On a raised platform at the far end of the hall, I spotted him. A short figure, his features faintly illuminated by the glow of a magical circle etched into the concrete. Intricate runes lined the edges of the circle, their shapes twisting and curling in ways that felt both deliberate and unnerving. He stood just outside the circle, clutching a boney necklace in both hands.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As I kept my focus on Benny, something else caught my eye—a faint glow, barely visible behind him. She was looking at him, her glowing eye narrowing as she observed the whole scene and decided something, and it seemed that it wasn''t something good... The glow flickered, then dimmed entirely as the bloodhunter replaced her eyepatch, the light disappearing like a dying ember. She moved with a predator’s silence, drawing a silvery blade from her side, the weapon glinting faintly in the candlelight and it was clear - she was triggered by something she saw. And if I didn''t do anything - Benny was minced meat .