The symbols continued deeper into the cave.
Some were carved into stone.
Some scratched roughly across the walls like warnings left behind by something that still lived below.
Elios followed them silently.
The deeper he walked—
the heavier the air became.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Like the cave itself was pressing against his thoughts.
The black flow around him flickered faintly with every step.
Steadier than before.
But still unstable beneath the surface.
Elios could feel it now.
That power wasn't becoming calmer.
It was becoming familiar.
And somehow—
that felt worse.
A sudden sound echoed ahead.
Fast movement.
Elios stopped instantly.
Then—
multiple figures rushed from the darkness.
Four.
No—
six.
The creatures moved unnaturally fast, their claws scraping violently against the stone as they charged toward him.
Elios exhaled slowly.
The black flow thickened.
His senses sharpened immediately.
The first creature reached him.
Elios stepped forward instead of back.
Steel flashed.
One body dropped instantly.
The second lunged from the side.
Blocked.
Countered.
Its head slammed against the cave wall before it collapsed.
The remaining creatures rushed together.
Too close.
Too fast.
Elios narrowed his eyes.
That pressure returned again.
Inside him.
Building.
Waiting.
This time—
he didn't panic.
He raised his hand slowly.
Focused.
The black flow shifted toward his palm.
Not violently.
Not wildly.
Controlled.
Or at least—
closer to control.
The pressure condensed.
Compressed tighter and tighter into a single point.
Elios' arm trembled immediately.
Pain surged through his muscles.
But this time—
he held it.
The creatures closed in.
Closer.
Closer—
"…Now."
He released it.
The compressed burst shot forward violently.
Not like an explosion.
Like concentrated force tearing through the air.
The first creature's chest collapsed inward instantly.
The second was thrown backward hard enough to crack stone.
The others staggered violently from the impact.
Elios moved immediately.
No hesitation.
The black flow around him surged as he cut through the remaining creatures one after another.
Steel.
Blood.
Movement.
Then silence.
The chamber became still again.
Elios stood in the middle of the bodies, breathing unevenly.
But this time—
he didn't collapse afterward.
His arm still hurt.
The pressure still strained his body.
But it was manageable now.
Barely.
Elios looked down at his hand slowly.
The black flow lingered around his fingers like smoke.
"…So that's what you are…"
Not magic.
Not exactly.
Something else.
A weapon formed from compressed force and unstable mana.
Simple.
Brutal.
Direct.
Elios stared at his palm for another moment before speaking quietly.
"…Pulse."
The word echoed faintly through the cave.
Not dramatic.
Not meaningful.
Just the first thing that fit.
A short silence followed.
Then—
the black flow around him trembled again.
Different this time.
Stronger.
Elios' expression shifted slightly.
That feeling again.
Something deeper below.
Watching.
A low sound echoed from somewhere far beneath the cave.
Not an animal.
Not random.
Intentional.
Elios slowly lifted his head.
The deeper darkness ahead almost looked alive now.
The symbols on the walls became denser here.
More organized.
Like markings surrounding territory.
His grip around the blade tightened slightly.
"…So there really is something down there."
For the first time since returning to the cave—
Elios hesitated.
Only for a second.
Then the black flow around him thickened again.
The hesitation disappeared.
Elios stepped forward.
Deeper into the dark.
Toward the thing waiting below.
End.