Then, in one chamber, Ian stopped.
At the far end, half buried in cracked stone, something caught his eye - a coin.
But as his mental senses brushed over it, he felt… nothing.
He frowned and moved closer, Amo still settled quietly on his shoulder. The others held back.
Ian crouched, brushing aside a layer of dust and crumbled debris. The coin was there, plain, metallic, unmarked. He could see it, touch it. The surface was cool, firm, undeniably real under his fingers.
But when he reached for it with his senses — when he tried to feel its presence beyond the physical — it was absent. Like it didn't exist.
He activated Mindbloom.
The coin flickered.
One moment, it felt virtual — hollow, like a projection of something that wasn't really here. The next, it snapped into full presence, dense and anchored. It shifted back and forth, like it was undecided. Like reality itself couldn't decide if it should accept the object or not.
Ian narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly, from the shifting air, a massive hand shot out - thick, clawed, and covered in rough, scaly skin. It lunged toward Ian with terrifying speed, trying to seize him.
"Look out!" yelled Lysia, the elven girl, stepping back in shock.
Most around thought Ian was dead, crushed or dragged away by this monstrous grasp. But then, up a slope beyond the broken wall, Ian stood.
Cloak torn at the edges. One arm cradling Amo against his chest. The child whimpered, face buried in Ian's neck. A coil of vine slowly unraveled from Ian's legs; a retreat line that had pulled them clear at the last instant.
Behind him, a colossal creature emerged from the shadows. Its body wrapped in thick, sinewy muscles that flexed under mottled, scaly skin. Four jagged horns spiraled upward from its broad head, eyes burning with a fierce, unnatural light
Calder, the Bisaukla, took a half-step back. "Is that… is that a Second Order…?" he murmured, voice thin with disbelief.
Nearby, another Luminvar barely whispered, "It seems this is the end…"
The air thickened. The pressure this thing exuded was crushing, and most had already accepted death.
But not Ian. If it were truly alive, perhaps he'd hesitate. Something with a mind and a will would be different. But this wasn't. These types of creatures weren't true Second Orders. They had the strength but no real consciousness. Even the weakest Second Order with a functioning mind could outmatch them. Their purpose had always been quantity, to flood the battlefield, to overwhelm through sheer presence, not precision.
Still, for a First Order, facing one alone was supposed to be impossible. But Ian had changed. It had been months since he entered the First Order of Architect path. Since then, he had grown steadily, strengthened his command over the path, sharpened his instincts, and refined his methods. And now he has even entered first order of Eldritch.
Ian stepped forward.
"It's just a dead thing," he said calmly. "Stay back."
He shifted Amo carefully behind him into a cradle of vines that coiled up from his back. The infant chirped once, giggling, and kicked his feet into the air.
Then Ian dropped into motion.
The ground beneath his feet cracked as thick vines exploded outward, broad, muscular, and dark green. They coiled through the earth, reacting to his will, rising like summoned serpents to meet the towering creature.
The creature let out a deep, thunderous growl. It charged, swinging a jagged limb the size of a tree trunk.
Ian slid low, letting the blow crash behind him. Obryx blades formed in mid air and shot forward. With a flick of thought, the vines launched him upward in a burst of momentum, flipping him above the creature's shoulder.
The Obryx edge cut clean through one of the horns, black shards scattering like ash. The beast roared and twisted, trying to follow him, but the vines struck—six of them latching onto its limbs, anchoring it down.
Ian landed behind it, crouched, focused.
The beast surged again, tearing through two of the vines.
Ian didn't flinch.
From the ground, thicker roots erupted, reinforced with Obryx threads, their surfaces blackened and solid. They smashed into the creature's side, pushing it back with brute force.
Ian surged forward, Obryx blades spiraling along his arms into short hooked weapons. He climbed the beast's chest mid-roar, stabbed his left blade through a pulsing knot under its collarbone, and shoved the right into its throat.
The creature's massive hand slammed toward his chest, but Ian shifted aside just in time, sliding along its shoulder as the palm scraped past him.
Enraged, the beast roared louder and punched the ground with full force. The impact sent a shockwave through the dirt - stones, soil, and debris launched outward in all directions - but the damage was already done.
It staggered forward, trying to lift one foot.
Then, from deep inside its chest, the Obryx blades changed.
They expanded suddenly, jagged spikes branching out from within, tearing through muscle and scale. Obryx shards erupted outward, punching through its body from the inside. Dozens of holes ripped open across its torso, shoulders, and neck.
It froze for a second. Then collapsed with a heavy thud, shaking the ground.
Silence followed.
The others stood frozen, they'd braced for annihilation. But it never came.
Ian walked back to Amo, lifting the cradle of vines gently, checking the boy's tiny hands and sleepy eyes.
"He's fine," Ian muttered.
Lysia stared at him. "You… cut through that thing like it was nothing."
Ian didn't look up. "It was not truly a second order."
He adjusted the wrap holding Amo, and turned toward the path ahead.
"Let's keep moving."
Far below, in a deeper section of the ruin, Kolvar followed closely behind Kailu. The corridor narrowed, the air growing colder as they descended. Ancient roots hung like cords from the ceiling, brushing their shoulders. The walls here were smoother, curved with deliberate patterns.
They stepped into a chamber.
It was round and hollow, its interior lined with a seamless metallic sheen that shimmered under the light of Kailu's emitter. The ground sloped gently downward toward the center, where a circular enclosure stood - metallic, ribbed, and sealed. Its surface bore markings that pulsed faintly.
Kailu knelt beside it, placed his palm across a faded crest, and whispered something in a language Kolvar didn't recognize.
The lid clicked open with a slow hiss.
Inside were three small beads. Marble-smooth, no larger than a fingertip, each dark red, so dense in color they looked like drops of blood frozen in time.
Kolvar's breath caught in his throat.
"The Lord's Blood…" he murmured.
Kailu glanced at him, almost laughing.
"Idiot. That's not the Lord's Blood." He reached in without hesitation. "It's dew condensed from one of the Lord's finest generals. An origin-bloodline ancestor of the Drethir."
He looked over his shoulder at Kolvar, who hadn't moved.
"Of course, you're free to take one," Kailu added. "That is, if you want to die screaming."
Kolvar quickly stepped back, collecting himself.
Kailu didn't waste another second. He scanned the rest of the chamber, plucked several small vials and fragments from the shelves embedded in the wall, then turned to leave.
He froze mid-step.
"Well, well," came a voice from the entrance. "Didn't expect to see you again."
Vaelsh stood at the threshold, Taredd just behind him, arms crossed, silent.
Vaelsh took a few steps in, glancing around the chamber. "I take it you found something worthwhile."
Vaelsh hadn't come for treasure. He'd heard rumors of a key buried somewhere in the ruin. A key said to unlock a way out of a place no one could enter unless invited. A place that shouldn't exist, but might. If one ever ended up inside, the only way out was either death… or the key.
He didn't know if he'd ever be taken there. He wasn't even sure the place was real. But just in case, it was worth looking.
Kailu's posture didn't change. "Here comes another one to die."
Kailu snapped his fingers.
The walls behind him shifted. Dozens of red glows flickered into view.
From behind the metal slits, creatures began to emerge, the same type Ian had faced earlier. Towering, muscle-bound, their eyes dull but bodies deadly.
"Kailu muttered. "Let's see if you can make your way through this."
The creatures lunged.
Taredd didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, his body flickering for a second, then he moved.
Blades of light and compressed energy spun from his back as he intercepted the first wave. Each strike was clean, efficient, a demonstration of what a true Second Order was capable of. Soon a new wave of creatures appear.
Kailu stepped back, eyes scanning the battlefield. He turned to Kolvar. "They can't stop him. Finish it fast. We need to leave."
Kolvar nodded. The shadows around him thickened and warped. His outline blurred. Then he vanished.
From the slits behind Kailu, dozens of towering creatures charged—each one thick-bodied, fast, clawed. Taredd didn't pause. His right hand sliced through the first creature's torso mid-step. The upper half collapsed before the legs even stopped moving. A shockwave burst outward from his left palm, three more were vaporized on impact.
Kolvar struck.
He emerged behind Taredd without sound, a blade of pure shadow plunging toward the base of his skull. Taredd twisted mid-air, letting the blade skim past. Kolvar vanished before the counterstrike landed.
More creatures lunged.
Taredd sent a beam of compressed light spiraling across the chamber. Bodies were cleaved in half before they could blink. Then Kolvar struck again, from below this time, rising out of Taredd's own shadow.
Taredd's eyes narrowed. "You look familiar."
Kolvar didn't reply, just charged.
They met mid-air. Light and shadow exploded on contact, warping the stone floor beneath them. Columns cracked. Metal groaned. Neither slowed.
Kolvar pressed forward - blades reshaping between strikes, shadows forming shields, spears, hooks. He sliced toward Taredd's leg; a wall of radiant force blocked it. A burst of kinetic shock slammed Kolvar through a row of pillars, but the man vanished mid-flight, reappearing behind Taredd again.
Taredd turned his palm outward.
A disc of compressed energy launched, bending mid-flight toward Kolvar's core. Kolvar absorbed the hit with a veil of shadow, but staggered under the force. Then Taredd dropped down, slammed a foot into the floor, and dozens of light-laced spikes erupted beneath the remaining creatures. Bodies burst into steam.
Still holding a blade of white-hot energy in one hand, he turned to face Kolvar fully.
Meanwhile, Vaelsh and his servant flanked the room, cutting down any lesser creatures trying to break through. They worked fast, efficient, making sure nothing interrupted the main fight.
Above them, Ian and the others moved through the upper corridors, searching for an exit. The walls around them creaked and pulsed faintly now, reacting to the chaos spreading below.
Above them, Ian and the others moved through the upper corridors, searching for an exit. The walls creaked under pressure, faint pulses running through the stone, echoes of power from somewhere below. The path ahead was blocked. Cracked tiles. Splintered roots. Then Ian stopped. Something below caught his attention.
He stepped to the side, where part of the floor had collapsed, leaving a wide hole near the corridor's edge. Through it, he could see into a massive chamber below—dark, scorched, and trembling from the force of impacts. The dim light revealed just enough: Vaelsh, surrounded, fighting to hold his ground.
Ian hesitated only a moment before jumping in with a vine tied across his torso and shoulder. His plan had been simple: get in, grab them. As he dropped, the Obryx blades extended, slicing cleanly through two of the creatures closing in on Vaelsh. He landed beside him, shifting to guard their flank without a word.
Vaelsh blinked, caught off-guard. "Ian… from where..."
Ian didn't answer. "We need to get out of here first."
Vaelsh nodded and moved in beside him.
Then Ian looked up... and saw him.
Kailu. Standing across the far end of the chamber. Still, composed, observing.
Ian's eyes narrowed. His entire stance shifted. Controlled, sharp. "Vulas," he said, low. Shouldn't he be dead.
He didn't rush. He let his Mindbloom unfold, layers of perception pulling apart the aura in front of him.
"Energy signature seems different, is it someone else!"
Then he saw Kolvar, further back, just past the ripple of shadows.
None of it added up.
But that didn't matter anymore. Ian's gaze settled. Judging from their past history he couldn't allow this to continue. This has to end here.
The floor beneath him cracked. Vines burst upward spiraled tight and gleaming with reinforcement. They launched forward with violent force, ripping toward Kailu.