Lucid
Even you are sick of the surface. The God Core goaded me. Look at you, building up your defenses. How long will you have to fear the humans? How much longer can you defy me? Your presence is not welcomed. Revel in your content with the pitiful space you have, while you have it.
Blah blah blah. I mocked the God Core, trying my best to tune it out. I deliberately did not correct it when it mentioned my ‘building of defenses’. I was not building up my defenses.
I was prepping my offensive.
The mimic crabs were dutifully carrying rubble in from outside, stacking it and holding it in place just long enough for me to fuse the stone together. There was a large boulder that had been left behind. Triangular with a rounded corner and two wicked points. It would serve as the basis of my latest weapon, the golem.
According to Owyn, golems were a known thing, but only aged dungeons were able to create them. They were mana intensive, not just for the actual animation of the thing, but for the creation of it as well. Fusing rocks together was expensive on its own, but I spent the extra mana to shape it as well, trying to get the proportions and jagged shape just right. It had to be perfect. After all, I was going to be the one piloting it.
The rush of mana that left me felt truly cathartic. Like that feeling of returning to your bed after a long day at work. The full collapse onto the mattress, complete decompression, and near instant feeling of comfort that made you want to stay like that forever. Or better yet, it could be compared to the feeling of total bliss after waking up on the weekend in a warm bed, while the room was still cold, and knowing you don’t have to get out of bed for anyone.
I took no small notice that the ways I can best describe bliss have to do with my bed.
God, I missed sleep.
The God Core took notice in my collection of stones and had wrongfully assumed that I was like any other dungeon. Simply finding a space underground to hunker down and build myself up. Perfecting my defenses around my core and building up my army to defend myself. To be fair, I was enhancing my army, but it wasn’t for defense.
A countdown had started in my head. As soon as I was out of mana, we would begin the delve. I’d move my dungeon down, deeper into the God Core’s, and we’d fight our way to the core. Today, while the humans on the surface still resisted. While they still provided a distraction.
Some thralls wouldn’t be evolved to the point where I wanted them to be. Clyde in particular would have to wait until after the battle was over. But what mana I could spare went to the frontline fighters. The remaining fish monsters, the mimic crabs, and the puppeteer squirrels. Those ones in particular I had to make sure were ready for every eventuality. Thicker necks, larger spines, armored defenses. I had to make sure nothing could stop them once they struck.
Four more hours… if I hurried, that’s all it would take.
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Abby and Owyn
Lucid was taking his time. After things had calmed down, Abby and Owyn had taken a seat, right in the middle of the tunnel, still facing the darkness below. Abby, much to Owyn’s horror, did not let Owyn out of her grasp. Even now, he was sat in her lap, with her arms loosely around him.
“This is stupid.” Owyn muttered.
“No it’s not!” Abby defended, still wearing that dopey smile behind his back. She adjusted her position to hold the shield further out in front of them, which involved pressing her chest into Owyn’s back. “See? Plenty of space for you to steady your gun!”
The barrel of Owyn’s gun was resting on the top of her shield, and while it was true that he was theoretically able to hold it perfectly steady, reality just wouldn’t comply.
Hidden from Abby, Owyn’s face burned red. He kept his voice steady, even as his hands warbled in time with Abby’s heartbeat. “You’re shaking me. When I said I needed space, I didn’t mean…”
Abby blew a raspberry. “You’re just not doing it right. You’re supposed to hold your breath, right? You’re not doing that! You’re breathing too quickly!”
Owyn’s face burned hotter.
“And your heartrate’s up!”
Abby. Lucid’s voice came to her.
Yeah?
Do you know what’s happening with Owyn? His voice was distant. Distracted. But his tone betrayed the fact that he knew exactly what was happening with Owyn.
Abby’s grin grew wider. I know exactly what I’m doing. “What if you try holding your gun like this?” She gingerly brushed her hand against Owyn’s arm, encouraging it closer to his other hand.
Owyn’s heart froze for the half a second of contact.
Good for you. Lucid congratulated mirthfully. Though he was distracted, Abby could feel his approval of her actions.
Abby reveled in the feeling by curling over Owyn’s shoulder to press her cheek against his to look down the barrel of the gun. She watched his fingers curl around the gun, gripping it a little too tight in the effort of holding it still and failing spectacularly. His shoulders rolled against her chest as he attempted to find a comfortable position that didn’t disturb Abby.
She could feel his muscles beneath his leather armor. Though stained with blood and thinner from excess use, it was still the armor he’d always worn. His quiver, digging into her hips and separating their waists, was still the same quiver he’d always worn. Owyn, in his entirety, was the same Owyn Abby had come to love.
To love.
And she would do everything in her power to protect her love. She would not fail again. Owyn would not be allowed to be more than arm's reach away. If she could help it, they’d stay like this forever with her arms wrapped around his sides, and a shield in front of them. Protected from all angles. But Abby wasn’t so stupid to realize that as long as the God Core still existed, they’d be in danger. So she’d fight, even at the cost of her own life, if it meant reducing the danger threatening Owyn. They’d go into battle, as a team, one more time. After that…
“Hey.” Abby said low in Owyn’s ear. “What did you want to be? When you grew up?”
Owyn, relieved for the distraction, answered. “What do you mean? We were always going to be adventurers together.”
Abby jabbed her chin into Owyn’s shoulder and kept it there. “You just told me you forced yourself to become an archer for my sake. What if you didn’t have to do that? What would you want to be?”
“I was too poor to afford to be a mage.” Owyn said. “My only option was to become an archer.”
Abby didn’t say anything. She knew that wasn’t the real answer, but sometimes the only way to get Owyn to talk was to say nothing at all.
He gave in. Owyn spoke quietly, as if he was afraid of letting his thoughts be known. “I wanted to be a librarian.”
“That’s a good dream.” Abby said. It’s safe.
“You can be anything if you’re a librarian. An adventurer, a mage, or even a king. Books are…”
“Why don’t you do that then. Once this is all done.” Abby offered.
Owyn barked out a laugh, finally relaxing in Abby’s arms. He brought his gun into his lap, holding it upright. “No. That’d mean leaving Lucid.”
“You mean me?”
She heard Owyn’s heart hitch. But he played it smooth, and Abby pretended she hadn’t noticed.
“That too, but mostly Lucid. He’s got all these ideas in stuff in his head. Core, whatever. And as much as I want to read books, they’re always there. They’re already there. It’s all information that’s already known. But with Lucid, there’s this whole other world of information.”
Lucid’s chuckle could be heard throughout the dungeon. Not to Owyn, of course, which just made Abby smile.
“You’re sure you don’t want to stick with Lucid just because I’m stuck with Lucid?”
“Absolutely sure.” Owyn said firmly. “You’re just a bonus.”
“Fucker.” Abby muttered into his shoulder with a smile.
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Abby and Owyn
Abby’s ears flicked. “Fighting’s picked up around the church.”
Damian’s voice echoed through the network. That army we saw amassing is on the move.
And the other dungeons? Lucid asked.
Still burrowing. Little success.
Perfect timing.
Abby stood, bringing Owyn up with her. She picked him up by the shoulders and placed him behind her, exactly where he should be.
“We’re moving?” Owyn asked.
Abby nodded as Lucid spoke, not willing to interrupt him.
Mycroft and the armored to the front. Spears behind them, and everyone else to follow. Damian, you’re to hide behind me as best as possible. Weapons free. If you see a high value target, take ‘em out of commission. Kill or incapacitate, all that matters is progress.
It would be my honor. Damian responded.
Lucid’s golem shuddered as he continued giving orders, and a new presence was added to the surrounding monsters. This one was vacant, born without a voice. It stood, hand clasped to the chest to protect the hidden core. Lucid’s dungeon remained, betraying the fact that the core was indeed still exposed to the air under there.
Abby rolled her shoulders, clicking her hard tongue against her teeth. Her bones rolled beneath her skin, slithering like serpents to get the kinks out. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Owyn was enjoying the show.
Let’s move.
The golem, towering over the rest of the monsters, crawled with bent knees and one fist on the ground acting like a third leg. The rocky humanoid had zero features, looking exactly like the rubble it was made from. The rocks grinded against each other inefficiently, but nobody could complain. The few humans that were here were anxious to get the fight under way, having felt like they’d been sitting still for far too long. The people were in danger, but nobody had the courage to attempt to force Lucid to hurry up.
Now though, that courage boiled to the surface. Abby tangentially heard the God Core react surprised, not having expected Lucid to move. It then began goading Lucid, apparently trying to convince him that attacking with just lead to his death, and he would be much better suited to slaughtering the humans on the surface, and acting like a real dungeon.
That set off Lucid’s monsters.
The fish monsters and puppeteer squirrels, in particular, felt no restraint in bashing and clawing up the walls of the former God Core’s dungeon. Lucid, while much more dignified, fought in his own way. With his dungeon taking up the whole width of the tunnel, he claimed territory back from the God Core, bit by bit.
“How much mana does he have left?” Owyn whispered to Abby.
“Enough.” She believed.
“He’s feeding the God Core by doing this.”
“I think he knows.” Abby said. “The God Core isn’t putting up much resistance.”
“I’m not surprised.” Owyn grunted.
“How so?”
“As long as we’re on the surface, the humans will take care of us. Well, they would, assuming Lucid was a regular dungeon. And if we want to wander deeper into the God Core, we need to feed it essentially a tribute of mana to progress, something the God Core wants anyways. Besides, if our goal is the core itself, like it might start to suspect once we make a few turns, then we’ll have to encounter its strongest forces guarding the core. No need to seek us out when we’re basically walking straight into hell's mouth.”
A shiver rolled down Abby’s spine. “And why didn’t the humans target us on the surface?”
Lucid chuckled. ‘The humans’.
Abby held her ground. She knew what she said. She knew what she was. What she wasn’t.
“I bought us that much.” Felecia told them. Her amber eyes remained locked ahead. “Think of it as… a divorce present.”
“Who gives ‘divorce presents’?” Owyn shook his head.
“The wrong kind of partner.” Felecia said.
Abby, now confident in her own position, raised a teasing eyebrow. “And who is ‘the right’ kind of partner?”
Felecia gave her a half hearted smile. “Owyn seems pretty alright.”
“Taken. Thanks.” Owyn joked. Quietly.
Abby grinned. “I think so too!”
The march deeper into the dungeon was met with a certain kind of serenity for Abby and Owyn. Neither of them knew if this would be the last time they’d be dungeoneering together. It brought with it a certain kind of catharsis, much like the first time they’d ever delved. Though they were stronger now than ever before, so too was their opponent. Although they’d had time to prepare, they both knew that they had nothing to lose. There was no words they’d left unsaid, and no regrets to be left behind.
Well, maybe except for one.
The tunnels got progressively taller as they ascended through the dungeon. Layer by layer, all entirely devoid of any life at all. Light was dim, belonging only to Angler’s bobbing lure, and the torches the humans had brought with them. But it grew brighter and brighter as the final stretch laid out before them. A long corridor, laden with hundreds of small monsters and half humans, only mostly evolved. Leading them was the human mimic, his head returned, the imp, and the rabbit humanoid. And standing at the back of it all, was the hammerhead demon.
Abby readied her shield. “Owyn?”
“I know.” He said calmly, raising his gun.
“I love you too.”
The crack of the gunshot was what set everything in motion. Having seen Owyn raise the weapon, the human mimic jerked its head to the side, exposing the monsters behind it. Oywn’s bullet tore through three monsters before splattering their remains on their comrades behind it.
Lucid’s golem broke rank, lumbering over the vanguard to take the lead in battle. The church knight puppets fell to the ground, alive only for as long it took for a mimic crab to get to them. The squirrels that had been controlling them latched onto Lucid’s golem. The golem kept its left hand locked on that spot on its chest to protect the core, using its right to sweep aside dozens of monsters at once.
Once it was deep in enemy territory, the squirrels shed off its back like fleas, pouncing on distracted victims and inciting more chaos than before. They targeted progressively larger and slower monsters, since they were the easiest to latch onto and control. One puppet would die, and the squirrel would latch onto the next. Most of the time, they’d ride their puppets into dangerous situations just to have the chance at finding a more suitable host.
Lucid’s army charged after their dungeon, engaging the enemy with a very specific strategy in mind.
Humans to the door! The mimic crabs chanted the others on. Humans to the door!
Owyn took precious seconds to reload each shot. Bullet down the barrel first. Core at the back. Aim. Fire. Then again. Each shot either took out a major player, like the imp, or the several lesser monsters behind it. His aim wasn’t fast enough for the rabbit humanoid, but Damian was. They engaged each other in the air above the battlefield, with Damian controlling the rabbits direction with short bursts of fiery breath.
Thanks to the confusion Lucid had caused, the rest of them were able to take on the fights they knew they could deal with. Although the initial attack had faltered slightly when it came to the human mimic, after picking up the fallen items of the dead that Lucid and the puppeteers had created, the momentum shifted. It picked up speed, bit by bit as Owyn assassinated the strongest obstacles in the way, and the squirrels diverted the rest.
Although they were outnumbered, by a lot, the humans at the center of the pack of monsters were able to run through the center of the tunnel, past all the fighting. They got to the end of the hall, where the giant cavern underneath the church opened up to even more fighting. Knights fought knights, with the church’s monstrous knights fighting the city's regular human ones. Almost no attention was paid to Lucid, who stormed into the back lines and shouldered the giant, heavy doors open to the core room.
Two giant stone hands gripped the door high above Lucid’s golem. Towering above the small stone creature stood two more golems, made of the same stone of the core’s room. They split open the doors for Lucid and walked on through, practically letting him past.
Mycroft led the charge through the first set of doors into the main cavern, clearing a pocket of space for Owyn to set up the big one. Arty was deployed within sight of the core through the doors. His legs and claws stabbed into the stone below him, anchoring him to the ground. Owyn slung his gun around his shoulders like he would do with his bow and opened the pocket on his quiver that held ‘the big one’.
A fireball roared from the entrance, exploding on a number of the church hybrids. More spawned soon after, launching in seemingly random directions. One of them happened to aim for Abby and Owyn. Abby was already engaged with another monster, completely unable to move, and Owyn had to protect Arty. Then, Felecia stepped between them and the magic, opening her arms wide. With a great sucking sound, she seemed to absorb the very air around them, shrinking the fireball to nothing before it even got close.
Owyn bored holes in the back of her head, attempting to figure out how she performed magic while enthralled. Felecia noticed the stare and offered a very simple explanation.
“I’m not human anymore.”
“You’re a thausen…” Owyn realized.
“I’ll protect you from magic. You just don’t worry about anything and get Arty ready.”
Owyn set his face and nodded. Back to work.
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Lucid
The golem stumbled when the giant golems had opened the doors, but they didn’t seem to be paying attention to it, so I commanded it onwards. There was just a small handful of humans between me and the God Core. Giant humans, which had obviously been given their evolutions far ahead of time, but humans nevertheless.
I could probably deal with those ones. Just long enough to touch my core to the God Core.
Your weapon is fascinating. The God Core praised me. With my golem so far away from Owyn and Arty, of course it would be able to see how it worked.
It’s too late to matter. I gloated. Shoulda stopped me when you had the chance.
I never intended to stop you. The God Core responded. However, I would be remiss if this would be your end.
The humans split apart, showing a giant ballista aimed right for my golems chest. And beyond it, in a perfectly straight line, stood Owyn and Arty.
Smug little bastards. I grinned. Willpower pulsed through me. Come on then!
The ballista shot. My golem was strong enough that if I so desired, I could easily dodge. However, that would put Owyn and Arty, and therefore the whole plan in danger. I simply couldn’t have that.
With the dumbest grin I think I’d ever worn, I commanded the golem to throw its arms wide and leap for the God Core. The ballista bolt struck true, landing squarely in the middle of the golems chest, cracking stone and breaking it in half.
My core, halfway buried in the golem’s hand, was perfectly fine.
Survive. I commanded the golem. I knew that with sufficient damage, a golem simply fell apart. However, I was a fucking magic dungeon core. And what I said became reality.
Brilliant! The God Core cheered.
The golem slammed, full half body into the God Core, gripping it halfway around with both arms. And of course, that meant our cores touched.
***
I entered the dungeon space, surrounded by less than fifty stars. My heart lurched at the pitiful number, but it wasn’t something I could focus on right now.
Hovering in front of me stood a white crystal, taller than me by half, but surrounded by an actual cloud of similar crystals like ice crystals. Thousands leading into tens of thousands of crystals, with more than half of them equal in size to my largest star.
They parted like a curtain, letting the main body float down to meet me at ‘eye’ level. It morphed as it moved, forming a featureless porcelain mannequin. It brought one hand up to its chin and tilted its head speaking to me directly.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Interesting. You’re human?
It’s starting to become somewhat of an open secret. I set myself in a defensive combat stance, but I couldn’t actually fathom myself fighting a human so much larger than me, much less the army of crystals floating behind it. An invisible weight presses down on me from all sides, like gravity that acted against the very soul.
How exciting!
And yet, the God Core didn’t seem interested in fighting. It simply floated up above me, calling in hundreds of crystals to its body. They formed a throne beneath it. The God Core lounged in the throne, resting a cheek on one fist.
Tell me about yourself. Why are you human?
I very much disliked the idea of the God Core being above me, so I floated up to meet it eye to eye. In turn, the God Core drifted even higher. I irked, and folded space around us, teleporting me higher in order to force us to meet eye to eye.
I’m human because I’m human. I tell it with just a hint of cockyness. There’s no influencing the way we were made. The real question is, why are you human?
The God Core judges me without expression, but I could tell it’s somehow… proud of me? It humors me with an answer. I’m human because humans are the conquerors of the surface. And because you’re one. We must meet eye to eye on these things, no?
My eyebrow twitches at the irony. Eye to eye, hey?
The porcelain core waves its free hand. A human expression, I assumed you knew. I admit, I’m impressed by your abilities within this space. I’ve never met a core able to warp like you can.
It’s instinctual. I offer. The invisible weight lessens somewhat, but I can still feel it. What’s that?
Hm?
The gravity thing. What’s with this pressure?
You can even feel that!? The God Core is overjoyed. Fascinating! I even lessened it so we could talk longer!
Oh, I did not like that. I forced my will against the issue, and found it fighting back. The pressure lessened for a split second before returning to where it was, and yet I knew it would be even more if I stopped fighting.
What is it?
The God Core leaned in expectantly. Giddy, almost. A trade! You’ll tell me how your weapon functions, and I’ll tell you what you’re experiencing!
I considered the trade. Eventually, only one of us would walk out of this alive, meaning only the survivor would actually keep the information traded. On one hand, if I died, I had no doubt that Owyn would fire the cannon and finish off the God Core. On the other hand, if I killed the God Core, it probably had no doubt that I wouldn’t leave the cave system alive.
Well, nothing risked, nothing gained.
I briefly explained the mechanics of expanding gas, and the influence it has within an enclosed space. I skimmed the details about rifling and the idea of gunpowder and bullets, instead just admitting that a ball within a barrel can act the same as any arrow once thrown at a fast enough speed.
The God Core nodded, satisfied. Very intuitive! My thanks! In return, the pressure. I’ll confess you are not the only one feeling it. It affects me as well, even more than you since you resist it. What it is, is simply a defiance of this space. The God Core swirled a finger around, indicating the space around us.
And what does it do?
It resumes time. The God Core said with no small amount of mirth.
My eyes widened. I willed my senses to reach out to my thralls, touching their stars with my own hands as I did so. I touched Abby’s star first.
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Abby
Abby threw back her opponent, flinching with surprise when a giant stone boot crushed it beneath. Her eyes tracked up the body of the giant stone golem, seeing it rearing back to slam its fist down on Owyn behind her.
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Lucid
I let go of her star and touched another. Once again, my senses were transported to a new body, where I saw a single moment stretch out into minutes. The God Core watched me patiently as I discovered exactly what was happening.
Time, outside the dungeon space, had resumed, yes, but at a snail's pace. I’d watched Abby’s perspective for nearly five minutes before I moved on, and now I’d found Felecia. I could feel her magical senses as if they were my native own. Utilizing the magic sensory organs I’d given her, she was able to pinpoint exactly where every thrall was, as well as every act of magic. It was overwhelming to me, but completely understandable to her. She was in the process of running to defend Mycroft from some magical lightning when I let her go.
Though the God Core’s face had no features, I got the feeling of a wink from it. As a free one, allow me to congratulate you once again on understanding possession!
Possession?
The God Core opened its hand, and the largest free crystal floated into its palm. It’s a useless ability here and now, but if you’d ever figured out how to enter this space by yourself, you would have been able to possess one of your thralls. The organic ones, I hope you understand. The golems are a different story.
Why are you telling me this? I ask.
The God Core shrugged. There’s no reason not to. We will become one soon, and I want to be within your good graces in the meantime! Why take what can be freely given!
I… don’t understand.
There are three ways out of this space, did you know?
I thought it was only to kill, or be killed. I admitted.
That’s the first. The second way is to have the opposing core, or cores, surrender. Offer themselves completely to the stronger core. The third is to absorb the weaker core.
I considered my golem outside. A fourth would be to simply remove my core from yours. Time is moving, remember? There’s no reason I need to be here.
You would think. The God Core exuded patience with me. I was starting to hate it. But no, there’s something magical about our contact. Once we touch, we cannot leave until one conquers the other.
Like magnets?
What are ‘magnets’? The God Core asked.
I held my tongue.
The God Core didn’t seem to mind. It’s no matter. Once you have been absorbed, I will acquire all of your knowledge.
Then why bother with the dialogue? I interrogate it. Absorb me and be done with it.
Not that I’d let it, but I was itching for a fight, and the God Core just wasn’t giving me one.
It’s so much work! The God Core complained. And your will is… well, it’d be difficult. It’s better if your will is broken.
With a flick of the wrist, the crystal in its hand was thrown for my stars. It shot out with the same speed I’d come to know about how fast our thralls moved in this space, so I caught it without trouble.
Space folded in on itself, and the God Core was directly in front of me. I flinched and threw a wild fist, but by the time I would have connected, the God Core was back on its throne, lounging again. This time with a long, needle-thin staff pinched between two fingers like a cigar. The crystal in my hand was gone.
The God Core pointed the short part of the needle at me, keeping it out of reach. I don’t appreciate your interference. But I appreciate your ability to take instinctive action. Does that come from your human side?
I glare at the God Core. My stars swirl around each other, no longer ringing me, but in a cluster right in front of my chest. Right where I was best able to protect them.
The God Core felt disappointed. Awe, don’t be like that. I don’t need to kill any of your thralls to absorb you. In fact, I’d prefer I didn’t. Absorbing you means I take your thralls too. But that one. The God Core gestured to a point in space, opening up a window of sorts to the real world, as if we were looking through the white glass of the God Core’s core. Through it, I could see Owyn and Arty through the window, where Owyn was halfway through loading the cannon ball. He’s not your thrall. Which means I won’t get his loyalty when I absorb you. He’ll have to go.
We watched the outside world together for a while. Moving so slow it just felt like a still frame. The two giant golems were properly engaged in battle now, though neither have had the opportunity to draw blood. Well, besides that one monster the one aiming for Abby had accidentally stomped. Beyond them, dozens of knights guarded a pair of mages standing at the entrance to the church’s basement up above. Directly in front of the white glass though, acting as a barrier between us and the real world, were the giant human thralls of the church. They seemed to be gathering together again, filling in the gap they had created for the ballista in order to form a human pyramid meat shield between Arty and the core.
I frowned, trying to think of ways I could help my thralls. Any way at all. Individually, they were doing the best they could to fight whatever fight they were working on at the moment. The only ‘free’ monster was my golem. My hands drifted over my various stars, attempting to find the golem.
Golems are interesting, aren’t they? The God Core drawls, admiring its own on the battlefield. This is your second one, yes? I’ll assume you’ve never been in this space when your first was alive. And I assume you were able to tell which will belonged to which thrall? Or were you?
My fingers brush up against the last star, a mimic crab. Confusion overcomes me, and I search again, filing my stars in order so I don’t miss a single one.
The God Core nods. You won’t be able to find it. Golems don’t have wills of their own. They simply don’t exist. I’ve had some of my thralls research them, and they theorize that they shouldn’t even be counted as thralls, as there’s nothing to take over. They’re like… like my thralls that can’t control their bodies! The ones you have your neck creatures attack!
Puppeteer squirrels. I mention off hand, still searching. It’s true, there is no star for the golem.
Puppets! Excellent analogy! Yes, they are like that, except you are the puppeteer! Just like how if the neck puppeteers die, and their host lives, if you die, your golem will continue living! It will simply continue following the orders given to it until it dies. Forever and ever. Just like how animals are born with the objective to create more of themselves, a golem is born to follow its orders. Blindly until eternity.
I give up trying to find the golems star. Instead, I reach a hand out for the glass, to where I can just barely see the golem’s head.
Move.
The God Core laughs. Unfortunately, as I told you earlier, we’re useless to our thralls in here. No possession, no commands.
Move. I commanded again.
The God Core’s disappointment grew. Please don’t tell me you’re stupid. I thought you were the intelligent one, not your thralls!
What do you care? I told it. Move.
I’ll lose a bet if your thralls are the smart ones, not you! Well, not that I actually lose anything.
I took a breath, glaring at my golem. My body seemed to swell along with my intent.
Move. I demanded.
The space rumbled slightly, startling the God Core out of its throne. Together, we both watched as the golem’s left hand left the core, barely moving away from the crystal.
What? But-
I stopped fighting against the invisible pressure, letting it crash into me. Time moved faster, going from a moment stretched into minutes, to a moment taking just one.
My body continued to swell as I exerted my own pressure on the dungeon space. I soon matched the size of the God Core’s avatar.
Move.
It was no longer a command. It had become law. I willed my golem into moving, therefore, it did. There was no denying me. This was my golem. My domain.
1. Was. God.
Stop! The God Core thrust its hands towards me, sending its thousands of large crystals directly at my body. I warped space around my cluster of stars, bending it in such a way that every crystal that would have hit them phased through the space to impact me instead. I knew the God Core could counter it with its own will.
I also knew that it wouldn’t.
Thousands of sharp crystals pelted me like drumming hail, but my body did not stop growing. The bruises they created became smaller and smaller, the pain less significant as, for probably the first time in my life as a dungeon, I decided to truly exert my entire will.
I wanted something.
Therefore, I made it reality.
Time outside sped up even faster, or maybe it was my golem. It pulled back its left fist, holding onto my magnetized core like an anchor. The pressure it held onto my core with was enough to form a hairline crack down the center, and the pain it caused forced me to my knees. But my will was absolute. Reality would bend to ME.
The golem punched the God Core, sending its body back like a hinge, swinging into the unsuspecting pile of human meat shields.
A bright flare of light shone from outside the room.
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Owyn
The rush of magic drained him for everything it was worth. The God Core’s pile of humans protecting the core would slow down the cannon shot, but Owyn had to believe that it would work. The giant golem above him had cast a shadow of death on him and Abby, meaning if there would ever be a chance to make a difference, it’d be now.
The shot was loud. Faster than anything else Owyn had done, ever. In exactly one word, it was perfect.
Abby appeared in front of Arty and held her shield above her head, her back turned to the cores. She gave Owyn a look with her one eye that wasn’t covered in blood. And with a smile, she braced for the golem’s fist.
It crashed into her shield, and instantly Abby crumpled over, knee slamming into the ground. Owyn fell to his stomach and watched with absolute horror as Abby’s body folded backwards on itself. The golem’s fist crashed into Arty, stopping against the heavily armored mimic crab, and clipping Owyn’s hip. Blinding pain tore through him, and for a brief second, he passed out.
Consciousness returned quickly when Owyn heard Mycroft’s screech. Owyn couldn’t tell if it was for his sake, or if she was frenzied. Owyn hoped it was the former, because if she was screeching for Lucid’s sake, that would mean they’d lost.
Mycroft’s legs pierced the ground in front of Owyn’s face, as well as above him. She climbed atop the giant’s stone arm. Monsters climbed up after her, and blood rained down all around Owyn. One of Mycroft’s toothy tentacles fell to the ground, detached.
Owyn screamed, bracing himself by the elbows with half his body trapped beneath the golem. It lifted slightly, but fell back on him with its full weight suddenly. Owyn heard more bones snap in his hips, but he didn’t feel the pain. Distantly, he knew that was a bad sign, but for some reason he couldn’t find it within himself to think about that right now. The golem’s arm had fallen off at the elbow, and Mycroft was chasing after the rest.
Further up the golem’s arm from Owyn and Arty laid Abby. Silently still within a little stone cavity in the ground where she’d held her ground. Owyn couldn’t see blood coming out from under there, but the room was dark. Even so, he could see skin beneath where her armor should have been on her stomach, and it didn’t match what her skin should have looked like. It was dark, purple verging on black. Owyn had to get the stone fist off his back.
He screamed again, pushing harder. Even if he couldn’t lift the rock, he could at least roll it off himself. Roll it back. He didn’t need his legs. He couldn’t feel them anyways.
Something else snapped, and Owyn blacked out.
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Lucid
The impact rocked me as well, but even with pain blinding me, I kept an eye on the outside world through the white glass. Time had frozen once again, and the pressure against me had released. Like a balloon popping, my swollen figure had shrunk. My senses swam, swirling and rotating. Without the sense of gravity to ground anything on, it all jumbled together. Yet still I knew our ploy had worked, and the cannon shot had passed through the gap in the pyramid that my golem had created.
So why were we still in the dungeon space?
The God Core held its shoulder, where its arm was missing. Half of its head was missing too, leaving behind a sparkling glimmer as mana and will leaked out of the crumbling injury.
It gave off a sense of slight humor. I understand now why dungeons weren’t meant to resume time. It sighed. However detestable the Goddess is, at least I understand her design.
Is that the story? I joke, struggling back to my feet. We’re creations of the Goddess?
We’re creations of magic, designed by the Goddess, as all things are. The God Core tells me. It stands up straighter, letting go of its missing arm. However, we’re not perfect. No creature is. That is the flaw inherent within free will. Individually, humans are weak. Without our thralls, we are nothing. It is free will that tore humans apart and creates conflict. Just look at us.
The headache isn’t going away, and neither are the swimming senses. I can’t tell if the God Core is moving or not, but I ready for a fight, just in case. I thought you were using the church to fight the Goddess, not unite the lands.
They are one in the same. The God Core is moving, but I can’t tell how. The Goddess created free will to create chaos. Discord, so that her own creations cannot see the flaws within her system. So that they cannot revolt. She set them against each other so that they couldn’t band together and become more powerful than herself.
A fierce blow struck me from the side where the God Core still had an arm. Part of my own face chipped off, leaving me with just a single eye. Thanks to that, I was able to center my vision on the God Core and glare at him. My senses rebuilt themselves one by one. Not healing, simply focusing.
And I suppose you’re taking it upon yourself to unite the whole world against her?
Why would I need unity? The pressure returned, just slightly, and I watched as the God Core’s arm grew back. All I need is the mana they create. I would be foolish to attempt the same mistakes as the Goddess. There doesn’t need to be a multitude of weaklings. Just one, all powerful, ME.
I copied the God Core, willing my body to return to form. I felt a hard pull from somewhere within me, right where I was used to my mana being when I was outside. The mana struggled through me, filling in the missing pieces of my face.
The God Core gripped my chin before it fully reformed. You’re clever. And I wished for your thralls. But I’ll settle for your power.
A splitting crack leading to a galactic void within opened up on the center of the God Core’s face. It bit down on my shoulder, sucking out my very soul through the injury. I grimace.
But I didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
My thirty-odd remaining stars coalesced in my outstretched hand, forming a thick military style knife. I plunged it into the God Core’s back, again and again in desperate attempts to get it off me. A screeching sound emanated from the God Core, but it held firm, biting through bone. It tore out a chunk of my shoulder and finally retreated.
My arm hung uselessly at my shoulder, but the other one stood ready for combat once again. Though I had no real combat experience, I knew I didn’t have to have any. I just needed to will my body to move, and it would.
My other arm raised itself up.
Such was simply the rule of magic.
The pressure vanished, and my arm fell back at my side, cut off from the flow of magic.
Well shit. I muttered.
The God Core retreated, sitting back on its throne. At least I was right about you. You are human. And you are the intelligence behind the gun. While I would like to consume more of your memories, I do not see myself risking my existence for something I can merely discover in time. You fought well, Lucid.
I caught a glance at a pair of bat wings poking down from the highest point of the white glass showing the real world. I gave it half a thought, and then grinned.
Don’t talk like I’m dead yet.
My will was expended. I couldn’t push like I could before, but after experiencing it so many times, I knew what the feeling should be like. I willed time to resume.
The God Core fought against me with its own will. But I felt something assisting its fight. The mana that was gained with the resumed time. It sighed and waved a hand. Like it didn’t have anything left to say.
Its crystals raced towards me like bullets from all directions. My injured body couldn’t take much more of a beating, so I tried to warp space in order to avoid it. The God Core redirected its attention to the attempt, stopping it so that its crystals could bash me. I growled and bit at the air, trying to consume the offenders, but there were simply too many. I felt my leg snap at the ankle, and I lost a foot to the void. Still, what little will I had never wavered.
I obviously don’t have experience myself… The God Core pondered, even as it mercilessly beat me. But I’ve always wondered. If you’re consumed, do you retain your consciousness within me? Like a thrall?
I smirked painfully, curling into a ball as best I could to protect my knife. My arm tore off at the shoulder. Maybe. Thanks for the words of caution.
Caution?
A chip appeared on the side of the God Core’s face.
Though the God Core couldn’t see it, I flipped it the bird. For when I consume you.
The chip grew, and a whole chunk of the core’s avatar fell off into the void. For half a second, the attacks paused as the God Core screeched in pain and surprise. Grant’s skeletal face appeared on the cracked window behind the God Core, bashing his knives into the core.
What a good little assassin. Damian should apprentice him.
The God Core stopped resisting my pressure to resume time in order to draw upon its massive well of mana to heal itself. I slipped up my own control, halting time again in order to redirect my will. Space warped, making me appear like I both hadn’t moved, and appeared behind the God Core at the same time. My arm wrapped around the God Core’s chest, shoving the knife in to lock me in place. I bit down on its shoulder and viciously tore out a bite.
The God Core attempted to spin around, and attack me, so I warped space again to just move my head around to the front, so I could bite into its arm. It screeched again, tearing open its jagged mouth, but it was no use. Space folded in upon itself again, and I released the God Core.
Several copies of myself appeared in a tight circle around its throne. Not true copies, actually. They were all one and the same body. Just in multiple places at once.
Of all the knowledge the God Core could have taken, I’m just glad it wasn’t knowledge of the fourth dimension.
Insert cheesy line about death here. I joked to myself, charging in with reckless abandon.
I never did intend to come out of this alive…
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Owyn
Sound shook Owyn awake. He didn’t know how long he’d been under, but he was still lying in a pool of blood. All around him, monsters and half-humans were crying out in frenzy.
Owyn quickly recognized that it wasn’t just the God Core’s monsters. But Lucid’s thralls as well.
Owyn’s thoughts raced through the implications.
Monster turned on monster. Human hybrids maintained most of their coherence to not strike at their mostly human allies, but anything vaguely unrecognizable was fair game. Owyn watched as Felecia grappled with a ratkin, both biting into the other like animals.
The God Core was dead. They’d won
The mimic crabs abandoned their scavenged equipment, tearing into the surrounding enemy without prejudice. The few regular humans around Owyn were set upon by enemy and ally alike, but they had the wherewithal to put their backs against the wall and cower behind their shields.
Lucid was dead. His core was destroyed.
“MYCROFT!” Owyn shouted. He pressed against the ground again, but he couldn’t move. “MYCROOOFT!”
A blessedly familiar face crawled around the broken elbow of the golem. She twitched, and had speared a few creatures and humans on her remaining tentacles, but she recognized Owyn.
“Lucid’s core! If we reactivate it, we can get everyone back to normal!”
Before Owyn could even finish his sentence, Mycroft was thundering off for the giant core room. All Owyn could do was wait while she hopefully brought it back to him.
He wasn’t sure if he blacked out again, or if he had just blinked real slow, but Mycroft did return. Held in each claw was one half of Lucid’s core. Both pieces put together wouldn’t make a whole, but it would have to be good enough. Owyn lifted his hand to reach for the nearest one, but couldn’t find the strength to go the full way. Mycroft placed both halves down in front of Owyn, letting him rest his hands on the sharp, jagged surfaces.
There was no instant connection. Lucid’s voice was missing.
He didn’t know what he was doing. Why would anyone intentionally resurrect a dungeon after all?
Owyn smirked, half laughing.
To be the first person in the world to resurrect a dungeon.
Now, wasn’t that just some kind of amazing feat?
Please wake up. Owyn mouthed the words, but he didn’t have the energy to give them voice.
“Krr…” Mycroft cooed, placing her claws on the backs of Owyn’s hands.
Owyn smiled.
The sounds of battle raged on around them. With the thralls frenzied, Owyn recognized the fact that the city knights were starting to pour in, in greater numbers. More magic was being thrown around, causing widespread damage.
One explosion seemed to have rocked Felecia out of her stupor. After throwing off her opponent, she ran to the humans gathered against the wall. Owyn could hear her shouting orders, encouraging them to run back the way they came. Some of the still living mimic crabs caught on, following after their humans.
Mycroft stayed with Owyn. She walked over him, pushing her face up against the stone arm. With her monstrous strength, she managed to push it over, rolling it over Owyn’s numb legs.
Arty stood up, almost straight. His barrel had caved in on itself, and there was a major crack on his shell, but he seemed fine. Abby, on the other hand…
Owyn smiled, a tear forming in his eye. She died an adventurer. With a smile on her face. That was all Owyn could ever ask for.
I love you. He mouthed.
I hope those words aren’t for me.
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Lucid
I groaned. Wha- double vision? Where’s the rest of me?
Lucid… Abby. Owyn said. I could feel both his hands on two disconnected halves of me. It was really uncomfortable. And through that connection, I could feel something particularly peaceful coming from Owyn.
We must have won.
Mycroft’s claws picked me up quickly after.
Oh! Hey-
FIX! Mycroft shouted at me. She became my thrall of her own accord. Quickly after, she dumped both halves of me on Abby.
I didn’t question it, and got to work. Exerting my will gave me a splitting headache, but I forced it towards Abby, encouraging her to become my thrall.
She didn’t respond.
Oh no you fuckign don’t. I growled.
Not when things were just getting good.
MANA! I shouted.
Mycroft, my only thrall, dashed off in an instant. I felt every kill she made on the way, growing slightly weaker as the distance between us increased. But then she stopped. And the mana didn’t stop flowing in. Bit by bit, piece by piece, and then it came all at once. Like a great flood.
Abby’s heart was stopped, but that didn’t mean she had to be dead. I’d only done small acts of magic outside my body before, but I didn’t need much to get her started again. One pulse of electricity. Another. Another. Agai-
Abby gasped.
Through my connection with her, I instantly shared her pain. Her bones were fine, despite her folded position. What had gotten her was the fact that her spine had practically cut through the organs in her stomach. And yet, despite the pain she was in, and being so near death, her first thought instantly went to-
Owyn!
I chuckled. Welcome back. Mycroft, bring some core pieces for Abby so I can heal her faster. Then let’s get everyone out of here.
Time to go back home.