The chamber was littered with broken bones and fading embers, the last traces of the Flame Skulls. Victory hung in the air, heavy but sweet.

  Hela crouched down, picking through the scattered remains. Shards of armor, bits of bone, and glittering crystals shimmered faintly with leftover magic. Her brow furrowed. “Uh… how are we supposed to carry all this? I don’t have any bags. I didn’t even think about that.”

  “Don’t worry,” Artemis said casually, lifting a hand. “I’ve got it covered.”

  A ripple of light tore open in the air before them, forming a glowing doorway wide enough for a man to step through. Inside stretched an empty chamber, vast and dim, waiting to be filled.

  Lokey’s eyes widened. “What the hell—?”

  “Storage space.” Artemis grinned, just a little too smug. “Everything will fit in here.”

  Hela blinked. “Since when do you have that?”

  Their younger brother rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. “Well… I might’ve snuck out the passed few nights. Did a little grinding. Picked up some new spells and skills along the way.”

  Lokey groaned, shaking his head. “Unbelievable. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t and i had to i didn’t get super strength or god like powers i have to work for my strength ” Artemis smirked, clearly proud of himself. Then his smirk faltered I wasn't of use before he thought I will be from now on.

  Hela rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched in a faint smile. They gave him grief, but deep down, they understood—Artemis wanted to protect them just as much as Lokey did.

  One by one, they hauled the loot into the storage space, then sat down together to check their progress.

  “My puppy's leveled up,” Hela said suddenly, petting the Hellhound Alpha beneath its chin. The beast rumbled happily, tail thumping against the floor. “He learned Detect. Basically, he’s our scout now.”

  She scratched behind the ears of the second hound. “This one got Fire Blast.”

  The third hound’s jaws snapped shut with a sharp crack. “And this one got Crushing Bite.”

  Her silver skeletal knights loomed silently nearby, their eyes burning faintly with cold fire. “They leveled too. One picked up General’s Heart. It can command other skeletons without me. That makes it…” she paused, her lips smiling with pride, “basically my army general.”

  “And the other?” Lokey asked.

  “Rage Strike. Stronger the angrier it gets.”

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  Hela leaned back, arms crossed. “Oh—and I gained a Summon Space. Lets me store summons without bleeding mana nonstop.”

  Lokey laughed, shaking his head. “Our little sister’s turning into a one-woman army.”

  “Not bad, right?” Hela said, smirking faintly.

  Lokey flicked his stat sheet open next. His eyes widened. “My strength jumped, like, fifty percent. Hammer feels light as a stick now.”

  “What else?” Artemis asked, leaning forward.

  “Got a new skill too.” Lokey flexed his arm, grinning. “Strength of the Blacksmith. More raw power, like I was born with a forge in my veins. Fits me perfectly.”

  Artemis smirked. “Yeah, that tracks.”

  Lokey rolled his shoulders, the excitement in his eyes undeniable. “Can’t wait to try it out.”

  The three of them sat there a moment longer, surrounded by skeletal knights, loyal hounds, and the faint glow of loot now tucked away in Artemis’ new storage. For the first time, they didn’t just feel like siblings lost in a strange world.

  They felt like a party.

  Hours later, the Riftborn had pushed deeper.

  The second floor of the dungeon was harsher, filled with winding stone passages and the constant echo of dripping water. They fought monsters that swarmed from the shadows—fang-wolves with steel hides, and slimes that corroded stone with each step.

  Lokey swung his hammer with practiced ease, bones and armor crunching under its weight. Between fights, he knelt often, striking the dungeon walls. To his siblings’ surprise, veins of shimmering ore loosened under his blows, drawn out by his newly awakened Mining Skill. He gathered bars of precious metal as easily as firewood.

  “Didn’t know you were planning to become a blacksmith and a miner ,” Artemis teased, wiping blood from his blade.

  “Didn’t know the dungeon was paying me to,” Lokey shot back with a grin.

  Meanwhile, Artemis moved with uncanny precision, eyes sharp. His blades cut through enemies like water, but more than that, he seemed to sense the faint glimmer of magical crystals tucked in corners or half-buried in walls. Each one hummed faintly as he plucked them free.

  “Guess I’ve got an eye for treasure,” he said smugly, tucking another glowing shard away.

  It was then, as they paused to rest, that Hela tilted her head. “What is… mana sense?”

  Artemis blinked. “You don’t know?”

  Hela frowned. “No. My skills don’t explain everything. Some things, I just… feel.”

  Lokey glanced between them. “Wait, are you saying you don’t learn everything about your skills when you get them? That’s how it works for us.”

  “Yeah, same,” Artemis added, his tone sharpening. “Hela, listen to me. Don’t absorb anything with mana sense until I explain it.”

  Her brows furrowed. “Why?”

  “Because mana isn’t just power,” Artemis said firmly. “It’s energy that runs through everything in this world. You can draw it in, refill your magic pool, even boost your spells—but if you overdo it, your body starts breaking down. They call it Mana Sickness. Too much, and you die. Slowly.”

  Hela paled, her hand freezing mid-air as she looked at the faint glow of magic drifting from the stone around them. “Good to know.”

  “Good,” Artemis said. “Because I’m not losing you to something that stupid.”

  Lokey crossed his arms, nodding in approval. “Guess you really are the voice of reason after all.”

  Artemis smirked faintly, but his eyes stayed serious.

  By the time they made their way back toward the first floor, their storage space brimmed with ore, crystals, and monster parts. Their bodies were tired, but the thrill of their gains outweighed the exhaustion.

  “Let’s head back to the Guild,” Lokey said, adjusting his hammer across his back. “See how much all this is worth. Should be a haul.”

  Hela smiled, petting her Hellhound. “I can’t wait to see their faces.”

  Artemis walked at her side, already planning which skills to invest in next.

  They climbed the final stairs, the faint glow of the waterfall spilling across the first floor once more. The sound of rushing water was oddly calming after the dungeon’s oppressive silence.

  None of them noticed the figures waiting in the shadows, cloaked in the church’s colors, blades and spells ready.