Remus felt his arms begin to burn from the excessive use of his skills and strength being boosted beyond what it had been. The cost of these skills had been worth it in the beginning, but it had taken far long than he would have liked to claim the cut gems from each of the Hives. The Narrator had called them the Six Kingdoms, and while they did hold to the basic elements of magic. They used them in ways slightly outside of what he thought was possible, and the results were now upon the body; wounds that would have killed, damage that left him reliant on magic only, and the loss of sight in one eye. His magic had bandage the wounds to a point they wouldn't kill, but were still massive impairments to his ability to fight. It would take a long time for his skills to heal such fully, but he knew that he was reaching the end of Dungeon finally.
He limped into the central chamber with an open beak and gleam in his eye that would have told anyone his adrenaline was riding high. The almost musical harmonics of the various natural events couldn't calm his nerves as he shakily placed the first, lightly, glowing stone into its slot. Each slot on the large disk of nearly white stone, had a small symbol in the bottom to indicate the element, thus color, of the stone. Once it clicked into place, a section of the stone light up with, previously, unseen pictures drawn in red light. He had put the Fire gem in first, and the images seemed to show a young girl leading an army against the next section of the stone. So, he placed the Water gem in, and was surprised to see the same girl now outlined in blue and leading the opposing army as well. In the story he remembered the challenges she faced were against the opposing kingdoms, but more tasks to steal or overcome an obstacle. A rite of passage more than a barbarous war between nations. The remaining gems illuminated similar scenes with a final set in the center lighting up when all were in place.
These pictures showed her with the six items floating above her head, and a shadow with six eyes above her. Remus remembered this as the time the Demon showed its colors by transforming the girl into a jewel that it kept in it's treasures for all of time. A lesson about trusting the darkness with your hopes and dreams, and to push you to reaching for them by yourself. Suddenly the table began to sink into the ground, fitting into a niche cut out just for it, and when it settled the lights extended to outline a slowly forming stairwell. His heart sank and also lifted in a single breath. If he was right then he would fight the Demon as the boss of this place, and if he was wrong it would just be the Core room where he could finally contact the Dungeon. Considering everything he had put on the line to get in here, and his experiences so far in reaching this point. He found it hard to imagine such an easy end.
"No, I will likely be destroyed in there," He thought, gazing at stairs as it clunked into place, "But, I will not go quietly into the dark." So he began to cast his final series of buffs to push him beyond the normal limits, and maybe give him a chance against whatever the Demon turned out to be.
-----
Shadows cling to the skin as he waited in the dark for the intruder. Since he was born it had been a dash to understand and learn more. Especially with his Mother being so powerful and wise about the world he was born into.
"Status," He said without much interest, and immediately closed the images the System tried to show him. Instead he watched the patterns in the magic that formed them, and the reaction to similar patterns on and within himself. He had some kind of instinctual feeling that it was a limiter to everything and he shouldn't be included in it's machinations. It angered him that his form and self were tainted by such a foul thing. He had been made by Mother after all, and she was a perfect being who remade the Realm with her Will and mastery alone. If his sister wasn't already out there he would go himself to find and destroy this System. She would likely feel the same as he and be seeking it's destruction even now. Which he would join her once this invader had been removed, and Mother was settled again.
The creature entered his room with hesitant steps, and it was good he understood the situation of his value. Unlike Mother's children he was something untouched by her benevolent hand, and worse, he sought to invade her heart. Regardless of intention that wasn't to be allowed, and this loathing he felt towards the beastkin seemed to be driven much like Mother's anger towards sentient creatures. Though she didn't react towards him in the same she had against his sister. So perhaps something with their new race as Elementals had changed that? One day he would find better answers, but for now he would give into his anger and loathing for this creature.
-----
Remus found the bottom of the stairs leading out into a very basic room compared to the others above. It was round with a mostly even surface, only broken in symmetrical locations which might look like the stone table from above. And, in the far back wall was a massive set of doors held together by chains of various colors, but mostly made from golden metal. The doors gave off a powerful force of Dungeon magic, and he knew that the Core room was right behind that door. With barely a whisper a force crashed into him with enough pressure to turn a lesser man into a bloody mist, but with [World's Blessing] and [Blood of the Immortals] he would be almost double the max stats for each category. And, he had a constant healing ability that would keep anything aside from being melted from killing the body.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"At least you can survive a simple punch." A familiar voice called out to him, and his eye focused on a humanoid looking creature. Though the glossy, black hair and claw like fingernails didn't give the impression of a human. Along with the sharp ears and facial features the man could almost be a match for a fairy tale Tahlmora, a kind of lesser god of the old Realms. Why was such an image being used where a Demon should be? Such thoughts were clearly blasted from his mind as another massive force attempted to crash into him, but with his enhanced stats he was able to dodge it with relative ease. Even though his body ached from his previous wounds and damage, and stats wouldn't stop his body from giving out due to over use. So he began his own attack, as the creature channeled a large blast of shadows, the likely source of the force from before.
[Blood Bullet] was a simple skill but with his current stats it would be able to pierce through rock for several feet. Ichor pooled from his outstretched hand and shot through the air to pass through the body of the enemy. Who looked down with the greatest of disdain before wiping the hole away with one of two additional hands of shadow that appeared from his back. Remus was already moving as the main hands threw the ball of condensed shadow down towards him. Each step taking him dozens of feet, and zigzagging back and forth to no success. His perception slowed time down for him to understand what was going on, and make faster than possible changes and moves. Yet, the orb continued to move towards him at a rapid speed, and more were joining it as the figure continued to channel and cast this devilish spell.
"Why did you invade here?" The figure asked, tossing another orb into the pack already screaming after Remus. The tone was casual and shouldn't be able to resonate through the room normally, but somehow it was easily heard.
"I just wanted to ask the Dungeon for help..." He weezed as he used [Blood Snap] to return to his pool of blood by the stairs just before several orbs erased him. The explosion was oddly muffled, and the ground where they struck wasn't scratched.
"You wished to ask Mother for help?" The man asked, a lifted eyebrow showing both contempt and disbelief, "Did you wish for her to fix your obvious deformity? Or perhaps grant you power?" And Remus clenched his beak. The words about deformity rankled him as he heard it plenty in the past from the humans, and it also tickled a memory from somewhere else. Though not one of anger or pain just old.
"There is a word your Mother was granted upon her birth." He said hurriedly, gauging the time for the orbs to reach a point he would have to run again. Before releasing several more [Blood Bullet] and a [Blood Siphon]. The bullets pierced right through, but the [Blood Siphon] just did nothing and the rush of healing Remus expected staggered him for a moment. This creature didn't have any blood, and that removed the majority of his offensive skills. So he hurried to continue, hoping for a cease fire.
"This word has power, and is one of a key that could free the land from chains of it's enemies!" He shouted into the room, and the orbs froze around him. Remus blinked, not realizing that they were that close. The figure didn't say anything but it was clear he was waiting.
"Humans are not from the Realms and invaded it long ago. They destroyed the Great Empire and the people, my people, who lived in it hundreds of years ago. All I have worked for is to send them back through the Gate leading away from the Realms. BUT! To do that I need the final word to the Gates of Madness, because in there is the Realm Heart it has the power to open the Gate and remove humans from the lands." His old righteous anger and conviction came through to him in the final words. No Dungeon had asked for much beyond trinkets or magical items, so to tell the story to one seemed odd, but he had to convince it. He was so close to his goal with this that he could die easily if he could just get the word. The figure tilted it's head a few times.
"I see, Mother knows of the word you speak of, but has decided that you are too weak to carry it." He said to Remus, still filled with contempt and loathing that Remus could feel. Suddenly, and without sound, the orbs exploded. Remus' last sight was of the figure turning into air and vanishing, while a similar figure walked out from the much closer doors. The room had been smaller the whole time, and he had been fighting some kind of illusion. Then there was the void.
-----
I watched the body of the beastkin turn into black ash, and a lot of things became clear to me. He had been using a very advanced form of golem, like the ones on the surface but far more detailed. Likely he was still alive but also very very hurt. He might come back to try his mad plan again, but he might not considering I had gotten plenty of information about the limits of the System and those tied to it. My son looked up at me with a smile on his face before sitting back down in the pool of mana, and floating above it's endless depths. We had both done well today, and the fight on the surface seemed to be dying down as well. So, we might get to take a break and just build for a while.