Arthur felt himself float in the void for what felt like forever. The space around him was in shades of black and shite. He felt his body come back to life in the void. He took a few steps forward and looked around. Hexagonal tiles stretched for infinity. The one he stood on glowed faintly.

“Where am I? Am I dead?”

“Not yet but close,” said a woman’s voice. It seemed to come from everywhere at once.

“Who are you? What happened?”

“It would be a better question to ask who are you? I felt the traces of your power and I didn’t believe you could exist in this form. Torn from half of your life. As for what happened you were fighting me. Don’t you remember?”

Arthur’s mind flashed back to his fight. “What have you done to me? Why shouldn’t I exist? Magic is powerful and can do nearly limitless things. Why can’t it make me an artificial body?”

“I suppose magic is all-powerful I guess I just underestimated the lengths to which the dwarves would go to get rid of me from their land. It is foolish of me that they wouldn’t have come up with a new design for their war golem in the time I have been here.”

“Actually, the dwarves were not the ones who designed me. A human named Ethan did.”

“Now that is truly more unexpected. Why would they work together to make you? And why are you complicit in their control?”

“There is the threat of undead that decimated the human kingdom. Ethan needed the metal from the dwarves and their smiths to craft me. In exchange, I and a few others would work to slay you and I am under no one's control. I am doing this because I was once a great hero. I have to serve my people even in undeath. A creature like yourself should see the honor in that.”

Arthur waited but the voice was silent. Then he felt a sharp pain in his gut and then in the point he associated with his mind in his golem body. He tried to scream out, but it was silent. Within the void, his golem body started to dissolve, and he was left once again as a floating object. The voice spoke up again.

“I’m sorry for the pain that this change must’ve brought to you. I tried to be as gentle as possible, but minds are fragile and not my area of expertise. Are you okay?”

“What did you do?” Arthur asked as his mind still throbbed and ached.

“I broke some pieces of the metal core surrounding your true body they were shackling your true form. But it would seem their effects have surrounded you for quite a long time. Tell me what your name is?”

“Arthur.”

“No, I am asking for your true name. The one from before this physical change of yours.”

“Shouldn’t it be Arthur? Why can’t I remember much anymore?” asked Arthur more unsure of himself now.

“While Arthur is a fine name and suits you now you don’t seem to have many memories from your time purely as an immortal dungeon. The pieces and fragments are still there just locked away and scattered. I don’t know how to restore the old memories but the enchantments, runes, and so on should no longer be hindering you.”

Arthur froze when she said dungeon. His mind was in disarray after she performed her magic but when she said ‘dungeon’ it fell into place for him. His mind focused and his view mentally changed from the static two eyeballs to three hundred sixty degrees all-encompassing view. It was like being able to see in color for the first time.

“What happened to me? How am I a dungeon? Is everything I was told a lie?”

“You are a dungeon plain and simple. Within this space, you can see your true form. While your origins were a lie I have found that most of what you were taught was not a lie after I saw your memories. This is disturbing because the undead roam again and flood the wider world. And before you ask. I would not fight. Your problems are not the problems of sentient greater beasts such as me. Next, you will probably ask how they did this to you. TO this question I can only question it myself. Organic matter not controlled by a dungeon should not be able to get close to a dungeon. If one like myself did so the dungeon would start to break down and the aura of the sentient invader would start to take the mana and a piece of knowledge from the dungeon. It is one of the main reasons dungeon hunters search for your species. The only way you wouldn’t destroy yourself is if your senses were tricked into thinking the people who captured you were your own. Though it is purely speculation on my part.”

“I’m not sure what to do. Why would they keep this from me? How am I going to face them?

“How you deal with them is up to you, but I will need to kill them soon or you will?”

“What? Why”

“We have stepped away from the bounds of time into the mindscape so I could investigate you. Once we return however I will still be hunted and weakened, and you will be broken but free from the binds. When you leave this place I would recommend cast that [Obfuscate] spell. It is a great spell that will save our life once we return to the present. Because I broke your chains your magical energy will leak and if there are competent mages around they will recognize the scent of your pure dungeon mana. Then they will realize what I have done.”

“So, you have doomed me. How do you know what they will do? What if there is another way? Why are you here in the first place? Why don’t you up and leave?”

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The dragon laughed. “If only it were that simple. I have traveled to this place for five hundred years at least but more recently I have been forced to stay here. It was an unfortunate accident you see that I had to lay my egg here. In doing so I have stayed here for almost one hundred of those five hundred waiting for my child to hatch. Normally I have my nest egg with a few treasures waiting for me here while I leave. Occasionally an intrepid adventurer or two will get lucky and grab a few handfuls of treasure before I return but this is something I cannot leave for. Even now I wish I had stayed home. For every minute I am gone it is a minute soldiers could be searching for my cave.”

“I see now why this place is so important to you. Are the dwarves sending troops now while we fight?”

“I don’t think so. At least not now. I have kept my child a secret for so long. I know that if they would have been marching soldiers to collect the egg while I fought you.”

“That does put me in a dilemma at least because I won’t be able to fight much once I return and I don’t want you to kill my friends. Even if they betrayed my trust I don’t want them all to die today. At the same time, I don’t want you to die for the sake of preventing your child from being captured.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have a choice in the matter. Either I die or your friends do so I can continue to protect my child. Though I fear even that may not be enough. During our battle, I could sense another weapon being prepared but I could not focus to investigate. I could feel its magical power was strong enough to threaten me. Similar to yours.”

“But I can’t threaten you. I could barely put scratches on you.”

“That was then. This is now. When you will see what I mean when we return. Those memory alterations and the limits of your initial design hampered your abilities. Dungeons have the ability to alter matter with their mana and create life among many others. Some even breed dragons though that is in legends. Does that sound like how you were before?”

“No. I have had to learn everything from scratch. Granted I have a great ability to memorize and learn though I realize now that it was from my natural abilities as a dungeon and not from some rune.”

“I suspect it will still be a challenge to learn as it is for all new dungeons but maybe you can recover some of the pieces faster than them.”

“How do you know so much about dungeons?”

“I have been around for quite a long time and have learned a lot from the sentient creatures of the world. Some things from the dungeons of this large island.”

“There are more dungeons here?”

“Of course. They are scattered everywhere but usually hard to find.”

“How do I find them?”

“They will usually find you if you are fated to meet but in your case may be your nature as a dungeon will help you find them. Though I am not sure of a dungeon's full abilities. I will warn you if you try to find them that they are dangerous and unpredictable. Do not trust them like you would the humans or dwarves. They will always have ulterior motives and will want your territory and power as their own. Do you have any other questions?”

“Just two. Are you sure I can’t do anything to help you and your child? And what is your name? You never introduced yourself.”

“I am Sylvia the… well the titles I have been given over the centuries change a lot and it doesn’t matter anyway. You can just call me Sylvia. And I am sorry but there is nothing you can do. Nothing will stop your friends from trying to kill me and if they fail then others will take their place. I will stop them and give them a quick death if I am able. If you can stop me without revealing your new strength then maybe that would be for the best. It will do you no good to reveal your unchained state.”

“You know I can’t just recover and watch you kill them. There has to be a for us all to walk away from this.”

“I have touched your core and know you want everyone to be safe including me, but that is not the way the world works. So, I will make you a deal. A promise. Once we return I will not harm you further. If I wanted to kill you now I would do so. I also promise I will kill all but one of your fighters. Finally, I promise that if you can bring me to death you will be given the ability to protect my child.”

“That last one seems like I don’t have a choice.”

“If I die I won’t have a choice in how my child lives. As the only one, I can entrust this to. The responsibility will fall to you to help her?”

“Her? How would I help a baby dragon?”

“First from a transfer of knowledge from me. Assuming I am not dead. Next, you would have to take her in as your own with your power acknowledging her as one of your own.”

“Is that all?”

“Probably but the rest will be up to you.”

“How should I take care of the egg?”

“Keep it the same temperature using your powers. You can use ice magic?”

“Yes.”

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But there must be some other option. It can’t be that you and my teammates fight it out until one side dies. I can’t just watch it happen. Why would you kill them.”

Sylvia sighed. “They will die because they wish me dead as it has always been and from what I can tell always will be. Your friends,” she hissed, “See the title of dragon killer as some great accomplishment which I agree is difficult to achieve but serves no great purpose anymore. Those who carve me up may find me a nice place to display as bones but that is the most they will get out of it. My mana core is large for sure, and they will consume it for crafting, but it is just a mana storage device. Nothing more nothing less. As for my scales, another trophy armor piece that will not be worn much if at all and only a bit sturdy than the strongest beasts on the island that I haven’t eaten.”

“You sure are pessimistic.”

“It is the way of things. I have known my fate since I began life. It is inevitable. Even if I kill my way out of this fight I will die to adventurers soon enough. No dragon in centuries has died a natural death in centuries.”

“I thought you would be the only dragon on the continents but there are others?”

“It is accurate to say I am the only dragon currently on the two lands you have visited but there are others elsewhere. It is not something I dwell on. They have left me alone and I will do the same for them.”

“So, are you just going to keep killing until you die here on the mountain?”

“It is as good a place as any to die. The options left are few. The only other possibility I can reasonably see is that my child will hatch before this ends. Even if that were to happen it would require me to flee and escape with her with your people at my back.”

“I’m not sure if they will still be my people by the way you speak about my change and unchaining.”

“They will be scared of the possibility of retaliation first and foremost. But they may feel that they had no choice because of the danger presented to them that will come. I cannot advise you on what to do but remember this. My child must be kept safe, and you have been hindered and enslaved by them thus far. It is in their best interest to keep you complacent so their plans can continue.”

“I think I am starting to come to terms with that, but I need to speak with them first once this is done if I am able. Also, no matter what happens I will keep your child safe and a secret from those who would wish her harm for as long as possible.”

“Good luck Arthur. Be chained no longer.”

“Goodbye Sylvia. It was a pleasure meeting you I guess despite the short visit.”

“And I as well.”

Sylvia’s voice faded and at the same time so did the mindscape as Arthur’s conscience was sucked back into his body.