Reborn with a Necromancer System - Chapter 208

Chapter 208: The Swarm

The hallways seemed to stretch on forever.

Kai had lost count of how many turns they’d taken, how many intersections they’d passed, how many identical stretches of cold, black stone they’d trudged through. Each step forward felt heavier than the last, the oppressive weight of the dungeon gnawing at his lungs and thoughts.

It wasn’t just exhaustion. The air was thick with necrotic mana, clinging to their skin like oil. The flickering orbs of light Kai conjured to guide them were dimmer than they should have been, their glow struggling against the all-consuming dark.

Then, the sound came.

A low, rolling clatter like a thousand bones knocking together. It echoed from every direction, growing louder with every breath.

Kai didn’t bother waiting. “Brace yourself!”

From the shadows ahead, the first skeletons emerged, their sockets burning with pinpricks of ghostly blue light. The clatter multiplied, reverberating from all directions as dozens more spilled into view, spilling from hidden doors in the walls and cracks in the floor like a tide of snapping jaws and rusted blades.

Vepice swore under her breath, tightening her grip on her sigil-etched knives.

Kai let the first wave close the distance, his hand sweeping upward. “Freeze!”

The temperature in the hallway plummeted. Frost crackled across the walls, encasing the nearest skeletons in sheets of ice. Their movements slowed, grinding to an unnatural halt as Kai’s magic bit deep into their bones.

Then, without hesitation, he snapped his fingers.

“Burn.”

A surge of superheated flame erupted from his palm, rolling through the corridor in a wave. The frozen skeletons shattered instantly, exploding into fragments as the sudden heat made their brittle forms burst apart like shattered glass. The shockwave ignited the second wave, toppling several before they even reached the pair.

Still, more came. So many more.

“Left!” Vepice’s voice rang sharp as she ducked beneath the swing of a rusted halberd, driving her enchanted blade into a skeleton’s spine. The sigil carved into the blade glowed, releasing a pulse of kinetic force that sent the creature splintering into pieces.

‘I’m so thankful she always has those knives on her.’

Kai used the momentum of his flames to propel himself forward, his fist glowing faintly as he coated it in strengthening magic. Each strike crushed through ribcages and skulls alike, the brittle undead scattering into piles of dust and bone.

For every dozen they felled, two dozen more emerged, some larger and armored, some armless but still dragging themselves forward with jaws snapping.

“More life essence gone,” Kai muttered as he erected another barrier, deflecting a cluster of thrown bone shards that exploded against the wall behind them.

“How many do you think are left?” Vepice shouted, ducking beneath the swing of a jagged sword.

“More than I have patience for.”

Another burst of frost rolled outward, freezing the tide in place long enough for him to conjure a massive wave of fire down the corridor. The blaze roared, illuminating the endless dark as the hallway turned into an inferno. The smell of scorched marrow and burnt dust filled the air.

When the flames subsided, they advanced over the ashy remains, both limping slightly, bruised and bleeding, but still moving.

Minutes bled into what felt like hours. Each stretch of hallway brought more skeletal swarms, more wights, and even a few gaunt, shadow-wrapped knights whose strikes could cut through Kai’s weaker barriers like parchment. His ribs ached from one blow he hadn’t been able to block entirely, a thin line of blood seeping through his shirt.

Eventually, the attacks stopped.

The hall stretched forward into silence.

Every step down the final hallway felt like it would be their last. The flagstones beneath their boots were slick with grime, ichor, and their own blood. Kai’s shirt clung to his ribs, soaked through from the long gash along his side that refused to close, even as life essence knit the deeper damage beneath. His mana reserves were fraying thin, flickering like a candle about to burn out.

Vepice didn’t look much better. A purplish bruise had blossomed across her collarbone, visible even beneath the torn remnants of her tunic, and her sigil-etched knives were chipped from overuse. Still, her knuckles were white around the hilts, her jaw set tight.

She wasn’t slowing down, not now, not when they had to be close.

The hallways felt endless.

Like rats trapped in a maze.

Kai did his best to memorise the paths they took, but it all looked the same and the enemies kept him from taking in every piece of visual information to map out the route.

Each corner led to another, each turn bled into more identical stone walls, more flickering shadows that moved even when there was no wind to make them dance.

By the time they stumbled to the end, the air had grown heavy, oppressive, as if the very dungeon itself was pressing down on their lungs.

The corridor widened abruptly, spilling into a chamber so vast it made the hallways feel like rabbit tunnels.

The walls curved outward and upward, vanishing into darkness. The floor beneath their boots gleamed faintly, like obsidian polished to a mirror’s finish. The silence was so absolute that Kai could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

Then light blinded them.

FWOOOM.

One by one, sconces lining the seemingly endless walls ignited, their flames a pale, ghostly blue. The light didn’t behave naturally; it didn’t flicker or waver. It burned in still, perfect tongues, casting their reflections in stark, unnatural clarity on the mirrored floor.

The chamber didn’t feel empty anymore.

Kai’s hand instinctively went to his side, channeling a small surge of strengthening magic to steady his stance. His eyes swept the space, scanning every shadow for movement. There was nothing, yet the pressure in the room deepened, as though something massive lurked just beyond the reach of the light.

Then the voice came.

It wasn’t sound, not in the way voices usually were. It didn’t echo from the walls, nor did it pass through the air. It pierced straight into their minds, deep and resonant, curling like smoke through every thought.

“You’ve done well.”

The words reverberated inside Kai’s skull like a low hum, pulling a shiver up his spine. He saw Vepice stiffen beside him, her fingers tightening on her knives. Her eyes darted to his, wide and unsettled.

“You heard that too,” Kai murmured, though his own voice sounded distant, muffled, as if underwater.

She nodded, her lips parting to speak, but no sound came out.

He felt it, too. It was probing their minds as well as speaking to them telepathically.

The voice came again, curling tighter around their thoughts, almost… amused.

“Two mortals… crawling through the dark. Bloodied, weary… yet unbroken. You are not the first to reach this chamber. But perhaps… the first to survive long enough to hear me.”

The flames along the walls flared, stretching tall, their blue hue deepening to a near-violet glow. Shadows thickened across the floor, pooling like liquid, writhing as if alive.

Kai reached for his magic, instinctively summoning a barrier around them both. His jaw tensed as he glanced at Vepice. “Stay behind me. Whatever this is… it’s not a simple illusion.”

“Illusions? No… You’re wise to realise as much. This is the threshold. The test is over. You have endured the gauntlet. Now you will face the end.”

The air quivered. From the center of the chamber, the mirror-like floor began to ripple, as if disturbed by some invisible stone thrown into a vast pond. The ripples spread outward in concentric circles, each one releasing a faint pulse of mana so strong it made Kai’s barrier flicker.

Then, something began to rise.

Into the air.

Magically.

Not a creature.

Something inanimate, aside from the floating.

A throne.

Forged from black iron and bone, its jagged spines reached upward like grasping claws.

And something was seated upon it. Humanoid in nature.

The figure was still at first, cloaked in a mantle of tattered shadowy garbs, its features obscured beneath a hood that seemed to devour the surrounding light.

Just like Orlin’s.

Only two points glimmered beneath it, cold, pale orbs like moons, staring directly into Kai’s soul.

Vepice whispered, almost a breath, “Is that…?”

Kai’s throat felt tight, but he forced himself to answer. “The master of the dungeon? Has to be.”

The figure’s hands, long and skeletal, gripped the arms of the throne. The voice came again, this time layered, no longer just inside their minds, but echoing from the chamber itself as well, vibrating through the mirrored floor.

‘A lich? Stronger than Mari and Ralts. Stronger than Elerin. Maybe even stronger than the Devourer.’

“To call me a master is to call yourself an infant.”

“Infant?”

“Step forward, Kai Tensen… and the girl of stolen time. We have much to discuss before you face the true trial.”

‘True trial? None of this was a trial? How does it know my name? Girl of stolen time?’

“I won’t ask again. Step forward.”