Storm and Aurora went completely silent when they saw their pursuer.
He resembled a dragon, but not like any dragon Storm had ever encountered before.
He was completely incorporeal and seemed to be made of a thin black smokelike substance.
His form was that of a dragon, but he was skeletal in nature.
His head, nothing but a draconic skull.
His wings consisted of nothing but the skeletal fingers of the once mighty limbs.
In the spaces where the wing membranes used to be was the same black smoke that made up the rest of it's body.
He had no visible eyes, instead 2 glowing purple orbs resting inside it's empty eye sockets.
The most unnerving feature however was it's chest.
As he was incorporeal, Storm was able to see what appeared to be several blue orbs.
Some were still bright, while others had almost faded away completely to nothing.
They at first appeared static and unmoving, but the longer Storm stared at it, the more he realized that they were not only moving, but also in an state of awareness and clearly in panic and torment.
The creature sniffed the air a few times as it tried to pick up their scent, before dashing out of sight into the main tunnel that led deeper into the mountains.
Another shriek echoed down the tunnels a moment later, confirming that their hunter had moved on.
Storm breathed out a sigh of relieve.
"Storm! What the hell was that thing?!!" Whispered Aurora.
She was visibly shaking with terror.
"I think that was Mimereus?" Explained Storm.
"Who? Or 'What' is Mimereus?"
Mimereus was an ancient dragon that took part in the first war against humans.
He was extremely knowledgeable in combat and magic and at the time of his death was the leader of a large clan of dragons.
Unfortunately for him and his clan that skill eventually led to overconfidence.
When stories of the 'Dark Heart' began, Mimereus believed that he could combat it and cut out the corruption.
He gathered together his clan and set off on an aerial assault on the tainted oak.
Neither he, nor any of his clan returned.
"Let me get this straight!?
You KNEW about his existence and still choose to take this path?!!" Chastised Aurora.
"I knew of his legend! But I didn't know he was still around.
I thought him long dead!" Defended Storm.
"Ohh, he's dead all right! Or 'Undead' specifically!
Just like everyone else that died in this blighted place!"
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"Ok! What are we going to do?!
Is there anything in the legends that says how to combat him?" Asked Aurora.
Storm shook his head.
"There hasn't been any sightings of him!
No legends or witness accounts that saw him! I couldn't have known!" Defended Storm.
"Probably because he killed everyone foolish enough to try something like this!" Retorted Aurora.
"I think he did worse than that." Thought Storm.
He didn't voice his suspicions however.
Aurora was already close to panicking and he didn't want to scare her even more.
"He's gone for now.
Let's make our way back to the entrance!
We'll make a run for it while he's distracted, get to the border of the Dark Forest as fast as we can."
Aurora nodded her head.
Storm stuck his head through the entryway into the side chamber and checked to ensure it was all clear.
"It's safe! Let's go!" Whispered Storm.
They snuck their way through the tunnels towards the pit where they first entered the cave network.
As Storm went around a corner however a large blue barrier blocked the entrance into the pit.
Skeletal faces were flowing around the surface of the barrier.
No doubt the remains of Mimereus's victims that he had already absorbed.
"Storm!! We're trapped in here with him!!" Said Aurora.
"Calm down, Aurora! We'll figure this out!" Replied Storm.
"What are we going to do, Storm!?"
"We explore the tunnels and try to find another way out."
"Have you lost your mind!! He's somewhere in those tunnels!!" Replied Aurora.
"What other choice do we have?! We go deeper, find another exit.
Avoid confronting Mimereus at all costs."
They went back the way they came and after a few moments they were back at the entrance to the side chamber.
Before they could travel further down the main tunnel however, a thick dark fog rolled in from the main tunnel.
Storm could hear the tormented wails of those long dead, getting closer.
"In here!" Storm shouted.
He and Aurora jumped into the side chamber again. A moment later, there was a large quake as something big and heavy struck the entrance.
Storm could see Mimereus standing at the entrance, glaring at them in rage.
It released a long shriek of frustration.
"He's too big!! He can't fit into the chamber!!" Called Storm.
A moment later, Mimereus's form desolved into mist and began flowing into the chamber.
"Storm!! Over here!!" Called Aurora.
She was standing by another large tunnel that went deeper into the mountains.
They both ran as fast as they could.
A minute after, Storm heard another shriek indicating that Mimereus had reformed himself inside the side chamber.
Storm could feel the tremors caused by Mimereus running in pursuit.
It was getting closer with every step.
As they reached a fork in the tunnels, Storm twisted around and fired an lightning blast at the ceiling of the tunnel.
It gave in a moment later and collapsed, blocking the tunnel they just came from.
A roar of frustration sounded on the other side of the debris a moment later.
"That won't hold him back for long!!" Thought Storm.
They ran down the leftmost tunnel.
Whenever the path forked, they'd stick to the left most pathway.
After a moment they entered a large chamber that seemed to have once been a settlement.
Several small, stone houses were constructed around the chamber.
In it's center, were the remains of what looked to be a marketplace of some kind.
"Damn it!! This isn't working! Try to find some kind of layout or map!
We'll end up completely lost if we keep this up." ordered Storm .
They entered the former market and began looking around.
"Who do you think lived here?" Asked Aurora.
"Dwarves, most likely. They can't seem to resist digging out every single mountain they find." Answered Storm.
The settlement itself was old, probably from before the fall of the Haven.
It's inhabitants long since fled or dead.
"Storm! Over here!" Called Aurora.