Gentle touches roused me from a sleep far too deep. I rested on a soft surface, much softer than any bed should be. A hand glided over my head, stroking me gently. Another carefully brushed my hair away from my face, seemingly wanting to look into my eyes. Not that I dared to open them. Not now.
If I were to open my eyes, this dream would simply come to an end. It would throw me back into the real world where Father and his team were already waiting. I could only guess what he would do to me. This time, I had truly messed up.
"Stop thinking about them," a gentle voice whispered in my ears. "You are safe here."
I tried to respond, tried to ask her what my father intended to happen to me, but not a single word escaped my lips. They seemed sealed.
Instead, I felt myself relax. And before I knew it, every single thought reminding me of my father and his colleagues had vanished from my mind; simply gone. I still knew what had happened to me, down to the smallest detail, but it felt like it had happened to a complete stranger. It didn't feel real. It was just a story.
"Doesn't that feel better?" the stranger asked, still gently caressing my head.
It did. So much so that I wanted to melt under her gentle touch. Soon, a barely audible rumble emanated from my chest, a sound I had never heard before. It sounded like a cat purring.
"Silly little girl," the voice chuckled. "Of course, you're purring. All foxes do."
"What are foxes?"
"My precious little children," she replied to my thoughts.
"But I am-"
"A fox," she responded immediately, before using her gentle hand to examine my ears, which seemed to sit atop my head for some reason. "Anyone would recognize those red hairs... those black tips." Her fingers caressed the insides of my ears, where I was more than a bit ticklish. "And that cute, soft fluff..."
I had none of those things. I was a normal human girl. My hair was dark gray, nothing more and nothing less. But something deep within told me she was speaking the truth, that I indeed had these features. At least I had them now. She changed me! Somehow, I knew she had changed me! Was she really... Cilia?
The stranger laughed at my thoughts. It wasn't a mocking laugh, but rather a gentle one. One you'd have when watching small animals or children at play.
Of course, I tried to open my eyes to look at her, to see what she had done to me, but I wasn't that fortunate. In fact, I couldn't move a single muscle. Except for my heart gently beating and my lungs inhaling fresh air with a faint floral scent, no part of my body seemed capable of responding to her. Yet, I felt no panic. I felt so warm and comfortable. It was pure bliss.
"My sweet daughter..." she whispered in my ear, her voice barely able to drown out my purring.
"Your daughter..."
"That's you."
A moment later, I felt her breath on my skin. Cilia kissed me on the cheek, flooding my body with a heat like I had never felt before. But I felt no fear. It felt right, somehow it felt right!
The heat grew hotter and hotter until it suddenly gathered in the center of my chest, right next to my heart. There it remained for just a few minutes, minutes during which it seemed to form into some kind of sphere, before bursting out of my body and continuing to grow.
Before I knew it, Cilia's hands gently placed my arms around the round, warm ball that had just left my body, no, that was now part of my body. My purring only grew stronger.
"Silly humans, playing with things they don't understand..." she murmured to herself, before starting to stroke me again. "How about we show them how it's done?"
Without waiting for my response, Cilia made a kind of chime ring in my ears – not beside them, but directly inside them – and a green board with white letters appeared before me. For some reason I could see it even with closed eyes - but I couldn't read the lines. They were written in a language I had never learned, still I somehow knew what the text was telling me.
「You have been chosen as the Avatar of the Dungeon of Foxes.」
"Avatar..."
"I wouldn't wish for you to be trapped as a mere trinket," she explained, gently touching the core with her hand. I could feel her touch as if she were stroking my own skin. Her hands were so warm. "Your name will be Kiomi."
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"Kiomi?"
"I have already given you something useful to celebrate your birthday with~"
Before I could ask her about it, the chime rang in my ears again, and the green board was replaced by a much larger one. Once again, I could read every single word, but understanding them was an entirely different task.
「You have been blessed by Cilia, the Light of Life.
-75% Summoning Cost for Fox-Type Animals.
-75% Unlocking Cost for Fox-Type Animals.
-50% Summoning Cost for Flora.
-50% Unlocking Cost for Flora.
- Apply "Mark of Cilia" to Yourself, Dungeon Fauna, Flora, and Loot」
"I hope you like it~"
"What does this mean?"
"It means you will never be alone again~" After saying this, Cilia slowly let go of me, leaving me behind even though I yearned for more of her gentle attention. But it wasn't meant to be. "Looks like my time's up," she explained before slowly rising. I could hear her footsteps gradually fading away, her voice lingering with me for a while. "We will meet again," she promised, and then there was nothing – nothing but silence and the gentle, floral scent she had brought with her.
Tears streamed down my skin. I opened my eyes to search for Cilia, but she was long gone. Instead, I found myself in the midst of a large nest of soft, white fur, with only the gentle warmth of the Dungeon Core for company. And I desperately needed it, with dozens of eyes fixed on me.
"She's been blessed!" Father's voice exclaimed.
"Ci- Cilia..." the priestess stammered before falling to her knees and praying.
I couldn't help but shrink back from them, clutching the core of the dungeon tighter. It seemed to sense my fear, immediately igniting with a blue fire much hotter than it should have been. Yet, it didn't seem to harm me; if anything, it felt as though Cilia were still with me, protecting me.
Suddenly, a green board appeared before me, its white letters warning me that something big was about to happen.
「Absorbing Floor Three...」
"I don't like this at all," the dwarf decided, though he couldn't make out the writing. In the next moment, he was already turning to flee.
"We need to go!" The elf demanded. "Now!"
As if to confirm their fears, the earth suddenly began to shake. Soon, fist-sized stones began to fall from the ceiling, threatening to stone us all to death.
"She can stop it!"
"She won't!"
Father didn't listen. Suddenly, he came closer, stepping directly into the nest of fluffy fur, grabbing my arm, and trying to pull me away from the core. But I clung to it with all my might.
"LET GO!"
"NO!"
Before I knew it, he was already hitting me with both fists, cursing and demanding. Still, I held on as if my life depended on it. The Dungeon Core didn't budge, and neither would I!
"YOU WILL LET GO!"
My struggle lasted a few more moments until I finally received help in the form of a very angry dwarf. The man pulled my father away and eventually freed me from his grip. By now, I was crying like a little child, something the core apparently didn't appreciate at all. If anything, it seemed as if the dungeon was now collapsing even faster.
"Your damned dungeon will kill us all!"
"But-"
"Cut the crap, will you?!"
Father stared at me for another moment, his face full of anger and hatred, before finally fleeing. Within seconds, the group had disappeared from my field of vision. But the core was far from done with them. It wanted them gone for good!
Minutes passed as more and more parts of the dungeon ceiling collapsed. I clung to the core with all my might, afraid of being buried alive, but something deep inside told me everything would be alright. Cilia wouldn't let anything happen to me. Not like this.
By now, debris had accumulated all around my nest of fur, piling up higher with each passing moment.
A faint blue bubble formed around the core, blocking even the last of the debris. It allowed me to feel somewhat safe, even though I was trapped in a place growing darker by the second.
It didn't take long before the last bit of light was snuffed out, leaving me in a black void brought to life only by the soothing glow of my Dungeon Core.
「Floor successfully absorbed!
Absorbed Monsters: 0
Absorbed Treasure Chests: 17
Lost Monster Blueprints: 30
Dungeon Points recovered: 617!
Mana recovered: 0!」
「Absorbing Floor Two...」
This time, the dungeon took about half an hour to destroy its own floor. I continued to cling to the core as the ground shook, now convinced that it was doing all this to protect me. Soon, a new green board appeared before my eyes, informing me that another floor had been sacrificed.
「Floor successfully absorbed!
Absorbed Monsters: 192
Absorbed Treasure Chests: 86
Lost Monster Blueprints: 25
Dungeon Points recovered: 786!
Mana recovered: 4800!」
Suddenly, a pale blue mist appeared, seeming to seep through the cracks of my cocoon. It circled around me for a few heartbeats before being sucked into my body as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And with the mist came a feeling of ecstasy that made me almost forget my tears. I felt great, energetic, and powerful – with every passing second even more so! But the dungeon's wrath was not yet over. It wanted more!
「Absorb Floor One...」
Before I knew it, the blue mist – now Mana, as I knew – was everywhere around me. It was still being rapidly sucked into my body, but it seemed as if I couldn't keep up with the amount being produced with every passing moment.
「Floor successfully absorbed!
Absorbed Monsters: 380
Absorbed Treasure Chests: 67
Lost Monster Blueprints: 20
Dungeon Points recovered: 567!
Mana recovered: 9500!」
Suddenly, the rumbling stopped, and a breathtaking silence engulfed me. I was still hugging the Dungeon Core, hoping it would help me find a way out of the darkness, but a final wave of energy, along with another green board, shot towards me, informing me that there was indeed no way out. Everything was gone.
「Killed Adventurers: 3
Escaped Adventurers: 8
Received Dungeon Points: 290!
Gained Mana: 3800!」