The next morning, I woke up bright and earlier. It was just like the old times, when we would wake up early, fight in a dungeon until evening, and then rest around the mansion. Except for this time, I was sending Celeste away and going on my own.

“You don’t need to worry,” Alysia reassured me. “It’s probably not that bad.”

I had been able to cure that man of the karmic infection he had received. Furthermore, I wasn’t going to hide my appearance with Elaya. Once she saw my face, she would likely fall over herself trying to get an apology for everything she had done. I relocated Xin to the unfinished palace and tasked Astria’s fairies with taking care of her. They would keep her asleep for the moment.

Until I could reconnect with my Xin, it was best if she didn’t suddenly become coherent again. I still worried that I had missed something and Demon Lord Aberis had left some kind of piece of himself inside her so that he could once again return. That demon was a cockroach.

After seeing Celeste fly off, I opened a Portal just outside of Chalm. As soon as I looked down on the city, I let out a hiss.

“What is this?” Alysia asked in an alarmed voice.

Looking down into the city, it was completely blocked by a giant purple dome. It resembled the dome that the priests had put over the city back when Karr’s dungeon had taken over. Now, it was my dungeon that had caused all of this harm. It gave me a complicated feeling as I thought about it. Dungeons inherently hurt the world they existed in. They were cancerous sores, taking in the world’s mana and then corrupting it. Trying to control one and use it for your own gains came with risks.

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I had thought to control such a dungeon. I had convinced myself that it was tame because it was mine. However, that tameness had been dependent on me. When I died, that miasma flowed out of control and consumed Elaya and the city. Astria had barely managed to escape. Even if I hadn’t died, I was someone who took risks every day. I entered other dungeons and fought people. What about the future?

I was only human. Astria, Celeste, and many of the other girls would long outlive me. Inevitably, even in the best of circumstances, I would die. Was dealing with a dungeon simply too much risk? Was it always going to end in such a bad way? Even if I could undo the damage this time, what about the next time? What about when I grew old and died? I didn’t want my legacy to end with my city being wiped out by my own creation.

“You have that look on your face again,” Alysia said.

“You can’t see my face.”

“I can feel it. You’re thinking you made a mistake with dungeons.” Alysia was starting to understand me more and more the longer our souls were bound like this.

“Did I?” I asked wistfully.

“For the longest time, I only thought dungeons could be destroyed. You taught me that dungeons could serve a purpose, that the curses could be turned into blessings.” Alysia spoke. “This dungeon may be a curse now, but I have a feeling that as long as Master is involved, it will one day become a blessing.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Then, let’s make another happy ending.”