Bound By Fury:The Forced Path

Akira's heart shook as Eri's words sank in.

"What's so bad?"

He asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

She exhaled and her eyes turned critical.

"The dungeon this material comes from.isn't like any of the others."

"No one has ever escaped, and it's too unpredictable to even rank because the mana emiting from him changes time from time."

"It's not quiet enough to be called a dungeon it's more like a void."

Akira balled his fists as his jaws locked.

"Damn it."

"Is this opportunity going to slip away from us?"

Eri nodded, her eyes meeting his, slowly.

"It's the best lead we have… but it's not something we can handle lightly."

"This is a different class of dungeon than what my team has dealt with before."

"If we go in, we have to be incredibly careful."

She tried to ease the tension with a small smile.

"Still, I owe your father a lot, and I can't pretend I haven't thought about entering it anyway."

The weight in the conversation made a flicker of a smile cross Akira's face, but it didn't last.

He just could not bring himself to let her and the team face this danger alone, not when it could possibly bring him some kind of justice he had wished for.

His gaze hardened with a new resolve.

"I need to come with you.

Eri's smile vanished, replaced by a look of genuine gravity.

"Akira, you have no powers."

"A dungeon is lethal even for an awakened person-for anyone else, it means certain death."

He knew the danger, yet so sure was his voice.

"I know it's dangerous."

"But this is my family we are talking about."

"I've stood by your side, worked with you, gave everything I could to this cause for one year."

"You're walking into the place that could hold the key to all of it, and I'm to just wait behind."

Eri watched him, her face a mask of admiration and concern.

"You really are a great boy and brave one Akira."

"I won't deny that."

She turned grave.

"But this isn't just dangerous; it's lethal."

"And you're the last one who should be there.

Akira didn't even bat an eyelash.

"I don't want special treatment, Eri."

"I want to be able to stand up with you, and I'll work on training myself all I can."

"It isn't just about revenge."

"I have to do it for Dad."

"So he can finally rest in peace."

Eri watched him for a long moment, considering what she did and did not want to do.

Finally, she nodded, though reluctance lined her features.

"Alright, Akira."

"If this is what you've decided, then we'll do everything in our power to keep you safe."

"But promise me you'll stay close and follow our lead."

Relief and gratitude softened his features, though resolve stayed upon them.

"Thank you, Eri."

Four Days Later

"The day for the raid to get the material came"

I checked my equipment once more.The familiar weight of it was comforting yet strange at this moment.My hands shook slightly, and I steadied them.It was like a death sentence waiting in that dungeon ahead, and yet… it was the only lead we had."

Eri's footsteps broke my focus."

"She stopped beside me, her face tight with concern."

"Her eyes, always so steady, flickered with something I hadn't seen before.

"Concern"

"You sure you're ready for this, Akira?"

She asked in a low voice.

"It's gonna be bad, worse than you think."

Akira turned to her, locked eyes with her.

"I was afraid inside, but it didn't break through.Not now.Not after everything i had been through, everything I'd lost."

"I have to be,"

Akira said his voice gruff but set.

"I have to know who did this to my family."

"I just can't let fear hold me back any longer."

Eri's eyes gentled, and I could see her emotions warring with each other in them.

Then she set a hand on my shoulder-light, comforting, a tether.

"I think you're really brave,"

She said.

"Just remember, team-no one goes off alone."

"We watch each other's backs."

Akira nodded, the weight of her words settling deep in his chest.

As much as I wanted to fling myself headfirst into this mission, I couldn't forget what she'd said. We needed to stick together if we were going to survive.

Soon enough, the entrance of the dungeon appeared in my line of sight. It was a massive hole with open jaws towards the earth, covered with a darkness that seemed unnatural. Unusual, heavy energy pulsed the air around it. A sense of foreboding dread settled in the bottom of my gut, but I fought it down.

This wasn't the time for fear.

Standing before the gaping maw of the dungeon, two people from the Korea STARS Association Unit approached them-cold and professional in demeanor.

They doled out papers as expressionless faces explained the conditions of entry.

"You need to accept these terms to enter,"

One of them said, placing his voice low and distant, a near echo.

"Entering this dungeon is considered an act of suicide."

"If you accept these terms, you can proceed."

Akira only demurred for a moment before taking the documents and pen.

The rest of them did likewise, signing one by one, without any questions.

When it was his turn, he scrawled his name on the paper.

The cold metal of the pen against his fingers seemed to almost ground him in the reality of it all.

Once they all had signed, papers were taken by the men from the assassination unit.

Akira couldn't help but notice how the agents looked vaguely off, as if something about them didn't sit quite right.

Still, he paid little heed-not now, not when everything he had worked for was leading up to this.

The air was thick with the feeling of malevolent energy weighing in on him from every angle; Akira remained focused. The time had come.

Eri turned to him; her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Everything okay?"

"Are you Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be,"

Akira said, his voice level but his heart racing violently in his chest.

He could feel the weight of the moment upon him, but he couldn't turn back.

Not now.

Akira stepped forward into the dungeon, Eri at his side, the rest of his team in tow.

The darkness swallowed them whole, and the last light from outside faded, leaving what was left to be the cold echo of their footsteps, swallowed in the oppressive silence ringing them.

Thick with the weight of ancient power, the air was stifling inside the dungeon.

He felt every breath labored, and his body-put through its paces by the trials of the dungeon-ached in ways he could not dismiss, even with his great athleticism.

Akira felt exhaustion creeping in...something about this place it was off.

Even the air seemed designed to break them.

Eri and her crew cut through with ruthless quickness, a glide across the perilous passages as if born for this hell.

Sharp, practiced motions faultless-things Akira couldn't pull off.

Every step became a cold, hard reminder of how very out of his league he was.

Focusing on the mission, he tried to push the fatigue away, but his body seemed to be turning slowly against him.

It was after eons of making their way through tunnels twisting every which way that they finally came into a large chamber.

Akira's eyes darted about the area, scanning to find what they had come for.

Instead, it was what caught his view that sent a river of ice cascading through his veins.

Before them lay a huge, gaping hole, apparently plunging into the very bosom of darkness.

Akira stepped forward; his heart went into palpitations.

His voice rang out, in heavy laces of frustration.

"Where is the material?"

He shouted, and his voice bounced off the walls, but to him, it was as if his words were swallowed up by the big void.

"It should be here, according to the info, right?"

"I don't see anything here!"

His eyes again swept the room, but it was a silent, cold cavern once more, bereft of life.

Eri and her team had moved to one side, faces masked, unreadable.

But as Akira drew near, they did unmask, and what he saw turned his blood cold.

A wicked light gleamed in Mia's eyes, her smile sharp, cold, and mirthless-not the friendly one she had always worn.

Entoa was a huge man who had stood as a silent sentinel beside her and cracked his knuckles with a face full of pure disdain.

And Eri, the woman whom he had trusted, stepped forward, all pretense of compassion gone from her face.

Smiles without masks, but something far more sinister-twisted.

Akira felt his stomach twist as a cold realization suddenly washed over him.

"What's going on?"

He demanded, the words shaking from his voice.

"Why are you doing this?"

Eri stepped forward, her eyes aglow with malice.

"You were so willing to help, Akira,"

She said saccharine sweet.

"And I'm just so grateful for that."