The **Lost Gate pulsed**, its unstable form distorting the air like a heatwave. The ruins around Sai trembled, cracks forming in the ancient stonework. The battle with the **Order's Executioner** had ended in an unexpected retreat, but the tension in Sai's body hadn't faded.
The words still echoed in his mind:
*"You are still incomplete."*
The Executioner had **recognized something in him**, something tied to the Abyss. And yet, he had chosen to **walk away**.
That meant one thing—**whatever lay inside this gate was important.**
Sai's **Lost Gate System** flickered.
---
**[Lost Gate Unsealed.]**
**[Dungeon Type: ???]**
**[Enter?]** **[Y/N]**
---
Aldrin and his hunters stood a short distance away, watching warily. The fight had left them shaken, and though the Order had retreated, it was clear they were **far from finished**.
*"Are you seriously going inside?"* Aldrin asked, arms crossed. His expression was unreadable, but Sai could hear the tension beneath his words.
Sai exhaled, glancing at the ruins around them.
*"If the Order wanted to erase this place, then there's something inside they don't want anyone to see."*
Kara, the red-haired scout, frowned. *"That doesn't mean you have to be the one to walk into it."*
*"I don't have a choice."* Sai tightened his grip on his daggers. *"I need to know the truth."*
Aldrin studied him for a long moment before finally sighing.
*"You're either the bravest or the dumbest hunter I've ever met."*
Sai smirked faintly. *"Probably both."*
Then, without another word, he **stepped forward.**
The moment he crossed the threshold, the world **shattered.**
---
### **The Abyss Beckons**
Sai's body was pulled downward, an overwhelming **gravity** dragging him through the **darkness**. He felt weightless yet heavy, as if his very existence was being stretched thin.
The **whispers** started again.
Soft at first.
Then—**louder.**
*"You are close."*
*"You came back."*
*"Break the seal."*
Sai **gritted his teeth**, willing himself to move, to fight against the crushing force pulling him deeper. The air around him was thick with something **ancient**, something that coiled around him like unseen chains.
Then—
**Light exploded around him.**
Sai **hit solid ground**, rolling forward as the weight in his chest vanished. His breath came in sharp gasps as he pushed himself up, his fingers tightening around his daggers.
He was **inside.**
And what he saw made his blood run cold.
---
### **The City Beneath the Ruins**
Sai stood in the middle of a **forgotten city.**
Towering structures stretched high into the cavernous space, their surfaces **covered in glowing blue runes.** Bridges of stone and metal connected floating platforms, and in the distance, he could see **monuments built in the shape of warriors, their hands gripping weapons that pulsed with long-forgotten power.**
This wasn't just a dungeon.
This was a **civilization that had been erased.**
His **Lost Gate System** reacted instantly.
---
**[Dungeon Identified: The City of Exiles]**
**[Status: Time Distortion Active]**
**[Warning: Entities Detected]**
---
Sai's grip on his daggers tightened.
*"Entities?"*
A **soft shuffle** echoed through the empty streets.
Sai turned sharply—just in time to see **a figure watching him from the shadows.**
Not a monster.
A **human.**
Or at least—**something that once was.**
---
### **The Forgotten Ones**
The figure stepped into the dim glow of the rune-lit streets, and Sai's breath caught.
It was a **man**, clad in tattered armor that bore **no emblem, no markings**. His face was **partially obscured**, but Sai could see the **unnatural glow in his eyes**—pale blue, almost like the rune markings covering the city.
*"Another one,"* the man murmured. His voice was rough, worn.
Sai raised his daggers slightly.
*"Who are you?"*
The man studied him for a moment before shaking his head.
*"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't belong here."*
*"Neither do you."* Sai narrowed his eyes. *"What is this place?"*
The man exhaled.
*"A graveyard."*
Then—**he moved.**
Faster than Sai expected.
A **blade arced toward him,** glowing faintly with an energy that felt **too familiar.**
Sai **reacted instantly.**
**Abyssal Step.**
He blinked backward just as the blade **slashed through where he had been standing.**
The man didn't hesitate.
He **closed the distance**, striking again. Sai twisted his body, parrying the attack—but the moment their weapons **clashed, a pulse of energy erupted outward.**
The force sent Sai **staggering back.**
*"Tch."* Sai exhaled, regaining his footing.
This man—**he was using something like the Abyss.**
---
### **A Duel in the Forgotten City**
The man **attacked again**, his blade weaving through the air with **fluid precision**. Sai dodged, his instincts **working overtime** to track the attacks.
This wasn't a mindless enemy.
This was a **trained fighter**.
A hunter.
And yet—**his movements were unnatural.**
Sai **ducked under a slash, twisting mid-air to deliver a counterstrike**—but the moment his dagger made contact, the man's **form flickered.**
Sai's blade **passed through him like mist.**
His breath hitched.
*"You are untrained,"* the man said, his voice almost **disappointed.** *"Unfinished."*
Sai clenched his teeth.
*"What does that mean?"*
The man stepped back slightly, his glowing eyes scanning Sai carefully.
*"The Abyss has marked you, but you have yet to claim it."*
Sai felt a **cold chill** creep up his spine.
*"You're like the Order's Executioner,"* he muttered. *"You've been touched by it too."*
The man's lips curled slightly.
*"Executioner?"* He exhaled. *"They don't know what they serve. But you... you might."*
Before Sai could ask what he meant—
The **ground trembled.**
A deep, **distant sound** echoed through the cavernous city.
Sai's System **flashed a warning.**
---
**[Event Triggered: Awakening of the Forgotten]**
**[Warning: Gate Stability at Critical Levels]**
---
Sai turned sharply toward the source of the sound.
At the heart of the city, where the largest monument stood—
**A massive stone doorway had begun to open.**
And beyond it—
**Something was waiting.**
The man in front of Sai straightened.
*"It has begun."*
Sai's breath was steady, but inside, **his instincts screamed.**
Something was **waking up.**
And it wasn't supposed to.
He had come here for answers—**but now, he had no choice but to fight for them.**
As the doorway continued to **creak open**, revealing a darkness **too deep, too endless to be natural**, Sai clenched his daggers.
*"What's behind that door?"* he asked.
The man didn't answer.
He just smiled faintly.
*"You'll see soon enough."*
Then, in an instant—**he vanished.**
Sai **gritted his teeth.**
The **Abyss was moving.**
And now, he was **right in the middle of it.**
---