The stairwell ended. Floor 3 opened up.
Kai felt it immediately—the way the air pressed differently against his skin, heavier, like the whole floor was breathing. The glim moss grew in patches here, leaving long stretches of absolute black between islands of weak light. You couldn't see more than a few steps ahead. Couldn't trust what you didn't see.
Ran stepped up beside him. For once, he didn't speak right away.
Then: "This place is giving me the creeps."
Kai didn't answer. He was looking at the walls.
The carvings had changed. No more endless spirals. These were scenes—rows of figures carved deep into the stone, weapons raised, bodies twisted in motion. Battle scenes. People fighting. Dying. Falling. You could see the strain in their carved muscles, the way they leaned into charges that never finished.
Ran moved closer to one. "What are they fighting?"
The something they were fighting had worn away. Centuries of damp and time had eaten whatever monster loomed on the other side. Just a blank space now. A hole where the enemy used to be.
"Probably better we don't know," Ran muttered.
They moved forward.
---
The first rat found them within minutes.
It came out of a side passage—bigger than anything on Floor 2, shoulders thick with muscle, fur bristling along its spine. It saw them and came fast, no hesitation, no warning.
Kai stepped forward. One motion. Dagger up, under, across. The rat dropped.
Ran stared at the corpse. "They're bigger up here."
Kai cleaned his blade. Didn't answer. Just kept moving.
The corridor twisted and opened into wider chambers. The battle carvings continued everywhere—endless war frozen in stone. Ran stopped trying to comment after a while. Even he ran out of things to say.
Then they rounded a corner and found the rats.
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Four of them. Feeding on something that used to be alive. They looked up as one, jaws dripping, eyes fixed.
No hesitation. From either side.
The rats came fast—faster than the others. Kai took the first two, blade finding throats, ribs, anything soft. He felt teeth catch his arm, shook it off, kept moving.
Ran took one. His blade caught, twisted wrong. The rat lunged—
Pinned him. Teeth snapping inches from his face.
"Kai!"
Kai turned. Moved to help.
He didn't need to.
Something hit the rat from the side—broad, solid, silent. It slammed against the wall with a crack that echoed. A hand grabbed fur. A blade drove home.
The rat went limp.
Silence.
The shape straightened. Turned.
Kai knew that face. Broad shoulders. Weather-worn. Calm eyes that had seen too much.
Novick.
---
Ran scrambled up, breathing hard. He stared at the man who'd just saved his life.
"You—" He pointed. "You're—from Marek's group. Floor 1. I saw you there."
Novick looked at him. Said nothing.
Ran found his breath. "You sat apart. Tended your arm. Didn't talk to anyone."
A nod. Just one.
Kai watched. Like a wall that happened to be shaped like a man.
Novick turned. Started walking away.
"Wait."
The word came out before Kai thought about it.
Novick stopped. But Didn't turn.
Ran, still catching up: "He's right. You just saved my life. You can't walk off like nothing happened."
Slowly, Novick turned. His face was tired—the kind of tired that went deeper than sleep. But his eyes were steady.
Kai: "You saved him."
Novick's voice was low. Rough. Like he didn't use it much. "Saw you fight Marek. You didn't deserve to die."
Ran blinked. "You were there? When Marek jumped him?"
A nod.
"So you saw that whole thing. The fight. Him backing down." Ran shook his head. "And you stayed with him after that?"
"Left." Novick's eyes shifted to Ran. "He went down. I go up."
Kai studied him. The way he stood. The way his hands hung loose but ready. No wasted movement.
"You fight well," Novick said. Looking at Kai now. "Natural." A pause. "Too natural."
Kai said nothing.
Novick held his gaze. "Doesn't matter. You are going up?"
"Yes."
"Then I will come."
Ran looked at Kai. Raised an eyebrow.
Kai thought about it. This man had watched him fight. Had chosen to leave Marek. Had just saved Ran's life without waiting for thanks.
Trust? No. But maybe...
He nodded.
Novick fell in beside them.
Three now.
---
They walked.
Novick said nothing. Just moved. Quiet for someone his size. His eyes moved constantly—checking shadows, side passages, the ceiling. Professional.
Ran, predictably, couldn't handle the silence.
"So. Novick. That your name?"
"Yes."
"Just Novick? No first name? Nothing else?"
"Just Novick."
"Right. Cool. Love a man of mystery." Ran dodged a low-hanging glim patch. "How long were you with Marek's group?"
"Few days."
"Few days. And you just watched the whole time?"
"Saw what I needed."
"Which was?"
Novick glanced at him. "That he'd get people killed."
Ran opened his mouth. Closed it. Nodded. "Yeah. Fair point."
More walking. More silence.
They found a small chamber off the main path. One entrance. Easy to defend. Novick moved to the opening without being asked. Sat down. Faced outward.
Ran settled against a wall, lowered his voice. "He's weird."
Kai sat across from him. "He fights."
"Yeah. He does." Ran glanced at Novick's back. "Saved my life, weird or not."
Kai said nothing. But he watched Novick. The way he sat. The way his head moved slightly at every sound. Trained. Experienced. Different from Kai's own instinct.
Natural, he said. Too natural.
What does that mean?
Ran's breathing slowed. Sleep taking him.
Kai didn't sleep. Just watched. Thought.
Later—much later, when Ran was fully under and the only sounds were breathing and distant water—Novick spoke.
Quiet. Low. Just for Kai.
"Something's wrong with this place. More than just the climbing. You feel it too."
Not a question. He already knew the answer.
Kai met his eyes in the dim light. Didn't respond.
Novick held his gaze for a long moment. Then nodded. Like he'd gotten what he needed.
He turned back to watching the dark.
Kai leaned against the stone. Let his eyes close.
Three was different. Heavier. But also... not.
