Echidna dug a path to the surface. Tanuki peeked his head out of the hole. Chaos surrounded them from all around. The King’s tree burnt from the inside out, his withering leaves falling on the square like November rain. As his body grew weaker so did his power, and the villagers regained control. Tanuki expected they would revolt against their oppressor, but he underestimated the traumatic effect of mind control. The plantfolks cried and screamed in horror. A few guards regained their composure and tried to calm the rest, but they too fell in and out of hysteria. Some villagers tried to flee but quickly fell to the ground. As their maker weakened, so did his creations.
Two groups formed amongst them. There were those who did not try to resist the King’s will. His loss of power hit them the hardest. Those belonging to this group could barely stand, some could not even speak but drool as they lay motionless.
But the other group, those whose eyes bore the most grief and guilt, those who tried to resist, even if only just a little bit, possessed enough autonomy to remain standing. Their defiance cemented them as more than mere pawns of a power-hungry dictator. They were sentient and unique beings. In some way, they rose above the role of a mere summon and earned a rank somewhere between those and fully independent NPCs.
They were few but significant, with villagers such as Six and the shopkeeper strengthening their numbers. Unfortunately, as much as he had hoped the opposite would be the case, Hundredth was not a part of this group.
Though she was the most unique amongst plantfolks, her willful ignorance of the King’s wrongdoings and readiness to fall in line without questioning her leader diminished her sentience. She had the most distinguishable appearance and personality, but she fell victim to the lies and exploits of her father. Even as her underlings fled from the tree, validating Tanuki’s accusations, Hundredth would not hear of it. She was far too deep in her sea of insanity to see the beacon of truth penetration through the dark. Even if she could meet its guidance, she would never follow that path, as it would directly contradict everything she knew about the world.
She leaned against her sword for support and pushed her knees off the ground. Tears flooded her mask as death as he listened to her father’s agonising pain.
“I have failed you,” she cried and attempted to approach the King. She could not, for as soon as she stood up, her legs gave away and she collapsed. It was only when she saw Tanuki climb out of that hole that the thirst for blood returned to her eyes, giving her the power to push forward. She waddled forward, raising the sword above her head. A weak but passionate battle cry left her mouth.
Tanuki saw the incoming attack but did not step away. Instead, he simply shook his head.
“You’re still too blind to see, aren’t you?”
Her mind was clouded by anger to realise his words carried two meanings. One she would never accept. The other she would not see under her feet. When she got in range to stab, the earth disappeared below her feet and she fell into the same hole Tanuki climbed out of.
Her howl was that of a crazed tiger as she clawed against the dirt. She wanted to climb out, but her arms were too weak to support her weight. Despite that, she refused to give up. Though futile, rage poured oil into the fire in her heart, and her eyes, for she could not see they lost the war minutes ago.
Tanuki tried not to look at her for too long. It pained his heart what she had become. Rather, he turned his attention to the one responsible for all this.
The tree towered above him, but as his crown turned bald and branches fell, Tanuki knew it would not be like that for long. The King cried quietly. He did not have the power to scream anymore. To Tanuki’s surprise, despite all the beating he took, he had no health bar. Still, he knew he would not remain for long amongst the living.
“Hey! Can you hear me?” he asked loudly to grab his attention.
The King continued to wail, ignoring him.
“Perhaps you just need a little motivation,” Tanuki held onto the staff with both hands, “Well, be my guest!”
Two thick balls of acid sprayed the tree in rapid succession. The King howled loudly in pain at first, but then it transformed into something more sinister.
A laugh.
“I did not expect you would have it in you,” he said with unexpected mock. It put off Tanuki a bit, but he welcomed the consequence of his actions. The King would finally listen.
“I have a question for you. I saw a strange vein-like thing at your roots. I’ve also seen that in the nestmen cave, attached to their spawn. I want to know why you would keep the enemies of your people alive,” he added, “You don’t strike me as altruistic. Far from it.”
The King groaned in pain, then answered with clear hostility. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Tanuki was not up to playing games. He raised his staff and blasted the tree with another spray of deadly liquid.
Strength returned to the King’s voice as he howled in pain. The acid burnt the upper layer of his trunk, digging itself deeper as it erased all tissue in its wake. Tanuki’s cold-hearted approach worked as the King was ready to talk again.
“You are… truly one of the worst I’ve ever met. Did you feel smart when you connected the two in your pitiful brain? The nestmen are not just evil monsters who terrorise the poor villagers! They are also a part of the experiment. It is my duty to ensure that they have all needs met to partake in the race. And I did a good job until you trespassed into their lair, breaking the sacred rules by inviting one of those idiot guards and throwing all natural progression off balance!”
His words did not fall on deaf ears and Tanuki would not let him end it there. By what breadcrumbs he accidentally dropped, Tanuki could piece together that he knew more than what was assumed.
“Experiment? What experiment? Who tasked you with that duty?”
“Nature is governed by a hierarchy that dictates all life. In that, there are the weak and the strong, but ultimately, only one species stands atop this pyramid. The purpose of this experiment and my existence are one and the same, to find the apex of all creations! How can that be done? By struggle! The fight for survival is the fight for glory. They who win this war shall win the universe itself!”
“And who tasked you with this? Who is your boss?”
“You’re a curious one, Hachiro Tanuki.”
His entire body froze as if an alarm had gone off. It took him a moment to realise it, but when he did, his entire existence filled with terror.
He never told the King his name.
“How?” was all he could ask, but the King knew exactly what he wanted to say. He did not answer but laugh, his voice raspy from the wounds. Tanuki tried to pressure an answer out of him, but the King took delight in this play and would not give him what he wanted.
Eventually, Tanuki had enough and raised his staff. At that moment, roots burst through the ground and tried to take it out of his hand. Though the King was weakened, he put the last of his life into this surprise and proved an equal strength to the boy.
“Let go!” Tanuki pulled as hard as he could, then heard it.
A snap.
His eyes burst wide open as a broken piece of wood flew by his face. With the last of his power, the King destroyed his staff.
The roots retreated into the ground, taking the other half with them. Tanuki was too slow to stop it. He grabbed the remaining half and tried to cast acid, but it would not listen to him.
The King laughed heartily at his small victory, but that joy turned into pain as the acid burnt something vital within. He groaned in pain, but barely any voice would leave him anymore.
Tanuki snapped out of grieving for his lost weapon as he realised, the King was not much longer for this world. He ran up his roots up to the stone that blocked the hole within its trunk. He needed to get to him, he needed to meet his real self inside to get the answer he so desperately needed.
“Hey, answer me! Who is your boss? Answer me, damn it!”
The King could not speak but wail. Amidst the cacophony of villagers screaming, even what little words he could mutter were too quiet.
A hole finally burnt on his side. Tanuki took his sword and poked the hole open, ultimately tearing by hand the melting wood to finally see what lay inside. He expected to see a person or the last Pretender, but there was nothing within. Just veins that led into the earth’s core. Heartbeat echoed from down there, sickly and slowing.
Tanuki finally understood. The King was not the tree nor someone within. The king was the entire dungeon.
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Tanuki felt speechless.
The villagers grew louder as some died with seemingly no explanation, making the others even more scared for their lives. Hundredth was the loudest amongst all, but unlike the rest, she cursed and screamed threats.
Then finally, the King spoke.
“I have failed you, Mother…”
“What?” Tanuki jerked his head back to the hole.
It took him a moment to finally realise, the King’s heart stopped beating. With that, a message appeared.
[ Dungeon cleared ! ]
[ The portal home has opened . This instance will close in 59 minutes 58 seconds . ]
[ Return home to receive rewards ! ]
Tanuki stared at the message, then back at the villagers. Chaos surrounded him from all sides. He knew the village of Yosh would soon be no more. With the dungeon closing, it would all disappear, and all the people he befriended would return to the empty void of death, their last emotions being grief and terror.
As the tree burnt away, a young girl’s smile appeared on the other side. Brown hair covered her eyes. She wore a school uniform, one familiar to Tanuki.
Her voice was sweet, it bore no malice but pity and comfort.
“Is this what you wished for?”
Tears filled Tanuki’s eyes.
“No. I just wanted to help them and become their friend.”
“Why? You know what happens when you try to get close to people. You hurt them. Yet somehow, it’s always you who feels deserving of pity.”
“But I thought this might be different!”
The girl softly laughed. “I always appreciated your creativity. You never learnt how to differentiate reality from your imagination. Perhaps in your mind, you believed you could save the day, and they would all worship you as their special little boy. Then, you’d finally feel loved.”
“That’s not true!”
“Forget that. You know your worth.”
He covered his eyes to hide his tears. His breathing grew heavy under the weight of guilt.
“Don’t be sad about the truth, Tanuki. Some things cannot be changed. There may not be any medicine for your illness, but remember…”
Her smile did not waver as she said it.
“You could always just kill yourself.”
Tanuki froze. He felt as if his soul had left his body and he was looking at the world from above. Divine realisation dressed him in epiphany as if those words lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders.
He fell silent for a few seconds, contemplating the meaning of this feeling.
“I can’t,” he whispered.
“And why is that, silly?”
“There are some people still counting on me.”
“Wake up, Tanuki! They’ll never love you!”
“Maybe. But that does not mean I shouldn’t help them,” he retorted. A sense of duty embroidered his eyes as he looked up.
The girl had disappeared.
A timer counted down in the corner of his vision. He had fifty-five minutes until the dungeon’s collapse. Not much from the village could be taken, nor were there any strategic resources to be salvaged.
The trees and grass withered away with the King’s death. The world turned a deathly shade of ash, all life disappearing with the colours.
Tanuki focused his attention on the remaining villagers. He climbed onto the King’s remains to address them.
“People of Yosh! The tyrant King is dead and with him, this world of conquest will collapse! All of you who remain here will die or be erased from existence. But it does not have to be that way! Follow me and I will take you to my world. I promise I will not put you in harm’s way nor will I attempt to take away your free will! Any of you who want to live, come with me! Raise your hand and I will escort you to the portal!”
Upon hearing that, Hundredth yelled even louder. “No! As your Queen and new ruler, I order all of you to remain! Anyone who tries to follow the Pretender will be put to the sword! Guards, kill anyone who raises their hand!”
“Try that and I will kill you,” Tanuki pointed his sword at the guards.
They did not take him seriously. When the shopkeeper raised his hand to express his stance on Tanuki’s side, one of the guards jumped up from the ground and drew his blade. It was not the boy who killed him, however, because before he could have easily stopped the guard, Six thrusted his sword through the guard’s head. The corpse fell to the ground, and after he sheeted his blade, Six too raised his hand.
“At your service, Hero.”
A soft smile curled up on Tanuki’s lips. Five more raised their hands. Two were a husband and wife, the other a widow and her child, the last an old man.
Seven plantfolks sided with Tanuki. It was more than he had anticipated, but still too few compared to the village’s entire population. All the guards and remaining villagers remained sitting and followed Hundreth’s order.
Nothing more could be done for them, and Tanuki had finally come to accept it. Helping the shopkeeper stand up, he began his march to the exit.
As he passed by the hole, Hundredth stopped him.
“You will regret this, bastard! I will come for you! I will take your head and parade it through the village! I will tear you apart limb by limb and hurl your remains into the void!”
“Waste of meat, I’d say,” Tanuki shrugged.
“Watch your mouth! You just made the worst mistake of your life by letting me stay alive!”
A sigh left his mouth as he shook his head.
“You’ve already died, Hundredth.”
He did not stick around to listen to her cursing. Gathering those who volunteered, he left the village. Her voice echoed through the fields even from afar until finally… it disappeared.
The way led back through the nestmen area from where they had to traverse the forest. The earth quaked by the time they got to the woods. The different gravitational pull of the sides disappeared, and large stone chunks rained upon the bridge. Fortunately, none had hit them.
Eventually, they arrived by the portal. Because it hung above the bridge and it would have been inaccessible otherwise, a ladder materialised below it. When Tanuki looked up, he could see the blue sky of his world. Assisting the plantfolks, he made sure everyone got through before he left.
When only he remained, he stepped onto the ladder but stopped. He looked back at the path they walked to get here and waited.
The earth moved next to him and a mole’s nose stuck through the soil. Echidna put his head through and greeted him with a joyful tone.
“Bonjour!”
“Will you come too?” Tanuki reached out to help him onto the ladder, but Echidna pulled away.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse, sir! Indeed, your people may be few, but in what little time I’ve had the misfortune to rely on you, I’ve found your survival skills to be quite exquisite. Much better than that of those who remain here, at least.”
“Thanks, but I don’t see why that would be a problem for you.”
“Oh, but that is the biggest problem for me! Tanuki Sir, I wish for nothing more than a peaceful life underground. The constant tremors caused by the villagers’ sedulous footsteps would bring me nothing but headache and bad sleep! I’d rather remain here. I am no gambler, but if I had to bet, those who did not go with you would soon not have to worry about watching step. Or breathing, for that matter.”
Tanuki tried not to think about the implications.
“Because the dungeon will close, right…”
“Not just that. Without a master, they are nothing but worms with four limbs.”
“That’s pretty racist.”
“I’m a mole. Why would I care?”
“Fair enough.” He formed his next question with careful thought. “Now that the dungeon closes, what will happen to you?”
He put up his little mole paws in a sign of lacking clues. “I don’t know! But truth be told, I don’t care. I just hope wherever I go, it’s going to be quiet there.”
Tanuki did not want to leave him behind, but there was no way to get him to follow. If he could be sure of Echidna’s death after he leaves, he would have felt awful, but leaving his fate ambiguous somehow felt even worse.
Echidna nodded with satisfaction. “That’s it then. Goodbye, sir!”
“Wait!” Tanuki stopped him before he could burrow back into his hole. Echidna poked his head out.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Thank you.”
Though he had not been with Tanuki since the beginning of this trial, or game, or whatever it was, he knew that that thing on his face was special. For the first time in what felt like ages, Tanuki smiled truthfully.
Echidna looked away into the distance. He wavered for a second.
“Sir, do you remember that when we first met, you asked me what it is that I oh so want?”
“Peace and quiet,” Tanuki answered, having already heard it at least twice.
“That was not the whole truth. There is something more that keeps me here. It’s dumb, but… When I arrived, I heard a female voice. She was not speaking to me, and I did not hear the other person, but I could piece together their conversation. She talked about putting me into this world to see if I could best any of the big monsters. The other person must have been displeased because she scolded him for being so close-minded and negative about my presence. Despite that person’s insistence, she defended me. She said if I have even the smallest chance to win this race, I should be granted that right to try.”
His eyes moved as if that conversation was replaying in front of him again. Finally, he turned to Tanuki.
“That was God. God said she believes in me. She is the only one who believes in me, but she does, and I don’t want to fail her! Even if the road ahead is veiled with uncertainty, I cannot give up on her. I want to make God proud of me.”
There was a moment of silence as Tanuki tried to process all of it. Ultimately, he knew only one thing deserving enough to be their final goodbye.
“I believe in you, Echidna.”
The mole did not know how to respond. He nodded and burrowed back underground.
As soon as he disappeared, Tanuki’s smile faded. He looked back at the road with a sense of emptiness. Thoughts raced in his mind of what could have been. Perhaps there was a way to save everyone. Perhaps there was not.
There was only one path ahead and it led upwards. All he needed was the courage to try and climb it.
- - -
She heaved in and out. Her screaming hurt something within, but because she had no real throat or vocal cords to hurt, they were her eyes that bled.
In her blurry vision, she saw a tiny root grow out of the soil, right in front of her.
“Father?” she wanted to touch the root but quickly pulled away. Something was at the end of this root. Through a small self-inflicted wound, a watery liquid dribbled.
She knew instinctively what to do and leaned ahead, pushing the root into her eye socket to absorb more efficiently. As it got so close to her brain, the root lunged deep and tore off, attaching to her floral nervous system.
Hundredth cried out in pain and itched her skull, tearing off her flowery hair. She continued until a voice spoke to her.
“My girl, listen to me very carefully!”
“Father?” she asked, but the voice continued.
“I will not remain for long in this world, so listen very carefully! You must carry on what began in this village. Only you have been bestowed with my boon and I believe you can climb to the apex of creation with it, so long you learn to embrace all of it.”
“Father, I do not understand! What do you mean by boon?”
“Hundredth. It’s not only your name that’s special. You were the hundredth creation I helped manifest into this world. To celebrate that milestone, I gave you a special ability, but you’ve never learnt how to control it. I cannot teach you now. My powers are growing weak, but I promise you, and I promise this with all my heart, I will be here. Every time you drink water, I will purify it to help you regain that boon even after my fall.”
Hundredth quivered. She knew not what to say, so she cried, and she cried her heart out. With his final words, the King said one last thing.
“I never imagined you would learn to use it against another of my creations, even if subconsciously. It’s a truly remarkable feat. Although I blame my death on your carelessness, I cannot help but feel proud of you. But I wish you hadn’t expended your power before the False Hero turned on us…”
Hundredth’s eyes widened. She called out to her father, but he would not respond. The last of the King’s consciousness faded. He was gone, only a piece of him remaining inside her brain.
She cried tears and blood born from the stale wine. It ran down her mask and onto her chest, where it was again absorbed. This time as it ran through her system, the King’s remains tainted the water with his will, giving a piece of his blessing. Though it was too little to make a difference, it was not for nothing, for when the King’s blessing regained its source in her heart, a silhouette of tall horns and black armour flickered over her, feeding the dormant god sleeping in her unconscious.