I fed a thread of mana between my fingers. “I think I can do something. Funneling all that magic into you improved my control. And with the upgrades to my hair, I’ve got way more mana than I can know what to do with. I think I can leave a long trail of string to lead me back here.”
Killa pointed to my ocean of hair. “Do you mind?”
“As long as you don’t try to eat it.” The description says it’s more mana than anything.
She ran her fingers through my hair. As she held it, there was a reverent tremble in her fingertips. “This is incredible. There’s so much mana being pulled into it. Is this as strong as it gets?”
As if to answer her, a message popped up.
Mana-weave Hair level MAX augment available.
Cost: 983,331 shards.
Insufficient funds.
I shook my head. “There’s one more level. Honestly, I don’t know how it gets more powerful. It already can absorb magic weaker than mine and grants me an absurd mana regeneration.”
Killa giggled. “You’re not the only one who's stronger. I’ve jumped up to level sixty-six through all this. See? It wasn’t all bad. So all we need to focus on is catching Shadara up.”
She’s a higher level than me. I frowned as I turned to the exit. “Either way, let’s not do that again.” She shrugged. I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on the door. “Let’s hope this door opens now.”
It did.
I turned back to Killa. "I’ll be back in less than an hour.”
“If you’re not?” she asked.
I lowered my head. “Then wait one more hour, and if I’m still not back, assume I’m dead and do your best to get out of here.”
I don’t know what was worse—that I said that—or how easy it was to come to that conclusion. I didn’t wait for a response. I don’t think I can handle any response she could give.
I wrapped my string of shadows around the handle after I closed the door. The three other doors and the empty hallway stood in stoic silence.
At this point, the doors are as good a choice as going back the way we came.
Letting the shadow string snake from my fingertips to the ground following behind me, I headed to the closest door. The wooden door with the metal knocker of a sleeping dog with backwards feet opened easily. From within the poorly lit hall past it, a rank wind washed over me. It was a cross between rotting flesh and raw sewage.
Instantaneously, I turned off my ability to smell. Orange, remind me to turn that back on later.
I could see why the air was as foul as it was. Lining both walls were cells of metal bars. All the cells were occupied, some with corpses, others with those who looked like they’d be corpses soon. Those who weren’t dead yet were stewing in their own waste. Most of the prisoners were monsters, but there were some humanoids among them.
I walked towards the first cell, trying not to gag on the stench. The bars were cold and solid under my fingertips as I touched them. They were also thicker than my arm, and I didn’t see a door. The monster inside the cell didn’t move; she simply stared at me, unblinking.
She was a humanoid, roughly the size of an adult human, but she had a beak for a mouth, and feathers covered her body. She was hunched over, with long arms dangling past her knees. There was little more than skin, bone, and feathers to her. The metal collar attached to the ceiling that sat around her neck looked like it would slip off if she got any skinnier.
A gasp fluttered from my lips. “What’s going on here?”
In a trance, I walked down the hall, still leaving a shadowy trail. The others who were still alive were horribly disfigured, starved, and terrified. Each of them wore a chain around their neck, tethering them to the ceiling.
One creature, who looked healthier than the others, ran up and slammed into the bars. “What have we here, boys and girls? It moves like flesh, but it don’t look like flesh. It don’t smell like flesh too.” Its voice was a cross between rolling gravel and a drowning man.
The monster was a large creature, nearly seven feet tall, with pale gray skin that looked like stone. Its face was almost flat, save for its bulging black eyes. Deep cuts across its skin, revealing muscle beneath, only added to its horrifying visage. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to its bones and made sure they healed in all the wrong angles.
“Who are you? Why are you in this cage?” I asked. I looked around at all the cells. “And what is this place?”
The creature rushed the bars of its cell again, rattling the chains. “You don’t get to ask the questions here, that’s what I do,” it hissed. “If you behave, I might play nice.”
This thing has lost its mind. It is in a cage, and it thinks it’s in charge. Physically and mentally broken. Who is doing this horrible stuff?
I sighed. “Fine. What do you want to know?”
“I think I’ll start with your name. That’s a good one.” The monster ran a finger over the metal bar. “If you lie to me, I’ll know. And if you lie to me, I’ll rip out your insides and feed them to you. Understand?”
I rolled my eyes. “My name is Rina. You should now tell me your name so I know who is in charge.”
The creature laughed. “Oh, I like that. I’m the boss. Yes, that’s me. The boss. Yes, I like that.”
“So, what’s your name, Boss?” I asked.
“Name? Oh, I used to have a name. Can’t remember. It’s been so long,” the creature said, his voice taking a faraway tone.
“How long have you been here, Boss?” I asked.
Boss scratched the side of his face. “This is the Pawed Palace. What palace doesn’t have a torture chamber? That’s what they do here: torture. Lots of torture. So much torture. Torture, torture, torture!” He broke down into a fit of hysterical laughter.
As he laughed, he banged on the bars of his cage, the rattle of chains echoing around us.
I just blinked in response. How can someone use the Nexus’s dungeons as prisons? What kind of monster did I agree to work with?
“Boss.” My mention of his name caused the creature to stop moving suddenly as his head snapped twoards me. “Who rules the Pawed Palace?”
He slowly tilted his head. “You don’t know? You don’t serve him? Why are you on that side of the bars then? Shouldn’t you be in here?”
I shook my head. “I’m not serving anyone.”
The creature stepped back from the bars. “A prisoner, like us? Here for the pleasure of the master of the dungeon?”
I stepped up to the bars. “Who is this master?”
“You don’t know, do you? You don’t know.” He started cackling again. “You don’t know what he’s going to do to you. But he does. Oh, he knows you’re here and will keep you here until you serve him, die, or go mad. But not me. I won’t go mad. And I won’t die either!“
Too late for that, dude. “How can I escape?”
Boss looked at me as if I were stupid. “The only way you can leave is if he lets you. He is the master of this dungeon. You can’t leave until you obey him.”
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I nodded. “And how does one do that?”
“You must serve him. Or die. He doesn’t care which. The master has a way with flesh. He takes it and twists it. He wants your flesh too.” Boss slammed his hands on the bars and licked them. “Your body is his to claim. But I’m not giving up mine. No, no. I’ll kill him first.”
He turned and paced around his cell. “They’ve been trying to get me to serve him for forever. I’d rather die. I’m not doing it. I won’t! I’ll starve to death first!”
“Boss.” He spun back to look at me, still pacing in circles. “Who is he?”
“The master. The master of the dungeon. He controls it all.“
I sighed. “Okay, we’re just going in circles now. You don’t know, do you? Or have you forgotten?”
For the briefest flicker across his eyes, there was what I could only describe as recognition. It was like the person this creature once was still residing in there, hiding behind this shell of madness.
“It’s hard to remember,” Boss said, his voice almost a whisper. “I’m so hungry. It’s been so long.” Boss ran up to the bars, grabbed my wrist, and pulled it through. Then he grabbed my hand with both of his and squeezed. “Kill me. Release me from this hell!”
I jerked my arm back, breaking free. “I’m not going to kill you.”
He growled. “I want out!“
I backed away from the bars. “No. I’m not a monster. I won’t do that to you.”
He growled. “They will make you a monster. Just like they did me. There’s a monster in all of us.“
With that, he grabbed the chain dangling above his head and ripped it down. The ceiling cracked and fell apart, showering him with stone and dust, burying him.
As the dust settled, those who could look at me were standing against their bars, watching me intently. This isn’t where I want to go. I left and slammed the door shut again. I placed my back against the door and took a few moments to consider what I could learn from that little exchange.
It would be best to tell Killa this. There’s more to explore, but information like that is too important.
I turned to the door and knocked three times.
Turning your sense of smell back on.
Right I did say that, didn’t I? Thanks, Orange.
Killa opened it almost immediately. “Rina!” She looked me up and down. “That was fast. I know you move quickly, but did you really find a way out already?
I shook my head. “Nope. But I found a new room. We need to talk about it.”
Killa stepped out of the way and let me in. Shadara was still sleeping. I told her about everything the creature said. She grimaced about the news that something was controlling the dungeon, and it didn’t sound like it was the Soul Nexus itself. We knew the Soul Nexus cared about souls, not flesh. There was something just as bad, and both of us hoped that it wasn’t another one of those who successfully climbed the Soul Nexus and was now trapped.
Even with the new information, I decided to head back out again. Killa didn’t like it, but she knew that we still needed to try. However, she did say that I shouldn’t try the other two doors. Since the room we were held up in was an obvious prison for the racoon creature and what I found behind the other door, Killa theorized that the other doors would lead to similar, or even less savory, places.
Instead, she had a different idea. So, again, I found myself standing in the room with my magical string tied to the door. I headed back the way we came. Killa was right. The room had shifted, and I was standing in a much warmer cave as the crystals weren’t glowing blue anymore. They were glowing a soft pink. The further I walked, the more red they turned.
As I ventured deeper into the cave, the soft pink glow intensified, gradually transitioning into a vibrant shade of red. The air felt heavier and thicker. It required increased effort just to keep walking forward. I cautiously moved forward.
As I continued my exploration, the cave walls appeared to shift slowly. The smooth, crystal surfaces gave way to jagged, obsidian-like formations, casting eerie shadows against the crimson glow.
Suddenly, I heard a faint whisper. It echoed through the cavern, sending shivers down my spine. I strained my ears to catch the words, but they remained indistinguishable.
Despite the growing unease, I pressed on. My only companion was the shadowy trail of the magic string I created. I need to find an exit.
As I ventured deeper into the crimson-lit depths, the path became treacherous. The ground beneath me was uneven, covered in sharp rocks and hidden crevices. It was a constant battle to maintain my footing. Also, a peculiar energy pulsated through the air. It seemed to emanate from the walls themselves, as if the very dungeon had a heartbeat. Throbbing in tandem with the now pulsing light of the crystals.
As I rounded a corner, a sight stopped me in my tracks. Before me stood a gaping gorge. It stretched as far as the eye could see, with no apparent way across. In the center of the gorge, the crimson crystals congregated and formed a pulsing chandelier.
It looks like a heart.
I scanned the area, searching for a way to cross. The heat was stifling, raising the temperature of my skin to over one hundred and thirty degrees. My mind calculated that the air pressure was twenty-seven times greater than normal. The dense air clung to me, resisting every movement and making it feel as though I were wading through water. Every step required more effort, but my synthetic muscles didn’t have trouble. The surrounding sounds were muffled and distorted, sounding like I was constantly in a wind tunnel. The whispers I heard earlier were long gone.
As I approached the edge of the gorge, the pressure increased, as if pulling me into it. My ears popped, and I could feel my nanites working to repair them. I gazed across the expanse, searching for a way to cross it. The crimson chandelier in the center pulsed rhythmically, casting eerie lights that danced along the jagged walls. The gorge was wide and deep, with no visible bottom. There was no bridge, nor were there any ropes or ladders.
It appeared to be an unsurmountable obstacle. Unless I can climb walls or the ceiling.
I looked down at my feet as I extended my talons. The metal tips were sharp and glinted in the crimson light.
I took a deep breath and began to dig my claws into the wall. With a slight crunching sound, the tips pierced the rock surface and latched onto the stone. My hands gripped the wall, and I carefully dug my stinger arms into the wall as anchors. The stone beneath my hands and feet felt rough and solid, giving me confidence that it would support my weight.
I began to scale the side of the gorge. My hands and feet moved in tandem, pulling me up and anchoring me to the wall. Using the muscles in my feet to keep my talons ridged was the most difficult part. I had to adjust to the weight and pressure from below.
As I climbed higher, the crimson light grew brighter, intensifying the heat and pressure. My body grew hotter, but the metals could withstand the heat. My muscles strained to pull me up against the force of the air.
I focused on the climb. I could feel my talons slipping against the stone as they were coated in moisture. I tried to increase my grip by digging them further into the wall, but they weren’t long enough.
I have to do this. I can do this.
I kept climbing, pushing myself to my limits. The pressure was nearly unbearable, and my muscles groaned in protest. But I didn’t give up. I couldn’t. My friends were counting on me.
As I continued to climb, I noticed that the temperature was increasing even more. It would’ve been impossible to breathe if I still needed to breathe.
My HUD flashed warnings about the increased strain on my synthetic muscles, but I ignored them. My nanites worked overtime to keep my systems functional, repairing minor damages and managing energy flow efficiently. Calculations from my computer brain solved for the optimal path, guiding my every move.
Halfway up the wall, I paused on a small ledge to assess my progress. The crimson chandelier in the center of the gorge pulsed rhythmically, casting eerie lights that danced along the jagged walls. The air pressure here was even greater, and I could feel it pulling me down, trying to drag me into the abyss below.
I won’t lead those two here. Shadara won’t be able to survive these conditions. But the dungeon led me this way for a reason. It’s a trap, but I’m going to walk down it anyway. This place won’t give me the option to do otherwise.
I resumed my climb. The climb seemed endless, but I finally reached the top. The ledge was narrow, barely wide enough for me to stand, but it was a relief to be off the wall. I pulled myself up and collapsed on the ledge, taking a moment to recover. My nanites worked futilely to cool my body.
The crimson light bathed the entire area, making it look almost surreal. I stood up and peered into the distance. The path ahead was clear. I saw a small tunnel buried in the wall that was hidden by a large spike jutting from the wall.
I took the shadow string that was still following me and willed it to follow along the wall towards the hole. It moved across the surface, and once it reached the ledge, I pushed it out to grow so that I could walk along it like a small bridge after retracting my talons.
The tunnel was narrow, forcing me to squeeze through. My stinger arms got caught more than a few times. I carefully made my way down the passage, not sure what to expect. The air was growing cooler by the second. The tunnel was pitch black. My cybernetic eyes switched to terahertz radiation mode so I could see clearly in the darkness.
After walking for another ten minutes, I reached a dead end. A smooth wall of rock blocked my path. It was impossible to tell if I was close to an exit or not.
I studied the wall for a moment, then reached out to touch it. The wall was solid and unyielding. My stinger blade scraped against it, but didn’t leave a mark. I tried to push it, but it didn’t budge.
Suddenly, I heard a soft clicking sound. It was coming from somewhere above me. It was a tunnel upwards.
Great, more climbing. Why is it making me do all this climbing?
With an audible groan, I climbed up the tunnel and emerged in a small room. The air was cooler and less dense. It was a welcome relief. The crimson crystals were gone. Now, the lights were a bright blue, with small crystals on the ceiling and walls. They gave off a soft, soothing glow. The room was empty, save for a stone table in the center.
On the table was a silver ring. The band was thin and delicate, with tiny crystals set around it. In the center was a large, oval-shaped crystal. It was pure white and pulsed with a faint light.
I stepped closer to the ring and picked it up to study it. It was beautiful and mesmerizing. As I stared at it, I noticed that there were words engraved on the inside of the band. I leaned in closer to read them.
“To my love, my soulmate. We will be together forever.”
I smiled as I read the words.
Behind me, the scraping of stones shattered the silence. I turned to see two sections of the wall dragging back like a pair of doors.
“Come here.” A deep voice rang through the room.
I left the table. A strange compulsion pulled me towards the door. I wanted to find the source of the voice. No, I needed to find it. The urge was overwhelming, and I couldn’t resist. My body moved on its own.
I walked through the doorway and entered a large cavern. The walls were made of smooth, polished stone. The crystals were embedded throughout the walls, casting a soft light.
In the center of the room, there was a large throne. It was made of white marble, with intricate carvings on the armrests and back. It was adorned with golden filigree and precious gems.
The throne was occupied.