It took me a good few seconds to really understand what had happened. The Party was a chorus of confused or shocked screams and yells. I liked to think the most high-pitched yelp was Quinn.

Between my elbow and my wrist, only bone remained. Glistening and wet. I was so disassociated that I felt nothing, other than the surprise at being pelted by the burst fragments of my own body. None of this seemed real.

Of course, that's when things started to get really strange.

While the ringing persisted in my ears and I was frozen at the sight of my meatless arm, purple energy started to flow out, enveloping the altar and my body. Ren tried to pull me away, but a crack of static lightning prevented her. By then, it was too late, anyway.

Tendrils of this power circled my arm, obscuring it in bright light. Smoke billowed around, pouring from the fountain. A mauve mist that felt cool and comforting. It covered my vision and pooled behind me, filtering through to the passageway where the others stood.

A grin crossed my face. There was an unspoken understanding that flowed from this energy to part of my subconscious brain. Wasn’t even words, really, just the knowledge. A feeling that I had enacted something both terrible and magnificent in this dungeon. This was my punishment and my reward. Impurities had been exorcised, but was that all?

I turned and stepped back out of the room. Smoke blew away from me to reveal my sparkling purple suit. I removed my hat with my right hand and gave them a bow.

“Your arm?” Ren managed to say, worried confusion overriding any disdain for my entrance.

As I stood back straight, I held it out. Eyes went out to my Inventory to swap my jacket off, and then shirt and waistcoat. My bare arm—and the rest of my torso—awaited their judgement.

It looked fine.

No pain. No damage. No otherworldly runes or illness to say that I’d been possessed or cursed. Nothing so overt, at least.

She reached out and touched it. Her fingertips gingerly ran down my flesh made anew.

“You have an explanation for this that isn’t bullshit?” Tanya asked, looking uncharacteristically out of sorts.

I shook my head, still trying to understand it myself. “Something to do with killing the Siren, but I don’t know what it really did to me.” Everything else aside, I was pretty sure that it wasn’t just a healing font. Something had been purged from me, and built back different… although I didn’t feel different. Nothing in my STAR gave a hint to whatever new malady I had ungraciously accepted. It would be more comforting if I could place whether the new power was demonic in nature or not.

“You good to walk, trickster?” Ren watched as I put my clothing back on. “We should leave.” Simple words, but my speckled blood that covered most of her gave them weight.

“A little lightheaded, but I’m feeling much better.” I nodded and smiled down at Wolf. The only one who didn’t look traumatized from the brief violence I had endured.

In fact, I was pretty sure I was only remarkably calm about it due to dissociating still. I was awake, right? This wasn’t a fever dream where I was imagining everything was okay? It was equally likely I had passed out, or been drawn into another dream world or Domain for further agony to be labored on my tired shoulders.

I stopped briefly and turned to the elf. She paused too, and tilted her head in expectation. Instead of saying anything, I just raised my hand up and cupped her face. Ran my thumb along her soft cheek. Some apprehension and concern lingered in her eyes.

“Sorry,” I said with a brief smile. “I just wanted to make sure that this was real.”

She returned the smile—which melted my heart—and rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately so. Now keep walking.”

I did so, but gave one last glance back to the chamber, now devoid of smoke and no longer pulling me toward it. This didn’t feel like the end to a chapter, however. It felt like a window we had left open - fine while the weather was pleasant, but as soon as something more turbulent and chilling came our way, the true nature of my mistake would come to rain upon us.

Or maybe I just got a new free arm, the same as we received gold for defeating monsters.

[Max: I touched an eldritch fountain and now am fully healed.]

[Ruby: …]

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

[Ruby: I don’t know whether to be more or less concerned.]

[Ruby: fucker]

[Max: I’ll let you know when it comes back to bite me.]

[Ruby: {->-};;]

My eyes went back to my Party. Like me, they all now had the Trauma status, something I was loathe to accept… but the System didn’t lie. Even Wolf, despite his impassive glare. I had thought the status was something only personally gained through hardship, but apparently seeing parts of my body explode into bloody mist was enough to do it for them.

I knew it wasn’t the right take, but it was nice to know they cared enough to be distraught about my personal injury. Especially considering the amount of violence we already endured every day.

Ren was stuck beside me as we walked. I could see her jaw working, plenty of things she wanted to say or do - but getting out of here was our priority. Wolf was behind us, while the other two led. Through all the emptied rooms and chambers we had fought previously. I was tired of the smell of damp stone and dead sea monsters. It had become oppressive, and I longed for fresh air.

[Dungeon Complete]

[Experience Granted]

“Oh.” I wrinkled my face up and lifted my left arm to see my STAR shining a bright gold. “Almost forgot what we were here for.”

“I’m saving mine for when we’re somewhere nicer. My eyes are tired.” Ren looked more exhausted than I’d ever seen her. While she seemed immune to my Dazzle attempts, seeing her with the Trauma status wrenched at my heart.

Tanya gave a glum smile. “We may need more rest than we first anticipated.”

“I can see buff and debuff icons, by the way.” I wiggled a finger above their heads. “Can’t remember if I’d said that before. We all have it.”

She relaxed slightly, knowing that it wasn’t just her that had to soldier on. We could push through it, I was sure… but we’d pay a price. When the stakes meant death was more likely, it wasn’t worth the risk.

“I have something that can help us, but we’d still need downtime.”

I nodded. I’d save my level up for when we were settled, too. It sounded like it wasn’t too far away, and I’d literally kill for a moment of peace. We were almost back at the starting room now. I was excited for this to be done, but a brief bit of paranoia rose up - what if we would get ambushed again?

Ren held my hand. “Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, trickster.”

I wondered if lightning knew that. “Let me go first, invisible, to check that the coast is clear?”

As we entered the staging room where we had slept the previous night, a healthy amount of concern was painted on their faces at my idea. As if I had been at all out of my usual mind lately, or didn’t spend half this dungeon dancing with an apparent demi-god that may have been a shared delusion. If it weren’t for my arm at least… although, perhaps that was part of it.

Ren sighed. “Fine. Straight back in if there’s any trouble. Wolf is coming out in ten seconds. Okay?”

I nodded. “Understood.”

We arranged ourselves near the exit, a portal that would take us back out to the daylight. I rolled my shoulders out and stepped through, exhaling through my nose as I activated on myself.

The light of day burned at my eyes despite it being rather gloomy and overcast. Perhaps it had rained, and we were emerging into the end stages of a brief shower. My eyes went over to the figure idly standing by the entrance. Lightly armored. Not only had the young man not noticed me, but his gaze looked vacant. I dropped my invisibility.

“Max,” he said. “A delivery for you.”

Into his hand, an envelope. I took it, my brow furrowed, and put it away in my Inventory. As if his purpose had been fulfilled, he turned from me - taking a handful of steps before vanishing into nothing. I blinked and then Wolf came and pushed me out of the way, emerging from the portal expecting some danger, but finding me alone.

“Feels like it’s been days since I’ve had fresh air,” I said, as I stepped over to the side so there was room for the others.

The bear sniffed around the damp grass but didn’t seem to have anything to note.

A sea breeze hit me and washed away all the stress. I almost felt calm. My eyes closed as I allowed nature to absorb me once more. The sounds of the rest of the party appearing distant as I tried to focus on the movement of leaves, a shoreline buffeted by the tide, and muted birdsong.

Some manner of warmth pressed against me and I opened my eyes to see Ren wrap her arms around me, her head to the side, ear to my chest. Past her, I saw the drab group before me. The dungeon itself hadn’t really been that difficult or draining, but whatever I had dragged them into had worn them out.

“I apologize. Whatever curse follows me went a bit far today.” I gave them a glum smile.

“We’ll deal with that and your miraculously healed arm when we’re at our destination.” Tanya gave me a tired scowl. “Apology accepted.”

As much as I had been expecting a curse word or new moniker to add to my collection, she didn’t seem to directly blame me. With a nod, we set off in silence.

Ren was… clingy, in a way that felt unlike her. She not only held my hand, but tried to walk as close to me as she could without tripping me. An ache in my chest stuck with me during our journey, in seeing that she did not deal with the Trauma status well. Other than being knocked out during the Jokkar fight, she had managed to avoid most calamity, as I was a magnet for it.

As a group, we had become crestfallen. Sick of what we had endured despite the necessity to continue. I wondered how a little body horror had them gaining the status, when we had maimed our way through the opposition to this point. Did they hold me in such high regard that my downfall had such an effect? They were my closest fans, sure, but…

No, it was unfair to paint them in that light.

Before I knew it, we had arrived. We stopped, and Ren used the opportunity to put her arms around me from the side again.

A crescent shaped rocky hill sat before us, and at the bottom was a small cottage. The stone steep enough that it would be nigh impossible to climb - making the building only assailable from the singular direction we were approaching from.

“It’s empty,” Tanya said. “Make yourselves at home.”

Home. If only.

But, I could pretend. Delude myself into thinking this was the true end of the road. That this could be a comforting place of rest and safety. There weren’t vultures waiting high overhead for us to make any mistakes. We could just exist.

My exploits were growing wilder by the day, but such a trick might be one of my best yet.