Robyn nearly jumped into Joe’s arms as the “not quite dead” Balegros shifted in the trench, sending debris tumbling toward them in an avalanche of doom.

  TJ stepped in, jerking his thumb toward Robyn. “Up on my back. Come on.”

  Robyn didn’t hesitate, leaping onto TJ like a kid hitching a piggyback ride. As the ratfolk clung on for dear life, Joe and the others backed away, their gazes fixed on the smoky black claw emerging from the trench. The claw grew in size, talons retracting with a sickening scrape against stone.

  Joe’s brain screamed one thing.

  Run!

  Joe glanced at the group. Yeah, standing their ground against a shapeshifting dragon was about as smart as juggling flaming swords blindfolded. Without a word, they all bolted, putting as much distance as possible between them and Balegros before it fully recovered.

  The ground trembled beneath Joe’s feet like an earthquake dialed up to eleven. One particularly violent jolt sent him stumbling, but he recovered and took off again, his legs pumping like hell itself had opened up behind him.

  He chanced a look over his shoulder—and immediately regretted it. Balegros’ claw crushed the trench’s rim as it hauled itself up. Then came the flapping of its bat-like wings, each beat sending gusts of wind strong enough to make Joe feel like a ragdoll caught in a storm.

  “The nearest exit back to the common room is the way we came in!” Dawn shouted from ahead, taking the lead.

  Joe didn’t miss the tightness in her voice. The odds of making it back before Balegros turned them into paste? Slim to none. And if they respawned, there was always the chance Kobold Karen had rigged some spawn camp ambush just for them.

  An urgent message popped up in the alliance chat. Joe barely spared it a glance—priorities. His mind spun through their options. Fighting was laughable. Running wasn’t looking too promising either. They needed a distraction.

  Think, Joe. Think.

  Then it hit him. Balegros had serpentine traits, which meant heat-sensing pits. Splitting up wouldn’t work—those pits would pick them off one by one. They needed to give it a bigger, shinier target.

  “Dawn!” Joe sped up until he was alongside her. “You’ve got holy fire, right?”

  “Barely,” she said between breaths. “Might give him a sun-kissed glow at best. A tanning bed would do more damage.”

  “Forget the salon treatment. We just need a distraction—a fire show, as far from us as possible.”

  Dawn’s eyes lit up with understanding. Her hands began to glow as she twisted mid-stride. “Keep back!” She hurled a volley of fireballs to the right. The ground erupted into flames, the makeshift bonfire casting flickering shadows.

  They kept running, their path illuminated by the distant fire. Joe’s lungs burned, and his legs screamed for mercy.

  Balegros roared, the sound a bone-rattling mix of anger and frustration.

  “It’s working!” Dawn called out, her voice tinged with relief—and a grim edge. “But it won’t for long.”

  The ground still quaked, the beast’s shadow looming closer. A smoky haze from Balegros’ wings made it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead, even with his eternal honor Tracker activated.

  “How much further?” TJ’s voice cracked.

  Dawn didn’t answer. Her silence said everything. Too far. They weren’t going to make it.

  The sky glowed pink. A soft hum, like moth wings against a glass window, broke through the chaos. Joe’s head snapped up as Lunara’s radiant form descended, her feathered antennae twitching.

  “Hop on!” Nick’s voice cut through the haze as a ropy ladder unfurled from Lunara’s back.

  “Brian, TJ, get Robyn up there!” Joe’s eyes darted toward them as he yanked open his seaweed pack, shoving a few flakes in his mouth.

  Brian and TJ hesitated, glancing at Dawn and Rose.

  “Chivalry’s dead out here!” Dawn snapped, waving them on. “Move!”

  Balegros roared again, spurring them into action. TJ lowered Robyn onto the ladder, and the ratfolk scurried up faster than Joe had ever seen him move. TJ and Brian followed, then Rose.

  [Sailor Man Temporary Buff +10 Strength]

  Joe sighed with relief and gestured to Dawn. “Your turn.”

  “Don’t—”

  Joe grabbed the ladder as Lunara shifted upward. He shot his free hand out, and Dawn took it, her grip iron-tight as the ladder rose, lifting them into the air.

  “I hate flying,” she growled, gripping his hand tighter.

  “Good news.” Even with his strength buff, Joe tried to mask his own nerves with humor. “This isn’t flying. It’s hanging on for dear life. Totally different.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  ***

  The moment Lunara’s feet touched the ground, Dawn jumped from the rope ladder, landing without so much as a glance in Joe’s direction.

  Joe sighed. Yeah, she’s still mad.

  Clear of the haze, the oversized sun spilled its rays across the ground like molten honey. A surreal contrast to the chaos they’d just escaped.

  Dawn pointed to a circular doorway that appeared a few yards away. “Entrance is over there.” She ran and pressed her hand to its surface. The entrance unfurled like a flower, revealing the orange zone common room inside.

  Joe sighed. The whole flight back had been nothing but awkward silence, despite his best efforts to lighten the mood. Clearly, she wasn’t over the whole battlebox mess. He stepped aside, letting the others climb down the rope ladder while he mulled over Lunara.

  Still alive, he thought, glancing at the towering moth titan. Her antennae twitched as if reading his thoughts. Was she under Nick’s beast tamer influence? Could his skill really sway a boss titan? Or maybe this was her version of a thank-you note for saving her silk egg. Either way, there’d been no notification saying Floor 6 was unlocked, and that nagged at him like an unsolved puzzle.

  TJ hopped down, smoothing his windblown hair and glancing back at Brian. “Oh, brother, you need a comb more than I do.”

  Brian snorted, brushing at his equally chaotic mop. “Have you looked in a mirror?”

  “That was exhilarating!” Robyn chirped, clapping his little paws together. “Flying! Me! I never thought I’d fly!”

  Rose looked like she’d aged a decade, visibly relieved to be back on solid ground.

  Not long after, the Blanche Brigade descended. Nick gave Lunara a fond pat on her furry flank like she was a trusty steed. Joe squinted. Was he… bonding with her?

  Ryan broke away from the group and strode toward Joe. “Glad to see you survived dangling from that rope ladder.”

  Joe flexed, throwing in a playful grin. “What can I say? Stronger than I look.”

  Ryan laughed, along with most of the group. Everyone except Dawn, of course, who was still radiating frostbite levels of cold.

  Ryan leaned closer. “Listen, I thought you’d want to know—Rose’s rare-tier loot box did something unexpected—”

  Before he could finish, playful shadows darted across the ground, accompanied by a chorus of lilting voices.

  Rose, whose face had been locked in a grimace moments before, softened, a smile lighting up her features. “Music to my ears.”

  Joe followed her gaze upward, squinting as two winged creatures emerged from behind Lunara’s enormous form.

  The first was all sharp angles and drama, her silver hair streaked with crimson like a punk rock sunset. She wore a cloak that looked like it belonged to a magician headlining a Vegas residency. The other one glowed, her outfit catching the light like moonbeams stitched into fabric. Together, they looked like tiny pieces of Lunara brought to life, their intricate wing patterns mirroring hers in miniature.

  The punk-rock one bowed. “On behalf of Lunara, Asha and I would like to thank you and your faction for saving her egg from destruction.” Her voice was as soft as silk, an elegant contradiction to her edgy look.

  The glowing one, now obviously Asha, crossed her arms and scoffed. “Don’t let Myric’s royal act fool you. She thinks she’s some kind of queen, but really, she’s simply a socialite.”

  TJ frowned. “What’s a socialite?”

  Asha snorted. “Fancy talk for the rich and unemployed. I’m the one doing all the real work around here, keeping Lunara happy.”

  Myric sighed. “My sister enjoys…simplifying things. We are Lunara’s heralds—guardians of her legacy. Together, we embody the balance she maintains between light and shadow.”

  Asha rolled her eyes so hard Joe thought they might fall out. “Yeah, yeah, balance, harmony, blah, blah, blah. Here’s the deal: you saved the silk egg, so you live. If you’d smashed it, Lunara would’ve smashed you instead. Got it? Great. Now let’s move on to the fun part.”

  Myric sighed, brushing her dress with the kind of exasperated elegance that made Joe wonder if she practiced it in front of a mirror. “Must you reduce everything to violence, dear sister?”

  Asha smirked, crossing her arms. “Yeah, and your point is?” She leaned toward Ryan, her grin as sharp as her words. “Bet you’re gaggin’ to know if you still gotta kill Lunara now that we’re all buddy-buddy.”

  Ryan straightened, his hand twitching toward his weapon. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

  Joe side-eyed Ryan. Crossed his mind? The guy looks like he’s ready to launch himself at the first twitch of those giant moth wings.

  The tension hung heavy in the air, everyone sizing each other up like a bar fight waiting to happen.

  “Calm down, calm down!” Asha raised her hands, though her tone wasn’t exactly calming. “You made a smart call saving the egg, ‘cause Lunara—like all titans—is tied to the ley lines. Quantum threads, if your feeling fancy.”

  Joe followed Ryan’s gaze to Gaia, who was staring at Lunara like she’d just cracked open the world’s most complicated puzzle.

  “They don’t believe us.” Asha glanced at her sister.

  Lunara’s feathery antennae twitched, and Gaia’s mouth dropped open as if she’d spotted something the rest of them couldn’t.

  A sharp chime cut through the air, followed by an announcement ringing out across the floor:

  [Parley achieved between 6th Floor Titan Lunara and Blanche Brigade. Floor 7 unlocked.]

  Gaia stepped closer to Ryan, her voice breathy with awe. “They’re telling the truth. I can see Lunara’s quantum threads—they connect to the next floor.”

  Joe tilted his head. “You can see them? Like, with your eyes?”

  Gaia shook her head, still staring at Lunara. “Not exactly. It’s more like… intuition. But when I activate Quantum Sense, it’s there. A clear connection.”

  Dawn folded her arms, skepticism etched on her face. “So why didn’t you see this with the other titans?”

  “They didn’t let me.” Gaia shrugged. “Or maybe the system blocked it. Who knows? Lunara’s…different.”

  Joe squinted at the moth titan. “Different how? Like, friendlier? Or just waiting for the right moment to smash us into a fine paste?”

  “I’ll go with option two.” Brian eyed Lunara like she might sneeze him out of existence.

  Dawn frowned. “So, we’ve had to kill every boss titan so far to unlock the next floor, but now we’re besties because we saved an egg? What’s stopping her from unlocking all the floors and giving us a free ride to the top?”

  Asha barked a laugh, nudging her sister. “Is she having a laugh? Tell me she’s having a laugh.”

  Myric gave a graceful shrug. “She’s serious, sister. Rest assured, ascenders, this is a one-time offer. Lunara’s reach extends only from this floor to the next. Beyond that, she has no influence. This is her domain.” She paused, her expression turning more solemn. “I suggest you move on before Balegros catches up. With Lunara’s blessing, may love and light guide you forward.”

  “Yeah.” Asha flashed them a cheeky wink. “Break a leg, chuck.”