Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1

In the Beginning

“Captain Hwang, I can’t keep this healing up! I need to focus on Ruler Im.” The healer yells to the tank, conflicted whether to heal their Captain or their Mage. If he keeps on healing the Captain, they have more of a chance to survive; however, if he neglects the Mage, he’ll die. His eyes darts from one to other. Panic settles in, he could sense Ruler Im’s life force slowly draining away– like a torrent of water crashing down on his head. He’s not skilled enough to diverge from healing yet… Why? Why did it have to be now of all times? Why did he even go on this mission? He’s only a C-rank whilst everyone else is a B-rank, yet they still got thrashed. It’s not supposed to happen to him, there is a future way ahead of him. Being invited to the academy sector of one of the strongest guilds in South Korea. His story couldn’t end now. 

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH

“Shit!” Captain Hwang yells as his ability {LVL: 1, Barrier} breaks apart, shatters into small pieces like glass. The orcs in front knock Hwang back. With their stone clubs they bash him against the wall, the others charging at Hwang and begin to pummel him. His blood splattering against the wall with each punch, kick, and hit he takes. With each strike beading down his armour onto the ground, puddling below him. The sound of bloodied flesh echoes through the cave, as the healer focuses on Ruler Im. Beads of sweat drip down from his head onto the ground, his hands planted on Ruler Im’s body radiating a bright green. But from the distance, he could hear footsteps from the horde of orcs as they grew louder. Did he have time to heal Ruler Im and escape? Was Captain Hwang alive? The wounds on Ruler Im began to close to the elation of the healer, but in the distance could be heard the approaching orc stampede. No more time left for them to escape, they’d all die in this cave penniless nobodies. 

Though the steps of the horde grew louder and louder, a slight noise of chains clanging on each other could be heard. The healer looks at the other end of the tunnel where the noises come from. A shadow outlined by a red glow, the boots thumping with the rattling of the chains. Some of the orcs stop their movement mesmerized by the thing at the end of the tunnel. It is a chance to get out alive with Ruler Im, but the healer was too scared to move. Out of nowhere, a harsh gust of wind blasts him from behind– it felt like he couldn’t keep standing, being almost blown away. 

Dust jolts up with the wind current of the tunnel. It blinded the healer. Using his arm as a way to shield his eyes from the dust. Without the sense of sight, the only useful sense he had was his hearing. Flesh being slashed by blades so sharp it felt like the air would be cut along with it. Boulders being thrown around and crashing on walls. Ears ringing from the guttural screams of the orcs with the pain pulsating through his head. Closing his eyes to use his arms to cover his ears instead.

The dust soon settles down since he didn’t feel the tiny rocks slash at his eyes. Slowly opening his eyes and putting his hands to his side, he notices that Ruler Im disappeared beneath him. His eyes dashed around, turning his body to seek out Ruler Im in every direction, but still he was nowhere to be found. Then it hit, did Ruler Im get caught out in the fight? But he was below him this entire time, there was no way he could’ve been killed during the fight down the tunnel. His face crumpled with tears welling up in his eyes, having failed to save a single one of his party members. He falls to his hands and knees. 

“I couldn’t… My only job, and I still couldn’t do it.” Doubt infested like termites. The pain from the rocks digging into his palm and knees dissociated in his mind. The only thoughts rushing through his mind were his failure. Healers only have one job– to heal, and he couldn’t even do that. “Damn it… Damn it all!” Slamming the ground with his fist, tears dripping.

“Stand.” He notices that his shadow grew larger, but also a commanding voice from above. Lifting his head to look up, a knight with a ripped and weathered cape, black armour, and a rugged helmet with a T-shaped visor. Looking closer through the visor, he noticed that there were two dots resembling the colour wheel– he assumed they were its eyes. The eyes were unmoving and felt empty even though they were filled with colour. Its stared with a piercing gaze. An aura exudes from the knight as he stays frozen and locks eyes with it. Was it another person who snuck in with them? A monster? The dungeon boss? Is this a potential dungeon break? 

With its black gauntlet, it picks him up by the collar of his mage clothing and plants him on his feet. Its eyes still locked with his. “Why are you here?” The voice vibrating the walls of the cave with the healer feeling shivers down his spine. Wiping his sweaty hands on his clothing, he stands up straight and responds to the knight, “for a dungeon clear.” He chokes while trying to respond to the knight. It takes a moment then nods. Turning its head to look behind itself, it notices the corpse of Captain Hwang. “Unfortunate that he died in this desolate cavern.” The knight then turns completely and walks to his corpse. Kneeling with its hand on one knee, it gestures for the healer to follow. Fearful of his life, he does what it asks. Kneeling with the knight, it gently holds the healer's hand and places it on Captain Hwang's head. “You have a decision to make, Hwang has a family who loves him dearly. A beautiful daughter who strives to become him one day.” The knight reveals Ruler Im underneath its cape and rests him upon the same wall. The healer stares at the knight, then back at Ruler Im. “How the hell..” The healer says under his breath. At a closer look, the wounds of Ruler Im reopened. It may have been because of the fighting before and the constant ruptures in the ground.

“This spell can do one of two things, resurrection or a full recovery.” The knight with its other hand gestures to Ruler Im. “This one has a future to fulfil, a destiny that they have yet to achieve. He is young, and has much to give to the world.” The knight turns its head back to the healer. The healer looks back at the knight with widened eyes. Constantly looking back and forth from Captain Hwang and Ruler Im, needing to decide who lives and who dies. “What if I resurrect Hwang, and then heal Im? That should be possible.” His voice shaking, wishfully thinking that he could let both of them walk out with him. Coldly, the knight responds, “The resurrection process will take too long, Ruler Im will perish due to his grave wounds. You are too weak to divide your healing prowess. Choose.” The knight's grip on the healer's hands begins to tighten with him wincing. Pain pierces through his hand with his fingers intertwining with themselves under the pressure of the knight's grip. “Alright, alright! I want to heal Ruler Im!” He screams to the knight as it lets go of his hand. Falling onto his back from his knees, he massages his hands. The smell of rustic metal stains his hands. Swiftly turning his head back to the knight, he screams “the hell did you do that for?” Protesting against the harsh methods of the knight, but the knight never looked at the healer.

“You have made your decision. Good.” The knight then rests its hand on Ruler Im’s head and tilts it back. “Full Recovery.” A bright flash of yellow and green erupts from Ruler Im’s body, illuminating the already dim cavern. A shockwave  The beams of light circling around Im’s body begin to quickly return back to his body– as it starts to glow a yellowish green. The healer stands back up holding his wrist, amazed at the sight of the spell. “Amazing… What power.” Though it was bright, it mesmerized Ruler Im. Each laceration, bruise, open fractures, or any kind of injury you’d imagine slowly began to close. Bones slowly began to disappear with new ones growing in place, bruises would lose their colour, and the lacerations closing. By the time the spell was finished, Ruler Im was in perfect condition. 

The knight then gently picks Ruler Im from the wall, with his back in its right arm, and his knees in its left. The healer walks up and puts his arm forward for the knight to give. The knight rests Ruler Im in his arms, then faces the healer. “You are now to leave this cavern.” It brings its hand back as if it were grabbing something. The healer tilts a bit to the right to try and get a better look. The knight then reveals a letter with a grey wax seal with a very strange insignia– a dragon with a sword embedded in its chest, surrounded by snowflakes. “You will give this message to a very particular person. It is of utmost importance that this message is delivered.” The knight rests it on top of Ruler Im’s body. “Who am I supposed to give this to?” The healer questions the knight. There wasn’t a description of who this person looks like, sounds like, or even their name. No such clue was given by the knight. “You will know in time, it will be a gut feeling. Trust that feeling.” The knight puts a hand on the healer's shoulder, and in a blink of an eye he is outside of the dungeon gate. 

News reporters waiting outside the gate then harass the stunned healer. They ask him if the two of them were the only survivors of the raid, if they defeated the boss or not, or just a bunch of other questions that the reporters berated the healer about. But, the only thing on his mind was getting out of the dungeon gate area and to just go home.

Back inside the dungeon, the knight stands in front of Captain Hwang's corpse. The paleness of his body, the smell of rot, and the opportunity to gain a strong ally motivated the knight to get his corpse out of his cavern. So, it positioned its hand in front of the corpse like she was going to hoist him up. “Death is only but a fleeting experience, for I am the harbinger of its antithesis.” A black smoke arises from the corpse like a mist. Captain Hwang's hand slowly begins to rise in response to the knight's call. “This is not the end of your story, your strength, versatility, and your valor is too much for death to take away from this world.” Hwang’s hand edging closer and closer to the fingertips of the knight. “Arise, and serve your empress to the end of time.” A white light erupts from the eyes and mouth of Captain Hwang's corpse as he begins to levitate from the ground. The pebbles underneath bouncing from the rumbling of the cavern. The sounds of a rockslide erupts with the walls slowly coming apart. The knight stands still with no response to the incoming dangers of the collapsing cavern. 

Captain Hwang then falls and lands on his feet, his body glowing with a sublime light. His outerwear changes from a destroyed armour to gracious white armour with a long flowing cape. A helmet similar to the design of the now Empress. As the cavern continues to crumble, the Empress strides the cape over the both of them disappearing. 

Chapter Text

2

Lotte World is the largest amusement park in South Korea, with them even having roller coasters that span the entire indoor park. But, due to a gate opening near its entrance, the citizens have either evacuated the area, or got trapped within the gate.

Around ten Rulers were called to the gate, belonging to one of three classes. Support, Tanks, and Duelists– all vital to a proper strike force. The castle entrance looked like a tsunami just passed by, filled with boulders from its former walls, metal fences torn from the ground, signs toppled as it was conquered by this gate.

“Minsuk? You got called to this gate?” Ruler Moon Injae waves his hand as he jogs over to Ruler Jang Minsuk. Moon is a lean-built man with a buzzcut, being blessed soon after the completion of his mandatory military service. Known to be a loud– but kind man, many people compare him to a German shepherd to which he enjoys.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jang crosses his arms and leans against a boulder, acting like someone trying to be cold and tough. Moon compared him to a walnut. “Come on, lighten up! It’s our first raid together, won’t you just smile for once?” A soft pinkish blaze ran across his face, his ears lighting up with Moon shaking him . A few other Rulers look at them, murmuring amongst each other and snickering. Others walked up to them and started conversation, the air filling with the hardy laughs of Rulers.

Amongst the group there of course were newbies, as this being a B-rank dungeon being average. “Do you guys know why we’re here?” A shaky hand and voice raises in the crowd. Connected to that hand, a boy who looked to be around a tall seventeen year old nervously rubs his head. The Rulers all turn to him different kinds of expressions. Some twisted their faces in disbelief, others jaw-dropped at his skyscraperesque height, the rest just blankly stared at him. A loooooot of faces for one person to deal with, but he hiked up his Trousers of Bravery and introduced himself. “My name is Han Seok. I am a B-ranker like the rest of you, but I’m new to being a Ruler. I hope to learn much from you!” Swiftly bowing to the strike team. Everyone stood in silence as sweat droplets poured from his face, his eyes widened with anxiety. Rulers darted their stares from Han to themselves.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, HAN MY BOY!” A gravelly voice erupts from the back of the group as they spread a part. A beer bellied man strides through the crowd and slams his hand on Hans shoulder. The pure animalistic force from his hand pulses through Hans' body– his breath leaving his body. “You’ll be a-okay with us, don’t worry! Names Jeongsuk!” Laughing as he spoke, which comforted Han a little bit. The rest of the Rulers then came up to him and slapped his back. Many of them introduced themselves to the new Ruler.

The blue gate flourishes its distinct light– a whirlpool churning into its center. The remaining trees rustle with the gust. Four association members stand on guard until all of the Rulers arrive– the mysterious woman being the last one to arrive. Like hyenas, they all turn their heads to a hooded woman who silently walks to the front and stands silently. She didn’t acknowledge any Rulers nor the association staff, but it was as if they already knew who she was. Confusion was the pollution that stained the air, with the kind-hearted Ruler striding to one of the employees and asking her, "Who's the Ruler all the way at the front? She didn’t really talk with us nor introduce herself.” Even from the thickness of his sunglasses, he could feel the daggers stabbing his soul as if his question wasn’t warranted. Sighing, she replies to Moon, “She is a tank-class Ruler, and will be the main tank as the rest we contacted either did not want to participate or did not answer our call.” Moon was left perplexed, the mysterious woman wasn’t physically well-defined nor tall– actually, she was above-average height for a woman but compared to the rest of the strike-force, no way could she be the only tank. Moon questioned, “are you sure? She doesn’t really seem like a-” The association cuts him off as another member interrupts and begins to debrief.

“I am Ruler Han Chim-chak.” He stood with poise and his voice echoed through the gate entrance, and somehow was louder than the whirring of the spinning gate. All of the Rulers felt his immense aura, many of them nervous even looking at him or speaking up. He continued, “This gate is registered as a B-rank gate, so in theory this should be easy for B-rankers like you.” Although many of them were intimidated to speak up, Ruler Moon jogs to their debriefer and asks, “is it possible to grab another tank? I don’t wanna be rude or anything, but, there's no way she can be our only tank.” Without even taking a breath, he responds to him in a stern yet condescending tone, “she is more than capable to be your one and only tank. Are you looking down on her even though the raid has not commenced?” A bead of sweat trails down his cheek. “Right… Sorry.” Tucking his tail between his legs, he backs down.

“What is that?” Ruler Han points to the gate in front of them in all its majesty. Clearing his throat, Jeongsuk answers the young Ruler “this is called a gate. Beyond these mana-infested portal, there are beasts that will hunt anything they see as prey.” But Han questions Jeongsuk, “but aren’t they called Focal Points?” Jeongsuk looks at Han with a hint of confusion, raising one of his eyebrows to the boy. “Focal Points? Never heard of a gate being called one of those.” Han looked to be almost entranced by the gate, which worried Jeongsuk a little bit. “They’re also supposed to be white, why are they blue?” Before being able to have another thought, he feels a quick and sharp pain on his cheek. Jeongsuk with his hand at the side of his head says, “whatever you’re seeing, whatever you’re thinking, that's enough. There is only one thought in a ruler's mind.” Drawing his axe from his back, and buckler from the hip he readies himself putting his right foot in front, “our duty as Rulers is to rule over these beasts as these are our territories.” Han looks at him with awe, and draws his dagger in response.

“Since we have everyone here, you may now all enter the gate. Godspeed.” With that he walks off to the side. All of the Rulers get into formation– tank upfront, melee in the middle, with ranged and healers at the back. Gripping their weapons and gear, they all walk inside of the vortex as it shines a lustrous blue.

Their steps echo in the massive cave-like dungeon. Rocks surrounded them exuding that claustrophobic feeling. This cave also hosted many different kinds of insects– many crawling onto the walls or being eaten by bigger insects. Plant life was nonexistent with the exception of a couple weeds poking out from the rocky ground. Many of the Rulers felt disgusted because of the humidity.

Ruler Moon zestily skips over to Han and plants his hand on his shoulder, “Doncha’ worry about a thing lil bro, just as Jeongsuk said, we’ll take care of ya’!” More and more he was comforted by the group. He scratches the back of his head and weakly laughs, almost as if he already lost all of his energy.

“Jeez, let's clear this dungeon and get outta here.” Ruler Moon yells as the rest of them pump their fists in the air, with only one not responding– their tank. Slightly annoyed he stomps to their tank and grabs her shoulder, “hey, if you’re scared of dungeoning don’t worry, I’ll be here to sup-.” The tank turns to look up at him, but he notices that he can’t see her eyes… Her face begins to glitch out a little, before two white circles suddenly appear and stare at him.

Without saying a word, she turns around and continues to walk forward. A hurricane of thoughts spurred within his mind, all focusing on the woman's visor. Left stunned with the rest of the crowd watching and murmuring between each other. “Who does she think she is?” Gossiping as if they were highschoolers.

“That visor doesn’t even make her look human.” A woman's snarky tone echoes through the cavern.

“No way she's our tank, she's too tiny!” A man's voice not even trying to be quiet. The party all laughs with him as the tank distances herself from the group.

“Why don’t we run past her and take this dungeon for ourselves?” The laughter grew louder with some small pebbles shaking by their noise. Unbeknownst to them, their tank draws out their axe and stops walking. The rest of the party stops with her, watching as she turns around and stares at them. “Is there something wrong?” Ruler Moon asks their tank, but to no response. He could see her veins pop out of her hands as fear seeped in like pus into cracked glass.

Cocking her arm back, planting her right foot, and twisting her hips, she chucks her axe straight at the party. Having no time to react, Moon jumps in front of the axe and quickly draws his sword ready to parry it. He knew there was something off about her, this is the moment he can shine and save the party.

The axe smashed against Ruler Hans skull with blood spraying everywhere. The cavern was painted red with red streams along the wall and a pool of blood below. The party all screamed with some breaking down, some comforting others, but the rest of them charging at the tank. “You killed one of us, you idiot!” A group of three Rulers all run towards their tank with their weapons in hand. One taking the middle, left, and right side of the tank. The Ruler on the right tries to slash the tanks arm, but she moves back enough to slightly dodge the attack. Though, the tank left herself vulnerable to an attack from the middle Ruler. A battle cry erupts from the very throat of the middle Ruler but suddenly finds himself on the ground with the Ruler from the right. The tank grabs the middle Ruler's hair and props it up and draws her dagger holding it to his throat.

The rest of the party then stares at the scene in front. Drips of sweat rolling down their cheek in the breezy caverns. Will she slit his throat? “Hey now… be calm and let's put the dagger down, please?” One of the crying Rulers pleads with their tank. WIth no response, she takes the dagger of his throat and points it to them.

Han then started to shapeshift from human to an elf, the axe still embedded within. Ruler Moon down on the ground with eyes focused on the elf and nothing else. He couldn’t speak, nor did he want to speak. If the elf had used the stealth skill, one of their mages would have caught on. Looking down at his hands that were soaked with blood, his eyes look forward to the two dots within the shadows.

“GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” A burst of energy soars through his body, fight or flight. He didn’t know what to do, he just saw a human die– but then that human wasn’t really a human. An elf? So he ran. Pumping his arms as if he returned to his high school track meet, his legs never burned so much then that.

The rest of the group then all turn back to the woman with the visor, who creeps closer to them. They step back with each step she took until she reached Han’s- now the elves -corpse, and took back his axe. His bright-scarlet blood spraying all over the woman, with her white shirt underneath the black sweater all bloodied. Some of the Rulers covered their mouths in fear, with elves' brains being visible within its skull, eyes popped out of its socket, and a mouth split in half. The woman then grabbed the corpse and threw it over her shoulder– also raising her head to face the strike team. “If you cannot even sense an intruder within our ranks.”

“You don’t deserve to be Rulers.”

Chapter Text

3
Hidden

     With tails in between their legs, the strike team all stare at the visored woman. Silence engulfs the cavern with only the whirling wind keeping them company. Widened eyes, agape mouths, and clenched fists described these Rulers. Those soulless dots peered into their souls as if it were a judge, and her axe was its gavel.

     Yet, as quick as she killed the elf, the woman turned and walked deeper into the cavern with its corpse. Even so, the strike squad all stared into the darkness that slowly engulfed the woman inside it. “We’re still Rulers, let’s close the thing before the SKRA starts getting handsy.” Jeongsuk rubbed the back of his head as he sauntered to the front of the group.

     “No… Absolutely not.” A Ruler named Lee Geobjaeng with his quivering voice said. On his knees, his eyes filled with the scenes of watching the axe gouged into its skull, his short black hair showered in blood, and his arms hugging himself. “You saw what she did to it… It wasn’t normal.” Within Geobjaeng’s trembled breath, exhausted laughs broke through. “Even though it looked so human, without any question she just…” His body curled downwards as his mind begins to relive those short seconds of the elf's death.

     Jeongsuk could only look with pity. A child on the ground broken after witnessing the reality of being a Ruler. These experiences decide if a ruler is crazy enough to keep with this kind of career, but with Geobjaeng, the answer was obvious. Knowing this, Jeongsuk announced to the group. “There seems to be an obvious divide in the group. I personally want to continue in order to close the gate.” Waving his hand to the others. “So, if you’d prefer to come join me and clear this dungeon then let's all group up. Same thing with those who don’t wanna risk their lives after what they just saw, then start walkin’ out.” But to his surprise, he was the only Ruler that wanted to continue forth. “We’re not strong enough for this dungeon. Maybe the readings were off, this is an A-rank dungeon, not a B-rank.” Ruler Jang Minsuk spouts, furrowing his eyebrow. The others all silently look down with Jeongsuk left shocked.

“We can’t do this.”

—

     Penguins cannot fly, yet are still considered birds. Puffins can be mistaken for penguins– the beak being the main aspect of them. So then, what is to say that I am different from them? Rulers are Rulers. Our duty is to protect the people of our world from magical beings who threaten our existence. Yet, I am being judged for the way I protect others.

     Thoughts like these flew around in my mind as I hike forward with no real goal ahead of me. The sounds of my footsteps break the silence of the cavern. Although, I find myself shifting my right shoulder due to the tremendous weight of this elf. I have read online that elves typically are lightweight with most of them being assassin classes– but has this one been accustomed to Earthly diets? I do not know fully, but I do feel the weight.

“Peanut! Make sure to take care of yourself. I don’t want you coming back home like totally badly injured, ‘kay?”

     Mothers words before I left, ring in my ear. Comforting. The smell of her cooking fills the imaginative scent of the cavern, bringing me into a state of serenity. Tingling of my fingers in anticipation of a home cooked meal– those bring me joy. I feel a tap on my shoulder as I whip around with my axe in hand. Muscles flexing as the torrents of wind coming from my swing hit my face. “CALM THE FUCK DOWN” A familiar face shines across the steel axehead. Long hair tied into a bun, beer belly, and a voice capable of destroying mountains. Yes. His hands held high with the axe's edge tapping his neck. I could see a single drop of sweat bead from his neck down to my weapon as he gasps for air. Widened eyes, trembling breath, submissive body language, all conclusive of Ruler Kim Jeongsuk being incapable of being a threat. I draw my axe from his neck, resting it to my side.

     “Apologies. What do you need?” Jeongsuk with his hands on his knees completely out of breath. His eyes peer to mine as he says, “you know… Haaah, haaaaah. You REALLY need help, y’know that? Like, fuck…” Waving his finger around in my direction while yelling at me without any breath of air in his lungs. Though I must say, if he is as emotional as he is now because of what I did, my reflexes and control over my body must be above-average. “Quit staring at me like you’re some sort of mannequin, jeez, no wonder why they’re all terrified.”

….

     I pivot on my right foot and continue walking forward while ignoring protests from Ruler Jeongsuk. I almost feel as though with each footstep, his voice gets increasingly louder like some sort of volume button. I wish to rid of him, but I can not because we are both Rulers. Why do I think this? It is because I hear thunder rolling behind me as dust rushes past as if a hurricane had passed by. Unbelievable. He stands beside me out of breath again as we proceed forward.

     “Your shoulders gotta be sore, lemme grab it for you.” His voice lightened up a bit since we had begun walking with each other for a couple of minutes by now. “I do appreciate the offer, but I need no assistance.” In my peripheral vision, I almost sense a hint of disappointment in him… Drooped shoulders, eyelids slightly closed, and a softer voice. At that moment, I pitied him, “Then, for a short amount of time, you may carry the corpse.” Lifting the corpse off my shoulder as I hand it off to him. His dog-like eyes scream excitement as the princess carries the corpse. Very weird choice of carrying. “Why do you carry it as if it were alive?” Ruler Jeongsuk is a very tall man, I would say around six foot two– so I had to look up towards him. “Okay, first of all, what the hell is up with that visor? Like, those two fucken dots staring at me are creeping me out.” Deadpan expression with a tone that people would call ‘sassy.’ I feel a great tension in my forehead, but I blissfully ignore it. None of our questions were answered.

—

     Ruler Jang leads the group forward to the exit, all with the goal in mind to just get home safe. Stealth is a skill A-ranks or above can get, B-ranks can only dream or kill enough magical beasts to gain enough experience. Elves having that in a B-rank, already is a sign of a miscalculated dungeon ranking. Jang, being the strongest, was elected to be the leader of the small exodus.

     All the caverns were the same. That easily reflected onto the Rulers as most of them were miserable and irritable. Though they’ve been walking for about an hour now, it was as if they had lost their way. Each turn looked the same, the smell not having changed once of its damp nature– they couldn’t even find the puddle of blood left by the elf. Panic began to arise once more in this group of Rulers as they faced peril once again. Nothing had changed about the caverns, yet it was as though the path back was now different.

     Looking back at his fellow Rulers, a lot of varied emotions regarding their debacle. Some were trembling in fear, others tried to be useful and went scouring around for clues, and some were just bantering with each other. Jang didn’t have a lot to work with. Completely exasperated, he slumps against the cavern wall that was cool to the touch. No ideas, low morale, but most importantly, his best friend ran away. Their situation was bad. “Where would we even start?” Groaning while dragging his hands down his face.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

     As if on a spring board, he leaps up to his feet and readies his gear. The clacking of footsteps startled the strike team, with most of them drawing their weapons following Jang. Uneasiness spread like wildfire throughout the strike squad, with many trembling even in their idle stances. But beyond the darkness, a white vortex emerges, illuminating the caverns with its ethereal essence. “It looks just like a gate, but the mana, it feels more condensed.” Ruler Kim Kyu-Hyuk says from behind– a mage class Ruler. “Y’know what, yeah. Right after you mentioned it, it's as if the body wants me to run from it, but almost like I’m chained to the ground.” Jang smirks but only as a farce. He knows he’s terrified, yet his curiosity triumphs over the fear.

     With all his willpower, he urges himself forward to the vortex. Protests from the other members colluded with his mind. There is a chance he could die here if anything comes out, but maybe he could buy the others time to escape then, or at least scatter. Each step taking an immense sound of mind and body, he felt as if gravity got stronger. But, for the sake of his own curiosity, he needed to do this. As he grew closer to the vortex, it grew intense with its spiral. Winds like black holes as he felt himself being sucked in closer to the gate. His smirk grew larger with his eyes, a feeling in his chest he couldn’t explain. A sense of pleasure. He wanted it. Jang then bolted forward with his Dash skill, arms spread wide as if he were welcomed by the vortex. But once he almost stepped foot into the gate, a misty white body had stood in his way. “Out of my way!” Jang yells at the ghost figure, but it swiftly grabs his sword and knocks him back with its pommel. The force knocked him out instantly, while the other Rulers ran towards Jang as he collapsed onto the ground.

“There is no danger within this cave.”

     The white knight stood in guard of the vortex with its blade in front. The Rulers looked at it in awe. “Wasn’t there a story about something like this? With a white knight exactly like that.” Back to their gossipy nature at last. “Yeah, some healer that was the one of two survivors of his raid said there was something like the thing in front of us.“Honestly, I thought it was all bullshit.”

“You are incorrect, that is my master: The Empress.”

The white knight answered the question roaming the air. Its aura exuding the Rulers into complete silence.

“You are obstacles in the trial of the Heir, and must exit the dungeon.”

     A very similar vortex then flushed open behind the group of Rulers, spiraling in its eminence. The strike squad all stared at the vortex, all hesitating to enter in. They didn’t know what this knight was, or if it were on their side at all. For all they know, entering that gate could get them all killed.

“If you choose to not exit, your story will end abruptly.”

     And just like rats, they hurriedly scurry through the gate with one of them carrying the unconscious Jang behind them. The white knight retreats back into the vortex it came through as it spiraled into its closure. However, the clanking from before didn't stop- with a shadow materializing with chains wrapped around its body. Its head reaching the top of the cavern, with a dark mist percipitating off the body and to the ground. Her trial has begun.

Chapter Text

4

Prelude

An hour of walking does not kill my feet, but beside me I see Ruler Jeongsuk slouching and lagging behind. “Are you exhausted?” It has only been around two hours, exhaustion should not be a problem for a B-rank Ruler realistically, no matter the build. But it is as if the corpse grew three times too big. “No… I’m, huuugggghh, I’m fine. I can handle this.” His voice gravels with each step. Dragging his feet across the dirt grew to be an annoyance. I stop. He stops. I step back and take the corpse back then continue walking forward. This time there is no protest from Ruler Jang. 

Countless hours of a perpetual rustic maze. Twists and turns at every corner, no sign of escape in sight as we keep pressing forward. I felt nothing. My legs felt refreshed, mind intact, and my stamina is still good enough for the hours of travelling we may have. 

WHIRRRRR

I feel my feet lose the ground. I look underneath me to see a white vortex the width of the cavern. Pulling my axe out to hook on to something would not work, nor would using my skill: barrier. So I let myself fall into the whirling vortex beneath. 

—-

Slap slap slap SLAP

Jang jolts up with a stinging sensation on his cheek. “WHAT THE HELL MAN?” Jan screams at Kirigiri as she stares at him then points to the cavern. A vast space still bordered with those rustic walls and torches perched on the walls with equal distance from one another. But what stood before them was: 

A shadowed Gumiho stood tall in front of the two Rulers, a vast distance away. “I’m not much of a fighter, but I can give you a butt-ton of buffs.” Jang whispers to Kirigiri as she nods and stands in front of them with her axe. From his holster on his back, he gets his staff ready as he points it to Ruler Kirigiri. Eyes closed. “I conjure and bestow upon you: the strength of Yi Sun-Sin, the speed of the Haechi, and the defense of an Imugi.”  

Red. Blue. Green. A boat in the shape of a turtle, a unicorn lion, and a dragon. These three colours and animals flash onto Kirigiri’s body then dissipate. Locking eyes with the Gumiho then as a gust of wind they both disappear. The hairs on his arms stand as his eyes try to track their movements, but he couldn’t. His buffs couldn’t have possibly made her this fast. It was close to impossible. He put his hands on his head with a heavy exhale. Sparks fly everywhere with opaque streams of black following. He felt helpless. Not being able to fight, nowhere near the speed as Kirigiri and the Gumiho, he couldn’t even heal her because he couldn't see her. From time to time he’d see the flashes of his three buffs, but it would always get overpowered by that black stream. 

From the sky, Ruler Kirigiri plummets as she slams against the cavern ground. Cuts, bruises, broken bones, fractures, all over her body and blood seeping out of her mouth. The ground dented into a crater. “KIRIGIRI!” Jang yells while sprinting over to her with his staff in hand. He couldn’t see the Gumiho anywhere, not even the dissipating black streaks. Kneeling beside her, he hovers his staff over her body with a soft radiating green light emitting. He could see the bones shifting and moving themselves into place, each cut filling with scar tissue, bruises mellowing out to her shade. 

“Kirigiri, we need to run, there ain’t no way we can kill that beast.” Jang goes to grab her arm, before she slaps it away. It stung with a red blemish on the back of his hand. Using her knee, she hoists herself up from the ground silently. “Did I not hear you correctly?” Jang eyebrows furrow, “Wh-” “Were you not the one who said we Rule over these domains?” Kirigiri pivots with her foot and those two white dots peer into Jang. “While I do appreciate your support, if you cannot adhere to your own declaration, I do not need you.” But before Jang could even say anything, he felt the ground loosen underneath him. The white vortex had conjured again. Jang tries to grab onto the edges of the vortex but his hand slips. The vortex closes. Kirigiri looks at the vortex with a blank stare. 

WHOOOSSSH

The Gumiho flashes behind Kirigiri with a punch cocked behind it. As swift as wind, Kirigiri pivots and clashes her fist with her enemy’s. Torrents of air blast from their clash, white and black auras emitting from their bodies. Even with the gusts, the Gumiho and Kirigiri stood rooted. She could feel her knuckles buckle under her enemies fist with those wide scornful eyes from the Gumiho. But, in the deepest depths of her heart, a burning sensation but not of fire. 

{BARRIER: LVL 5}

An opaque yellow barrier then strikes the Gumiho from the sky. Kirigiri makes it dissipate, then goes for a strike directly to the head. She craters the ground. She then gets launched to the other side of the area, stone puncturing through her skin as she drops to the ground. The Gumiho walks up to the weakened Kirigiri and kicks her so she faces up. Kirigiri’s white hair stained with her own blood, her clothing ripped, some of her bones rebroken– but what remained intact was her visor. The Gumiho then brought its hand towards the visor–. 

—-

“Ruler Kirigiri!” 

I scream while being guided by her support. Just as the others, they were randomly sent out of the dungeon by an unknown force– but he decided to charge back in for her. “Ruler Han Chimchuk, look out!” A flying knife nearly passes through my skull. I sidestep it but without a wound to my ear. But as the blood trickles down my neck, I pull back my sleeve to reveal four playing cards. A pack of glowing red eyes illuminate the darkness in front of us. Their growling echoes through the tunnel. I turn my head and Jang has his staff in hand. His mouth moved without making a single noise. A drop of blood then splats onto the ground, with those eyes glowing a more luminescent red.

Drawing the card off my arm the card flicks off my fingers into the pack of wolves charging at us. The card whips through the pack, cutting the limbs of some of the wolves in its path. Some wolves falter as some trip and hinder others but a vast majority of them are still charging straight at us. 

SNAP

I teleport myself right into the middle of the pack with Jang's defense skill, as I then draw my second card and slam it onto the ground. My card then sets fire and explodes me and the wolves as the fireball rushes through the rest of the tunnel. The wolves yelp covered by the sheer volume of the shockwave. Their charred corpses lay on the ground while Jang                            and I stand unaffected by my own explosion. The rest of my cards then dissipate from my arm.

“Dude, I gotta be honest with ya, I didn’t really think that’d work.” Jang walks up to me and puts an arm on my shoulder. A little bit annoyed with how handsy he is, I gently put his hand off my shoulder. “I had confidence in your skills as much as I do in mine. We need to focus on getting Ruler Kirigiri back to Seoul as quickly as possible.” Sliding the sleeve back down with Jang now taking the lead. All being said, his constant positivity is a true asset to any strike team. 

BAAAAANG

Both of us immediately come to a halt, putting my arm in front of Ruler Jang. We look at each other, then ready our weapons. Wiping my hands on my trousers, I snap my fingers for cards to appear. Our breathing was the only thing we both could hear. I don’t know what Jang's expecting, but I expected footsteps, not silence after what we just went through. Motioning Jang to slowly follow me we both continue to walk forward– but on high alert. But it was as if the tunnel then abruptly ended. Light at the end of the tunnel. “This is it! This is the place!” He dashes forward toward the light as I try to stop him but it’s a bit too late. Gritting my teeth I follow him but the light makes me block it out with my arm. 

At the end, we see a large cavern-like area. A very large and empty space with craters filling the ground and dragging marks decorating the walls. Torches surrounding the area as if it were an arena of some sort. But the main thing we both focused on was Ruler Kirigiri standing in the middle of the grounds unmoving. “Kirigiri!” The both of us yelled running at her, but she remained dormant. When getting to her, I kneel down in front of her and try to take a look at her bowed head. Visor still intact, but with a streak of blood. Her clothing had tears and cuts all over it, but her skin stayed intact. “Call in the medical team, tell them that the path is clear and we found her!” I toss my phone over to Jang and recite the number which he dials and calls. Not long after, around seven medical Rulers enter the dungeon and escort the three of us out.