The fire had burned down to embers now, casting long, flickering shadows against the jagged walls.
No one spoke for a while as they were still processing the sudden attack. The remains of the Shadow Maws had vanished completely, but the tension they left behind lingered.
Kael was the first to move. He wiped the black blood from his dagger and sheathed it, rolling his shoulder to ease the dull ache where the creature's claws had grazed him.
The wound had already stopped bleeding, and thanks to his newly acquired Abyssal Endurance, the pain was fading fast.
Mira, still staring at his weapon, finally spoke. "That dagger… It absorbed the Shadow Maw."
Kael didn't answer. He wasn't sure himself what had happened, but he knew the dagger wasn't ordinary. It was growing stronger.
Reiner exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "We can't stay here. If those things were scouting, more might come."
"Agreed," Luthen grunted. "We move now."
The group moved deeper into the third floor. The tunnels stretched long and winding, twisting unpredictably.
Unlike the previous floors, which had clear paths and structured chambers, this place felt different.
The Shifting Labyrinth—that's what some challengers called it. Despite being an F-rank dungeon, it had the potential to grow further and was at the very peak of its rank.
The deeper they went, the more the dungeon itself seemed to change. Paths that should have led back to their starting point suddenly curved elsewhere.
The walls seemed closer than before. The sound of footsteps echoed strangely, sometimes as if there were more than just six of them.
Sera broke the silence. "I don't like this."
"No one does," Reiner muttered. "Stay close."
Kael kept to the back of the group, his eyes scanning the darkness. The air felt heavier here. He could feel something watching them. 'Oris had been right. The dungeon is changing.'
After nearly an hour of cautious travel, they reached a crossroads.
Three tunnels stretched before them.
One was wide and sloped downward, its walls marked with deep claw marks. The second was narrow, with dim blue light glowing faintly from crystals embedded in the stone. The third… was different.
It was silent. Too silent.
The air near the entrance seemed frozen in place, and the shadows inside were darker than they should be. Something about it made the hairs on Kael's arms rise.
Reiner didn't hesitate. "We take the second path."
No one argued. The first had clear signs of monster activity. The third… they all knew something was wrong with it.
Without a word, the group entered the blue-lit tunnel.
The moment they stepped inside, the temperature dropped.
The glowing crystals gave off an eerie light, casting their surroundings in an unnatural hue. Unlike the previous tunnels, this one was smoother, almost as if it had been carved by something intelligent rather than natural erosion.
Kael's steps were silent, but he could feel something beneath his boots. A faint, rhythmic vibration. Like a heartbeat.
He exhaled slowly. "This place is getting stranger by the minute."
"We need to move fast," Reiner said quietly. "This floor plays tricks on you if you stay in one place too long."
Kael already figured that out. But he also knew something else. They weren't alone.
A faint rustling started subtly behind them. And soon a shifting shadow appeared at the edge of their vision.
Kael didn't look back. He kept walking, his senses heightened to the peak. The others noticed too—Reiner's grip on his sword tightened, Mira's fingers hovered near her spellbook, and Luthen's stance grew tenser.
Then came faint whispering, which was almost imperceptible. But it was there.
Sera spun suddenly, an arrow notched and ready. "Something's following us."
No one spoke, but the tension in the air was suffocating.
Kael finally turned his head and for a brief moment, he saw it.
A shape, barely visible in the dim blue light. It clung to the walls, moving in unnatural motions, like a distorted reflection on rippling water. It possessed no distinct features and was just a mass of shifting darkness.
And as fast as it appeared, it was gone.
Mira whispered, her voice trembling a little. "What was that…?"
ARRRRGGGHHH!~
Suddenly a loud shriek echoed, not a human one but something else.
The tunnel erupted into chaos as creatures poured from the walls, silent shadows breaking into movement.
They weren't beasts like the Shadow Maws, they were wraiths.
[Lvl 7 Wraiths]
They were flickering, humanoid forms made of pure abyssal mist and their glowing white eyes were the only solid thing about them. They didn't walk. They floated, twisting unnaturally as they lunged.
Kael reacted instantly.
His dagger flashed, slicing through one of the creatures. The blade met no solid resistance, only mist, but the wraith screeched and recoiled as if burned.
They weren't invincible.
"Stay together!" Reiner shouted, swinging his sword in a wide arc. His blade, coated in a layer of unknown aura, tore through one of the wraiths, scattering it into nothing.
Luthen took the front, his axe glowing faintly as he cleaved through another. Oris raised his staff, summoning bright symbols that repelled the creatures, forcing them back.
But they kept coming in waves. For every wraith that fell, another took its place.
Mira threw out a burst of fire, the bright flames momentarily pushing the creatures back. "They're drawn to the crystals!" she shouted. "They feed on the energy here!"
Kael's mind worked quickly. If that was true... Then they had to move. Fast.
"Go!" Reiner ordered.
They broke into a sprint, cutting through the wraiths as they ran. The tunnel twisted unnaturally—at times, it felt like they were moving in circles, but they pushed forward.
Kael didn't look back. He focused on the path ahead, on every shift in the terrain, every flicker of movement. The wraiths were fast, but they weren't coordinated. They lashed out at random, mindless in their hunger.
He could use that to his advantage.
Luthen roared as one of the creatures latched onto him, its clawed hands sinking into his shoulder. Sera fired an arrow straight through its head, dispersing it. "Keep moving!"
Fortunately, it didn't take long for a spot of light to appear ahead. A way out.
Kael pushed forward, his speed increasing. The others followed, their breath ragged and weapons still slashing at the creatures nipping at their heels.
They burst through the tunnel's exit, stumbling into a vast cavern. The wraiths didn't follow.
Kael turned, watching as the creatures hovered just at the threshold, their forms flickering violently. It was as if something was holding them back, like an invisible wall.
Then, one by one, they vanished. The silence that followed was deafening.
Reiner bent over, panting. "What… the hell… was that?"
Mira wiped the sweat from her brow. "Wraiths. They don't usually appear this high in the dungeon."
"Everything's changing," Oris muttered, glancing at Kael.
Kael said nothing. This place was getting more dangerous. Not just from the beasts, or from the humans fighting to claim its depths. Something deeper was stirring.