The area of the door Abby leaned against reflected her body heat perfectly back at her. If she shifted even slightly, her cheek would feel the cold. If she moved any amount, the noise would distract her. Ruin her concentration. Her side itched, but she didn’t even think of scratching it.
“Refugees are less than we predicted.” She heard down the hall.
“That fucking king actually did it. He’s investigating the church.” A new voice said, in a different room in the floor above her.
Her ears heard everything. Abby’s ability to listen in to any conversation, and at the distances she was able to do it at…
Isabelle’s stomach growled, temporarily deafening her. Abby ignored it as best she could.
“We’re behind our predictions. We need more sacrifices!”
“We’ve lost half our forces to covering up our actions. Not even the chaos of thousands of people flooding in every day has distracted the King enough.”
“It’s not the King himself! He had hundreds of people at his beck and call! He can dedicate a handful of them to investigating the disappearances of orphans and strays.”
“Too many villagers are evacuating to the cities instead of coming to Everlast. We need to request that the God Core herds more dungeons to pressure the cities.”
Hours and hours of listening. Patient information gathering. Abby wasn’t used to this kind of work, but surprisingly, found herself uniquely suited to it. In no small coincidence to her recent evolution, no doubt.
The church was working with the God Core. This wasn’t new information. What was new information was the fact that there was chaos happening up on the surface. Dungeons, apparently at the encouragement of the God Core, were being pushed out to the surface. Many of them didn’t survive, obviously, but the few that did were growing to unimaginable power. They consumed and destroyed, chasing after humans that would give them the fastest explosive growth they’d need to continue their own survival. In turn, the humans were running away, to the walled cities for safety.
“Another caravan of refugees is waiting for us in the east fields. Send a detachment of knights to escort them through the wandering dungeons.”
“This morning alone, two more dungeons have found Everlast. Both have constructed burrows for themselves in farmhouse basements.”
That would make for fifteen dungeons wandering around outside Everlast’s walls.
“What about Lucid? Where is he?”
Lucid.
“Unknown. The knights sent in his direction haven’t reported back.”
“Do we send more?”
A fist slammed against wood. “We need more men! We don’t have the power to fight against the King, maintain our image, and chase after some insignificant rogue dungeon!”
Lucid was not among the dungeons then. But he was on the surface. Was that good? Abby assumed that he had been chased out of Setterton by the God Core, just the same as all these other dungeons. With Setterton gone, Lucid would be Abby’s next best place to retreat to. How would she find him? How would she escape without being caught?
“We need to utilize the monsters.”
“The God Core’s chosen are not allowed on the surface! They’re needed to manage the resources below ground! The tunnels are forming new dungeons as we speak, all of which need to be brought back to the God Core for sacrifice! It’s only when the God Core has enough mana that it can finally fight against the Goddess for territory on the surface!”
It would be trivial for the God Core to enthrall all of the humans working for the church. The reason it didn’t was because it wanted mana to directly fight the Goddess. The Goddess of Will versus the God Core. Infinite will versus infinite mana. Two equal and opposing forces. But it wasn’t really infinite mana, was it? It was a rapidly growing stockpile, backed by whatever will the God Core already possessed. A will divided amongst the thralls it held. To create more thralls would be to weaken its will.
Thundering footsteps carried a new voice down the halls. “The Lucid Dungeon has been spotted outside the walls! The Lucid Dungeon has been spotted outside the walls! It’s enthralling all of the monsters the other dungeons have gathered, and subsuming the dungeons!”
Voices quieted as the messenger kept running. They gathered everybody they could, passing along the news.
“All members of the church are encouraged to enthrall to the God Core! Receive your evolutions! Become one of the chosen, as promised!”
“Is it true!?”
“Finally!”
“We’re going to become thralls!”
“All hail the God Core!”
A distraction.
A chance.
Abby moved, the first time in hours. Her legs buzzed, having not moved in so long. She ignored it. Ignored the pain sparking through her as she hurried over to the prone Isabelle.
“Hey…” Abby wasn’t sure why she was whispering. She shook Isabelle’s shoulder. So easily. The small, fragile girl. “Wake up. Come on. It’s time.”
“Mn?” Isabelle blearily looked up at Abby.
“The hallways are clearing out.” Abby told her. The messenger was still shouting, getting closer all the time. She was sure even Isabelle could hear them now. “We can get out. Come on, get up.”
Isabelle’s eyes cleared. She struggled to get to her feet, even with Abby’s help. But struggle she did. With a will of iron.
“There you go. Atta girl. Come on.” Abby held her arms out to support Isabelle, but she pushed them away. Her back was hunched over her stomach. A few breaths, and a little bit of pain later, and Isabelle was standing fully upright. “The plan?”
Isabelle gave Abby a look. “Do you trust me?”
Absolutely. “What do we have to do?”
“You tell me. You saw the outside. How do we get out?”
“We don’t go up.” Abby said. “We go down. Through the tunnels. Follow the dungeon until we surface. Outside the city, probably.”
“Probably?”
“Are you ready?”
Isabelle nodded.
This was it. Abby’s heart held steady. She was ready.
They approached the door together. Waited, just for a few minutes while Abby listened to the activity outside. Men, women, and monsters all ran. The monsters, and the not quite humans ran deeper down the tunnels. The humans ran for the surface. The messengers running footsteps stopped two floors down. He turned around, running back to the surface. The last of the humans followed him up.
They passed as a thundering herd of eager humans, wanting to become thralls. It sickened Abby in two ways. The human reaction of revulsion against wanting to become a thrall, and the monstrous jealousy of needing to become one again. But then she was reminded of the little girl standing behind her, and the moment passed.
The hallway outside became quiet.
Abby set herself in position, putting one foot forward and pulling one fist back. Two feet, firmly planted. Her muscles bunched and clenched, all focusing together with singular purpose. She didn’t have to break the door. She just had to break the lock.
The first blow rocked the door. The handles shuddered on both sides of the door, but the metal held firm. Thinking better of herself, Abby raised a leg, chopping it down on the handle. Removing the obstacle. Her next blow broke bones in her fingers, drawing blood in the shape of the hole the handle had left behind. The metal hadn’t broken, but it’d bent.
A firm kick broke through the rest of the way.
The heavy door slowly swung open, even after the power Abby had given it. But it was open, and that was enough. Without looking back, Abby ran out, closely followed by Isabelle’s slowed footsteps. She wouldn’t be able to run for long. That was fine. She just had to last long enough.
The hallways were empty at first. They perfectly echoed the duo’s footsteps, as well as the sounds that came from below. More footsteps. Some human, most not. Voices too. Not from the thralls below, but distant and innumerous human voices accompanied by the whistle of a breeze. If the hallways weren’t so empty, and Abby’s ears not so strained, she wouldn’t have noticed.
Their first obstacle was a half-human. A rabbit eared girl with massive legs built for speed. She carried a bag that clinked with the distinct sound of jars and dungeon cores contained within. Abby’s heart perked at the thought of enthralling herself to one of those dungeons, just for a little bit. Like an addict.
Abby broke away from Isabelle, and the rabbit girl wordlessly dropped her bag. Both girls charged each other. The rabbit girl's hands formed claws, the natural weapons unnaturally poking out from slits at the ends of her fingers. Abby’s whip-spike slipped out from one palm, and with the timing one could only achieve from years of combat experience, she whipped it across the rabbit girl’s face. The spike sliced a single eye, drawing blood and fluids from within the eye itself.
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The girl cried in pain, pulling back just enough for Abby to get within her guard and shoulder her. They fell back together, almost landing near the bag full of jars and dungeon cores. The rabbit girl pulled her legs in, pressing them against Abby’s lower stomach and pushed. Abby reacted quickly, grabbing onto the legs with her spikes barely poking out. As she slid back, she drew long lines down the inhuman rabbit legs, tearing into muscle and flesh. She held firm on the girl's ankles and pulled her close. A kick to the stomach stopped retaliation, and a stomp to the face ended it all.
Isabelle nearly collapsed atop the bag of jars. She fumbled it open, picking out a jar for each hand before Abby grew anxious about the sounds now growing above them and encouraged her back to her feet. Up and away, still running downhill. They passed by door after door, passage after passage, but eventually, Abby skidded to a stop, hearing the telltale sounds of a crowd on the streets above. Wind whistling across some hole in the ground.
They changed direction, this time definitely heading uphill. Isabelle’s breath was laboring, and they were slowing down. But Abby couldn’t help her. They had company.
A bat monster watched them from the roof up ahead. It was hiding in a little rise in the ceiling, but the hiding spot was only effective if they were coming from the other direction. It screeched at Abby, temporarily blotting out all other sounds. It didn’t matter. The only way they were getting out was through.
It swooped down, and Abby had to once again abandon Isabelle to fight. They shouted frustrations at their opponent, clawing and grappling the other. Abby’s muscles won out eventually. Without the element of surprise, the bat wasn’t much of a fight.
Next, two creatures came through the wall. Worm like things, about the size of horses with dozens of hands for locomotion and giant mouths they used to chew through stone. They paused in their spots, poking out of the wall. They both belched molten rock at Abby, who recklessly charged through it. The heat and stone clung to her, but she wiped it off, surprising her target with the sudden proximity. She used her hands to hold the creature still and keep its mouth away from her body, biting down on the top of the filthy monster. She tore out flesh and blood, and the creature soon fell dead. The second one retreated back into its burrow, leaving them alone.
Isabelle picked her way around the puddles of cooling stone, worry in her eyes.
“The dungeon gave me fireproofing as a safety measure against you.” Abby muttered, pulling Isabelle along.
She didn’t mention how much the sheer mass of the stone had impacted her. Her arms felt bruised, right down to the bone. She was bleeding all over from the fight with the bat. Everything hurt, but nothing was worse than knowing that Isabelle was just not fast enough to get them out in time. They had pursuers. Abby could hear them. And Abby couldn’t carry Isabelle, she needed her arms to fight their way out.
Two last monsters barred the exit. A turtle covered in stone, and what appeared to be a ratkin worker. The ratkin would be easy to deal with, but the turtle would be harder. It had giant muscled legs, ending in claws that may as well be swords, and it didn’t look slow. But just above them, a few more twists and turns of the tunnel, she could hear the exit. There was actually a draft here, they were so close!
The footsteps behind them grew louder. Isabelle turned her head slightly, indicating that she heard them too. Her arms and legs trembled from exhaustion. The jars clinked in her shaking hands, musically announcing the dungeons held within.
Damnit! They were so close! “Can you stall them with magic?”
Isabelle swallowed, nodding.
Abby nodded back, her mind already going over the fight she was about to have with the turtle. “Good. Just two- no. One minute. I’ll finish this as fast as I can.”
Isabelle shuffled a little closer to Abby, pinching her skin between two weak fingers to hold her back. Abby glanced over her shoulder, seeing the fire burning within the little magician's eyes.
“If… if we-”
“I’m getting you out of here.” Abby shut her down, pulling away from her gentle grip. “Just stall them.”
Isabelle gave a much smaller nod this time.
Abby ran towards the monsters. The ratkin held itself back, growling and hissing at her while the turtle thing reared on its back legs, standing nearly as tall as Abby. Its claws spread out, slashing down at her like a net. Abby dodged back, charging in again to hopefully give it no time to recover. The ratkin appeared out from behind the stone turtles back, screeching a war cry as it leaped at Abby.
Behind her, Abby distinctly sensed Isabelle forming some earth magic. The walls of the tunnel began closing in, but there was resistance. As if the dungeon itself fought against Isabelle. She continued fighting that battle alone, entrusting her back to Abby. She couldn’t let her down.
Abby caught the ratkin, swinging around to throw it back at the turtle. She couldn’t let it get past her. That was her job. She was the protector. The ratkin bounced harmlessly off the turtle, just as it got ready for its next attack. Abby slung out her whip-spikes, whirling one arm around so that her spikes wrapped in a coil around one set of claws. The turtle grumbled, swiping with its free hand, missing Abby. The ratkin recovered, screeching and leaping for Abby’s stomach. Abby pulled in the claws she’d trapped, gripping them in her hands. Her knees were brought up to protect her stomach, but the ratkin nimbly latched on to them and lunged for her neck.
Abby stepped back, pulling the surprised turtle with her. Her chin tucked in to her chest, and she bared her teeth. Both the ratkin and Abby bit each other simultaneously. The ratkins teeth were longer, but Abby’s bit was stronger. Her lips tore, and a gash slashed across her cheek, but she heard bone snapping, and suddenly the pressure of the rat’s bite disappeared.
Throwing her weight to the side, Abby rolled the turtle into an uncontrolled tumble downhill. She released the ratkin and the turtle simultaneously, throwing them both against the wall opposite her. Turning back to Isabelle, she grabbed the girl by the back of her shirt, pulling her into an embrace.
Concentration broke, and the nearly closed wall stopped moving. Dozens of monsters and impossibly large humans stood on the other side, the few in the front clawing at the stone. The turtle, unharmed, turned its shelled back to Abby and Isabelle, digging into the stone with frightening efficiency. But it would serve to delay their pursuers.
Abby carried Isabelle up and up, through the last bits of winding tunnels. The draft grew stronger, the air cleaner as they got closer. And finally, there was light.
A crack in the ceiling above them. A sliver of freedom, too small for Isabelle to fit through. Too small even for Abby, with her abilities. Through it, they could see a street, and the people above it milling about in dense crowds.
“HEY!” Abby let Isabelle down. She leaped up to the crack, shoving her fingers through. “HEEEY!”
Dirt crumbled beneath her grip. Desperately, Abby pulled and pulled, shoving pitiful amounts of dirt and stone cascading down. Widening the hole bit by pathetic bit. It wasn’t fast enough!
“HEY!” People heard her. She could see them. They were backing away from the hole. Why? “HELP! PLEASE!” More dirt. More fighting for freedom.
“Abby.” Isabelle whispered below her. It was as loud as she could get.
The footsteps below them had begun again. They’d broken through the wall Isabelle had fought to create.
“HEY!”
“Abby.”
Isabelle was further away. Abby spun around, still hanging on to the freedom that the exit promised. The little mage was standing far away from Abby, clutching the second dungeon core close to her chest. The footsteps of the monsters behind them were closing in! What was she planning!?
I can’t tell you, you just have to trust me. Abby heard Isabelle in her head.
Isabelle smiled gently.
No… NO!
The core in Isabelle’s hand glowed. Its light shone through Isabelle's clenched fingers. Abby dropped to the ground, just as the monsters chasing them came into view. No matter how fast Abby was, she wouldn’t reach Isabelle before they would. It never ended up mattering.
The first few monsters reached out for Isabelle just as the fire began. It bloomed out from Isabelle’s chest, expanding in all directions. An explosion erupted, throwing Abby back against the wall. The ceiling heaved heavily, holding in the air for just half a second before it all came crashing down. And just like that, silence reigned.
Abby could still see the sky above her. The crack was slightly widened by the explosion. Everything else was buried. But still, she could hear the telltale scratches as monsters began digging through the rubble in front of her. There wasn’t time to think. No time to consider what Isabelle had just done. Just take advantage of it. Climb. Climb up and out and breathe fresh air once again.
Isabelle had bought her time. Precious seconds, or minutes, whatever. She paid for this chance, hoping that Abby would use it to escape. She was a smart girl. A smart, stupid, weak little magician girl with a will like iron. It wasn’t her job to protect Abby. It was Abby’s job to protect her. That was her job. She was the vanguard. The shield.
Abby’s head broke out from under the street. Her body squished and morphed along with her bones, slithering out from the hole in the ground like the disgusting monster she was. She was a failure. No longer human, in any sense of the word.
People screamed and ran around her. A masking chaos. Abby freed herself from the underground, freed herself from the dungeon. A small part of both halves of her wanted to go back. To return to the dungeon, or to return to Isabelle. But Abby wasn’t that stupid. Isabelle had bought her a chance. She had to use it. She had to honor Isabelle.
She ran, perhaps a little faster than she should have. People looked at her. Tears threatened to blind her, but Abby couldn’t stop. She had to get out. Leave the city. Find Lucid. Escape. Again. Use the opportunity given to her.
Goddamn it.
Abby choked, feet pounding harder and harder against the stone streets. People parted for her like a wave, terrified of her. She was aiming for the wall. She had to get out.
A building stood between her and the wall. Abby’s whip spikes barely poked out, and she slammed her palms into the wood. She climbed up the building as fast as she could, trying to get away from it all. Trying to leave it all behind, as if she could outrun her feelings.
Run. Run, run, run across the rooftops and onto the wall. Climb over it, avoid the guards, and land on the other side. Freedom.
Arrows shot at her, stabbing through her shoulder. She kept running. Another arrow, through the leg. Abby slowed, but she couldn’t stop. She had to run.
Another explosion, this one smaller. Sharper. It drew her attention.
There. Far in the distance, sitting on the edge of the woods, two armies of monsters clashed. One army of horse monsters running with wolves and goblins, and the other a mismatch of every possible monster. Snakes, wolves, horses, pure demons, fish men, and most importantly, mimic crabs.
And there was Owyn, riding atop the largest monster in the battlefield. A giant mimic crab with dozens of thick toothy tentacles stabbing into the enemy. Owyn held up a metal pipe, and Abby felt magic building. Another sharp pop, and a large goblin monster fell dead, gore spraying out of its head.
Abby kept running, no longer away from anything, but towards something. Her feet hurt. Everything buzzed, and her heart couldn’t take it any more.
Owyn noticed her. He lowered his weapon, just to stare for a little while longer. That look, it was like he didn’t recognize her any more. It slowed her steps to a walk. And then, she stood still, breathing heavily.
She wasn’t human any more. She had two arrows in her, a hole in her cheek, and blood and dirt all over. Her breath came through jagged, clenched teeth, coated in blood that wasn’t hers. A deep, hungering feeling boiled its way to the surface, recognizing that if she saw him, she would gladly run into Lucid’s embrace before Owyn’s.
Owyn fell off the giant crab monster, still staring at her. He walked towards her through the chaos of the battle, paying it no mind. He was only looking at her.
He approached Abby, who stood alone and broken.
He approached Abby, who had failed at everything she had set out to accomplish.
He approached Abby, who stood taller than Owyn, now that he was close enough to compare.
Owyn approached Abby, who was no longer human, and Abby took a step back.
Owyn halted where he stood, his expression flat. Hard. Unreadable. His eyes were cold and calculating. They darted behind Abby, where he saw none of the people she had sworn to protect. And then they met her own eyes.
They streamed freely with tears. This wasn’t how she was supposed to meet Owyn again. She wasn’t whole. She wasn’t human.
And yet, Owyn approached her anyway.
She tried to pull back, but Owyn’s hand shot out and gripped her own with the strength of an archer. Her felt the slit in her palm and he pulled her close anyway. Her shoulder slammed into his chin as he wrapped a single arm around her back.
“Welcome home.”
Abby choked. She allowed herself to feel weak. Unbidden, she collapsed to her knees, needing to feel smaller than Owyn now. Her own arms wrapped around Owyn, holding him tight to her body as she cried into his chest. And Owyn held her back.