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The flame had fizzled out into nothingness, hiding Isla’s undead features in the shadows. We had found what we were looking for. The next step was getting her to Fiar.

We all stood cautiously around the hole in deep speculation. “One of us needs to go down there and put her down,” Lio said, pointing down the hole. His face was paler than usual, Isla probably spooked him. She did not look pretty anymore, when compared to the dozens of paintings of her in Fiar’s house.

Lio glared at all of us, then everyone moved away from the hole and convened in a circle. I was the only one to stay by the hole. “I’m going,” I said, still peering down the dark abyss that awaited me.

“Are you sure?” He walked right back to me, but my resolution stopped him in his tracks.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

I felt like all of what happened was because of me. Realistically, it probably wasn’t, but I couldn’t help but feel some sense of responsibility. It was me that tipped Fiar over the edge with my remark, prompting him to completely lose it. I had opened up a traumatic wound from Fiar’s past that still hadn’t healed. And because of that, he’d sunken into a deep depression and insanity.

Sure, I don’t regret what I did. It just couldn’t be ignored, seeing him hallucinate like that. Maybe there was a better way of going about addressing that problem to him, though? I felt maybe I could have gone about this differently. That was why I decided to volunteer, as redemption for my past transgression. I was also the one pushing to fix Fiar's state as soon as possible, so I had to lead by example.

But the question remained of how exactly were we supposed to get Isla back up to the surface? Or get me down there safely in the first place? I got on my hands and knees and glanced over the edge again for inspiration, but there was nothing.

As I was looking, a loud shrill roar pierced my ear. It spooked me so bad that I almost fell right into the hole. Yet I threw myself backwards and got to my feet.

Lio, Alurek and Kueler were all on edge, and rightfully so. What stood before us was another one of those beasts, a charging matur.

Lio’s face tightened—all of ours did—when staring upon the beast that charged at us faster than the last. The vines on the ground bounced as the mighty beast’s trampling feet shook the earth below us.

“Charliette, get over here now!” Lio was serious, scowling at the approaching beast. I knew my role, to stop this thing in its tracks with Waterwark. Stasis wouldn’t work because the moment it would come in range, it would be too late given how fast it ran.

“Right!” I looked back at that hole one more time before getting to my feet. Isla would have to wait. I unsheathed my tome and just when I was about to crack it open, I had a huge reality check.

Life just doesn’t make things easy for us. Not even once.

A palm sized rock darted right past me, barely grazing my check and slamming into the wall behind me.

What was that?

Something was laughing back at us, giggling hysterically. I forgot that this dungeon had more than one animal species living in its depths. That laughing character was another beast riding atop the matur. It was a roggan.

Roggans looked like orangutans but thinner. They were the only animal in the world that can throw things rivaling an Accelerated projectile. One rode on the matur that was charging forth at us, giggling and making primate noises like an ecstatic toddler.

Then it threw another one.

Right towards me.

I scrambled to get my tome open and cast Waterwark to defend myself, but it was just too quick. It took a few seconds that I didn’t have for the actual shield to form. I was too late, the rock was too fast, and it struck me.

The rock hit me in the gut, but I luckily softened the blow a bit by blocking it with my tome. It still felt like I got drop kicked to the gut, all the oxygen squeezed out of my lungs. It’s sheer force knocked me backwards, which was the worst outcome I could think of. I was breathless, slightly injured, and now plummeting to the very hole I looked down merely moments ago.

“Charliette!” Last thing I saw was Lio sniping the roggan with a smaller fireball spell, Charbolt. The monster fell right off the beast and grew lifeless.

I saw my master’s eyes. Wide, fear stricken, and damp. He was the first one to try and save me. He was the first one who didn’t hesitate to run dangerously close to the hole. He was the one who called my name in anguish.

Nothing more was audible, only my shrill screams and the whistle of the wind blowing quickly around me. I was falling fast and descending into the darkness where I couldn’t even see my own hands in front of me. And at the bottom of this pit…

I had to break my fall somehow. No way was I surviving like Isla did. She got lucky. Even if I did manage to survive, every bone in my lower body would be shattered, making me an easy prey for the undead Isla that waited patiently below.

Isla’s undead groans were starting to grow louder than the whistling air the longer I fell. I had to do something. I didn’t want to die, not after promising to make Fiar better, and not after preaching to Lio about failure. I had to give it my all and practice what I preached.

But no matter how much I tried, fear gripped me. I screamed and screamed, desperately flailing my arms about. “Please, no!”

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.

Idontwanttodie!

By the volume of Isla’s groans, I knew I was nearing the floor. Everything was pitch black, I had no way of confirming it. But I knew I was drawing close to my destruction. Too close.

What should I do?

My mind was flustered with questions that needed answers, problems that needed solving. Time was short, I didn’t have time to think it all through. The only thing coming to mind was how Fiar used Displacement Magic. He used Stasis on himself, which was something I had never seen before.

That was the only possible solution I could think of, fearing I’d be flattened by the force of gravity before I could execute a plan.

On a whim, I casted Stasis on myself. And there I was, immediately stopped in my tracks mid-air. Only then did I notice—suspended in the air above above a monster willing to tear my flesh apart—that I’d have to use Disperse to get out of this spell.

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As one would know, I wasn’t particularly known for my large magic energy reserves. Mine was like a pea compared to another person’s reserves, which would scale to about a watermelon. I had way less magic energy in my body than the average Mage, so even Disperse was dangerous for me. Would I even stay conscious after casting it? I didn’t know, but I didn’t have any choice.

Okay… Okay… I huffed and puffed, sucking in air. I got this! I wasn’t going to die today.

But still, I was hesitant, doubt overflowing in my mind. If not for Disperse locking my body in place, then I’d be shaking all over. I wasn’t brave, I never was. Just hearing the excited groan of Isla and the explosion of magic booming while my party up at the surface fought the matur made me mentally gulp in terror.

There was no one to save me this time. Lio was occupied fighting the beast, so I had to fight this battle myself.

I had to do this.

“Disperse!” my crackling voice called out. I fell right down into the pit, luckily not falling unconscious. My magic energy reserves were empty, though. No more magic for me.

I landed on my ass, right on the gravel floor at the bottom of the pit, littered with spider webs. The air down here was stale, but death was looming over me.

It was still pitch darkness, I could only hear footsteps making their way to me. It was Isla I was sure of it.

“Graaaaah!” Isla ran up to me and pounced right on top of me. We were so close together that I had no escape.

Isla flexed her jaw, clamping down in desperation. She wanted that bit of flesh that was holding her back, my forearm. When she jumped right on me, I brought my forearm to her throat to stop her from biting down on me. But she was relentless. It didn’t matter if her dead, decayed arms grabbed onto me, the only thing worrying me was those sharp teeth that develop on undead corpses. Isla’s were as sharp as a wolf’s.

“No, argh, no!” I screamed with a strained voice. Isla was getting stronger. I always wish for happy endings, but why do I always get the bad one’s? Every adventure was always a fight for our life, I was sick of it. I wanted to just lay down and cry, but then I’d surely be letting go of everything up to this point.

“Grooooo!” Isla roared back at me, and some of her black ink-like saliva I saw before sprayed in my face. It was gooey and sticky, nauseating to the nose too.

I couldn’t see her face, but that demonic roar she let out made me realize this wasn’t Isla anymore. I was just another monster. I can’t hesitate or I’ll share her fate.

She had to be put down for good. I reached for my knife at my waist, feeling around my torso for it while my other arm fended off the monster’s advance. It was stronger though. Way more power than my single arm could muster. I needed both my arms now to keep it at bay. No time to reach for my knife.

Isla’s undead walking corpse pinned me further against the wall of dirt that surrounded us. The sediment crumbled from the impact. I was losing grip on her and there was no way for me to force my body back.

However, just when I thought it was over, a small spark of flame floated down the hole. It was a little light shining in the darkness, brightening up my world down here. Lio had sent in a little helper to aid in my struggles.

The small flame landed right on Isla’s ripped up robe. Its silk had been eaten away by time, yet it was as flammable as ever. Her clothes burst into flames upon touching the fire, and she backed away in agony. She was dead, her body reanimated by the corrupt magic of the dungeon master, yet she still screamed and cried like a living person. The flame’s slowly ate up her brittle hair and her decayed skin, and she thrashed about.

I could see now, the flames lighting the small pit. Now was my chance, Lio gave this opportunity to me. That meant I couldn’t pass it up. I pulled my kitchen knife from its sheath on my waist and held it up in front of me. Isla lost focus on me, instead squirming all around the hole to put out the fire.

She was acting so human at this point. Too human, which made my arms falter. Could I really kill a person? Could she be saved?

No! The accounts from the adventurers showed that she died already. There was no magic in the world that could completely bring someone back from the dead with their personality intact. Sure, dungeon masters could bring people back, but only as monstrous slaves. That was what I was looking back at now. I questioned if she was truly a slave or not. She was writhing in pain way too much like a living being.

Still in agony, those black eyes darted right at me again. Not a hint of white was left in those eyes, the all-consuming void had eaten them up. I reluctantly raised my knife.There weren’t any emerald left in those irises. Just nothing.

I struck Isla right over the head with the tip of my knife, and it sank in. Those eyes weren’t human anymore. No matter how human she acted, those pure black pupils that kept staring back at me convinced me she wasn't alive anymore. I shoved the knife in deeper, and Isla fell to the ground like a puppet without a string. Then the fire on her body extinguished, leaving behind a charred body.

The knife rattled out of my hands, and the darkness consumed me once again. Had I just killed someone? I knew it was a monster, but it didn’t feel like I killed one. This one felt like murder.

“Charliette!” A voice barked from above. Following it was another loud roar and a powerful quake that shook me to my core. They had downed the matur much quicker than last time. That voice was Lio’s. “Are you okay?” he yelled again.

“I’m okay! But Isla…” I screamed right back.

“We’ll come and get you!”

I dropped to the ground and felt the blood coat around my fingers. I never suspected feeling this way after killing an undead. I’ve killed dozens of them in the Dungeon of the Dead, so why didn’t I feel like this before?

It was Isla. Lio shot another flame back down to light up the way, and it sat on the gravel floor, shining like a star. I got another look at Isla’s dead, bloody and burnt corpse sprawled on the floor. I couldn’t show this to Fiar, it would break him even more.

Lio and Kueler lowered a long vine they found, and I tied the vine around Isla’s body. They heaved it up to the surface and then I was brought up next. I grabbed onto the vine and looked down as I went up. Blood was everywhere, and my knife was sitting in the center of it all. I grimaced.

The job was done, we got what we came for. Thus we all made our retreat out of the dungeon, Kueler carrying Isla on his back like some sort of rucksack. I couldn’t bear looking at her. I knew Fiar wouldn’t want to either.

X X X

The moment we got outside the dungeon, we all began discussing how to deal with Fiar. Should we just plop Isla right in front of him, or try something else? Since finishing off Isla, I was strongly against showing her to Fiar. Her body was in a horrific state. I suggested we bury her properly.

It was easy to find a plot of land in the local cemetery, and so we dug a six foot hole and gently lowered her inside. Alurek was the one to refill the hole with Isla’s body inside of it, while I sat by the gravestone, etching her name with a chisel. I paid my respects, holding the marriage bracelet she had on her arm. This was what we would show Fiar instead.

Then we headed over to Fiar’s place, all of us with solemn expressions on our faces. I never imagined to be so stricken in the heart by someone I haven’t even met. But this was for Fiar.

I knocked on the door to Fiar’s house, grasping the bracelet so tight in my arms that my fingertips turned white. I didn’t know how Fiar would react.

Christia opened the door with such a bright smile on her face. But once she got a glimpse of us, it disappeared. We all headed inside, and I made my way to Fiar.

“What happened?” Christia darted her eyes towards me, but Lio shushed her. She forced her mouth closed and place a hand over it. The other one was placed on her chest.

I never managed to peep a word. I found Fiar in the corner of the living room right beside the couch in a fetal position. He was still out of it.

“Fiar.” I squatted down right in front of him, then held the bracelet to eye level. His eyes shocked themselves awake. He took it almost immediately. “We found her. I’m sorry, but she really is gone.”

“Isla? Dear?” I couldn’t handle the look in his eyes. They were in so much pain.

“I’m sorry.”

He felt the bracelet with his fingers, comparing it to the ring on his right hand. They were identical in design. Ivory white with gold accents.

“Isla’s gone.”

Fiar stared back at me, and his entire face crinkled up. His lifeless expression now burst to life. Tears streamed down his face and he threw himself onto me. I felt myself almost starting to wail too, but I held it back. Someone needed to be there for him. Someone needed to be strong for him.

“Isla!” he cried, weeping on my shoulder. All I could do was pat his back and whisper in his ears consoling words.

We were all conflicted. We knew Fiar was back with us once again, but it was no fun to see him come to such realization. I let him cry on me as much as he wanted to, holding back tears of my own. Everyone stayed with Fiar the entire night, being there for him at his absolute lowest.

Seeing him like this made me want to stop this from happening to anyone ever again. The next day would be a brand new adventure, using my business to protect and serve adventurers so they never have to go through what Fiar did.

I swear this on my life.