"Of all the parties I've ever watched in a Dungeon," Volzaminat says after I finish incinerating a spider and its webbing, revealing a hidden passage off of this cavern. "Not a single one had the ability to send two people off to do something. Not due to numbers, but because of how ridiculously versatile the two of you are. You especially, Caleb. Having Kyron provide backup for you only increases the stuff you can handle, but it seems to me like it's simply because of your own casting abilities and your current might and Mana capacity and regeneration. Another 5-10 Levels, and you wouldn't need him to help you."

"That's because you aren't watching Caleb go at a hundred percent effort," Kyron tells him. "He's at about twenty percent right now."

Volzaminat scoffs in disbelief, but it's understandable that he'd not believe us. I'm already demonstrating a level of skill beyond what a mage at my Magic would ordinarily have. My ability to use all four elements due to being Master-Tier or higher, my immense Mana pool, my natural talent for magic, and my ability to adapt to magic needs rather fast makes me extraordinarily versatile and dangerous. When adding on my ability to read the battle in a way no one else can due to my knowledge of the Truth, I become that much more powerful.

I really could handle this stuff on my own – Kyron helping me just makes it easier and ensures I need fewer rest periods.

"How far until the lava golem?" I ask.

"Nearly there," Volzaminat answers. "There aren't any monsters in this tunnel, and it will take around ten minutes of walking to reach the lava golem. That's some time to rest and recover."

As we walk, Volzaminat tells us about the cavern the lava golem is hiding in. His descriptions have nothing on the actual appearance of the area, though. The cavern is fairly large – over three hundred feet wide and about two deep, and is about sixty feet in height. Though most of the caverns we've been in so far have been largely empty except maybe some terrain issues, glowing crystals that light the way (but are worthless once removed), some monsters, and maybe a few resources to harvest, this one is anything but.

Stalagmites and stalactites are semi-abundant here, I can see a few deposits of magic crystals that would fetch a decent price for even a fifteen-strong party at this Dungeon's level, mosses and fungi grow here and there, and there's even lava grass growing in here. Standing in the very center of the chamber is the ten-foot-tall lava golem, and are two streams of magma flow in here, separating the chamber into three sections.

Even though this is a Dungeon, that is real magma, which means that it emits toxic fumes as well as providing additional heat and light for the chamber. An advanced air magic technique allows for filtering and producing clean air, and it's something we both learned before we died, and which the spirit doesn't have to worry about.

We rest outside of the chamber to recover the rest of our Mana, with a barrier of air created by me to keep the air clean. Otherwise, Kyron wouldn't be able to breathe if he wanted to actually recover his Mana.

Once my husband has recovered his Mana, he conjures a bubble of air around his head to act as a filter. It will cost him a little bit more Mana per second than he recovers, but it ensures he can breathe in the chamber after he passes through my barrier. A frosty breath escapes Kyron's lips only two steps into the chamber.

"Two questions," Volzaminat says. "First, how are you two not hot? Neither of you are using the tricks I usually see others use to counter the heat in lava-heated chambers like this. Second, how did his breath just fog up? The air bubble he's using to breathe isn't altering the temperature. Three questions. Third, how is Kyron going to be able to beat that on his own?"

"To answer your first one," I tell him. "We're manipulating our Mana within our bodies to protect ourselves. Using raw Mana manipulation for something like this is possible for people with a primary element of fire or water and allows our bodies to resist extreme temperatures. For water or ice, it keeps their bodies cool and grants them resistance to the cold. For fire, it keeps their bodies warm and grants them resistance to heat. As long as it's not too extreme, I can't be burned at all right now."

"So that is how those parties did it," he mutters. "Always wondered."

I refrain from snorting. He's seen this trick before, he just didn't know what it was and couldn't just ask the warriors and mages without revealing himself to them.

"To answer your second question," I reach up and scratch behind the spirit's ears. "That aligns with the answer to your third. Kyron did not earn the title of 'Saint of Frost' for nothing, Volzaminat."

"Huh?"

"There's a difference between drawing my sexual attraction," I say. "And drawing greater interest from me. Only Kyron has drawn my attraction as a potential partner for romance, and he alone held the ability to become my husband."

"I don't follow."

"Kyron is not an ordinary swordsman," I say as another frosty breath escapes my husband, this time, a buckler made of ice appearing on his left arm. "You're right in that I could handle this place by myself, though it would take me longer to do so than when working with Kyron. My abilities often overshadow my husband's by the very nature of how much more skilled with magic I am."

Another frosty breath escapes Kyron's lips, and a sword made of ice forms in his right hand.

"But he is not without skill of his own," I remind the spirit. "You are about to witness the power within the Saint of Frost, the expert magic swordsman who helped to end the Great Demon War."

Kyron points his sword out and down to the right, and moves his left arm in front of his body, as if to shield with it the buckler as he continues to slowly approach the lava golem. Then, my husband brings his right arm up and over, creating an arc in the air. Frost trails behind the sword of ice, and he enters the lava golem's aggression range just as he completes the arc.

The beast reaches forward with both of its hands, and a pair of [Lava Bomb]s form in the air just as six more swords of ice form in the frosty trail. Kyron pulls his right arm back, his left arm moving to the side a bit, then he thrusts his sword forward, as if pointing at the lava golem.

The six additional swords of ice soar forward, meeting the [Lava Bomb]s before they can get close enough to affect my husband. Two of the ice swords detonate the [Lava Bomb]s early while the other four weave away from them to avoid being melted. Kyron launches into a series of strikes and slashes, sending [Ice Arc]s at the lava golem as his swords react, darting forward or back with his movements.

As the remaining four conjured swords begin to wear away from striking at the lava golem, a frosty aura forms around Kyron, stretching ten feet in all directions. The four floating conjured swords are used up to stop [Lava Bomb]s, while Kyron's [Ice Arc]s and occasional [Ice Strike]s projected from his shield help stop the rest of the golem's attacks.

Every few attacks from Kyron manages to hit the lava golem. They seem ineffective, and likely would be due to Kyron's current Magic, but my husband is the Saint of Frost. He's building up for the end of the fight.

Once his [Aura of Frost] has formed, Kyron's every spell of conjured ice after is colder, more durable. It lasts longer against the lava golem's heat. He conjures more [Ice Sword]s to help defend and attack, wielding them just as expertly he did the first six.

One of the [Lava Bomb]s manages to escape being detonated, and Kyron's [Ice Shield] shifts, growing from a buckler into a tower shield. His shield sizzles and evaporates some as the spell hits it, but holds together. Kyron's actively repairing it even as it takes damage from the [Lava Bomb], and once the flow stops, the lava cooled, Kyron returns his shield to a buckler.

Then the frosty aura around him shifts, 'bursting' into snow that quickly grows in volume until the chamber is seemingly filled with a blizzard. Due to the high winds of the blizzard and the amount of snowflakes that are filling the chamber, some of it even escapes into the hall that I'm standing in with Volzaminat on my shoulder.

Amusingly, the spirit sticks his tongue out to try and catch some of the snowflakes.

My husband's blizzard is intense enough to decrease the view, but we can still make him out from time to time. Him and the lava golem as it attempts to use [Lava Bomb]s and [Lava Jet]s to take down my husband and to put out the blizzard.

"The [Blizzard] spell is a Mana-intensive one, isn't it?" Volzaminat asks after about thirty seconds. "Especially since he's maintaining control over a larger space than normally possible? Isn't your husband being a stupid there?"

"No," I admire my husband's muscular back. "He's finishing the fight."

My husband suddenly shifts stances, standing with his shield aimed at the lava golem, his body perpendicular to it, his sword up beside his head while aimed forward.

The blizzard immediately stops, the snowflakes still in the air halted, suspended. It's quite the beautiful sight, especially with the parts of the chamber still visible poking through.

Then Kyron lifts his sword into the air and all of the snow he'd conjured that hasn't melted begins to pull toward him, swirling in a vortex around him. We can barely make out my husband, who then slashes downward with his sword. The snowy vortex suddenly bursts forward, turning into a thousand swords of ice as they shoot toward the lava golem.

Though the beast attempts to summon lava to defend itself, my husband's blizzard already cooled it quite a lot, and the swords of ice move quickly enough to pierce through its defenses where they hit. They also cool its body quite a lot more.

A moment later, my husband slams into the lava golem with his shield, which sizzles and steams against the beast's molten body. He then draws Frezamikat, a frosty aura forming on the blade right before my husband thrusts it into the golem's chest as his shield finally gives up existing.

"Lava golems take time to heat back up," I walk into the chamber, dismissing my barrier as a bubble of air forms around me to enable safe breathing. "It does tend to be a little on the fast side, but it also consumes Mana from them to do so. Repeated cooling attacks, especially fast ones like Kyron was doing, can overwhelm its ability to heat back up. On top of that, the beast needed to defend itself and attack, to try and kill its attacker."

"Consuming more Mana," Volzaminat says. "The purpose of the blizzard wasn't just to obscure the vision of the lava golem, it was to help rapidly cool down its body. At the same time, it conjured much of the ice needed for the major attack, which hit it in spots that had cooled too much, while adding in a cooling factor internally."

"Correct," I nod as water forms to either side of me, before shooting to the lava streams, spreading across them and cooling them down. "And that allowed Kyron his final attack. What he lacked up for in Magic, he made up for with the golem's natural bane."

"Are you able to carry this on your own?" Kyron shows Volzaminat the golem's core. "Or should I keep hold of it until we leave?"

"I can't shift it while we're in here," Volzaminat says. "So if you don't mind, please carry it for me. That was impressive, setting up multiple attacks like that."

"Very sexy battle," I tell Kyron.

"Any experienced magic swordsman would do that," Kyron says. "Setting up attacks and plans in advance is magic combat tactic basics. Would you mind taking care of the air?"

I nod, and the bubble of air around me rapidly expands, filling the entire chamber. The cooling of the lava streams will be permanent, at least, when going off of my past experiences with similar chambers in other Dungeons. That means that with the air cleansed by my magic, we won't have to worry about the toxic fumes.

"What now?" Volzaminat asks.

"We'll loot the chamber," I reach up and scratch behind his ears. "Then set up camp here for the night. Tomorrow, you'll take us to the other one, which I'm assuming is most easily accessed through a hidden cave in the mud pits with the metal snail? Also that it's the same strength as this one?"

"Indeed."

"Alright," I say. "Depending on how that goes, that might be all we do tomorrow. The next plan is to get stronger to take on the Secret Bosses. I'm assuming those are stronger than the lava golems? Or are they about the same strength?"

"There are two of them," Volzaminat says. "I haven't seen others fight them very much, so I'm not a good judge of their abilities."

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Secret Bosses are typically stronger than normal monsters around where they are, but still weaker than the Dungeon Boss, even if by only a point or two if they're in a stronger area already. They're also often in rather hidden areas, which is why they're called "Secret Bosses". Most of the time, they're also abnormal, no matching the other monsters in the Dungeon in form.

Kyron and I start harvesting stuff from the chamber as I poke the spirit for more information. As it turns out, he really doesn't know much about them. Both have the same form, which consists of a spherical metal shell that's split into eighths, wrapped around a flaming core. The shell can move outward, move around the core, and completely encase the core, but usually just float around it, connected by streams of fire and electricity. Reddish-orange lines streaked across the surface of the metal, not quite in the forms of enchantments but nearly so. When completely encased, the Secret Bosses are around fifteen inches in diameter, though they're usually about twenty-one when the metal is floating outward.

All three times Volzaminat has seen someone fight one of the Secret Bosses, two to four rings or three-inch spheres of fire would often form around them, rotating around the creature while shooting out [Fire Bolt]s. The beast could use [Fire Beam], a more intense, more concentrated version of [Flamethrower]. On occasion, the creatures would also create a powerful inferno around them.

That last one is probably a defensive measure rather than an actual attack. Most monsters also have tells when they're going to use attacks and defenses, especially ones as simple as this one. While the spirit doesn't really know this monster's tell, I wouldn't be surprised if it uses the inferno if someone gets too close to it, or if it pulls its shell in for defense to defend against attacks. The orb-ring thing probably has some significance as well.

"If you're stronger today," Volzaminat says once Kyron and I finish gathering resources and setting up our camp. "Why would taking on the metal snail and other lava golem take you all day tomorrow? You could just go there and wipe it out."

"We could," I say. "But we have to do things smartly. We'll do some grinding tomorrow, too, in order to boost us a little bit more."

"He says 'do things smartly'," Volzaminat mutters. "Yet he went to a spirit who hates him."

"That was to apologize," I remind him. "And based off what I knew about you and other spirits like you-"

"There are no other spirits like me!"

"The apology should have been sufficient," I say. "Had I known that you wouldn't accept the apology and instead want me dead, I'd have acted differently. More specifically, I'd have made preparations for dealing with your anger. And gotten a little stronger first."

"Oh, yeah?" Volzaminat says. "What kind of preparations would you have done?"

"Specifically?" I ask. "I'd have located Ervezinmak and made sure to have that on me when I approached you for the apology. Just in case you went hostile instead of simply accepting or acknowledging it. The information I had on you said you were more reasonable, however, so I hadn't felt it was necessary to do more than bring you a pretty decent lava golem core as a gift for the apology. Should I have not been able to locate Ervezinmak, then I'd have simply made a new one."

"Cay," Kyron's frowning. "Why did Volzaminat start looking both worried and confused the moment you mentioned the name of an item I've never heard of before?"

"I don't know what that item does," Volzaminat looks at me. "But I know the ancient form of your native tongue well enough to know it's nothing good."

"The ancient form of his native tongue?" Kyron asks.

"Caleb names all of his magic weapons based on an ancient form of his native tongue," Volzaminat says. "Frezalmikat is a variant for that version of 'the Ice Storm', just like the accompanying title to it. 'Novabodos' is a variant of their term for 'Sun Blast', though I think that represents more what his original intent had been for that weapon."

"Yeah," I nod. "It was originally just supposed to be a high-powered [Fireball]-type spell, but I kind of went extra on the weapon. Decided to keep the name because I liked it."

"You 'went extra' on a super-powered [Fireball] and turned it into the most powerful magic weapon in existence, which can use and empower any spell and which casts the most powerful area-of-effect spell I've ever known of," Kyron says in disbelief. "That's not just 'going extra', Caleb! That's going absurd!"

"Eh," I shrug, and my husband groans as he buries his head in his hands. "I did give it an accompanying title to be more clear about what it does, though."

After a few moments, he looks at the spirit.

"So what's the translation of Ervezinmak?"

"If I'm adjusting it back into the ancient variant properly," Volzaminat says. "It translates into 'Calamity'. Caleb usually names them off their purpose and magic, and I doubt he'd name something that if it didn't cause exactly that."

"That wasn't its original name," I admit. "I changed it after the one and only time I ever used it. The original name was a misguiding, anyway, and the spear's description doesn't match what it actually does."

"Like the amulets?" Kyron asks. "Why? Didn't you only do that when you felt it absolutely necessary to conceal the truth?"

"The spear cannot affect people or monsters," I say. "Nor can any of the magic channeled through it."

"How is that even possible?" Kyron and Volzaminat ask in unison.

"It passes right through them," I say. "The spear is… not fully material, and it can't affect people as a result."

"What's even the purpose of that, then?" Kyron asks. "And how is that a calamity?"

"What is a calamity," I say. "Is the effect of what the spear can do. The spear is a weapon which can be wielded by people… and which can harm spirits."

Both Kyron and Volzaminat are staring at me in silence, shock on their faces. Almost no one knew that such an item could be made, and I kept it a secret from my husband, too. I made it during a two-week-long period we weren't around each other about a year before the war ended. It wasn't something I made lightly, and in fact, making such an item was one of the few things I had actually resisted the urge to do without any prompting from others.

"Considering the gods haven't mentioned it to me," I say. "Either they disposed of it after our deaths, or it's still sealed away where I hid it after using it. The reason I renamed it was because… using it resulted in the Blazing Wastes."

The Blazing Wastes are a section of land a hundred miles in diameter, the ground itself completely scorched and eternally aflame, but also completely flat, devoid of the hills it once held.

Motes of reddish-orange light float in the air, burning any who come into contact with them, and flames flick through the air as well. Motes of greyish-white light float in the air as well, ripping apart those who come into contact with them with the force of a thousand winds. The air itself is difficult to breathe, thin in some places while heavy in others

An eternal wind blows throughout it, the motes and fires unaffected by it. Infernos flare up at random, blazing through an area before dying out, the flames on the ground where they passed more intense for a time.

I've never told anyone what caused it, though there was plenty of speculation it was me. Based on information I gathered, the Blazing Wastes still exist today, though the origin of them isn't even a myth anymore – nobody has any tales of what might have caused their formation.

They also don't know that there used to be four Dungeons there. The disappearance of Dungeons was major news a thousand years ago, so I suspect the gods interfered at some point to make people forget.

Killing a spirit destroyed Dungeons. That was a massive surprise to me.

"So it was you," Kyron finally says. "How did a spear that could harm spirits… that's what happens when a spirit dies?"

"Yes," I nod. "Their body… bursts across the land, permanently scarring the landscape. It would have killed me, had Ryzavin not yoinked me out of the way. The spirit had gotten out of hand and needed dealing with. I tried being peaceful, but… well, it was better off for everyone that he were dead. Since the gods didn't oppose me creating that weapon, I knew it was acceptable. Once it was over, Ryzavin told me to seal the weapon away.

"Since none of the gods told me how you'd react," I tell Volzaminat. "I'd expected you to be more accepting of my apology. They knew of my plan, and would have warned me against coming to you if they expected your reaction. I'm not surprised Nizkovi was annoyed with you by how you reacted, because it's clear you acted contrary to their own expectations."

"So if you'd expected him to still be angry and to threaten you," Kyron says. "You'd have retrieved a weapon that could intimidate him."

"I wasn't going to kill him with it unless necessary," I shake my head. "But poking him a few times probably would have calmed him down."

Volzaminat tries to respond to that a few times, but settles and just huffing and hopping off my shoulder before curling up next to the fire. He doesn't seem annoyed, though.

"Where did you seal away the spear?" Kyron asks.

"I created a sort of shrine-temple for it," I answer. "With some rather intense protections. I reshaped the terrain to completely hide it as well – you can't access it unless you break through layers of stone. A miner is more likely to run into it than a random person, but since I put it somewhere remote, I doubt anyone actually did find it."

"The Shrine of Calamity," Volzaminat says. "It was found by a spirit not long after your deaths a thousand years ago. The place gave them seriously bad vibes, so they avoided it."

A thought comes to me.

"Volzaminat," I say. "You're in a more true physical form right now, rather than your spirit form's 'I'm physical when I want to be and all attacks pass right through me regardless' deal. I've not really known of spirits able to do this, are you able to be hurt? You were opposed to me cutting off some of your fur, before."

The spirit stands and walks over to me.

"Cut off some of my fur."

"You sure?"

"Just do it," he huffs.

I conjure a blade of compressed air and slice off some of Volzaminat's fur… which disappears form my fingers in sparkles of light as it regrows on him.

"I'm fully physical here," he tells me. "But any parts of me that are removed return to me. I can feel pain similar to if I get into a tiff with another spirit, but it quickly fades. If we sustain enough damage at once, we return to our spirit form. In a Dungeon, that's not possible, so we end up booted out."

The way he says that…

"You tested it just to see what would happen, didn't you?"

"As if any monster in a Dungeon like this could ever hurt me!" Volzaminat puffs up his chest and proudly holds up his head. "They're all inferior to me!"

"You just can't get any loot from them," I say. "So you need people to get it for you."

"Yeah," he answers, then narrows his gaze at me. "How did you make such a spear as Ervezinmak, Caleb?"

"I forged a special metal," I tell him. "That I call 'spirit steel'. You know the spirit motes?"

"How could I not?"

"I took those from some greater spirits," I say. "Pure, powerful, raw essence of spirits, of fire, of water, of earth, and of air. I combined them together as I forged the alloy that became spirit steel. It wasn't an easy task, but it's still one of my greatest creations. If I had to compare it with Novabodos… I'd say they're about equal in terms of craftsmanship, but Novabodos is still the superior weapon."

"And spirit iron doesn't harm people?" Kyron asks.

"I suspected that might happen," I tell him. "And confirmed that it didn't with a few tests."

"How were you able to forge it, though?" Kyron asks.

"Yeah," Volzaminat frowns. "It shouldn't be possible to mix spirit with mundane, not like that. Spirit steel is an impossibility, and I doubt the Truth enabled you to do it."

"You know the Truth?" Kyron asks.

"No," Volzaminat shakes his head. "Much like dragons and powerful mages, I only know a fragment of it. I've heard that Caleb knows the full Truth, though. The fragment I know relates to spirits, and it shouldn't be possible to mix spirit materials with mortal materials."

I try to think of a proper explanation for things, and Kyron snorts.

"Caleb's scratching the back of his neck," Kyron comments, and I realize I am and quickly move my hand to my lap. "Which means the explanation isn't something he can easily do."

"Let me try something," I say. "If it fails, then I'll stop immediately. Be prepared for pain, however."

"Pain?" Kyron asks. "What's going on? You're normally more 'suddenly doing something else' when you don't want to-"

"It's not that," I say. "It's just that-"

I've barely gotten a few more words out after that before stopping, Kyron crying out in pain as he covers his ears, head tilting back as his body nearly spasms. Even Volzaminat is affected, whining as he covers his own ears with his paws, his tail moving around faster than I've seen it move so far, his entire body wiggling. A few minutes pass before my husband and the spirit have recovered.

"Fuck!" Kyron exclaims. "What was that?"

"He started to tell the Truth," Volzaminat says. "That is what happens when it is simply given to someone not able to accept it."

"Not able to accept it?" Kyron asks.

"Yes," I nod. "There's a reason different beings can learn different fragments. True mages all learn the same fragment. By the time they actually uncover that fragment of the Truth, they've already reached the point – in body, mind, and soul – that they can handle that particular fragment. There is an actual perspective change in our entire being which allows it. The fragment relates to magic itself and how it works, the very basis upon which it exists and works."

"That's why true mages are always exceptionally skilled," Kyron says. "They've actually found out the truth behind magic."

"Yes," I nod. "And being able to handle this fragment is what allows us to handle magic the way we do."

"So how did you learn it?" Kyron asks. "The Truth, I mean. How old were you? How were able to handle the Truth?"

Instead of answering, I let myself fall backward so I'm lying down instead of sitting, and I stare at the ceiling. Volzaminat "whispers" to my husband that he was wondering the same thing.

"The avalanche from before," I say. "The one we mentioned before, was to interfere with my attempt at teaching you the truth by having you discover it. The pain thing happens if we attempt to directly state it, so I'd thought maybe I could force you to speed up being able to handle things. In hindsight, that wasn't really the best of ideas. There's a reason almost no one knows the truth."

"You're saying the universe puts a stop to it?"

"I'm saying that the universe protects people from it."

"…protects?"

"Yes."

"So it's dangerous?"

"You have noticed how different we true mages are," I sit back up and meet his beautiful gaze. "The full Truth has affected me even more. I can't just sit still. Even now, I'm running ideas through my head, planning items to make and a skyship to craft. I'm not exhausted enough to just sit here."

"Well, then make something," Kyron says. "And you're doing a bad job at trying to change subjects, Caleb. You're normally better at it than this. Usually, you just whip stuff out and start working."

"It's not that," I say. "I'm trying to figure out how much I can tell you. Or how much I should tell you. To be honest, I wasn't actually able to handle the Truth, when I discovered it. The method that enabled me to learn the full Truth, however, changed me to be able to handle it."

"And what method was that?"

"I learned the Truth by peering from the Abyss of Reality."

"Which is… what, exactly?" When I don't answer, Kyron looks at Volzaminat, who shrugs because even he doesn't know. "Cay?"

"I literally can't tell you without your mind blasting apart," I say, and my husband frowns a little. "An explanation of the Abyss of Reality – even simplified – would directly reveal the full Truth. And now, we should probably drop the discussion because there's nothing else we can talk about and I really want to start doing something else. Something more… active."

"Sex?" Volzaminat asks.

"No," I pull some items out of my ring. "Going to make something."

"Why not have sex?" Volzaminat asks. "That's much more active and I know you're wanting it. It'd definitely give you other stuff to think about while being active, too."

"Because I want to make an item and I never have sex in a Dungeon."

"Weirdos."