Forbidden Love

My Saviour

The fifth floor felt different alone. Every shadow seemed deeper, every sound more ominous. But I was handling it well enough, putting Lira's lessons to good use. A goblin here, a killer ant there - nothing I couldn't manage.

"Proper form, watch your left side," I muttered to myself in Lira's voice, dispatching another needle rabbit. The crystal pouch at my hip was getting satisfyingly heavy. Maybe I could prove to them tomorrow that I was ready for-

The ground shook.

That wasn't right. Floor five shouldn't have anything big enough to-

The wall exploded.

A Minotaur burst through the stone, its massive horns missing me by inches as I threw myself sideways. My heart stopped. This was wrong. Minotaurs didn't appear until much deeper floors. This one must have followed someone up.

The beast's red eyes fixed on me, muscles rippling under its dark hide. It was easily three times my size, and the corridor suddenly felt very, very small. The acrid smell of its breath filled the air, a metallic tang that spoke of recent kills. Fresh blood stained its horns.

"Remember your training, remember your training," I gasped, dodging another charge. The Minotaur's horn scraped the wall, sending stone chips flying. One caught my cheek, drawing blood. The sting helped focus my mind.

I fell into the defensive stance Lira had drilled into me countless times. "Keep your center low," her voice echoed in my head. "Against larger opponents, use their size against them." But the training yard felt like a lifetime ago. Here, the stone walls pressed in, limiting my movement, and the Minotaur's bulk left precious little room to maneuver.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes of desperate dodging, of looking for openings that never came. My lungs burned. Each breath felt like swallowing fire. Sweat stung my eyes, but I didn't dare wipe it away. One moment's distraction would mean death.

The beast was toying with me now. It had figured out the pattern of my retreats, the limitations of my reach. Its charges became more precise, its swings more calculated. It was learning, adapting. My world narrowed to a rhythm of dodge, parry, retreat. Dodge, parry, retreat.

The Minotaur's fist crashed into the wall where my head had been a second before, showering us both with stone dust. I saw my chance - a slight favoring of its left leg. I tried to counter, my dagger seeking the soft spot behind its knee that Lira had drilled into my memory. "Strike true," she always said, "or don't strike at all."

But the beast was faster than something its size had any right to be. It twisted, impossibly quick, and its backhand caught my shoulder. The impact sent me spinning through the air. I tasted blood as I hit the ground.

I rolled to my feet, raising my dagger just in time to parry a crushing blow-

CRACK!

My dagger shattered.

Time seemed to slow. I watched the broken blade spin away into the darkness, catching the blue light of dungeon crystals as it tumbled. My arm went numb from the impact. The Minotaur's charge slammed me against the wall, and this time, there was nowhere left to run.

I slumped there, trapped in a dead end, staring up at the monster that would end my adventure. My mind raced through a thousand regrets. I'd never see my family again. Never thank Lira properly for all her patience. Never prove to anyone - especially myself - that I could be more than just another failed adventurer.

"I'm sorry, Lira," I thought. "I should have trained harder."

The Minotaur raised its fists for the killing blow-