A faint sound of running water echoed somewhere in the darkness.
Isshin's eyes gradually opened. He was lying on damp, muddy earth. The chill crept through his clothing, making his spine cold. He blinked, confused, attempting to make sense of everything. And then it struck him.
I should be dead…\" he muttered, sitting up, breathing irregularly. "Why am I still alive?!
"Because someone pushed you," Raijin's voice resounded in his head.
Isshin tensed. "What? Who?!"
Raijin was in front of him in his human form, arms folded across his chest, his expression grimmer than usual. "They had blonde hair. That's all I could see before everything went black."
Isshin's eyes narrowed at him. "You are holding something back."
Raijin turned away, clearing his throat. "W-Well, you're alive. That's all that matters right now. We should get out of here.".
Isshin sighed in frustration but said nothing. He switched on his system HUD. A soft yellow light illuminated in front of him:
[Depth: 4.2 kilometers underground]
"There's no way anyone's hearing me scream from here…" he muttered.
The air was thick and moist, the walls covered in moss and patches of softly glowing crystals. It was icy cold. Further inside, a deafening sound echoed down the hallway. Isshin swiftly concealed himself behind a stone pillar. Popping his head around it, his eyes grew wide.
A peculiar creature scuttled along the cave floor—a grotesque ball comprised its entire body with a single giant eye in the center. It had long spindly arms, stubby wings, and feet with claws that scrabbled on the stone.
[Ghoul – Level 70] shone bright yellow on the HUD.
He knew he needed to dispose of it silently.
The moment the beast turned its back, Isshin struck. Thunder Qi suffused his sword, and he slashed across its eye, quieting it with a quick, wet crunch. A terrible screech—but it was dead already.
Isshin didn't hesitate. He sprinted deeper into the caverns. Another creature approached, diving directly towards him.
He dodged its talons, closed his fist, and filled it with Thunder Qi. A solid strike sent the beast reeling. He sprang into the air.
"Sword of Raijin: One Slash!"
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the air, yet the beast sidestepped in mid-air and assaulted him again. Isshin ducked low and infused Thunder Qi into his leg—then launched himself upward in a forceful kick, breaking the beast's neck. It slammed down in a shower of sparks.
Panting, he grabbed the core and took off into the darkness. A pack of monsters—at least six more of them—rushed past, but he managed to remain concealed.
Deeper in, Isshin found ruins. Everything was decaying and dusty, a lost piece of history hidden under the ground. In the center of a large stone platform, a rusty spear stood planted in the ground. Behind it, a grand staircase led up to an enormous sealed door.
He attempted to push it open. Nothing.
Try to hit it," Raijin whispered.
Isshin nodded and fired a thunder-enhanced punch into the metal. The shockwave rang out in the caverns—but the door did not budge.
Returning to the spear, Isshin entered the circular platform. The instant he stepped onto it, shimmering runes under his feet flared to life. Suddenly, the whole platform plummeted at a horrifying speed.
Within ten seconds, it slammed into the earth with a deafening crash. Dust burst into the air.
Isshin coughed, looking around. His heart stopped.
A vast chamber opened up before him, lit with icy blue torches. Thousands of nightmare creatures stood in foreboding silence—dark opposites of the ghouls, skeletal warriors in armor, and others too hideous to be described. At the middle of everything, a massive throne rested against the far wall.
There was a skeleton on it, clad in tattered, decaying robes.
The Skeleton King.
As Isshin was frozen, the empty eye sockets of the skeleton began to emit a sickly blue glow. Then it stood up.
"AFTER 7,000 YEARS! THERE IS SOMEBODY—SOMEBODY WHO WILL ENTERTAIN. SOMEBODY WHO WILL KEEP ME OCCUPIED!"
Isshin habitually checked the system.
[Skeleton King – Level 951] shone brightly in bold yellow.
His legs almost gave out.
Raijin muttered quickly in his mind. "Listen. He wants entertainment. He is bored. Repeat after me."
Isshin breathed. Then, in as much calm as he could muster, he cried out across the room, "If you're in the market for a host, then why choose a weakling like myself? Wouldn't you be better entertained by a good struggle?"
The Skeleton King's head turned to the side, and he was immediately in front of Isshin. The teleportation was instantaneous. Isshin moved back, but did not retreat.
"AND HOW WILL YOU ENTERTAIN ME?" the King snarled, voice low and warped, glowering at him.
Provide me with food, gear… and I'll defeat your fighters one by one. When I've proven my point—then you fight me. A moment's pause. And then, to Isshin's shock, the Skeleton King erupted in a thunderous, clattering laugh. THEN YOU WILL BE MY LAUGHING STOCK. TAKE HIM AWAY! Guards appeared and dragged Isshin off. The King tossed a pouch in his direction—a pocket of space. It contained intact but expired supplies, and a supply of pills sufficient to last a man for years. "EVERY 2 WEEKS, YOU WILL FIGHT A SOLDIER OF A PARTICULAR RANK, EACH TIME HIGHER, AND DUEL TO THE DEATH. IF YOU DIE, I TAKE OVER YOUR BODY. IF YOU ARE NOT DEAD BY THEN, I WILL KILL YOU, THEN YOU GET TO ENJOY YOUR LITTLE MOMENT OF GLORY ALL SMASHED AWAY." The door slammed shut. Isshin was by himself. And the countdown had already started.