The tomb was still.
No snarling. No crumbling stone. No lights flickering like the world was about to collapse again.
Just a broken floor, two mismatched figures seated opposite each other, and a very dead wolf cooling twenty feet away.
Aiden sat cross-legged, eyes closed, trying to breathe through the fog in his head. Mana trickled back in slowly, like warm water in cold veins. He still wasn't used to the feeling.
Across from him, Kael hadn't moved in nearly fifteen minutes.
"You good over there?" Aiden asked finally, cracking one eye open.
Kael blinked. "I'm not the one meditating."
"Right," Aiden muttered, shifting slightly. "Still feels weird. Like trying to fall asleep on purpose. But, y'know… magical."
He exhaled slowly and checked the system screen floating just above his vision.
[Mana: 4/14]
Recovery Rate: +1 per 10 minutes (Meditation)
Status: Stable
He leaned back, stretching his legs with a groan.
Kael tilted his head. "You recover faster than most. That's good."
"Is it?" Aiden said. "Because I still feel like someone reached into my spine and yanked out my Wi-Fi."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Your what?"
"Never mind."
Kael nodded like he didn't understand but didn't care enough to ask. "You've adapted quickly. That fight with the Gravefang could've gone much worse."
"Grave—what?"
"Dungeon wolves. High-rank beasts. You're lucky it was alone."
Aiden snorted. "Yeah. Luck. That's me."
He fell quiet again. He hadn't been ready to say it before—but something about the calm, about the quiet weight Kael carried without judgment, made it easier.
He took a breath.
"I should probably tell you something."
Kael shifted just slightly. Listening.
"I'm not from here. This world. I'm not even close."
Kael didn't speak.
"I was in school. With other students. A teacher. We were in detention, and then… this light opened in the air and everything went sideways. I woke up here. Alone."
Kael blinked once. "Detention?"
"It's like… a punishment. For breaking rules. But minor ones. Like showing up late or—yelling 'Fireball' in the cafeteria."
"That last one feels oddly specific."
"It was oddly specific."
Kael nodded solemnly. "This realm sounds harsh."
Aiden laughed quietly. "You have no idea."
There was another long pause before Kael finally said, "So there are others like you."
Aiden hesitated. "Yeah. Or there were. I haven't seen them since the rift happened."
Kael looked toward the broken hallway behind them. "They may still be nearby. Or scattered across regions."
"Regions?"
Kael nodded. "The world is vast. Seven core provinces. Dozens of borderlands. Multiple kingdoms, city-states, freeholds. The further you travel, the stranger things get. Different languages. Cultures. Magic that doesn't work the same."
Aiden blinked. "...How big is this world?"
Kael gave a faint smile. "Bigger than yours, I'd wager."
"Neat. That's… horrifying."
"Some regions are kind," Kael added. "Others aren't. But if your companions landed somewhere stable—and if they have strength like yours—they'll survive."
Aiden looked down at his palms.
He hadn't thought of himself as strong.
But he was still here. That had to count for something.
He returned to the silence. Let it wash over him.
[Mana: 7/14]
Recovery continues...
Fifteen more minutes passed in pulses of dim light.
At Mana: 9, Aiden shifted and stretched again.
At 10, he stood up, walking slowly to test his balance.
And at 11, he looked toward the corpse in the corner.
The Gravefang Alpha.
It was curled unnaturally on its side, head twisted slightly, eyes glazed. Blood still marked the stone. Its rune-brand shimmered faintly with residual magic.
Kael stood as Aiden crossed the chamber.
"You're going to bind it," he said quietly.
"Yeah," Aiden murmured. "I mean… it's here. Fresh. Strong. And if that thing could sniff out your blood from halfway down the tomb... imagine what it could do with us."
Kael folded his arms. "Imagine what it might do to us."
"That's why we're testing," Aiden said, crouching beside the beast. "If it bites me, I give you permission to hack its face off."
Kael's expression didn't change, but his hand settled on the hilt of his sword anyway.
Aiden reached out and pressed a hand gently to the creature's cooling chest.
"Soul Bind."
[Soul Binding Attempt Initiated]
Target: Dreadfang Alpha
Status: Fresh Kill – Soul Recoverable
Mana Required: 11
Proceed? [Y/N]
"Yes."
[Binding Soul…]
24%… 55%… 79%…
Subject: Enhanced Beast
Adapting to Undead Form…
100% – COMPLETE.
Soul Successfully Bound.
New Classification: Gravehound Alpha
Traits:
• Blood Sense (Passive) – Can detect active bleeding within 100 meters.
• Bone Howl (Active) – Emits a short-range howl that causes fear in minor beasts.
Link: Stable
Mana: 0/14
The wolf's body tensed.
Kael raised his blade instantly. "Back."
Aiden stumbled back, watching with wide eyes as the beast twitched, then pulled itself up in one smooth, slow motion.
Its fur had darkened, streaked with faint runes and patches of dull crimson glow. The rune-brand had merged with its bones, now visible like sigils beneath the skin. Its eyes no longer glowed—they burned.
It walked forward in slow, measured steps.
Kael's grip tightened.
Aiden held out a hand. "Wait."
The Gravehound padded toward him… then stopped.
It looked at him.
Sniffed.
And, carefully, lowered itself into a sit.
Tail thump. Once. Twice.
"...Seriously?" Aiden blinked.
Kael was still holding the sword halfway out of its sheath.
The wolf leaned forward, licked Aiden's face once with a dry, sandpapery tongue, then flopped down at his feet like a guard dog off duty.
Aiden looked at Kael.
Kael looked pissed.
"Oh, he's going to hate you," Aiden muttered, patting the wolf's skeletal-ridged head.
The Gravehound yawned. Smoke curled from its maw.
Aiden blinked at the size of its teeth—each one gleaming like polished ivory, serrated at the edges. Death with a tongue.
And yet, it looked… content.
"I'm naming you Bones," Aiden said, hand still resting gently on the wolf's back.
Kael groaned under his breath. "You're not serious."
"Look at him," Aiden said. "He's like a haunted chew toy. Bones fits."
The Gravehound let out a low huff and gave its tail a single, heavy thump.
Aiden grinned. "See? He loves it."
Kael sheathed his sword slowly. "This is going to go poorly."
"He already obeys me. You saw the screen—stable link. He listens."
"He listens to you. Not me."
"That's a your problem."
Kael muttered something unkind and turned toward the corridor. "Let's move. You're out of mana, and we're lucky nothing else came sniffing around."
"Right. Getting out sounds good."
Bones rose silently, massive head brushing the curved stone ceiling as he padded beside them. He moved like smoke, like the shadows bent around him instead of getting in his way.
Aiden followed, wiping sweat from his face, legs still sore but heart lighter. The weight of fear hadn't vanished—but now it had company.
Hope.
They walked in silence for a long stretch, the path sloping up gradually beneath their feet. The runes faded the further they went, until even Kael's armor seemed dimmer in the dark.
Aiden had just started to worry they'd been going in circles when the ceiling above them cracked open—just a little. A breeze drifted in. Cold. Real. Carrying the scent of pine and dew.
"Oh my god," Aiden whispered.
They rounded one final bend, passed beneath a half-collapsed stone arch, and stepped out of the darkness.
The world opened up.
Above them stretched a star-choked sky—so clear it looked unreal. No smog. No city lights. Just silver moonlight pouring across the hills like spilled mercury. Pines rustled in the wind, black against the night. The moon was bigger than Earth's, Aiden noticed. Almost twice the size.
They stood on the edge of a rocky incline. Below them stretched a dense forest, with faint trails winding through it. In the far distance, barely visible, the flicker of lantern light.
Civilization.
Aiden stared.
"It's beautiful," he said softly.
Kael stepped forward, scanning the treetops. "It's quiet. For now."
Behind them, Bones padded out onto the incline and sniffed the air.
Then he growled—low, but not in warning.
And vanished.
"Wait, what?" Aiden turned in a panic. "Where—"
A black blur streaked across the hill and reappeared ten feet to the right, then disappeared again, reappearing a moment later near a cluster of rocks. Then again, even further.
"Okay that's not fair," Aiden breathed. "That's cheating."
Kael watched, unimpressed. "No. That's a natural skill."
Aiden blinked. "Seriously?"
"Forest wolves in the northern wilds evolved to cross terrain using darkflows—streams of shadow mana that pool in places like this. Your pet may be undead now, but some instincts don't die."
Bones zipped back in front of them and sat, panting. His breath still smoked, but not from exhaustion.
"Think he'd let us ride him?" Aiden asked.
Kael gave him a long look. "He's a wolf, not a horse."
"I'm not saying we saddle him up. I'm just saying… he's big. Fast. And frankly, I'm exhausted."
Aiden took a cautious step forward.
Bones cocked his head.
"Hey, buddy," Aiden said. "You wanna, uh, carry us? Just a bit? No pressure."
The Gravehound sniffed him, then dropped low to the ground, shoulders down, haunches ready.
Aiden lit up. "No way."
He climbed on, awkward but stable. Bones didn't move—just waited, patient.
Kael approached next.
Bones growled.
Low.
Vibrating the dirt.
Kael froze mid-step. "I knew it."
"Bones," Aiden said gently, running a hand along his back, "he's with us. You can growl at him later. Right now we kind of need him. Please?"
Bones gave a long, drawn-out snort.
Then shifted just enough for Kael to climb on behind Aiden.
Kael didn't speak until he was settled. "If he throws me off, I'm coming back as a wraith."
Aiden laughed, clutching a tuft of fur. "You'll have to get in line."
Bones stood. Muscles rippled beneath his skin. Smoke curled from his paws.
"Alright, Bones," Aiden said, eyes locked on the forest below. "Let's ride."
The Gravehound leapt forward, and the world blurred.