I had often forgotten that the lodge I lived in was customarily reserved for only the topmost upper echelon of society, aristocrats, and wealthy elites. Still, I was keenly reminded when I was led through several lesser-used twisting halls. They were decorated not just with lavish gold ornaments and expensive paintings and valuable gems, but I could sense laden within the walls themselves countless enchantments, all to prevent any from potentially tracking those who walked the halls, hiding them from prying eyes and magic alike. Walking down several flights of stairs into what technically was an underground bunker, the level of ornamental décor made it challenging to reconcile the fact, I was finally led toward a solid metal door, most notable for the dark black metal crisscrossing the door.
“Is that…?” Even as agitated as I was, I had to stop and admire the door.
“Ornnax.” The messenger confirmed. “What you’re looking at is probably the most expensive door in the world. It’s impenetrable and impervious to all forms of magic and can only be opened by those granted permission.”
I very nearly was tempted to give the validity of his statement a try, but I mentally chased the idea away.
“You’ll find your guest inside.” The messenger nodded toward the door before opening it for me. With little fanfare, I pushed the door open the rest of the way, entering the room behind it.
The room itself was surprisingly plain, a fancy polished desk, several cushy chairs, and that was it.
Well, aside from the man to whom my eyes were instantly drawn, my mouth turned down into a stern scowl.
“Ahh, Zero. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Last time we spoke, you were waiting on me, was it not? Though, I suppose, there was also the fact that you were chained to the table at the time, whereas I am completely free.”
As if to drive home the point, the guild master raised both hands, waving them at me.
“My sister. What did you do to her?” The words felt hot as they escaped me, my festering rage threatening to explode.
“Oh, that? Nothing, I just didn’t feel like having you skipping town trying to avoid meeting with me, so I sent along the implicate message I knew would bring you here.”
The realization that my sister was fine instantly drained much of the anger from me, leaving me annoyed that I hadn’t suspected the ploy from the start.
“So, what is it that you want? Surely you wouldn’t come here just to harass me, not after you’ve ignored me the last few years?”
“Straight to the point, I still appreciate that about you.” Dion waved at one of the nearby chairs, ushering me to sit. “You’ve avoided my company for the last few years because you made it a point of lying low. Zero, for all intents purposes, was dead. So, do tell me, what has changed?”
“The Honos Festum,” I answered.
“Congratulations on the win, might I add.” Dion gave me a smile I was sure did not mean well. “It was a sad day when Harris retired, but the incident with the Hollow that devastated much of his team broke him. It was nice to see he has retained much of his former glory, though.”
“You don’t like that I used the Zero alias.”
“Again, straight to the point. Yes. Color me surprised when I heard that retired former adventurer Zero was suddenly returning to fight a Honos Festum against Harris Flash Step. You could not have found a flashier return had you tried.”
“It wasn’t a return.” I corrected the guild master. “It was the only valid option I had before me. Had I represented myself, it would have been obvious that Professor Koor was the same person as Zero.”
“You realize that even with the efforts taken, some will divine the connection regardless?
“Yes, but a few are acceptable. It would have been worse otherwise.”
“Hmm.” Dion tapped a finger on the wooden desk, thinking deeply about something. “And you are telling me that you have no intention to return to the adventuring world?”
“Hah, I wouldn’t even if you paid me.” I snorted. “I’m happy to leave that life behind.”
“Good, then we have no issue. I must say, I am amused to hear that you went from a muscle-brained adventurer to a nurturer of knowledge.”
“Sure, right. This couldn’t have been the only reason you came here?”
“You really want to make no effort to bridge our divide?”
“You and I know neither of us cares to do as much.”
“Ahh, but appearances matter. But you are correct. I also came here for another reason, and with haste and secrecy I rarely rely on.”
“That is?”
“I have a problem, a problem I need someone I can trust to resolve.”
“You, trust me?”
Dion raised an eyebrow at me as if surprised that I was so surprised.
“Of course. Often it is those we detest that we can count on, for it is those reasons which will ensure that no erratic behaviors will occur.”
“I suppose I can see the sentiment.” I nodded. “So, your problem?”
With a sudden shift in tone, the man spoke with a degree of weighty severity I hadn’t heard from him before.
“Old Pine has recently shown increasing activity.”
“Old Pine… like the dungeon?” I stared at the man, confused.
“The very one and same.”
“What do you mean by increased activity? It was a cleared dungeon, was it not? In fact, I thought the meta-space that Old Pine occupied had collapsed in on itself?”
“No, that is merely the useful rumor we let circulate so none bother to investigate the old dungeon. Old Pine had nothing of overt value after its initial sacking; unlike your dungeon, which is rich with universally compatible dense forms of mana, Old Pine was considered only beneficial to those with an Aulous affinity.”
“As long as you have a mana core, you’d still be able to assimilate the mana, though.”
“Correct. Given your position as a professor of magic, I’d hope you would know something that basic. No, the bigger issue is with how far north it is; it is something of a nuisance to travel to. There was no good reason to let people believe Old Pine had any worth remaining, so the rumor that its meta-space had collapsed was spread. For years it has always been there, effectively a shell of itself.”
“Until recently, I presume.”
“You presume correctly.” The guild master sighed. “The meat of this story is we’ve been detecting tremors from the north, both seismological and magical. It didn’t take much to deduce the origin point.”
“And so you want me to investigate why.”
“Correct.”
“This sounds like a convenient way to eliminate me now that my ‘name’ has resurfaced.”
“Hah, no, if only. Unlike your dungeon, the level of threat Old Pine represents is static. Since it was previously cleared, it should be within your capabilities to travel the dungeon with relative confidence. Even alone.”
“Relative confidence?”
The man smiled bitterly, shaking his head. “Is anything in this world ever certain?”
“Fair.” I conceded. “So, I go to Old Pine and…? Snoop around and what? You haven’t given me much to work with.”
“The Dungeon Will,” Dion answered. “The vestige that lurks within the depths of the arctic dungeon, my fear is that, somehow, it has regained strength. A vestige by all rights is merely a shadow of what it once was, and even a vestige performing the role of a Dungeon Will should abide by that simple fact. If, somehow, that had changed, my fear is that this vestige may be gaining strength, shaking free the shackles of fate. You do understand the potential dangers that an ancient entity of great strength and knowledge emerging in the modern world could have, do you not?”
I felt a crawling sense of apprehension down my spine at his words, suspiciously specific.
He doesn’t know of the Sage Above All, does he?
“I can see the concern.” I instead answered. “So, find the Dungeon Will. Make sure it hasn’t gone rampant. What’s in it for me?”
“Does the general safety and stability of the country not mean enough to you?”
I held the man with an unwavering level gaze in response.
“Fine.” The guild master threw his hands up. “In return, I will…. Rescind the bans placed upon you.”
“I could care less about returning to my days as an adventurer.”
“Wiser than most.” The man chuckled. “But that was not the only ban. Your exile from Dunehold I will also rescind as long as you keep a low profile during any potential visits.”
If I can return to Dunehold, then I finally see her again!
It had been over four years since I’d last since Rosalina. My only sister, if not by blood, then at least by what she meant to me.
“You have a deal,” I announced, perhaps too willingly.
“Wonderful. As much as I may despise you, you are a rather easy person to work with when you decide not to be a difficult ass.”
Well, safe to say he still is angry about Iris.
It was a rather obvious observation, even if his cheery expression failed to match the feeling behind his words.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“When should I leave?”
“As soon as possible,” Dion answered. “Preferably today.”
“I have only a little over a week until class resumes. I can’t make it that far north in a week!”
“Which is why you will take this and present it to the Gate operator when you leave.” Dion deftly plucked a ring from his adorned fingers, presenting it to me.
“A signet ring.” I inspected the ring, a silver material with a symbol made of purple gem encrusted within the metal.
“I’m not surprised you know what it is, given how many notables you deal with now.”
Not actually how I learned of them.
But I wasn’t about to tell the guild master that. He had no need, nor did I have the desire, to explain that it was none other than my former master, the third star of Nochesuki, from whom I’d first heard of signet rings.
“When you present the ring, ask for ‘the cold closet.’ They’ll do the rest.”
“The cold closet?” My eyebrows turned upward until, a second later, I snapped my fingers. “There is a Ring Gate in the north, isn’t there? An off-limit gate, perhaps?”
“It’s close enough to Old Pine that we didn’t want the knowledge of an active Gate to tempt people into investigating whether the dungeon was gone like the rumor supposed.”
“Does it not strike you as odd that so many dungeons are close to Gates?” I spoke out loud, voicing thoughts without considering much who I was talking to in the first place.
The guild master didn’t seem to be bothered, instead shrugging.
“We have. While not every dungeon is near a gate, there has been enough of a pattern that we believe the original creators of either the gates or dungeons intended it. We can’t say for certain which came first, so we can only assume either gates were built near dungeons or dungeons were seeded near gates. Your dungeon being near a gate is the only reason it was found after all.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled, thoughts brewing but eventually brushed aside.
Only so much I want to share with him.
“Well, if there is nothing else, I best leave. Since I must prepare for a rather sudden… business trip.” I said.
“You need to work on your excuses, but yes, you should be going, as should I.” The man brushed off his finely tailored suit, a vastly different look than the cream-colored robes I’d seen him wear years ago. “I must be preparing for my own departure as well. I had to use rather… unconventional means to make it here with such haste and secrecy, and I’d prefer return before any catch wind of my being here.”
“How did you do it, anyway?” I questioned, unable to deny my curiosity.
“My own means that I will keep to myself. I don’t need my secrets to fall into the ears of the Eorial, of which you’ve made yourself a rather close acquaintance from what I’ve heard.”
My ears warmed, but I refused to show any sort of deferment or embarrassment.
“Well, farewell, Zero. Succeed here, and you will have my blessing to return to Dunehold whenever you please.”
Standing up, the guild master quickly left the small, secretive meeting room. I counted down from one hundred before I stood up; when I finally left the room, there was no sign of the man or the messenger.
Never can be easy, can it?
-------------------------------------
“He asked you to do what? And more importantly, you have a sister!?”
“Not by blood.” I reminded Scyla. “And I’m almost positive I mentioned her before.”
“Once and then brushing it aside hardly counts!” Scyla all but shouted before calming herself. “But yes, now that I think about it, you did mention it. I just forgot.”
“Wow, Scyla Eorial backing down. Something I never thought I’d see.”
“And Rook Baster turning up the sass. Hell really is freezing over, isn’t it?”
I scowled at her, but Scyla responded by sticking her tongue out at me like a child.
“Fine. Yes, my sort-of but not-really adopted sister, Rosalina. Met her on the very first time I was away from my master. She was being used as part of a ritual of sorts. We saved her, myself, and a small-time party called the Red Foxes. After saving her, we bonded on our journey to Dunehold, and for the next few years, we became like honest-to-blood siblings. After I was exiled from being an adventurer and Dunehold, I’ve been unable to visit her since.”
“Why didn’t she come to visit you?”
“Too dangerous.”
“Dangerous? I get traveling around can be a hassle, and sometimes you need to hire armed guards-”
“No, for other reasons. She has a sort of…. Not quite a disability. In fact, I’d argue it’s the opposite. It was that ‘trait’ which caused her original misfortunes we saved her from. So to ask her to leave the safety of Dunehold… No, it’s something I wasn’t willing to risk.”
“Hmm. And what did she ever say about it?”
“She didn’t.” I rubbed my arm, realizing what I was about to say would certainly not be taken lightly. “I sort of… just left.”
“Without telling her!?”
“No!” I answered defensively. “I had a letter sent her way.”
“A letter,” Scyla repeated, her face devoid of emotion. “That’s it?”
“Err… yeah?”
I thought Scyla was about to smack me for a moment, but she sighed, deflating instead.
“The nerve. I would have smacked you on her behalf, but knowing you could stop it if you wanted sort of takes the meaning out of it.”
I flinched as if I had been smacked, her words stinging just as much as a hand would have.
“For a self-acclaimed sibling, you pulled a real shit move, you know that, right? My siblings hate me, so perhaps I’m better situated to understand this, but what you did was something I would expect from my family.”
I remained silent, aware that I deserved to be chewed out.
“In fact, here is what you’re going to do. You go, do this hair-brained task of figuring out what’s wrong with a dungeon that apparently isn’t gone, and then after that, you head straight to Dunehold
“But class-”
“If you’re not back by the day before classes start, I’ll have an anonymous tip dropped off for your Director that you won’t return for a few days due to personal reasons. I’m certain that the Director will be willing to offer you that after you saved their ass by winning against Harris.”
“But, what if-”
“No excuses. Mr. Mighty Mage can face a potential duel to the death against a former Nizeium ranked adventurer, but can’t face down seeing his sister again after he left without a word?”
I was silent, unable to think of a single rebuttal.
“I appreciate that you even told me any of this.” Scyla grabbed my hand, forcing me to look at her. “And I promise I won’t be sharing any of this. So go, do what you must.”
Pulling me in closer, she quickly kissed my cheek before winking at me.
“And that’s your request from earlier.”
Stepping away, she quickly left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I remained standing in place for several minutes before, at last, I was pulled out of my ruminations by gentle pressure against my legs. Glancing down at my feet, my cat was purring gently as she pressed against me, large enough that she could have been mistaken for a dog if one had squinted.
And there is another issue.
Just what exactly was I supposed to do with my cat? I’d be gone for at least a few days. It wasn’t that I was worried that my cat would starve. Instead, I was worried the demon cat might find a small child to eat without her usual dinner.
I could see if Scyla could look after her?
It wasn’t a terrible idea, but even as comfortable as the little demon had grown around Scyla, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to put all that on Scyla when she had an entire citywide operation to run.
As if proving a point, my cat prowled over to her bowl and, with the attitude that only a bored cat looking to get into trouble can manage, took a bite out of the steel with ease that once more reminded me of her true nature.
Actually…
“Panthera,” I called out, my cat eyeing me for a moment with a surprising amount of intelligence in her gaze.
“How about going on a trip with Dad?”
-----------------------------------------
It was pitch black when I made it to the Ring Gate. The gondola from Akadia, while the fastest method route between the city and the nearby Ring Gate, still took several hours.
“C’mon, you little monster.” I ushered toward my cat, who leaped out from the gondola behind me, padding silently behind me. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No ‘blem.” The man operating the gondola nodded toward me before using an oar to push off from the bank. “Now, time to head back.”
Poor guy.
I felt for the gondola operator who was expected to guide the craft back in the inky darkness of night, but at the very least, the man earned a pretty pench for his work.
Turning away from the river crag, I approached the Gate building. The only thing visible of my cat, as she trailed behind me, were her eyes which shone in the dark when the moonlight struck them just right.
As I walked, I began pulling on a warm cloak, far too warm for the current climate.
It’s only for a bit.
Ignoring the discomfort of being too warm, I hurried onward until I pushed open the door to the small building where the gate was housed. Inside was dimly lit, a single inactive Ring Gate standing proudly while a woman stood next to it, looking as if she were ready to doze off.
That was until she saw me, her brows jumping upward for a second in surprise before returning to normal.
I waved at the woman, walking briskly toward her as my cat followed.
“Dressed a bit warmly, aren’t we?” The woman tried for a lighthearted comment, a comment I was sure was also probing for information out of her own curiosity about why a strange man was here so late.
“It’s not for here,” I said simply.
“Right.” She nodded before turning to look at my cat. “And uhm, the cat?”
“She’s a hassle.” That was all I said on the matter.
“Rightttt.” The woman seemed even more confused but asked no further prying questions. “So, where to?”
“The Cold Closet,” I said, praying that I wasn’t somehow being deceived.
I could see the moment recognition of the code dawned on her face, a rather intense curiosity flickering through her eyes before she smothered it a heartbeat later.
The woman jogged toward an off-shooting door, pressing her palm against a glass pane. I felt a thrum of mana from the woman for a moment before the door swung open. Sifting through the contents, she soon pulled out a green-looking crystal.
“If you’ll give me one moment.” The Gate Operator said before she returned to the gate, pressing the crystal against the gate as I felt the thrum of magic again.
Reattuning, I assume.
From what I knew of the gates, they operated off a sort of ‘frequency’ system, each with its own magical resonance. Not every gate could connect to every frequency, resulting from thousands of years of neglect. However, for the gates that did, re-attunement after the initial frequency attunement was required for gates that were rarely used.
Such as this ‘cold closet’ up north.
After nearly half a minute, the gate warbled to life, a portal opening through which I was to travel.
“Just step through, and you’ll pretty much be there. You’ll have to travel for around three hours on foot to the north, but as long as you walk toward the mountains, you’ll go in the right direction.”
“Thanks,” I answered before stopping as the woman clearly still had something on her mind.
“Yes?” I questioned.
“Uh, your cat. It’s really cold where you’re going. Will she be alright?”
I saw the woman bite her lip, her concern for my cat amusing.
If only you knew.
“She will be fine.” I reaffirmed.
Not waiting for any further questions or comments, I stepped through the portal.
Ah, and now the fun part.
I was falling, falling through darkness, but I kept my composure. I’d experienced it enough times now to know what to expect.
Nothing could be worse than the first two times I traveled through spatial rifts.
In fact, my first time traveling through a rift in space had been strikingly similar, traveling between the colder north and the warmer central region.
Except this time, I was traveling in reverse, leaving behind the warmer climate for the bitter colds of the north.
Symmetry. Life is full of it.
A quick glance toward my cat revealed her falling with a composure that only cats could muster, apparently unphased, even if it was her first time.
Why am I not surprised?
Before long, the darkness brightened, if only barely, and opening into a portal that spat us out, we arrived in what looked like a cave, a single Ring Gate dominating the cave’s interior, which was otherwise abandoned.
“Guess you can’t really station someone out here.”
Thankfully since it was unlikely anyone else would travel to or from this gate before my return, the gate would memorize the last coordinates connected to it. All I would have to do was to power it back on.
“Ready?” I asked my cat, who simply mrowed at me in answer.
“Alright, then, here we go,” I said, exiting the cave.
Outside, it was so dark it may as well have been the bottom of an ocean, with no light for dozens of leagues around. In fact, the closest human residence was likely none other than Junaper, the village I’d grown up in. Still, even that was further south than where I currently was.
“And we’re only going further north.” I chuckled out loud; no need to hide my words.
Requiring only the most minor effort, I channeled mana through my eyes as my vision suddenly shifted. It was just as dark as before, but now it was as if the world was dotted with a billion tiny stars, bundles of constellations in the shapes of trees and rocks, and even the ground beneath my feet.
“I don’t know why so many mages neglect training their mana sense.” I huffed, pulling my cloak tighter against me as a cold wind swept through.
We were currently perched on a large hill or perhaps a tiny mountain, jutted with hundreds of cavern entrances and rugged-looking brush.
“I can see why the Gate is well hidden.”
Aside from the gate, all that remained was an endless sea of pine trees, colored by swirls of white snow powdering the upper branches, snow that shined even more brightly when resonating with my mana sight. Past even the trees, to the north was a sheer wall of grey and white, the domineering mountains of the north that protected the northern region of Haerasong from the constant bombardment of arctic storms.
“At least I don’t have to climb them.” I whistled as I stared at them. Relying on my mana sense alone, my sense of scale wasn’t perfect, but it was still good enough that it was clear the mountains were perhaps the tallest I’d ever seen, the tops likely scrapping through even the clouds above.
Thankfully my destination was at the base of those mountains.
“If not just as welcoming as the mountains themselves,” I said with a dour tone.
A dungeon. I’m returning to a dungeon.
I didn’t want to, but with a single thought of my sister, I felt my resolve harden.
“Only way forward is north.” I sighed before looking at my cat. “Best get a move on, I guess.”
Without waiting for the input of my cat, I began the perilous descent of the rocky cliff face, which the cave I’d exited had been a part of, mumbling the entire time.
It couldn’t have been a nice beachside dungeon, could it?