The footsteps were getting closer.
Slow.
Measured.
Confident.
Ren and Lira stood frozen for half a second, listening as the echoes crept through the narrow passage behind them.
Not rushing.
Not panicking.
Hunting.
"…They're not even trying to hide it," Lira whispered.
"Yeah," Ren muttered. "Because they don't think we can escape."
Another step echoed.
Closer.
Lira tightened her grip on the stone shard she carried. "So what's the plan? Run again?"
Ren didn't answer immediately.
His eyes scanned the tunnel ahead.
Then behind.
Then the walls.
Cracks.
Loose stone.
Narrow turns.
A thought formed.
"…No," he said finally.
Lira blinked. "No?"
Ren turned to her, his expression sharper than before.
"We don't run."
"…You hit your head too hard."
He almost smiled.
"Maybe."
Then his tone hardened.
"But if we keep running like this, they'll catch us when I'm even weaker."
Another step echoed.
Closer now.
Ren lowered his voice.
"We need to slow them down."
Lira frowned. "How? There's three of them—and you can barely stand."
Ren raised his hand slightly.
A faint flicker of mana appeared.
Unstable.
Thin.
"…We don't fight them," he said.
"We make the tomb fight them."
Lira's eyes widened slightly.
"…That's actually not a terrible idea."
"Glad you approve," he muttered.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then—
A voice.
"You're not as quiet as you think," the scarred man called out from the darkness.
Ren's jaw tightened.
"…Too late to hide," Lira whispered.
"Good," Ren said softly.
He stepped back.
Positioning himself near a cracked section of the wall.
"Play along," he murmured.
Then louder—
"You should've stayed back there," Ren called out.
A pause.
Then the scarred man stepped into view, a faint smirk on his face.
His two companions followed close behind.
"Oh?" the man said. "And why's that?"
Ren forced a tired grin.
"Because this place isn't done killing things."
The man chuckled.
"Neither am I."
He stepped forward.
Exactly where Ren wanted him.
Ren's eyes flicked to the wall.
Then back.
"Now," he whispered.
He slammed his palm against the cracked stone—
Mana surged.
Not outward—
Into the wall.
"GHH—!"
Pain ripped through his chest as the unstable energy forced its way out—
The crack exploded.
The wall gave way.
A section of the tunnel collapsed instantly with a thunderous crash, stone and debris pouring down between them.
"MOVE!" someone shouted from the other side.
Too late.
The passage filled with dust and rubble, sealing the gap.
Silence.
Then coughing.
"…That won't hold them long," Lira said quickly.
Ren was already moving.
"I know."
They ran.
Not blindly this time.
Ren's eyes stayed sharp, scanning every turn, every shadow.
Then—
He saw it.
"…There."
A narrow opening to the side—barely visible, half-hidden by broken stone.
They slipped through just as distant crashing sounds echoed behind them.
"They're already breaking through!" Lira said.
"Then we don't stop," Ren replied.
The tunnel twisted sharply.
Then widened.
And suddenly—
They weren't in a corridor anymore.
They stepped into a massive underground hall.
Collapsed pillars.
Broken statues.
And in the center—
A deep pit.
"…What is this place?" Lira whispered.
Ren didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the floor.
Rusted weapons.
Old bones.
Scattered armor.
"…A battlefield," he said quietly.
A distant crash echoed behind them.
Closer now.
"They're coming!" Lira said.
Ren turned slowly.
His breathing steadied.
"…Good."
Lira blinked. "Good?!"
He pointed toward the pit.
"We end this here."
Her eyes widened.
"…Ren, I swear—"
"No running," he said.
His voice was calm.
Focused.
Different.
"They think we're prey."
The footsteps returned.
Fast now.
Angry.
Ren stepped forward.
Positioning himself at the edge of the pit.
"…Let's prove them wrong."
The scarred man burst into the hall, dust still clinging to his armor.
His expression dark.
Irritated.
"You really think you can hide—"
He stopped.
Took in the room.
The pit.
Ren.
Standing still.
Waiting.
"…Or maybe not," he said slowly.
Ren raised his hand.
Mana flickered.
Stronger than before.
Not stable.
But sharper.
"I told you," Ren said quietly.
"This place isn't done killing things."
For a moment—
No one moved.
Then—
A low sound echoed from the pit.
Deep.
Ancient.
Hungry.
The ground trembled.
Lira's voice dropped to a whisper.
"…Ren… what did you just do?"
Ren didn't look away from the men in front of him.
"…I knocked on the door."
Something moved in the darkness below.
And this time—
It wasn't sleeping.