After the sun rose, Gray and Eliza set off for the dungeon. To that end, they had climbed down from the plateau and walked along the riverside in the valley below. At the moment, Eliza walked in front, leading the way, while Gray followed behind her.
"So just where is this dungeon?"
"It should be beneath the waterfall."
"Huh. Typical." After looking towards the crashing waterfall, he noticed that there did seem to be an opening nearby. It wasn’t visible from up above, but it could be seen by walking along the valley. It shouldn't have surprised Gray, all things considered. Though... he did notice something odd.
"Hey, Eliza?"
"Hm?" The white-haired woman turned her head back to look at him and said, "What is it?"
"Is there a reason why we haven't seen any monsters recently?"
Ever since they had left Rorin village, he hadn't been ambushed by a single monster. It was a good thing, but he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Before then, monsters could be seen in every direction. But at the moment, he couldn’t even see a single slime.
"Ah, that. I considered that you might want to conserve your energy for the trials ahead, so I am actively releasing a pressure to ward them away."
"I... see."
Eliza seemed to be more incredible every day.
The two of them walked in silence. With nothing to say, Gray took a look around.
There were rocky outcrops on either side, towering above. To his left, there was a river with crystal clear water. Inside of it, there were a few silver fish swimming past. Coupled with the soft sunlight from above and the soft bubbling of the river, it made for a peaceful scene. It was almost enough for Gray to think that he was in some nature park back home rather than a different world.
"Here we are."
Gray was drawn out of his contemplation by Eliza's voice. Before he realized it, they had arrived at the base of the waterfall.
Water crashed down from a towering rock cliff above, forming the coursing river. Yet, as Gray looked towards it, he realized that the water didn’t have a source. Although a large amount was falling, it seemed to come out of nowhere, materializing from thin air.
"Wait. How is water coming from there?"
"It is... well, you will see shortly, but there exists a vast underground lake in the area. Due to various circumstances, the water is continously transferred from there to the rocky outcrop above.”
Gray watched the waterfall again and shook his head in awe.
"Come. We should make haste. You are in a hurry, are you not?"
"Ah, right."
Eliza's words reminded him of why they came here.
Clear the dungeon, obtain the cascade sigil, and increase his magical prowess. That done, he would be able to raise strength and then head to the captial to learn space magic. With that he could return home. And at home, he could get back to his old life. With his old life, he could keep the promises he made to his friends and family.
...So why did he feel so reluctant to do so?
"Gray?"
"Ah, coming."
Gray shook his head and followed Eliza.
The two of them walked behind the waterfall towards the small gap hidden nearby. Eliza went first, as usual, and Gray followed. Stepping into the crevise, Gray felt a shiver run down his spine.
"You felt it? Good. It seems that your magical prowess is not too poor."
Gray shivered and looked around. "What is that?"
A sort of ever-present chill, permeating into his body. Almost like ice cradling his bones.
"That is the sign of a dungeon. An area where the energy of the world has been disturbed, disrupting the natural order. It usually indicates the presence of a Rune or some other world phenomenon."
Gray shook his body, trying to get some warmth into it. It seemed to work, as the chill vanished.
"Hm? You figured out how to disperse it already? …Good. At this rate, it will not be long until you reach Champion level in your magical prowess."
"...So soon?"
"Of course," Eliza said. "I told you, did I not? With me by your side, we shall surely get your magical prowess to the Braveheart level before arriving at the capital. Once there, you need only visit any bookstore and obtain a book on space magic and that will be that."
"You did say that... still find it hard to believe though."
The gap between D and C was an entire magnitude. For him to so casually cross that gap was one thing. But to go from C to B as well...
Once again, Gray had an appreciation for Eliza's superb talent at making his life easier. Consequently, he felt much more guilt at being indebted to her kindness.
"Anyway, where exactly are we? It's kind of dark."
He hadn't noticed because he was cold, but he couldn't really see much of what was around them after they entered the dungeon.
"Light." Eliza's answer was a single word. In doing so, the surroundings lit up. Not extremely, but enough for him to see. If Gray had to compare, it would be like a dimly lit room on a cloudy day.
With that, he could actually see his surroundings.
"...Huh. Is this place manmade?"
They looked to be in an entrance hall. There were pillars on either side, reminding Gray somewhat of Roman architecture. Directly in front of him, there was a set of stairs leading down into the darkness.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"No one knows," Eliza said. "Dungeons have existed since time immemorial. This one was only discovered by a hero long ago, searching for a way to save his lover."
"Oh? And what happened to him?"
"He failed."
"Ah."
Footsteps echoed as the two made their way towards the stairs.
Gray placed one hand on his sword, sheathed at his left side, ready to act at a moment's notice. Eliza was there with him, but considering her history of non-interference during sudden monster attacks, he knew better than to count on her.
For a long while, there was nothing more than the sound of dropping water and footsteps. While there was a surging waterfall outside, the dungeon's effects seemed to have cut them off from it entirely, leaving only silence.
When the stairs ended, the narrow passage opened up to a wide cavern. And inside that cavern-
"...I see what you mean about an underground lake."
The cavern must have been the size of an airplane hangar.
Gray and Eliza had stepped onto the edge of a lake with a single marble bridge before them into what looked like a Roman Temple in the center of it.
"That is strange." Unlike Gray, who was awed by the appearance of the temple and lake, Eliza was on her guard.
"What's strange?" Gray asked.
"It is usually not this easy. The stairs in a dungeon should create a spatial folding phenomenon and send us to a random room with monsters. For us to directly reach the sigil chamber... stay close, Gray. Something is not right."
Saying those words, Eliza held out her hand. A sword appeared in it, lightning crackling before condensing into a golden blade.
While he was initially surprised, and somewhat bitter that Eliza hadn’t used that in the past to help him out, caution won out and Gray carefully observed his surroundings.
The two walked side by side across the bridge. The tension in the air was thick, enough that Gray felt he was suffocating. Though he realized it was an illusion, he couldn’t ignore it. They were traveling on a marble bridge across an underground lake that could be hundreds of miles deep for all he knew. It was the perfect setup for some crazy sea dragon or monster to appear and attack them.
But, whether it was by good fortune or Eliza's presence, nothing happened. The two of them made it safely across the bridge and into the temple.
Once inside, Eliza sent her sword away.
Seeing that, Gray did the same.
"Strange," Eliza said. "Nothing is out of the ordinary. But I could swear that- no. It must be my imagination."
"Eliza?"
"It is nothing. In any regard... let us enter, Gray."
Gray nodded and followed Eliza, who had pushed open the doors to the temple.
"This place...?"
The door was behind them, allowing light to spill into the room, but other than that, it was pitch black.
That was, until his first step inside.
The darkness was dispelled by the arrival of a soft light. An ephemerally beautiful glyph was hovering in the air. Colored a deep blue, it was constantly shifting form even as Gray stared at it.
"That is the True Water Rune."
Gray turned to look at Eliza to see that she was gazing at the glyph.
"True Water Rune?"
Eliza nodded. "It was what the Hero sought to obtain, and what he failed to keep. Now, it remains here to grant a portion of its strength to those worthy enough to reach it."
Gray couldn't say anything and continued to watch the glyph.
On occassion, he could make out letters from within it. W, a... the letters forming the word 'water'.
"So this is a rune...?"
Gray dropped his bag on the floor, and stared at the rune. Mesmerized, Gray began walking towards it. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the rune. His hand reached out, and-
----------------------------------------
Eternity. That was what the Rune represented.
Since the dawn of time, Water existed in some form or another. Omni-present and forever a witness to the world, it alone remained while everything else vanished.
Continually flowing, lives were born and lives reached their end. Though some lasted longer than others, few if any broke free from the shackles of death and became an eternal aspect of existence.
Most perished, reaching the ends of their lives without accomplishing anything world-changing. And others lived lives too short.
Eternity. That was the True Water Rune. But as such, it was something that could not be obtained by an individual. Something that could not be contained in a mortal form.
But someone tried.
A memory rippling through water’s serenity. A black-haired hero and his star-crossed lover.
Echoes of their plight reverberated amidst the Rune's memories.
A man turning his back on the world to extend 'her' life. A woman bestowing her 'life' to break his shackles.
In the end, the fate of those two were-
----------------------------------------
A roar snapped Gray out of his trance. Looking around, he realized that Eliza had gone missing.
There was the sound of combat.
He shook his head, clearing it of the fog from the trance he had been in and ran outside.
"Eliza?! What's happening?"
When he made it outside, he froze.
A dragon. That was what Eliza was fighting.
The water around the temple churned and foamed, as if the whole lake was boiling. But it wasn't. Instead, the turbulance was caused by a creature dashing in and out of it at blinding speeds.
Scales shimmering a deep blue, barely visible within the dim ambience of the cavern reflected briefly in midair. A gigantic figure, with a width twice that of the marble bridge. In fact, it had wrapped around the bridge. A sea serpent with ominous eyes. And teeth. Menacing serrated daggers in a wide maw.
Eliza stood before the dragon with a golden sword in her right hand. The same one that she had made previously from lightning. When she heard Gray's voice, she turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she said, "What are you doing?! Stay inside the temple!"
"But-"
"Go, now!"
With only those words, she turned her attention back to the dragon.
Almost immediately, a surge of water flew out from the serpent's opened maw.
Eliza waved her hand, causing a barrier to form and block it. At the same time, she swung her sword, causing bolts of lightning to lash out at the dragon, evaporating the torrent of water. Cutting through that, the golden bolts crashed against the sapphire scales with a thunderclap. Yet, there seemed to be little effect.
The serpent let out a roar and its scales began glowing. Ice crystals rapidly formed around its body, and the air swiftly dropped in temperature.
Once again, Eliza moved into action, faster than Gray could even see.
One moment she was standing in front of him and the next there was a flash of golden light. The dragon roared and blood splashed into the water, dying it crimson. However, Eliza wasn't better off.
She was fighting the dragon, and occasionally Gray managed to catch glimpses of her. While she was doing significant damage, he noticed that her speed was gradually decreasing.
Dammit. He was just standing there, unable to do anything. What was the point of him even being there? Just run away! But leaving someone else to fight for him, being indebted to someone else yet again-
"GRAY!"
He had been in a daze, a moment of self-incrimination. Because of it, he didn't realize what was going on.
The dragon must have noticed his lack of movement. Easy prey. Though a monster, it was intelligent enough to realize that Eliza was protecting him.
By the time Gray realized that Eliza had called out to him, the dragon's maw was already before him.
A gaping hole filled with serrated teeth and an endless abyss coming at him from the side.
Fast. Too fast for him to react.
A flash of silver and a gust of wind.
A heavy impact sent Gray flying back. And then he saw a scene he would never forget.
Eliza's hand outstretched before him, her crimson eyes focused on his while she stood in front of the serpent’s gaping mouth.
And then she was gone, along with the dragon, both vanishing into the depths of the dark lake.
The turbulent waters died down, leaving nothing but eerie slience.
And like that, Gray was alone.
For his sake, Eliza brought him to the cave. For his sake, Eliza fought the dragon. And for his sake, for his worthless life, Eliza-
"Ha."
Careless. He had been too careless. No, not careless. Naive.
"Haha."
Relying on Eliza for everything. Believing her to be all powerful. He never once considered the consequences of what might happen if there was an enemy stronger than her. Never once thought of what he might do when such a time occured.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Gray bent over, his body doubled over in laughter.
Pathetic. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. Self-loathing and incrimination bleached his mind white.
It was like the last time. Just like the last time. Like when he promised her that he would see her again. That she didn’t need to worry. That it would be fine.
And then he lied and left her behind.
Gray laughed. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Gasping laughter, gaping breaths. Laughing at himself over and over again, Gray didn't notice as the space around him distorted.
He still didn't notice when that space shattered, sending him into a different area entirely.