As I flashed back to reality, I was increasingly concerned about my parents. Every memory made less sense than the one before it. Had my father, really, once been kind to me? Or was it a manipulated memory just like the one of their deaths? I knew he had been an Archer once. What had happened to him?

I stared at my dust-covered feet, not wanting to face reality, not wanting to know the truth, just wanting one more moment with that version of my father. Come on, keep it together.

[Rod, are you okay?] Elizabeth asked me, breaking me from my reverie. [You should loot the Aerlyntium. It’s just standing there, menacingly.]

I wiped my eyes and looked up. Thomas and Klericho were idly chatting, keeping one wary eye on me and one on the Aerlyntium as if it would do something harmful if I approached it.

As my hand touched the pulsating blue of the Aerlyntium, the orb floated up and started to consume the entire wasteland that used to be the entrance bazaar. The blue spiral of a tornado sucked up spices, and clay, and metal, and wood, and even the corpses of people caught in the battle against the werewolves.

[You have received Entrance, Night Aerlyntium 1 of 6. You have received Spice Merchant X 4. You have received an entrance light x 5. You have received a Guard post. You have received spices (mixed) x 5. You have received doorway x 2, Spice table x3, and merchants shack x2. You have received consumer x 10. You have received butcher x 2. You have received Fletcher x 1. You have received food depot x 1. You have received the following raw materials. Gold x 150,000, Wood x 60,000, You have received Silk Fabrics x 20 bolts. You have received Wool Rugs x 10. You have received Copper Utensils set x 3. You have received Tim X 1. You have received Tim’s pet Hamster-dog Timothy the Second X 1. You have received Tim’s House X 1—]

"Stop, okay? Woah, I get it, Elizabeth. I picked up an absurd amount of wealth here." I said, staring at the parchment in front of me with a level of disbelief unmatched by anything I had encountered, and I had seen a rat circus. Even though she stopped talking, the parchment continued to list item after item after item that the Aerlyntium had picked up. "Did I just plunder the entire city? Does this mean it will be empty when I return? Because that's not good.” Sweat covered my forehead as I furrowed my brow. “I just messed up big time, didn't I, Elizabeth?"

[Well, you didn’t make it easier. That’s for sure. But I have a sense Rellum knew this would happen at some point. Why else would an Aerlyntium appear here? ]

“So you think that Rellum knew this would happen? And he still let all of those people suffer and everything?”

[Even Thomas knew this would happen, and he's practically married to the idiot ball. If you think about it, this was almost guaranteed to happen.]

"It's going to be a pain replacing the whole city," I groaned, hiding my growing furor over Rellum and the things he let happen. I imagined pulling up the building frame and placing items individually. It would take me days, if not weeks, to fix this entire zone. Elizabeth spoke up just as I was about to give up and curl into a ball at the unimaginable boredom my life would soon become.

[Stop being such a drama queen. Even if we had all 6 Aerlyntiums right now, this wouldn't take nearly as long as you are panicking about. There are mass-placement settings and a repeat action setting, though I wouldn't use that immediately. You can shape this area, all areas, to meet your needs. Or to meet the needs of the people living here.]

"But what if I place something in the wrong location? Won't they get mad?"

[Sure, but how on Penance would they realize it was your fault?]

"Oh. They won't, but how will I ask them their preferences?"

[There's this magical tool that you should consider. It's more powerful than any tool in the dungeon. It will get you all of the answers you seek here and then some.]

“What? What is it?”

[Talking.]

~~~~~Later~~~~~

It took us half an hour to place down all the locations I had received and the people to whom they belonged.

When I placed the spice merchants, I spotted three big problems. First, there were only three shacks for four merchants and three tables.

“What do you mean my shack was destroyed?

"It's okay. It will be fixed eventually. You just need to be patient." Thomas glanced towards me, but I nudged his foot to encourage him to keep going.

"Just be glad you survived. The other people won't return until the reset, and who knows how long that will be." He stared at the man's faded, pink Crystal. It was sad how some people gave up on their quest to learn what happened to them.

"Oh goodness, you saved me from Reset sickness? You'se a real one. You is." The shifty-looking merchant was relieved, and I was happy we didn't have to spill my secrets. I had always had secrets on earth. Perks of the Trade. Thievery was a very introverted and secretive trade.

It didn’t surprise me that the train of thought led to a memory core descending from the sky. I grabbed it and didn’t even bother waiting for a prompt before I said, “Yes.”

{Memory core 16/???}

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

~~~~~{Memory Core 16 Start}~~~~~

It was an hour after leaving my bizarre meeting with the Princess. I had no idea why royalty wanted to talk to me, and I felt exposed. I held my cloak against myself, trying to blend into the shadows and away from this unsettling feeling. I rattled down the hallway and slipped the ring onto my finger. For some reason, it was a lustrous gold scuffed in a single spot like it had been scraped against rough castle walls. There was an inscription around the inside of the ring, but It had to be in a different language because the letters made no sense to me.

The ring was magically warm on my finger, and I was tempted to take it off. The ring was probably cursed, knowing Royalty the way I did. My father had once worked for the royal guard, but in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and fell from grace after he lost his ability to use a bow. Things had been great for the first few years of my life. Always taking, never giving. Always wanting more and more.

~~~~~{Memory Core 15 End}~~~~~

I wasn’t sure how long I had spent staring off into space as a memory overtook me, but the merchant had walked away, and Thomas and Klericho were looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked, their sly grins making me uneasy. Thomas opened his mouth as if to speak, and then his crystal pulsed, and I heard his voice instead.

[Good day, lad. I am Maximillian Bonaparte the 4th. It is time we have a talk.]

“W–What, How am I hearing you?”

[That’s a long story, but it isn’t important right now. Let's get to somewhere private before we start divulging the god’s truths in broad daylight.]

~~~~~Klericho’s House~~~~~

“It’s that simple? Why make a big show then? Surely you can’t be serious?” I said, staring at the Crystal. The big secret was that Rellum had decided his Life Crystals would be able to talk to anyone that Rellum trusted. That was it. I felt like he was trying to pull one on me.

[I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.] Elizabeth chimed in. I looked at her funny, trying to hide my confusion.

We were in Klericho's shack again. It was one of the few buildings that had survived the battle unscathed. Primarily because we were preventing it from taking damage, but still.

"Are the wards up?" Thomas asked, sounding sharp, alert, and completely different from the dimwitted idiot he'd been since I met him.

"Enough that Aurentum could still see through but likely won't come searching. The fact that it uses Malikap's signature instead of Rellum and is designed to keep Rellum out should mask our conversation." Klericho had changed, too. Gone was the soft, gentle smile, replaced by a grim and stern expression.

“Anyone mind telling me what’s going on?”

[Allow me, gentlemen. It is me, Maximilian. I am the leader of this Penitent group. Rellum himself left me in charge. Your Aerlyntium was specifically given to save us. We have an important task after all.]

“And what task is that?”

[Stopping you from freeing Aurentum, The Merchant of Death.]

"Wh-what? Why would I free Aurentum? Is he even real? I mean., I know this place exists, and I've seen Rellum, but that doesn't mean…" I stopped talking as I thought about the strange moment when I woke up in the fetal position. And the words were written down. Had it really been? Elizabeth had been strangely silent through everything so far, so I sent a thought through our link, asking her if we should trust them or just play along.

[I think they are telling the truth.] Crystal said, [There is no need to be wary here. I tested the wards, and it is essentially the same protection in place during your reset sickness.]

“Oh. That’s good.”

Thomas looked at me expectantly. And then Maximillian spoke, [We are at a critical point in the structure of this dungeon floor. And thankfully, you are here, Rod. The fate of the dungeon rests in your hands.]

“What? What are you talking about?”

Klericho chimed in, responding to my question, “You are marked. You have to be. Just like Thomas and I are marked by Rellum. You must have some sort of power that we don’t have, just like we have power that you don't. The final nail in the coffin was the battle we just had. You had way more power than I’ve ever seen a summoner have.” He paused, staring at me intently. “The eight base classes are balanced based on the powers of the Three Gods. Rellum influences the healer and fighter classes, specifically Cleric, Paladin, Fighter, and barbarian. Aurentum controls the magic and rogue classes, specifically Urchin, Archer, Summoner, and Mage.

[No one knows what classes Malikap influences] Max, the Crystal, said, taking over the conversation. [Additionally, Each god directly influences the dungeon in specific ways. Aurentum has the Death Market—]

I cut him off, “Death Market?”

[Yes, what is Death Market called? Where and how you spend your death boons. Rellum's Penitents gain access to the Life Market, and we can spend Life Boons.]

“What, how do you know about them? Every time I try to talk about them, weird stuff happens.” I glanced around the room, my pulse racing, waiting for everything to freeze. But nothing happened. Wards. That had to be why, I guess, they did work. “If you are aligned with Rellum, and I’m supposedly aligned with Aurentum, why are you telling me all this?”

[Because of the Aerlyntiums. They shouldn't exist. Once you are marked by a god, the others can’t touch you.]

“Rellum said I was never marked.”

Klericho and Thomas shared a glance with each other. “There’s no way thats right, maybe you misheard him?” Klericho said, his face souring into a frown.

“I didn’t mishear him. He said the only reason I can have access to the Aerlyntiums is because I am not marked.”

We argued for a few more minutes before I stood, heat radiating off of me as I paced the room to try and calm down. “This doesn’t matter. What do I need to know? Stop wasting time.”

Max spoke up again, [Penance is part of the spiritual realm. It is the path between life and death. Heaven and Hell. It is called different things in different places. Penance. Purgatory. Barzakh. The Astral. Gehinnom. The Medium Place. All interpretations of the same idea exist, though no one gets it right. But unlike the others, this place has become a prison designed to keep existence safe from Aurentum and Malikap. Here, their presence is held firm. Stable. But out there in the realm of the Living, their power would be catastrophic.] He paused, his scrolls unfurling with a neat black script.

[We all know the story of Elric, the founder. But he never actually escaped Penance. Instead, a friend of his stopped him at the peak and took his place. A man named Malikap.]

"Wait… What now? Malikap? As in the father of evil? The man behind the curtain of all monsters, big and small? He was the founder?"

[Yes, and then he built the grand cities of Equiem. He shaped the waterfalls of Rynerath. Plucked the World Seed from the Flower of the Heavens and created the Ever-Forest. At the crucible of existence, he met The One True God, the father of All things who built Penance and gained the Breath of a God. Malikip had never been meant to leave, but he was granted the ability and was allowed to shepherd humanity ]

"Okay, That's equal parts fascinating and terrifying, especially that he shepherded humanity… but what does Malikap have to do with Aurentum."

[I’m getting there. Just be patient.]