“A…soul world?” I asked in wonder. “Does that mean my soul is the dungeon core again?”

“Not exactly,” Elaya responded. “The dungeon core still exists within the dungeon, but it now is connected to a soul aspect, particularly, your soul. There is an entrance to your soul world within the dungeon now, which is how we get here. Furthermore, your connection to the dungeon now means you can pull on energy from the dungeon, even from a great distance. That’s what you did when you absorbed that dungeon just now. You opened the door to your soul world, and energy flowed through it. Normally, it might have taken years for your soul world to grow to any significant size, but because you absorbed so much energy so quickly, you were able to quickly expand it to this size.”

I rubbed my head, still trying to wrap my head around that idea that I was currently within my own soul world. “Why is my inventory here?”

“Ah… well, as you know, inventory is a space created within your soul. In a way, you could call an inventory a primordial soul world. Those who have an inventory find it to be quite small, and naturally, they can only touch it, not enter it. Furthermore, other living beings can’t exist within it. Now that you can access your soul world, you’re entering a massive inventory, in a way.”

I frowned as something occurred to me. “If living beings can enter my soul world, and the entrance is in my dungeon, does that mean people can just walk into my soul world?”

Elaya made an awkward expression. “Well, you see, your soul world entrance is the dungeon core. If someone gets a hold of your dungeon core, there are more troubles than just them entering your soul world. However, even if someone tries to enter your soul world, you can deny them entrance. You set the conditions of entry. We were only able to enter because we are your slaves.”

I slowly gave a nod. I supposed it did make sense. When it came to the Illusory Sword Dungeon, no one was able to enter the dungeon unless they met specific conditions. Both dungeons and souls were essentially lore or a story of the past. Dungeons were cursed lore, built up of fragments of memories from the departed, but they were still essentially the same thing. It stood to reason that they could connect like this.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You know… I’m here too…”

“Ah! Alysia?”

“Hmm? Isn’t that the Osterian general?” Miki asked.

“Ah… she’s my sword now, but you’re in my soul world too?”

“Usually, when I’m inside your blessing, I remain in a dark place devoid of feeling,” Alysia explained.

“Isn’t that really terrifying?” Miki cried out.

“I’ve gotten used to it.” She shrugged. “However, once this world formed, I ended up here. I actually… feel normal in here. I don’t dislike this.”

“Wait! You’ve been here all along? You mean when master and I… we…”

Alysia glanced away. “I’m getting used to that too.”

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, you were saying a soul world exists in the dungeon master, and the entrance is the core?”

Perhaps that was the relationship between dungeon masters and the dungeon. It was usually the case that you had to defeat the dungeon master to access the dungeon core, while the dungeon core was the access to the soul dungeon. It was a strange kind of relationship that kept both protected. Perhaps, this was why a dungeon core wouldn’t reveal itself until the dungeon master was defeated. It had to do with this link.

“Well, as you can see, you can enter your own soul world as well. This is your space. You can change it, build it, store things in it, or even bring people to it. Eventually, you may even be able to manipulate time, weather, and life energy.” Elaya explained. “In time, you’ll be able to control the energy within it, modifying it just like a dungeon.”

“If we’re in my soul world, does that mean I’m still in Dioshin?” My eyes flashed with worry.

“Your physical body has already been resurrected in your bedroom. Miki’s physical body was resurrected here, with yours. Those bodies in Dioshin would have disintegrated by now. This is not a good thing, Master. In fact, I imagine your strength will be growing exponentially thanks to this change.”

There was one major weakness though. Although I was a dungeon master now, both in title and job, I didn’t remain in my dungeon much at all. Thanks to having a god soul and the ability to convert mana to miasma and back, I didn’t need to remain in a miasma environment. Without me there to protect it, that delicate balance was upset.

“We need to come up with some better ways to protect my dungeon.” I declared.

Elaya’s eyes brightened. “We should! Let’s return!”