Sarah Wilson was bored. Very, very bored. So bored, in fact, that she’d have said she was bored to death except she’d already died like…an eternity ago. It had been super scary and confusing, because one moment she and her friends were walking in the jewelry shop, looking at all the pretty diamonds, and the next she’d been here in this dark void. 

A blue screen had informed her to sit tight as her soul underwent system integration, whatever the hell that meant. She’d asked for an explanation, or tried to, but the screen had disappeared before she’d even been able to utter so much as a word. Even if it hadn't it wouldn't have made much of difference, since she didn’t have a voice here, or a body for that matter.

Yeah, that discovery had freaked her out alright, and Sarah might have…panicked a little. Some mental screaming and crying may have been involved, which are, on an unrelated note, good substitutes for the genuine article. A little panic had been warranted though, since it isn’t every day that you find out that you’ve died.

Honestly, Sarah thought she’d handled the news of her passing pretty well all things considered. Same for the realization that she was stuck here for the time being, even if time didn’t really exist in the void. Like, Sarah had known that time was a purely human concept, but it hadn’t really ever hit home until now, there literally no way to tell time in this damnable place aside from counting.

Orientation was even more of a hassle, there no way to tell up from down or left from right. It was a dark, featureless expanse that went on into infinity. Truly, there was no point of reference to hold onto, not even a distant star. No noise either, it silent as the grave, and so she only had her thoughts to keep her company.

In other words, it was supremely boring, and at this point Sarah would have loved nothing more than for the abyss to stare on back, or tell her secrets dark and dangerous. Every so often she’d call out for an update, but neither upper or lower management answered her no matter what she did and Sarah had gotten damn creative. She’d cried and begged and cursed to no avail, and even ritualistic chanting had gone unanswered.

In fact, Sarah was convinced that they’d simply forgotten about her because how hard could it be to integrate a single soul! It couldn’t be all that difficult when thousands of people died every day, besides after millennia you’d think they’d have gotten this down to a science, but clearly the people in charge were just incompetent.

Depressingly, even complaining had gotten boring. As had drifting around listlessly, and now she was bored of being bored, which was a new low. It really was, and Sarah sighed deeply only for a blue screen to pop into existence.

System Integration complete! You will shortly be reincarnated as a [Dungeon Pixie] !

“Finally,” she crowed with delight. “It took you guys long enough!”

The void cracked and a warm light enveloped her, carrying her to her new destination. It felt like every sunny morning combined and she basked in it, wondering all the while why they hadn’t put her in a dimension full of this goodness. She would have complained a lot less if this had been her eternity. Still, better late than never, she supposed. 

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Sarah was also excited to become a pixie, which if she recalled correctly, was a type of fairy. A childhood dream come true, that, though she was a bit weirded out by the adjective of "Dungeon". Like, did that mean she was captured or whatever? Was she a princess in need of rescue? Oh, if she was she couldn't wait to meet her own Oberon and become his Titania! 

Romantic fantasies filled her head the rest of the way, exited to live out a fairy tale. Finally they arrived, the ball of light coming to a stop. The white light grew brighter and she felt her new body materialize itself one inch at a time, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. It was the feeling of wings sprouting from her back, however, that saw her come into being with a megawatt smile.

Only for that smile to disappear right quick when she took in her surroundings. She'd expected a gilded cage, one of those fancy tower rooms with a four poster bed and barred windows, but instead she found herself in a hole in not much bigger than she was. And, given that she was only four inches tall that was saying something.

It smelled of dirt and mildew, and the only things of note were the cracked garnet that twinkled on the ground not too far away and the blue screen hovering in front of her.

Congratulations, you have been reborn as a [Dungeon Pixie]! These helpful Fae creatures guide and keep the [Dungeon Core] that summoned them company. Go on say hello!

Just like last time it disappeared as soon as she’d finished reading it, leaving her alone with the unfaceted gem. Given that it was the only thing here aside from her it must have been the Dungeon Core the screen had mentioned, and apparenlty it had summoned her. 

How it had done or why was unclear, but if pixies existed why not magical gems? Maybe it was like...a soul stone or something. Curious she floated on closer, which came surprisingly natural to her after all that drifting in the void. 

The core was triangular in shape and cabochon to boot, meaning that it had a curved top and a flat base. It was light pink in color and had hairline fractures covering its surface. A pity, really, because otherwise it would have definitely fetched a fair price. Then again, it was a magical stone that could resurrect the dead and give them new bodies, so that would probaly jack it right back up. Made it priceless, really. 

And it was hers, the screen all but having told her that she was its caretaker. Which was like, woah, responsiblity much?

Sure, she was a fairy now, so she had magic but...she was also only four inches tall. People could just step on her and she'd die! Thankfully they were safe for now, being undergound as they were, but uhh that wouldn't last forever either - not if she had any say in the matter. 

Worrying wouldn't get her anywhere though, so she decided to just bite the bullet and say hello. 

"Hey, I'm Sarah. You are?"

The core stayed silent, which wasn't too surprsing - crystals weren’t typically known for being chatty Cathies. Still if it could summon her surely it could communicate so... maybe touching it would be the way to go. 

Sarah reached out, taking note of how slender her arm was, and put a small hand onto its surface. The second she did she was overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts not her own, first and foremost among them pain and fear. It didn’t communicate in words, but in conceptual equations that hurt her head to look at, and yet she understood.

She understood that it was lonely and confused and that it needed help, felt that the bond between them was incomplete - onesided. All she had to do was say yes, and the two of them would be bound for eternity, minds inerxoriably connected.  

Sarah said yes, and the world was bathed in pink light.