[Have you gone mad]

Wind howled past Amira’s ears as she plummeted into the darkness. The weightless freefall sent her stomach twisting, her flames sputtering as she reached out blindly—

Until—

THUD.

She hit the ground hard, pain jolting through her limbs. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, but she was alive. Barely.

Groans echoed around her as the others landed, some more gracefully than others.

“Is… is anyone dead?” Ruby wheezed.

“No,” Kora groaned. “But I wish I was.”

Amira pushed herself up, shaking the dust from her hair. Her flames flickered back to life, casting a dim glow around them. The cavern they had fallen into was massive—vast, stretching into the darkness beyond her fire’s reach. The air was thick with something ancient, something wrong.

Then she heard it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

A slow, rhythmic sound echoing from the shadows.

Liam stiffened. “Please tell me that’s water.”

It wasn’t.

Because as Amira’s eyes adjusted, she saw them.

Figures.

Lined against the walls, half-buried in the stone. Human-like, but not. Their skin was cracked, ashen, their mouths frozen in silent screams. Empty eye sockets stared out, hollow and soulless.

And then—

One of them moved.

A shuddering, jerky twitch.

Then another.

And another.

The cave came alive.

The walls split open, those empty-eyed creatures peeling themselves free from the stone, their movements unnatural, wrong, hungry.

And in the center of them all—

Something huge began to stir.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the cavern, and Amira barely had time to react before a monstrous shape lurched forward from the shadows.

Towering. Limbs twisted and elongated. A skull-like face with rows of jagged teeth.

And worst of all—

It had no eyes.

But somehow, Amira knew.

It could still see her.

The monstrous, eyeless creature let out a low, guttural growl, its jagged teeth clicking together as it stepped forward. The sound alone made Amira’s skin crawl.

The group stood frozen, weapons clenched, breaths held.

Then—

“I’m gonna be real with y’all.” Dave slowly took a step back. “Fuck this shit, I’m out.”

He turned on his heel, fully intending to book it in the opposite direction.

“Dave, you absolute coward! We just got here!” Ruby hissed.

Dave spun back around, eyes wide. “Did you see that thing?! No eyes, too many teeth, and I bet it smells like straight-up death. Hell no. We are not fighting that—”

The monster lunged.

The group barely had time to react as it swiped a massive clawed hand toward them, stone cracking beneath the force of its swing. Amira yanked Dave backward, nearly throwing him into Liam.

“Move your ass, Dave!” she yelled.

“I WAS TRYING TO—”

The creature’s second attack came fast, this time slamming into the cavern floor. Dust and debris exploded around them, forcing them to scatter.

Amira’s heart pounded. “Alright, new plan! We kill it before it kills us!”

Kora, drawing her weapon, groaned. “Oh great plan, fearless leader! Any idea how?!”

Amira gritted her teeth. The monster loomed over them, its body shifting unnaturally, like a puppet on tangled strings.

Her flames flared up instinctively, burning hotter, and for just a split second—

She felt it again.

That thing from before. Watching. Smiling.

The monster moved—too fast for something its size—charging straight for Amira.

Her vision blurred.

Her flames roared to life.

And as the cavern filled with fire and battle cries, one thought pulsed in the back of her mind:

Something is very, very wrong with this dungeon.

Flames erupted from Amira’s hands, hotter and wilder than ever before. They curled around her like living serpents, licking at the cavern walls, casting long, flickering shadows.

The monster hesitated.

Just for a moment.

Then it charged.

Its massive clawed hands slammed down, shaking the ground. Amira barely dodged, rolling to the side as the heat inside her flared dangerously. She could feel it clawing at her insides, demanding to be let loose, to consume everything.

Her vision blurred for a second.

Then cleared.

No. Not cleared—shifted.

The colors around her distorted, the air rippling like heatwaves. She saw movement—no, intent—before the monster even made it. It was like her body already knew what was going to happen.

And she moved without thinking.

Ducking. Spinning. Her flames striking out before she even gave the command.

But something was wrong.

Each time she used her fire, the edges of her vision blurred more. Like ink bleeding into water, swallowing the details.

Her eyesight was fading.

“Amira, watch out!”

A streak of ice shot past her, slamming into the monster’s side. Sara, panting, held up her hand, frost forming at her fingertips.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Amira barely heard her. She could feel the power inside her growing. If she just let go—if she pushed—

But before she could, Kora’s voice snapped through the chaos.

“Amira! Your eyes!”

She blinked.

For the briefest moment, she caught her reflection in the gleaming ice on the cavern floor.

Her irises weren’t red anymore.

They were burning purple.

The same color as her flames.

Her breath hitched.

And in that single moment of distraction—

The monster struck.

A massive force slammed into her, sending her flying. The cavern walls blurred as she crashed into the ground, pain exploding through her ribs.

Distantly, she heard her friends yelling her name.

But as her body refused to move, as her flames flickered weakly, one thought burned in her mind—

Something inside her was changing.

And she had no idea if she could stop it.

Amira let out a deep, scorching breath as the final flames flickered out. The cavern was eerily silent, the air thick with the stench of burned monster flesh and scorched stone.

But this time—she didn’t collapse.

Her body trembled, her vision still flickering between sharp clarity and blurring shadows, but she stood her ground. The heat still pulsed beneath her skin, but she held it back, gripping control with everything she had.

Slowly, she turned around.

Her friends stood frozen, eyes wide with shock, awe—fear.

But what really made her stomach drop was the look on her sister’s face.

Kora’s arms were crossed, her stance firm, but it was her glare that nearly made Amira flinch. If looks could kill, Amira would’ve been buried six feet under.

Stacy stood beside her, arms stiff at her sides, her usual composed expression unreadable.

The silence stretched.

Then, Kora took a slow step forward, her voice dangerously calm.

"Have you gone mad?"

Kora turned sharply on her heel and began walking toward the dungeon’s exit, her strides stiff with irritation. No one questioned it—they all just followed. Even Amira, despite everything in her screaming to argue, kept her mouth shut.

The air outside was chaotic.

The moment they stepped out, the bright lights of cameras flashed, and a swarm of reporters lunged toward them like a pack of hungry wolves.

“Amira! Is it true that you single-handedly defeated the dungeon boss?!”

“How long have you been an awakened?”

“What do you say to those calling you a danger to society?”

She barely had time to process before more voices piled on.

“Are you affiliated with the Hunter’s Association?”

“Is it true that your flames are different from other awakened abilities?”

“Who trained you?!”

A headache started forming between Amira’s eyes.

Her friends stuck close, but Kora was already done with the situation.

“Back off.” Her voice was sharp, commanding, but the reporters barely flinched.

Then—

The government officials stepped in.

Uniformed personnel in black suits moved swiftly, forming a barrier between them and the media. The chatter dimmed slightly, but then—

One of them stepped forward.

A man in a sleek black suit, an earpiece clipped neatly into place, and dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. His posture was relaxed, but there was something unsettlingly precise about him—like he was sizing them up the moment he laid eyes on them.

He stopped just a few feet away, hands clasped behind his back.

“Amira Singh?”

Amira stiffened.

“…Who’s asking?”

The man didn’t react. “My name is Agent Cross. I represent a special division of the government. We need to have a conversation about what just happened in that dungeon.”

The weight of his words settled in the air.

A tension Amira hadn’t even realized she’d been ignoring crept up her spine.

Because the way he said it—the way he looked at her—

This wasn’t just about the dungeon.

They knew something.

And she had a feeling her life was about to change even more than it already had.

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