The ascendant of

Five thousand kurps.

It must have been a joke.

Yes, it was obviously a lie. Never in his life had he imagined having so much money. It was too much... but, despite his doubts, he accepted.

He did it because, if anything made him immune to fear, it was money.

Lyssara advanced toward the cave and Kiyen watched her, expectantly. She positioned herself in front of the entrance, stretched out her arms as if expecting a hug, lifted her chin and stood there, rigid.

Kiyen analyzed her with his eyes. Unlike her companions, she had no weapons, yet she acted with poise and exaggerated bravery, considering the danger posed by the beasts of the abyss.

How was she supposed to entertain them? She had to have a strategy, didn't she? Maybe she came armed, but she was hiding them in her jacket or boots, because the rest of her clothes were too tightly fitted to her silhouette to hide anything.

Suddenly, an icy gale enveloped him. The change in temperature was abrupt.

The air became thick; every breath was heavy, painful, as if he were inhaling splinters that lacerated his nose.

Everything around him seemed to freeze. He noticed frost falling on the nearby vegetation. Constant whispers echoed in his ears, unintelligible words. Suddenly, his vision became blurred, his eyelids heavy. No, he must not go to sleep, he had to....

"Run, Kiyen!" shouted Lyssara.

The shout brought him out of his trance. He saw the girl run in the agreed direction. Behind her moved a shapeless mass, transparent, of an ochre hue with a faint icy glow, as if made of ice. It left a wet trail on the surface.

Kiyen's heart pounded. He had seen monsters just as terrifying, beasts that devoured crops, but this thing... it emanated something different.

A deep fear.

A forgotten fear.

She patted her cheeks, sighed deeply, and approached the entrance to do her part, as they had planned.

If Lyssara didn't survive, it wasn't her problem. In fact, on second thought, it suited him. Then he could take the egg and keep the entire bounty for himself.

Once he reached the entrance, he stood still, listening for another creature to appear. But nothing happened.

He sighed in relief and went inside.

Lyssara explained to him that the interior was like a normal, ordinary cave, and the eggs were not too far from the entrance. He just had to sneak in and take advantage of the light emitted by the mushrooms and the vines that surrounded the caverns.

But once inside ...

"Lying bitch," he muttered.

He realized that nothing Lyssara had advised him would help.

He was not inside a normal cave. Where was he, what was this place?

Kiyen found himself in a room with smooth walls, built from a thin, cold-to-the-touch material, adorned with a monochromatic grid pattern. A dim light floated in the air, illuminating the space without a visible source, while an icy chill seeped into his skin.

In the center of the room was an ice statue of a nude woman. Her perfectly sculpted silhouette had an outstretched arm pointing towards the entrance.

Kiyen looked back and saw that the cave entrance had been transformed into a wooden door.

In haste, he ran to it and put his hands on the doorknob, but no matter how hard he pulled and turned, he could not open it.

[BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS...]

That voice... was the same one he had heard before, when his daggers emanated that strange tonality.

[...Loading parameters...]

[...Assigning guidelines...]

[...Data structure error...]

[> Mission started: ---]

[> Target: ---]

[...User status check...]

[...Could not establish connection...]

[...Resources waiting...] 

[...Processing...]

[...Processing...]

[...Processing...]

[Processing..]

[Processing...]

[...Processing...]

[...Processing... ..]

[WARNING: System integrity compromised.]

[...Processing...] 

[ ...Processing...]

[...Processing...]

[...Estimated load time: ---]

[...Estimated load time: ---] 

[...Estimated load time: ---] 

[...Estimated load time: ---]

What did it all mean?

Kiyen put his hands to his head. That voice was echoing everywhere, but at the same time it seemed to be coming from inside him. Was it the bracelet he was given to mine?

"Damn.... where did I end up?" he muttered.

In the end, he gave up the idea of trying to get out the door and decided to keep moving forward. As soon as he passed by the statue, it cracked into pieces. Kiyen immediately stepped back and, out of pure instinct, unsheathed his weapons. But nothing happened. All that remained was the sound of ice crashing against the flawless ground, scattering fragments that reflected the dim light of the place like finely cut crystals.

For some reason, among the debris, half of the woman's face still retained its shape... and seemed to look directly at him.

A shiver ran down his spine. He clenched his jaw, averted his gaze and continued on his way.

"I'd better mark where I'm going. I don't want to get lost" she whispered.

He slid his dagger against one of the elegant walls, but instead of a simple scratch, the gridded surface cracked easily, leaving a clean, precise cut.

For some reason, the idea of destroying something so costly was strangely satisfying to him.

Ahead, he came to a room where several paths stretched off in different directions. He didn't think too hard and took one at random.

The hallway was narrow, with smooth walls that no longer had the grid pattern. They were now a uniform shade of brown. He didn't care about the change in appearance as long as his dagger could still leave marks to guide him.

Just as he was about to do so, a sound alerted him. Footsteps.

He tightened his grip on his dagger and quickened his pace until he broke into a run. Ahead, he turned to the right. The space was getting narrower and narrower, but there was only one possible path.

So, instead of continuing forward, he propelled himself upward and used the narrowness of the corridor to his advantage. He braced hands and feet against the opposite walls, extending his body to hover in the air. His muscles tensed as he held himself in that position, holding his breath as the footsteps echoed closer.

The pursuer reached that point and stopped, not seeing him. Only when he looked up did Kiyen release his grip and fall on top of him.

The subject reacted quickly. As soon as Kiyen descended with his daggers ready, the stranger deflected them with a shield that appeared out of nowhere and stepped back with agility.

Kiyen jumped back and stood on guard, both daggers pointed at his adversary.

The man in front of him held a gleaming pewter plate in front of his body? No. Its workmanship was precise. It had to be a shield.

A full shield, golden.

Golden?

It was impossible. Hardly anyone on the periphery owned such a thing. It had to cost at least ten thousand kurps... and that's if you managed to smuggle it in.

Who the hell was that guy?