"Crystal, can you stack the corpses for me?"

[Of course,] Crystal's voice echoed in my mind, and the corpses magically piled around me into a neat pyramid shape. The stench of death and decay was thick in the air, a nauseating blend that clung to my clothes and filled my nostrils reminding me of our time in the sewer. The faint, echoing drips of water from the dungeon’s ceiling punctuated that feeling, amplifying the oppressive atmosphere.

I approached the Aerlynt orb, pleasantly surprised that I had gathered enough materials. The orb, a powerful artifact capable of amplifying magic tenfold, was crucial for my goal of escaping this cursed dungeon.

Opulent Oasis Aerlynt 1 of 6

Name

Amount

Effect

Description

Gail the Gaoler

1

This is a gaoler. She keeps prisoners in line.

A stern and formidable guard who oversees the prisoners.

Thomas

1

It’s Thomas! Exciting!

Ever notice how he dies a lot?

Klericho

1

It’s Klericho! *jazz hands*

He dies a lot, too, so it's no wonder they never beat this floor.

Thumbs

1

It’s your minion!

He finds stuff!

Thurible

10

Releases Fragrant smoke creating a calming effect on the prisoners.

A censer used to burn incense.

Gaol key

25

Opens a cell in the gaol

Its a key. Do I really need to explain keys?

Pot

10

Stores various items

This is a clay pot used for storage.

~Keep away from Link.

Thumbs

1

It's a goblin!

He’s your minion, remember?

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Thomas and Klericho appeared in a heap. I hadn't even noticed when Thumbs died during the chaos of the previous room's battle. Thumbs, the little goblin appeared, waving his tiny dagger about before he put it away to chase after the remaining Coal.

My contentment wouldn't last, but I was glad to have a little piece of it. Now that Thomas and Klericho were awake, it was, unfortunately, time to start planning the next run and end this one. I didn’t like that it had to be this way, but I was wasting time.

The relentless battles, the endless strategizing—each step forward felt like dragging my feet through mud. Sure, I was gaining death boons and loot, but I had a stockpile of over a hundred. There was no discernible reason to keep up with this run other than getting a feel for the rooms.

Thomas must have seen the look on my face, so he approached me, his tone light and friendly. "What's on your mind there?”

“I want to get more loot, but I’m more focused on whether it is worth continuing. The loot on this floor has been impressive, but I am concerned about the value of trying to clear more rooms, knowing that no matter what happens, I can't kill the boss this run. It seems like I may be better off ending things prematurely here and—"

“No, stop your train of thought now. The dungeon has ears.”

“Well, I know that, but—”

"No, lazy trains of thought like that lead to negative consequences."

“And me giving up on a run is so bad? I’m just taking a shortcut to get ahead.”

"If that was your real reason for doing it, that might be okay. But no, you are just being lazy, wanting to get out of doing something difficult. Therein lies the sin of sloth. Rest is necessary, and laziness is a good thing when the body and mind need rest, but when you shortcut that rest—when you shortcut doing what you need to do to be healthy—"

“Very wise, Thomas," Klericho cut him off with a sarcastic lilt to his voice. "If the kid wants to kill his chances at leaving this place, let him. He's already ruined Rellum's plans."

Klericho’s constant badmouthing was wearing thin. Our rivalry stemmed from me getting marked by Aurentum, an event I had no real control over. I could see the resentment in his eyes, a constant reminder of the price we all paid. "I didn't—" I started speaking, but I was cut off as a member of the big three casually strolled into my day. This time, it was one I hadn't met.

Then, time froze. Malikap, one of the big three, materialized before us, his presence warping reality. His grotesque form split the very fabric of reality. He stood on his broken tripod; limbs splayed like gnarled tree branches. His torso sprang upward in two halves, split by a weave of solid darkness. His face radiated malice, so much so that it physically pained me to look at him. I averted my eyes.

"Anger. It is such a beautiful thing, especially when it is righteous. The anger of those justified in spilling blood and spewing hatred always tastes so delicious, like burned grease or melted fat on bread." He smacked his mandibles in his grotesque, misshapen jaw, and I had to look away again to stop from gagging. For a god of justice, he never seemed very just to me. Evil sometimes came in awful packages, and clearly, he fit that perfectly. Everyone new Malikap was the worst of the gods.

He clicked his mandibles again and tsked. "You were warned again and again, boy, not to trifle with me or my domain, and yet here you sit under my watchful thumb. Like grapes so fresh and plump for the picking. Your head so full of misplaced rage I could pop it right now." To emphasize his point, he pinched his thumb and forefinger together. I felt my whole world condense in pain and agony, my vision shrinking as if he had actually pinched my head like a grape.

I grasped at my staff poking out from behind my back. I knew it would do me no good here, but all the same, it brought me a bit of comfort.

"Relax. If I was here to end your run, there are easier ways than freezing your teammates. In fact, I'm here to help you. The other gods think they are so crafty. But leaving you unclaimed for so long will be their undoing." His offer was like the Blaze my father was always taking. I could feel the temptation to wield it, to swallow it, and its empty lies of pleasure, but as soon as I did, I knew that its tort would never end. Malikap started laughing. A mad, barking laugh that was loud and made me feel small. His mandibles clicked, punctuating every part of it.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

"This isn't an offer, boy. It is a gift. You can never refuse a gift from a god. Especially not in here." He snapped his fingers, and time unfroze. At that moment, his mandibles unhinged from his jaw, his head swelled, and he enveloped Bones 1, crunching down in one solid gulp. As bone 1 died, the other two faded away.

I blinked, and Malikap vanished, too; confusion overwhelmed me, and I dropped to my knees. Twice in one run, a god's promise of help had only plunged me deeper into peril.

I could easily resummon Bones if I tried hard enough, but the amount of work getting the sword strikes to be that powerful again would take a conscious effort.

"What was that?" Klericho asked, his voice tiny and quiet. Blood had drained from his face, leaving him looking rather corpse-like.

"It was Malikap," Thomas spoke before I could respond, and we were both taken aback by his rather bland delivery. "Rod here has hit the first threshold of Wrath. Look at the mark on his arm."

I looked down, and there was a tattoo on my forearm. It was a curved, serrated dagger surrounded by spiraling flames from the center. In tiny pinprick letters, the word wrath was spelled in blood-red letters along the flat of the hilt.

The clumsy man's observation startled me. He had always seemed so goofy, but now, I saw a glimmer of faded intelligence in his eyes. "Well, go ahead and scan yourself. See what kind of 'reward' you got from him." He spat out the word reward like rotten food he had somehow taken a bite of.

I cast a scan, immediately taken aback by what I saw. Then, a grin crept across my face. Deep down, I knew I should be purging these sins to survive the dungeon, but so far, the perk seemed worth it—despite a god killing my best pet.

[Malikap's Domain of Wrath. Generates a domain around the user. Allies within the domain get 5 points of potency or insight per permanent sacrifice to Malikap. For every attack made while this domain is active, a 5% health drain is applied. Permanent sacrifices made: 2.]

My grin at the 10-point stat boost quickly faded as the realization hit—I had permanently lost Bones 1 and another of my pets. I looked around, my heart sinking.

Squawk, Otto, Coal 3. All were fine. The only one missing was.

”He killed Thumbs!” The small goblin had been clinging to Bones 1. Now, both were gone, victims of the monster's ruthless hunger.

I froze. Poor, sweet, innocent Thumbs was gone. Forever. Instead of rage, a hollow, cold emptiness settled within me, as if something was irrevocably wrong with the world and my place in it. Like nothing would ever be alright again.

I slunk down to the floor and cradled my head. I hadn’t had the minion for long, but he was a part of my team. How could Malikap be so cruel? And nones 1 had been my main damage dealer. I had no idea how I would deal damage now. I walked over to where the sword lay on the ground. Tears welled at my eyes, but I shook my head. I wouldn’t let the god and their petty games stop me.

"All right, if idleness spells danger, let's clear the rest of this floor, amass a trove of loot, and return stronger in the next run."