The dark mist swirling inside the Lost Gate felt heavier than usual. Sai tightened his grip on his daggers, their hilts warm in his hands, responding to the latent energy of the dungeon. This was his fourth Lost Gate, and by now, he had learned one thing—nothing inside these places followed the rules of normal dungeons.
"Stay alert," he muttered to himself, stepping forward. The gate pulsed behind him, sealing shut the mont he crossed the threshold.
Before him stretched an ancient underground city, its spires crumbling and worn by ti. Strange blue glyphs glowed faintly on the walls of ruined buildings, flickering like dying embers. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and an eerie silence weighed upon the abandoned streets.
Then ca the whispers.
They slithered into his mind, unintelligible yet beckoning. Sai clenched his teeth, shaking his head to clear the sensation. He had experienced sothing similar in a previous Lost Gate—this was the dungeon itself, trying to break his focus.
"Not this ti," he murmured, stepping cautiously forward.
His boots crunched against the cracked pavent as he advanced through the ruins. His system interface flickered to life, scanning the surroundings.
**[Lost Gate: Ruins of Evernight]**
**Difficulty: ???**
**Objective: Unknown**
That last part worried him. Usually, the system gave him a clear goal—defeat a boss, retrieve an artifact, survive for a set ti. But this ti, there was nothing.
A shuffling noise broke his thoughts.
Sai ducked behind a broken column, pressing his back against the cold stone. His breath slowed as he focused his senses. Sothing was moving in the distance, dragging footsteps against the ground.
Then he saw them.
Shadowy figures, humanoid but twisted, erged from the ruins. Their bodies flickered between solid and incorporeal, as if they existed in two planes at once. Their hollow eyes glowed with an eerie silver light.
**[Specters of Evernight]**
**Corrupted Souls Bound to the Ruins**
Sai steadied his breathing. He had fought plenty of monsters, but these felt different. There was sothing unnatural about them, sothing fundantally wrong.
One of the specters turned its head toward him. Its mouth stretched open wider than humanly possible, releasing a hollow wail.
The others responded in unison.
The air trembled as the specters rushed forward. Sai reacted instantly, leaping to the side as the first one swiped at him with clawed fingers. He slashed with his right dagger, the blade phasing harmlessly through its shadowy form.
"Not good," he muttered, twisting mid-air to land on his feet.
The specters didn't slow. They moved unnaturally fast, their bodies flickering in and out of sight. Sai activated **Chrono-Rewind**, feeling ti shift around him. He dodged just as a spectral claw aid for his throat, stepping back an instant before the attack landed.
"I need sothing solid," he realized. If normal attacks didn't work, he needed to find another way.
His eyes flickered to the glowing blue glyphs on the walls.
"Wait... could that be it?"
Dashing toward the nearest ruin, Sai pressed his hand against one of the symbols. Energy surged through him, and his system reacted.
**[Glyph of Binding Discovered]**
**Would you like to absorb its power?**
"Yes!" Sai confird imdiately.
Blue light exploded from the glyph, flowing into his body. His daggers humd with new energy, their edges now shimring with a ghostly glow.
One of the specters lunged at him. This ti, when he slashed, the dagger t resistance. The creature screeched as the weapon sliced cleanly through its form, dispersing it into mist.
"It worked!" Sai grinned.
The other specters hesitated for a mont, sensing the shift in power. Then they attacked all at once.
Sai moved like a whirlwind, his newly empowered daggers tearing through the spectral enemies. Each strike sent waves of energy rippling through the air, shattering the creatures into nothingness. Within monts, the ruins were silent once more.
His breathing was heavy, but he had won.
**[Specters of Evernight Defeated]**
**New Ability Acquired: Phantom Edge**
Sai opened his status window.
**[Phantom Edge: Your weapons can now strike incorporeal beings, dealing extra damage to spectral enemies.]**
A useful ability, considering the nature of Lost Gates. He had learned by now that these dungeons often contained things that should have remained forgotten.
Taking a mont to catch his breath, Sai turned his attention to the center of the ruins. There, standing atop a broken platform, was a massive stone door covered in chains. Unlike the rest of the city, this structure was intact—almost as if sothing had been deliberately sealed inside.
His system reacted instantly.
**[Sealed Chamber Detected]**
**Warning: Opening this door may have unforeseen consequences. Proceed with caution.]**
Sai hesitated.
Every instinct told him that whatever was behind that door was sothing important. But was it worth the risk?
Then he heard it.
A voice—ancient and weary—echoed in his mind.
*"You who walk beyond the veil... do you seek the truth?"*
Sai's breath caught in his throat.
He wasn't alone in this dungeon.
His heart pounded. This wasn't like the usual system ssages. This was sothing else. Sothing... alive.
He stepped toward the sealed door, reaching out with his newly acquired **Phantom Edge**-imbued dagger. The chains rattled as if sensing his intent.
Then, the entire ruin trembled.
Dust and debris cascaded from the rooftops as the air grew thick with oppressive energy. Sai's system flared a new alert.
**[Abyssal Presence Awakening]**
**Threat Level: Catastrophic**
His blood ran cold.
What had he just awakened?
Before he could react, the door's chains shattered, and an overwhelming force blasted outward.
A figure erged from the darkness.
It wasn't a monster.
It was a man—no, sothing beyond human. His presence was suffocating, his eyes glowing with the sa silver light as the specters. Dark armor wrapped around his form, etched with symbols Sai couldn't comprehend.
The being regarded Sai with an unreadable expression.
*"You are not one of them,"* he said. His voice was like distant thunder, echoing through the ruins.
Sai tightened his grip on his daggers. He didn't know what this entity was, but every instinct scread that he was standing in front of sothing ancient.
Sothing dangerous.
*"Your presence here is an anomaly... and yet, perhaps, it is fate."*
The air shifted, and Sai's system flashed one final ssage.
**[You have encountered a Forgotten Sovereign.]**
**[A choice must be made.]**
Sai exhaled slowly.
No turning back now.
**To Be Continued...**
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