The Return Of The Exiled Villain

As Gray stepped toward the archway, it was like the world behind him simply stopped breathing.

He couldn't hear the birds from before, and not even the wind itself.

"Mhm..."

He paused, staring at the black opening in front of him.

The dungeon's entrance wasn't wide or imposing. No grand gates or statues, just a simple, rough arch made of weathered obsidian bricks, half-covered in moss.

[Only the forgotten may enter. Only the broken may rise.]

His eyes once again landed on the same phrase.

Gray reached out slowly and lightly brushed his fingers against the arch.

SKREEEE—!!

A sudden noise like screaming metal tore through the air.

The bricks shuddered, ancient mechanisms grinding awake after what might have been centuries.

Dust fell like snow, and the roots that clung to the stone recoiled like burned flesh.

And then... the arch opened.

Not like a door, the space beyond it seemed to stretch, pull, twist like reality itself was bending inward.

A narrow hallway now extended beyond the frame, lit by flickering blue torches. The air that blew from it smelled of wet iron, scorched cloth, and old death.

Gray's eyes narrowed cautiously.

"Here we go..."

He stepped through, and at that exact moment...

FWOOOM!

A gust of energy hit him like a wave, enough to make him stumble forward.

Behind him, the entrance vanished entirely.

"Really...? Why didn't I expect this?"

The wall sealed shut, smooth and dark.

There was no way back now.

"Fuuu..."

Gray exhaled shakily, turning to look forward.

The hallway stretched into shadow, stone walls carved with strange glyphs and symbols. His eyes traced them, and of course, none of them were familiar to him.

However, as his eyes narrowed, he slighly understood a single word.

[Begin]

"Begin what?" he frowned.

His answer came quickly.

CLICK.

He stepped on something.

A tile.

His body froze.

SHHHHHK—!

From the ceiling above him, a barrage of steel arrows shot downward.

Fwip, fwip, fwip!

Quickly, he ducked, rolled forward, barely avoiding the rain of death. An arrow grazed his shoulder, slicing cloth and skin.

"Fuck!"

He landed hard on the stone floor, panting.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

But the dungeon wasn't finished.

GRRRRK...

From both sides of the hallway, the walls trembled, and then, sliding stone panels cracked open, revealing two figures.

Two humanoid figures stepped out, their bodies looked human… but wrong.

Bones jutted from their limbs like blades, their faces masked with blank porcelain. And their eyes, those empty sockets, glowed with deep crimson light.

[Survive]

A strange panel appeared in front of Gray.

Instantly, his knees bent, one hand on the floor, the other gripping his rapier.

His lips curled into a sharp grin, teeth bloodied from biting his lip earlier.

"Dammit… I should've known."

"No mercy, huh?"

He rose.

And almost immediately, the first creature lunged without warning.

SWOOSH!!!

Gray barely managed to pivot his body, the blade-like arm of the thing slicing through the air where his chest had just been.

"Fucking hell!" he hissed, already spinning to the side.

Clang!

His rapier deflected a follow-up strike from the second creature, the impact rattling up his arm.

They were fast, too fast for Gray's liking.

He kicked off the wall, skidding back, boots scraping against the old stones.

"Shit, they're faster than me... and stronger too..."

Gray's eyes flicked over their movements as the two slowly walked forward, their bone blades dragging across the floor with an annoying screech.

"I can't win in a straight fight. They'll tear me apart."

He exhaled, calming himself.

Thump...!

Thump..!

Thump!

Their footsteps echoed as they circled him like predators.

Gray's eyes scanned the corridor, narrow, dim, lined with old torch brackets and cracks webbing the ceiling above.

Bits of debris, loose tiles, and crumbling mortar.

But how could he use that to survive?

"Environment... think, Gray, think!"

He feinted toward the left wall.

The first creature lunged.

CLANG—!!

The blow came down fast, but Gray parried it, and his arms nearly buckled from the sheer force.

The impact flung him into the wall, his shoulder slamming hard into the stone.

"Gahh! Son of a—!"

He barely ducked in time to avoid a sweeping slash from the second.

Fwip!

The bone blade carved a deep gash into the wall behind him, stone dust exploding into the air.

Thud!

Gray rolled under the strike and staggered to his feet, chest heaving.

A wet warmth trickled down his side.

He looked down.

A long, shallow gash had opened across his ribs, his shirt clinging to his skin, stained red.

"Already bleeding... fuck. Can't afford more of that."

His vision blurred for half a second, but he bit down hard on his tongue, enough to taste blood, forcing himself to stay present.

He ducked behind a column of cracked stone, buying himself a few precious seconds. The creatures moved slowly now, methodically, as if toying with him.

"They're not rushing. They're testing me... besides, their intelligence doesn't look really high since their attacks are based on a basic pattern."

His fingers touched the floor, feeling the texture of a loose stone.

He smirked.

"Alright, assholes. Let's play."

Gray grabbed the stone and flung it high into the air!

CLACK!

The sound echoed behind the creatures.

One twitched.

The moment it turned, Gray rushed towards the other, drawing its attention.

CLASH!

His rapier met bone again.

But this time, instead of contesting strength, he angled the blade, letting the enemy's force slide past, then twisted his whole body.

CRACK!

He kicked the torch bracket on the wall, snapping it free.

The metal rod fell with a loud clang, just as the second creature turned back around.

And then—

FWOOOOSH—!!

He shoved the loose torch into the dry moss covering the floor, sparks leaping.

Fire.

It burst to life instantly, flames licking the walls and curling around the creature's legs. It shrieked, an awful, glass-breaking noise, as the flames clung to its body.

"You like that, you ugly bastard?!"

Gray hurled himself sideways as the creature thrashed wildly, trying to escape the fire that now devoured it.

The other one roared and lunged straight for him.

But Gray had already moved again.

Back toward the loose section of the ceiling he'd noticed earlier.

He scrambled up a piece of tilted flooring, gritting his teeth as blood dripped steadily from his side.

The second creature chased him up.

Gray turned just as it reached the slope.

"Come on... just a little closer..."

He jabbed his rapier into a crack above, twisted it—

KRRRK!!

A slab of stone cracked and fell.

CRASH!!!

The chunk of ceiling slammed down onto the creature's head and shoulder, knocking it down hard, pinning it partially under the rubble.

"HAH! Got you, you bony prick!"

But it was already pushing up, shrieking with fury.

Gray didn't waste the opportunity.

He dashed in, his entire body screaming in protest.

Blood poured from his wounds, his breath came in shallow bursts, however his hand was steady enough to attack the bony prick.

"Let's end this..."

He thrust the rapier deep through the creature's neck joint, the only part not covered in bone.

SPLORTCH!

It stopped moving.

Steam hissed from its body like it was boiling from the inside. The red glow in its eyes flickered... then died.

Silence.

Gray collapsed backward onto the cold stone, his back hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

His vision spun, his lips trembling as he let out a breathless laugh.

"...Still alive... Gods be damned, I actually fucking did it."

The blue flames from the torches flickered gently now, casting long shadows over the corridor of corpses and collapsed stone.

Gray turned his head to the side and spat out a wad of blood.

"If that was just the first floor... this place is gonna kill me."

He dragged himself up, one hand pressed tightly to his wound, trying to slow the bleeding.

His knees trembled.

His arms shook.

But his eyes burned with intensity, the huge thirst of revenge.

"I can't wait to meet with those bitches at the academy..." he licked his lips, his eyes narrowing darkly.

"I'll make sure they suffer!"

And just as he said those words, as if the dungeon itself replied to him, the corridors began to shift.

Eventually, the narrow passage opened into a chamber, wide, circular, with a domed ceiling of polished black stone.

In the center stood a platform, slightly elevated, with something resting atop it…

A pedestal.

And on it, an hourglass.

Its sands were in a strange silver color.

Gray approached cautiously, his boots dragging on smooth stone.

He glanced around the chamber and then frowned.

It was completely empty.

"No enemies...? That's never a good sign."

He narrowed his eyes.

On the floor around the pedestal, ten tiles formed a ring, each with a glowing symbol carved into it. Fire, water, wind, earth, light, shadow, time, space, life... and death.

Each one pulsed faintly beneath his feet, like a heartbeat.

A soft hum vibrated through the air.

And then...!

CHHK.

A stone tablet emerged from the ground behind the pedestal.

Words carved in perfect lines, written in that ancient language he still didn't know, but somehow could now understand.

[The Sands of Choice]

[You have ten minutes. Solve the riddle, choose the right path, or be buried with the wrong one.]

And just below, the riddle appeared, one glowing word at a time:

[I do not speak, yet I answer all.

I have no breath, yet I reveal the truth.

I end confusion, yet begin madness.

One glance may guide a king.

But linger too long, and even gods go blind.]

Gray read the riddle three times.

Then he stared at the hourglass for a deep moment.

"Shit... I'm not exactly good at riddles." He took a deep breath.

"I'm fucked."