Chapter 12: Shattered Ties and the Purple Rift

"Hurry it up," Arata grunted from the front of the line, his hand resting heavily on his sword pommel. "If you lag behind, we can’t see a damn thing out here."

The squad pushed deeper into the suffocating humidity of the cavern, their boots crunching over jagged stone. Ren kept the flashlight beam pinned to the damp ground, tracking the faint, shallow impressions of Evelyn’s high-heeled boots. But as the passage widened, the stone turned to solid, unyielding granite.

The footprints vanished into nothingness.

"Damn it," Kurogane growled, halting his heavy march. His armor clanked softly as he scanned the barren ground.

Just ahead, the primary tunnel split into two distinct paths—one veering sharply to the left, the other plunging straight ahead into deep, lightless shadow. With the physical tracks cut short before the fork, the trail had gone entirely cold.

"Which way are we supposed to go now?" Reika asked, her eyes darting between the two yawning chasms.

Miku tapped a blade against her leather armguard, tilting her head. "Should we split up?"

"We can’t," Ryu countered instantly. He gestured toward the single cone of light cutting through the gloom. "We only have one light source."

While the rest of the group hovered over the bare stone where the tracks ended, Ren tilted the beam upward. He swept the light past the fork, focusing his eyes on the absolute pitch-black at the far end of the straight tunnel.

Deep within the darkness, something flickered. It was a faint, rhythmic pulse of deep violet light—so subtle it almost looked like a trick of the eye—before it vanished back into the shadows.

"Hey. Look straight ahead," Ren said, gesturing toward the end of the center corridor.

The rest of the squad whirled around, staring intently into the dark space Ren was pointing at. But by the time their eyes adjusted, the corridor was pitch-black once again.

Arata let out a harsh, contemptuous scoff. "What the hell are you on about? There’s nothing there. What are you even seeing, porter?"

Ren’s brow furrowed as he kept his gaze locked on the darkness. "There was something there. A light."

"Well, it wouldn’t hurt to go check it out," Reika suggested, taking a step toward the center path.

"Are you serious right now?!" Arata stepped into her path, pointing a finger directly at Ren. His eyes bulged with irritation, his face twisting into an expression of raw disgust. "You’re actually going to listen to this trashy porter?!"

Kurogane remained silent, folding his massive, gauntleted arms across his chest plate, his sharp eyes judging the scene without a word.

Ryu’s jaw tightened. He took two slow, deliberate steps forward, placing himself directly between Arata and Ren. His eyes narrowed into cold, lethal slits.

"Arata..." Ryu’s voice dropped an octave, carrying a dangerous, quiet edge. "Can’t you show a shred of respect for a member of this team?"

"What did you say?" Arata sneered.

"You’ve been belittling him since the moment we met," Ryu said, stepping closer until he was standing chest-to-chest with the swordsman. "Use your brain for once. Do you honestly think Princess Elysia chose him for no reason? She made him our teammate because he has value."

Ren’s chest burned as he watched Arata’s sneering face.

’What an arrogant bastard’, his jaw clenching hard. ’Arrogant, insecure, and constantly looking for someone to step on just to feel important.’

Ren took a quiet breath, stepping sideways to look at Arata with unvarnished coldness. ’I don’t need teammates like this. A toxic liability in a dungeon isn’t just annoying—it’s a death sentence.’

In his past life as an architect on Earth, Ren had dealt with high-stakes projects, demanding clients, and massive budgets. People respected his expertise and valued his judgment. To be treated like a mindless dog by a hot-headed swordsman grated against every fiber of his pride. He was trying to exercise restraint, but everyone had a limit.

"Knock it off, Arata," Miku chimed in, stepping between the two men with her hands raised. "You’re acting like a child."

"Acting like a child?!" Arata’s voice spiked, echoing harshly against the stone walls. "It’s the truth! He’s a low-class porter! How does a piece of trash like him get to call the shots for us?!"

He pointed a finger aggressively at Ren’s chest. "His only job is carrying bags and supplies for actual heroes! What makes this trash think he’s special?! He has nothing! Who the hell does he think he is?!"

Ren’s fingers clamped tight around the handle of the tactical flashlight.

Without a word, Ren tossed the heavy metallic flashlight directly at Arata’s chest.

Startled, Arata instinctively caught the light tube in both hands. He blinked, stunned by the sudden action.

Ren looked at him with eyes as cold as ice. "Take the light. Go whichever way you think is right."

Turning his back on the group, Ren stepped into the unlit, straight corridor, disappearing into the cold shadows without hesitation.

"Tch! You think you’re tough, you bastard?!" Arata screamed after him, his face flushing red with rage. "Go ahead and die out there in the dark! Don’t come crawling back!"

His shout bounced uselessly off the cavern walls. Ren didn’t even slow his pace, his silhouette swallowed entirely by the deep blackness ahead.

"Ren!" Reika called out. She looked at Arata with absolute disappointment, then whirled around. "Wait for us!"

Reika sprinted down the dark corridor after Ren.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Miku yelled, her boots clicking rapidly against the stone as she bolted after Reika.

Ryu looked at the two women disappearing into the shadows, then turned back to Arata and Kurogane. His expression was utterly devoid of warmth.

"If following him offends your delicate pride so much," Ryu said softly, "then take the left path."

Without waiting for a response, Ryu turned and walked briskly into the dark straight tunnel, following the faint echoes of the others’ footsteps.

"Arrogant fools..." Arata spat, his teeth grinding together as he gripped the stolen flashlight so hard his knuckles turned white. "Do they really think that trash is better than me?!"

Kurogane let out a heavy sigh, his massive pauldrons sagging slightly. "Come on. We take the left."

Arata snapped the beam of the flashlight toward the left tunnel, and the two men marched into the gloom alone.

Meanwhile, Ren walked through the freezing, pitch-black corridor. The air here was damp and smelled heavily of ancient rot, but his expression remained impassive.

’System’ Ren commanded silently. Construct another tactical flashlight.

[CONSTRUCTION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]

[CONSTRUCTION SUCCESSFUL!]

[ITEM OBTAINED: TACTICAL FLASHLIGHT MK-I]

[SPECIFICATIONS: 5,000 LUMENS | LONG-RANGE VISION]

[RESOURCES DEDUCTED: CP -8 | CM -12]

[REMAINING RESOURCES: CM: 2,481 | CP: 798]

A heavy matte-black metallic tube materialized smoothly into his palm. Ren thumbed the side switch.

CLICK!

A blinding, 5,000-lumen beam exploded into the darkness, instantly illuminating the vast cavern corridor ahead.

Behind him, sudden footsteps slowed down.

"Wait... you have another one?!" Reika gasped, coming to a halt alongside Miku, her jaw slightly slack.

Ren paused, turning his head to see Reika, Miku, and Ryu catching up to him in the newly lit passage. A wave of quiet surprise washed over him.

"Why did you guys follow me?" Ren asked, his voice low. "You could have stayed with Arata and Kurogane. They have the gear."

Miku huffed, crossing her arms with a bright, energetic grin. "Are you kidding? I’d rather trust my gut with you!"

"Exactly," Reika added, stepping up beside him. She rolled her eyes as she mentioned the swordsman. "You actually used your head to save us back at the choke point. Arata just screams and acts like he’s a gift from the gods. I’d rather take my chances with someone who actually thinks."

Miku leaned in, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the new flashlight in Ren’s hand. "Wait a second... didn’t you say earlier that was the only one you had?"

Ren coughed into his fist, pulling back slightly as he scrambled for a plausible lie. "Ah... well... I miscounted my pack. Turns out I had a spare tucked in the side pouch."

Miku giggled, playfully nudging his shoulder with her elbow. "Look at you, keeping secrets! Don’t be so indecisive next time, mister!"

"Right..." Ren offered a polite, awkward smile, turning back to face the road ahead.

As they pushed further down the passage, the temperature dropped drastically. Frost began to coat the stone walls, and their breath bloomed into white mist in the air. The atmosphere felt unnaturally heavy, pressing down on their chests like a physical weight.

Suddenly, Ren brought the light to a halt.

At the absolute end of the tunnel, the stone walls opened into a massive, natural dome. Suspended in the center of the air was a massive, rotating circle of crackling purple energy. It hummed with a low, pitch-shifting vibration, casting eerie, violent violet shadows across the frozen ceiling.

"Look at that..." Reika whispered, her hand instinctively drifting to her waist spell-tome. "It’s a portal."

"Could Lady Evelyn be inside there?" Miku murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Almost certainly," Ryu said, stepping past Ren to inspect the perimeter. He dropped to one knee near the edge of the dome, brushing a thin layer of frost off the floor.

He pointed down at a clear, pristine impression of a narrow, high-heeled boot right at the threshold of the purple light. "The tracks lead straight into the rift."

Ryu stood up, wiping his gloved hand on his thigh before turning back to Ren. A faint, rare smile touched his lips. "Looks like my trust in you wasn’t misplaced."

Miku and Reika turned to Ren, their eyes filled with genuine awe and newfound respect.

"Incredible!" Miku beamed, clapping her hands together.

Ryu’s smile faded as a sudden, grim thought struck him. His posture stiffened, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down the side of his temple.

"If the portal is here... then the left path Arata and Kurogane took..."

Reika noticed Ryu’s sudden tension. "Ryu? What’s wrong?"

Ryu closed his eyes for a brief moment, exhaling a quiet breath. "Nothing. Arata and Kurogane made their choice. They claimed they could handle anything on their own... so we shouldn’t waste time worrying about them."

Reika nodded, her expression hardening as she turned toward the glowing rift. "She’s right. Our mission is to find and retrieve Princess Evelyn. Everything else comes second."

As the squad gathered in front of the swirling violet vortex, a sudden, bright blue system window flashed directly before Ren’s eyes, overriding his vision.

[WARNING: PORTAL LEADS TO AN ISOLATED DIMENSIONAL SPACE]

[DIMENSIONAL DIFFICULTY: HARD]

[PRIMARY INHABITANTS: C-RANK ABERRANT VARIANTS]

[RESOURCE POTENTIAL: MEDIUM]

[Defeating C-Rank Aberrants guarantees a MONSTER CORE drop.]

[Unlocked Feature: MONSTER FORGE — Monster Cores can be synthesized to construct loyal, custom biological units.]

Ren’s eyes narrowed, a brilliant spark igniting in his mind.

Monster Forge...?

A faint, sharp smirk crossed his lips as he read the system description. ’That means I don’t just have to rely on weapons... I can build my own army.’