In the shadows of the S Ranked Main character
Chapter 43: A path forward(2)

Chapter 43: A path forward(2)

The air in the cavern was sharp and cool, pressing against their skin as Kai and Kathlyn slipped deeper into the underground tunnels.

They had been running through these strange rooms for what felt like an eternity

At the end their was always something and the last few rooms all had chest They were all empty but still it made kai suspect that a chest is what they needed

The walls pulsed faintly with veins of light, running like liquid silver through the stone but it wasn’t the eerie glow that tensed Kai’s shoulders or made his fingers twitch near the hilt of his curved blade.

It was the two massive shapes ahead.

Blade Hedgehogs.

Not the harmless kind.

These were high-tier guardian beasts, armored in dense, spiked plates, each bristle of their back like a jagged metal spear.

Their levels floated faintly in Kai’s vision.

Level 12.

Both of them.

Kai thought to himself normally this wouldn’t be much of a problem having Kathlyn here but both of them are exhausted

Kai exhaled carefully, his mind already racing.

No way they were fighting these things head-on not if they wanted to survive.

But then... his eyes darted behind the creatures.

There. Half-buried, hidden in the shadows the chest they needed

It was what the hedgehogs were guarding.

And they weren’t going to give it up without a fight.

He barely had to speak.

Kathlyn’s fists clenched at her sides, the faintest shimmer of heat bleeding up her arms.

"I’ll hold them."

Kai’s head snapped up.

"You sure?"

She shot him a fierce look, her breath sharp.

"Do it Go"

He gave the barest nod he slipped into Ghostly Concealment, his body vanishing into the ambient dark.

At the same moment, his shadow clone flickered to life beside him.

It didn’t speak it didn’t need to.

Kai’s thoughts pulsed directly through it.

Copy me but not completely

The clone sprinted to the side, feet silent, moving like a darker version of Kai himself.

And Kathlyn?

Her body snapped forward in a single surge, fists blazing with red-gold light.

Burning Heart roared through her veins, flooding every muscle, every tendon, with explosive, short-lived force.

BANG.

She hit the first hedgehog like a battering ram, her punch cracking against its armored flank with enough force to stagger the beast. It shrieked, spinning wildly, quills shattering outward but she was already gone, weaving under the rain of spikes, fists landing again and again with brutal, precise speed.

The second hedgehog lunged toward her but Kai’s clone was there, darting in from the blind side, landing a shallow but sharp Lightless Slash across one rear leg.

The beast howled mana spilling from the cut, spinning in place just as Kai himself slipped soundlessly along the far wall, his body erased by Ghostly Concealment, his eyes locked onto the chest.

His heart hammered in his ears.

Stay focused. Don’t slip. Don’t let the concealment waver.

The chest was closer now.

Ten feet

Five

A flicker one of the hedgehogs caught motion, charging wildly toward where the clone had just dodged.

Kai’s jaw clenched.

Kathlyn roared, her Burning Heart flooding through one last punch, driving a full-body blow into the beast’s side, knocking it off-course, driving it back into the stone.

Kai reached the chest.

No time to inspect.

He put the chest in a special pouch Kathlyn with spacial magic allowing things to fit in pretty much endlessly

and dropped the concealment.

"GO!" he barked.

Kathlyn didn’t hesitate.

Her Burning Heart was almost gone, but she pulled every last flicker of speed out of it, blurring toward him.

Kai’s clone dissolved behind them, its job done.

Together, they sprinted full-force through the tunnel, feet hammering the stone, hedgehogs shrieking in fury behind them.

The cavern walls blurred past.

The faint light of the roots overhead flickered like lightning through a storm.

Neither of them spoke.

Their lungs burned.

Their legs pumped.

Kai gritted his teeth, pushing every ounce of strength into his strides.

Just a little further. Just a little more space.

Kathlyn stumbled slightly Kai’s arm shot out, catching her elbow, steadying her without breaking stride.

She shot him a tight, determined glance.

They didn’t slow.

The hedgehogs thundered behind them, but the tunnels twisted, narrowed, forced the beasts to pull back.

Kai and Kathlyn pushed through, breathless, pulse racing, until finally they burst through into a wide, open chamber, the roar of pursuit fading behind them.

They staggered to a stop, panting, chests heaving, sweat slicking their skin.

Kai doubled over, hands on his knees, letting out a shaky, breathless laugh.

"Got the chest."

Kathlyn slumped down beside him, fists trembling slightly from the aftershock of Burning Heart.

"...We’re alive."

They exchanged a long, tired look Kai sat heavily on the smooth cavern floor, still panting, the sweat-soaked edges of his shirt sticking to his back. His curved blade rested at his side, the faint aftershimmer of black mana fading from his fingertips as his body tried to recover.

Kathlyn leaned forward, her elbows braced on her knees, head bowed slightly as she worked to slow her breathing. Her fists were trembling not from fear, but from sheer overexertion, the lingering burn of Burning Heart still pulsing through her arms.

Kai gave a small, strained grin.

"Hey... remind me... next time we hit a dead-end room full of armored murder-hedgehogs... maybe we just... don’t go in?"

Kathlyn snorted softly despite herself, shaking her head. "You’re the one who wanted the chest."

He grinned wider. "Yeah, yeah... still, wasn’t empty this time, was it?"

That got her attention. Kathlyn straightened slightly, eyes narrowing in curiosity as she reached for the spatial pouch at her side. Carefully, she drew out the stone chest they’d risked their necks for.

It was small only about the size of a backpack, etched with faint, ancient runes across its surface. Cracks spidered along the edges, hinting at age far beyond what either of them could guess.

Kathlyn brushed her fingers along the seam, whispering a quick prayer hoping it wasn’t a trap

The chest gave a faint click

The lid creaked open.

Inside was...

A scroll

Just a single, tightly wound scroll, bound with a decayed strip of leather, its surface stained and flaking with time.

Kai leaned over, frowning. "Seriously? After all that?"

Kathlyn gently lifted it out, her brows furrowing.

Kai tilted his head, his grin fading into something sharper, more focused.

"What’s it say?"

Kathlyn carefully unrolled the scroll, eyes scanning the faint, jagged script etched across the inner parchment. The letters flickered faintly,

And then her face went pale.

Kai immediately shifted forward, his playful edge gone.

"Kathlyn?"

She swallowed hard, fingers tightening on the scroll.

"It’s... it’s a map It leads deeper underground."

Kai’s brows drew together.

"...Okay? And?"

Her throat worked as she forced the words out.

"There’s a dragon down there, Kai."

Silence.

The air between them seemed to contract, heavy and cold.

Kai let out a slow breath.

"A live one?"

Kathlyn shook her head, eyes wide.

"No. Or — not really. It’s described as... decayed. Rotten Half-dead, half-undead. An ancient beast left to wither under the Prism’s layers, sealed away."

Kai’s mouth twitched faintly.

"Of course it is."

But Kathlyn wasn’t looking at him. She was staring hard at the last line of the scroll, her fingers trembling slightly again not from exhaustion this time, but from a mix of hope and dread.

Kai noticed.

His gaze sharpened.

"Kathlyn... what’s wrong?"

Her voice came out in a whisper.

"The dragon’s eggs, Kai."

His chest tightened.

Oh

Oh, hell

He understood instantly.

Because this wasn’t just some monster-hunting expedition.

This wasn’t just another treasure hunt.

Kathlyn needed a dragon egg

For the ritual.

For the Fairy Heart Reincarnation.

The incomplete path she’d been offered something that could fuel the transformation, fuel the rebirth, burn her human limits away.

And here, buried deep underground, was the key.

Kai exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his messy hair.

"...So we’re going after rotting dragon eggs now, huh?"

Kathlyn looked up, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were fierce, but Kai could see the flicker of uncertainty in them the fear she hadn’t voiced yet, the weight of what this would mean.

He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Guess it’s a good thing you brought me along."

Kathlyn let out a shaky breath, her lips twitching upward just slightly.

"Guess so."

They sat in silence a moment longer,

Kai was thinking about June man I said I would get you if I needed to hunt a dragon

Then, slowly, they both pushed to their feet.

Their bodies ached.

Their nerves burned.

Their minds were stretched thin

But the path was set.

Together, side by side, they turned toward the next tunnel the map clutched tightly in Kathlyn’s hand, the weight of the future heavy on Kai’s heart a future he would have to change