They went together.
Rollo refused to be left behind, and Kendo did not argue further.
The rope descent was steady. Controlled.
The cavern greeted them with oppressive quiet.
Rollo's lantern light swept across the massive skeleton.
He froze.
"That's not E-tier," he whispered.
"No."
"That's not A-tier either."
Kendo said nothing.
They approached the rib deposits cautiously. The cracks along the vertebrae had widened slightly since Kendo's last visit.
Rollo noticed. "It wasn't like that before."
"No."
"Tell me you see that."
"I do."
They worked quickly, extracting enough ore to attempt a full blade.
The cavern trembled again when the final chunk broke free.
This time, the vibration lasted longer.
Dust fell from above.
Rollo looked toward the skull instinctively.
The hollow sockets seemed deeper.
Darker.
Kendo felt pressure building behind his temples.
Not pain.
Expectation.
"Let's go," Rollo urged.
They climbed without speaking.
Back at the forge, Kendo began immediately.
He did not sleep.
He did not rest.
The forge roared hotter than ever before.
The ore resisted melting, but with sustained heat and careful airflow, it softened.
He poured it into a full-length sword mold.
The metal flowed sluggishly, thicker than iron, yet it filled the form completely.
When he lifted the raw blade from the mold, it glowed faintly.
He shaped it through the night, refining the edge, smoothing the fuller, balancing the weight.
Rollo watched without interruption.
As dawn crept through the forge windows, Kendo quenched the completed blade.
Steam exploded upward.
When it cleared, the sword remained warm.
Unnaturally so.
Kendo wrapped his fingers around the grip.
The balance was perfect.
The weight felt effortless.
He swung once, experimentally.
The air parted with a low hum.
Rollo's eyes widened.
"That's not normal."
Kendo turned toward the boar plate still leaning outside.
He positioned the blade.
And struck.
The hide split in two.
Not sliced.
Divided.
The cut was so clean the halves remained standing for a heartbeat before sliding apart.
Silence filled the forge.
Kendo stared at the blade in his hand.
It was not an upgrade.
It was a leap.
A dangerous one.
Behind them, from deep beneath the northern ridge, a low tremor rolled through the earth.
Rollo looked toward the door slowly.
"Kendo…"
He felt it too.
The sword in his hand pulsed once.
And somewhere far below, something answered.