Praise The Cosmos

Surgit and Karla headed for the doll first to upgrade their attributes. Karla knelt beside the doll while it held her hand, a faint blue aura surrounding it. A few heartbeats later, Karla stood up, frowning.

Surgit met her frowns with a questioning stare. "What is it?"

"I can barely raise one level with the number of echoes we gained," she said.

Surgit frowned. "Let me try."

He knelt beside the doll and tried his luck too. He had just enough to raise one attribute. Leveling up would mean that they won't get to the dungeons. He gave up on raising his attributes and stood to face Karla.

"That's not good, we've only earned green clusters in the previous dungeon," Surgit said.

Karla crossed her arms. "If I understood correctly, we'll need blue clusters from now on to get stronger."

Surgit nodded. "Five green clusters can be combined into a blue one, which is the exact amount I have now."

"Same here, it's not even enough to get my strength up," Karla said, frustrated.

"Alright, we have at least enough to get to the next dungeon," Surgit said.

Karla winced. "Are you sure you want to waste our time in there again?"

Surgit frowned. "It's not a waste of time, it's our path to the truth."

Karla looked down. "I know, it's just that Francis is still out there doing Gods know what. Gavril is still terrorizing the streets, hunting for hunters and killing them."

"And we won't match his strength, nor will we find out what Francis is plotting if we don't get to our own truth," Surgit said.

Karla sighed. "I guess you're right. I just feel like we're not moving at their pace."

Surgit placed a hand on her shoulder. "The night is long and endless. We won't end this hunt by doubting ourselves."

She nodded. "If Francis shows up, however..."

"We ditch everything and go after him," Surgit said. "He left us behind and locked us away from his secret. Whatever he's plotting can't be good."

They performed the dungeon ritual and soon found themselves in the dark damp tombs. They tore through the beasts that roamed the place, and quickly reached the first guardian. They were surprised to find another Beast Possessed Soul, which hurled fire projectiles at them and tried to bite their heads off.

They kept taking turns fighting guardians. Surgit took the lead this time, and with three consecutive visceral attacks, the beast was no more.

Karla took care of the second guardian. Again, they met the Keeper Of The Old Gods, a fearsome humanoid creature with a unique armor. The guardian almost fried Karla on two occasions, but she'd learned its attack pattern and made quick work of it.

All that was left was the last guardian. Surgit and Karla couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. As they walked toward the last guardian, Karla turned to him.

"Wasn't this a bit too easy?" she asked.

"It makes me nervous," he said. He looked at her and gave her a wry smile. "We're either in a relatively easy area, which means the spoils won't be worth it, or the area's easy because the last guardian's fearsome."

She shrugged. "I don't mind a challenge right now."

He chuckled. "Careful what you wish for."

They delved deeper into the dungeon. They walked through a narrow tunnel, dug into the wall. Dirt and blood surrounded them, the stench of death getting stronger with every step.

Karla flinched then brought up the hunter scarf, attached to her garb, to her nose. Surgit did the same then turned to her. "Finally learning old hunter tricks, are we?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "You're probably right about the last guardian. Its stench is making me dizzy."

He nodded. "Get ready for a tough fight."

"Are we still taking turns?" she asked.

"We'll see when we get there," he said.

They emerged from the tunnel and into a wide, well-lit room. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a bright orange light at the marble statues and the stairs before them. The stairs led to a closed tomb below, while a door to their left led to a dark room.

A Sage stood before the tomb, its dark hair disheveled, its appearance ghastly. It spotted them then screeched. It was holding sickles in both hands instead of a corpse this time. It ran and reached them in two heartbeats. It towered above Surgit by more than a head.

It held both hands in the air then brought them down at full speed.

'Click,' then the sound of a gunshot echoed through the walls.

The sage fell to its knees as Karla shot it in the chest. Surgit transformed his hand and finished the beast off with one visceral attack. He turned to Karla and nodded.

"We're getting good at this team work thing," he said, cheerful.

"Let's just find this guardian and get the hell out of here, the stench is making me sick," she replied.

They opened the tomb and got some Ritual Blood, then went through the door to the other room. It led to an elevator, which took them deeper into the dungeon.

They emerged in a wide tunnel with a high ceiling. Torches hung on each side, lighting their way, leading to a gigantic stone door. They grunted as they pushed the door open. Dust fell over their shoulders and the stone door slid across the floor, slowly revealing the room beyond.

It was a wide dome-shaped room, surrounded by what looked like an auditorium. Surgit felt as though he was walking onto a theater's stage, but without an audience.

A tall humanoid creature stood in the middle, observing them with red eyes. It had pale skin, so pale it glowed in the semi darkness of the room. It wore a long red cape that fluttered behind its back as it walked toward them.

It wore a white vest with fine golden embroidery, and a long white dress, ornamented with golden embroidery as well. Long silver hair flowed down the creature's shoulders and reached for its waist. The top of its head, however, was bald, showing wrinkles and creases.

Its scent stank so bad Surgit and Karla's eyes watered. Their insight soon murmured the beast's name for them. "Pthumerian Descendant."

The tall old man jumped at them and almost caught them off guard. He swung with his curved weapon and missed their heads by a hair. They both ducked in time then jumped away in opposite directions.

Karla shot Surgit a quick look. "Want to take the lead?"

He nodded then ran to meet the Pthumerian. The old man's swings were fast, difficult to read through. Surgit dodged and waited for an opportunity to strike back, but the old man didn't give him a window.

He pushed him back and toward the empty auditorium. Surgit cursed then jumped onto the stands and ran around the beast, nimbly walking over the thin walls and jumping behind it. He attached his sword to the hammer on his back then closed his eyes.

He channeled his arcane powers into the weapon then slammed it on the ground as the Pthumerian reached him. He didn't give the old man a chance to start his flurry of swings this time. His slam attack caused a shock wave around them. The old man staggered back.

Surgit detached his sword from the hammer then flung the heavy slab of rock at the old man. He hit him in the chest and sent him toppling backwards, slowly succumbing to the hammer's weight.

As the old man retreated, struggling with the hammer, Surgit jumped high then stabbed his sword into the hammer, driving the old man to the ground. He held it high then slammed it against the Phtumerian's skull.

A loud ringing sound echoed through the dome. The old man screamed as the hammer bounced against his exceptionally hard head. Surgit cursed then retreated. The tall Pthumerian stood and glared at Surgit.

He held his sickle with both hand then roared, splitting the weapon in two, identical copies. The old man grunted then threw them at Karla and Surgit respectively.

They easily saw through the attack and stepped aside. The weapons whistled past them, made a circle then flew back at them. Surgit got swept off his feet, his left calf bleeding profusely.

Karla's back got sliced from shoulder to hip bone. She screamed and fell on her legs, fumbling in her pockets for a blood vial.

The Pthumerian roared then ran forward. The sickles flew and met his hands, like trained hawks. His eyes were full of rage, trained solely on Surgit.

'We might have underestimated this one,' Surgit thought as he frantically looked for a vial.