The vibrations beneath them grew more intense with every passing second.

  “This isn’t good,” Steffan’s eyes darted around trying to find the source of the tremors.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Hild snapped, still hopping on one foot in a doomed attempt to keep her balance. “What the hell is causing this?”

  Before Steffan could respond, the ground beneath them gave a sudden, violent lurch. With a sickening crack, the earth split open, and the group was plunged into the darkness below.

  Lorelei’s stomach dropped as she fell, the world spinning around her in a disorienting blur. She reached out instinctively, her fingers brushing against something rough and slick, but it slipped through her grasp as she tumbled down. The fall seemed to stretch forever, a dizzying descent into the unknown.

  They hit the ground hard, the impact jarring the breath from Lorelei’s lungs. She lay there for a moment, dazed and disoriented, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Around her, she could make out the others groaning in pain, the sounds echoing eerily in the pitch-black darkness.

  “Everyone 'kay?” Pete’s voice was the first to cut through the confusion. Lorelei could hear him shifting around, trying to get to his feet.

  “Define ‘okay,’” Zorrobar said. “If by 'okay' you mean ‘still alive and mostly in one piece,’ then sure, I’m okay. Chrissy, any danger you can – ”

  A soft, silvery glow surrounded them all, throwing the smallest of lights on the situation. "On it," their temporary healer replied.

  Lorelei forced herself to sit up, her spinning head improving but not wholly receding under ministration from Chrissy’s Skill. They needed to remember Kris was functionally useless right now, and Chrissy, while game, was not all that familiar with the Class. As soon the heal Skill ran out, the darkness was once more so complete Lorelei couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. “Where are we?” she asked, her voice shaky as she tried to get her bearings.

  Steffan’s voice came from somewhere to her left, trembling with fear. “I think we might have fallen on to the Winding Way.”

  The Winding Way, Lorelei thought. Steffan had mentioned it before—

  “Well, isn’t that just fucking amazing. We’ve gone from being hunted by puddles to being trapped in a bloody death maze. Remind me why we simply must get hold of this fucking amulet . . ."

  “I’d take the puddles over this,” Michael/Michelle said quietly, their voices barely audible over the distant creaking of shifting earth. “At least with them, we knew what we were dealing with.”

  Lorelei swallowed hard. “Okay, no point moping around. We need to get moving. With those puddles about, standing still isn’t an option. Chrissy, do you have that orb of light thing you showed us before?”

  "Sorry!" the Chameleon Courtesan's voice was oddly upbeat considering the situation. "I used my last one up before. I could keep casting a heal on one of you? There's a glow that comes with that?"

  "No. Save your mana. I suspect we'll need it." Kris's voice was flat. "Z, how about you? Fancy throwing some fire on the situation?"

  "Not with what I can smell," the big man replied. "There's enough methane down here to blow us to the Stone Age. I can't risk it."

  Lorelei struggled to her feet, reaching out blindly until her hand brushed against something solid. It was Pete, his broad frame a reassuring presence in the darkness. “We stick together,” he said, his tone firm. “Nee one wanders off alone, an’ we keep our wits about us.”

  Fumbling a little around in the dark, the group huddled together, Ent’s massive form stooping low over them like a weird, rotting umbrella. As they moved forward their progress was cautious and slow as they tried to navigate the tunnel. For each of them, it was like walking through a nightmare, the darkness pressing in on all sides, the ground beneath their feet slick.

  Now and then, Lorelei thought she heard something—a faint whispering, like the rustle of leaves in a breeze that didn’t exist. The sound was so soft, so subtle, that she couldn’t be sure if it was real or just her mind playing tricks on her. But every time she heard it, her heart pounded a little harder, the fear tightening its grip on her chest. What the fuck were they trying to do here? She was absolutely powerless; their primary Healer had no mana, and their big, bad Fire Mage couldn't risk using his Skills. If anything went wrong, they were done . . .

  After what felt like an eternity, the tunnel began to widen, the walls pulling back.

  “Do ye feel that?” Chrissy whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

  Lorelei nodded, though she realised Chrissy couldn’t see the gesture. “Yeah. It’s like the walls are vibrating.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The whispering grew louder, more distinct now, echoing in a way that made it seem like the sound was coming from all directions at once. Lorelei strained to make out the words, but they were too faint, too distorted to understand.

  “We’re not alone,” Zorrobar said, his voice tense.

  “No shit,” Hild said, and they all felt her raise her axe in a defensive posture.

  The air grew colder still, so cold that Lorelei could see her breath misting in front of her face, even in the dark. And then, as if drawn by some unseen force, a pale, flickering light appeared in the distance, barely visible. It was faint at first, like a candle struggling to stay lit in a strong wind, but it grew brighter with each passing moment, illuminating the chamber in dark light.

  “What the hell is that?” Kris asked.

  “Whatever it is,” Steffan replied, his voice tight with fear, “it’s coming this way. Ent, get ready!”

  They all were pushed aside as his giant Summons took the point position.

  The light drew closer, revealing a figure shrouded in a tattered cloak that billowed around it. The figure’s face was hidden in the dark, but its eyes shone luminous under the dark light, twin points of blue fire that pierced through the darkness.

  “The Wraith,” Steffan whispered, his voice barely audible.

  Lorelei could feel herself about to lose her shit as the Wraith drew closer, the whispering growing more insistent. Its stat sheet wasn’t that intimidating – as a group, they should be able to take it with few problems – but somehow, she couldn’t quite get her thoughts in order. The Wraith stopped a few feet away from them, its eyes continuing to blaze with that blue, unnatural light. The whispering reached a fever pitch, the words finally becoming clear, though Lorelei wished they hadn’t.

  “Your fear… your delicious fear… it will sustain me…”

  Her heart pounded in her chest, the terror overwhelm her ability to respond. Lorelei could feel the paralysis creeping in at the edges of her mind, gnawing at her, weakening her defences. It was exactly how she had felt, moments into the integration, when being dive-bombed by a dragon. The Wraith’s presence was a similar intrusion into her reality, seeping into her thoughts, twisting them, amplifying her fears until they were all she could think about.

  “We have to run!” she gasped, her voice barely more than a whisper.

  But the Wraith was faster. It raised a skeletal hand, and the air around them solidified, trapping them in place. They all struggled against the invisible force, but it was no use. They were caught, ensnared in the Wraith’s grasp. The whispering grew louder, the words echoing through all their minds, drowning out all other thoughts. Lorelei could feel the fear tightening its grip on her heart, squeezing the air from her lungs, making it impossible to think, to move, to fight. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, that the fear would consume her entirely, she heard a voice—faint at first, but growing stronger, more insistent.