As Lyerin stepped through the massive door, he was immediately engulfed inplete darkness.


    The transition from the dimly lit corridor to this pitch-ck space was so abrupt that it took him a moment to adjust.


    Suddenly, his eyes squinted against the inky ckness, but he remainedposed, he made sure his breathing was steady, and his senses heightened to sense the surroundings.


    The darkness around him was thick, almost suffocating, as if it were a living thing pressing in on him from all sides.


    Immediately, Lyerin heard a faint rustle reach his ears, barely perceptible but enough to alert him that he was not alone. Lyerin''s muscles tensed, and his body instinctively shifting slightly to the side in a slow, but deliberate motion.


    Suddenly, a sharp de sliced through the darkness, aimed directly at his eyes.


    Swack!


    The attack was almost too fast to see, like a deadly sh of steel moving with lethal sh.


    But Lyerin was faster.


    With a soundless swoosh, he moved out of the de''s path, making the razor-sharp edge of it miss his eyes by a hair''s breadth.


    Shaaang!


    The world seemed to slow down as Lyerin''s hand shot out, catching the arm of the assant who had lunged at him from the shadows.


    Kachak!


    In the next instant, Lyerin''s knee came up, driving into the shadowy figure''s midsection with a force that sent the attacker stumbling backward.


    Kabam!


    Without hesitation, Lyerin twisted his body, his leg arcing in a powerful kick that connected with the side of the figure''s neck.


    Pak!


    The blow was precise, delivering just the right amount of force to incapacitate without killing.


    "Urrghh!!" a grunt would be heard, and then a dark figure crumpled to the ground, and the shadows around him swallowed his form as he lost consciousness.


    But Lyerin didn''t rx. He could feel the presence of others around him, hidden in the darkness. It''s funny that they are assin but he could sense their intent clearly in the atmosphere.


    They were waiting, testing him.


    That attack was just the beginning.


    A soft hiss reached his ears—a sound that could easily be missed by an untrained ear.


    Kassh!


    Lyerin recognized it instantly: poison. He felt the air around him shift, the telltale signs of a small, fast-moving object streaking towards him.


    Shassh! Shaash!


    Without a hesitation on his part, Lyerin sidestepped, moving just in time to avoid a needle coated in a lethal toxin.


    Ping!


    The needle whizzed past his face, he felt its cold tip barely brushing his skin.


    Another close call. But Lyerin remained unfazed, with an unreadable expression that no one can read.


    Immediately, he felt a presence behind him, a slight disturbance in the air that warned him of the next attack.


    A throwing weapon, small and deadly, was aimed at the back of his neck.


    Kachak! Kachak! Kachak!


    In a fluid movement, Lyerin twisted his body, allowing the weapon to graze his shoulder instead of hitting its mark.


    The pain was sharp but brief, not enough to distract him from his next move.


    He spun on his heel, his fist shooting out to connect with the gut of another attacker who had emerged from the shadows.


    The force of the punch doubled the figure over, and before it could recover, Lyerin delivered a swift, upward kick to its chin.


    Kabang!


    The figure was lifted off their feet by the impact and crashed to the ground, motionless.


    No sooner had he dispatched the second assant than a third attacked from the side, a de shing towards his ribs. Lyerin caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and twisted his body just enough to avoid the strike.


    The de sliced through the air where he had been standing only a fraction of a second before.


    Lyerin''s hand shot out, grabbing the attacker''s wrist and twisting it sharply.


    "Uh!?" He could see the attacker''s expression and seemed surprised.


    In a split second, the sound of bones cracking filled the dark space, followed by a muffled cry of pain.


    Lyerin followed up with a powerful strike to the attacker''s throat, cluck! cutting off the scream and sending them crumpling to the ground.


    Another sound reached him, this time from above.


    "I''m getting tired of this," Lyerin mumbled and instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding a weighted that dropped from the ceiling, intended to entangle him.


    The fell harmlessly to the floor, and Lyerin rolled forward,ing up on his feet in a ready stance.


    "Are all treating me like an animal? What an insult to an assassin, you all should be hunters instead, that may suit you all," he added.


    He didn''t have to wait long for the next attack.


    Swok! Swok! Swok! Swok!


    A flurry of shuriken flew at him from multiple directions, their sharp edges glinting faintly in the darkness.


    Lyerin''s body became a blur as he dodged and deflected and parried the projectiles with his arms, feeling the wind from each pass by him as they missed their mark by mere inches.


    "Child''s y," he added as soon as he''s done.


    With each move, Lyerin''s senses sharpened further, his body moving in perfect harmony with the rhythm of the attacks. He could feel the presence of the attackers, sense their movements before they made them, and anticipate their next moves with uncanny uracy.


    As another assant lunged at him, but Lyerin''s hand shot out in time, grabbing the figure by the throat.


    "Hmmp!" He harrumphs with a sneer.


    With a swift, effortless motion, he lifted them off their feet and mmed them into the ground, knocking them out cold.


    The fight continued, with Lyerin countering each attack with deadly precision. .


    Every punch, every kick was delivered with calcted force, designed to incapacitate without killing.


    Kabang! Kabang! Kaboom!


    Despite the number of attackers, Lyerin moved with an ease that bordered on the unnatural, his calm demeanor never wavering.


    "There''s no end to these weaklings," he added as he felt like he was getting tired and bored of the attackers.


    One by one, the shadowy figures fell around him, their attacks unable to touch him.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    Lyerin moved through them like a force of nature, unstoppable and unyielding. It was as if he could see through the darkness, predicting each move before it happened and reacting with the speed and precision of a seasoned warrior.


    Finally, thest of the attackers fell, their body hitting the ground with a dull thud.


    "Arrgh!" the figure grunted as it lost its consciousness.


    Lyerin stood in the center of the dark space, surrounded by the unconscious forms of his would-be assassins. His breathing was steady, his body rxed, as if the entire encounter had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience.


    He scanned the darkness around him, searching for any remaining threats. The silence was deafening, the stillness of the space confirming that the attack was over.


    Lyerin''s voice broke the silence, cold and sharp as it cut through the darkness. "Is there anyone else who desires to sleep like the five of them?" His tone was almost mocking, as if daring any remaining attackers to step forward.


    "Come on, it would be boring if not even one of you could make me sweat," he added with a taunt.