Demons didn’t move at the same speed since I could use safe rooms and Portals. Although, after making my army surrender, the army started heading back to the Capital, it was still a week before I could see the Demon Castle in the distance. I had seen it before, but never this close. This could be said to the be the closest I had ever gotten, and the only way I had managed it was by fooling the dungeon into thinking I was a part of its narrative.

I wasn’t sure if the dungeon saw me as a threat. I was trying to change the narrative, not complete it, so it was anyone’s guess if this upset it. It was even kind of strange thinking of a dungeon as a living thing. It was a curse, a blemish on the world, yet it also could create incredible things. It wasn’t clear if dungeons were truly alive or had any true awareness beyond acting and reacting.

However, that didn’t matter, because the Dungeon Master did have the capacity to react, and he had to be aware of not only the damage I was doing to the narrative but my attempts to wrestle the dungeon from his control. At this point, nearly 35% of the dungeon was in my control. That might not seem like much, but every percentage I took made the dungeon that much weaker.

The area around the Dungeon Castle was desolate. I had been expecting some Capital city dedicated to demons, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. Quite the opposite, it seemed like all life was repelled from the dungeon, creating a ring of deadness. This resembled the wastelands on the maps much closer. I wondered if the demon castles corruption was allowed to spread for untold years if the maps were telling the truth. Unless I traveled up north, I wouldn’t know the answer.

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The demon commander dragged me into the dungeon. I was still in contact with Garnet, but we had both prepared for the possibility that our connection would be severed once I entered. I left one last phrase.

“I’m going in now.”

“Okay.”

That was the last exchange I had with Garnet. There was no response after that. I could still feel her general direction, but she was far too distant to pinpoint now. I was on the inside. While this meant I no longer had contact with her, it might also mean something else. Without showing any change in my demeanor, I brought up my Map, and that was when I saw a familiar dot for the first time in what felt like ages.

I could see Carmine in the castle. Since we were officially in the same location again, then I had contact with her. Hopefully, the last week while I was steadily approaching the castle, she hadn’t given Bernard or the Demon King any signs I was coming. As I continued to follow the commander, I decided to see if I could contact her. The worst that would happen was that I would hear silence.

“Carmine! Are you there?” I sent the message and waited for an answer.

I had expected an immediate response when I sent her my message, so when a minute went by, I had to wonder if the entire demon castle prevented a signal, or if Bernard had done something to Carmine herself to block me. Then, I suddenly heard her voice, although it was quiet and full of uncertainty.

“Who are you?”