The magical torches barely lit the damp, narrow underground tunnels of Knossos. Moisture clung to their bodies like a veil, and the air, heavy with dust and ancient magic, seemed denser than usual. In that labyrinth of stone and secrets, the Xeno Resistance prepared to strike.
Gross, the towering living stone gargoyle, led the group. His body seemed sculpted by a forgotten god: strong wings, a stony face with a stern gaze, and a deep voice that, though rarely raised, could silence even the most reckless. Beside him stood Lyd, the red-scaled Lizardman with a serene expression. His twin swords rested at his waist, and each step he took was silent and precise, as if walking on the edge of a blade.
"Everyone ready?" Gross asked, surveying the assembled group.
"Yes," Ranye replied immediately, her crimson eyes blazing with a mix of restrained rage and determination. The young Xeno had an athletic figure, ash-toned skin, and silver hair cascading like metallic waterfalls to her waist. But beneath her human torso was a huge spider body with incredibly long, powerful legs. Her dark, tight-fitting clothes were designed for stealth.
Next to her, Aude, the War Shadow, nodded slightly. His silhouette seemed to merge with the shadows themselves. Clad in full plate armor, he was unrecognizable as a monster unless someone knew he was inside. Of them all, he was the only one who couldn't speak, but his sharp gaze said it all: he was ready to kill if necessary.
"Ranye, Aude," Gross ordered. "You'll enter through the northern section. There's a corridor that leads directly to the punishment chambers. Scout the area, avoid combat, and if you find prisoners... get them out immediately."
"If I see one of ours being tortured, don't expect me to stand by," Ranye warned, crossing her arms with visible tension.
Gross stared at her unblinking.
"You know what this plan requires. Discretion. If you mess it up, they'll kill us all."
"I know. But don't ask me to pretend I don't hear their screams…"
Lyd placed a hand on the young Xeno's shoulder.
"Ranye… hold on a little longer. You're not alone in this."
She lowered her gaze for a moment, took a deep breath, and finally nodded. Aude had already vanished into the shadows like an advancing specter. Ranye followed, and soon both disappeared into the secondary tunnels.
"Our turn," Gross said, turning to Lyd.
The Lizardman nodded, and they took a different route—one passing through channels forgotten by civilization, tunnels built centuries ago by hands long gone.
"These ruins smell more and more like dried blood," Lyd murmured, his face twisted with disgust as they moved through a narrow passage.
"That's because they are," Gross replied bitterly. "Dix and his men don't understand the difference between a monster and a living being. To them, we're just tools or scum."
"Not everyone. There has to be someone out there who doesn't see us that way…"
"Maybe. But for now, we can only trust ourselves. We have to hurry. If we don't get there in time…"
"We will."
Their footsteps echoed faintly on the wet stone. They had walked about fifteen minutes when a metallic click sounded beneath Lyd's feet.
"Watch out!" Gross shouted, pushing him aside just as the floor gave way beneath him.
Spikes shot down from the ceiling like inverted spears. Lyd couldn't dodge them all—a spike grazed his right side, leaving a deep but non-lethal cut. The Lizardman fell to the ground, gasping as blood stained the tiles.
"Damn it!" Gross growled, rushing to check the wound. "This isn't just a simple defensive trap. They're meant to kill."
"I'm fine... let's keep going…"
"Come on, lean on me."
As they got up, Gross looked down the dark tunnel ahead. He couldn't afford to lose Lyd—not just for his skill but for what he represented: hope. The hope that the Xenos could be more than hidden beasts.
Meanwhile, in the northern section of Knossos, Ranye and Aude moved with the precision of silent assassins. Every corner was checked twice, every shadow carefully scanned. Finally, Ranye stopped at the faint metallic sound of dragging chains.
"Here," she whispered, pointing at a slightly open door.
Aude slipped to the threshold, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. What they saw inside chilled their blood.
A Xeno—an amphibious species barely recognizable—lay on a stone table, limbs amputated, his body forcibly etched with magical runes. He wasn't breathing. Dead… perhaps for hours or days.
Ranye clenched her teeth hard.
"No… not again…"
Aude raised a hand to stop her from rushing in.
"He's dead! Can't you see? Look! This is what awaits us if we keep waiting."
She trembled, her nails digging into her palms from clenched fists. But she didn't scream. Didn't run. She turned away, holding back tears that threatened to blur her vision.
"Let's go," she murmured. "There's more. And some… may still be alive."
Minutes later, they found a reinforced iron door. Beyond it, the scene was even worse: entire rooms full of torture tables, jars with strange liquids, magical crystals pulsing with dark energy, and in the center, an active magic circle with the remains of what had been a Xeno.
Ranye couldn't hold back a cry of rage. Aude looked at her silently.
"This is the heart of horror," Ranye whispered. "This… isn't just a prison. It's a slaughterhouse."
The darkness was nearly total inside the cell. The only light came from a small enchanted torch placed too far to illuminate well. The air smelled of confinement, dampness, worn flesh, and stale magic. Kael, leaning against the cold metal bars, breathed slowly, trying to calm the tremors still running through his body.
A figure approached slowly to the edge of his cell. It was Cliff, a huge hippogriff with worn feathers and battered legs. He didn't speak—couldn't—but his eyes conveyed a warmth Kael hadn't felt since arriving in this world.
"You're trapped here too, huh…?" Kael asked hoarsely, knowing Cliff wouldn't answer.
The hippogriff lowered his head gently, spreading a wing between the bars as if to touch him. Kael reached out, barely brushing the ruffled feathers. It was a brief contact, but enough to remind him he wasn't alone.
"Thanks…" he whispered.
"He doesn't talk, but he understands," said another voice from the neighboring cell. Rough, hoarse, tinged with cynicism. A small, hunched goblin peeked his head between the bars. "His name's Cliff. He's been here longer than anyone."
"And you are…?" Kael tried to sit up.
"Let. And that one over there," he pointed to a winged figure deeper inside, "is Fear. Harpy. She's the only other one who can speak properly."
"For now," Fear interrupted softly, almost melodically despite her worn state. "If they use that damn stone again, we might never think again…"
Kael frowned.
"What stone?"
"A magical tool," Let explained, spitting with disdain. "Dix uses it. A red gem that channels some kind of domination magic. It makes you feel like your mind is shutting down from the inside. You scream. You cry. And then… you obey."
"Some never recovered," Fear added, deeply saddened. "Others… died resisting."
Kael clenched his teeth. Anger bubbled in his chest.
"Why do they do this…? Why so much suffering?"
"They use us as catalysts to create magical artifacts," Let said, banging the metal bars with a disturbing rhythm. "They use our bodies, our souls, our magic… everything. And if we don't serve them like that, they discard us."
Cliff lowered his head in pain.
"And now that you're here…" Let continued, eyes narrowing. "They're probably wondering what you are. Because… well," he looked at Kael, "you don't seem like a Xeno like us."
Kael didn't answer immediately. He looked at his hands, his legs, the strange marks he'd had since waking in this world. No horns, no wings, no scales. But he wasn't completely human either. There was strength inside him… something sleeping, something he didn't yet understand.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I don't know what I am. I only remember waking in this dungeon, and after days running and hiding, they caught me. I fell into a trap…"
"Maybe you're a mistake," Let said, half joking, half serious.
"Or maybe one of their experiments," Fear suggested, her tone uneasy.
Kael closed his eyes for a moment. The words pierced him like needles. What if he really was part of something he didn't understand?
But he couldn't just stand by.
Over the next few hours, Kael began to observe. Though his body was still weak, his mind stayed alert. He studied the guards: their numbers, patrols, moments when they were distracted or checking locks. He noticed some wore rings with runes that opened the cages. He also spotted cracks in the walls pulsing with magical energy—possible weak points.
"We're getting out of here," he told Cliff as night fell. "I don't know how, but we will."
Cliff responded with a soft guttural sound, like a comforting purr.
"Got a plan?" Let asked quietly from his corner.
"An idea. But I need someone to distract a guard… someone with a loud voice."
They all looked at Fear. She blinked slowly, as if accepting her role.
"I can scream. Really loud."
Kael nodded. It was time. Steps approached: slow, dragging, routine. A subordinate of Dix, one of the captors checking prisoners every few hours, walked with a bored air. He dragged his spear along the floor, producing a metallic screech, humming a rhythmless tune.
Fear watched him come closer. She took a deep breath, spread her wings with a trembling motion, and lowered her head. The subordinate stopped in front of her cell, curious and annoyed.
"Sick again, birdbrain?" he mocked, stepping closer. "You've got no right to complain. You should be grateful you're still alive…"
Fear lifted her gaze. Her eyes suddenly flashed with wild intensity. And she screamed.
It wasn't just any scream. It was a piercing shriek, sharp as a thousand shattered crystals, reverberating off the stone walls like a shockwave. The subordinate screamed in turn, clutching his ears as he dropped to his knees. His keys fell from his belt, jangling loudly among the cells.
"Now!" Let shouted, seeing they were near Kael's cell.
He stretched with all his might, but his arms were short. He barely managed to push the bunch of keys toward Kael's cell, but not close enough.
"Damn it!" Kael roared, stretching his hand through the bars in vain.
Sensing the critical moment, Cliff pressed his head against the bars. With effort and a low grunt, he slipped his beak between the cracks and caught the keys' tip. Carefully, he tossed them to Kael, who caught them with tense, almost desperate reflexes.
"Thanks!" he gasped, wasting no time.
He inserted the key into the magical chains. A click, a slight burst of mana, and his wrists were finally free. The flow of energy coursed through his body again. He wasn't whole yet, but he felt something… awakening.
He quickly opened his cell, then Let's, Fear's, and finally Cliff's. The Xenos began to gather, some still staggering.
"Kael, watch out!" Let shouted.
The wounded subordinate managed to stand. He was about to call reinforcements, but Kael was already running toward him. He rammed him with his shoulder in the stomach, knocked him down, and punched him in the face, leaving him unconscious.
"Come on, quick! Before more arrive!"
Suddenly, an arrow flew so fast that even with his sharp senses, Kael couldn't fully dodge it. It lodged in his left shoulder, spilling the little blood he had left. Steps and voices sounded. Several subordinates appeared in the corridor, armed and casting spells. Shadows lengthened beneath the torches. Kael was at the front, wounded but determined. Though unarmed and weak, he wouldn't give up now.
"It's now or never!" Let shouted, grabbing a metal bar.
But just as chaos seemed inevitable, a blast of rock and dust shook the side wall. A towering figure emerged from the debris cloud: Gross, his massive stone body and partially spread wings dominating the scene.
"XENOS, FALL BACK!" he roared.
Beside him, Lyd spun both twin swords with brutal speed, his eyes blazing with fierce fury.
"Clear the way!" he shouted, charging the enemies with a roar that made the skin crawl.
What followed was a violent dance. Lyd moved like a whirlwind, his swords cutting wide arcs. His style was fierce yet fluid, a blend of dance and slaughter. He split a spear in two, disarmed another, and plunged one twin sword into a third's chest without pause.
Gross, meanwhile, barely needed to move. With his huge stone fists, he crushed shields and torsos alike. His body was a living fortress: unstoppable, impenetrable.
"How did you escape?" Gross demanded upon seeing Kael with the keys.
"We made it!" Kael replied. "But more are coming. Many more."
"Then there's no time," Lyd said, wiping blood from his sword with a spin.
"Get them out of here!" Gross ordered.
But they didn't get far.
The corridor shook. A deep, mocking laugh thundered through the cavern.
"What a touching scene…"
The figure that appeared needed no introduction. His armor was black with red engravings, his spear resting on his shoulder gleamed with contained hatred, and in the other hand, a staff topped with a red gem pulsed like a malevolent heart.
"Dix," spat Lyd with disgust.
"Nice plan for simple monsters," Dix said, laughing as he slowly advanced. "But the games are over."
He raised his staff.
The red stone shone intensely.
And then everything changed.
The Xenos began to scream. All of them. In unison. They writhed, kneeled, covered their ears. Some crashed into the walls. Others simply collapsed, trembling.
Kael, unlike the others, felt nothing—but fighting Dix in his current state would be suicide. Dix was just steps from level 5; Kael couldn't defeat him even at his best.
"NO!" Lyd roared, trying to approach Dix, but his own legs gave way.
"What do I do…?" Kael murmured, looking around. Cliff banged his head against the wall. Let screamed. Fear cried. Gross lay on the ground, gasping.
"WHAT DO I DO!?" Kael repeated, eyes wide, his heart pounding as if about to explode.
Dix took another step. His smile was pure pleasure.
"Well, you're still standing. Interesting. Show me what you're worth, wonder boy. Make me feel it was worth bringing you alive…"
And then, Kael thought one last time:
"Is it over...?"