Void monsters aside, there was only ever one option that I could really choose out of the four laid in front of me. The garden from space and the awoken statue museum were both immediately non-options at the moment. Even though they both sounded exciting and incredibly interesting; I was looking to build a staircase not a support beam at the moment.
That left the hedge maze as my only real option.
To be perfectly honest, - the hallways of a derelict house - was just a completely unacceptable choice in my opinion. The word derelict and its connotations completely turned me off to the idea of even considering the option. If it was a regular house I may have conceded, but I just couldn't find myself purposefully placing my very own soul in the middle of a dirty environment. Even if temporarily, I found the idea revolting and completely undesirable. Mold, dust, and cobwebs, were just really just not it for me.
If I was going to craft my own world from the floorboards of reality It would have to be a place that I could see myself living in. My own little slice of paradise.
So a twisting hedge maze it has to be.
Though I guess to an outsider this decision might look a little odd. The irony didn't even escape me. I out of all "people" probably should have had a phobia of plants after what I had gone through.
But, in the end, I wasn't too scared of plants at all. In fact, I was still quite fond of gardening and the whole horticulture experience. It was an art form, an expression of beauty, it was a lovely hobby that I quite enjoyed picking up. Even if, I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter when I picked it up.
Yes, mind control is horrible, but is it really that bad if you had a decent experience while under it???
Even if I did develop a phobia of plants my pride would probably also push me into taking a hedge maze over some horribly dusty hallways. A hedge maze after all was a place that I was quite sure I could mold into a place that I could quite enjoy. After all, if I had experience wrangling eldritch plants twisted beyond belief I could handle some regular shrubs.
So without fanfare, the hedge maze was chosen. If you don't count Mrs. Purple's snappy comment as a fanfare of course.
Ding !
-- Tier 1 - A Twisting Hedge Maze - Chosen -
-- An expected choice from a limited selection. Nothing to get too worked up about doll, I'm just rather surprised that you selected something almost immediately. Most newborn dungeon cores really do take their time deciding things. Some even almost getting eaten by one of the voids many horrors because of it. Sit still for a second and await further instructions while your first sector is initialized. --
I gave the void around me a good hard stare. Well, not that hard of a stare, it was more of a suspicious side-eye. That kind of side-eye that you give a bottle of pop just before you pop it open on an expensive leather couch.
Of course, I didn't see anything, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't about to be slurped up like a fresh fruit smoothie by some sort of tentacled miscreation.
Though still feeling an immense amount of comfort while being wrapped in the gentle caress of nothingness, I was starting to get slightly suspicious of its calm. Mrs. Purple Box was really drilling in its potential danger and for some reason, I didn't think she was lying.
I also was sneakingly suspicious of her ability to even lie at all. But as I was lacking evidence for or against that hypothesis, I left it shelved as I looked for other ways to pass the time.
Surprisingly it's quite hard to find something productive to do while literally sitting in nothing. So I did nothing but think.
After spending some time drifting through fantasy's depicting the bold visages of the strange creatures that might have been lurking at the edges of my vision, I soon felt my soul start to stir once more.
This time it was less of a push or a pull, but more of a squeeze. A tightening. A warmth.
My vision began to blur, twist, and fracture until I found myself viewing my own soul in a third-person perspective. My consciousness began to separate from it allowing my mind to wander unbound by the confines of its old metaphysical vessel. My soul separated, turning into more of an organ instead of a driver of thought. I still needed it relatively unharmed to function, but I was somehow disconnected from it in a weird sense.
All of this happened while my soul, a driving mass of strange multicolored light, started to crystalize. Twisting and turning as it slowly condensed into a crystalline multicolored orb of dazzling proportions I felt a slight tickling and tightening. The process was uncomfortable. Almost claustrophobic. But the feeling quickly dissipated as the process ended leaving nothing but a multicolored glowing crystal floating in the void.
First came Mr. Blue's analysis of the situation; formal and robotic as ever. I wasn't really expecting to hear anything from him ever since Mrs. Purple took over, but it seems he still gets involved when things get serious.
-- True Dungeon Core Formed. Moving onto the next procedure in thirty seconds --
Then came the more detailed commentary from Mrs. Purple; as snide and condescending as ever.
-- Your true dungeon core has been formed. You can now roam as far away from it as you please, but do know that the second it comes to harm will be the second that you cease to exist. Now succulent little dungeon, it is time for you to grow your first petal. A petal that you have already chosen. So little dungeon tell us; what is - A Twisting Hedge Maze- in your mind ? --
- Initializing Dungeon - Aetherus's - First Sector--
-- Searching Aetherus's memories for perception and knowledge of a -- Hedge Maze -- --
A Twisting Hedge Maze ???
What is a twisting hedge maze?
What made up a hedge maze?
Well....
Long sprawling hedges were a must, of course! Large, towering, thick, and powerful shrubs that could hold an elephant in place were very much needed. If hedge maze didn't come with thick and near-impenetrable walls any and every deviant child would take the opportunity to slide through them with obvious ease. And in my case, these children would be replaced by psychotic murderers out to get my soul.
Well, what of the thick and impenetrable shrubs meant to hold back psychopaths? What color were they supposed to be ??? What were their leaves shaped like? How did their roots dig through the ground and rise to the surface in an attempt to trip weary maze-goers?
This part of my memory was a bit hazy due to the fact that it came from before the apocalypse, but I am quite certain that it remains unaffected by the corruption!
Shrubs were meant to be purple of course. Purple with thick and vibrant yellow flowers that just oozed pollen into the air. Their leaves were of course naturally razor-sharp and iridescent. And who could forget the pink veins that ran through them, pulsing in the evening light?
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
I had quite a few shrubs when the apocalypse hit, and I have a firm memory of spending quite a bit of time caring for them while battling the urge to prune the roses. The roses always had a special sway on me but I felt it necessary to divide my attention equally whether they liked it or not.
Wait... Roses before the apocalypse.. That's odd.. This memory might not be as untouched as I remember it to be.
-- Please continue describing a - Hedge Maze - --
Oh okay, then I guess. Where was I?
Ah !
Alas, although the star in a hedge maze, the shrubs weren't all that had to be considered.
There was of course the grass that lined its floors, often black and hairlike in nature it would gently caress the legs of anyone passing by. There was the way that some moss would occasionally creep here and there. Whispering in hushed and unspoken tones. There was, of course, that special way the purple leaves of the hedges just contrasted and blended with the dark green sky in the background. There was also the way that a light breeze sometimes rustled the leaves, and the way that the falling pollen released by the hedges would shimmer and shine in the sunlight.
And of course, there was the layout of the maze.
Twisting and complex in nature, the layout of any good hedge maze should bring its visitors to the edge of insanity. Filled with complex shapes and mathematical algorithms the twisting of a hedge maze should be incomprehensible and unbelievable at the same time. Doubling back on itself with many dead or incomplete ends. There also had to be some space placed aside for smaller alcoves to be later filled with oddities of course! No good hedge maze should be lacking in landmarks and little oddities.
Oddities that somehow eluded me at the moment. I had a feeling that I would be able to fill up the many little alcoves that dotted my hedge maze at a later date, but for now, I had to leave them regretfully empty. Well, something also told me that I wouldn't exactly be filling up these little alcoves with things meant to entertain my visitors. After all, this hedge maze was meant to be the first line of defense between the outside world and my very soul.
After thinking up everything I possibly could have of a hedge maze, something clicked.
- Tier One Sector - Twisting Hedge Maze -- Successfully formed --
Opening my vision back up I found my mind floating over a small hedge maze remarkably similar to the one I had just dreamt up. The void was gone, and in its place was a hedge maze with purple hedges, black grass, green skies, and a heavy dusting of yellow pollen emitted from hundreds of yellow flowers. And at the center of it all was my little dungeon core, floating and bobbing around rather cheerfully above a rather large and unadorned piece of stone.
Tragically, the hedge maze that stood between my newly formed core and the strange new green sky that bordered my realm wasn't as vast and expansive as I had imagined it to be. Only a good half a kilometer in total diameter the squarish maze looked like it was something that would only take a good hour or two to fully wander through.
But everything that my maze lacked in size was made up by its beauty and potential. The hedges were just as tall and impenetrable as I had imagined them to be, towering hundreds of meters into the air they pretty much guaranteed that any hungry creature looking for a light snack and immortality would have to make their way through my entire maze before reaching my core. Or, if the future allowed, the next sector of my dungeon.
There was even an extra surprise given to me by the hundreds of yellow flowers that lined the sides of my purple hedges. Over the course of my quick observation, I was quick to notice that the flowers literally never stopped oozing their pollen into the air creating a thick screen of yellowish fog to fill the interior of my hedge maze. I could see through it just fine due to my unique situation, but I imagine the unexpected fog will certainly provide amazingly to the defense of my very soul.
Purple of course left a comment.
-- Oh, how interesting you really did something special didn't you ?? Let's take a quick look at what happened shall we ?? --
Then, just after I began silently digesting what had just happened did blue decide to heap upon my poor addled brain a giant log of exactly what had happened.
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-- Your first dungeon sector has been fully formed --
- Tier One Sector - The Absolutely Horrific Maze of Evil Shrubbery-
-- Basic template - Twisting Hedge Maze - modified by dungeon core modifiers/memories into - The Absolutely Horrific Maze of Evil Shrubbery -
-- Assigning stats based on sector creation process --
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Stat - Dungeon Constitution - 2
- Set basic sector diameter to 2 km. -
- Error - Floor diameter shrunk to .5 km to support ecosystem -
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Stat - Dungeon Vitality - 8
* Error # Corruption # Modified Templates
Granting Newly Formed and Modified Ecology Templates -
Horrible Hedge - Tier 2 - Level 2 - A combination of razor-sharp leaves and iron-like branches these shrubs can grow to ridiculous heights while cutting up everyone that comes near in the meantime. Coming with flowers that constantly release copious and excessive amounts of pollen these shrubs are a real menace to deal with. The pollen that these shrubs emit may have unexpected effects these horrible shrubs bring both allergies and pain to anyone who gets too close. Due to the density of these shrubs, it is predicted that released pollen will reduce the visibility of anything in the sector by 70%.
*Pollen released by this plant may heighten levels of anxiety and induce confusion.
Widows Hair - Tier 1 - Level 1.5 - Etherial and horrific in nature, the thin and hairlike leaves of this grass seem to defy gravity as they sway even in windless environments. This grass may slow those who walk through it and increase levels of stress to those exposed for too long.
Whispering Moss - Tier 1 - Level .5 - A creeping multicolored moss that only ever grows in odd environments this moss is known for its unique habit of releasing a sound that oldy mimics whispering. Any creature with ears that hears this sound will believe the vocalizations to be oddly similar to their own whispers.
* Error - Due to tier elevation of - Horrible Hedge - an overall reduction of sector size is mandated for required upkeep.
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Stat - Dungeon Sector Cunning - .5 -
- 15 minor tripping roots randomly placed throughout sector. Will randomize every cycle.
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Stat - Dungeon Sector Wisdom - 0 -
- No Boons granted
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Stat- Dungeon Sector WillPower - 3
Available Free Tier 1 Minion Slots - 30
or
Available Free Tier 2 Minion Slot - 1
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Stat - Dungeon Sector Flexibility - 0
- No Boons Granted
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Other Changes -
- Basic Cosmetic Sky Color modified from Blue to Green -
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-- Begin Basic Minion Placement Now ?? -