The air inside the cavern was thick, almost suffocating, as Marcus and his team stood amidst the eerie glow of the rune-covered stones. The symbols etched into the cave walls pulsed faintly, as if reacting to their presence. Something about them felt off—not just unnatural, but… wrong.

  Marcus exchanged a glance with Vira, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. This wasn’t their first time encountering strange dungeon formations.

  The Boss Rush Dungeon.

  That hellish experience had left its mark on both of them. And now, staring at these newly discovered runes, Marcus couldn’t shake the feeling that his life was tangled in something far beyond coincidence.

  "Me finding all these anomalies can't be random," he thought, crossing his arms.

  Before he could voice the thought, Stem’s voice hummed in his mind.

  "Perhaps it isn’t."

  Marcus frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "You, Marcus, are an anomaly yourself. It stands to reason that you are either attracting anomalies—or perhaps, you are subconsciously drawn to them. The restructuring of this world may not be a mere accident. You may be... intertwined with it."

  Marcus’ jaw clenched. “And how does that work?”

  "Ah," Stem mused, as if pleased with the question. "The concept of predetermination and attraction follows a metaphysical principle that can be likened to gravitational anomalies. Just as celestial bodies alter space-time through mass, beings who operate outside expected parameters—such as yourself—may inadvertently bend probability itself. In other words, your very existence creates deviations in the natural order, drawing forth changes that would not normally occur."

  Marcus blinked. “So, what you’re saying is… I’ve got ‘Main Character Syndrome’?”

  "A crude interpretation. But yes."

  Marcus ran a hand down his face. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.”

  Arixa raised an eyebrow at him. “You good?”

  Marcus sighed. “Yeah. Just mentally filing some existential nonsense for later.”

  Thalron crouched near one of the rune stones, running a gloved hand across the carvings. “These markings... they’re too clean to be ancient, but this place clearly hasn't been touched in ages...”

  Vira furrowed her brows. “So what do we do? Try activating it?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Marcus was about to answer when Stem suddenly spoke again, his tone more alert.

  "Tell Vira to turn to...Stem paused as if calculating... section...no...tell her to turn to page—Page 314 in her Grimoire."

  Marcus narrowed his eyes. “You know what this is, don’t you?”

  "Not entirely. But I have an educated suspicion. If I am correct… we need to be prepared."

  Marcus sighed but turned to Vira.

  As if she caught on she said, "Stem?"

  "Yeah", Marcus replied. “he said, turn to Page 314 in your grimoire.”

  Vira gave him a skeptical look but obliged. She flipped through the thick, ancient tome, landing on the requested page. Her eyes widened slightly. “This… this is about theoretical dungeon formations and activation.”

  Arixa leaned over to glance at the page. “How much knowledge is in that thing?”

  Vira shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve studied this book front to back before, and every time I open it, it feels like it’s… adapting. Like it’s learning with me.”

  Thalron frowned. “That’s not normal.”

  Marcus chuckled. “Nothing about any of us is normal.”

  With Vira’s guidance, they began channeling a small amount of energy into the rune stones as Vira chanted a multi tongued incantation and formed Mana sigils in the air. The moment the spell took effect, the formations flared violently, shifting from their dim glow into an unstable, chaotic spiral of light.

  Marcus felt his gut drop.

  “Uh… guys?” Vira muttered, stepping back. “That’s not how normal dungeon activations work.”

  Stem’s voice sharpened in urgency.

  "Marcus. Tell them to prepare themselves. This is a Release Dungeon."

  Marcus’ eyes widened.

  “What the hell is a Release Dungeon?” he asked, already dreading the answer.

  "A dungeon type that doesn’t pull adventurers inside—it releases something outside."

  And as if on cue, a massive tear in reality split open in the center of the cavern.

  A horrid, twisted presence stepped through.

  The creature was twice the size of any Red Orc they had seen before. Its skin was darker, nearly blackened with pulsing crimson veins, and bone-like protrusions jutted from its arms and shoulders. It had burning, soulless eyes, and when it inhaled, the very air around them seemed to shudder.

  It looked demonic. Ancient. Wrong.

  Then it spoke.

  “This world… has changed since I was last free.”

  Its voice wasn’t a mere sound—it resonated, shaking the cavern walls as if reality itself barely contained it.

  “And it seems… you savages have evolved.”

  The party instinctively fell into battle stances. Marcus felt the weight of something monumental hanging over them.

  “Stem,” he muttered under his breath. “Tell me you know what this thing is.”

  There was a long pause.

  Then, for the first time, Stem’s voice carried genuine panic.

  "Marcus… You all have to defeat that thing now. If it stabilizes fully, it will summon its entire army through the portal."

  Marcus gritted his teeth. “Let me guess—this thing has something to do with the Restructuring?”

  "Yes."

  Marcus’s stomach turned. “What is it, exactly?”

  Stem’s response sent a chill down his spine.

  "That beast… is a Seal."

  Marcus’ breath caught. “…Like the Seven Seals?”

  Stem’s voice hummed. "Seven Seals. Biblical apocalyptic imagery. The Book of Revelation 5, 6:1–17, and 8:1–6. Yes, this is an acceptable analogy."

  Marcus let out a sharp exhale. “Great. First mission with my new party and I have to stop the first step of the end of the world.”

  Arixa cracked her knuckles, grinning. “Well, at least we’re making history.”

  Thalron unsheathed his rapier, his aura shifting into full battle mode. “No pressure, right?”

  Vira’s eyes narrowed, fire sparking to life in her hands. “We stop this thing here. No matter what.”

  The Res Orc Seal lifted its head, sensing their resolve.

  “Hmph.” It tilted its head slightly, as if considering them. Then it grinned.

  “Show me how far you’ve come, mortals.”

  The cavern shook violently as the first battle against the Seals of the Apocalypse began.