"No one can construct for you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life, no one but you yourself alone."

― Friedrich Nietzsche

"Welcome to the Labyrinth!"Rafe bowed and swept his arms.

Ven took in the vast gated fortress that stood within the center of the capital. Taller than all other structures within the city, it towered far above. A marble edifice that rivaled a small mountain. Every inch was coated in finely carved reliefs. Mighty Dragons roared their fury to the heavens as they battled a hoard of shadows.

"This isn't the Royal Palace?" Ven asked, his head tilted unnaturally as he attempted to find the upper limits of the huge castle.

"Oh, no no no!" Rafe walked forward and slapped the building's sturdy gate. "Those stuffy bastards can't make something like this."

He caressed the gold-trimmed metal and sighed, hand on the depiction of a silver dragon.

"This was built by the Dragon God," Rafe's eyes shone, and he turned back to Ven. "The only True Dragon that exists in this world."

"Dragon God?" Ven left his admiration for the structure aside and met the halfling's gaze. "Like how Ooulin and Kalina were gods?"

Ven didn't want to deal with yet another superpower right away, let alone a dragon. The dragon-kin he'd met had painted a poor picture of these beings, and most fantasy dragons were distempered at best.

"Oh no," Rafe shook his head, and vertigo assaulted Ven as the small man's blurry features distorted further. "More like Verander, but he isn't limited to the level of an Earth Deity on this world."

"That strong..." Ven despaired. He'd hoped that the barrier guaranteed nothing beyond an Earth Deity would come for him, but this dragon was proof that he was wrong

"Of course, I told you, remember?" Rafe flicked his forehead, faster than Ven could see, and returned to his position in front of the door. "Dragons don't cultivate, they eat. Even in this bottle-world, they can keep on getting stronger."

Ven rubbed the surface of his new mask, the sting of Rafe's finger penetrated beyond its mirrored finish

"Careful!" Ven removed his mask and inspected it for damage. "This thing was expensive!"

Ven had parted with most of his loot and exchanged it for this new outfit. A mirror mask and a flowing set of silver robes. Plain in design, with few exterior details, their quality was absurd.

"Don't worry!" Rafe waved off his complaint. "Ulgrin's gear is the best!"

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He squatted down, as if in search of something within the murals carved into the walls. The halfling drew his hand across a small depiction of a mounted knight, almost lost in the noise of the detailed image.

"The Dragon God vanished a long time ago," Rafe thrust his finger into the carved knight, and the relief sank into the stone. "I want to see if you grow like he did."

A series of clicks sounded out, followed by a deep mechanical rumble. The ground shook, and thousands of birds took flight from the city, a stormcloud of angry birds that voiced their complaints.

The great gateway trembled as it ground itself backward. An opening big enough for two men gaped between them, the lungs of an ancient beast, starved for air. The black tunnel inhaled, dust and debris spiraled in the squall.

"The best place to test you is inside the Labyrinth," Rafe said, his glee offputting as he dragged Ven forward. "The creatures down here can easily reach the power of a Semi-Divine."

Ven stepped over the threshold, and the huge doors slammed shut behind him, far faster than when they'd opened. He turned around, but found only a solid wall of grey rock, lit by a dim glow at the distant end of the tunnel.

"Just kill your way forward," Rafe's voice echoed out, the man's body nowhere to be seen. "I'll be nearby, so you probably won't die!"

"Screw you!" Ven cursed the halfling, his eyes focused on the depths of the passageway. Steady footsteps, bare skin on the smooth rock, approached from the gloom.

A bulbous, rotted humanoid shambled into sight, thick folds of fat and skin covered in pustulous welts. It wailed. Three mouths, filled with broken teeth, open across its chest in a mockery of the human form. It raised the disordered limbs on its sides and vaulted forward on several stumpy legs.

The shambling horror approached, and Ven's mouth twisted into a feral grin behind his mask. If Rafe wants to play games, then I'll play. He could take out his frustrations on these slow-witted monstrosities, and see if he could get stronger as he consumed their inner worlds.

Ven lept toward the creature, his dark aura flared around him. He slid beneath its grasp, its many hands clenched only air as he drove his fist into its gut.

A gust of foul steam rushed into the tunnel, followed by a shrill scream. The shambler's flesh parted like water, and Ven was blinded. He stood, hand raised in his attack, surrounded by the gooey remains of the would-be attacker.

Disgusting... Ven walked out of the puddle of gore, focused on the bundle of flesh grasped in his hand. It was extremely hard and pulsed out like an erratic heart.

"So this is an "inner world?" Ven wrinkled his nose. "Not very appetizing."

He tossed the crystalline organ in his mouth, its bitter rot an assault on his tongue. His eyes watered, and he swallowed repeatedly. The rough sphere inched down his throat, and he retrieved a flask of wine from his bag.

Wine poured down his lips as he forced more than he could swallow into his mouth, desperate to purge the taste. That god-damn halfling... No wonder Rafe locked him in here. Ven would have turned around at the first taste of this foul meat.

"Maybe I should add halfling to the menu..."

Ven shook his head. The little man was annoying, but he gave Ven a place to start. When it came to training, he was limited to his own knowledge, all of which was useless when it came to cultivation.

The dense lump pressed on to the end of its journey, perched above his stomach. Ven rubbed his diaphragm, a strong urge to burp, trapped at the base of his throat.

"This had better..." The core fell, and a fire lit within him. An explosion shook the walls of his body, a heavy wind that threatened to tear him down.

Vendak was pushed to his knees, a ragged gasp forced from his lips as he clutched his waist. Pinpoints of light filled his vision. A single tone rang in his ears as Ven pressed his face to the cool stone floor. He was burning, a matchstick thrown into the fire.

"I'll kill that halfling…"

Ven ground his teeth, every cell pressed against the swell of energy he'd foolishly consumed. He trembled and called on the black mist of his aura. Ven guided its flow, and wrapped up the monstrous power. He drank it down like a man determined to consume a mighty lake.

The pain dampened like a receding tide, tiny spikes that only resembled the flames that first blossomed inside him. His cells opened their hungry maws wide and drank the waters that threatened to drown them. The lake became a river, then a stream, as more and more cells divided the work between them.

Ven straightened his back and rose to his feet, his vision returned to him. I need to be more careful... He should have wrapped the thing with his aura from the beginning, but he'd hoped his stomach could do the job on its own. "Big mistake." He shook his head and stepped forward.

"Alright, let's get on with this!"