The tunnel opened into a cavern so vast that Galthor's shadow-sight couldn't find the far wall.

He stood at the entrance, letting his new senses sweep the space. Water. There was water here, an underground lake that stretched beyond his perception. The surface was perfectly still, black as oil, reflecting nothing.

And something lived beneath it, he could feel the presence that seems to be pressing against his own.

Galthor could feel the presence, ancient and immense, coiled in the depths. And it wasn't as corrupted as the other monsters he'd met, or at least, not entirely. There was something else to it, something that predated the Abyssal War.

His eyes narrowed. What rank of monster is that? He stepped forward, and the water responded.

Ripples spread from the shore, radiating outward despite the lack of any physical disturbance. The surface began to churn, bubbles rising from below. Something was coming up.

And then... it did come out.

It was serpentine, at least a hundred feet long, covered in scales of pure obsidian. Each scale was carved with runes that glowed faintly, pulsing with contained power. Its head was vaguely draconic, with eyes like molten gold that fixed on Galthor with unmistakable intelligence.

"A visitor." The voice was deep vibrating through the stone itself. "It has been centuries since anything found its way here. The Weeping One usually dealt with intruders before they reached my domain."

"The Weeping One is gone," Galthor said flatly, keeping his eyes from going wide from what he was staring at, this thing that's speaking can't be call a monster. It's an entity! "I am Unchanging Warth. And I need to pass."

The monster massive head tilted, considering him. "You consumed the grief entity? Impressive, for one so young. I felt the shift in power above, but I did not understand its cause until now."

"Then you know I'm not to be underestimated."

"I know you are ambitious." The monster began to circle, its enormous body creating waves that lapped at Galthor's feet. "I know you carry power that should not exist in this age. And I know you are heading toward the corrupted land above."

"Will you try to stop me?"

The monster laughed. It was a surprisingly warm sound, nothing like the menacing rumble Galthor had expected. "Try? Little god, I have been bound here since before your race crawled from the primordial muck. I have guarded this passage against demons, against angels, against the Supreme Deity himself. I do not try to stop things. I simply stop them. I am a Guardian."

"Then we have a problem. And....if indeed you stood against the Supreme Deity, then you have long since become a distant shadow of yourself."

"Perhaps." The Guardian completed its circuit and rose from the water, towering above Galthor like a living monument. "Or perhaps we have an opportunity."

"What do you mean?"

"I am bound here by chains of obligation, here. I cannot leave, cannot rest, cannot die until the debt is settled." The Guardian's golden eyes burned with something that might have been hope. "But if someone were to defeat me in honorable combat... the terms of my binding would be satisfied. I could finally be free."

Galthor understood and he raised his brows. "You want me to fight you."

"I want you to beat me. There is a difference." The Guardian lowered its head until its eyes were level with Galthor's. "I have been alone for so long, little god. Guarding a passage that no one uses, watching centuries pass like days. I am tired. I want it to end."

"And if I lose?"

"Then you die, and I remain. As I have always remained." The Guardian pulled back. "But you will not lose. I can see the fire in you, the hunger. You are destined for something greater than this dark place. I am simply an obstacle on your path."

Galthor considered his options. He could try to sneak past, the cavern was vast, and the Guardian couldn't be everywhere at once. But the creature had survived here for millennia. It knew this space perfectly and any attempt at stealth would likely fail.

He could try to bargain, offer something in exchange for passage. But what did he have that a being this ancient would want? And could he trust any deal made in desperation?

Or he could fight. Match his growing power against something that had faced gods. But then again, it was so long ago.

"You said you fought the Supreme Deity," Galthor said slowly. "Did you win?"

"No. But I survived. Which is more than most could claim."

Galthor nodded. He reached inside himself, touching his divine core, feeling the merged anger and grief pulse with readiness.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The Guardian seemed surprised by the question. "I had almost forgotten. It has been so long since anyone asked." A pause. "Vaskaroth. I was called Vaskaroth."

"Vaskaroth." Galthor took a fighting stance. "I am Galthor Stronghide, called Unchanging Warth. And I'm going to fight you."

Vaskaroth's jaws opened in what might have been a smile. "Then come, little god. Show me the anger you carry."

"You are certain about this, little god?" The Guardian's voice rumbled through the stone.

Galthor rolled his shoulders, feeling the new power coursing through him. The Weeping Canyon entity's strength had merged with his own, but he hadn't tested it yet. Hadn't pushed his limits to see where they now lay. This fight would serve as that test.

"I'm certain," he said. "Come at me."

Vaskaroth's golden eyes blazed. "Then prepare yourself, Unchanging Warth."

The Guardian struck.

One moment, the massive serpentine form was coiled in the water. The next, a hundred feet of obsidian-scaled fury was hurtling toward Galthor like a living missile. The speed was impossible for something that size, defying every law of physics that should have applied.

Galthor barely dodged.

He threw himself to the side, and Vaskaroth's head crashed into the stone where he'd been standing. The impact sent shockwaves through the cavern, cracking the floor, sending debris flying in every direction. If that had connected, it would have reduced Galthor to a smear on the rock.

"Fast," Galthor acknowledged, rolling to his feet. "Faster than I expected."

"I told you," Vaskaroth said, his massive body coiling for another strike. "I do not try to stop things. I simply stop them."

The Guardian attacked again, and Galthor learned his first lesson of the fight, he could not match Vaskaroth in direct physical combat.

That thing had serious strength!

The creature was too large, too fast, too powerful. Its scales were harder than steel, shrugging off blows that would have shattered stone.

Its coils could crush mountains. And it knew this cavern perfectly, using the terrain to its advantage, herding Galthor toward dead ends and ambush points.

For the first several minutes, all Galthor could do was survive.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.