Chapter 29 - 28: Into The Abyss
The hidden dungeon lay within the Grey Mountain Range, several miles beyond the rugged border city of Oakhaven. From the outside, there was nothing remarkable about it. A narrow crack between two enormous slabs of black stone marked the entrance, almost completely concealed beneath layers of moss and the remnants of an ancient landslide.
Victor stood before the opening, his pitch-black eyes calmly scanning the surrounding terrain. This was it the hidden dungeon he had been searching for since arriving in Oakhaven.
According to the original novel’s timeline, Lucas wouldn’t discover this place until years later during his time as a rogue mercenary. Victor had no intention of waiting that long.
He had already used his knowledge of the original story to narrow down the general region. Aria’s reconnaissance had confirmed the surrounding terrain, while the topographical information Victor had provided allowed her to identify the precise location.
Everything matched.
This was the dungeon.
Victor raised one gloved hand.
"Stay close."
Elena and Kael immediately moved forward, while Lyra followed silently beside Victor. Her posture remained perfectly composed, yet beneath that calm exterior, faint traces of dark mana continued to pulse beneath her skin.
Victor noticed it.
He simply chose not to comment. He simply believed that everything is under his control.
The four stepped through the narrow entrance.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the temperature dropped sharply. The familiar sounds of Oakhaven disappeared behind them, replaced by the distant dripping of water and the faint rumble of mana moving through the earth.
Pale-green moss clung to the damp stone walls, casting an eerie glow across the uneven floor.
Elena tightened her grip around her staff.
"So this is the dungeon..."
Kael looked around cautiously, one hand resting against his weapon.
"It doesn’t look like much."
"That’s precisely why it remained hidden for so long," Victor replied.
He continued forward without hesitation.
The narrow passage gradually widened, eventually opening into a massive underground chamber. Ancient stone pillars rose from the ground, most of them cracked or partially collapsed, while strange symbols covered the walls, their meanings erased by centuries of erosion.
Victor stopped.
His gaze slowly swept across the chamber.
The original novel never described the entrance in detail. Lucas had only mentioned discovering the dungeon after following a collapsed mountain passage years later.
Everything else had been discovered by him personally.
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
That meant his knowledge had limits.
He knew what existed here.
He knew where it was.
But he didn’t know everything that had happened inside before Lucas eventually discovered it.
"From this point onward, stay alert," Victor ordered.
Kael frowned.
"Will you tell us why are we here??"
Victor glanced toward him.
"You wouldn’t understand even if I did."
Kael’s expression darkened.
Elena quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Kael..."
He clicked his tongue and looked away.
Victor ignored them.
His gaze shifted toward the three branching tunnels ahead. According to the original story, the dungeon contained several dangerous paths before eventually reaching its deeper chambers.
Victor pointed toward the central passage.
"We take that route."
"How do you know?" Kael immediately asked.
Victor looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"I know."
That was all.
The group proceeded.
They hadn’t walked more than a few minutes before a strange scraping sound echoed through the tunnel.
Kael immediately lowered his stance.
"Something’s coming."
Victor raised one hand.
"Formation."
Lyra stepped forward without hesitation. Kael positioned himself along the left flank while Elena remained toward the rear, leaving Victor calmly standing in the center.
The darkness ahead suddenly shifted.
Dozens of glowing eyes appeared between the rocks.
A pack of Cave Crawlers emerged from the shadows. Their hardened, stone-like carapaces scraped against the walls as they crawled forward, their sharp mandibles clicking hungrily.
"Lyra."
She drew her slender silver rapier.
"Yes."
"Forward."
Lyra vanished.
A flash of silver crossed the darkness as frost erupted across the dungeon floor. Three Cave Crawlers were frozen instantly, their bodies collapsing into shattered pieces of ice.
Kael followed.
Crimson mana exploded around his arms as he charged into the remaining creatures. His fist slammed into one of the monsters, sending it crashing into the stone wall.
Another creature lunged toward Elena.
She immediately raised her staff.
"Barrier!"
A translucent shield appeared before her. The creature slammed into it and recoiled, giving Kael enough time to intercept it.
His fist struck its head.
The creature collapsed.
Within moments, the chamber fell silent.
Victor watched the entire engagement without interfering. His gaze moved from one member of the group to another.
Kael’s strength is still difficult to control.
Elena’s defensive abilities are useful, but her combat instincts remain undeveloped.
And Lyra...
His eyes settled on her.
She stood among the frozen corpses, her silver rapier lowered at her side. Her darkened blue eyes immediately turned toward him.
She was waiting.
Not for another order.
For his approval.
Victor gave her a subtle nod.
A faint smile appeared on Lyra’s lips as she quietly returned to his side.
"Continue."
The group advanced deeper into the dungeon.
The further they traveled, the more unnatural their surroundings became. The rough stone walls gradually gave way to smooth, black rock, while ancient symbols appeared with increasing frequency.
Some had been carved directly into the walls.
Others had been embedded into the floor.
Victor occasionally stopped to examine them.
Most were meaningless.
But a few caught his attention.
These markings weren’t mentioned in the original novel.
His expression remained calm, but his attention sharpened.
The original timeline described this place as an abandoned dungeon filled with monsters and ancient ruins. It never mentioned an active formation system.
Victor crouched beside one of the strange symbols, his gloved fingers hovering above the surface without touching it.
Interesting.
The formation was ancient.
Extremely ancient.
Yet it wasn’t completely dormant.
Something had activated it recently.
Victor slowly stood.
"Everyone, stop."
The three others immediately froze.
Elena looked around nervously.
"What is it?"
Victor didn’t answer.
His Fate-Shattering Perception activated.
The world around him changed as the natural flow of mana became visible. Every trace of energy left behind by the monsters appeared clearly within his vision.
The dungeon’s mana flowed slowly through the surrounding walls.
Primitive.
Ancient.
Unchanged.
But something else was present.
A thin strand of foreign mana.
Fresh.
Refined.
And moving deeper into the dungeon.
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
Someone has been here.
Not centuries ago.
Not years ago.
Recently.
His gaze followed the faint mana trail disappearing into the darkness ahead.
That was impossible.
According to the original timeline, this dungeon should have remained completely undiscovered until Lucas eventually found it years later during his mercenary days.
Victor’s expression slowly hardened.
Then who entered it before me?
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Victor felt something unfamiliar.
Not fear.
Interest.
Someone or something had introduced a variable that shouldn’t exist.
"Change of plans."
Kael looked toward him.
"What happened?"
Victor stared into the darkness.
"Someone is already inside."
The dungeon suddenly fell silent.
Even the distant dripping of water seemed to disappear.
Victor’s fingers tightened slightly around his glove.
The original story never mentioned this.
And that meant one thing.
The moment Victor stepped into this dungeon, the future had already begun to change.