Shadow Monarch in DC-Chapter 421: Good Ol’ Dungeons

Arthur took in his surroundings one last time, then a thin line of violet light carved through the air, trembling for a fraction of a second before it split open entirely, space peeling back. From within that tear, darkness poured... and then he stepped through.

Arthur Blackwynd emerged into the cold breath of Gotham night.

The portal snapped shut behind him with an echoing pulse. For a moment, Arthur didn’t move his boots touched the gravel path just outside the outer perimeter of his estate, the iron gates looming not far behind him, their silhouette swallowed by shadows.

Arthur’s eyes shifted. and there it was in the distance.

Not far ahead, a gate emerged.

A massive, circular portal hovered above the ground, pulsing with a deep, oppressive energy that pressed down on everything around it.

The ground beneath it had already begun to crack from the sheer pressure alone.

Arthur’s gaze sharpened.

His shadows had warned him from the Watchtower about it, but seeing it in person was enough to confirm their worries.

This wasn’t a normal gate.

Whatever was inside was something that wants to get out as soon as possible.

A low hum vibrated through his chest as he focused, senses expanding, probing beyond the threshold.

And then

He felt it on the other side.

Waiting.

Arthur’s expression stilled.

"...So that’s how it is."

The presence beyond the gate wasn’t subtle. It didn’t hide. It didn’t mask itself. It radiated power with the kind of arrogance that came from something that had never known defeat.

Strong enough that even Arthur, standing at the peak of his current power, could tell that this wasn’t going to be easy for many of the justice league members if they were the ones to go inside.

His eyes dimmed slightly as he exhaled.

"If I leave this to the League..."

The thought lingered only for a moment.

He already knew the answer.

They would go in. They would fight. And some of them

Wouldn’t come back.

Arthur’s jaw tightened faintly.

"...They might get themselves killed."

A quiet sigh escaped him.

"I better get this over with."

His steps were steady as he moved forward, the shadows beneath his feet stretching instinctively, reacting to the pressure radiating from the gate. The closer he got, the heavier the air became.

It didn’t matter, Arthur raised his hand slightly

And then

A presence appeared beside him.

And she made no sound.

Arthur didn’t turn immediately.

He already knew.

"...Another one, huh." Her voice carried a mix of annoyance.

Arthur glanced sideways.

Kara stood there, arms crossed, her cape shifting lightly in the wind. The faint glow of the gate reflected in her eyes. There was a slight tension in her stance, subtle, but not enough to escape him.

He looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?"

Her eyes narrowed instantly.

"Look who’s talking."

She stepped forward, just slightly, her gaze flicking toward the gate before returning to him.

"I made sure you had nothing left. You could barely stand earlier."

A pause.

Then, quieter

"And yet here you are. Already looking for another fight."

Arthur’s lips curved faintly.

"Oh is that so?"

His gaze dropped.

Deliberately and slowly, from her face to her legs.

And then back up again.

"Are you sure you can walk?"

There was a beat of silence.

Then

Kara froze.

Color rose to her cheeks so fast it was almost visible in the night.

Her eyes widened for a second before narrowing into a glare that could probably melt steel.

"You!"

She took a step forward, clearly intending to say something sharp

Then stopped and her jaw tightened.

"...Alright, damn it."

She looked away for a brief second, exhaling through her nose.

"You won."

Her voice dropped, muttering under her breath.

"But don’t push it, you only did okay alright?"

Arthur’s smile deepened just slightly.

Then her expression shifted again, more serious now as she looked toward the gate.

"...So?"

She tilted her head.

"Need help?"

Arthur followed her gaze back to the massive gate, its energy continuing to pulse.

Then he looked at her again.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then

"I could use some company."

Arthur extended his hand toward her.

Kara stared at it for a second, her heartbeat picked up slightly she could feel it. Annoyingly so.

Her eyes flicked to his face, then back to his hand.

"...You really don’t make this easy."

She muttered it, but there was no real irritation behind it.

Slowly, she reached out.

Her fingers hesitated just before touching his

Then closed around his hand.

"...Al... alright."

Her voice was quieter now.

Arthur’s hand tightened just enough to secure the grip.

And without another word

They stepped forward, together.

The moment Arthur and Kara stepped through the gate, the world reassembled itself around them.

Stone stretched endlessly in every direction.

A dungeon.

But not the kind built by human hands.

The ceiling towered far above, lost in shadow, while the walls if they could even be called that, were lined with remains. Skulls of every shape and size jutted outward from the stone like decorations. Some were massive, easily the size of boulders. Others were smaller, more humanoid... but twisted.

Bones. Claws. Fragments of armor fused into rock.

A graveyard that had been turned into architecture.

Kara took one look around

And her face immediately twisted.

"...Ew."

Her voice echoed faintly, swallowed quickly by the oppressive silence.

She stepped carefully, as if the ground itself might react to her presence, her eyes scanning the walls with open discomfort.

"This place is disgusting."

Arthur didn’t respond.

He had already moved.

A few steps forward, then he lowered himself into a crouch, his gaze fixed on something half-buried beneath the dust and debris. His fingers brushed against it, clearing away the grime with a slow motion.

Kara noticed immediately.

"Arthur, you.."

He lifted the fragment into view.

Bone.

Thick. Dense. Far heavier than anything human.

"...Orc remains."

Kara blinked.

"...You can tell that just from that?"

Arthur didn’t look at her. His eyes were focused, distant in a way she was starting to recognize.

"It’s not just that."

He turned the bone slightly, running his fingers along its surface.

"There are fractures here."

His thumb pressed lightly against a shattered section.

"Blunt force. Repeated impacts."

Then he rotated it again.

"And here.."

A thin, clean split ran along the edge.

"Sharp weapon. And not a clean cut either, not claws or fangs."

Kara stepped closer despite herself, her earlier disgust momentarily forgotten.

Arthur continued, almost absentmindedly.

"Multiple damage patterns. Different angles. Different timing."

He placed the bone back down.

"...Whatever killed them wasn’t just stronger."

Now he looked forward, into the darkness ahead.

"It was far more savage."

Silence settled for a moment.

Kara stared at him.

Then at the bone.

Then back at him again.

"...I have super vision."

Arthur hummed faintly in acknowledgment.

"And I still wouldn’t get that from a single glance."

There was no accusation in her tone.

Just... genuine confusion.

And, though she’d never admit it out loud.

Admiration.

Arthur stood up slowly, brushing the dust from his hand.

"It’s no big deal, I’m just familiar with them that’s all."

The way he said it made it sound like it truly wasn’t.

Which somehow made it worse.

Kara exhaled quietly, shaking her head.

"Show off."

Arthur didn’t reply, instead

He closed his eyes.

And the world shifted.

Kara felt it immediately.

It wasn’t visible.

There was no light, no energy she could track

But something moved.

A pressure.

A wave.

Arthur’s presence expanded outward like an unseen tide, flooding through the dungeon corridors, slipping between cracks in the stone, brushing against everything that existed within this space.

Searching and scanning.

His eyes opened again.

"...Ahead."

Kara straightened slightly.

"What?"

"The main chamber."

His voice was calm.

"I found it."

Kara stared at him for a second.

"...You found it?"

"The Boss of this dungeon.."

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