"Rune, see this."

Lydia's voice cut through the silence, her sharp eyes fixed on a sheet of paper she'd pulled from the desk.

"Is this the layout of this place?"

We'd been scouring the chamber for clues before rushing blindly after Drane.

One thing was obvious: they left this room in a hurry. Too many documents scattered, chairs pulled back carelessly, and notes that looked half-finished.

If they had expected us to escape the colosseum this early, they wouldn't have been this sloppy.

I walked over and looked at the paper in her hand. My eyes ran across the inked lines, the angular corridors, the wide chamber drawn at the center. My heart skipped.

"Wait.." I muttered.

[No way.]

"This layout…" I whispered, my stomach tightening. "This is the same as the boss room of the S-rank dungeon."

Lydia's eyes shot wide. "The S-rank dungeon? The one you said you wanted to clear... for an F-rank sword?"

I nodded, my grip tightening on the paper.

"Yes. This is it. The chambers, the paths leading inward… it's identical."

My thoughts raced. Images from my past life flooded back. "Wait… those monsters we faced earlier... the mantis, the jaguar, the slime and even the mammoth… I didn't recognize them right away since its been over a century... But now.." I swallowed hard.

"They're the boss's lackeys. His guards."

"The boss's lackeys…" Lydia repeated slowly, her gaze sharpening. "So in other words… the last line of defense for Drane is the S-rank dungeon boss?"

"Yeah. That has to be it!" I said, my voice louder than I intended.

The idea almost made sense. Almost.

But Lydia wasn't convinced. Her arms crossed tightly, her sharp gaze narrowing on me.

"Rune. Drane may be a fool, but the one pulling his strings is not."

She was right. She and I, together… if we go all out, we can defeat an S-rank boss. It would be hard, but not impossible. For them to make that their final line of defense… It feels too weak. Too simple for how elaborate their setup has been.

Her words sank in. Something wasn't adding up.

[Something about those pods bothers me… Why aren't there any other documents related to them here?]

I frowned. That diagram I saw earlier.... They were hiding something.

"Hmm.." Lydia hummed in thought, clearly weighing the same possibilities.

"We don't have much more information here," she finally said, her tone firm.

"They didn't leave anything important. Which means whatever they didn't leave behind… is what matters. We should head in."

I let out a long breath. I gave a short nod. "Alright."

Lydia led the way, her steps light but unhesitating, her long black hair brushing against her shoulders with each stride. I followed.

The next chamber was almost identical in size to the one we just left, but its atmosphere was heavier, colder.

At the center of the room, arranged in a precise circle, stood a cluster of empty pods. Their glass shells gleamed faintly under the dim light, some cracked, some intact, all of them ominously silent.

But they weren't abandoned. Not fully.

I stepped closer and noticed it. A faint drop of green liquid sliding down the edge of a nearby table, landing on the stone floor with a drip.

Lydia's eyes widened. "This room was used recently! They can't have gone far!" She sounded almost excited. Hopeful.

But my instincts screamed at me. Something about this place felt wrong. Too staged.

[Rune, I don't feel good about this. These are Biogenesis Pods.]

\My grip on the paper I still carried tightened until it crumpled.

If Nexar was worried, then something far worse than an S-rank boss was waiting for us.

We stopped walking. We ran.

The traps littered across the chambers were child's play.

Arrows shooting out from corners, floor panels dropping away into spikes below. Maybe enough to scare rookies or shred a few mercenaries, but for Lydia? Laughable.

Drane wasn't dumb enough to think these things could stop her.

Which meant only one thing. He wasn't trying to stop us. He was buying time. Stalling us long enough to unleash something terrifying.

And for some reason, a wide smirk crept up my lips. I could almost hear my own heartbeat quicken at the thought.

[You know… you are becoming more of a battle freak day by day]

"What do you mean? I've always been one."

We pushed through chamber after chamber, the sound of our boots echoing against stone.

That's when my ears twitched.

A sharp whip-like crack. Air splitting.

I moved on instinct. My sword flashed, catching the incoming projectile mid-flight.

For a heartbeat, I thought I had it, until the sheer force slammed through me, throwing me in the air and ramming me into the wall.

Crack.

The stone split behind me, and blood splashed past my lips. "Ackk!"

"RUNE!" Lydia's voice tore through the chamber, ragged and cracked.

I slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor, coughing.

Dust and small rocks rained on me, pebbles bouncing across my shoulders.

"RUNE!" Lydia again, closer this time, her boots hammering against stone as she sprinted to me.

I forced my eyes open, looking past the blur of pain.

"Behind you!" I roared.

She skidded, ducking just in time. But the blow wasn't aimed from above, it came from the side, angled perfectly to punish her dodge.

"Ufff!" The sound punched out of her lungs as the kick landed on her waist, snapping her body sideways.

She was lifted off her feet and sent tumbling, rolling hard across the stone floor before finally coming to a stop.

I forced myself up, leaning on my sword like a crutch, and turned to look at our attacker.

My blood went cold.

"...Lydia?"

It was her. At least… it looked like her.

The figure stood in the dust, dagger in hand… the same dagger that had just smashed me into the wall.

And that power? That speed? That was Lydia's. Exactly Lydia's.

But her face was blank, expressionless, like a doll. Then again Lydia was always like that.

Her skin was cracked in strange places, fine fissures across her cheeks and arms, like she wasn't fully complete. An imitation.

I gritted my teeth. An imposter.

The real Lydia groaned, clutching her waist as she forced herself upright.

"Ugh…" She spat blood, a single crimson drop sliding down her chin.

Not good. She took the full brunt of that kick.

"You okay?" I asked, my voice rough.

She gave a tight nod, even though her hand was pressed hard against her ribs.

"Not good… she has my aura," Lydia said, her tone heavy.

No kidding.

Her ears twitched, the sharp movements that always came before she sensed something.

"Wait…"

"What is it?" I asked, scanning the chamber, every muscle in my body coiled tight.

That's when I heard it. The rattle of a chain.

And then footsteps. Slow, deliberate, echoing with a weight that made the air heavier.

Step by step, it drew closer.

From behind the imposter Lydia, another figure emerged. My eyes widened.

It was me.

No. Not me. Another me.

"What..?" The word escaped my mouth.

Lydia turned her head, her lips twisting into a mocking grin despite the blood still dripping from her mouth.

"Why so shocked? You already saw another me."

"Who cares about the face! It's what's in his hand!"

Lydia's gaze fell on the weapon he carried.

The sword.

Already drawn from its sheath, it gleamed under the dim chamber light.

Black from edge to spine, the blade was long and slightly curved toward the tip.

A deep crimson aura clung to it like smoke. But what made my chest tighten wasn't the blade itself… it was the chain.

A medium-length, pitch-black chain dangled from the hilt, swaying lightly against gravity… then moving on its own, rattling with a life of its own.

The sign that it was active. Functional.

My mouth went dry. "Shit… shit, shit!"

Lydia's gaze followed mine, her eyes narrowing as she finally felt it. The pressure that sword gave off.

"What's that sword…?"

I swallowed hard, my lips cracking into a strained smile I couldn't control.

"It's the Bloodraven(S+)"

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