A quite evening, comfortable, cozy, perfect temperature to relax. Now, one could wonder what the best way to spend such an evening would be. Aris had a couple of answers himself, in fact, he was even willing to spend his time outside in the city, interacting with people, if he had a choice.
One thing he wouldn't have chosen, which he was sure of, was running headfirst into a dungeon. Alone.
He was surprised himself too, letting loose a glorious string of curses as he got swallowed by the gigantic portal surging with wild mana.
How did he end up here?
Great question.
It all started going wrong the moment he stepped out of that grocery store.
***
Aris scanned the parking lot of the grocery store, bag of supplies in hand. He had been standing here for more than five minutes already, waiting for a taxi that could take him back home.
The sun had fully set by now, the barest hint of gold peeking out from the horizon as the star submerged into the earth. The wind had somewhat picked up, Aris could see rain clouds arriving far in the distance. It was better to hurry, he decided, getting wet in this cold weather will not feel good at all.
He rubbed his hands together, generating warmth in fingers to shake the airy dryness away.
"I shouldn't have let the taxi go." Muttering under his breath, he shifted his weight, scanning the parking lot and the road again.
Nothing.
...
"Looking for a ride?"
The voice came from his left, a little too close.
He paused, lingering for a moment as he struggled against his reflexes.
He turned, only to end up hesitating once more.
There she was, the woman, standing beside him with an easy going look. Pretending that she was nothing more than a passerby.
Aris cleared his throat.
"Excuse me?"
Finally, the woman seems to realize that she had startled Aris.
"I'm so sorry, i didn't mean to-"
"It's fine." Aris cut her off. "You were saying?"
"Are you looking for a ride?"
Her voice was calm, not pushy. Just... an offering.
Aris studied her for a moment, considering his answer.
"Something like that," He said, shifting his weight again. "I've been waiting for a while."
"You won't get any taxi"
His eyebrows raised in question.
"They don't pick up from here this late." She said, pausing for a small moment. "I can give you a ride if you want."
She said it with the casual air of someone offering you a tissue, just.. normal.
Aris looked at the woman for a long moment.
She was taller than Aris, everyone was, but only a few people could actually afford to treat him like he was shorter than them. Her eyes, a serene shade of midnight blue, looked at him with the calm decadence of an acquaintance. She was holding a small bag of groceries herself too, Aris noting that she bought the same brand of noodles that he himself liked.
"Sure." He said finally.
She nodded, then gestured for him to follow with a small motion of her hand.
Aris trailed behind her across the parking lot, his gaze lingering on her back more often than he would have liked to admit. Up close, the same strange absence persisted. It wasn't something he could point to directly, nor something he could explain with words, but it was there—an emptiness where there should have been weight.
They stopped near the far end of the lot.
Her vehicle came into view.
It wasn't a car.
Aris raised an eyebrow slightly as he took in the sleek frame of the sports bike. It was low, compact, and built with a kind of deliberate sharpness that made it look faster than anything had a right to be. The matte finish swallowed the dim light around it, while faint lines of embedded mana circuitry ran along its body, pulsing softly like veins beneath skin.
It looked expensive, even for his newly established standards.
"…Didn't take you for the type," he muttered.
She didn't respond.
Instead, she reached to the side, retrieving a spare helmet and holding it out to him.
"Sorry if its a little too big."
Aris accepted it without comment, slipping it on and adjusting the strap beneath his chin. By the time he looked up again, she was already seated, the engine coming alive beneath her with a low, controlled hum. It wasn't loud—if anything, it was too quiet for something that looked like it could tear through the streets.
"Get on," she said.
Aris stepped forward and swung himself onto the bike, settling in behind her. There was barely any space between them, the design clearly not made for comfort. He adjusted his footing slightly, one hand hovering awkwardly for a second before he placed it lightly against the back of the seat instead of her.
The engine's hum deepened.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the bike surged forward.
"You never told me your name." He said over the sound of the engine.
"Amari."
"I'm Aris."
Aris let out a quiet breath, shifting his gaze forward again.
The city stretched out ahead of them, lights flickering in the distance beneath a sky that had grown noticeably darker. The rain clouds he had spotted earlier had drawn closer, thick and heavy, swallowing what little remained of the evening light.
A faint unease settled in his chest.
Contrary to what one would expect, it happened rather slowly, almost methodically.
They had entered the crown district again when Aris sensed the shifting of the ambient mana, Amari slowed the bike down, eventually coming to a stop when the pull of the dungeon became too strong to ignore.
Aris tilted his head, eyes scanning his surroundings for anything unusual.
"You feel that too?" Amari asked.
"Yeah." He hopped of the bike, taking the helmet off his head to get a better view.
There, far in the distance he spotted it. Motes of bright mana coalescing into a violent swirl.
And next to it, was the group of boys that Aris had seen on his arrival here, all of them huddled in a circle around something... something that Aris couldn't quite make out from the distance.