In the middle of downtown, as the sky was dimming toward dusk, a busy city street was eerily silent- the air charged with electric tension. It had been six hours since a dungeon opened in the center of the road; several cars had vanished with the appearance of the portal, prompting a swift reaction from the authorities.

Within an hour, the police had cordoned off the area. Large tactical vehicles blocked either side of the street, smaller, sleeker black vehicles shedding light over the dim street in pulsing flashes of blue and red. Thick red tape circled the dungeon entrance in a twenty-foot perimeter, the blockade maintained by military personnel in heavy black tactical wear. The clips of their guns shone with subtle, pale blue light as they sternly kept back the curious onlookers and reporters who had collected around the boundaries

Tension had built with every hour the dungeon had been open, the guards snapping at every slight movement. My gaze, along with many of the onlookers, was fixed on the bold black timer in the center of the swirling portal of violet light as it relentlessly ticked toward a dungeon break. If it had been a low level dungeon, we might have had days to wipe out the voidborn before they broke free.

But this timer had begun with a mere eight hours, a high tier dungeon that threatened mass destruction if the voidborn were to be set loose in the city.

It had necessitated the deployment of several elite teams of hunters, who had entered the dungeon more than three hours ago. I had arrived with them, and my chest felt tight as I watched for any signs that the teams had returned. It had been months since I had seen it take so long to crack a dungeon; my stomach churned with dread as I watched the numbers on the timer run ever lower. 

Swallowing, I tore my gaze away from it, hoping to find a reprieve in the few others gathered inside the barricade. Other than the military personnel, there were only a handful of people authorized to be this close to the dungeon. I recognized the medic, a woman with strong healing powers who worked with the local hunters’ association. She stood only a few feet from the portal, and though it put her at danger of being sucked in, even a few seconds of delayed reaction time could mean death for any injured hunters.

An administrator stood next to her, a tablet glowing in his hands. Occasionally, he spoke through the device pinned to the lapel of his fine suit, his attention devoted to the earpiece I could see glowing a vibrant teal against his dark brown hair. He was the only point of contact we had with the hunters in the dungeon, and I couldn’t look at him for too long, afraid of what I would see in his face.

A deep, booming chime echoed in the silence as the system tolled a warning. There was only half an hour left until voidborn spilled into the streets- and there had been no signs the hunters had been successful in their mission.

My throat was tight as I heard the silence surrounding the portal broken by worried murmurs from the reporters and onlookers. Glancing at them, a sneer pulled at my lips; it was fun to watch the hunters put their lives at risk, until they were in danger as well. My hands curled to fists at my side, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched the street begin to empty.

A gasped curse behind me made me jolt, my gaze snapping back to the portal. The violet light pulsed, swirling like the ocean in a storm. My breath caught as I knew what it meant: the rift was breached. The timer froze… and then suddenly dropped to zero with a deep, chilling chime. Everything seemed still for a moment- and then something came out of the dungeon portal, a seething shadow that roared with a ravenous rage.

A shudder crawled over my skin as I saw the medic scramble away from the portal, shouting for the military personnel as the administrator spoke frantically into the communication device. The sharp bang of gunfire filled the air, shredding through the voidborn- fractured bits of shadow and splatters of ichor shed over the pavement.

But it didn’t stop the creature, and I felt frozen as I was unable to tear my gaze away from the living nightmare in front of me. It was hard to make out a solid form, as if its mass was constantly shifting into new, twisted shapes. One moment I could make out long, spindly limbs bent at impossible angles, cracking and twitching into new positions with sickening motions; the next it slithered across the ground, appendages too small to be useful scrabbling at the pavement. The only constant was its eyes- burning red in a pit of sunken flesh- and a snarling maw of razor sharp teeth, dripping black fluid that sizzled against the pavement.

My heart leapt into my throat as the voidborn leapt forward, thick limbs and long fingers with sharp claws reaching out from the mass of shadows as it collided with one of the soldiers. Their ragged scream of pain sounded as their weapon fired into the air, blood pooling over the pavement as the voidborn’s weight tackled them to the ground.

I scrambled back, and the shuffle of my feet brought the monster’s attention to me. Pulse racing, I reached for the dagger at my belt, my hand trembling as I pulled it out. A gift from a hunter, the silver surface of the sharp blade shimmered with a faint green light. In the hands of a warrior, it would have been enough to at least harm the voidborn… but I wasn’t a hunter.

My eyes couldn’t keep up with the creature’s movements, so it took me by surprise when it crashed into my chest. Its snarl was in my ear, the drip of thick saliva scalding where it dripped onto my cheek. A thick appendage slammed my arm against the pavement. I could hear bones snap, a choked sound of anguish leaving me. The dagger fell from my numb fingers, but it didn’t matter..

The gaze of a voidborn was paralyzing; my body wouldn’t move despite my panic, my eyes unable to shift away from its face. Shadows roiled around me, blocking out even the vibrant light of the portal. My breath came in heaving pants as the voidborn’s jaws opened, giving a sickening crack as they separated wider. Thick drips of fluid burned my skin, and I couldn’t even close my eyes and look away from the specter of death looming over me.

The voidborn’s screech of pain lanced through my head, and I was released from the stupor of its gaze as it spun away from me. I gasped for air, using my good arm to pull myself up. Kicking at the creature, I managed to shove myself away from it.

It cleared my view of the seething shadows, allowing me to see the woman who had distracted the voidborn. She was delicate, leather gauntlets protecting her forearm as jammed it in the voidborn’s mouth to keep its sharp teeth from sinking into her pale flesh. A snarl twisted her mouth as she flexed her muscles, an impossible strength in her slim limbs as she tossed the creature to the side.

For a brief moment, her gaze fixed on me, green eyes filled with a faint sense of worry. Then the voidborn’s howl snatched her attention away. The woman stretched her hand out at her side, a shimmer of magic sheathing her fingers. I flinched at the flash of blinding light which extended from her palm, dimming to reveal a massive sword that could only be the product of a high value contract.

Her feet spread across the pavement, anchoring her, as she raised the sword. The voidborn coiled back, its thick blood spilling from the shifting shadows. Its shriek set my teeth on edge as it launched itself at the hunter. She didn’t budge, taking the brunt of the impact with her raised sword, holding it steady with her hand against the flat of the blade.

“Now, Glenn!” Her voice rang over the chaos of screaming soldiers and civilians. 

The name made my heart race, my gaze searching over the street that had become a battlefield. It was a relief to see him standing over the still form of another voidborn, seeming uninjured other than a deep cut across his upper arm that wept heavily as he whipped around to face us. 

I couldn’t follow his movements, either, too quick for the human eye- but I knew him well enough to expect the bolt of brilliant golden light that shot across the distance. It blew through the voidborn, shattering it into a cascade of shadows. Its foul blood splattered my face, my stomach churning at the fetid scent of it. For a moment, Glenn’s gaze met mine, widening with shock and worry. 

Then the woman stepped back, flicking ichor off her sword, and they were back in motion. Though voidborn seethed from the portal, in the end, they were no match for the hunters that had been sent to exterminate them. 

The scent of blood filled the air, screams of anguish and rage ringing in the street. But the portal flickered with each vanquished voidborn, the timer melting away. Then, with another deep toll, the portal collapsed inward on itself as the last monstrous creature fell to the street.

The dungeon had been closed, but as I clutched my broken arm with my trembling hand… I knew it had not come without cost.