“The dungeon core avatar, I presume?”

The plant thing offers a sloppy bow. “Yes, master. As always.”

Nyx seems utterly disinterested while Abaris is muttering things like ‘amazing’ and ‘incredible’ and so forth.

“‘As always’ nothing. I was only recently revived myself, and I don’t know you,” I flatly reply.

I… huh. It actually looks shocked, maybe hurt. Not unlike Olive I guess, maybe all of Astraea’s underlings were obsessed with her.

(She may have demanded that level of loyalty, or directly forced it into them. Some of the gods are like that, all ego and no sense.)

Ha, sure, I’ll pretend I don’t notice the accusation in there.

“We understand. Master’s ego was – ”

“Alright, stop there. Everyone calls me queen or lady or mistress or whatever the fuck, and you’re not getting on that bandwagon. Uh, Nyx? What’s a bandwagon?”

(Doesn’t matter,) she says.

The alraune pauses and then asks, “Then how should we refer to the master?”

“I am Nemesis. You will address me as Nemesis.”

“Yes, Master Nemesis.”

I sigh and don’t bother gathering the ash.

***

Less than an hour and the plant core thing has already regrown the core room into a lush if compact garden packed with life, including somehow refilling the pond and producing glowing insects that flit from flower to flower.

Including the flowers covering strategic parts of its body.

“So it doesn’t bother you either that I ate your old… Astraea?”

The core tilts its head and searches my face with its eyes. “You have her face, her mana, her smell. You are her.”

“Huh.”

Apparently, that’s all it takes?

(It’s a construct, remember? It’s keyed to Astraea’s mana and the rest is just fluff,) my former Assistant informs me.

Well, okay then.

…

“Now what?” I ask.

The core says nothing as it continues watching me expectantly.

Abaris steps closer to the avatar and says, “Well, I have designed most of the monster distribution presently in this dungeon, but I suppose we will want to collaborate in the future?”

Suddenly glaring at the mage, the alraune takes a sharp gliding step to loom directly in front of him. “Your efforts are unnecessary and unwelcome. The master has already specified parameters for this dungeon, and we have already begun purging the filth for its restoration.”

“Stop right there,” I snarl, lashing a dozen feelers around it and dragging it bodily in front of me. “I asked for his help. ME. YOUR MASTER. And you will respect that decision. I expect you to collaborate with him.”

I drop it in a heap, although with the myriad vines around the room I suppose it wasn’t ever really fully suspended. Whatever.

But I’m not done, so I continue. “What exactly were the parameters Astraea specified? The simple version if you will.”

Stolen story; please report.

Using its extra appendages to right itself, the avatar replies as if I hadn’t just threatened it with destruction. “Populate all floors, increasing difficulty by five levels per floor. Alternate sub-boss and boss monster every five floors. Monster Domain: plant, lunar, night. We will omit further details for brevity.”

“Thank you. You might actually be useful. Use those domains, but add hunger. I am the god of hunger and I will have my dungeon represent me. Further, I myself have configured the final boss room to be a chamber for an audience with myself, where I will test those who make it to me.”

It furrows its leafy brow. “Master Nemesis will be the final boss?”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Maybe, but probably not. I doubt anyone who enters my dungeon will be strong enough to fight a literal god, so like I said, I’ll test them.”

“And how exactly are you going to do that?” Nyx says as she materializes behind the alraune.

Which… must have known she was there, from its complete lack of reaction.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll probably call everyone together and we can brainstorm what I should do.”

She gives me a skeptical look. “You’re really not just going to do whatever you feel like?”

“Of course I am!” I laugh. “But I’m going to get suggestions first. I might just kill them, but wouldn’t it be more fun to… I don’t know, make them squirm first?”

“You can’t!” Abaris interrupts. “If everyone who makes it this far dies, the adventurers will stop coming entirely! You need to balance their victories and losses!”

“Hey, whatever. Save the criticism for when I have other people to dismiss your arguments for me.”

Huh. Everyone is glaring at me now.

“What?”

“You’re an idiot is what,” Nyx snaps. Some things never change.

“Sure, fine. I’m an idiot. I know, you keep saying it,” I huff.

Nyx huffs back, because of course she does.

“Anyway, all my other sycophants have names or want names or something. Did Astraea name you too?” I ask, turning my eyes toward the alraune.

“Master once called me Ivy,” it drones.

“Yeah, no. That’s a dumb name, you’re getting a different one.”

And there’s that expectant stare again.

“Abaris,” I address the mage, “what do those flowers on its… everywhere look like?”

He looks at them in thought for a moment before pulling another field manual from his dimensional storage.

“Is this going to take long?” I ask impatiently.

Without glancing up he says, “Not long, no, but you are the one who asked, and I do not want to offer incorrect information.”

Fair enough.

…

“I believe I have a match,” he finally says.

“Well? Go on then.”

He holds the field manual toward me, open to a page with an ink drawing of a –

“Did you draw this yourself?”

“Yes.”

Huh.

Anyway, flower.

It has a large canopy of ruffled and overlapping petals, all of which are curled into a ball-like mass.

“They resemble the duplicitous rose, a native of the plane of Azara. Monster variants have been documented, but the common variety is already dangerous; they emit a poisonous vapor that causes hallucinations and feelings of attraction to illusory people among the patch… It is possible that Astraea’s objective in creating this core avatar was to model those hallucinations.”

“We are no hallucination, mortal,” the plant thing snaps.

“I don’t care. Rose it is. Your name, I mean. You are Rose now.”

And as soon as I finish saying it, I feel yet another bond flower in the back of my psyche. Thankfully though, it doesn’t turn into some kind of furry bedroom invader after I acknowledge it with a name.

I hope not at least.

***

Telling them to work together was another good idea. It hasn’t even been an hour and they’ve already slated a plan based on a hybrid of the old and new plans, with Nyx as a tiebreaker if they can’t agree.

And now, the strategy is largely built around distracting the victims – er, I mean adventurers – with a small group of monsters, and then ambushing them with several more. Combining carnivorous plants not unlike the razorvines, ensnaring vines, shadow beasts, and a variety of other interesting monsters, they’ve built this into a delightful deathtrap I’m looking forward to seeing in action!

…Actually, now that I think of it, Rose doesn’t look that different from a razorvine-person herself.

They listened too; I’m the final boss, me and my retinue.

“You can contact me telepathically, correct?”

Rose sloppily bows. “Yes, Master Nemesis. We are bound to you.”

“Show me.”

We can communicate with you telepathically, its voice intones in my head.

“Good. You are to inform me as soon as someone – anyone, not just mortal adventurers – reaches this floor, and again when they reach the door to the final boss room. Do not let them enter until I and my retinue have arrived and arranged ourselves. I authorize you to inform them that their audience with the master of this place will happen shortly. Actually… now that I think of it, make the room before my audience hall a safe zone. There’s no point in my testing them unless they’ve rested, I’ll do the weakening myself.”

“As you wish,” the alraune drones.

Excellent. I can’t wait for my first visitor!

I start to leave the dungeon with Abaris and Nyx in tow, and Rose for some reason.

“Wait, can you even leave the dungeon?” I ask the flowery avatar.

It nods as it glides along the floor between the motion of lithe legs and flowing vines. “We can but are weakened outside its embrace. We can, however, recall ourselves instantaneously.”

Good. So no stupid games with Rose getting trapped outside of…

Wait, is it just going to follow me everywhere now!?

(Probably.)

Great. Just great. At least it seems loyal, I guess.

…

“Wait, why in all the hells am I WALKING!? I have fox-based instant transportation! OLIVE! WHERE ARE YOU, I NEED YOU!”

A burst of gratification bubbles from my bond with the ancient maid to match the burst of blue flame heralding her attentive arrival.