image [https://i.imgur.com/xcQhW8Y.jpg]

I trailed behind Aurelia and the toad boy into the ruins of what used to be their fortress... or should I call it a lair? Hideout? Definitely not a coven—that’s more like a vampire meet-up, kind of like a murder is for crows, I think. Don’t quote me on that. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I might be totally wrong with my logic. Anyways! I got a bit sidetracked there. Back to the tale!

I wove through the wreckage of their stronghold, taking in the destruction left from the battle. Trying my hardest not to drool anything Corrosive as I hungrily eyed the array of corpses strewn haphazardly about, each face etched with the agony of a lost battle’s end. They weren’t all vampires—nope, those were most likely the various piles of ashes I kept noticing everywhere.

No. The real eye-catchers were the lifeless, defeated bodies of zombies, ghouls, and other delightful creatures, perhaps even a few elf thralls, all reeking of tantalizing decay. Their yummy intestines and brains were smeared across the stone floors and walls, painting a mouthwatering masterpiece. But it was the reek of perfume that was doing it for me, along with something else mixed in with the decaying stench that I found oh so alluring… what was it? It was rather shitty that I couldn’t figure it out. Hmm… Oh well.

Oh, and there were also skeleton bones scattered everywhere, but I was utterly disinterested in them. However, as we moved by, quite a few began rattling back to life—or unlife. Even the corpses started to groan behind us. Wherever Aurelia went, the undead began to twitch and rise.

Seriously, how many undead servants did these vampires have?

Aurelia won’t get mad if I snag a few... sausage links as I follow her, will she?

Nah! I’ll just be picking up body parts here and there; it’s not like I’m making a meal out of an entire body... Besides, I don’t think she can turn a corpse into an undead if its skull’s been caved in, or can she?

Shrugging off my own thoughts, I happily munched on an intestine I swiped off the ground, savoring the slow dissolve on my tongue, its juices seeping out. I would have preferred to take a nice bite out of it, but these teeth—woven from silk—are all for show and not made for walking, or well, chewing. Yet, I was rather proud of my glossy white teeth regardless, especially against my black gums and tongue; they really shone.

Aurelia glanced back, a hint of amusement glittering in the corner of her eye when she noticed my other hand holding a grocery bag woven from silk. A tentacle from my dress deftly dropped a severed leg into the already swollen sack. What? I was hungry.

Also, the last body I ate let me match Aurelia’s height, but I was still lacking a bit in the curves department. That also reminded me; a tentacle extended out from my hair in front of me as a new glowing orange eyeball formed on the tip, letting me see what I looked like at the moment… and, I was looking rather alien-esque, again.

Oh well, I rather like the creepy-cute look. I wonder if that’s my default, or if the sexy human one was, you know, the one that looked sort of like that actress, Anya Taylor-Joy. Okay, that was a big stretch, but it somewhat looked like her if you squinted—beer goggles style. Either way, I was rocking the alien tight-face appearance at the moment, and Aurelia didn’t seem to mind. She must be a lot less vain and shallow than I am.

We kept on down various corridors, the toad—or was it a frog?—leading the way, Aurelia behind him, and me trailing behind her, happily munching as I stared at her swaying ass. Okay, I may not have any memories of being a man in any of my past lives, but I certainly possessed the perverted mindset of one.

Lost in my thoughts, I wasn’t paying attention to where we were going. It was only after blinking a few times and tearing my gaze away from Aurelia’s perfect posterior that I realized we had just entered the dungeon metropolis of Ockpool—the one that had been all destroyed and shit. My head swiveled in all directions, wondering when we had even entered the dungeon, and where—I mean, I thought the entrance had been caved in, or did we take the exit? Maybe there was a different entrance that didn’t involve me being tossed down a hole while strapped to a succubus’s face?

Mmmm… though, that was a pretty delicious way to start an adventure.

Also! I really need to do a better job at paying attention.

Glancing around the city, I saw that it was still a wreck, with toppled buildings everywhere. It really did look like the aftermath of some great war. Hmm, maybe war isn’t quite the right term—it had been a one-sided slaughter. Yet, there was no sweet aroma of death and despair in the air.

They must have buried or burned their dead… or did the dungeon absorb them? No, the core was gone, so that can’t be the case, can it?

Huh, I guess the world may never know.

But I hate unsolved mysteries!

Deal with it—the universe is full of unsolved mysteries.

Like Bigfoot, alien anal probing, and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Bigfoot is like the Predator; he can blend into his environment. Aliens have a butt fetish. And the owl solved that great riddle—it’s three, by the way.

Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Though, I’ve got to give it to the aliens—imagine if they had a foot fetish instead? Reports of people being taken only to have their feet rubbed and tickled would give me the heebie-jeebies.

Right?

“Greetings, Lady Aurelia,” called out a squeaking voice that instantly got me thinking of Mike Tyson, snapping me from the inner dialogue I was having with myself.

I was grateful I wasn’t crazy enough to have said all that aloud.

A grizzled old werewolf—or was it a warg?—with a long beard dangled down to the ground went on, “I’ve been informed by your compatriots that you have the core?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Aurelia glanced over to the vampire woman seated in the courtyard circle—one of the few things that wasn’t utterly destroyed—whom I recognized by her gray cat ears. She gazed back at Aurelia. I wasn’t sure what unspoken message passed between the two, but it wasn’t friendly, as the feline vampire folded her arms with a huff. She apparently lost whatever silent argument they had, which was good… for her. Otherwise, I’d be adding another body to my grocery bag.

Um, wouldn’t a vampire just turn to ash as I ate them?

No. Yes. Maybe? I don’t know, but I’m willing to find out.

“That is correct, Warchief Hensley of Ockpool Dungeon,” Aurelia replied, sounding a bit formal as if she had dealings with him before. I supposed that made sense; the vampires had been living above ground at the dungeon entrance.

“Take it,” Magic’s voice urged in my mind, causing my eye to twitch as a slight ache crept throughout my head, which was odd—I mean, do I even have a brain? Not that I’m an airhead, mind you. I was a ginger in my last life, not a blonde. “Take it, and ascension is yours!”

Like hell, I’m not taking anything away from my Aislinn. Ugh! I wish she’d just shut the fuck up about it.

The more Magic, a Primordial—or was it admin?—insisted that I take the core, the more I wanted nothing to do with it. Sure, ascension sounded great—even though I didn’t quite understand what that meant—but I’m not one to trust others easily, especially not when the creepy blue ghost lady, with her malfunctioning safe mode magical system, was making such a big deal out of it. Though, to be fair, she seemed like the backup to the backup admin. Besides, she was the one who made it hard for me to remember my dreams and, in turn, learn about Aislinn and my past lives. So, no, I was definitely not going to take it.

“Like I said, the Slaethians will regroup with the reinforcements coming with two of their gods’ champions tomorrow. We need to escape, and I need to reawaken the dungeon and use the power of the core to arrange that,” Aurelia stated, causing me to blink as I realized I hadn’t been paying attention to the ongoing conversation.

Reawaken?

“Take it!”

Oh, would you just shut the fuck up!

Geez, she’s like a broken record.

“Did you not fight Galen, the strongest of their champions, to a standstill?” the werewolf asked as he scratched his beard.

“I eventually lost,” Aurelia replied a bit bitterly. “I can handle most champions on my own, yes. However, I cannot fight two of them and an army at the same time. We need to escape. Your people are welcome to come with us, but I will be using the core’s power to open a gate to the western covens,” she added.

Hensley took a long moment, still scratching his beard deep in thought, before glancing my way. “Ah, Blake, it’s good to see you again,” he addressed me, clearly stalling for time as he considered Aurelia’s words. “I noticed Redtail isn’t with you. What happened?”

I smiled and waved at him. “I ate him,” I happily answered.

The werewolf-looking old man paused his beard scratching to stare at me. Although, I couldn’t tell if it was concern or amusement twinkling in his gaze. I ignored the gasps from the gathered onlookers.

“May I ask why?” Hensley went on, ignoring a few outcries of anger from the crowd.

I shrugged. “He was a dick,” I responded, then added, “Besides, he’ll just come back once we put the core back where it came from, right?”

“I see,” was his only response before turning his eyes back to Aurelia. “With the Slaethians and the Ascended Empire aware of this dungeon, it’s clear we can no longer stay here. We will go with you, Lady Aurelia. Though, I do trust you can keep our people safe from your ilk?”

“I can only promise you that I’ll do all in my power to keep you and yours protected, but to forge a more binding agreement under vampiric law,” Aurelia continued, “you must acknowledge me as your matriarch.”

Now, I know what you’re thinking—they should all be bowing down before me in reverence and worship. I mean, I’m totally matriarch material, right? Nah, I don’t want to be in charge of anybody. Seriously, have you ever seen someone in a position of power who’s actually happy? And no, those who half-ass the job and spend all their time golfing don’t count. Nope, I’ll leave all that leadership and managing others to my Aislinn. I’d just eat anyone who doesn’t kneel before her. I’m much more suited for that role, after all.

The warg nodded thoughtfully before the tension in his shoulders dropped. “It seems we have very little choice if we’re to survive another assault from our common enemies. I accept your offer, Lady Aurelia,” he concluded.

However, many in the crowd seemed to disagree with his decision, as evidenced by the tsks, gasps, cursing, and glares. But all that abruptly ended the moment Aurelia pulled out the dungeon core from the spatial cock ring around her wrist and held it out before her.

~

Mana surged like a tidal wave through the dungeon’s veins, pulsating with vibrant light as the core reestablished its bond. Though none could say if the core possessed consciousness, its actions spoke of a deep, instinctual drive: to grow, to fortify, and to safeguard its domain. As the core’s energy intensified, the air thrummed with power, the walls themselves shimmering with arcane runes that flared to life.

Around Redtail, the stone beneath him vibrated, the echo of his past demise still haunting his senses. Yet, as he drew a deep, steadying breath, a palpable sense of relief mingled with the cold dungeon air, grounding him in another chance at life. He rose, stepping aside with the practiced ease of the resurrected, making room for the continuous stream of allies reemerging into existence.

A goblin burst into existence beside him, his exuberance echoing through the cavern. “Me back!” he exclaimed, leaping into the air. “Wartie alive—oh, hey Gaping, you back?” His voice, a symphony of relief and joy, reverberated off the ancient stone walls.

Gaping clutched his head, looking around in confusion. “Took hard pounding, I did,” he muttered groggily.

Another cry rang out nearby, its tone desperate and sad, but the monstrous, gelatinous language was indecipherable to those around. “No. No. No! I don’t want to live,” it seemed to moan.

“Doodles!” Wartie shouted back jubilantly, oblivious to the cube’s distress. “We back!”

All around Ockpool, a resurrection unfolded like dawn’s light dispelling night’s shadow. Figures materialized one after another, their forms solidifying from mist into flesh and bone, each awakening marked by gasps and murmurs of wonder. The dungeon, a vast network of life and magic, buzzed as its inhabitants reclaimed their places, each pulse of mana knitting the fabric of this underground world tighter.

Above, the stronghold that sat like a crown at the dungeon’s entrance felt the surge of mana. The core extended its influence, tendrils of energy weaving through the structure, fortifying stone and spell alike. It was more than mere survival; it was a declaration, a fortress reborn from the ashes of invasion, ready to stand sentinel against any who dared to challenge it again.

~

Heather gasped as she opened her eyes to a dimly lit chamber, the cold stone pressing against her bare flesh. She glanced around, her nose twitching at the unfamiliar scents. It was pitch black, but her adaptation to this realm as a dark elf allowed her to see clearly in the dark. Her mind was a blur—had she been dreaming? There had been a kind old lady in a cottage, a banquet of food spread out before her, but now, as she awoke, the details were fuzzy.

“Wait, I died,” Heather whispered.

“Aw, what the fuck is going on?” a growling voice cursed out nearby.

Glancing toward the voice, Heather noticed Jason sitting up on a table—no, a stone altar, just like the one she was on. Her eyes roamed the chamber, finding more altars arranged in a circle, with more figures waking up.

“I’m alive!” a female voice cried out.

Heather snapped her head in that direction to find Sophia, whom she had seen Jason kill and eat the heart of, lying on her back with her arms stretched out in joy. Everyone was naked, prompting Heather to try and cover her chest, though she doubted any of the others could see in the dark like she could. Correction—she caught Jason leering at her.

“Huh, I really thought all of you would have respawned with your clothes on,” a newcomer joyfully stated from the doorway into the chamber, her attire all black except for her white silk alien-ish face. Despite her cheerful tone, her voice sent shivers down everyone’s spine—minus Sophia. Her glowing orange eyes were the only source of light within the chamber.

“You!” Jason cried out.

“W-What’s going on?” Jeremy stuttered.

“Heather, are you there?” Yua called out, unable to see in the darkness.

“I want to go home,” Rob muttered.

“Come on, Aurelia wants to see all of you,” their killer exclaimed, a disturbing cheerfulness in her voice.