They walked through the fortified entrance,, ready for a fight, but what they got instead was a normal-looking neighborhood. Well, normal wasn't exactly the right word for what spread out in front of them.

"Wow," Ted whispered.

Monica had to agree. The city of Viscera opened up beneath them like some crazy architect's fever dream. The whole thing was carved inside a cave so massive she couldn't even see where it ended. Buildings stuck out of every surface - not just the ground, but the walls and even the ceiling. Giant stone bridges connected everything, creating this insane spiderweb of paths going in every direction.

"Viscera," Ted said, still staring. "The city inside Mount Titan."

“That’s the name of the mountain?” Monica raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Ted nodded, still not taking his eyes away from the constructions of stone. There was a weird, natural luminescence that allowed them to see without the need for natural light. When Monica raised her eyes to the ceiling, she saw a massive globe made of crystal irradiating everything below, acting like a miniature sun.

Monica turned to the others and saw Dotty's jaw dropped when she spotted some buildings that looked like they were growing upside down from the cave ceiling.

The whole setup shouldn't have worked, but somehow it did.

"That's the work of very high-level Stonemasons and Stonemancers," Sir Tristan said, sounding impressed.

The weird thing was how clean everything looked. No dust, no decay - just pristine streets and buildings that looked like someone had been maintaining them this whole time.

Then they saw the first "statue."

It was a dwarf, frozen mid-step with this surprised look on his face. The detail was insane - you could count the hairs in his beard if you wanted to.

Then they found another one. And another.

The first square they had gone through after crossing the gate was filled with them - dwarves just going about their day, turned to stone.

"These aren't actually statues, are they?" Monica asked, already knowing the answer.

Ted shook his head. "During the war with the Old Gods, the dwarves were... changed. All nine of the original races disappeared after that. All except humans."

"How'd that happen?" Monica asked, looking at a stone kid who'd been frozen laughing at something funny.

Nobody said anything. They just looked at each other.

"What's with the weird looks?" Monica frowned.

Ted cleared his throat. "It's, uh, it's the work of the strongest Old God. The scariest thing that ever existed."

"Who?"

"We don't say her name," Sir Tristan said. "It's bad luck. They say every time someone speaks it, she gets stronger."

Monica looked around at all the stone dwarves.

What kind of power does it take to do this to an entire race?

They moved on, looking warily around, expecting to be attacked at any time. However, Machina’s creations were nowhere to be seen at the moment. No, there were only the stone dwarves all around them.

It was a depressing sight like few others. There was something more than melancholic about seeing dwarves caught in such mundane activities. What would have been meaningless at any other point in the history of dwarves—who had been the greatest Blacksmiths, the greatest Architects, but also great Bards and people who knew how to enjoy themselves—felt consequential, to say the least.

There was something profound in seeing so many small acts: a dwarf raising a hand to salute a friend, a mother wagging her finger in her child’s face, or a man lending his arm to his older father who was using a cane to make his way down the paved road. All these things felt sad and austere. They subdued the group, who could just look around and, with much reverence, avoid touching those statues.

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

The dwarves were a little shorter than common humans and stockier, with long beards that in many cases reached up to their bellies. Their women were more plump but also beautiful. All in all, the smiles of the people of Viscera transmitted warmth and love.

Monica stopped in front of a small building where, through a window, she could see a baker standing over the counter, caught mid-knead with nothing under his hands. The dough had probably rotted away and turned to dust by now.

“Where are the Blacksmiths?” Monica broke the silence.

“I think they would be below the residential district,” Ted said.

“Why?” Monica was confused.

“For the same reason, she’s probably at the lowest level. Mana,” Ted said. “Smithing in the presence of denser mana would have led to better results for magical weapons.”

Monica nodded pensively.

“If I had to guess,” Ted added, “I would say that Machina is most likely around the throne room. If the legends are true, it was carved from pure Mana Stones.”

“Mana Stones are usually used to power enchantments, and they can be infused with magic. To make an entire palace of Mana Stones—well, that sounds like dwarves, and it would be priceless.”

"Do you think all these dwarves are still... alive in there?" Dotty asked quietly, her hand brushing against the stone surface of a young dwarf who had been frozen mid-laugh.

"Don't touch them," Monica said sharply, pulling Dotty's hand away. "We don't know what kind of magic did this. For all we know, they still are."

Ted nodded.

"The legends say they are,” he explained. “Condemned to live in stone.”

A heavy silence fell over the group as they contemplated the horror of such an existence.

"We need to find a way down," Monica said firmly, pushing aside the dark thoughts. "Ted, you seem to know the most about this place. Any ideas?"

Ted adjusted his mandolin, scanning the architecture around them.

"Well, dwarves are usually built in circles. Everything would spiral down toward the center. We should look for the main thoroughfare – it would lead to the lower levels."

"There," Heidi pointed toward a wide avenue that seemed to curve gently downward. Unlike the smaller streets they'd been walking, this one was lined with large pillars of crystal that shone light upon it.

"Were Dwarves good at enchanting gems too?" Monica asked, examining one of the crystal pillars.

Ted shook his head. "Actually, that was the Elves' domain. They were the best enchanters in history, despite not getting along with Dwarves at all."

"Really? Why not?"

"Ancient rivalry," Ted explained. "Elves believed in working with nature, letting magic flow naturally through materials. Dwarves believed in conquering nature, bending it to their will through forges and tools. Stuff like that.."

"All the other races did," Ted said quietly. "The Elves, with their immense knowledge of magic and enchantments. The Merfolk and their vessels capable of controlling the tides. The Dragons, who—”

"Dragons?" Monica interrupted.

She might not have memories of her past life, but even she knew about Dragons.

"One of the nine," Ted confirmed. "They weren't just giant lizards - they were people, in their own way. Scholars say they could take human form when they wanted."

“Why didn’t Humans disappear?” Monica asked.

“All the remaining New Gods are Humans,” Heidi explained this time. “That’s why. There were Nine Human New Gods, four of which died. Each race had their own deities, but they all died in the conflict against the Old Gods. That’s how the Church of the Healer explained it.”

“That’s what I know,” Sir Tristan chimed in. “Humans had more Gods than any other race. Dragons had six. Dwarves had one. Merfolk, none. Elves had five, but only one of them was a combatant. Humans, the most populous race, were the ones with the stronger and more numerous Gods.”

“Good for us, I guess,” Monica said, finding the others looking at her.

“What?” She asked, confused.

“Dude, you’re not exactly…” Ted let his words drag.

“I’m not a what?” Monica still didn’t follow.

“A human,” Dotty chimed in. “You’re, like, sort of a God.”

“An Ancient Beast,” Heidi corrected Dotty. “So, not technically a Human.”

“Heh, whatever. We look the same. I’m just prettier than you,” Monica told Heidi, then turning toward the main road.

“So, are we safe for now?” Monica asked Ted, who seemed to have an answer for everything.

"The deeper we go," Ted shrugged, "the more likely we are to run into trouble. Machina's probably got her strongest creations guarding the lower levels, especially around the throne room. For now, though, it should be chill."

He'd barely finished speaking when a sharp metallic skittering sound echoed off the stone buildings around them.

Monica's hand immediately blazed with the Obsidian Flame as three giant mechanical spiders burst through the windows of a nearby building, their metal legs clicking against the stone street as they landed. Each one was roughly the size of a big dog.

[Corrupted Spider Construct - Level 80]

[Corrupted Spider Construct - Level 83]

[Corrupted Spider Construct - Level 87]

“Dammit, Ted,” Monica swore.

But then, she heard a notification ringing in her head.