Dark's Pre Crisis

Arc3- The Grind Never Ends.

Dark trudged through the narrowing passageway, the faint hum of his glaive the only sound accompanying his footsteps. The walls on either side closed in tightly, their jagged edges scraping at his shoulders. The bioluminescent moss that had lit his way earlier was now barely glowing, leaving him in a shadowy tunnel that felt like it was trying to swallow him whole.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: OBJECTIVE UPDATED.]
[EXPLORE THE DEEPEST LAYERS OF THE CORE.]
[WARNING: PATHWAY UNSTABLE.]

Dark: (thinking, muttering) Yeah, unstable, just like this entire grindfest.

His glaive dragged slightly against the stone floor behind him, its faint metallic hum amplifying the suffocating silence of the tunnel. It wasn't exhaustion—it was boredom. Every step deeper into the Core felt like a taunt from the System. He could feel it, laughing at him with every redundant notification.

The tunnel abruptly ended, the path ahead blocked by a jagged stone wall. He stopped in front of it, his crimson eyes narrowing as he studied the faint glyphs etched into its surface. The symbols were faint, their glow flickering weakly like dying embers. For a moment, he just stood there, glaring at the dead end as if sheer irritation could force it to move.

Dark: (thinking) No exit, no trap, no mob jumping out to rip my throat out? What, did the System forget to finish this part?

He leaned the glaive against the wall and ran a hand over the glyphs, half-expecting some secret mechanism to trigger. Nothing happened. No glow, no click, no hidden doorway. Just silence.

Dark: (thinking, irritated) Great. Another one of those "figure it out yourself" moments.

He tapped the wall with his knuckles. Solid. He tried pressing harder against one of the glyphs. Nothing. Finally, he sighed, grabbed his glaive, and swung it at the wall with a grunt. The blade connected with a dull thud, sending faint cracks spiderwebbing across the surface.

Dark: (thinking, annoyed) If nothing else, at least I can vent my frustration.

A second swing sent a chunk of the wall crumbling away, revealing a faint sliver of light. His irritation faltered, replaced by a flicker of cautious optimism. He smashed the wall again, and the cracks widened, sunlight pouring through the gaps.

Dark: (thinking, relieved) Finally. Actual sunlight. I'm out of this pit.

He pried away the remaining rubble with his glaive and stepped through the opening. The air felt lighter, fresher, carrying the faint scent of grass and earth. For the first time in what felt like hours, the oppressive weight of the underground began to lift. A vast field stretched out before him, bathed in warm sunlight, the sky an unbroken expanse of blue.

Dark: (thinking, smirking) About damn time.

But the moment his boots touched the ground, the warmth of the sun flickered. The field shimmered, its vibrant colors draining away like spilled ink. The sky turned an ominous shade of gray, and the ground beneath him rippled with unnatural energy.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: WARNING - ELITE MONSTER AREA ENTERED.]
[MONSTER TYPE: RANDOMIZED.]
[LEVEL SCALING ACTIVATED.]

Dark: (thinking, frustrated) And there it is. The System couldn't let me have one nice thing.

The earth trembled, and the symbols carved into the ground glowed with a faint red hue. A low growl echoed from the distance, followed by several more. The grass shifted unnaturally, as though alive, and from the shadows emerged a pack of feral beasts—matted fur, glowing crimson eyes, and jagged teeth dripping with black ichor.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: ENTITY IDENTIFIED - BLOODHOUND PACK.]
[LEVEL: 42.]
[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE.]

Dark twirled the glaive in his hands, its blade catching the faint light of the arena as he settled into a fighting stance.