Nothing Is Wrong

Soul entered the cave, his eyes adjusting quickly to the dim light. The air was cool and damp, with occasional distant echoes breaking the silence. He moved cautiously, his senses alert for any sign of danger.

As he ventured deeper, the narrow tunnel opened into a larger cavern. The light from his torch cast shadows on the rough walls. He saw the bodies of several men on the ground, their lifeless eyes staring into nothingness. Nearby, a few dead goblins lay with their crude weapons still in their hands.

Soul knelt beside one of the miners, checking for any signs of life, but it was clear they had been dead for some time. He stood up and continued further into the mine.

"Too bad."

A rustling sound behind him made him spin around just in time to see a goblin lunging at him from the shadows, a jagged knife in its hand. Soul dodged the attack, the blade missing him by inches. He quickly drew his own weapon and slashed at the goblin.

His attacker yelped as the blade cut its arm, green blood oozing from the wound. Soul extended his hand toward the goblin and looked the creature in the eyes. The goblin's blood began to move, drawn toward Soul's outstretched fingers. The creature's eyes widened in terror as its lifeblood was pulled from its body, leaving it pale and lifeless.

"Damned goblins." He said with a boring voice.

Soul moved further into the cave carefully. As he navigated the uneven ground, he heard distant and muffled sounds coming ahead. Realizing it might be safer to get a better view, he decided to climb up a nearby rock formation. With agile movements, he scaled the rocks, pulling himself up to a higher vantage point.

From his higher position, Soul saw four goblins hunched over a corpse, greedily tearing at the flesh. He focused, drawing blood from a small cut on his hand, and shaped it into a bow. The blood solidified, forming a dark, crimson weapon.

Soul nocked an arrow made of his own blood and took aim. With precise shots, he released four arrows in quick succession. Each one found its mark, striking the goblins with deadly accuracy. The goblins barely had time to react before they fell, their bodies hitting the ground with a thud.

Soul descended from the ledge and approached the now silent scene. He checked the area for any more threats before continuing his search for the trapped miners.

'Hmm. All dead. And eaten. Poor guys.'

Soul suddenly heard a scream from deeper within the cavern, a cry of fear and pain. Without hesitation, he rushed toward the sound, hoping to reach the source in time. As he rounded a corner, a goblin lunged at him, its blade piercing his side. The pain was searing as Soul fell to the ground, the momentum driving the blade deeper into his flesh.

Gasping for breath, Soul struggled to push the goblin off him. With a desperate effort, he managed to roll away, narrowly avoiding another stab. In one fast motion, he drew his own dagger and dashed at the goblin, stabbing him in the neck. The goblin let out a choked cry before falling lifeless to the ground.

Before Soul could catch his breath, another goblin pounced on him, claws slashing through the air. Soul reacted quickly, parrying the attack with his dagger and delivering a fatal blow to the goblin's heart.

Wincing in pain, Soul leaned against the cavern wall, his hand trembling as he reached for the blade still lodged in his side. With a dull face, he pulled it out, a fresh wave of agony washing over him.

He then guided his blood back into the wound, weaving it together with his magic. Slowly, the torn flesh began to knit back together, the wound closing before his eyes.

"Well, that hurt." As the last drop of blood was absorbed, Soul let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "So you guys can imitate human voices, huh? I learn something new every day."

The ground trembled beneath him as the cavern filled with the deafening roar of a monster. Before he could react, a massive creature -a minotaur- charged forward with thunderous force, smashing through the cave wall and seizing Soul in its powerful grip.

With a bone-shattering impact, the minotaur slammed Soul into the ground, and the ground beneath them collapsed, sending them tumbling into the darkness below.

"Shit."

Soul rolled to the side, avoiding being crushed by the minotaur's weight. As he regained his bearings, he quickly raised both hands, drawing blood from the beast's open wounds caused by the fall. But he couldn't drain it fast enough, as the creature charged at him with its horns.

Rolling away, Soul escaped the charging beast at the last second. The minotaur's head became wedged in a nearby wall, giving Soul a chance to continue draining its blood.

For about twenty seconds Soul drained the minotaur's blood using his magic until its body went limp. The blood, suspended above, entered Soul's body through his eyes, providing relief and easing his pain slightly.

"I should charge them more for that thing… Wait, am I hearing voices?"

Soul turned around, surveying his surroundings in the dim light of the cavern. The murmurs of people drew nearer, guiding him as he followed the voices cautiously, wary of potential goblin ambushes lurking around every corner.

"Hello?" Soul called out. "Anyone there? I'm with Derrin – Deren? Can't remember his name."

"Oi, it's a human!" a man replied. "Hello? You a human?"

"Yeah, where are you? I can only hear you."

"Follow the blood on the ground. We have wounded… multiple wounded. Shit's crazy out there! We're stuck here."

"Okay, I'm coming."

Soul followed the trail of blood, navigating through the labyrinthine passages of the mine. Eventually, he reached a barricaded section, where the wounded and the dead were strewn across the area. The makeshift barricades consisted of overturned mining equipment and large rocks, hastily arranged to create a semblance of protection.

Soul crouched upon noticing a gap between two large rocks. A man on the other side did the same, their eyes locking.

"Thank the gods, you're human. We might have a chance."

"How many goblins are there?" Soul asked.

"At least fifty, I'd say."

"I saw a minotaur back there. Do you have any Ur-blessed with you? Only they can transform corpses into that creature."

"Y-yeah… we have one Ur-blessed. Why do you ask?"

"He might be the one who created that Minotaur. Can you remove this barricade so we can –"

"Gods – they actually killed the minotaur?" a voice from inside said. "I didn't think they'd manage that."

"What are you talking about, Clancy?" the man speaking to Soul turned to his companion. "Did you create that monster?"

"Look, it was just a job. The bandits want you out so they can take over this mine. It's nothing personal…" Clancy smirked. "No hard feelings, fellas."

"W-where did you get that dagger, Clancy? Stop!"

"We trusted you!" another man yelled. "What are y –"

A gurgling sound came from inside, unmistakably a man choking on his own blood as he took his last breath. Soul quickly tried to move the large rocks blocking the way, but it was too heavy for him.

He ducked again, catching a glimpse of the man with the dagger. With a swift motion, he created a small rift, sending the man into the Void.

"Holy shit, did you just use a level five spell? Teleportation magic?" a bald man exclaimed. "Awesome!"

"I can't believe it… It was Clancy," another man murmured. "Fucking Clancy. But why?"

"He probably smashed through the eastern wall, where we barricaded it against the goblins, remember? And those little green bastards swarmed in."

"Hey," Soul said. "Help me clear these barricades, and let's get you all out of here."

Suddenly, he heard goblin voices behind him. There were at least thirty of them, all ready to attack.

'I can't deal with you right now…'

Soul sighed, shut his eyes, and created a rift that tore through the air. From within the rift, a tentacle covered in eyes snaked out and ensnared all the goblins. With a squeeze, they exploded, blood and body parts scattering everywhere.

"What was that noise? Is everything okay?" the bald man asked. "Yo, silver-haired boy?"

"Everything is okay," Soul replied, closing the rift and letting the tentacle take the corpses. "Nothing is wrong..."