supposed mini boss—a hulking armored beast with obsidian horns—lay gutted open, its entrails spilling across the floor.

Sitting atop the corpse was a figure cloaked in black. A massive cowl concealed his face, but even without seeing his eyes, Chosa felt the weight of the stranger's gaze settle directly on him.

The figure slowly raised an arm, pointing a gloved finger at Chosa.

"You," the stranger said, voice like gravel scraping metal. "You don't seem normal. There's something familiar about you... a feeling like my master's. But you're not him. You're far beneath him. So who are you?"

An overwhelming surge of bloodlust flooded the chamber.

Chosa couldn't breathe. His legs locked. His chest felt like it would implode under the pressure.

Luna's voice pierced the storm in his mind.

"Warning: danger level exceeds all previous encounters. Passive calming protocol activated."

Chosa gasped, air rushing into his lungs.

"That individual is an Anomaly Hunter," Luna continued swiftly. "They are elite agents sent down from the upper floors of the Towers by the Markers themselves. Their purpose is to detect and eliminate threats—like other anomalies. Like you. You're not strong enough to face him, Chosa. You must run."

Chosa instinctively took a step back, his heel brushing the blood-streaked stone behind him. He turned slightly, ready to flee.

But Kaisel's voice rang out behind him.

"What was it you said earlier?" he called. "That you have to make it through the floors? Show me that fierce determination I saw in your eyes! Stand tall and fight. Never show an enemy weakness!"

Chosa froze. The memory of his past—a life filled with fear and retreat—clawed at his resolve. But this time, he wasn't that same person. He couldn't be.

He turned back toward the cloaked figure and stepped forward, chest rising with steady breath.

"You want to know what I am?" Chosa said, voice low but firm. "Then come find out."

The figure laughed—a guttural, manic sound that echoed around them.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," he said, standing from the corpse, blood dripping from his cloak. From beneath it, he drew a jagged, obsidian weapon pulsing with dark energy. "Let's see what you've got."

He vanished.

In a flash, he reappeared right in front of Chosa, blade aimed straight for his throat.

"He's coming!" Kaisel shouted, moving like lightning.

Steel clashed against darkness as Kaisel's katana intercepted the strike just in time, deflecting the lethal blow away from Chosa.

The fight for their lives had begun.