The sun had just begun its descent when Frankie nudged Toji, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Come on," he said, throwing a light cloak over his shoulder. "We're going to explore what we call a dungeon."
Toji raised an eyebrow, half-interested. "Dungeon? You mean like caves or tombs?"
"Not exactly," Frankie replied. "Think of it more as a wound in the world. Something that shouldn't be."
"You're not a registered hunter yet," Frankie admitted. "But I'll get you a temporary pass. You're clearly strong enough."
"Hunter? Is that some sort of official title?"
"Yeah," Frankie nodded. "You'll find out soon enough"
The landscape shifted as they ventured further—lush greenery turned brittle, leaves crumbling at a touch. Even the air became heavier, laced with an odd metallic scent. Soon, they stood before a jagged tear in the earth, its entrance radiating a faint, ominous pulse of dark energy.
"This," Frankie said, gesturing, "is a dungeon."
Toji narrowed his eyes. "That thing's alive."
"In a way, yes," Frankie muttered. "Come on."
The two stepped into the darkness, the outer light swallowed instantly. Inside, bioluminescent moss clung to cracked stone walls, flickering like dying stars. The further they went, the more distorted reality seemed—the ground slightly tilted, gravity felt uncertain, and shadows moved unnaturally.
Then it appeared.
A massive, hulking creature emerged from behind a twisted stone pillar. Its form resembled that of a bear, but larger, malformed—eyes like glowing pits, fur matted with black ichor, and teeth like serrated knives. A deep, guttural growl rumbled from its throat.
Toji instinctively stepped forward, summoning light into his palm. "That's… not human."
Frankie stepped beside him, calm despite the horror. "No, it's not. It's a demon."
"But you said people didn't see demons—how can there be one in here?" Toji asked.
Frankie's voice grew more serious. "These aren't people turned demons. This was once an animal. Creatures—wild beasts, birds, reptiles—when they're in a region that's been forsaken by a god… they lose their souls. Their essence. They become hollow, enraged, corrupted. The evil that lurks in the void takes root in them."
Toji stared at the thing, which now snarled and paced like it was ready to strike. "So this is what happens to the world when a god abandons a place?"
Frankie nodded. "Yes. A region becomes vulnerable. The dark energy creeps in—like infection into a wound. The plants die first. The animals lose their peace, then their minds. Eventually, that dark energy condenses, and forms these twisted pocket-realities—dungeons. Structures built by evil, powered by stolen life."
"And if no one clears it?"
"If a dungeon lingers for more than a month," Frankie said, voice grim, "the corruption begins to leak. Other regions are affected. Cities fall. Landscapes die. Entire ecosystems become cursed. That's why hunters exist—to cleanse them before it spreads."
Toji kept his eyes on the demon. "So killing these things is the only way to destroy the dungeon?"
"Yes," Frankie said. "If the corrupted creatures remain alive, the dungeon won't fall. But if they're defeated, the energy loses its anchor—it collapses."
"And if you can't kill the corrupted?"
Frankie's gaze darkened. "Then only one of the Ten Gods can erase it by force. Like Mr. Serene."
Toji let the information sink in. Then, without warning, he vanished in a blink, reappearing beneath the demon. His palm slammed upward into its chest, releasing a burst of light. The beast shrieked, clawing wildly. But Toji moved like liquid fire—effortless, efficient, divine. Every strike he landed glowed with controlled wrath, and with one final blast, the demon collapsed into a pile of disintegrating ash.
Frankie exhaled, more impressed than surprised. "You're starting to look like one of the Ten already."
Toji looked back over his shoulder, eyes cold. "I don't care about ranks. I just want to know how deep this rot goes."
Frankie nodded. "Then we'll go deeper."
The winding descent into the dungeon grew colder and more suffocating with each step. The walls, slick with moisture and stained with dark residue, pulsed faintly, as though the stone itself breathed. Toji walked slightly ahead, the light from his fingertips illuminating the narrow path as Frankie trailed close behind.
"These places never stop being creepy," Frankie muttered, wrapping his coat tighter around his frame.
"You've been in many?" Toji asked without turning.
"Too many," Frankie said, his voice laced with fatigue. "Though, truth be told, I don't fight. I just watch, analyze, and try not to die."
Toji finally looked back, a brow raised. "You're not strong?"
Frankie laughed awkwardly. "Not even close. I don't have the gift of combat, or magic worth boasting about. I use enchantments sometimes, runes... but fighting? Not my thing. If a demon gets too close, I'm probably its next meal."
"Then why do you come here?"
"Because someone has to understand this world," Frankie replied, gesturing to the dark tunnel around them. "Everyone's too caught up in power and bloodshed. But knowledge? That lasts. That changes things."
Toji nodded slowly and continued forward. The silence between them lingered until Frankie spoke again.
"You know, I don't really trust the Old Gods."
Toji glanced at him. "Why?"
"They created everything, sure. Light, wind, fire, all of it. And they gave magic to those who believed. But look what happened. The world's rotting from the inside. Dungeons like these pop up more frequently than ever. Entire regions cursed. The gods are silent. If they're still watching, they don't care."
Toji said nothing for a long while, his steps careful as they entered a wide chamber lined with skeletal trees. The air here was thicker, filled with a miasma that stung the lungs. Beneath their feet, the soil turned black.
"I believe in a God," Toji said finally.
Frankie blinked. "You do? Which one? Fire? Thunder? Wind?"
"None of those. Not one of the Old Gods."
Frankie's curiosity sparked like a flame. "Then who?"
Toji turned, his eyes distant. "A God you wouldn't know. Not one who created the world. Not one people worship. But He's real to me. Not because He promised power, but because He gave me purpose."
Frankie tilted his head. "That's… different. You're not talking about faith tied to magic. You mean something else."
"Exactly," Toji said. "The Old Gods demand belief to give something back. My God gave first, expecting nothing."
Before Frankie could respond, a growl echoed from the chamber's edge. The skeletal trees parted, and a new creature emerged—a quadrupedal beast, its skin translucent and pulsing with veins of shadow. Its eyes were stitched shut, but it sniffed the air and roared.
Toji stepped forward. "Stay behind me."
Frankie retreated instinctively. "You've got this, right?"
The beast charged, its limbs bending in unnatural angles. Toji didn't move until the last second. Then, with a blink, he vanished.
A pulse of energy rippled through the air as he reappeared mid-air above the creature, his arm cocked back. Energy, microscopic in scale but massive in force, flowed from his core—his nano-magic, an advanced manipulation of magical energy that moved through his cells like data through a circuit.
With a precise motion, Toji formed a blade of compressed magic around his forearm, the energy humming at a frequency only skilled wielders could maintain. He sliced downward. The blade hit the creature's back with a crack of light and sound, leaving a glowing fissure.
The beast screeched and flailed, trying to reach him, but Toji had already landed, skidding across the corrupted earth with sparks underfoot.
"You cut its core line!" Frankie shouted from behind a fallen pillar. "One more hit!"
Toji focused. The nano-magic in his veins intensified, responding to his will. He flicked his fingers, drawing the surrounding ambient magic into a spiral that wrapped around his body like armor. With a step, he disappeared again, reappearing directly beneath the creature. He drove his fist upward into the beast's throat. A pulse of energy detonated on impact.
The creature's body convulsed, light tearing through the seams of its form. Then, with a final wail, it collapsed into black ash.
Toji exhaled slowly.
Frankie emerged, half-stunned. "You really are something else. That wasn't just magic—that was control at a microscopic level. Your magic... it's practically sentient."
Toji wiped his arm. "It's not sentient. It's alive because I believe."
Frankie stared. "So this God you believe in... He gives you this?"
"No," Toji said. "He gave me the will to understand. This power is mine, but the path to it... I only saw it because of Him."
They walked deeper into the dungeon. The ground cracked beneath their feet, the walls tightening, warping, alive with malicious intent.
"So what do you call this God of yours?" Frankie asked.
Toji didn't answer immediately. Then, with a voice just above a whisper, he said, "I don't need to call Him anything. He just is."
They stopped before a door made of bone, etched with runes that bled shadow.
Frankie shook his head. "This place gets worse the deeper we go. We're almost at the heart."
Toji reached out, touching the runes. They responded to his energy, shivering before melting into the doorframe. It opened with a groan.
Inside, darkness fell like a curtain.
"You still sure about this?" Frankie asked.
Toji nodded. "Let's finish what we started."
And together, they stepped into the abyss.