The empty sky was blood red.
The specks of blue mushed around from within, refusing to mix with the ominous red light which continued to beam down hungrily, gulping away at the barren grasslands below.
However, tucked away far under and away from its insatiable thirst lay a cavern.
A cavern that housed a series of treacherous creatures and wandering souls battling for their survival, and at that moment, a swirling substance of black goop spun on itself.
There were 5 other similar substances in the room with it, each serving as passageways to various destinations.
However, under the gentle warmth of the floating balls of flames, the 2nd passageway began to bend and churn as it spat forth a figure, sending it tumbling across the hard labyrinthian floor.
BLOOKSH!
"Ugh…"
From out of the black goop came a person clothed from head to toe in black garbs.
His lanky figure stretched out his joints, shaking his head as he slowly rose to his feet and looked back from where he came.
His eyes brightened with a mysterious green light, 'How long was I in there?..'
He put his hand to his head as he stumbled forward, shifting his gaze to the floating ball of flames above that now had a tinge of red to its orange hue and was slightly shaking as if anxious.
'Strange.' the man gazed down to the passageways next to his.
He sniffed the air and walked over to the right far most cave, crouching down and analyzing the faint trace of soot on the ground, 'Something... was burnt?..'
As if on queue, the 6th passageway all the way down from him churned and sputtered just as it did when he was spat out.
The man squinted his eyes at the quivering passageway, 'They finally find the boy?'
However, his eyes soon widened in shock as he saw a red, furry humanoid body launch out from the portal, the stench of drenched fur filling his nostrils as he jumped back to his feet.
'Who?..' he cautiously crouched down, examining the creature as his eyes lit up and examined the beast, sprinkling it in rays of cold green light.
'No... it can't be... you... you should'a known better.'
Suddenly, the creature's bloodshot eyes shot open, bringing with it a surge of heat as its body combusted into a sea of flames, launching the lanky man backward through the air.
SKREEEEEEEE!
Fire burst forth from its body, its flames crawling along the cavern floors in an attempt to consume the man whole.
"Enough!"
WOOOOSH!!
A strong gust of wind swept the flames out of existence and caused the creature to slide back along the slick floor.
The man's cold gaze locked onto the creature in front of him; a look of disgust was blaring through his eyes, "Are ya that impatient for power?!"
The humanoid creature looked at him, confused.
His garments all burnt away from the attack, revealing his bony naked body with clumps of fiery ember fur speckled throughout.
The madness in his eyes was apparent as the sounds of his haggard breathing clogged the open area.
"I-Ima b-b-bwing yaaaa baaaack tooo daa boisth."
The Mini-boss frowned as he sighed, "Too far gone... I'm sorry."
Furious winds began to rise around him, and his eyes began to fiercely enliven a brilliant hue of green light, dyeing the room in rays of verdant beams.
The lanky man floated slightly above the ground, his black robes becoming slightly undone and revealing his sharp nose as he mournfully looked down and whispered.
"This is goodbye..." the creature absent-mindedly gazed on, drool foaming from its lips, "My brother."
As the wind howled and the razer-bladed breeze began to slice the humanoid creature up, causing shrieks of agony to sound out, the calm orange flame, which floated dormant this whole time, began to flicker.
The red tint strengthened, causing the flame to convulse aggressively, tottering across the air and sending surges of heat towards the 2 below and shattering the blowing winds.
"Wuh? This is-"
Flares began to release from the ball of light, lashing about like chains, one of which struck the lanky figure out of the air.
"Ughh!"
He yelped in pain as he was launched across the room, rolling all the way towards the 2nd passageway and landing on his stomach.
"Wuh..." the man groaned as his eyelids drooped.
"Wait... what?" he quickly rubbed his eyes as he watched the passageways in front of him start to melt away like butter on a skillet, seeping into the air before becoming absorbed by the large flame entity in the center of the room that even now was continuing to expand in size.
"This is..." the man got up, a sense of urgency was present in his voice, "No, no, no, we gotta get outta here!"
His eyes glowed a mysterious green glow, barely noticeable by the horrendous blood-red aura that seeped through the entire room.
The steaming temperature sent phantasmal waves through the cave, causing the Mini-boss to even question his sanity as children's laughter and demented screams filled his ears.
Nonetheless, he shook his head, "No, no, no, NONONONONONO!"
He slammed his fist into the ground, "I can't reach them!"
He shot a hateful gaze at the floating ball of flames that was now calmy suspended in the air.
Its size had grown to nearly 3 times as large as before, and the eery aura emitted from it made it feel like an eye beaming down on him, watching his every move.
"I gotta get us ho-"
SKREEEEE
A loud screech awoke the man from his stupor as the humanoid creature from before came running at him, once again coated in raging flames.
"Fuk... of all times."
The Mini-boss coated himself in a green layer of light, running to engage with... this thing.
However, just as the two were about to clash, the ground began to shake, tripping the two off balance.
The Mini-boss leaped back to regain footing, the furry entity chasing closely behind.
BUM
BUMBUM
BUM
BUMBUM
The stampeding sound of steps rang through the cavern.
As the Mini-boss dodged while taking glances in the direction of the sound, he spotted a subtle red glow pierced through the dark veil.
Even as the lanky man gazed, he couldn't conclude what was approaching; however, he had a bad feeling.
A nervous lump arose in his stomach.
'Something's wrong.' a look of resolution replaced his look of concern.
A green aura encompassed him, and wind swirled around him before he disappeared from sight.
The rampaging beast aggressively swiveled around, looking for any sign of its target.
It angrily murmured, "L-leave? J-j-just liiiikeee b-booyyyyy?"
Its flames slowly flickered out as the creature looked around and asserted its target was nowhere to be seen and truly gone.
Then out of nowhere, the man appeared right in front of it, a shocked gaze showed on its feral face as the Mini-boss launched a side-kick, sending it flying across the room and into the wall near the portal at the most far-right.
The lanky man looked down at the beast, his... old friend in front of him.
"So the boy's alive, heh." he honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So the Boss was right, somethin' special about the kid..."
He peeled his eyes as he gazed at his fallen comrade and the ever-expanding ball of flames that continued to lash at the air with its chains of fire.
"Ima need to get to that boy first..." he gripped his fist, "see what's so special bout him.
The cavern floors shook as if the world was tilting, nearly causing the man to lose his balance.
He gazed at the pitch-black entranceway that was now bright with hundreds of red lights rapidly approaching.
His eyes widened in shock, "That many..." he slowly stepped back, he was strong, sure, but hundreds of those rat creatures all at once, "Could even Boss take that many at once?"
Cold sweat pooled down his back.
The sound of steps wasn't all he heard as soon a voice was picked up in the chaos.
The man closed his green eyes and listened, sifting through the flickering flames and the rummaging steps...
"Shit, shit, shit!"
"Fuk, fuk, fuk!"
"Fukin rats! Goddamnit!"
The man opened his eyes in surprise as now the stampede had gotten much closer.
The light from the ball of flames fully illuminated the opening, showing the boy running for dear life with an army of red rats closely trailing behind him.
Their feral red eyes lit up, and their bodies were lit aflame, looking like a certain mythical creature as they paraded across the floor, dashing to rip the boy limb from limb.
At the very front was a far smaller rat with a much more dangerous aura to it.
The lanky figure gulped as he coated himself in a firm aura of green light, sending his black robes fluttering around him.
He slowly exhaled, 'Wooooh, just grab the boy and get out. Then I'll find out everything he knows.'
As his eyes locked on, purely concentrating on his target.
A gust of wind surrounded him, he had 1 shot at this, or he and the boy were both dead.
He calmed his breathing.
His green eyes were filled with serene energy as he and the boy locked eyes as the boy vigorously ran for dear life.
"Sorry newb, its nothi- oof!"
A rabid scream rang in his ears as he felt an excruciatingly hot figure tackle him from the side.
The Mini-boss glanced over to see the humanoid creature embedded in its sea of flames slamming into him.
His gaze swapped back over to see the boy zooming past them, a smug grin plastered on the little bastard's face as he dove into the middle empty passageway, passageway 3.
A swarm of rats closely coming behind.
With all of his strength, the lanky figure flung the humanoid creature off of him and dove into the passageway right behind the boy.
Leaving the creature to the mercy of the swarm as screams of agony rung behind him.
He grit his teeth, sending out silent prayers as he was consumed by the void once more.
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