“Who… are you?” Alysia asked, looking at me with questioning eyes.

“Why does that matter? He’s the man who tortured you! He’s the one who used you like a toy! He’s the one who chopped you up a hundred times! Kill him!” The little girl screamed.

“I am… who I have always been.” I sighed.

“You… you use dungeons.” She swallowed hard.

“The dungeons… they aren’t inherently evil. They’re just… misguided. Confused. They’re…” I glanced at the girl on the chair. “They’re like children lashing out. The reason you never became a True Dungeon Diver is that you never understood what it took. It wasn’t strength. It wasn’t power. It wasn’t the ability to destroy. It was the ability to forgive. To build. To grow. And… to accept.”

“Wh-what are you saying?”

“The dungeons aren’t curses, they’re just blessings that don’t know it yet.” I chuckled. “They destroy because they don’t know any better, and if you’re lucky, you can turn them into a positive force in this world. That is what I believe. That is what I aim to do. You can’t fix a cursed world by continuing the path of hate and destruction. That will only make more curses. You have to build, and create peace.”

“Enough of your nonsense!” The guide snapped, waving her hand and causing a gag to immediately cover my mouth. “Abandoned soul! I’ve already told you everything you need to know! Now, kill this man who violated you and broke your soul! Kill him, and we will make him feel every pain he made you feel!”

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“Pain?” Alysia looked over at her confused.

“Heh… maybe you didn’t realize it, but this man maliciously chopped down your body over and over. He was filled with hate and aggression! I will show you what he felt. See the thrill and pleasure he felt as he cut you down. Understand the hatred and annoyance he had as he tortured you.”

“Mmm!” My eyes widened and I shook my head, but it was too late.

White light flooded from the little girl’s hand and struck Alysia in the head. She blinked for a second as if she was processing what she saw, and then she turned to me, her eyes narrowing angrily. I gulped.

“Yes! Go, kill him!” the guide waved again, and Alysia’s hands turned into blades.

Alysia took a step toward me, and then another. She began to approach me, a growing fury in her eyes. I tried to pull from my chains. I tried to explain myself. All that came out were mumbles though. She reached me and raised her blade hand, and then swung it down.

Thump. Her hand changed into a fist, and she hit me in the chest. She lifted her other blade, and it turned into a fist, and then she hit me again.

“I-idiot!” She screamed.

She hit me again and again on the chest. Each time she hit me, her hits got weaker.

“Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!” She started to wail, tears falling down her eyes as she continued to thump on my chest.

She collapsed against my chest, crying her eyes out as she pressed against me.

“Wh-what is this?” The little girl cried out in confusion.

I managed to finally spit the gag out of my mouth. “Ow…”

Alysia looked up at me. “Why did you do that? Why…”

“Haven’t… you suffered enough?” I responded, not sure what else to say. “I just… liked seeing you smile.”

Alysia’s teeth clenched, and she grabbed the back of my head. Then she pulled me into an aggressive kiss. Although I was tied up in chains and couldn’t move and I didn’t have much of a choice, I preferred this over the other options.