NOVPUBLord Varnis stared at Asher for a long moment—his eyes narrowing, lips pressed tight. The oppressive pressure he'd summoned now slowly ebbed away, like mist withdrawing from a sunlit field.
The silence stretched—pregnant with calculation.
"The Red Womb of Order," Lord Varnis repeated, this time with caution, as if tasting the words and not liking their flavor. "There are few who even know of its existence… fewer still who dare speak of it openly."
"And none," Asher said calmly, "who've ever invited an outsider into it."
A flicker of interest sparked in the Patriarch's eyes—respect mingled with wariness. "You understand what you ask for?"
"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."
Lord Varnis exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair. The velvet of his high-collared robe whispered as he shifted, the weight of his role pressing down visibly upon his shoulders.
Valeris, quiet until now, stepped closer. "If it helps," she said, folding her arms, "we don't intend to take anything. But we will need time. Unwatched. Uninterrupted."
The Patriarch turned his gaze on her. "You speak as though you already know what lies beneath."
"I know enough," she replied. "Enough to recognize what's hidden there isn't just yours only."
A beat of silence. Then another.
Finally, Lord Varnis gave a short laugh—not mocking, but tired. "So that's it. My daughter's salvation… for a secret older than our House."
Asher tilted his head. "You owe me a reward. This is the one I ask."
"And if I say no?"
Asher didn't answer with words. Instead, he stepped forward—just once—and let go.
His aura, tightly coiled until now, unfurled like a tidal wave laced with ancient blood-essence. The air reddened with invisible iron, walls groaning under pressure not physical but primordial. The lanterns above flickered. One shattered.
For an instant, the World Rank Sovereign whispered into the world.
Lord Varnis stiffened—his breath stolen from him as a phantom sensation of drowning overtook him. There was no killing intent, no violence, just the unspoken truth: power.
And the unspoken reminder: Asher didn't need permission. He was simply choosing not to take.
Then, like a door closing, the pressure vanished.
Valeris looked over, one eyebrow raised. "That was the quiet version."
Lord Varnis didn't move for several seconds. Then, with great care, he reached for the goblet beside him and drained it in one motion.
"…Gods," he muttered under his breath. "What are you?"
Asher simply replied, "A man who keeps his promises."
A long silence fell.
Finally, the Patriarch stood, smoothing his robe.
"Three days," he said. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
Asher looked up.
"In three days, the moon will reach the Blood Zenith. The seals over the Red Womb thin during that alignment. It's the only time the vault can be entered without collapsing the entire foundation of this estate."
Lord Varnis gave a slow nod. "At that time, you may go in—alongside members of our family. Our team will take one path, and you and your companion can explore your own route separately."
He folded his hands. "Since you know about the Womb, you must also know that only those with some mastery over Laws can navigate within it."
Asher nodded. "Don't worry about that. We have our own Laws."
"Very well, then. For the next three days, you may either explore the city or rest within the estate," Lord Varnis said.
Asher glanced at Valeris. "We'll stay here. Just in case."
Lord Varnis inclined his head. "As you wish."
Three Days Later – Blood Zenith
The moon hung low and vast above the Varnis Estate, its surface tinted crimson as it reached the apex of its rare alignment—the Blood Zenith. A subtle hum rippled through the air, resonating in the bones of all who stood near the heart of the estate. The night itself felt thinner, the fabric of reality stretched taut like the skin of a drum.
Within the inner sanctum of the estate—beneath layers of forbidden stone and ancient spellwork—stood a vast obsidian door etched with glowing red sigils. Varnis guards lined the chamber in a silent semicircle, all of them tense, reverent. The chamber vibrated with the slow pulse of awakening magic.
Asher stood before the sealed entrance, his eyes reflecting the dull glow of the sigils. Valeris was beside him, her arms folded, one foot tapping lightly against the stone. Neither looked nervous—but both were alert.
Across from them stood the Varnis expedition team—six in total. All bore enchanted armor worked in gold and crimson, with arcane implements tucked at their belts. One of them, a young man with sharp cheekbones and silver-threaded hair, stepped forward slightly. Asher recognized him from the dining table—the Patriarch's eldest son.
"You'll be going east, we'll go west," he said, his tone clipped but not hostile. "Try not to touch the living walls. They bite."
Valeris offered a wry smile. "We'll keep that in mind."
At that moment, the sigils across the obsidian door flared brilliantly—then dimmed into a steady glow. A deep, mechanical sound groaned from within the wall, followed by a soft crack as a jagged fissure split the doorway down the middle.
The Red Womb was waking.
Lord Varnis stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "The threshold is stable—for now. Once inside, the path will shift. If you are not out by dawn, the seals will close again… and the Womb will become your tomb."
Asher said nothing. He stepped forward.
The doors parted fully with a whisper of air and the faint scent of iron and ash. Beyond them lay a tunnel—pulsing faintly with red light, its walls appearing less like stone and more like flesh carved into geometric patterns. The temperature dropped. The hum grew louder.
Asher turned his head slightly toward Valeris. "Ready?"
She smirked, drawing one of her knives. "Let's see how powerful thsi Dungeon is."
They entered.
The moment they entered inside the space coiled around them as if twisting into spiral and then they arrived inside the Dungeon.
The place they arrived was an vast dome shaped hall, the walls were pulsating as alive" so, this is what he meant by walls bite".
