Zoe stared at the ashes of the Dark Grimoire and, for the first time, realized that Crow’s black fire wasn’t normal. She’d heard him talking about Night Fire, but it only registered now that it was a heavenly flame. It was the only thing that could have burned the book.

With the ashes of the book, a calmness settled over the chamber. The bones mentioned previously turned to dust, and the objects in the jars shriveled, turned black, and dispersed into the liquid. The transparent solution turned dark and turbulent before the jars ruptured, spewing their toxic goo across the shelves. Every organic thing it touched, like the wooden shelves, hissed and decayed at an alarming rate. Crow was sure it’d have burned its way through if the floor wasn’t made of stone.

If that was the end, that would have been ideal. But the goo landed on the interred bones, those not cremated, and accumulated. It wasn’t long before an abomination was born. Zoe and Crow stared at the strange humanoid creature in horror. It was almost three meters tall and had seven arms and four legs. The more bones it consumed, the more limbs it gained.

“Irnan,” Zoe muttered.

“What’s that?”

“A Witch that lost her mind and turned herself into a shapeshifting abomination. One drop of her blood essence and a minor ritual sacrifice is enough to awaken her bloodline power—the corrupted one.”

The monstrosity took a step and stumbled to the ground. Its irregular shape and haphazard limbs made it awkward, but as they watched, it was reforming itself. Sensing the power within it, Crow knew they weren’t a match for this thing. They ran for the door and moved toward the next potential trap. Behind him, Crow heard the monster scrambling to get out. The crypt shook each time it slammed its massive body against the door.

“What do we do?” Zoe asked calmly while riding on his back.

“What we were doing. Just pass through the walls and hope they are enough to deter that thing. If the guardians activate, even better. And if the people waiting for us appear, that would be the most ideal situation.”

“You really don’t like the Unhulde Sect,” Zoe chuckled. “I think you are the worst calamity they’ve ever faced, and the best part is they don’t even know who you are—well, they didn’t. They might now?”

Crow phased through the wall into the next chamber. Thankfully, it looked like the other half-dozen rooms they entered, except it was much larger. This was one of the twelve primary tombs of the crypt.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes…?” Zoe looked confused, and Crow understood. As far as he could tell, this chamber shouldn’t be here. There should have been at least one more side room. Zoe ran over to an alcove with an unassuming urn and a wooden box that was not much bigger than his fist.

Crow would probably never have paid attention to this space. It was that plain. They could hear the monster behind them roaring in rage, but it sounded as if it was in combat. He wasn’t sure what it was fighting and didn’t think it’d be a good idea to hang around and find out.

“Mom… I’m safe and happy. I’m leaving this place and am unsure when I’ll be back.”

“You could… bring her with us. The Soul Butlers could build a crypt in my Soulscape world, but if you want to leave her with your ancestors, I understand,” Crow told her. He felt pressed for time, but some matters couldn’t be rushed. Zoe looked at Crow’s face and nodded. She picked up the urn and flipped open the small box before taking out the onyx ring inside. It was faint, but Crow saw the blue glow of runes along the inside of the ring. She was about to put it on, but he stopped her.

“Wait to do that. I’m not sure what that is, but something is sleeping inside it. I’ll send you to the Soulscape; you can do it there. Beyond the wood nymph’s grove, there is a low hill that could be turned into a barrow. I’ll create formations inside there later that will reinforce it and some to help preserve her remains.”

Zoe hugged Crow and whispered fiercely, “Stay safe. We’ve all reached the twenty-fourth floor—”

“You can talk to me. Have Lily show you. Whenever you all want to come out of there, just let me know. However, it’ll have to wait until I’ve escaped this floor.”

She kissed him, and while being embraced, he sent her inside.

*When she puts that ring on, watch over her.* Crow told Lily.

*Alright. But I can tell you it’ll be fine.*

*You know what it is?*

*Ring of the Dark Moon. There used to be many of them, but they’ve slowly disappeared over the years.*

*What does it do?*

*Are you sure you should have this conversation? It’s about the New Moon and Beginnings. Inside is a bit of Creation Mana. With it, her coven will gain a significant boon with Life Magic.*

Crow didn’t know what that meant, but he felt his skin prickling as he was sure it was life-altering. However, he really didn’t have time to think about it. More than that, he felt uneasy suddenly. It only took a fraction of a second to realize why. The sounds of fighting had stopped.

His head slowly pivoted toward the only entry, a large stone archway much more prominent than other crypt areas. From the top of the curved entry, he saw a giant eye staring at him. Long fingers gripped the side of the door, and as it lowered its head, it grinned, showing off rows of gangly teeth. Crow shuddered and stepped back.

“Aroooo,” it howled. Before Crow could react, something pulled it back. Its grip was so firm that several stones were torn out of the arch before it lost its tug of war with whatever grappled it.

If it was a guardian, those things were genuinely terrifying. Initially, he was going to head toward the entrance but decided to move forward. He’d cut through the main or thirteenth tomb in the crypt’s center. Originally, he wanted to avoid it, but he had a premonition that going back the way he came would result in disaster. There was a good chance that the abomination destroyed some restrictions on the guardians.

Running full out, he passed through several more chambers before arriving at another of the twelve. The twelve outer tombs had their own passage toward the thirteenth, and as soon as he reached that point, he exited the tomb the standard way and ran toward the central part of the crypt.

The beast was barreling in his direction, and he could feel the ground shaking with all the guardians activated. He knew it would only hasten his demise if he wanted to stop and watch.

Crow exited the passage and tried to stop his momentum. The tips of his toes reached the lip of a bottomless pit, and his arms cartwheeled in an attempt not to plummet to his death. The map said nothing about this chasm. A platform hung from the ceiling and was anchored in place by chains with links as big as a man. Three swaying bridges connected to that platform, none aligned with one of the twelve passages. On the floating platform was a gigantic altar or tomb. He couldn’t tell which—maybe both. Crow didn’t care about that, as a five-meter wide ledge circled the pit. He went to the left, bypassing the first passage he came across, knowing his exit was the next.

Before he left, he took out a wooden carving the size of his head. It was of Sione and captured his essence so perfectly that Crow couldn’t help but stare at his creation. It was the first time he carved himself—or one of his personas.

Hearing a lot of noise echoing through the various tunnels, Crow tossed the Soul Carving across the chasm and watched it bounce a few times before landing near the altar casket. Afterward, he altered his face, body, aura, and essence into another Unhulde Sect member.

“Crow!” Kafe shouted from the other side of the chamber.