That was unexpected.

“I set you free?” Charlie asked.

The Nae Glera rippled. “Did you believe that all the creatures within these dungeon walls served the dungeon willingly? The children were used against their will. The beasts are no different. Still, this freedom is not one I deserve. It is my power that gave the core so much influence.”

This was a lot to process. “What do you mean? How did the core force you to help it?”

“All will be explained. But outside these walls, war rages. Both within Sange and on the outskirts of its borders. The two of us each have a part to play in ending them. You have already tapped into the sphere of influence of the dungeon here on multiple occasions. You must do so again. I have no sway over the beasts. Nor do I control the Red Eyed Limblings.”

Charlie tilted his head. Merlin and the others. They were still fighting. But how could he help from here? The sphere of influence? He thought about the creature’s words. He thought about the fact he had somehow seen through the eyes of both boars and snatchers.

For Charlie, the fight was over. Both his adrenaline and the Tantrum power were fading. If he was going to act, he needed to do it now. He placed a tiny hand on the ground and focused, searching for that same connection he’d managed to link to before.

Charlie floated above a battlefield. A war raging over a grassy plain. On one side, well-armored men swung swords and jabbed lances. On their chest and capes was an odd symbol. Three lines that didn’t touch but formed a triangle. On the other side, Boars charged forward, goring men with their tusk while Limblings fired great bursts of green fire relentlessly. This was probably the army that Tomas had mentioned earlier. They had been on their way to destroy Sange. But even then, Charlie couldn’t sit back and do nothing. He didn’t feel a connection to the Limblings. It was like whatever linked them to the dungeon wasn’t as easily accessible, even after Convergence was complete.

But the Boars were a different story.

“Hey!” Charlie called out. One huge boar in particular caught his attention. It turned when he called out. It was as if it could hear him. No, it seemed as if the creature could see him, too. The gigantic boar turned to face Charlie. Arrows and lances poked and prodded it, but it ignored them. Its hide was much tougher than the others.

It was a creature set apart.

It snorted, staring at the floating baby boy that only it could see.

Charlie paused, directing his thoughts to the Nae Glera. “Are all the red-eyed snatchers really already dead?” he asked.

The Nae Glera’s voice echoed in Charlie’s head. It was a weird sensation. He wasn’t used to people talking to him this way. Charlie wondered if it felt like this for other people when he talked to them.

“Yes. They are lost and beyond help. They will continue acting on their previous orders until the dungeon core gives them new ones, or they die.”

Charlie pursed his lips. He focused back on the boar. “Help the humans! Take down all the Limblings with red eyes. But leave the normal ones alone, okay?” He held his breath, waiting to see whether the boar would listen or simply ignore him. Just because it could hear him didn’t mean it recognized Charlie as a voice of authority.

The boar turned its head to survey the battlefield and then raised its tusk high into the air. “Hmmm,” it hummed deeply. Though the creature was outside, it sounded as if the hum was echoing in a cave. One by one, the other boars stopped in their tracks and raised their heads as well. Charlie realized it was them.

They were humming back to their leader.

A chorus of hums, each imitating the deep growl of their king. As one, they turned around and charged toward the snatchers. They only attacked those with red eyes. Those with normal eyes had already stopped fighting. They looked around, confused looks on their faces. Some shook with anger or trepidation. Others sobbed.

Charlie didn’t understand what was going on.

He realized with his fading powers; he wouldn’t get another chance like this. So, he made sure to modify the instructions just a bit. This was a rare opportunity. “Hey! Few more things! Keep the ones that don’t have red eyes safe. Protect them. When the fight is over, take all the other boars and find somewhere to live away from Sange. And from now on--”

Charlie paused, realizing he needed to verify something first. Once again, he turned to the core guardian. “What do the boars eat?” he asked.

“They are scavengers. They eat whatever they can. Meat, plants, anything.”

Charlie nodded. Okay, well, he wanted to make sure they wouldn’t starve. “From now, don’t eat any meat! Well, I guess if you have to, you can. But don’t attack or eat humans anymore. You can protect yourselves if you’re attacked by them, but don’t kill them. Okay? Be nice!” Charlie said.

The enormous boar lowered its head and jammed a tusk into the dirt. It hummed again, and then ripped the tusk free, scattering dirt into the air. It charged forward, impaling and tossing aside entire groups of the Red Eyed Limblings.

The human calvary that had come to destroy Sange watched on with shocked expressions as the boars turned on the snatchers. They weren’t expecting that, nor did they know how to react.

Okay, good. Just one more thing.

He only had a few moments left. It was clear now. The vision distorted, and he became aware of his real surroundings again. He turned to the friendly Scaler. “Hey! I need your help! We need all the Scalers.”

The friendly Scaler turned its head toward Charlie, it crawled closer, and Charlie put a hand on the tip of its snout and closed his eyes. This connection was more personal. It didn’t cause as much of a strain on him.

He saw the Scalers crawling around their playground nest. Hundreds of them. “Everyone! I need you to go help the people of Sange! They’re fighting Varroc and his men and the snatchers with red eyes! Go beat them up for me! Please!”

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The Scalers all looked up at once, frozen in place.

Not a single one moved.

Charlie had figured this would happen. He patted the friendly Scaler on the head again.

“Arca!” it roared at the top of its lungs.

As one, the creatures hurried into action, scurrying down the tunnels that would take them out into Sange.

They would help.

“Hold on Merlin. Vetica and Kashak too. Help is on the way.” Charlie tightened a baby fist.

Tantrum ended. His earth-colored eyes returned to their usual sky blue.

“You did well. Your experience gave you an edge over the core you hold in your hands. It is much older than you, if looks are anything to go by. But it has never clashed with another dungeon before. Not directly. Even when threatened by a newborn dungeon in Sirra, it sent my pupil rather than clashing with the foe itself,” the Nae Glera said.

Wait, the creature had a pupil? His jaw dropped. “Wait, are you saying you're the one Tomas called his master?” he allowed Luc and Lyra to hear the thought as well. This concerned their friend, so it concerned them as well.

They exchanged a look, and then the two of them hobbled towards Charlie and the shapeless creature. Sophia, not to be left alone in the hallway, hurried over, with Kyo in her arms still.

The Nae Glera made a noise that was as best as Charlie could tell, a sigh. “Tomas does refer to me in that way occasionally, though it is unprompted. I will explain further. But first, I must offer what aid I can to this fight.” The Nae Glera rotated and took on a muted green.

The snatcher that Charlie had moved out of the way suddenly had a matching green aura. The snatcher shrunk until the little Black boy’s body was returned to its normal state. Charlie tilted his head. The green, Limbling robes were suddenly much too large for him. But that wasn’t a big deal.

He was a kid again.

“You turned him back!” Charlie leaned forward.

The Nae Glera nodded. “It is within my power to return the normal Limblings, those that were still alive and in good health before the transformation. But it comes at a cost.” A small sliver of the Nae Glera protruded from its body and pointed in the direction of the unconscious mayor.

The Mayor of Sange grimaced as if he was having a nightmare. His teeth gritted and his body wriggled against the wall. His limbs flailed. The red eye snatcher standing guard beside him stared down at him. After a moment, it looked back up and stared blankly forward again.

“What’s happening?” Charlie asked.

“This is the cost of returning the children to normal. For everyone I return, the one who received the added youth will lose it. The children must return to their original age. Even if they have been a snatcher for many years. That means there is a debt that must be paid. The human who received youth from each specific snatcher will be the one who repays that debt.”

Luc grunted. “Good! Screw them! That’s only fair!” he said.

Lyra stared at the ground. “Were all of them nobles?” she asked, looking up.

The organs inside the Core Guardian moved inside it. A tiny whirlpool formed in its center. The creature spoke as if nothing was going on. “Yes. Many of them were, in fact, nobles. However, there were others as well. While not all of them were members of the nobility, they were all important members of Aysela’s government. That is why I am explaining the cost instead of simply reverting all the Limblings immediately. You may all be children, but the children of Sange were the ones who have suffered the most. So, the decision is yours.”

Luc looked at the core guardian, and then between Charlie and Lyra. “Okay…I’m confused. Why is this even a question? Of course, we’re doing it!”

Someone coughed. The children all turned to look up at the mayor rousing from his slumber. He coughed again. “You fool. Don’t you get it? If you undo everything I’ve worked for, you’ll bring ruin to this kingdom.”

“He’s right,” Lyra said.

“Lyra? You can’t mean…” Luc said, his jaw fell open.

Charlie caught on. “So, if we turn the children back, then all those important old people won’t be young and healthy anymore?”

The mayor forced himself to his feet, despite obviously being pained by the act. “Exactly. The Kingdom of Aysela is powerful. But those with power always attract enemies. If you do this, if you undo all of my hard work, you will doom this kingdom. Our government would fall apart. You saw that sniveling coward of a king, didn’t you? The people I helped are the ones capable of protecting this nation. What are a few children compared to that?”

Charlie understood what the mayor was trying to say. Sort of. But the last sentenced made him angry. Since he was out of power, he did the next best thing.

“Bonehead! Scalers! Go bite him really hard!”

“Arca!” the friendly Scaler cried, translating the command.

Bonehead and the other two Scalers rushed forward. Bonehead ripped into an arm. The other two clamped down on his legs.

The mayor screamed. The red-eyed snatcher looked down again, but still didn’t seem interested in what was going on. Whatever order he was carrying out must have been very specific.

Charlie turned back to Luc and Lyra. “I don’t care about any of the stuff he just said. Let’s turn the kids back.”

Luc grinned and offered a thumbs up.

Lyra was still quiet. “Wait, do you know if there are some nobles who didn’t take part? Were all of them bad?” she asked. “I just worry what might happen if we suddenly destabilize the entirety of our government.”

The Nae Glera didn’t speak for a moment. “No. Not all of them. Many became aware something was going on here, but the mayor had powerful friends. Powerful friends are easy to come by when you can offer immortality. In the end, only one man was brave enough to come here in person.”

The whirlpool inside it settled, and a human form manifested. Organs settled into place, and a liquid figure stepped outside of the core guardian. The aquamarine liquid man was heavily detailed. Charlie could make out strands of hair, and even his melancholy expression.

The Nae Glera’s next words did not play in their minds. It spoke through the makeshift body’s mouth instead.

“It was this man. A noble of House Callandra. He came here recently to investigate what was really going on. The mayor took him hostage, and the dungeon core used my power to dissolve him.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. He recognized a symbol on the man’s chest. Three lines that didn’t touch but formed a triangle. The army attacking Sange was fighting under his banner. So that was why they’d come for revenge? Or maybe they didn’t know he was dead. Maybe they only knew this was the last place he traveled to?

But the next revelation shocked him even more.

Behind him, someone sobbed.

Charlie, Luc, and Lyra turned to see Sophia’s face. Tears ran down her face. Kyo looked up at her from her arms and offered her the green dungeon core he was playing with to calm her.

But Sophia was inconsolable. Lyra hurried over to take Kyo from her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, shouldering the baby boy.

After Sophia handed Kyo off, she stumbled forward. She fell at the feet of the depiction of the member of House Callandra.

Sophia reached out to grab a hold of the man’s leg. Surprisingly, it seemed firm to the touch.

She sobbed again.

“Daddy…”