Ocean Dungeon

Tenth Floor

Owin stood on unsteady feet. For the first time since he awakened, he felt truly exhausted. His legs felt like they were about to fall off or like his knees couldn’t hold him up anymore. He wanted to sit down, but a massive cetanthro stood on the opposite side of the room.

It was about as ugly as Lophiforma, but with a thinner head. Fins stuck out like ears on the sides, and massive teeth protruded from its mouth. The creature was dressed like a knight, wearing old plate armor covered in barnacles and other living things. Its tower shield had plants cascading off its face. Whatever cape the cetanthro wore could easily be tattered cloth or simply growth that hung from its shoulders. It was in too bad of a state to figure out what it was. And Owin was in too much pain to even care.

They were in another circular arena, but this time there was a domed ceiling. It was truly beautiful with colorful mosaics depicting all kinds of things. Owin’s head was too fuzzy to make it out. Something with towers. Probably a cathkabel somewhere. A lot of fish. It was hard to see.

“This is not the condition I expected,” Sloswen said.

Owin flinched and collapsed.

The god snapped his fingers, summoning Shade in a puff of smoke.

Shade immediately looked at Owin. “Thank you, Lord Sloswen.” The skeleton fell to his knees and dumped the second health potion on Owin’s head. He dug through the bag and grabbed the final health potion. “This is the last. No more damage is allowed. Got it?”

Owin stared at him blankly. Shade poured the health potion on, grabbed Owin’s right arm, then let it drop and grabbed his left. It took effort to force the sword and gauntlet from Owin’s hand but he finally let them drop.

Shade gently slapped Owin, then grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Are you there?”

“Yeah.”

“Owin.”

He continued staring.

Shade slapped him with a little more force. “Time to wake up.”

Owin finally looked at Shade. The dark pits of the skeleton’s eyes were close. “You’re here.”

“I’m here. You made it to the tenth. You can do this. We’re close to the end. So close. Get up.” Shade yanked on his arm.

Owin stood and took a deep breath. “I made it.”

Sloswen stroked his chin, letting his snake tattoo slither from his arm onto his neck where it disappeared down his shirt. “Chaudius stands ready when you are.”

“You owe him a question,” Shade said.

“Hm.” Sloswen waved his hand, causing Shade to vanish again.

“You do, don’t you?” Owin asked. He took another deep breath and finally looked at his arm. His right arm ended at the elbow. Everything that had been frozen was just gone. He sucked in air and turned to face the God of the Ocean. “I can ask you anything.”

“You may. What is it that a goblin would like to know? How you awakened? What will happen when you enter Ruvaine’s domain once again? The limits of your power?”

Those were all questions Owin desperately wanted to know the answers to, but none of them mattered nearly as much as the one thing he had been asking himself over and over.

Who are the Cursed?

But even that question left too much room for more questions. The Cursed as a whole could be hundreds of people. He only knew of two, but there was likely more, so Sloswen would be under no obligation to tell him anything about the Sovereign One or the Withered Shade.

“What is the story of the Withered Shade?”

“Hm.” Sloswen crossed his arms. His eyes shifted to bright yellow with a small white dot in the center. “Are you certain this is the question you wish to ask?”

“Yes. What is the story of the Withered Shade?” Owin repeated.

Sloswen gestured behind Owin. “Take a seat. You need it.”

Two stools had appeared. Owin didn’t need to be told a second time.

“I suppose he might as well be present.” With another snap, Shade appeared in the stool beside Owin. “Say a word without permission and you will be banished for the entire battle.”

Shade nodded.

“A clever question. I cannot talk about the Withered Shade without speaking of the Cursed as a whole.” Sloswen crossed his arms as the snake emerged from his sleeve. It slithered between his forearms and over his fingers. “This story best starts with a name. Deniz Saboator. I will not be using some joke of a name. He will either be referred to as the Withered Shade or Deniz. Understood.”

Owin nodded.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Shade watched Owin for a moment, then nodded.

“In the old world of Verdantallis, before humans discovered peace, before your modern hero companies, the land was a more chaotic place. Guilds warred, destroying entire cities as parties of shard heroes battled. In that time, more people had shards. It was the only way to guarantee safety. Now, peace is common through Verdantallis, as it should be. I worked for that peace.”

Owin and Shade exchanged a look.

“Deniz was the first entertainer to reach level 100. Someone can work their entire life on attributes, on skills, and still not reach level 100. Experience in the dungeons is necessary to reach the peak. Deniz went through the dungeons repeatedly, always leaving at the end of the ninth floor. We thought he was foolish. I thought he was scared of our champions.” Sloswen turned his flat gaze to Shade. “You were simply collecting treasures. Unique items that would benefit your entertainer class are rare, though that did not stop you from finding ways to make use of an arsenal.”

Sloswen summoned his own stool and sat across from them. “At level 100, an entertainer is capable of providing buffs that can keep an ant alive within a tornado, but they are not powerful enough to defeat a champion on their own. Entertainers were never intended to be combatants. I never expected them to even be heroes.”

“How did he get so many unique items?” Owin asked. He was worried about interrupting, but Sloswen was obviously going to continue right on without addressing parts of the story.

“Primarily from the secrets. Deniz knew where to find every secret through all seven dungeons. He made a mockery of our secrets.”

Shade’s eye sockets widened a little. He shifted and sat on his hands.

“After Deniz Saboator became a 7 Shard Hero, it was time to grant his wish. Our council gathered, all seven of us, and we came to the same conclusion. Do you know what that was?”

Owin nodded. It was the main thing he had heard Sloswen say. There was only one thing it could be. “He cheated.”

“Indeed.” Sloswen glared at Shade, then flicked his gaze back to Owin. A faint sense of joy seemed to change the god’s eyes. “With the help of a unique item, he found a way to summon a 7 Shard Hero to assist on the isolated floors and with the champions. We were aware of this. Curiosity is dangerous, even for a god. We watched Deniz cheat his way through all of our domains. With his incredible wealth, he paid for guilds to escort him through common floors, and he paid even more for the 7 Shard Hero to assist with everything else.”

Shade looked back and forth between Owin and Sloswen. He obviously wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth closed.

“We allowed Deniz to make a wish without sharing our decision. Can you guess what he wished for?”

Owin stared at Shade. The skeleton looked miserable. “Living forever?”

“Eternal life, yes. We agreed, as you can see. Deniz was not the first Cursed, and I am certain he will not be the last.”

“They’re people who cheated?”

“In a sense, yes. A simple explanation, though it fits for this purpose. As he wished, Deniz Saboator will live forever as the Withered Shade.”

“But Artivan didn’t cheat. He shouldn’t be a Cursed.”

Sloswen lost his very faint humor. His face turned back to stone. “You had one question, and one only. That was your story about the Withered Shade. Now, prepare for your battle against Chaudius.” The god stood and snapped, causing all three stools to vanish.

Owin and Shade both fell to the ground. Owin used his hand to stand again while Shade remained on the floor.

“Come on,” Owin said, gently kicking Shade. “Get ready.”

“I . . .” He placed both his hands on top of his head. “You used your question for me?”

Owin grabbed Shade’s arm and pulled him up. “Yeah. Now we know.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wanted to.”

Shade shook his head. “You only had one question. You wasted it. I’m not worth it. I’m just a cheater, apparently.” He didn’t say anything else as he fastened the unbreakable shield onto Owin’s back and stuck the broken gauntlet into his bag. He helped Owin get ready without another word.

Sloswen watched silently as well, towering over the two of them.

When Owin finally turned to face the cetanthro with the Incandescent Blade in his hand, Shade grabbed his shoulders and leaned close to Owin’s ear. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you on the last floor.” Shade squeezed his shoulders. “You can do this. You don’t even need me here.”

“I do.”

“Then maybe we should do this together.”

Owin looked at the tall, silent god. “Is it cheating if Shade fights at my side?”

“Heroes are allowed to use summons during combat. I will be watching.” The water shuddered, then Sloswen vanished.

“Are you okay?” Owin asked.

“I still have both of my arms. I think we need to be asking you that.”

“I’m fine. The pain is . . . it’s fine. I’ll figure it out. But you—”

“Have lived through a lot, and will survive through a lot more. I learned a lot about myself today, and I didn’t like it.” Shade tapped Owin’s cheek with his gloved hand. “Don’t think about me for a second during this fight. I already left you alone on the last floor. I’ll make it up to you here. You’ve got friends waiting for you out there, and I’d love to meet them. So, let’s plan to throw me a surprise party when we get back to your home. Yeah?”

“What’s a surprise party?”

“Alright. Enough of that. Focus. I’ll tell you all about parties some other day.” Shade grabbed the shield potion and dumped it on Owin’s head. “Use everything you have. You’re strong, but not enough to relax.”

“You’re less funny when you’re serious.”

Shade patted Owin’s shoulder. “I’ll make a joke when you have that fish’s head on a platter.”

“On a what?”

Shade stood tall and flicked Owin’s ear. “Stop asking questions and get ready. Look how ugly he is.”

The cetanthro walked toward the center of the arena and waited patiently. His massive mace rested on his shoulder.

Ocean Mob

Chaudius

Champion of the Deep

“He doesn’t have a level,” Owin said.

“Not surprising. Just, uh, don’t get hit and we’ll be great. Shard Heroes before we know it.” Shade patted Owin’s shoulder one more time before walking away, circling to the left.

Just like with other cetanthro, it was difficult to tell what Chaudius was looking at. His eyes were on the side and he didn’t turn to acknowledge Owin, so could he see forward or only to the side?

Owin shifted his sword to the center, attempting to grab it with both hands. He looked at the empty space where his right arm should be.

“Do you see how ugly he is?” Shade shouted. “And he’s the champion?”

Owin laughed.

“I mean, you’re ugly too, but compared to that fish? You might as well be the most gorgeous little green man I’ve ever seen.”

“What?” Owin rolled his eyes and adjusted his stance.

The ninth floor had been horrible, but that was only because the boss was unkillable.

The fish in the center of the room could be killed.

He would be killed.

All that stood between Owin and his first shard was Chaudius, the fish.