In the upper areas of the dark tower, many graduates and scholars littered the area. With floating portals and mini dimensional areas housing cities worth of equipment, many esoteric research practices were held here. The apprentices to the lich emperor, the most elite of these scholars comparable to nobles, were all descendants from the first women that were offered to him. Nowadays, both men and women populated these halls and continued the tireless quest for knowledge.

“Where do you think master went to?” Dacia said brushing her hair in front of a conjured floating mirror.

May finished sucking a runner bird soul in a jar for her monthly phylactery upkeep. “Dunno, but I saw his vassal drag a wheelbarrow out of his room.” Everyone was wholeheartedly convinced of this elaborate lie, even her. Much like all who’ve met the emperor, they only saw that shadowy cloak, glowing set of red eyes, and the muscular build with a dark rat snout barely poking out enhanced by the glowing icy crown that sat above him.

“Oh? I wish I was the emperor’s vassal” Dacia sighed wistfully fantasizing her days away. “Aaah just imagine him taking me with his large shadowy, strong, muscular hands and wooing me with that deep voice. Think about it Maymay, I bet hes just something amazing underneath that long cloak of his. Then I’d be the empress with at least 30 heirs Aaah! But of course you’d be there too, I’d make you my advisor like the crimson wing. Just think of it I’d be named Empress Dacia Gahlor, the one who melted the cold heart of the emperor Aaah!”

May continued ignoring her friend. Dacia and May were the Dean of the College of Animancy and the Dean of Biocraft respectively. As usual, Dacia came intruding her during her paperwork to talk about whatever gossip she could find that week. They were both honorary apprentices to the emperor, much like their ancestors.

She doesn’t believe anyone would be an empress though, after all she was in another team entirely. Shuffling the papers and stamping them with her seal, she retrieved one of the few artifact grade books passed down from her ancestor. She took out the book grinned widely that it showed all her teeth.

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Artifact, Rare

This artifact is resistant to most elements and magical damage. A very valuable original copy.

The cover depicted a semi-nude sweaty muscular black furred rodent kin with his face obscured except two red eyes holding a beautiful shirtless bat kin from behind covetously. The bat kin had his eyes covered by the rat kins eyes as he pants a heavy musty breath.

This was her most prized possession. She has only ever shared of it’s existence to trusted sisters like Dacia. This was a very forbidden book, extremely valuable and could only be read by the immensely wealthy, powerful people. Even human royalty keep copies of these books in their vaults, albeit an incomplete volume set.

A knock came from the door and she swiftly hid it in her drawer and fixed it with memento-soul spell, making it recognizable to the one who cast that spell. She locked it with a key that was hung in a necklace on her neck. Both Dacia and Maya quickly fixed themselves and returned to their regal vissage of towering elite scholars. Maya fixing her table and Dacia smoothing out her robe.

“Come in” Maya said in her most professional voice.

A purple robed diviner, accompanied by two death knights came through the gilded doors of her office and bowed.

“Good tidings Dean Maya and Dean Dacia”

“What brings you here diviner? Is it another assault?”

The diviner smiled. “Unfortunately no my Deans, a direct call from the emperor and his vizier was sent out requiring all the available experts on neuromancy and neuro-anima dynamics to report to the great mausoleum two days from now.”

Dacia looked at Maya and cast a telepathic link.

What do you think this could be maymay?

I don’t know, hopefully not another set of memetic attacks. Or worse a second wave of summoners.

Well with all the activity lately, it might be another discovery. After all those humans keep making those machines that pierced the creeping ice.

Maybe it’s something more crucial. Y’know, master doesn’t really ask for help from his students unless absolutely necessary and besides if he wanted to defend an area, I highly doubt our expertise would be useful.

Hmm I guess so, well nothing else we can do but prepare. Do you think the other apprentices outside the capital would reach here in time.

Hope not, I kinda don’t want to see some of them. Always with the loud voices and eccentric personalities.

Dacia gave Maya a side-eye.

Dacia and Maya canceled the link and agreed to arrive on the mentioned date. Maya and Dacia watched the diviner leave after a while. Maya pulled a back the chair and tried to meditate on what she needs to do for the following week while Dacia drew a circle in a summoned mirror connecting it with another one far away.

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*Ring ring ring* A slightly muffled voice responded. *Hi Dacyyy, how’s it goin’”

“You will not believe what just happened. So listen to this-”

Maya closed her eyes and ignored all sounds she’s hearing moving it into the background of her consciousness.

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Two days have passed and a dozen experts were gathered in the entrance of the Grand mausoleum. Maya was wearing a cloak obscuring her face in fear that her former classmates would recognize her. However the horrible posture she has instantly made everyone know who she was, because no amount of cloaking magic could ever fix bad posture. Dacia however was wearing a bright reflective technicolor dress embellished with giant dragonfly wings, singlehandedly raising the level of brightness of the whole area. With this, Maya hid in Dacia’s shadow. Her friend working as a beacon to attract attention and a formidable shield for social interactions.

“So the other day I was making this cute little creature for the mining project in the 6th ring, and don’t you know it they asked me to tone it down. Me, tone it down! So I did what any reasonable person would do. I added more bio-luminescent sacs to the ore-extractor slug and spread it to the whole mine!”

Dacia being Dacia, went on talking for the whole trip here, while Maya was content to hide inside her cloak barely uttering a word the whole time they were there.

“Marcus! It’s been ages buddy!” A loud voice that competed with Dacia was directed at her cloaked figure. The voice came from a heavily armored ratman riddled with scars, the puppeteer general of the frosted bastion, her old bunk mate, Duncan.

Maya spoke. “Um haha, hi Duncan.” She couldn’t hide from her former friend even if they did drift apart after many many years. This instantly made her body tense up, as if she was frozen in a block of ice. She only hoped this interaction wasn’t gonna be too long.

“You never returned my letters dude, It’s been years” Duncan proceeded to give her a hug, pressing her body in between two large pieces of metal.

Dacia gave Maya a concerned look. Determined to keep her friend safe, Dacia spoke.

“Duncan! It’s been so long! So the other day-” Dacia held her hand and hid Maya behind her. She did what she did best, be the best friend anyone could ask for.

“Oh yeah I almost forgot!” Duncan spoke fishing out a letter from his helmet. “Me and the boys in our old team were planning to hold a celebration after we defeated an ultra worm and we were wondering if you’d like to come. Now I won’t take no for an answer, I know you nerd types are always so anti=social but you’d atleast come to this one right? Haha.”

He held the letter, and before anyone could react the letter was shoved touching her chest. Her chest!

“So you better come the-re….”

Duncan felt something soft beneath the robes. One that no amount of illusions could cover up.

He looked at the person in front of him and took a step back.

Maya saw the face of his former friend look at him in confusion. Eyes piercing, judging her as something alien.

Dacia pressed a communication mirror playing the sound of a message signal and immediately went between the two. “Duncan it’s been a pleasure meeting you, but we suddenly have some pressing things to talk about. See you later, bye.” She took Maya’s hand and dragged her behind one of the pillars. She repressed her dress’ luminosity and breathed deeply.

Maya was shivering, leaning to the pillar for some semblance of support. She never knew his friend back then could make such a face. She thought no one would recognize but her master and Dacia could recognize her. She was stupid. She never should have done this to herself. She never should have tried to change things. She should have just forgotten and ignored everything. Why! Why! She looked down to the invitation still being held between her hands and chest.

Why?

Dacia noticed Maya was hyperventilating and quickly slapped her across the face. “Maymay pull yourself together.” Then another slap in the other direction. Then another that was stronger than the last two.

Maya refocused herself. “Thanks Dacia I needed th-” Another slap connected to Maya’s cheeks making a sound of a tenderized slab of meat.

“Enough with the slapping!”

Dacia was sobbing with snot running down her snout and drool leaking between her two huge rat teeth. “Are you okay Maymay?”

Her soft and extremely loud friend put a smile in her face. “I am, I’ll get over it Dacy. Let’s just hope I don’t meet anymore of them this afternoon.”

“Oh you poor thing” Dacia was hugging her tightly stroking her hair.

After both of them calmed down, the mausoleum doors opened. Four guards, the custodians of the seven part infinity, the best of the best who even kings couldn’t afford to insult, were being pulled by ears by a batkin dawning a black spiked robe and covered in monochromatic makeup.

“Who the hell said you guys could gamble with the red-haired drunk!” A red-haired human woman trapped in a glowing cube wrapped in a red rope screaming and begging levitated right beside the batkin. “And you! Who said you could force them to bet their soul weapons in a rigged game, I should flay you where you stand!”

Everyone was baffled at the scene of the crimson wing of the empire berating people WAY above their station as if they were children. And is that.. one of the legendary heroes of the empire, the flaming heavenly lotus?! She thought she was frozen in stasis, cursed by Gods themselves for her crimes. She heard his master talk about her years ago.

Crimson wings of the empire, Wyattezvahan, pierced them with his red glowing eyes. Everyone was tense, and with good reason too. This is the second most powerful person they have ever known. Their master’s right hand, and the man who irreversibly changed history just by being around.

He clapped his hands removing everyone from their daze. “Good you’re all here. If you would, follow me. I’d like to deal with this as soon as possible. Quickly now.” The floating cube holding the woman blinked out of existence as if the borders between the shape ceased to be. The four custodians flashed into positions on both sides of the gate, as if the ear pulling never transpired.

Not wanting to irritate someone fully capable of committing horrors beyond comprehension, everyone quickly formed a line and followed the batkin. All of them forming a single file, appearing as children following a teacher, instead of hundred year-old powerhouses capable of swaying civilizations. This reminded her of the field trips her master and everyone else took when they were still young and unburdened by the horrible things that sucked the joy out of life.

The halls morphed into rivers, deserts, labyrinths, and dreamscapes. Each one a wonderfully crafted marvel of dungeon engineering. The mausoleum was the very first “tower” of dungeons, each infinitely expanding space lorded over nigh-omnipotent cores phased into each other, seamlessly blending unnatural laws into mere bricks that were shaved and sculpted to serve an important function. To be the last bastion of their kind. The “tower” had never-ending resources flowing out of it, which was regularly harvested every decade.

At the center of the mausoleum was the three heroes. But they were supposed to be dead, or stuck in a state where they might as well be. That is until the red-haired woman was lazily walking beside them smoking a smoke-less pipe. She barely made any sound or exuded any mana or life-force. But she exuded a weight so vast that the very air felt like it was moving by her very whim.

One thing she was sure about now is that her master brought all of them here to wake up the others. The heroes.