Evan stared at the dungeon entrance as Elara watched his face. A mix of emotions played across Evan’s face and every time she went to speak, fear and worry would etch into his brow.

Finally, after what felt like hours to Elara, Evan spoke. “Still can’t believe it took us two days to get here finally.”

“Well, only a day since we left the town. However, we couldn’t have expected them to have guards roaming the streets looking for us.” Answered Elara as she brushed the hair out of her face.

Evan’s gaze lingered on Elara. She shifted her weight, shuffling her feet and clenching her hands repeatedly, a silent manifestation of her worry. “It will be ok.” He said. “Rhea has gone with Isolde into hiding. The goddess will punish the bastards responsible for burning the temple down. If the people don’t get to them first.”

“Yeah. The people in the slums relied on Rhea and the temple. To destroy it in that manner. Wow. I… I can’t believe they would do it.” Replied Elara as she shook her head. “It’s so sad. That little girl… She was crying as she watched it burn… I don’t think I will ever forget that.”

“We will make the pay. Ok. We Will. But first, let’s find this Rivena person. Hopefully, she is at a safe level.” Said Evan as he held her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get this done.”

Elara nodded and walked ahead into the dungeon entrance. The darkness of the tunnel quickly surrounded her. Evan shook his head as he followed, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. “Doesn’t mean I like this idea. I had hoped never to have to enter this place again.” He thought as images of the last desperate descent into the dungeon of the dead surfaced. Running from the bandits who chased him from where he had been dropped by the goddess, the endless hordes of undead, the Lich who almost killed him.

“Come on. I see some skeletons ahead.” Shouted Elara as she rushed forward.

“Wait. Elara, stop.” Yelled Evan as he chased after her. “We don’t know how many there are. Wait.”

Evan caught up just as Elara destroyed the last skeleton before her. A triumphant smile spread across Elara’s face as if she had achieved everything she had hoped for. The Burning remains of the skeletons laid out around her, smoke rising from some. The smell of burning bones lingered heavy in the air.

“Ohh… Well… I guess you didn’t need my help.” Stuttered Evan as he took in the carnage around them. “Just be careful. We don’t need you running out of mana down here.”

Running ahead, Elara looked back over her shoulder with a smile. “Come on, keep up.”

Evan and Elara pressed deeper into the dungeon’s depths, the air thick with a wet, musty smell. As they descended to the second level, the challenges grew more daunting.

Evan thought back to the last time he was on the second floor. The Knight he had fought to descend to the next staircase had proven challenging. Looking around Evan could see the knights mixed in with the groups of skeletons. Each knight had plate armour and presented a formidable image.

The breastplate, adorned with intricate engravings of ancient battles, clung to the knight’s bony frame. Shoulders adorned with pauldrons bore markings of ancient runes, while gauntleted hands terminated in razor-sharp claws. Articulated greaves encased the knight’s legs, marked by the scars of countless conflicts. The helm, crowned with a snarling visor, revealed empty eye sockets that stared out with an undying determination.

On the one hand, the Knights wielded a towering square shield, its surface etched with the scars of battles long past, a formidable bulwark that seemed almost as tall as the warrior. The knight’s other hand gripped a great sword that gleamed with a deadly aura, its blade whispering the deaths of many.

“Wow, those knights are certainly well-armoured. Let’s see if my fireball will affect them.” Said Elara with a gleam in her eye. “Ignis pila”

Evan watched as the knight closest to them dropped his shield and great sword, as he flailed. Running around, almost like he was trying to put out the flames that still burnt. As Evan watched, smoke rose from the knight’s armour. Evan turned his head. Unable to watch the scene any longer.

“Huh. I think the fireball worked better than I was expecting,” said Elara, shock etched into her face. “I feel bad for the knight. It looked like he was alive… Almost as if he was slowly burning alive…”

“Hey.” Said Evan as he turned to face her. “They are nothing but monsters. the dungeon spawns these. They are not alive. Ok? You did nothing wrong.”

“Yeah, OK. Can you take the lead? I need some time. Ok.” Whispered Elara.

“Huh, yeah. Sure. Just follow me ok, I’ll keep you safe.” Replied Evan as he watched Elara rub her arms.

“Maybe she just needs time. I don’t think she has ever been into a dungeon before.”Thought Evan. “It’s not like the dungeon monsters are the same as the ones outside. The dungeon spawns these, they can’t feel right?” Shaking his head, Evan walked ahead, cutting down a skeleton that had approached them.

Evan led them through the second floor without facing any challenges. The knight he had fought last time to advance to the next floor was nowhere to be found when he approached the staircase this time. The steps leading down were well-worn as Evan guided Elara behind him. She still hadn’t spoken a word since the first knight she had set on fire with her fireball.

“Ardentrex, I’m worried about Elara.” Thought Evan. “Most people come to terms with killing monsters when they are young. My sister Lily accepted this part of life when she was only six.”

“Hmm. " Came Ardentrex’s voice in Evan’s head. “Some young dragons do suffer when they kill many creatures at an early age. But I would not think this is the case here. She seems to be stuck reliving the knight’s dying moments. You might need to break her out of this forcefully human.”

“I would rather not hurt her.” Thought Evan in reply as he cut down the skeleton of a wolf. “Damn, these things are fast. More than one or two of these and I won’t be able to protect Elara. Hmm. What if…”

Evan brought his hand up and focused on the chaos magic swirling through him. “Die,” murmured Evan as black tethers of fire raced in the direction his hand was pointed. The smell of charred earth and bones filled the air.

“Shit.” Groaned Evan as he grabbed at his heart. Pain shooting outwards, the feeling like he had been stabbed. His vision spun as he struggled to stay upright.

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“That was excessive human. You used far more than you can handle.” Commented Ardentrex’s voice. “You must stop using chaos magic as often as you are. You do realise it has already cost you over one year of your life. This little display would have taken more than a couple of months.”

Evan shrugged as he finally stopped seeing double. “I can’t protect Elara and fight all the skeleton wolfs. This was the most simple solution I could think of.” Thought Evan. “Besides, using chaos magic is addictive. It makes everything so much easier. I never realised how much I was missing out on in my last life. It feels like a rush. The same as when you are in the middle of a battle and you finally beat the person you were fighting against. That rush. That moment of pure yes! It’s hard to explain it. But nothing beats the feeling of it. I feel like a god every time.”

“Normal magic doesn’t have this effect. It is part of the chaos magic. It becomes addictive. Trying to make you use it constantly. You need to rely on it less human.” Replied Ardentrex’s voice.

They continued through the third level with little resistance after Evan’s magic attack. Everywhere Evan looked, there were black scorch marks on the ground and wall. Nothing had escaped his single blast. The air slowly started to chill as they approached the staircase.

“Wha… What happened to this level?”Asked Elara as she looked around. Her eyes were red, dried tears marring her face.

“Shit.”Thought Evan. “She is taking killing those knights harder than I was expecting.”

“It would seem that she has never actually killed anything intelligent.” Replied Ardentrex’s voice. “You will need to talk to her soon. She is a liability to use if she can’t fight.”

“I watched my sister go through this,” Evan thought sadly, the pain of watching Lily tear herself apart still causing him pain even now. “Sadly, I was not able to help her. But your right Ardentrex, I will need to talk to her.”

“It was destroyed by something. Come on. Let’s keep moving ok.” Said Evan, hoping that Elara wouldn’t question it.

Stepping out into the fourth level, the chill in the air increased. This level was darker than the previous ones. Dark shadows played tricks on their senses, and eerie whispers echoed through the cold stone corridors. Evan stared into the darkness, watching as a wraith floated across one of the corridors.

“Ah. This level wasn’t like this before. I think I would remember seeing a wraith.” Said Evan softly. “Why has the dungeon changed?”

Ardentrex’s voice answered Evan’s question. “It could be because we destroyed the Lich on the fifth floor. He might have been containing them. We may have altered this dungeon with our fight. This could have been the original level before the Lich moved in.”

“Shit.” Muttered Evan loudly.

“Wha… What’s wrong?” Asked Elara, her voice trembling as she spoke.

“Ah. Nothing. Nothing is wrong. How are you doing? Are you feeling ok?” Answered Evan quickly.

Elara gave Evan a faint smile, as she replied. “Let’s just finish what we… What we need to do and get out of this dungeon ok?”

Evan quickly led Elara through the fourth level, Twisting and turning, backtracking when they came upon a dead end. They had to stop multiple times to avoid the wraiths that were floating around. Ice-cold air always followed where the wraiths floated, making the ground slowly freeze over. Elara asked why they were running away instead of fighting the wraiths.

“Unless you can cast light or holy magic. Nothing we have will hurt them. Fire will slow them down but… It’s not worth the risk or the amount of fire magic needed. They are slow to follow, so it is easier to just run away.” Said Evan as he turned a corner, spotting the staircase ahead.

Evan continued as he walked. “Wraiths feed on your life. If they see you, their gaze will instil fear into the victim, rooting them still, once they approach, they will slowly freeze the victim to death before slowly draining the body. Normal weapons will not affect them. Only magic can or powerful magic weapons.”

Evan looked back at Elara and smiled, hoping it would give her the confidence to continue ahead. “Come on the next level is just the floor boss. We will be down to the first safe level to rest before you know it.”

As Evan stepped off the last stair, the floor boss’s door stood open. Cracks ran up both doors, destroying the carvings on them. Motioning for Elara to follow him, Evan approached the doors. Each crunch of the rocky soil below his feet echoed loudly. Pulling the door open, Evan stopped and stared at the sight before him.

The room had a massive crater in the centre of the room. The crater was massive, with a deep impact in the centre with cracks running away. Burn marks cover large areas of the floor and walls. Cracks ran down the wall from the ceiling; the room looked like it was close to collapsing.

“What caused this?” Said Evan to himself. “This a lot of damage to a dungeon. Someone went well above a normal attack.”

Just as Even was slowly making his way towards the crater to investigate, he heard voices coming from the other staircase that led down to the sixth level. Evan turned, grabbed Elara, and ran behind one of the pillars at the room’s edge.

“… can’t believe the boss did this. I don’t think this floor will recover anytime soon.” Said one of the voices with a deep rumble.

“… no. I’ve never… Never seen the boss like this. It was like he was taking his rage out. I almost felt sorry for the monster. That woman turning him down did a number on him.” replied a different voice.

Evan carefully watched as they entered the room. They kept talking as they made their way around the crater before passing through the doors that Evan and Elara had just entered.

“Demons. Why are they here…” Asked Evan.

“I… I don’t know.” Whispered Elara. “You don’t think they are here for Rivena?”

“Shit. I don’t know.” Replied Evan as he stepped out he checked to make sure the floor was clear. “Come on. Let’s hurry, we need to get to the safe level quickly. I don’t like this. The Mayor could be making his move, if he hasn’t already.”

Evan grabbed Elara’s hand, urgency in his grip, and led her down the staircase on the other side of the room. The voices of the demons they had overheard lingered in their minds.

The challenges of the sixth floor blurred into a whirlwind of battles and victories. The seventh and eighth floors brought new trials, each step propelling them closer to their goal. As they navigated the labyrinthine passages, the urgency in Evan’s eyes helped Elara push forward.

And then, almost as quickly as they had entered the sixth floor, they found themselves standing at the entrance to the ninth floor. The atmosphere shifted; a cold breeze seemed to flow from nowhere, the darkness pressing in from all sides, and the air itself heavy with danger.

Evan and Elara stepped into the ninth level, the air thick with an unsettling heaviness. Darkness pressed in from all sides, and an eerie silence hung in the narrow passages. As they ventured deeper into the unknown, shadows seemed to come alive, coalescing into skeletal figures that emerged with ominous clatters.

Elara’s pulse quickened as the skeletal figures came into view, and Evan’s grip on his sword tightened. The distant echoes of bone against stone grew louder. Evan looked at Elara and nodded as he stepped forward.

The short, narrow corridor opened up, revealing a vast chamber filled with the remnants of countless battles. Skeletal wolves, bears, and well-armed soldiers formed a relentless horde, their bones clattering ominously as they advanced.

Elara’s eyes widened, reflecting a mix of awe and fear as the skeletal horde descended upon them. Evan tightened his grip on his sword, a practised determination etched into his features.

Evan’s swift movements contrasted with Elara’s struggle to find her footing. Her fingers fumbled with the hilt of her staff, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead. The clattering bones created a dissonant symphony, drowning the silence, and Elara winced with each clash.

Elara’s gaze darted between Evan’s skilled maneuvers and the encroaching horde. A subtle determination flickered in her eyes as she attempted to cast spells, her brows furrowing with concentration.

Evan’s sword danced through the air, a protective shield against the skeletons that threatened to engulf Elara. The clattering of bones echoed through the narrow passages as Evan fought to protect her.

Evan grunted as he danced around one of the skeleton wolf’s lunges, he arced his sword up to cut through the human-shaped skeleton behind the wolf. Turning, Evan cut the legs off another skeleton as he brought his sword around in a low arc.

With a final, sweeping strike, Evan managed to disperse the remaining skeletons, the echoes of their demise fading into the eerie silence of the dungeon.

Breathing heavily, Elara looked at Evan with a mix of gratitude and subtle warmth. She turned away as she felt her face grow red.

“Thanks,” Elara murmured, her eyes reflecting a mix of emotions, including the tender stirrings within her.

Evan offered a reassuring smile. “We’re in this together, Elara. Let’s keep moving.”