Then the darkness consumed them both. Darkness crushed Aelric like a physical weight, cold and wet as the sea floor. Stone shattered around him as he tumbled through the collapsing tunnel, his body battered and bruised. His claws tore at loose debris as he tried to slow his descent but the momentum was too great. He fell, deeper into the Abyss, into unseen depths where the very laws of space seemed to break apart.
Finally, he slammed into something solid. The impact forced the air from his lungs. For a moment, he simply lay there, blood trickling down his temple, the taste of iron sharp on his tongue.
[Stabilizing vitals], said the Voice of the Abyss, clinical and calm even as Aelric struggled to gather his bearings.
[Minimal skeletal damage. Muscular tears: moderate. Proceed with caution.]
He dragged himself upright, flared, but it was manageable. His crimson eyes adjusted swiftly to the gloom.
This place is not like the previous caverns. This is a labyrinth. Massive corridors of polished, almost metallic stone stretched in all directions. The walls were decorated with engraved sigils, glowing faintly with an unsettling azure light. The air smelled of rust and burnt ozone.
More importantly, there are chains everywhere. They hung from the ceiling like vines, coiled along the floor like serpents, embedded into the walls like veins, some writhed lazily as if sensing his presence. Others lay dormant, twitching intermittently as if breathing.
Aelric's heart beat faster, not with fear, but with focus. He was not alone. He could hear sounds. A low metallic scrape echoed through the maze.
The Chainkeeper had survived. Of course, it will survive. Aelric bared his fangs in a grin and smile. He would not run. Not now as he can't. But he would not fight stupidly either.
The voice of the Abyss spoke after analyzing the area.
[Environment Analysis: Trap density: Extreme. Chain influence: Total. The predictive model suggests direct confrontation has a 12% chance of success."
"Then we adapt," Aelric muttered under his breath. His mind whirled, already mapping the labyrinth based on the scattered visual information.
He could not afford another drawn-out fight like with the Hive Queen. He needed to turn the Chainkeeper's domain against it.
As if sensing his actions, the chains shuddered and the first attack came. Without a warning.
A cluster of spiked chains shot from the wall, aiming for his throat and legs, Aelric rolled sideways, barely evading the deadly asst. The floor itself shifted underfoot, panels sliding open to reveal barbed pits.
A trap. The entire labyrinth was a living, breathing death machine. Good, I am dead if I make any little mistake.
Aelric moved swiftly, letting instinct and sharpened senses guide him. He ducked low under a swinging chain, leaping over a sudden spike, and landing in a narrow corridor.
His steps were light, almost soundless despite the chaos around him. The Chainkeeper was hunting, and so was he.
As he started through the corridors, Aelric analyzed every trap, every twitching chain. There was a rhythm to them. A pattern. Each trigger was connected. Each section of the labyrinth was linked.
And every chain was feeding information back to the Chainkeeper. He could not win by force. He had to sever the link.so he had to go to the center. He quickened his pace.
The next intersection was a web of crisscrossing chains. In the center floated a black gem, pulsing with a sickly light.
Aelric's eyes narrowed. This has to be the control node. Be could feel the hum of Abyssal energy around it.
But as he lunged forward, the Chainkeeper appeared. It stepped from the dark sss like a nightmare given form. Its massive blade dragged along the ground, sending up showers of sparks. Its armor, once dull, now gleamed with ethereal fire. The chains surrounding it twitched and spasmed, almost eager to taste blood.
The warden spoke for the first time, its voice deep, resonant, almost mournful.
"You cannot escape the binding."
Aelric did not waste words. He curled himself forward, feinting left, then twisting midair. The Chainkeeper swung its sword, the sheer force of the blow sending shockwaves down the corridor. But Aelric was already slipping past it, clawing his way toward the node.
A wall of chains erupted between him and the gem. Snarling, Aelric activated gluttony. His claws shimmered with dark energy as he slashed at the chains. The first ones shattered under the strike, but more poured forth, trying to entangle him.
The Voice of the Abyss spoke urgently.
[Node destabilization at 34%. Continue assault. Warning: Chainkeeper advancing.]
He could feel the heavy footsteps behind him, each one sending tremors through the labyrinth. Time was running out.
Dodging a whip-like chain, Aelric slammed his hand against the gem, pouring corrupted energy into it. The gem resisted, thrashing violently. But Gluttony devoured its defenses bit by bit.
The Chainkeeper roared, not in anger, but in desperation. A massive gauntleted hand seized Aelric by the shoulder, lifting him off the ground.
He snarled and slashed wildly, his claws tearing shallow grooves into the Warden's armor. It tightened its grip, crushing muscle and bone alike until Aelric released a surge of stolen energy from the node.
The backlash shattered the gem in a burst of black fire. The chains throughout the labyrinth screamed.
They went wild, lashing out blindly, no longer under the Chainkeeper's control. Corridors collapsed. Ceilings buckled. Chaos erupted.
The Chainkeeper staggered, its body flickering, its armor cracking. Without the node's stabilizing influence, its connection to the labyrinth was severed. Aelric too the opportunity.
Summoning the last reserves of his strength, he plunged his claws into the Chainkeeper's chest, bypassing the damaged armor.
Gluttony activated, ripping the very essence from the Warden. The Chainkeeper shuddered and then exploded into a thousand motes of black light, devoured utterly.
Silence fell. Panting heavily, Aelric dropped to one knee, the strain of battle catching up with him. His mounds ached. His muscles trembled. But within him a new power unfurled.