I settle into Mama's lap and close my eyes, preparing to release my soul, yet as soon as my eyes shut I find myself drifting off. Mind fuzzy, I'm suddenly woken by Mama's hand as she strokes my head.

'Ah! Wake up, me. You can sleep later!'

I shake my head violently, surprising Mama, and proceed to release my soul. I'm not able to sense any sort of barrier covering the symbols as I near them, so I decide to try and make contact with them directly.

'Success! Now let's see what you guys do...'

I almost immediately realize that these symbols can be moved. The placement of the symbols seems very deliberate, almost like they're giving me a hint of what to do. It's like there are just enough pieces in the right places to give me an idea of what's going on.

'Is this some kind of puzzle? Cool!'

I start trying to move symbols around, but quickly find that it's not as simple as it first seemed. Apparently there are rules to moving the symbols, because as soon as I move one the wrong way, it sends a pulse through my soul, causing a sharp pain to assault my mind.

The shock makes me jump, "Ouch! Stupid puzzle!"

Mama looks at me worriedly, "Lyna? What is going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just messed up on the puzzle."

She looks at me strangely, "What puzzle?"

"Right! You don't... uh, it's up there on the ceiling. See those?" I point at the symbols.

She looks up and then nods her head, "I see. What do they do?"

"I dunno, hopefully something good! Just a minute, I'm going to try solving it again..."

And so I continue moving the symbols around, making mistakes once in a while. Every time I mess up, I receive a jolt, and every jolt seems stronger than the last. It gets to the point where it makes my body spasm, even though I know what's coming.

I mess up once again, receiving the backlash immediately, "Ouch! Man, that one really hurt!"

My outburst causes Mama to jump, after which she holds me up in front of her, "Lyna, you need to take a break. You will harm yourself at this rate."

"No, it's alright. I think I've got it this time!"

Mama sighs and shakes her head, "Fine. But if you make one more mistake, you must take a rest."

"Only one? But-"

Mama lays me back down, "One more. No arguing."

"Haa, fine..."

'I guess I really am starting to get pretty tired, but I can't just stop now! I'm so close!'

I resume moving symbols, more careful than ever now not to mess up.

'Ah! No, not there... yeah, that's... but...'

I move each symbol with care, planning several steps ahead just for good measure. The stress of getting everything correct strains my soul even further, as the exhaustion from my earlier failures starts setting in.

'That's it! I can see the end!'

Suddenly I figure out how to solve the puzzle, my excitement overtaking me as I start rapidly placing symbols. I'm only a couple symbols away from completing it, when...

"Ah!"

An immense pain surges through my mind, followed by a dull aching feeling. I try to ignore it as I move the last symbols, after which I immediately retract my soul.

I nearly bend in half as I hold my head with my paws, "Ahhh that hurts! That really hurts!"

Mama quickly lifts me up and looks me over, "What is wrong? No more puzzle! Hurry, get the Eggshell and heal yourself!"

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I force out a chuckle, "No, it's fine. Besides, I'm not sure it can even heal soul stuff..."

She puts me down, "Even if it does not, your body is injured as well. Quickly."

I glance at the ceiling, which still looks the same as before. Slightly disappointed, I'm about to take out the Eggshell, when I hear a rumbling sound. As I look back up, I see the symbols glowing brightly, after which they go back to normal. The dome above us then starts deforming, turning into something like a liquid that reforms into stairs leading down to us, exposing an entirely new space above.

Mama looks up, then back down at me and glares, "Did I not say to stop?"

I attempt to look wronged, "But I did!"

She looks at me intensely for several seconds, and just as I'm about to admit to my wrongs, she sighs.

"Bring out the Eggshell and get in. While you are resting, I will explore the new area."

I release a sigh of my own, "Yes Mama. Make sure to be careful up there."

Mama smiles, "Of course."

I will the Eggshell to appear, causing the golden chain around my neck to disappear, transforming into a giant pool of tonic atop a stone surface, surrounded by grass.

'I can't believe the grass is still green. Is it even real?'

I jump onto the side of the Eggshell and watch as Mama walks up the stairs, all the way to the top where another doorway leads seemingly deeper into the dungeon. She then looks back and smiles at me, waving as she walks into the room.

I wave back, then decide it's about time I get into the tonic. As I submerge myself in the liquid, I can immediately feel it fixing my body; I think I can even feel it mending my meridians.

'Not doing anything for my soul, though. Curses...'

I settle down to the bottom of the tonic, the familiar feeling causing me to relax. After finding a comfy position, I simply close my eyes and wait for sleep to envelop me.

As my eyelids part, I'm greeted with the sight of millions of twinkling stars, all backdropped by an infinite darkness. I twist my head and look around only to find nothing, yet as I return my gaze to its original position, I see a small dark circle, something that wasn't there before.

I watch calmly as the thing gets closer and closer, blinking toward me as if teleporting. It soon becomes apparent that the object I'm staring at is a planet, one with a barren, desolate surface.

Eventually, the planet is so close that I can see individual craters dotting its surface, like thousands of tiny scars. At this point, I start sensing something, something that seems to be calling out to me. I move my eyes to the source of the call and see a structure, which is clearly visible even from my position far above the planet.

With but a thought, my body starts drifting toward it at a seemingly slow speed, yet the very next moment I find myself floating in front of the massive building, its walls seeming to stretch on forever into the sky. Without hesitation, I fly between giant pillars leading to the building, and then into the building itself as the call continues to get stronger.

I float through halls as if possessed, an invisible force beckoning me, guiding my way. I eventually come across a door blocking my path, standing imposingly between me and my destination.

As I push the massive door open and fly through, something to my side catches my attention, distracting me from the calls that have nearly consumed my mind. There, in front of me, stands a huge mirror, one that matches the scale of the building it resides in.

As I look at the reflection in front of me, a young man with black hair, black robes, and a piercing gaze stares straight back. Suddenly, the man's mouth opens.

"You must die!"

My eyes snap open again, and I find myself surrounded by darkness, not even a star in sight. It takes me several seconds before I remember that I'm in tonic, which is why everything is so dark.

'What... what was that?'

I try swimming to the surface of the tonic, but I'm unable to coordinate my body sufficiently, leaving me flopping my limbs around uselessly. After realizing that it's not working, I forcefully calm myself down.

'This is just like that one time... except the pain isn't as bad, and I can at least move now. Anyway, what are those? They're way too realistic to be dreams, are they visions? Why am I having them? Is someone trying to talk to me? Is it that black haired man? Is he the one that keeps telling me to die...?'

I have so many questions, yet I'm not sure if they can be answered. My only option right now seems to be waiting; maybe I'll get visions in the future that will clear things up.

After lying motionlessly for some time, my headache starts clearing up, and my body returns to its fully controllable state. I eventually decide that I've rested enough, and make my way to the surface of the Eggshell. From there, I climb up onto the side and sit down, surveying the area.

'Seems Mama's not back yet.'

I lie down and look up at the stairway leading up, and then at the doorway that Mama went through.

'They were talking about dungeons evolving, but it seems this one may have already evolved without them knowing. I wonder if that area would have ever been found if I hadn't discovered it?'

I start examining the stairs, admiring my handiwork, when a thought comes to me.

'Are these dungeons meant to be done with both your soul and cultivation? There was the temple, where most of it could be done with your soul, but the traps were still dangerous without a strong cultivation base. Then there are those golems, which can be manipulated with your soul. That golden golem even responded to my soul attack. Plus there's the secret entrance that I just opened, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone with a strong cultivation could open it as well.'

The more I think about it, the more I feel like these dungeons somehow encourage a strong soul as well as a strong cultivation. It's not really a groundbreaking theory or anything, but I find the thought quite intriguing. It really makes me wonder who or what designed these things...

Suddenly, I hear footsteps, waking me from my thoughts.

I look up excitedly at the stairs, "Mama?"

I immediately confirm that the person walking down the stairs is, indeed, Mama, but her appearance nearly gives me a heart attack. She has dried blood smeared all across her body, so much that it's scary to look at. But even given the state she's in, I can't help but notice the wide grin stretching across her face.