Arc 3

She looks so small... so weak...

I reached down to poke at her chubby cheeks, before moving to poke at the strange, single strand of dark blue hair popping out of the baby's head.

Her little chest rose and fell, and then she opened her eyes with a scowl across her face.

"Grrrr..." she growled, her voice still too soft to understand.

I smiled brightly at her, petting her baby smooth head affectionately. Then, she started crying all of a sudden. I looked up at Mommy, confused. Why is she upset? Is she mad at me because I poked her?

Mommy walked over, shaking her head and grabbed hold of my hand.

"No, no sweetie. Don't cry. You're okay now. Here..." she said soothingly, handing the baby to me. "Hold her, like this."

I held her carefully, staring at it with big, wondrous eyes. Her skin was warm and felt nice in my hands, like silk.

She glared up to at me, before turning into my chest, closing her eyes as I held her.

"You can play with your new sister," Mommy told me, smiling softly. "Isn't she just precious?"

I nodded vigorously, looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

"She's so tiny! Look how cute she is!"

My mother chuckled, stroking my hair lovingly. Mommy's light pink eyes sparkled happily as she stared down at me, brushing away some strands of loose bangs hanging in front of my face. Her twin silver braids and gentle eyes made a distinct contrast to Daddy's short, deep purple hair, mustache, and sharp blue eyes.

I giggled as I played with Alice's fingers, watching them twitch slightly as if they were alive themselves.

"She's adorable," Dad agreed, smiling proudly. His eyes shone with joy as he gazed upon his newborn daughter. "And quite sassy, by the looks of things!"

He leaned down to give me a kiss on the forehead, then kissed Mommy on the cheek.

I stared at daddy's runed sword strapped to his hip, admiring it as he gave Mommy a quick peck on the lips.

Alice stirred in my arms, and I looked down to see her open her eyes wide and narrow at me.

"Ughh..." she groaned, trying to burrow deeper into my chest.

I smiled back down at her, reaching down and tickling her chin.

"Hehehe!" she squealed loudly, kicking her legs and laughing hysterically.

That made me grin ear to ear, and I held her up as she giggled in delight. After a minute of thrashing, she was too exhausted to continue and just breathed into me.

Mommy came over, cooing at her as she gently stroked the baby's arms. Then, she clasped the strange, silver circle necklace in her right hand, and touched it lightly against the side of Alice's head as she offered a prayer. I stared, mesmerized as it began to glow.

"May you always know true happiness

and may your dreams never cease

Be strong and brave, my child

Always remember who you are

And do whatever you must

To protect those that you love

 Your family is forever

 Now and forevermore

For the meek shall lead the way

In which the world turns

‍And guide those that are astray

‌Through the darkness and shadows

‎So let thy heart be pure and true

‏Until the end of time

‘Til the Despondent Wanderer comes to embrace thee

‍Let us pray for peace and harmony

One day, the world will unite as one

‎But until then, I wish for thee

Nothing less than eternal bliss

'Till the world ends

At the ramparts of the Martyred Knight

For the Honest Dreamer, in dreams above

Please watch over mine

‎As we journey onward, please grant us sanctuary

‌And keep us safe from harm

‬Though the heavens fall, our faith shall remain

‭'Til the end of days

‪Our hearts will endure

‫All these years and beyond

‬Thank the gods, true and old, for blessing me."

The silver chain glimmered brightly once more as it swung in front of my eyes, and I stared at it in amazement.

Then, Mommy took a step backwards, taking hold of my shoulders. I blinked, then winced as she turned to ruffle my head.

"Are you ready for your first lesson?" Daddy came over, smiling gently at me as he put his hand on his sword.

I jumped up in excitement. Today would be the first day father would teach me swordsmanship. I wanted to learn so badly; to become strong enough to become a great hero - just like him!

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To defend myself from monsters and other stuff. But most importantly, I turned to look at my now-sleeping sister once again.

A lump formed in my throat as tears welled up inside me. I wanted to be a big hero before, but now... I realized there was something even more important.

Her tiny body was wrapped tightly in blankets, making her seem even smaller than she already was. And yet, despite being such a frail, helpless infant, she was so beautiful to me.

The little grumpy ball won me over, and I could think about nothing else. Nothing but protecting her and keeping her happy! No matter what it took, or how hard it might be.

It was my promise to myself. and to Alice as her big sister.

◆◆◆

"Lorinyan? You okay there, sis?" Dinah touched my shoulder gently, snapping me out of my trance.

I shook my head slowly, blinking rapidly as I tried to regain control of my senses. We stopped a short way into the dungeon to survey our surroundings and to let the adventurers ahead take the first plunge. I stared up again at the massive statues of the Raneas, the Romantic Inventor, and Myta, the Honest Dreamer, in front of me. Furrowing my eyebrows, I scratched my chin in thought.

Nobody knew why there were so many dungeons strewn across the world and why they were full of so much unfound treasure. Some people thought they were tests constructed by the gods. Others thought they were remnants of an older civilization that hid their treasures before being wiped out by the last cycle of demons. Still, I strongly associated these statues with my dear mother, who was a practicing cleric for years.

My heart twanged with pain and worry again, thinking about my parents. They were very competent adventurers when they were young, but they were out of shape and out of practice. Who knows what they might have gotten themselves into. Alice was always a very strong girl, and I knew she was keeping it all together back there for me. I was thankful that I had her in my life, and I'd do my damned hardest to keep her safe.

Honestly, I didn't care why these statues were there as long as I got to smash things and bring home some gold. One thing was common between these dungeons - they always had effigies of major gods and archdemons across the world within them. Some were statues, while others, erm, were actual living beings.

I shivered, remembering one ghastlier dungeon we'd tackled in the Lost Lands. Best not to bring up that memory again.

Raneas was the goddess of innovation, the day, and bright colors, and also the patron goddess of alchemy and technology. She is the inventor of machines and mechanical devices. In her legends, she created the famous automaton soldier golems used by the Empire next to us. Her role was tied to Myta, the Honest Dreamer, and these effigies of gods and demons often offered a clue to the dungeon's themes.

"Yeah, I'm alright! Just thinking about how we're going to tackle this place." I furrowed my eyebrows heavily, rubbing my temples with my thumb and index finger. "I'm expecting a lot of traps and other headaches in here, you know?"

Dinah nodded grimly, pulling her bow out and checking it once more.

I looked at the dark halls in front of me, wondering if any traps lay waiting for unwary adventurers immediately ahead of us. Stone columns lined the hallway, their surfaces covered in ancient runes etched into them. I couldn't read them, but I recognized some of them from school. It seemed they had a theme, too. The floor was decorated with intricate patterns and symbols, each unique from another, and the entrance hall in this mountain system was massive compared to anything we'd encountered previously.

"Okay, let's go," I said, walking forward confidently.

We followed a reasonable distance behind the other adventurers in the front, with Friar Dodgson next to me. Dinah brought up the rear with Tarrant, before hurrying forward to scout ahead: her excellent night vision would alert us when danger approached. At the same time, Tarrant had some device or another sweeping out. I could hear the parties ahead chattering excitedly amongst themselves, discussing their strategy for getting through this section.

Our party had been following them since they entered, and a few hundred yards ahead, heads turned to watch us as we approached. Three of the party leaders nodded at us in recognition and respect. As we approached, four of the five parties split into two groups. They went off to different corridor sections leading deeper into the dungeon. There was a clear split in the path, with three corridors leading in different directions.

They weren't stupid, after all. Each party had members with various skills and abilities that made them useful in specific situations.

"I hope little Alice doesn't mind that we sent Haigha to watch her," Tarrant chuckled quietly. "He'll probably want to join the fray soon."

I sighed, shaking my head slightly.

"Haigha is a professional, Tarrant. Don't worry." I replied calmly, trying not to sound annoyed.

Truth be told, I was very thankful for Haigha's presence. Even if we were down two from a typical adventuring party, I was much more comfortable and less distracted, knowing he was watching over my sister. If anyone could help keep Alice safe and alive, it would be him.

Of course, he wasn't without his flaws, either. He tended to flip between constant states of 'overthinking and nervous' to 'scorched earth' in a second. Still, overall, he was terrific at what he did and a great friend.

My thoughts wandered as I watched five adventurers stand there, waiting for us. They were all dwarves, and I smiled faintly as I recognized Cedric Bristlestone and his party.

Cedric and two of his brothers had come with me on several quests when I wasn't with my party. He was an earth magic specialist who was actually pretty decent company. They could all drink me under the table, and his old brother, Jervon, was also a skilled berserker who never hesitated to throw himself into battle. The third team member was his twin, Dermot, a cleric of the Romantic Inventor.

The other two team members were twins, both women named Elora and Fiona, whose abilities escaped me at the moment. Most of the dwarves wore thick leather armor with steel plates covering their chests and arms, respectively. They carried shields and spears with extra personal equipment. I could see a set of different woodwind instruments strapped on Fiona's hips. They were B-rank adventurers like us - based out of the mining cities on the Ulomin border. Jervon, on the other hand, wore a pair of leather harnesses and a horned helmet.

I nodded politely at them as they returned the gesture.

"Hey, guys!" I called out cheerfully as we were next to them. "How's it looking in here so far?"

Jervon grinned broadly, turning around to face us.

"Not bad so far, lassie! A bit cramped, but no real surprises so far. Let's see how deep we can get today!" His voice boomed out across the open space, causing everyone nearby to jump a foot in surprise. He laughed loudly, slapping his hand against his leg as he continued speaking.

"Oh yeah! Me brothah bought a bunch of yer supplies, but ah said ye sister needed a proper meal every now and then Loreena! Skin n bones ther, ya gotta take care ov' 'er!"

He laughed obnoxiously, and I rolled my eyes at the comment.

"Very funny, Jervon." Cedric muttered sarcastically, shooting him a dirty look.

"Ahaha! Ye should have seen thim! Ah as well, thith wee girl's hair was a mess! So messy! Like a quail!" Jervon shouted gleefully. He gestures over his forehead with one finger, mimicking a clump of hair.

Everyone turned to look at Jervon, including me. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he just shrugged innocently back at me.

"What? Yer sisters alright tae me..." He trailed off as he shrunk away from me. "Erm... sorry..."

I sighed and waved him off, giving Cedric a quick glance before facing forwards again.

"Jervon...you know what, nevermind," Dermot grumbled.

"So what are your plans?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well, we figured we'd try the middle route first," Cedric explained carefully, "One of the parties had a scrying spell and pinged it down this way. They discovered this route has powerful magic artifacts behind it, but it is also the most dangerous. The monsters down this route have considerable mana and ki signatures, so they decided to leave it to the Rank B teams instead... namely us."

"And what do you think?" I pressed.

"Eh, whatever ya bluthering pansies." Jervon snorted dismissively. "Let's go, eh?"

"Right then!" I replied, nodding firmly. "We'll work out how we'll split the treasure once we get there."

Then suddenly, we began to hear sirens behind us.

"Gods below!" Fiona swore loudly, spinning around quickly.

My blood ran cold. That was the Adventurer's Guild dungeon evacuation alarm.

It took a few seconds for our brains to process everything. Then, panic set in.

Alice could be in trouble.

"Move!" I yelled, sprinting towards the nearest exit.

Tarrant was right beside me, shouting orders to everyone else. We bolted away from the dwarf party, heading straight for the stairs and out of the mountain complex. I maintained a brisk pace and stayed at an intermediate sprint. If there was danger outside, I needed to conserve my ki for the battle ahead, so I stayed with the group.

Behind me, I heard shouts of confusion and anger as adventurers funneled out of the tunnels behind us. I didn't bother looking back as we burst out onto the surface of the mountain.

We ran out just in time to see the world morph and change before us, and I felt a twang of fear as I emerged from the dungeon.

My heart pounded in my chest as I looked about myself frantically. A horrible metamorphosis took over us as we emerged into the mountain forest outside. The sky above was darkening and twisting rapidly, casting long shadows across the landscape. A horrific, telltale noise began to fill the air as the world itself distorted around us.

A chill shot through me as I realized exactly what was happening.

"A Champion.....here? Now?" Dodgson whispered fearfully as he caught up to me first.

Off in the distance, a horrific monstrosity floated over the base camp, with tendrils whipping about. Screams of dying men and women filled the air as it came closer and closer to the base camp.

No... Alice!

Panic and worry shot through me as I realized Alice was probably down in the base camp.

I flared my combat aura and exploded forth in a flash of blue.