Silence.

  Not the comforting kind. Not the kind that comes with peace or stillness.

  This was the kind of silence that felt **wrong**—heavy, suffocating, like the world had stopped breathing.

  Then, pain.

  Kiran’s head **ached**. His body felt like it had been crushed, stretched, and put back together all at once. He gasped, struggling for breath, but the air was thick, almost **liquid**, as if he were drowning without water.

  (Where… am I?)

  {Environmental Shift Detected. Location: Unknown Dungeon.}

  His eyes snapped open.

  The city was **gone.**

  No streets, no buildings, no people. Just an **endless cavern**, stretching beyond sight, its walls made of something **not quite stone, not quite metal**. Everything was bathed in a dim, eerie glow, the light coming from veins of pulsating **blue energy** embedded in the ground.

  Kiran sat up slowly, his pulse hammering.

  (Okay. Okay. Deep breath. Think.)

  He had been standing at the edge of the dungeon when it **exploded outward.** The darkness had swallowed everything.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  And now…

  He was **inside.**

  Alone.

  ---

  {Dungeon Type: Unstable. Reality Distortion Active.}

  {Survival Rate: 3%.}

  Kiran froze.

  (…Excuse me?)

  He **stared** at the message, his panic threatening to boil over.

  [You’re telling me I have a THREE PERCENT CHANCE OF SURVIVING?]

  {Affirmative.}

  (You could’ve at least lied to me!)

  Kiran exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. This was **bad.** No, beyond bad. This was **worst-case scenario territory.**

  He was alone in an unknown dungeon, with **no supplies, no escape route, and no idea what was lurking in the dark.**

  And worse—

  **His bad luck was still active.**

  {Title Effect: Catalyst of Chaos. Dungeon Instability Increasing.}

  “…Of course it is.”

  ---

  The cavern **shifted.**

  It wasn’t an earthquake. It wasn’t the ground shaking. It was something **else.**

  Something **watching.**

  Kiran’s entire body tensed. He slowly turned his head.

  And saw **it.**

  At first, it didn’t look like a creature.

  It looked like a **tear in space itself**—a rippling distortion in the air, shifting and unraveling like something **half-there, half-not.**

  But then it **moved.**

  A massive **limb**—if it could even be called that—extended from the distortion. It was long, thin, and **wrong**, bending in ways that defied logic.

  And then—

  It **twitched toward him.**

  Kiran didn’t wait.

  He ran.

  ---

  (Okay. Okay. Let’s break this down.)

  (One: I’m in a dungeon that shouldn’t exist.)

  (Two: There’s a **thing** in here that doesn’t follow the laws of reality.)

  (Three: I am very, very screwed.)

  His mind raced as he sprinted through the cavern, dodging jagged rock formations and glowing energy veins. He had **no map, no weapons, no food.**

  All he had was his **mind.**

  And **his bad luck.**

  (Wait.)

  His eyes widened.

  (Hold on. If my bad luck causes disasters… maybe I can use it.)

  It was a **horrible idea.** A reckless, absurd, **completely insane idea.**

  But it was better than **no** idea.

  {Title Effect Activated: Catalyst of Chaos. Dungeon Instability Surging.}

  The ground beneath him **cracked.**

  The air vibrated with an unnatural hum. The cavern walls **began to collapse.**

  And behind him—

  The **creature shrieked.**

  The sound was **wrong.** It wasn’t something meant to be heard—it was something that **shouldn’t exist** in the first place.

  But it was **afraid.**

  Kiran **smiled.**

  (Not so fun when reality breaks against you, huh?)

  Then—

  The dungeon **collapsed.**

  And everything **turned white.**