The sun sank low, casting long shadows across the dirt road as Joaquin trudged home, each step heavy with a mixture of loss and determination. Just hours earlier, he had said goodbye to Marco, feeling a flicker of hope ignite within him. But as the reality of his life settled back in, cold and unyielding, he was left with the haunting reminder of his mother’s absence and the fractured bond with his father. He had to change. He had to make things better for himself and, somehow, for his father too. As he pushed open the creaking door of their small wooden house, the familiar scent of dust and decay wrapped around him like a shroud. Dim light filtered through grimy windows, illuminating the disarray of the living space. Shadows clung to the corners, where cobwebs danced in the faint breeze, reminiscent of the tangled threads of their fractured lives. The kitchen was bare, the cupboard doors creaking in protest as he opened them, revealing a few mismatched pots and the bottom of an...
Chapter 1 Welcome to the Dungeon The biting chill of cold stone was the first sensation to pierce the fog of his mind. One moment, he had been adrift in the comforting void of unconsciousness, and the next, a sharp jolt dragged him back to reality. The cold radiated through his body, a sensation so stark and immediate that it yanked him fully awake. His spine went rigid as his heart pounded wildly, the sound echoing in his ears. Each breath came in shallow, ragged bursts as though his lungs had forgotten how to function. His eyes snapped open to a scene that defied all reason. Above him loomed a ceiling of stone—worn, weathered, and ancient. Gothic arches stretched high into the darkness, disappearing into deep shadows that seemed to swallow the light. Long-forgotten vines crawled down from the crevices, draping like the fingers of time itself. Moss clung to the cracks in the stone, sprea...