CHAPTER 53: I HEARD YOU

’Xenos! Wake up! Wake up!’

Eris’s voice echoed, somehow managing to sound gentle even while screaming.

’You won’t last long if you stay still! Get up, please!’

Xenos groaned, his eyes snapping open.

Everything hurt.

His ribs screamed, his right arm throbbed like Tartaros, and a sharp pain burned across his shoulder. Much like his half-gone cloak, his skin was torn in patches where the spears hit, bruises lined his chest and legs, and his left knee refused to bend properly.

His body felt like it had been smashed by a mountain, which, to be fair, wasn’t too far off.

"Ugh..."

He half-blindly pushed himself off the jagged ground.

"...what?"

’’You’re awake!’

Eris’s relief slammed into him.

’Don’t move too much yet. Your internal organs—’

"Yeah, yeah."

He sat up, coughing out dirt while forcing air into his lungs.

This ’air’ was heavy—so heavy that it felt like it hated him for breathing it.

His whole body screamed, but he pushed through it and forced himself to his feet.

Around him stretched a place that didn’t belong to the living.

The ground was black stone with faint red light pulsing through the cracks.

Massive roots coiled through the rock, some glowing with what appeared to be... lava. Many of such roots were woven together beneath pillars of blackened bones, all into rivers of even more lava, a lot more.

Far above, dark clouds drifted through endless darkness, chains hanging from them.

This wasn’t the Tartaros of myths his past world once knew.

It was worse, even though it was only its crust.

’This... is bad. You shouldn’t be here; the Corruption alone could kill you in minutes.’

Xenos casually nodded and took a step forward, noticing something in the rubble.

It was a shape crushed under slabs of stone.

The Priest.

His body was half-buried, skewered through from top to bottom.

Blood pooled around him, and it was still leaking, making it obvious that, so very thankfully, Xenos’s nap didn’t last too long, giving him a chance at surviving this place.

Though he wasted some of that ’chance,’ staring the Priest down.

"That’s what you get for stealing my kill, you bastard."

He raised his right hand towards himself, the same one that had ended the fight.

"And... huh. Technically speaking, I did kill this fucker."

It trembled slightly as he closed it into a fist.

"It feels so..."

He tightened his grip, knuckles cracking.

"...good?"

He didn’t really know how to describe it.

But he didn’t have the time to think about it, either—

Ding!

—

╔══════════╗

║☆ LEVEL UP ☆║

╚══════════╝

[You’ve Slayed A Priest!]

[EXP = 60]

[Level: 22 → 23]

[+3 STAT POINTS!]

—

"Oh..."

He blinked.

"Nice."

So he could level up off humans too, huh?

It came to reason that since he could benefit from the Souls of monsters, he could do the same to humans, and yes, that explained the small jumps earlier, the House goons.

He hadn’t checked it in the chaos, but yeah, their Souls counted.

The system didn’t discriminate.

A grin formed on his face.

"Murder really does pay."

Still, since he wasn’t the one who actually killed him, with the cave-in being the actual finishing blow, he wasn’t given all of the ’experience,’ but thankfully, he got a fair amount of it, enough to level him up.

The level-up washed through him like a wave.

All where there was pain quickly eased, skin closing where it had split, and even bones being fixed, returning to their earlier states, ultimately stabilizing his breathing.

Ding!

’Hm?’

Something else came up.

—

╔═════════════╗

║QUEST COMPLETE!║

╚═════════════╝

[You Have Killed Both Targets!]

[You Have Stepped Closer To Divinity.]

[+ 5 STAT POINTS!]

—

’Right, the quest.’

It seemed he’d almost forgotten about it.

Even now, while experiencing this stat increase that had essentially come out of nowhere, Xenos didn’t understand or even gain a glimpse at the description of its origin, Rule Breaker, the Soul Glyph eluding him.

Anyhow, this was incredible, but that was about all the good news.

He didn’t have any more time to stay and look at his system.

Because again, this place, Tartaros’s crust, wasn’t meant for humans.

Especially not a Runebearer of his Class and his strength.

The reason why the air was so heavy was because it was filled with Corruption.

Even Runebearers much stronger than him needed Divine Relics to come here, so-called Divine Masks.

They didn’t supply oxygen but rather transformed Corruption into Divinity.

He, of course, didn’t have one.

So yes, staying here wasn’t an option.

Unless he wanted to lose all of his Divinity and turn Hollow, he had to escape now.

"Alright..."

Far from panicked, Xenos glanced around.

"Where’s the exit? Eris, help me out here."

He could feel her shake her head.

’I’ve never been here before...’

"Great."

’But... I think I might be able to guide you to the outer fissures.’

"Good enough."

He cracked his neck, brushed the dust off his clothes, and started walking.

His boots scraped against the black stone, each step echoing softly through the cavern.

Moving made him feel heavier, and every breath burned...

But he kept going, giving up far from his mind.

’Ah.’

Only to suddenly pause.

His divine GPS had paused as well.

Xenos saw them.

Far ahead, moving between the pillars, were towering silhouettes.

Monstrous beings that spoke of incredible strength.

Cyclopses.

Each one was easily five meters tall, their bodies covered in rough, ashen skin.

Their single eyes glowed red, sweeping across the floor as they dragged chunks of bone.

"Yeah, no. I’m not fighting that."

Xenos immediately shook his head, knowing what was impossible.

’You’ll have to go around them.’

Eris, of course, was of the same opinion.

"Or through. Preferably through."

’Xenos!’

He chuckled.

"Kidding... mostly."

Xenos crouched low, his body blending into the darkness.

He moved slowly and carefully, timing each step with the tremors in the ground.

One Cyclops passed close enough that he could see the veins in its one eye.

Another stopped to sniff the air.

Xenos was so still he could hear his own pulse.

They were everywhere, and they were only increasing in number.

For a while, it worked, using what little cover the jagged terrain gave him.

He slipped between shadows, hugged walls, and hid under crumbled arches.

But after turning the second corner, he froze.

There was a whole cluster of the damned things.

Ten, maybe more, too close together to sneak through.

’Eris...’

He called for Her.

’I know.’

And She immediately picked up on it.

’They’re everywhere. You’ll have to improvise.’

His eyes scanned everything around him, and before a second could pass, he spotted one of the Cyclopes standing off to the side, its one eye closed... perhaps injured.

’Perfect.’

Quickly, he slid behind it, close enough to touch its leg.

The creature’s massive form blocked the light from the molten cracks, letting him move unseen while he matched its gait, keeping perfectly within the shadow it cast.

Around him, the other Cyclopes moved in unpredictable patterns that he barely matched; some lifted boulders, while others dragged chains that sparked against the black stone.

Step...

Step...

Step...

One wrong sound and he’d be torn apart.

Even a pebble could give him away.

For minutes, he stayed in sync, shadowing the giant as it lumbered past the others.

Sweat rolled down his face as the heat increased, becoming unbearable, and to make things worse, his lungs were screaming at the Corruption around him, begging for relief, his Divinity reserves reaching an all-time low.

Though it wasn’t a lost cause.

Xenos could almost see the edge of the clearing.

’Careful. It’s just a bit more—’

Ding!

—

╔═══════════════════╗

║NEW SOUL GLYPH ACQUIRED!║

╚═══════════════════╝

[Son of Lelantos (Upgradable)]

[Description: You are much harder to see in the dark.]

—

’...Huh?’

Even Eris went silent.

’You... obtained a Glyph from hiding?’

’Maybe I’m a natural?’

There wasn’t time to think about it.

It was time for him to slip out from behind it.

Matching its slow movements, he dashed away, using the small quakes it created.

When he was finally a fair distance from it, Xenos exhaled hard, leaning on a rock.

’Never again.’

That was tough; his tunic clung to his back with sweat.

’You did well.’

Eris complimented him softly.

’Yeah, well, let’s get out before I get turned into floor paint.’

He looked ahead.

’That’s the exit?’

The path opened up, the cavern stretching into a cracked tunnel.

’Yes.’

Eris nodded.

’Go straight through—’

"ᛂᛊᛪᛜᚸ ᚼᛜᚾ ᛃᛟᚬ ᛋᚻᚬᛟᚬ."

A deep rumble cut her off.

No, it was a heavy voice.

And it originated from...

’Behind me?’

Directly behind him.

Xenos slowly turned his head.

"I heard you."

A Cyclops stood there, towering above him, its single eye burning bright.

"Well..."

He stared up at it for a long moment, deadpan.

"...shit."