Legacy of the Tarot (Laoyon)

The echoes of their last battle still lingered in the cavern, but something had changed. Selva stood taller, her grip on her sword steadier, her eyes sharper. Watching Arden fight like a flowing river—smooth, controlled, and untouchable—had awakened something deep within her. She had finally stepped into the Lunok Realm—Foundation Stage.

Now, she was ready.

As the group advanced, the cavern opened into a massive burial site—a place littered with broken weapons, shattered bones, and crumbling tombstones, as if an ancient war had been fought and forgotten here. The Wailing Graves.

A heavy presence filled the air, thick with the remnants of long-dead warriors and the restless spirits of those who had perished. But what caught their attention wasn't the ruins—it was the towering creatures waiting for them.

The cavern widened into a desolate battlefield—ancient graves, shattered weapons, and the lingering presence of the dead. But the real danger stood ahead.

One Eyegor. One Eyegor Elite. Two Eyegor Warlords.

Their massive forms loomed in the darkness; weapons poised to crush.

Arden smirked. "Let's wrap this up. We have an auction to attend tomorrow."

The Warlord lunged, its massive stone Hammer slamming down. Selva dodged. Barely. Her new strength made her faster, sharper—but she wasn't used to it yet.

She swung her Knight Sword, striking its leg. The impact was stronger than expected, sending a shock through her arm. The Warlord stumbled but retaliated swiftly.

Selva gritted her teeth. No hesitation. She steadied her stance, recalling Arden's Pangamot movements. Footwork light, blade precise.

The Warlord thrust again—this time, she parried cleanly, sidestepped, and drove her sword through its ribs.

A deep growl. A final stagger. Then, it collapsed.

Selva exhaled, gripping her sword tighter. She had won.

Arden blurred through the battlefield, his Wyvern Blade cutting through the second Warlord in seconds.

Leigh danced around the Eyegor Elite, her blade swift and merciless. A precise slash across the throat ended it.

Dominic flicked Arcane Magnus, his chains binding the Eyegor mid-charge. A burst of fire. A scream. A corpse.

Selva steadied herself, chest rising and falling. Her strength had changed, but she had proved herself.

Dominic clapped, grinning. "Not bad, rookie."

Leigh smirked. "She's getting there."

Arden slung his blade over his shoulder. "Let's grab the loot and move. More Eyegors up ahead."

The battle had ended, but One-Eyed Peak still had challenges waiting.

With renewed confidence, they pressed forward.

They ascended another level, finding a ladder at the center of the wide cavern, just adjacent to a campfire. One by one, they climbed up. The air grew heavier, the scent of damp earth mixed with something more ancient—something forgotten.

Reaching the floor above, they moved south following the map. Then, an ambush.

Four Eyegors and a Warlord lunged from the shadows. Steel clashed. Magic burned. Their enemies fell swiftly. No hesitation. No wasted movement. They gathered the loot and pressed on, heading northwest into a widening tunnel, the path leading deeper into the cavern.

More ambushes. More battles.

The Eyegors were relentless, attacking in waves. But the group was faster, stronger. They cut them down one after another, moving forward with cold precision.

Then, at the end of the tunnel, they found a clearing. Stone steps led upward.

Arden, always the first to check, stepped ahead.

Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash.

The sound echoed down the steps. The others exchanged glances. Curious. Suspicious.

They followed.

At the top, eight Eyegor corpses lay strewn across the ground. Not a single one left standing.

Selva froze, her eyes wide. "You're a monster."

Arden casually sheathed his Wyvern Blade. "This must be another exit. Leigh?"

Leigh pulled out the map, marking the location. "Got it."

They gathered the loot and turned back, descending into the darkness once more.

They pushed westward, carving through wave after wave of Eyegors, their path marked by fallen giants. The cavern twisted and narrowed until they reached a dead end, where a dimly lit campfire flickered against the stone walls.

Near the fire, they spotted a hole leading downward. A cold draft carried the scent of decay.

Arden stepped forward, peering into the depths. Without hesitation, he jumped down. A soft thud. A moment of silence. Then his voice echoed from below.

"Clear."

Dominic, always the gentleman, cast a wooden ladder into place, securing their descent. He turned with a smirk, extending a hand. "Ladies first."

Leigh rolled her eyes but took the offer, climbing down with effortless grace. Selva followed, still adjusting to her newfound strength. Dominic descended last, his boots hitting the ground with a soft tap.

The air here was different—heavier.

"We're here." Arden's voice was low, measured. His hand gripped his blade.

A chill crawled down their spines. The presence of the undead was undeniable.

The cavern around them was eerily silent, save for the flickering of the dim campfire above. A deep, unsettling cold clung to the air, thick with the scent of damp earth and something fouler, older—the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh.

Selva exhaled sharply, gripping the hilt of her sword. "I don't like this place."

Dominic knelt, pressing a hand to the ground, channeling a small pulse of magic detection. His golden eyes flickered. "The ground is cursed," he murmured. "Residual necromantic energy… and a lot of it."

Arden's fingers tightened around his Wyvern Blade. "Then we're not alone." His gaze swept the cavern's multiple paths, where the tunnels stretched into a yawning dark abyss, deeper into the Wailing Graves.

Then, they heard it.

A faint clinking sounds. Slow at first, like rusted iron swaying in the wind. Then another. And another. A distant chorus of rattling bones, growing louder with every second. Something was coming.

The firelight barely touched the approaching figures, but their outlines became clear—skeletal warriors, their hollow sockets glowing with a faint, eerie green. Some clutched rusted weapons, others carried ancient shields, their armor worn and crumbling yet still hauntingly intact.

And behind them, ghouls emerged from the shadows—twisted, decayed corpses, their sunken, hollow faces stretched into grotesque grins, their long-clawed hands twitching with hunger. Their movements were eerie, accompanied by an unnatural rattling and the creaking of ancient bones, sending chills down the spine.

One of the skeletons, larger than the rest, stepped forward, dragging a massive rusted axe behind it, scraping against the stone floor with a dreadful screech. Its bones cracked as it straightened, its empty sockets locking onto them with unnatural intelligence.

The moment the undead came into view, a wave of discomfort settled over the group—well, for some more than others. Selva stiffened, her grip on her sword tightening as she instinctively stepped behind Dominic. "I hate undead," she muttered under her breath.

Arden glanced back and smirked. "Oh? The fearless knight has a weakness?"

Leigh, on the other hand, remained unusually calm, her expression unreadable. Unlike Selva, she didn't flinch at the sight of the skeletal warriors clattering toward them, nor did the ghouls' eerie wails seem to faze her.

Dominic, feeling Selva press against his back, grinned. "Oh, this is new. And here I thought nothing could rattle you."

Selva shot him a glare but said nothing, her face betraying her struggle to suppress her fear.

Arden chuckled. "Come on, Selva. They're just bones and rotting flesh. They barely even make for a decent warm-up."

Selva exhaled sharply, forcing herself to step forward. "I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth.

Leigh glanced at her with mild amusement. "If you keep hiding behind Dominic, he might start charging rent."

That did it. Selva huffed, rolling her shoulders before gripping her sword tighter. "Tch. Fine. I'll handle it."

As she stepped forward, the ghouls screeched, their sunken eyes glowing with unnatural hunger. The skeletons raised their rusted weapons, their movements jerky but unrelenting.

Arden drew his Wyvern Blade, grinning. "Alright then, let's see if you've really overcome it."

The undead swarmed toward them, and the battle began.

Arden cleaved through a group of skeletons and ghouls with a single sweep of his Wyvern Blade, barely breaking a sweat. "Oh, this is too easy. They're slower than snails," he remarked with a smirk, his movements effortless.

Hearing his words, Selva's fear quickly turned into determination. Her grip tightened around her broadsword, and with a fierce battle cry, she charged forward, hacking down anything in her way. The thrill of battle overtook her hesitation as she struck down skeleton after skeleton, her newfound strength driving her forward.

"Easy, knight," Arden teased, watching her go wild. "No need to take it personally."

Meanwhile, Dominic nudged Leigh. "Hey, Miss Valverde, how about pulling out your Wand of Celestial Power?"

Leigh blinked, remembering the wand they had looted from the Minotaur Wizard in Silent Peak Cave. "You mean this?" She pulled it from her space pouch, the celestial engravings glowing faintly in her hand.

Dominic grinned. "Now, let's start Magic 101—Lesson 1."

With his guidance, Leigh began channeling her innate ability as the Star Guardian of Hope, harnessing the celestial energy within the wand. It came to her naturally, as if she had always known how to wield it. The power surged through her, and with a single spell, a brilliant wave of light erupted from the wand, engulfing everything in its path.

An explosion of celestial energy blasted across the battlefield, reducing every last undead to ash in an instant.

Silence.

Arden, Selva, and Dominic stood frozen, jaws slack as they took in the sheer scale of the destruction.

Leigh blinked, staring at the now-emptied battlefield. "...Oops."

Dominic slowly turned to her. "You obliterated everything in one go."

Arden whistled. "That's… quite the area of destruction."

Selva still clutched her sword mid-swing, looking at the empty space where enemies had been moments ago. "You mean I got all worked up for nothing?"

Leigh sheepishly scratched her cheek. "I might've… overdone it?"

Arden grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Well, congrats. You just became the biggest threat in the room."

Dominic adjusted his glasses, still in awe. "And to think, that was just Lesson 1."

They gathered the loot and continued forward, venturing deeper into the Cavern of the Undead. With every step, the oppressive atmosphere grew heavier, yet the group seemed completely unfazed.