Dungeon Robotic Book 8 PT 2 (Patreon)

1. If Amazon sends me a breach in contract message, I will be pulling them back down (Sorry!)

2. These Chapters are unedited. Edited version is on Amazon

3. I am putting these up for people to enjoy the Dungeon Robotic universe from the beginning.

Chapter 11

Regan

Looking over the decimated wasteland that the north capital had become, I was stricken with a sense of humility. I had been developing weapons in this world that seemed to thrive on combat. If that wasn’t adding fuel to the fire I didn’t know what was. Still, I had to keep on the path I had chosen.

Whether I liked it or not, these people would continue to kill and slaughter each other long after I was gone. Even Earth had several world wars and the only reason they stopped was because I had created a war to end wars on the planet. I would probably be remembered as the butcher of humanity, if I wasn’t struck from the history books all together.

Shacking away my melancholy, I turned to head back into the ship. We had to relocate the shadow girl’s core, but I had a good place for it in mind. On the other side of the North roughly a thousand kilometers from Alara’s and the General’s dungeon. That would keep her away from Tzulxuc.

It was simple to attach the core to one of my ships. She had gone with a field dungeon format which was the easiest to change to a moving form. I knew she wasn’t happy but we needed the conflict to stop. That’s why the person in front of me was so important.

I looked at the woman in front of me. A rare beauty to be sure, but her newfound connection to dark mana has certainly brought it out to the front. Any man that saw her likely would consider dying for her. “Nice to finally meet the famous leader of the necromancers. Helicilia. It is an honor.”

“And you’re the core that has ruined centuries of planning,” she replied with an upturned grin. “I never in a hundred years would have expected the new core that I sent people to tame before it grew would cause so much… headache.”

“Indeed. You likely would have stayed off my radar for a few more months to even a few years had you not struck first.”

Helicilia closed her eyes before bowing her head and shook it. “My first mistake in two decades and it turns into my last.”

“Funny how that works, isn’t it?”

“Quite funny. I suppose this is the point where you ask me all the questions you’ve been dying to ask?” she asked putting her chin in her hand.

“Yes it is. First though. Where is your master?”

“About two kilometers that way, or two meters directly in front of me,” Helicilia answered with an upturned nose gesturing first at the wall towards where Kenia’s core resided then at me.

I took a deep breath while shaking my head. “I really recommend you don’t play this game. I don’t quite have the patience for it anymore.”

“What torture could you possible think up that I haven’t already?” Helicilia said with a chuckle. My memory flashed to the few necromancer hideouts and bases we’d found over the months. Certainly they were the masters of torture. In this world that was.

“I suppose a demonstration is in order.” I got up and moved next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, that was it.

“Is this some form of trick? Surely you don’t…” she cut off mid-sentence as she started to scream. I lifted my hand and moved back to my seat. I would hate to ruin the experience for her after all. I allowed the nanites to eat at her cells for several minutes before I waved my hand and paused their sequence.

“Find that fun?” I asked leaning forward. Helicilia had blood running down her face from her orifices. It was truly more than most mortals were capable of handling, but I felt it was worth using when the person’s sins had earned it. If anyone deserved to die it was her.

Helicilia looked up at me unable to hide her body’s trembling. Even being changed by Kenia most of her body was flesh and blood. Even if it wasn’t. I was experimenting to harm energy-based lifeforms. I felt it would be necessary when I faced Lelune and her celestials.

“What… do… you want to… know?” Helicilia asked taking deep breaths.

“Everything, but my first question stands where is your master. If you really need specifics, then the dark celestial Cassin.”

“I don’t… know. He came and went… as he pleased.”

“He never mentioned how Deorus came into play in this game we’ve been playing?”

“No. I found out once he no longer had need of me.”

I leaned back as I thought about that. What could a demon want with our world? According to Quin, the way was sealed and there was no way back again. I knew their level of technology was much higher than that of the Murgin people. It was possible they planned to migrate here the old fashion way.

That would explain the sub-space tunnel I inadvertently found myself in. They could be sending a fleet here with a combination of magic and technology. If this was the case, the current Murgin would be hard pressed to withstand a force of that strength. Not to mention myself.

I was able to deal with a single general. Add a few more and introduce tactics. I could find myself under siege and no way to deal with a problem outside my dungeon without risking my core. Then you add in all the continents normal problems, it just spelt disaster all around.

“How many necromancers remain outside of the north?”

“I have no way of knowing. We operated like that for a reason.”

“Guess.” I held my hand up and she flinched away.

“Between seven and eight hundred. None over tier two. Txuluzc took care of all those.”

“A number that can be dealt with. Though thanks to a certain vigilante they have burrowed into hiding. It will be a hassle to track that many down.”

“Even the Council never knew all of them. It will be a heavy task. Perhaps someone with the ability to detect necromancy, someone like I don’t know, me should undertake this task,” Helicilia said rubbing her hands together in an obvious fake display of nervousness.

“Helicilia. I would have thought you’d play your cards a little smarter. You know I have plenty of ways to detect your foul mana.”

“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t use my help.”

“Yes, but the problem is you’re too smart for your own good. You’d likely figure out a loophole in that shiny collar there and stab someone in the back. No, I am going to return you to Kenia. She will need you and I have both of you under lock and key.”

“Bastard! You can’t control me forever!” Helicilia screamed finally losing her temper.

“That might very well be the case. Just remember. The moment I can no longer control you, is the moment you will no longer draw breath.” I gestured for the guards to take her back to Kenia. I had some decisions to make and she would just be a distraction.

~~~

I looked around and found Alara. She was sitting with Jarvis as they talked about various types of magic. Moving to their location, I waited for Jarvis to reach a decent stopping point. He likely spotted me as I arrived, so I didn’t have to wait too long.

I nodded to Jarvis as he left the room. “Alara, I need to speak with you for a moment.”

“Yes, my love?” she asked looking at me with her wide eyes.

My chest tinged in guilt. “While I was away. I sort of had an accident while flying.”

“What do you mean?”

I cleared my throat before forming a seat and sitting down. “I slammed headfirst into a dragon. I’m not sure if you’ve seen a real dragon but it is hard to tell their genders apart when you’re in the middle of combat with them. Long story short, I defeated her without killing her and she claimed that fulfilled the dragon mating pact.”

Alara looked at the ground then replied with a monotone voice. “I… see…”

“Don’t worry! I strictly told her no. I’m going to have Nova fight her and since he is my child, she would be willing to accept the transfer as long as he beats her,” I said quickly. I quickly moved over to her and kneeled, so we were eye level. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I didn’t know another way to tell you without an annoying misunderstanding happening.”

She looked up at me and I was sure what she was looking for, but I tried my best to look honest and truthful. How one was supposed to do that was beyond me, but I did my best. “Can I slap you once?” She asked clearly than I had ever heard her talk.

“Uhh, sure?” I replied. The next thing I knew my back was embedded in the wall from the force she hit me with. I couldn’t hold back my laugh as I pulled myself free. “Nice shot.” I felt another impact and looked to see Alara with her arms wrapped around my chest.

“You’re mine! You saved me from the darkness! I won’t let anyone have you!”

I patted her head. “Very well. I will do my best to live up to that.”

Chapter 12

Louella

After I sat at the table the lords looked at one another as if trying to decide who should talk first. Since a few of the other people had started eating, I went ahead and started myself. I felt the food was good but lacked a certain something that I couldn’t put my finger on.

I was about halfway through the meal when one of the lords cleared their throat. Looking up, I noticed Lord Ferinight looking at me. I just gave him a raised eyebrow. If he wanted to talk then he should talk.

“Lady Louella. We would like to help you return to the surface.”

“That would be a great boon for us,” I replied lowering my fork. “I’m sure we could have returned on our own. With your assistance it will be much safer.”

“That is true, but we have another motive behind helping you. Glorious continues to grow in power by the hour. We have the ability to deal with him, but the undead of the Seal are causing more than a little headache in this area. Nero here says your friend on the surface has become sort of an expert in the matter of the undead.”

“Has he now?” I asked glancing at the man. He just shrugged with a grin. “Even if this is the case. I’m not sure I can get him to help you. As you know, my memories are a mess. I cannot say with assurance that he will mobilize to help you.”

“We understand that, but I’m sure if he knew that the world was in danger he would be more willing to lend a hand.”

“The world, Lord Ferinight?”

“Indeed. The Seal contains an ancient evil. One that plagued this world for a millennium. Trust me when I say you don’t want to see it free.”

I stared at him but couldn’t see any indication that he was lying. Besides, I couldn’t think of a reason why he would want to lie. There was little in it for him. My friend on the surface didn’t pose a threat to them unless he comes down here.

“I understand. Is there anything we can help with while in your care? Even with my memories missing, I know there is no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Glourios’s forces as well as the undead from the Seal are causing no small amount of damage to the surrounding communities. We might have to go their aid while we journey to the surface. If you could assist us in these skirmishes that would be more than enough to earn your place with us.”

Glancing at Yuno, he gave me a slight nod of agreement and I bobbed my head slowly to Lord Ferinight. While Yuno and Nero could fight, I didn’t trust myself in a confrontation like that. Nero claimed I was a lightning user, but fire flowed through my veins. I would hate to go to help then fail to deliver.

“We will try to assist where we can,” I said finally realizing the pause had gone on for an awkward amount of time.

“Excellent,” Lord Ferinight said then switched to another tongue as he turned to talk to the person next to him.

We soon finished breakfast, and made our separate ways through the camp. The others followed me back to our little section. I had to admit, my mind was in another place while we walked. I didn’t mind that we needed to help them, but personally I wanted to get back to the surface and fix my head.

“Lady Louella. Are you alright?” Yuno asked pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes. I just can’t seem to stop my mind from wandering lately. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“About the best we can hope for. Last night I concentrated my senses. The tunnels for kilometers are crawling with the Beneath races. It is better to be with them rather than try to make our way through unaided.”

“I see. That is a bit of a problem.”

“Plus we get food and might not have to lift a finger during our stay,” Nero commented with what I thought was a lack of delicacy.

“They seemed pretty eager to help after whatever you showed them last night. Pray tell what that was about?” I asked poking him in the chest.

“Unfortunately, that is a trade secret,” he replied crossing his arms.

“Then what is the soul of metal?” Yuno asked from next to me.

“A prophecy my old man foretold before Celestia fell to Lelune. How did it go again?” He pressed a finger against his temple. “Ah. That’s right! A fragmented world. The Ancient hunger sealed under the world would rise again. A soul of metal is the key. A soul of the world is the engine. A soul of flesh is the lock.”

“What exactly does it mean?”

“Good question. One that generally follows a prophecy. Sadly, we don’t know. You’d be surprised at how many things are sealed in the Beneath. You have Teriso, the Conqueror. Modderm, the Original Dragon. Quite a few Demon generals. A couple of the Sovereigns that didn’t outright die.”

“Is the Beneath a dumping ground or something?” I exclaimed with some trepidation.

“You’re not far from the truth of it. The World Spirit is the only thing keeping most of these beings under lock and key. Half want to destroy Murgin. The other half want to rule it with an iron fist. Each victory over these powers cost the world greatly in the terms of strength.”

“That still doesn’t explain the prophecy. Does it predict something that will deal with these threats? A change in the status quo?”

“We don’t know. All we know is three individuals will in some form or fashion have a great power. I am fairly confident that your metal friend is the soul of metal, but I can’t be sure until I actually meet him.”

“I see. I hope it is one of the good kind of prophecies,” I mumbled to myself.

~~~

The Beneath expedition as we started to call it only remained in the cavern for another few hours before they broke camp and started on their way. To me the caves all looked the same, but Yuno assured me that we were moving in the right direction. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any trouble on the path.

Without the sun, it was hard to tell the passage of time, but after what felt like ten or so hours, we made it to a large cavern that had several structures. There was a gate that had several dozen guards that looked battle weary. Large scorch marks decorated the walls and surface of the gate.

“Leftovers from encounters with Glourios’s troops. They expand their territory by the day,” Lord Ferinight commented when he saw me looking.

“I’m surprised we didn’t meet any of them on your way here.”

“Our scouts still know the Beneath better than conjured fire spirits,” Lord Ondre remarked with a growl.

I bowed my head to the dark elf. “I meant no disrespect.”

Once we were through the gates, I saw that this was full of High races of human, elf and beastkin. The people on the streets were giving the dark elves not so much hateful looks but there was a touch of fear. I guess even a common enemy wasn’t enough to remove centuries of fighting and bloodshed from their memories.

We were shown to an empty building and quickly set up camp. In what I could only assume was a bid to earn my appreciation, the two lords gave up the best room for me to use. I asked Sara to join me so the girl could have some comfort as well. Plus, I wanted to spend some more time with the girl.

After the incident in the mushroom cave, she had almost completely withdrawn into herself. While this was helpful as she didn’t wander off anymore. I knew it was unhealthy. Her brother appeared to worry about her but between the girl, Nero and myself. I felt he was close to his limit as well.

I didn’t know if I could help her, but maybe talking to another woman would help her. Of course, this might just be me wanting to not be the one everyone worried about due to my memory loss. With a deep breath which I was finding increasingly stifling in the caves, I dropped onto the bed with my thoughts tumbling all over the place.

Chapter 13

Puppet

Looking ahead as the wind buffeted my face, I enjoyed the landscape passing by us at rapid speeds. We had not had a chance to use the bikes father made for us at full speed since their creation. Now that time was of the essence, we had permission to really open them up.

Teleporting was completely down. The Portals were currently embedded in a slag of obsidian and other post molten rock. Father told us that it was unsafe to use them either way. Thus, we were traveling the old fashion way. Not that we minded.

Metal tracks lined the ground as we made our way towards the valley. Izora was in charge of a train systems construction from Tearfalls to the Steel Spire. She was a few weeks from being done with the project set to her by father. The train would be quite fast, as it can go supersonic.

“I see the construction crew up ahead,” I called to the others over the communication channel. It was hard to talk otherwise given how fast we were traveling.

Retrofitted miners stopped what they were doing and turned towards us in a guard position. We pulled to a stop so they could identify us before approaching closer. After a second under a red light, the workers got back to their jobs. We finished our approach and found a large vehicle with wheels the size of a person slowly making its way through the terrain.

It was using terra mana to flatten the ground, while driving spikes that would protect the construction from terra spells and must weather. Monsters would still be challenge, but it would mainly be the train that was attacked and from what father told me, it would possess plenty of defensive capabilities.

We pulled alongside the vehicle then spotted Izora standing on the roof surveying the path ahead. I doubted there were too many things that would cause this vehicle to alter its course, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I set my bike to autopilot then jumped up on to the terraformer.

Izora stood at the center of a raised platform. Dozens of transparent screens circled around her. From the few I looked at, I saw mana readings, information on the ground and soil around us. As well as a myriad of other data that was important to her work in one way or another. “Izora. How goes the project?”

She turned to look at me, before turning back. “All according to my lord’s plan. We should be hitting the undead scar in a few hours and that is when we’ll really have to start working.”

I glanced ahead of us and focused my eyes. My sight zoomed into the distance to the point where the forest ended. The undead had stopped their nightly march on the city, but the scar was still creating undead daily. Something would have to be done or it will get out of hand eventually. That was part of Izora’s project.

“Hopefully, the Anubis metal will be able to handle to the amount of unholy taint. If not, father will likely have to get involved personally and he’s rather busy at the moment.”

“Yes. The lord managed to stop the fighting to the north. I felt it via the connection. He still has plenty to deal with. I felt something cause him some stress, though I don’t know the particulars.”

“Father can handle it.”

“Of course. I have no doubt in my mind,” Izora replied giving me a glare. I guessed I offended her in some way. Mortals were so touchy. Even after almost two months among them in Tearfalls, I still failed to navigate the minefield of conversation at times.

“I suppose I will leave you to it then. May the next time we see each other, we both have succeeded in our tasks.”

She gave me a nod before turning back to the screens around her. I jumped back down on my bike and turned the autopilot off. Revving the engine, I shot after the others who had moved ahead of me.

~~~

Stopped at a clearing just before the undead scar, I looked over the map before pointing out two locations. “We have two choices. The entrance father told us about in the ruins or the giant hole on the other side of the valley.”

“Either work. We have the tracking device father made for us. The ruins are closer and while assisting Louella is our priority, scouting is also one of our tasks,” Z2 said then pointed at the ruins. “I think the ruins would be the best choice.”

I nod my agreement but turned to the others. “Anyone have anything they’d like to add?”

“Tunnels will greatly limit my combat options. Take that into account if we have to engage anything down there,” Natsuko commented while cleaning her rifle. It had several forms, but the rifle form did offer the greatest power.

“Got it. Then we’ll head for the ruins then reassess once we get into the Beneath.”

Everyone agreed and we took off soon breaking through the withered trees and into the undead scar. Undead wandered aimlessly both weakened by the sun but amplified by the unholy taint under their feet. We adopted an avoidance policy only taking out those in front of us. Natsuko and I formed rifles and began blasting the undead’s heads off as we made our way through the scar.

After about a kilometer, we came to the canyon that stretched the length of the undead scar. Azra jumped off her bike and moved to the edge while we formed a defensive circle around her. Kneeling next to the edge, she channeled her mana to start forming a bridge for us to cross. I noticed that sweat was dripping from her brow.

“What’s wrong?”

“The unholy taint is making it harder than it should be. It is going to take me longer than we anticipated.”

I looked out over the canyon. It was between five and six hundred meters wide. To make a bridge to cross that would be no easy task. If the taint was going to make it harder then we might have to reassess our path.

“How much longer?”

“A few minutes. I just won’t be much help while I’m working this.”

“Alright. We’ll handle the undead. You take care of that.”

I turned back to the others. The undead were aware of us thanks to our violent passage through her, but the sun was still up so only a few of the monsters were putting much strength into pursuing us. Natsuko was making sure work of them for now. With each round she fired taking the head of one of the creatures.

I kneeled and worked to create a wall around our location. I quickly saw what Azra meant when there was almost a resistance to me using the terra mana on the ground here. I forced my way through it and managed to make a three meter high wall and a six meter high pillar for Natsuko to fire from.

“We are going to hold this place until Azra is done.”

“If she can get us close enough, I can finish the bridge with my ice,” Z2 said rotating her hand to form a small smooth ball of black ice.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that.” I released my drones for the first time in almost two months. I couldn’t use them around the mortals. I’d still made sure to work on them while on my down time at the city.

Spider drones appeared around us. I had them mount the wall and fire at anything that got to close. I had to be careful as their ammunition was created from my mana. Still it complimented our forces quite well. Burst of gunfire sounded out through the eerily quiet landscape while Natsuko rifle boomed every now and then.

Twenty minutes passed without incident with us easily handling the undead that approached. Azra was roughly seventy five percent done with the bridge. Another ten minutes or so and she’d be done. The pile of undead around the walls had created almost another set of walls.

I was worried though as the sun was about to set. I moved to the walls and channeled light mana to flood the area with light. It was risky as it would attract undead to our location, but I didn’t want anything sneaking up on us.

“Puppet. Something is happening to the undead we’ve killed.”

I hopped up on Natsuko’s pillar to see what she was talking about. The undead we’d already killed had turned to a partial liquid and were moving to a central location. Something massive was forming in the distance.

“Is there a core? Something must be causing this to happen,” I said zooming my eyes to look through the area.

“I didn’t see or detect anything. It just started to happen. This is why I hate the fucking undead,” Natsuko replied making a disgusted face.

“I agree.” I glanced back to Azra’s work and saw there was still about seventy or eighty meters to go. The person herself was clearly almost spent as she was breathing heavily. We might have to take Z2 up on her offer. I just worried the bridge would be unstable with only one side anchored. Especially if the undead was chasing us along it.

I tapped Natsuko’s shoulder. “Kill it.”

Seven rounds sounded from her rifle almost instantly. The behemoth suffered seven blows that took huge chunks from its body. Unfortunately, it reformed without much issue. I narrowed my eyes at the annoying monster.

I drew my sword, then channeled my mana into it. It reformed to a rifle only there was a capacitor instead of a cartridge. I aimed for the middle of the undead then pulled the trigger. A beam of light sliced through the air and burned a hole through the center of the creature. I pulled the gun up and cut the monster in half before I released the trigger.

The two halves of the body on fire from the heat generated, I thought that had done it. The fire went out and the two halves snapped back together. I lumbered towards us continuing to grow from the undead that it absorbed from the ground.

I aimed again and fired. The beam sliced through it for only a second before a green barrier formed deflecting the beam. I tried to think of something else to try but the undead scar was just pumping too much mana into the creature.

“Get ready to run!” I shouted to the others. My drones were hammering the undead with countless rounds but the bullets were bouncing off the barrier. Natsuko was able to pierce the barrier with her rifle, but the damage repaired faster than she was causing it.

There was a wave of shadow from behind me. I ducked but didn’t feel anything.

“Lean!” Z2 shouted as the shadow engulfed the giant undead. I saw flashes of green as Lean absorbed the mana from the undead. While I worried what that might do to Lean, we really didn’t have much of an option right now. The whirlwind of shadows died down and Lean emerged from it as it vanished. The undead was completely gone.

He ran up to Z2. “Yes?” he asked with a child-like tone.

“That was dangerous! But, thank you for protecting us,” she said with a breath of relief.

Over the last few months, I’d noticed that Z2 was starting to act like a mother. I could tell she truly cared for Lean. I just wasn’t sure how much. Lean gave Z2 a large smile.

“Done! Damn that was annoying!” Azra called from her place next to the canyon.

“Great! Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said hopping on my bike.

I left the drones on the makeshift wall to block it. The undead so far hadn’t been too intelligent but the last thing we needed was for one to come along and get the bright idea to break the bridge while we were still on it.

Chapter 14

Regan

I felt better after informing Alara about what happened on the other continent. While I knew it wasn’t technically my fault, I was still to blame for what happened. Next time I planned on make sure of the gender of the dragon before I gave them a beat down. It was still a fact that Alara was not letting me out of her sight at the moment. Even now she was attached to my arm with a near death like grip. Though to be honest, a part of me found that extremely cute.

We were back at the Steel Spire. I could move much faster on my own and with the north firmly in my grasp and much of Lecazar near the same, I felt it was safe enough to travel like this. I knew I was going to get an earful from Ignea later but if I wanted to get things done in an even remotely timely manner then I had little choice.

Puppet and the others had made it to Steel Spire early today and were gearing up for heading into the Beneath to search for Louella. I would have sent them via an airship but they would have been slowed down rather than saved time. With the air mana and monsters that inhabited the air, it was slower for a single airship to travel.

I landed on the platform of the Steel Spire and turned to head for the kids. Alara clung to my back like a cute monkey. If she wasn’t as light as a feather it might not have been as cute. I allowed her to do as she wanted since it didn’t bother me. She would need to go back to her dungeon soon. I felt bad for Lena having to maintain the core without the host.

I wanted to go over with Puppet and the others about what I had learned about the beneath. It might not help them, but at the same time it might save their lives. Any information was more useful than no information. I found them at the center of the tower where the mana was thickest. Having been out among the mortals for close to three months, they hadn’t been in true mana in a while.

Z2 flew at me as soon as I walked into the room. Alara let go since she knew Z2 saw me as a father and I saw her as a child. The others quickly joined Z2 in crowding around me. I felt bad about basically abandoning them when they went out to make a name for themselves as adventurers.

I hadn’t anticipated the events that led to now. Honestly, I had expected to still be developing the floors of my dungeon while using knowledge from my old world to boost my mana production. A continental, possibly intergalactic war was the last thing I expected to happen.

I guess when someone with fresh eyes looked at a situation they can throw all kinds of wrenches into the plans of everyone involved. I knew I was starting to mess with Lelune’s plan as she’d declared me a false god and branded all of Louella’s people as heretics. Not that it worked very well for them so far.

They wasted so many resources waging a stupid war using Thonaca as a proxy only for them to inadvertently wake up some new threat that further shuffled the board. It was getting to the point that I was considering marching on the Port of Hope just to shut Lelune down by taking her mana source. She would still be a celestial, but it would hurt her.

I shook my head as I looked at Z2 and the others. “You got here slower than I expected. Did something happen?”

Puppet nodded. “The undead scar threw something at us that we weren’t equipped to handle. The taint has grown thick enough to cause the undead to mutate as we fought them.”

“Did you already pass that on to Izora? She is trying to clear a path through the tainted scar after all.” I had equipped her with the best anti-undead equipment I and some of the Labs developers could think up. While Anubis would have been the best choice all the gear was based on his ability to absorbed the undeath. I was just worried the change that the undead scar had caused didn’t cause a ripple effect and more unpredictable changes didn’t start happening.

“Yes. We sent it to her via the laser communication. We were also given a new communication device. Though it will only work on the surface.”

“I’m glad you got one. This subspace disruption is getting worse. I am having all my cores switch to more Earthly communication methods. Thankfully, the satellites were already constructed to use such methods.”

While I couldn’t swap places in my various cores like a pair of cloths anymore. I could control them more completely now. I still needed to get to the station to complete the final adjustments to deal with Murgin’s particular mana related hiccups, my surface cores were all talking to each other now with the exception of the Construct Core on the other continent.

“What do you think is the cause father?” Z2 asked. “Lean has been saying he’s been feeling weird for the last couple days when he tries to change his body.”

“I have a few theories, each worse than the last, but nothing conclusive. The biggest issue is that I have no way of knowing if this is some sort of natural phenomenon or an enemy attack. But enough of that for now. I’ll handle it. I see that you’ve all upgraded your armor and weapons,” I said putting on a smile and looking at the group.

They had all got some of the mithril alloy amor that made them look sleek and very dangerous. Their weapons were diverse but still the same types they used before. Natsuko’s sniper would make you think it was the most dangerous of the group, but anyone smart would be able to feel the deadliness leaking from all their weapons.

“Azra, bring me your shield in a bit. I’ll make the upgrades myself since it is a bit special.”

“Thank you, master.”

“Just call me father. I see you all as my children anyway,” I said patting her head. I was close to a meter taller than all of them after all. It felt like I was surrounded by children.

“Okay… father!” she said testing the word out.

“Puppet, Z2. Let’s discuss what I’ve learned about where you’re heading.”

~~~

An hour later I was finished with relaying all the information I had to Puppet. He absorbed it like a sponge. I just hoped they were able to track down Louella without too much issue. I had created a device that would home in on her link with me but the caves as Rens explained could be a maze to the unaware.

“Here… father. My shield.”

“Thank you Azra. Has… Skojd been giving you trouble?” I asked as I took the shield. The spirit in the shield made it quite unique. Had it been a danger to her I would have purged it when I found it, but the spirit seemed harmless for the most part. Besides being a pervert. The biggest benefit was he absorbed the unholy mana so it didn’t harm Azra.

“No more than usual. Whenever I undress near it, he won’t shut up.”

“I just like what I’m seeing!” Skojd shouted as I channeled some mana to connect to the shield.

“That doesn’t mean you should comment,” I said tapping the face on the shield.

“When you see art don’t you comment on it. The girl is like a piece of art to me,” he said. I could almost imagine a pout on the spirit.

“That is that, this is this. Now.” I looked at the shield from various angles. I had made it back when I first gained access to mithril and electrum. It was quite amazing considering my lack of understanding over the materials that I had back then. The main lacking point of the shield was the steel body that I used given my lack of mana then.

I slowly heated the shield until the Steel started to melt leaving the framework of mithril and electrum. When all the steel was gone, I started adding some of the mithril alloy being careful not to mix the framework. While it would be easier just to scrap this and make a new one, the spirit would be lost.

For all her bluster, Azra still watched on nervously as I worked on her shield. I could tell she regarded the spirit as at least a friend. I worked through the hour, before a new tower shield sat in front of me. I dyed the metal with some pigment to turn it a dark green.

Bright colors wouldn’t be good deep in the tunnels. Many of the creatures down there would have developed ways to see in the dark. While the color might not matter, it was still a good precaution to take. I handed the nearly two-meter-tall and meter wide shield back to Azra.

She took it expecting it to be heavy, but when she overcorrected taking hold of it realized that it was lighter than half shield. The materials just didn’t have the weight of the others. “Amazing!”

“That should be able to block anything I can think to throw at it so it should be good against whatever the Beneath could throw at it.”

“Thank you, father!” Azra raced forward and hugged me. I wasn’t expecting that from the girl. I smiled and just patted her back.

“Go get ready. The others will be waiting for you.”

“They really do love you,” Alara said coming up next to me and taking my hand.

I laughed sadly. “They love me while I send them on a mission that could cost them their lives.”

“If this was the world you came from then yeah it would be ludicrous, but here that just says you trust them.”

I looked over to Alara with my mana sense but was sure it was really her. “When did you get over your speech issue?”

“I don’t know. You dealt with the lich and the other core. I feel like if I’m with you there isn’t anything I should be afraid of,” she said coming and sitting on my lap. I shrank my avatar so we were more proportional.

“Is that so? I feel like every step I take puts the world closer to destruction,” I said admitting something I had been trying to deny since I first thought of it.

“Maybe so. That will just be as the fates will it.”

I cupped her face and kissed her full on the lips unable to hold back. “Thank you. I needed to hear that,” I said once we pulled apart.

She laid her head on my chest and cuddled in closer. “For some one so hard, you have a softness that I just can’t understand.” We sat like that for several minutes before she broke the silence. “What do you plan to do next?”

“I’m heading back to my main core. Something is telling me that an even greater threat is out there than the Beneath. One the world barely survived in the past. I want to prepare for it.”

Alara reached up and pulled my head a few centimeters to hers. She locked my eyes with hers. “I heard a mortal say something once. ‘we create our own evils.’ By readying for a foe that you don’t know about, are you not giving it power?”

“Maybe. As you said before, it that is the way of the fates then so be it. I don’t want to lose anything precious to me. Once I finish with my dungeon, I will help you reclaim every inch of yours. I have thought of a few ways to work around the rules imposed on the way it works.”

She gave me a smile. “I appreciate that. The stench of undeath still lingers in my nose to this day.”

I kissed her nose. “But I don’t plan to stop there. I have studied the records of the Demon war stored in the Gnome capital of Jade Wind. When I say they won by a hair I really mean it. They only managed to win because the demon portals were forced shut by the sacrifice of more than a few space mages. Even with no more reinforcements, it still took entire armies to bring down the demons force that the mortals outnumbered a hundred or even a thousand to one.”

“Surely with your magic you could prevent the portals if something like that came to pass. Your weapons in the sky. They could destroy things before they even knew they what hit them.”

I shook my head slowly. “I have a feeling the enemy isn’t going to use portals this time.” I turned to look up to the sky that was starting to brighten with the coming day. The stars slowly fading one by one. It was beautiful even though I knew the light from those stars was millions of years old.

Earth had planned a migration of sorts in the past if the planet ever reached the point it couldn’t support life. It would have taken thousands of years. How long would it take a race to attempt that if they had the benefit of magic and mana. They already had magic to move lightyears at a time.

Alara jumped up and placed her hands on my shoulders to stare in my eyes. “Whatever you need, I will help in whatever way I can!”

“Thank you. I know it will take more than just me. That is why I didn’t want to kill the other cores. We might need them in the future.”

Chapter 15

Louella

The village was welcoming for most of the party we were traveling with. Many of them didn’t bother to hide their looks of disgust and annoyance at the dark elves in the party’s midst. I figured when there had been a war going on for who knows how many centuries it was hard to bury the hatch.

The lords didn’t plan to stay here for long. They just wanted to ask the village if they knew of any paths to the surface given their location. I wanted to ask why they just didn’t have their high race beastkin like Yuno find the path, but the few that were with us didn’t seem to have his ability.

The second day after we had been at the village, we were in our accommodations talking. “I feel like something is wrong down here,” I said taking a sip of my tea. “I mean other than the blood hate, seemingly Beneath encompassing war, and the flame army that marches further by the day.”

“I agree. It might have been a while, but I don’t remember the high races being this… weak,” Nero said from his spot next to the window. He was looking out watching the few people that lived in the large cavern of a village.

“The people in the Lords’ party seem to be decently powerful,” Yuno commented. He was sitting next to Sara dabbing a wet cloth on her forehead. She had taken a fever last night but he said it was common for her. I had wondered when they said she had some sort of sickness. The girl was quite durable from the few days I had traveled with them.

“I doubt they would tell us what is wrong with their society. If what you say is true, I am a foreign nations queen. If I found a weakness we could exploit, it would be disastrous for them.”

“Fair point,” Yuno said. Silence lapsed over the group with only Sara’s panting filling the air. Looking at the girl, I thought she was in incredible pain. She was normally pale, but her skin was almost red from how flushed she had grown. Sweat sprang up on her forehead even as Yuno wiped it off.

“Is she going to okay?” I asked. Concerned that by coming to help me, her own fate might have been changed in some way.

“I want to say yes, but this is the worst I’ve seen it since she was a child.” I noticed that Yuno sent a glare at Nero but couldn’t be sure of the reason. From what I understood, it was Nero’s fault they came after me, but the glare seemed to speak volumes more than that.

Nero stood up from his spot and walked over to the man giving him a pat on the shoulder. I thought he actually looked bothered by the Sara’s suffering. “I will go find the village healer. They may have some medicine that could help the girl.”

“How did you three meet?”

“I stole something. We would have died if not for him.”

“Was it that valuable?” I asked. Street urchins were part of life. They weren’t normally killed for their actions.

“It belonged to a necromancer,” he replied with a shrug.

When he mentioned necromancers, my head throbbed painfully. The image of two individuals wearing strange white masks following me around at the orders of the metal man. One of them like to eat while the other had a strange obsession with Regan. The pain grew as I tried to watch more of the memories.

I didn’t want to let it go. I knew this was truly part of myself and I wanted it back. My hands were on my temples before I even realized it. The world wobbled and I fell face first into the floor as black wrapped around my vision.

~~~

A noise roused me from a dream about a floating little girl that seemed to defy gravity. I knew the girl but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t think of her name.

“What has this girl been through to have had this done to her?”

“She was Glourios’s prisoner for a few days. He changed her in some way.”

The conversation pulled me from my thoughts and I tried to crack my eyes open. A bright light made me force them shut as it stung my eyes. I attempted to open them again and the light was greatly reduced. An old man stood next to me with his hands glowing as they rested on my head.

“What’s going on?” I asked considering it was my head he was using magic on. I didn’t need something else breaking in there.

“You fainted while we talked. I worried something was wrong and ran after Nero to bring the healer if he found one,” Yuno explained from his place next to his sister.

“Child. Do you know you are more elemental then mortal?”

“Elemen… what?”

“Elemental. A primal force of the world. A very powerful primal force of the world. They are usually mindless but Greater elementals could wipe out continents if they wanted to. Just look at Glorious.”

“Okay. What does that mean for me exactly?” Glorious had messed with my head. I wasn’t sure I wanted to turn into something like him. Not that I remember exactly how powerful he was. Everything before I met Yuno and them was a sort of gray blur when I tried to think about it.

“That depends. The lightning and fire elements are fighting over you. I’m sure you’ve saw the scene in your mana pool.”

“Yes. I had noticed a few interesting things taking place last time I looked.”

“My professional advice is to not use any mana for the foreseeable future. That and you need to decide with path you want to walk. Depending on that, find a great source of fire or lightning and finish the transformation.”

“Is there nothing else that can be done? Both of those require places that I’m not sure exist in easily accessible locations,” Nero said from a corner in which I hadn’t noticed he was leaning.

“Sadly, that is all I can say. My advice. Find a dungeon and convince them to help you,” the healer replied. For some reason, I found that incredibly ironic.

“And if I want to stay a mortal?” I asked since I didn’t like the fact that my mortality was already a forgone thing.

“Impossible. Your body will the ripped apart eventually. No matter how much healing you get. It won’t help.”

“Lovely.”

The healer patted my shoulder then moved over to Sara. He pulled a few herbs out of his pack and handed them to Yuno. “Grind these into a paste. Apply a drop once every hour and the symptoms will be reduced. Sadly, there is no cure for the Lumos curse. I am amazed she has lived as long as she has.”

“Thank you,” Yuno replied taking the herbs, but I didn’t miss the hard face he made. I was sure he’d heard that from many healers over the years.

The healer left after that. While I felt better after the healing light, I also felt numb. What did that mean for me to become a full elemental? Was that really the only path for me to take? I took a deep breath and rolled over. Maybe sleeping would take my mind off it all for a few hours.

~~~

I looked around as I found myself in a cavern I’d never seen before. While I instinctively knew I was underground, there appeared to be a sun in the center of the cavern. Roots the size of mountains grew from the ceiling that was shrouded by clouds and extended along the walls. For some reason they reminded me of a cell.

“Child…”

I jumped as I heard the voice. It sounded ancient. Older than the planet itself. I looked around and found the eye of a creature that would have dwarfed the mountains on the surface staring at me. It resembled a dragon, but for some reason I felt that was wrong. The roots weren’t crawling along the wall. They were bound around the creature.

“What?” I asked carefully.

“You smell… Delicious!”

“Um… Thank you?” I said deciding I should try to find a way to leave.

“You… resonated with me. I couldn’t help myself and… answered.”

“I’m sorry to have bothered you,” I said bowing my head. Better to be polite to something that could crush me just by accidently stretching.

“When you haven’t… talked to anyone in almost fifty thousand years. You welcome the interruption every now and then.”

“I see. What do you want to talk about then?”

“Freedom. Don’t you think it is a wonderful word?” The eye narrowed as the creature focused on me.

“I suppose. I would hate to be imprisoned unless I did something to deserve it,” I said tapping my fingers together.

The ground started to shake and boulders began to fall from the ceiling through the clouds. I realized that the creature was laughing after a second. He looked at me for a few more seconds. “The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you,” He said then closed his eye.

“And what truth would that be?” I asked but got no reply. I started to say something again when I found myself sitting up in my bed back at the village. “That was an interesting dream.”

Chapter 16

Regan

After we saw Puppet and the others off, Alara and I traveled back to the valley. Looking at the city from the air, I was amazed at how far the mortals had come in the time since I came to this world. It had barely been a village when I first saw it, now it was a sprawling metropolitan that reached from one wall of the valley to the other.

Once back in my aura around the city, I was finally able to teleport as I wanted at least in this area. I had a few ideas on how to fix that issue, but it would require more mana than I felt was worth at the moment. If I used my satellites to create a barrier over the lands that I currently operated in I should theoretically be able to teleport again. As long as I blocked the field that was causing me the issues.

“Home sweet home,” I said as we floated above the city.

“So many mortals,” Alara said with a shiver.

I was about to say something when I spotted a dot flying through the air. “Sophia!” The dot came to a stop before it made its way over to us. She had grown a centimeter or two but still looked like the cute if slightly withdrawn girl that sought me for safety.

“Lord Regan. Welcome back.”

“I’m back. How is the valley and my dungeon?”

“Since you stopped the monsters from appearing and Ezal returned, everything has returned to mostly normal. More people than you might expect worry for Lady Louella. Though a growing group has shifted to mourning for her.”

“I will have to find a way to let them know she is alive. Of that I am sure.”

“As for your dungeon. Ignea was in a panic last time I saw her, but she said she could handle it herself.”

The whole time the girl floated in front of me, I felt it reminded me of when a child is telling their parents about their time at school. I reached forward and patted the girl’s head. “Thank you. I will go see to her now.”

The light bent around us, as Alara and I teleported into the dungeon. I located Ignea as well as Glint who was next to her. They were at the bottom most part of the dungeon. I tried to think what I had going on there, then remembered I had set some drills to continuously drill down nearly two months ago.

Alara and I appeared with a pop. Sensing a change, Ignea looked back at me from a large hole in the ground. “Father!” she shouted before flying over and slamming into my head as she gave me a hug.

I chuckled as I pulled the now nearly child-sized fairy off me. “Ignea. I’m back. What’s going on here?” I moved over to look down into the hole but it extended for what appeared to be miles.

“The drills breached the barrier of the world a few days ago, but I could turn them off. The material their cutting through now is much softer and they’ve traveled nearly a hundred kilometers.”

I sent my senses down the hole and located the drill. I noticed a few interesting things while I did so but decided to check the drills first. After a few seconds, I found them as Ignea said, close to a hundred plus kilometers down. My aura was trailing after them, but the local auras where interfering causing it to change slower.

I debated turning them off but decided to leave them running. I might run into something interesting like I already had. I stepped back from the hole and allowed my consciousness to return to my core. It felt like it had been almost too long since I was in my core, I actually felt out of place doing so.

I checked the full extent of my aura for the first time for in what felt like months. The drills had gained me close to four hundred kilometers worth of depth. Which given the world barrier they were drilling through was amazing in the short amount of time they’d technically been working.

The material that made up the world barrier had been transplanted into the barriers between floors starting with the tenth floor. If anyone tried to blast their way through like Morka had, they would be in for a rude awakening. I paused as I found close to ten thousand people living in the farming section. They were probably producing as much food as some countries would.

Shaking my head at peoples’ ability to adapt, I turned back to the section I was in. Floor numbers sort of lost meaning in my dungeon, but technically we were on the seventieth floor. The floating islands behind me as the deepest section in the dungeon, aside from my core room.

Looking around, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to build. I was considering another city in case I was forced to evacuate people into the dungeon again. The goblin city wasn’t near capacity, but I felt it might be safer to separate the mortals from the goblins in case they get trigger happy.

“I can have two hundred floors and I’m barely using half of them,” I muttered to myself.

“Make a forest!” Alara chimed in.

I glanced at her then nodded. “That is a good idea. My lightning woods got turned into a smoldering wreck thanks to Morka.” I stepped forward then looked back to Alara holding my hand out. “Only if you help of course.”

She hopped forward and grabbed my hand. I decided to go with a tree of the world sort of motif. I looked through everything I had absorbed over the months and found a seedling for a tree that could grow to outrageous heights. I placed it in the center of the floor then concentrated on forests from my time on Earth and all the fantasy movies I watched.

The main tree, which was called a Gaia hearth, grew close to a kilometer in height. A ripple of mana washed out from it and a forest grew up around it that was divided into six sections. A small wall that was barely a meter grew between each section.

There was an almost normal forest that people would enter the floor in. Trees with green leaves and a warm climate were strong in this area. I thought it would be good to make some normal type animals to fill it.

Following that came a dark forest that looked haunted. Black and gray trees were the main thing in this section. I felt spiders would likely be in this section. They would work well in the densely packed swamp like area.

That’s how the rest went, with an alien looking section, a mana-based section, a section that appeared to be made out of metal, and finally one that had a weird black and white overlay. Went I went down, I found it was partially in another realm. I made sure to create locks on the borders so that any creatures that might inhabit the shadow realm wouldn’t get any funny ideas.

After checking all of the sections, I found they were all partially linked to another realm. Even as I watched, a creature made out of pure mana came through the border. It reminded me of a fish, only it was swimming through the air. When I tried to interact with it, my hand phased through it.

Expanding my lock to the entire floor, I made it so that any creatures that inhabited those realms could visit the floor but couldn’t leave the section. I made the decision based on how much mana the fish gave over only a few seconds. I wasn’t sure the other realms would give as much mana, but it didn’t hurt to study these creatures.

“I find it quite lovely,” Alara said from where she was leading the mana fish around by creating mana for it to follow.

“I agree with that, but lovely can easily morph into deadly.”

We walked through the forest with Alara suggesting ideas and tips for making the forest run better. Even as a biological system, she was helping me make it run as well as any of my machines. A lot of the tips she gave me were obvious but none the less I had missed since I allowed the magic to handle all the details.

We had gone through the initial section and she didn’t have much to add, only that adding some animals would help. We were now in the swamp section next to it. “I would add clouds over this section. The plant life tends towards the darkness element and the sunlight will only cause it problems.”

“True.” I altered the environment as she suggested. It wasn’t too hard given that this section of the forest alone covered close to two hundred kilometers. I could feel creatures made of shadow making their way into the new area as my mana ticked upwards. “This floor would be that much less if you weren’t here to help me.”

Alara smiled with a blush before she grabbed my hand and pulled me along in our walk. Simply walking wouldn’t be an easy task for anyone that reached this floor. A fog overlaid much of the forest that could easily cause people to become lost or separated.

We left the shadow section into what I was calling the alien section. There were a lot of brightly colored and strange looking plants dotting the landscape. It took me a moment to realize that this section was connected to what appeared to be a nature realm.

“This is fascinating,” Alara said crouching to inspect a flower. It had a blue center with a violet petals. Tendrils extended out and moved even though there wasn’t any wind.

“Feel free to come here whenever.”

She hopped up wrapping her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss. “I will.”

I made a few final adjustments around the floor before I grabbed Alara’s hand and moved us down to the next section. Doing all my levels in ten floor sections saved me a lot of trouble of coming up with an idea for every floor, but at the same time I needed to think up things that could take up all the space doing that method.

Even though the forest section I just made took up roughly three kilometers in height and nearly two hundred in width, the dungeon magic expanded that to ten in height and close to a thousand in width. That was a lot of space and made the forest almost as large as the Western half of the United States back on Earth.

“What do you want to make next?”

“Next will be a bit complicated.”

I grabbed her hand tossing her into my arms then jumped down one of the holes made by the drills. We fell a few kilometers until we came to a large cavern. I formed a air cushion under me to stop our fall and we landed next to where the hole continued on.

“Where are we? A natural cavern?”

“Yes. But also, we are technically in the Beneath. I never imagined I would literally cut into the place with my drilling.”

“So, whatever you build next will have to contend with the races that dwell down here,” Alara said with what I tell was nervousness over my safety. I moved a stray lock of hair from her face and gave her a grin.

“I plan on making a stronghold of course, but I would rather the races of the Beneath saw this as a place of diplomacy in the future. For one, they will be able to access and request materials from the surface that according to Rens, is hard to come by.”

Glancing around the cavern, there were several entrances. It wouldn’t matter much once I changed it into a floor. The condensed space would equal that of close to half of north America. I could literally put a country or two down here and still have some space left over. In fact, that’s what I hoped to accomplish if I could lure some of the High races here.

I cracked my knuckles as I got to work. The cavern and some of the area beyond had already been infused with my aura as the drills had reached this place days ago. Shaping that, I enlarged the cavern, while only making it a bit larger to an outside viewer. Soon, as I thought I had a space that equaled just over half of North America or half of Europe.

In the center of the space, I built a tower that almost reached the ceiling. Just above it, I created my sun spell and made it my most sophisticated yet. Anyone that found themselves here, would feel like they were on the surface. I erased the ceiling with a spell that replicated the sky above our location. With a few environmental spells, it would even rain if it was raining on the surface.

Turning back to the surface of the floor, I added a large city. I knew they were currently five fractions operating in the Beneath, but that was only local politics. There could be entire other civilizations under the other continents. I eventually wanted contact with all the races on the planet. With that grand goal in mind, I created several dozen districts that were all equal distance from the center which would be my place of power.

I was forced to move my core to my lowest floor so it sat at the center of the tower. I couldn’t help but worry for its safety even with all the spells I had placed on it, so I created a sentinel every ten degrees in a circle around the tower. I copied my body and made it slightly lower in power. That was a major mana drain but I felt it was the best decision considering the challenges that might be on the horizon.

Once I finished, I look over the city, even with how big I made it, there was still ninety percent of the floor that was open. I waved my hand and created a diverse landscape that ranged from forests to lush planes. I could fine-tune it later if one of the races requested something unique to them, but for now I thought it looked inviting for just about anyone.

“Ignea.” I called and the fairy appeared a moment later. “My core is now located in the tower. It has all the same defense as before plus some more. As the tier three models are finished, I need you to position them here. I used a fair amount of mana here today. I doubt it will go unnoticed by anyone nearby.”

“Yes, father. We have a standing force of a three thousand that I could send down here now. Would you like me to do this?”

I nodded in agreement. “Yes. That is a good idea. I will be doing a bit more work here for the next day or two. After that, I will be heading over to Alara’s dungeon to get that cleaned up.”

“Understood. I really don’t like you leaving your dungeon, but I’ve grown to accept it. Glint makes things easier. I can share the load with him,” Ignea said cupping her face with her hand. I tried not to smile at how cute she looked.

“I’m sorry. Hopefully, everything will calm down and I’ll be able to stay in the dungeon soon.”

Chapter 17

Louella

Unable able to go back to sleep after my strange dream, I took a walk around the village. The villagers weren’t as bothered by me as they were the Dark elves, so I found it easier to interact with them. The village only had a few hundred people but something told me they had enough mana amongst them to wipe out a surface town or city.

Shaking my head of the thoughts, I focused more on the actual feel of the village. It looked like the people had good lives here. Everything felt lived in and there was certainly a lot of examples of love amongst the people. A young high human played in the street with a high elf, and they looked to be enjoying themselves.

Looking closer at the construction, I saw that it was a mixture of magical works and good old craftsmanship. The buildings were partially grown out of stone that made up the cavern. While much was built into the walls of the cavern, there was a large sections of houses and buildings built the way humans on the surface might construct their town.

I found myself at the healer’s house as I wandered through the village. I wasn’t sure what led me there as I hadn’t been there myself earlier. His door was open but I knocked on the frame to announce myself. I’d hate to accidently interrupt a healing taking place.

“Come in!”

Walking in, I had to watch my step. The floor was littered with all sorts of books and documents. It looked like the healer was very enthusiastic about his profession. I spotted several that dealt with the different races. It looked like he was trying to learn about their guests.

“Healer?” I called since I didn’t see him in the main area.

“Back here child,” called the healer from another room. I traced the voice as best I could and made it to the room. He was sitting at a desk that was buried in mountains of paperwork. The sight brought on a sense of nostalgia.

“Sorry to bother you, elder. I sort of found myself here before I realized what I was doing,” I said bowing my head in apology to the older man.

“You find that the world has a way of leading people where they need to be when they are more in touch with the elements. In your case, I wager they are trying very hard to help you through whatever troubles you.”

“Why would they be eager?”

“Because in their eyes you might appear to be a sort of mother. Greater Elementals bring life to lesser elementals. Thusly, making you very important to them.” The healer placed the book he was reading on the only clear space on the desk before he looked at me for the first time. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“I’m not sure. Ever since I woke up a few days ago, I feel like I’m being pulled in every direction and don’t have much say in the matter.”

“I see. I wish I could help you with your mana problem, but I have already explained the issue with that.” The healer bowed his head. I shook my head.

“Do not apologize. I was more talking about my memory. Its been spotted since I woke up. Nero, one of the people in my party, claims it was caused by Glorious trying to change me. I feel he speaks the truth, but how can I be sure?”

“Memory issues. I didn’t think to ask if there was anything else wrong with your person. I suppose we all have room to grow.” He paused as he got up and moved over to me. He gestured to a step and I just stared at him as it was covered in books that went to my chest. “Sorry.” He started clearing the chair off. I was worried he was going to cause a chain reaction with the other stacks collapsing around the room.

I took the seat once it was cleared enough. “Mind if I have a look?”

I nodded and bent my head down. Placing his hands on either side of my temples, a white glow emitted from them. I felt some foreign mana enter that area of my head. I could tell I could fight it if I wanted to. I heard the healer as he murmured to himself, but nothing was really intelligible.

After a few minutes, he pulled back his hands and had a look of consideration. “Well?”

“It is difficult to say. The mind is a tricky thing after all. Part of the issue is the elemental conflict happening in your body. As you can assume, your brain is not unaffected. I couldn’t find anything that was damaged, though I could tell you were under a tremendous amount of stress recently.”

I thought about that before I replied. “According to my companions, we recently were in the midst of a battle with a neighboring country. That might be what caused the stress.”

“Can’t say I approve of war. Though, I understand the reason behind it. As a healer, I would rather see us all live-in peace,” he said with a shake of his head. “As for helping you get your memory back. I’m not sure I know of a way. If I’m not careful, I could wipe out your identity from before.”

“Is that so… Very well. Thank you for at least looking. I do feel better talking to someone about it.”

“Glad I could help child.” The healer patted my shoulders.

I gave him a smile then carefully stood up. I had been out for a while after all. The others might start to worry soon. Yuno might be caring for his sister, but he was attentive and I really didn’t want Nero searching the streets shouting my name. “Thank you…” I started to say again when I felt a wave of mana crash through the room.

“What in the gods’ names was that?” the healer said as he moved to the window.

Something about the mana wave felt familiar. I knew that I knew this mana. “Sorry, healer. Hopefully, we’ll talk again in the future, but I have to go!” Without waiting for a reply, I rushed from the healer’s office and back out to the streets. I barely slowed down as I turned in the direction the mana wave came from. After running for less than a minute, I came to a gate sealing the exit to the cavern.

“Lady Louella. I should have known you’d have felt that.” I turned and found Nero and the others moving over to me.

“What was it? I felt like I knew that mana.”

“No doubt. That would be because it was Lord Regan’s mana. We’d dived the dungeon a few times before the war broke out and know that sensation,” Yuno said with a nod.

“I have to say I’m impressed. If what we learned is true, he’s less than a year-old right? This has got to be the fastest a dungeon has ever reached the Beneath,” Nero said with a shake of his head. “Judging from the sensation I got, he broke into the Beneath relatively close to here.”

“Then we should head that way! You said he could help me right?!” I demanded, having to do my best to control myself from rushing out the gate this minute.

“Yes.” Nero rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment. “Yes, I think we should change course. This will be faster.”

“We need to make sure we actually meet with this Lord Regan this time!” Yuno said grabbing Nero’s shoulder.

“I think you’d be better off talking to her than me,” he replied with a thumb in my direction.

“I’ll make sure you get a meeting and he helps you!”

~~~

We left a few hours later, when it technically would have been morning on the surface. The expedition decided to come along with us. They didn’t outright say it, but I could tell from the Lords that they were nervous about another player joining the power struggle down here in the Beneath.

While the Dark elves, and the high races of Fallen Rose had put aside their differences, the dwarves were marshalling their forces. Their scouts just couldn’t tell why. Nothing should have tipped the balance enough for them gain much strength over the other forces in the Beneath.

“I think it’s a show,” I said while we walked. The tunnels we were in were patrolled regularly and we had a small army around us so we could be a bit more casual about the noise we made.

“A show?” Yuno replied to which I nodded.

“All the Beneath cities were hit by this Terra wave correct?” Yuno and Nero both nodded to my statement. “Then who has the most to lose. All the forces down here were on equal footing. The dwarves however supplied many of the goods the others use. Mainly weapons. If any of the cities were hit just a bit less, they might use this as a chance to make some ground on this ongoing war.”

“Thus, a show.” Yuno said smacking his open hand with a fist. “A performance to the others that they weren’t that affect and to leave them alone.”

“Exactly! It’s what I would do.”

Nero bobbed his head. “It is as good an explanation as any. The High Dwarves have cut off all lines into their city. They have even pulled back their agents in the others.”

“They told you all this?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. He had managed to get quite chummy with the Lords during our stay.

“Well. I have a certain leverage.”

“I bet.” I turned to Yuno. “How long do you think until we reach the area the wave originated from?”

“Hard to say. Unlike physical beings, mana doesn’t exactly have a smell. The air currents are all shifting rapidly, affected by some massive change that occurred recently, likely associated with the mana wave. As a result, the smells are all over the place.”

I sighed but nodded. I would have to just hope it was soon. I wasn’t paying attention as I was deep in my thoughts when I heard shouting and we came to a stop. Looking around to see what was going on, I saw an explosion from the front of the line. It wasn’t long before the clashing of steel rang out as well.

“What now?!” I groaned as I tightened my grip on my staff.

Chapter 18

Puppet

Speeding through the Beneath, we made good time. I didn’t know how the monsters worked down here, but we must have been moving too fast for them to bother with us. Given the nature of the Beneath, as long as we didn’t linger in any of the monster’s territory, we probably wouldn’t have to even deal with them.

Barely two days passed before we felt Father’s mana wave. It was behind us by about two hundred kilometers give or take of tunnel. I already planned to talk to Father about getting some drills down here to make straight passages. All these windings and curves just added time to our journey. Had it been on the surface, it would only amount to around twenty or thirty kilometers.

We rounded a bend when Natsuko held up her hand. We pulled the gravity bikes to a stop. “What is it?” I sent over the comms.

“I’m detecting a large mana reading up ahead and I mean large.”

“Everyone dismount. We’ll continue on foot until we assess what the threat is,” I order hoping off my bike and sending it to our storage. Everyone else followed suit before he drew our weapons and started making our way down the stone tunnel. None of us needed light to see, so we could continue on in complete darkness.

We still made good time and soon we were only one bend away from the large mana source. I motioned for the others to hold back while I turned my camouflage magic on. For all intents and purposes, I vanished from sight. Slipping around the corner, I easily made out the large force heading down the tunnel.

I wasn’t sure how to assess what I saw. Given what Father told me, the races walking down the tunnel should be enemies, not allies. High humans and elves, walked along with Dark elves there was certainly a tension in the air, but it would be surprising for centuries old enemies to get along perfectly.

I was going to let them pass when I saw the objective that we came down here for. Lady Louella was in the middle of the group. I couldn’t tell what their situation was from just a glance, but considering it looked like she was under guard. It couldn’t be good.

I quickly made my way back to the others. “I found our target! She’s with a party made up of two of the fractions down here.”

“Was she a prisoner?” Azra asked worried. She was fond of the woman since she brought her food and was helping to free slaves around the kingdoms.

“I couldn’t tell outright, but she was under guard.”

“How do you want to proceed?” Z2 asked.

“We’ll set up an ambush and I’ll ask. If they don’t give her over then we’ll take her by force.”

Z2 cracked her knuckles. “Understood.”

“I’ll fire the warning shot. They’ll never knew what hit them,” Natsuko said with a grin.

With that decided, we moved a bit further down the tunnel. We waited for several minutes when a large explosion sent a shockwave down the tunnel at us. Worried that they might have gotten the jump on us, Z2 and I rushed from where we’d set the ambush to see what was going on.

A large group of dwarves had created a connecting tunnel and were attacking the joint Fallen rose and dark elf force. The force with Lady Louella was holding their ground for now, but I was worried that might be the case for long. The dwarves had a vastly higher control of the terra mana around them.

I zoomed my sight in to get a better idea of the enemy. The dwarves almost appeared to be made from stone themselves. With strange cracks running over the surface of their skin. I almost wanted to call these golems rather than dwarves. They were almost overflowing with terra mana.

“Let’s assist Lady Louella!” I sent over the comms, and the others rushed to us. Natsuko and Natsuo formed a defensive position as she dropped down to the ground and morphed her weapon to its rifle form. Natsuo created a barrier with his metal plates to defend against anything that might be thrown at them.

Z2 and Lean charged ahead as Natsuko fired rounds that hit their mark every time. Three dwarves had their heads blasted off, before they wizened up to us attacking from their rear. The shifted the ground around them to create a barrier. Z2 threw a spell that froze the air and infused it with water mana to halt the stone from rising.

I was right behind the two as we jumped over the partial stone barrier and laid into the dwarven lines. I brought my sword around removing the arm of the nearest dwarf. I wanted to go for incapacitation rather than lethal. While they were attacking the group with Lady Louella, we didn’t want to outright join any sides of the age-old war taking place in the Beneath.

Z2 and Lean were doing their part. Lean would engulf the enemy in shadows and they would be unconscious once he removed himself from them. Z2 liberally froze everyone around her. She’d gone for a rapier and anything she struck froze nearly instantly. Then there were the occasional out of nowhere headshots from Natsuko that would take a life every few seconds.

With the Fallen rose group responding to their attack, and us attacking from their rear. The dwarves quickly found themselves in a tough position. Whoever was in charge, ordered a retreat as the dwarves started to pull back into their artificial tunnel. I debated chasing them, but Lady Louella was our priority.

The soldiers of the Fallen Rose party bared their weapons at us but made no move. I sheathed mine as a show of non-hostilities. A few of them lowered their weapons slightly but none sheathed them. Not that I could blame them.

“I am Puppet. Son of Regan. We are here to rescue the Lady Louella, Queen of Vaihdetta. I know that she is in your ranks,” I shouted. I decided it was better just to have my purpose out in the open.

Lady Louella ran up through the ranks a few seconds later. I tilted my head as something seemed off about her, though I couldn’t place my finger on it. I had only met her briefly during my time at Tearfalls when she claimed the throne from the Prince.

“I am Lady Louella! Please don’t fight over me,” she said holding her hands up to both us and the soldiers from the group she was with. She looked back in my direction. “You said your name was Puppet?”

“Yes. Of course,” I said saluting her.

“I am afraid my memory is lacking of late. The name Regan does ring in my mind, but… nothing much more.”

“I see. That is terrible. My father has worked to rescue you once he learned of your survival of the event to the west of Vaihdetta. He would have come himself but there were pressing matters to the north and east.”

“I understand. These people were helping me reach the surface then the source of the mana disturbance. They are not your enemies if you are my ally.”

I glanced at the soldiers that had lowered their weapons fully by this point with one or two of them putting them away. I nodded and Z2 let her weapon turn to water, and Lean took his normal mortal form. “We will join this escort and help protect you until you reach father.”

“Thank you. I know you are doing this for me and I wish I could properly recall who you all are,” Lady Louella said bowing her head.

“Its fine. Oh!” I remembered the package father told me to give to Lady Louella once we located her. “This is for you.” I handed the crystal cylinder over. She took it with only a slight hesitation and twisted the top. A lightning elemental, Gulv if I remembered correctly, shoot out into the air. It chirped in obvious sign of affection as it laid eyes on Lady Louella.

“I know you…” Lady Louella said as she held her hand out. The elemental flew down and wrapped around her arm then eventually her neck. “There, there.”

Chapter 19

Regan

It took much less time for us to get to Alara’s dungeon. Thanks to the transponders I placed when heading this way, I was barely able to make teleporting work. That gave me an insight into how to circumvent the issue but would require a great deal of infrastructure being created before it would be truly workable.

Even with the transponders, we had to hopscotch our way up to her dungeon. While we did so, we paid a visit to the dryads along the path. With my overwhelming control of the area even before I subdued the lich core, they had gone unmolested by the undead that still wandered the area.

The first one we visited was already taller than everything around it. Being the farthest from the source of unholy mana and nearest to my main area of influence just outside the mountain, the unholy mana was cleansed much faster around her. This allowed the dryad to switch to the cleaner nature mana sooner.

Its guardian Treant wasn’t slacking either. The creature was about half the size of the dryad at close to twenty-five meters, but the density of its mana was on another scale. If any undead did manage to get this close to the dryad, they would be quickly returned to the soil.

“How is she?” I asked Alara. She might not be bound to the dryads like she was when they were born, but she could still communicate with them. Alara was basically a dryad herself after all.

“She is thriving. Your son, Anubis. His metal has given her a sort of immunity to unholy mana. She still needs to process it herself, but with it she has a buffer rather than using her own body.”

I looked at the girl in my arms. She had taken to riding on my shoulders or being carried by me whenever she got the chance. Not that I minded. “I see. That is fortunate. I had expected something like that when I saw him give them a piece of himself, but that is better than I anticipated. I shouldn’t be surprised given she’s technically your daughter.”

Alara blushed but smiled happily. “I know it was painful for them, but their existence was cursed and wicked. I thank you for helping them even while trying to help me.”

Rubbing the back of my head, I said. “Well strategically it made no sense to leave them behind me, but I do admit part of it was for you.”

Alara leaned forward and gave me a kiss of the cheek. I grinned in response. “Are you done talking to her? If so, I’ll move us to the next one.”

“Yes. She is healthy and happy. Once the snows and winter is over, she will likely grow to three times her current size.”

I looked to the dryad’s tree, and noticed a young girl peeking out from behind the trunk. She waved before she vanished in a burst of green light. If she was already able to create a spiritual image, then the dryad really was well on her way to recovery. I was glad that the forest was recovering so quickly.

Connecting to the transponder network, I used its aura to move us to the next dryad. We visited all the dryads over the next couple hours. It would be hard for Alara to cross the distance without my assistance and it was only right to allow her to visit her children. Maybe I was spoiling her, but something just made me want to make the girl happy.

It was twilight when we finally arrived at her dungeon. The land and top that had suffered the most damage due to Starfall had already been repaired through the efforts my floating city core. That only extended maybe twenty floors down. It wouldn’t due for me to influence her dungeon with my own.

With one last teleport, we were in her core room. The dryad might have been a beautiful creature of nature, but the tree at the center of the room that housed her core would always seem otherworldly too me. It had a solid appearance, but the branches and leaves took an ethereal appearance that bordered on almost ghostly.

Alara hopped down from my arms and moved over to her tree. Placing a hand on it, she sank into the tree without any resistance. There was a glow that permeated the room before she reappeared up in the branches. “Regan!” She shouted just as she jumped from the branches aiming for me.

Of course, I caught her without issue. I wouldn’t be able to call myself a man if I missed her. “What was that about?”

She looked back at the tree with a forlorn look. “That is part of my core now. I took the idea from all that spellwork around your core. It will protect my core from anything that would harm it.”

“Not a bad idea.”

Next to the tree were several floating crystals that had complicated metalwork around them. These were the filters I’d made of her to help cleanse her dungeon just a little bit faster. By all rights, she should be a higher tier than me. She had the entire forest in the north that worshipped her like a mother. The unholy mana just twisted the faith and herself so severely that she could breakthrough.

“What is your plan? You have that ‘I’m better than everyone else’ grin right now.”

“Huh? Was I making a face like that?” I asked rubbing my face. I didn’t know that my metal features could shift like that.

Alara laughed which reminded me of tinkling bells as she rubbed her hand over my face. “No, but I know you well enough now to know that’s what was going on in your head.”

“Fair enough. Well, its simple enough. I’m going to purge the remaining unholy mana by cleansing it myself and leaving the mana for you to absorb as you get to it. It should be much easier than the unholy mana which is inherently uncooperative.”

Alara gave me a concerned looked and placed a hand on my cheek. “Are you going to be alright? There is still a lot of unholy mana that needs to be dealt with. Plus there is…”

I interrupted her then gave her a smile to show her my confidence. I didn’t want her fretting about me. “I will be fine. I have a lot of ways to expunge the unholy mana that builds up. I will need you to wait here for a bit though.”

She nodded and hopped down. “I’ll be watching over you,” she said as I tipped my head to her before I moved to the thirty-third floor.

Alara had gone a great job of cleansing the floors, but there was a residual pockets that had held on in a lot of the floors. Plus, the lower floors that constantly leaked unholy mana down the dungeon paths. That was just the way mana worked in a dungeon. It liked to travel towards more dense locations thus flow down. If it was one of the field dungeons, like my Steel Spire, then it would concentrate at the center of the field.

I looked around once I arrived at the center of the floor. There were undead, but they instinctively knew to stay away from me. My body was composed of adamantium which would turn lesser undead into ash if I used a light spell on it. A handy side effect that I found with some testing.

“Now then. Time to showcase my manliness,” I muttered before I opened my aura to its fullest. Like a flood, it washed over the entirety of the floor. I replaced the natural flow of the dungeon with one heading towards me and forced all the unholy mana to rush towards me like a wave that had crested a beach.

The unholy mana struck me like a wall, and I turned my cleansing to full power. The only difference was I allowed the clean mana to exit me rather than absorb it for myself. This required me to fight my own dungeon instincts. It didn’t like to give up mana for any reason and for the first time in a long time, the instinct really reared its head.

Grimacing, I ignored the tantalizing desire to absorb all this mana into myself and focused on Alara’s face. It helped bring me a bit of clarity. Even with the dungeon instinct still in the background, I could ignore it. I smiled to myself at the thought of the girl. As a dungeon core herself, she knew my instinct would rear itself.

It took about as long as I expected to cleanse the entire floor. I could have started with the pockets, but the floors would be the most difficult given how much unholy mana there was, thus I decided to do those first. As I finished converting all the mana, parts of my body opened and expelled all the built-up heat that was generated from the process.

The ground under my feet had even melted a few centimeters from the heat I had been generating. As a transformative process, a physical change had to take place. Heat was the least of my worries. When dealing with an energy source that could alter the fabric of reality, I could find myself in a time bubble again. Not that I would allow that to happen.

If there was one thing I was grateful for during the next few hours, it was that I was moving up through the dungeon thus the floors were getting smaller. Starfall had tore through these floors initially but when they were recreated it was in the necromancer version. The unholy mana likely wasn’t as dense as it was before Starfall, but it was up there.

Once I hit floor ten, the last floor that was still corrupted from the unholy mana. I breathed a sigh of relief. The pockets on the higher floors still remained, but those would be easier compared to these. I glanced at my hands, even the adamantane couldn’t handle just how much unholy mana I had processed today and were partially degraded. It would be a day or two until they returned to normal.

I was about to move to the first of the pockets, when Alara appeared in a burst of soil. She rushed over to me and took my hands in hers. “Take a break!” She pressed my hands against her forehead, and I felt drops of cool run down the back of my hand. I realized she was crying.

I leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. “It doesn’t hurt, and I want you to be whole again.” Honestly, the thought that she had so much unholy mana still in her dungeon had been like knowing your loved one had cancer. I might have said it was due to the threat I knew was coming, but deep down, I was just worried about her.

She gave me a stern look, which was all the more powerful with her eyes red from her tears. “You can afford to wait ten minutes!”

Looking into her eyes, I knew there was no arguing with her. I grinned and just nodded. “As you wish, your majesty,” I said jokingly.

Chapter 20

Louella

Something called out from inside me when I saw the lightning elemental. He wrapped around my neck, but I didn’t feel threatened or worried. It was a strange sensation, as the little guy didn’t have an actual physical form, but the tingling from the energy his body put off was interesting. I could feel the great amount of affection he had for me as he rubbed his head against my cheek.

“You said his name was Gulv?” I asked the man named Puppet.

“Yeah. I wasn’t there, but he was formed from your mana.”

With a chirp, the little lightning elemental wrapped tighter around me when I said his name. I certainly felt more relaxed than I had in while. With a nod of thanks to Puppet, I moved to go back to my spot in the march. I wanted all the more to reach Regan so I could return to normal.

The confrontation had only last for a few minutes, but the level of noise was likely to attract other monsters of the Beneath. Or at least that was what the dark elf and Fallen rose guards said. They got us moving again as it was dangerous. I played with Gulv as we moved. The little guy seemed to very happy to be with me. He also like my staff. I could feel the staff also knew the elemental and was pleased by him being back with us.

Puppet and his party stayed near me. They were given a mission by Regan to find, protect, and escort me back after all. There appeared to be some unique dynamics at work in the party. The one called Lean would appear to have a serious devotion to the one called Z2 then the next he would be off asking completely random questions.

“Is he stable?” I asked Puppet in a whisper when Lean started asking one of the dark elves if they had mated before.

“No. But he’s not dangerous. Just curious.”

“I see.” Z2 came to the dark elf’s rescue as she pulled Lean back to the party. I turned back to the tunnel ahead as we continued walking. “How long until we reach our destination?”

“I’d wager about a day.”

“Good. I want my mind to be back to normal,” I said.

“If anyone can help you, it would be father,” Puppet replied with a chuckle.

I felt something pull my sleeve, turning I found Sara next to me. “Do you think Regan would be able to help her as well?” I asked grabbing Sara’s hand.

“I don’t see why not. Though, I don’t want to write any checks that father might not be able to cash so make sure you hear it from him before you get too hopeful.”

The trek continued without incident. I was glad that the journey was turning out to be uneventful. I was tired of fighting and the dark. The sooner we could get back to the surface the happier I would be. Like that, a day passed.

“That certainly wasn’t there a week ago,” one of the Fallen Rose soldiers said from next to me.

My sight wasn’t adapted to the darkness of the tunnels like theirs was and I couldn’t see what they were talking about yet. “What is it?”

“A giant door,” he replied.

A few minutes later, the light of the mage’s spells showcased the object in question. The tunnel that might have big enough for six or seven people to walk abreast opened to that of a cavern. You could fit the village we stayed in easily here. A giant doorway sat on the far side of the cavernous cave.

Some of the scouts moved forward to investigate when the stone next to the wall slid back and large objects with several tubes emerged. The door flashed red and both Puppet and I rushed forward to stop the scout from moving any further. I knew the objects were powerful weapons that could decimate an army in minutes. I wasn’t sure how I knew, I just did.

“Let me handle this!” Puppet shouted before he moved in front of the party.

“State your purpose of visiting Dungeon Automata!” a voice echoed out. I noticed a head of some sort popped out of the doorway. A blue light flood from its eye on Puppet. It instantly turned green.

“I am Puppet, son of Regan. I came with an envoy from Fallen Rose and the Dark Elves. I am also escorting Queen Louella.”

“Entry approved. Please follow the guardians once you are inside. Any acts of violence will be met with fatal force.”

The doors began to swing open and for a moment, I thought we were taken to the surface. However, that wasn’t the case as I noticed the sloping of the walls that ran along past the doors. The influx of light wasn’t too rough as the pseudo sky was in the middle of twilight and was transitioning to night.

“Geez. This core doesn’t know how to hold back does he?” I heard Nero mumbled from next to me.

The members of the Beneath expedition also marveled at what they saw. What appeared to be a soldier approached us. He was wearing sleek armor that I thought would like resist most of the weapons carried by everyone in this group. He gestured for us to follow him. We were led to a sleek room of some kind.

Taking a seat, we waited to see what was happening. When all of the party was in the building, the doors closed. I felt the room shift up then we started moving at a tremendous speed towards the center of the giant cavern. Fields and forests passed by and eventually, the sight of a sparkling city appeared in the distance. All the buildings looked to be made from crystals.

“Amazing,” I heard and turned to see the Lords sitting in the set of chairs behind us.

I had to agree, but I found I wasn’t surprised. Something was telling me that was the norm for the man we were going to meet. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. I heard Puppet call the vessel a train to the others in his party. No matter what it was called, it was going to take a minute for it to reach our destination.

“My lady… My lady.” I blinked as I stirred. I must have fallen asleep. The gentle rocking of the train had been quite soothing. Yuno was gently shaking me.

“What is it?” I asked with a yawn,

“We’ve arrived.”

I turned towards the window and saw he was right. The train was sitting in the middle of a platform. While the line we were on ended, I spotted two more that led into the city in different directions. Large amounts of the building were made from crystal and glass. We filed out of the train and once we were all off, it blasted back down the line.

Everyone gathered on the platform, but we didn’t have any idea where to go. The guard from the gate had left with the train. Looking around, I saw that Puppet was approaching a statue. When the thing moved, I realized that it was actually something else. It had just been standing so perfectly still that I’d assumed it was a statue.

“We need to see Father. Is he in the dungeon?”

“Negative, Lord Puppet. He is assisting Lady Alara in her dungeon at the moment.”

“Damn. Alright. Please relay a message for us. Have everyone here taken to some quarters so they can rest.”

“Understood!” The man turned toward the rest of the party. “If everyone would follow me.”

We followed along like a group of lost puppies, but the man stopped at one of the tracks. We waited but he showed no indication of what he was waiting for. One of the Fallen Rose guards asked and the man just pointed at a sign above the track. It read five minutes. With a sigh, the guard shrugged and moved back into the group.

Exactly five minutes later on the dot, the sound of metal on metal came from down the track and another train pulled into the platform. We boarded and were soon whisked further into the city. The buildings rose for what felt like forever above our heads. The starlight being reflected in a thousand different ways.

If I had all my memories, I would know if I had ever seen something so beautiful. I just breathed a sigh and decided to enjoy the moment. Hopefully Regan would be back soon and I could get back to normal.

Next:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/43761768

Previous:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/43761692