The deeper Adexander walked,
the stranger the dungeon became.
The stone walls twisted unnaturally,
pulsing like flesh under his boots.
The air tasted like old iron and burnt ash.
Above him, there were no ceilings anymore — only endless black sky, swirling with crimson lightning.
> "This..."
"This isn't just a dungeon."
He narrowed his crimson eyes, his instincts screaming.
Even the Crimson System that followed him —
always cold, mechanical, emotionless —
flickered strangely in the corner of his vision.
[SYSTEM WARNING:
AREA DETECTED - UNCLASSIFIED.
RISK: EXTREME.]
[Recommendation: Escape Immediately.]
Adexander smirked.
> "Escape?"
He muttered under his breath.
"No."
He stepped forward, ignoring the system's panicked warnings.
---
BOOM.
The ground ahead cracked wide open.
Out of the fissure rose a figure —
not a beast, not a monster...
But a man.
Or what remained of one.
Wrapped in rusted armor, its face hidden by a helm cracked down the middle,
it radiated a pressure so ancient and overwhelming that the walls of the dungeon moaned in pain.
Over its head appeared a blood-red notification,
but unlike anything Adexander had ever seen.
---
> [ABERRANT ENTITY:
NAME: THE FIRST BETRAYER.]
> [Level: ???]
[Status: Sealed Awakening (90% complete)]
---
Adexander's heart did not skip a beat.
His hand simply tightened on his broken dagger.
> "A Betrayer, huh..."
His voice was low, almost amused.
It seemed even fate had a sense of humor.
He, the King who had once been betrayed, now faced the manifestation of betrayal itself.
---
The First Betrayer raised a rusted blade —
a sword longer than a man was tall, dripping black mist.
No roar.
No words.
No negotiations.
It attacked.
Faster than any monster Adexander had faced.
A living blur of rage and sorrow.
---
CLANG.
Adexander blocked the first strike with the flat of his dagger,
the impact sending cracks spider-webbing across the ground.
His feet slid back several meters, boots grinding against the stone.
> "Stronger than the Titan Bloodbringer..."
he noted coldly.
The Betrayer lunged again, this time swinging horizontally.
Adexander ducked — the blade singing death over his head —
and countered with a crimson-enhanced strike.
His dagger slashed across the Betrayer's side,
drawing black ichor — but no scream, no reaction.
It fought like a dead god.
Relentless.
Endless.
---
The battle began to shift.
Adexander could feel it —
the air bending, the very dungeon trembling.
He knew.
This was no longer just a fight.
This was a test.
A test to see if he was worthy of his own wrath.
If he could carry the Crimson Flame into a new world of chaos.
And as he slid back again, gritting his teeth,
he whispered:
> "If the world itself turns against me..."
"Then I'll crush the world too."
---
[SYSTEM WARNING: BLOOD RESONANCE CRITICAL.]
[Hidden Awakening Available: Will you Accept?]
Without hesitation, Adexander grinned — a rare, savage grin.
> "Bring it to me."
And with that final whisper,
the Crimson Flame inside him erupted into a deeper, blacker fire.