This wash of nothingness around us is suffocating. I can see Nora, Lasphalia, Lilith, Pierce, and the Admiral all in their places, but everything else is void. No one else, not any of the dozen other adventurers are anywhere to be seen. This blankness lasts maybe fifteen seconds, but it might as well have been an eternity. I’m left gasping for air as the ground suddenly appears under us.

   “I let down my guard.”

   I turn to see the Admiral looking down with a stern empty gaze.

   “There was no way of knowing,” says Lasphalia.

   “It was the oldest trick in the book. The signs were everywhere,” he glowers. “Because the dungeon was largely abandoned by mana, I allowed my guard to lower. However the door should have been warning enough. An abandoned dungeon should never still have active mana.”

  “That’s quite the oversight,” I mutter.

   “A minor error compared to other oversights he has made,” Lasphalia replies, shaking her head. “All that can be done now is keep our guard raised.”

  Nora shudders.

   “Something wrong?” I ask her.

   “N-No,” she replies. “Just... frightened. We aren’t in the dungeon any more. We are below it, in fact.”

   “Thought so,” I nod. “The air’s a lot cooler. No fire and ice motif, either.”

   I scan the area. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. It’s still kinda dark, but light enough that we can still see each other fairly well. The corroding brick floor is slightly moist.

   “W-Wait, Pierce! Wh-Where are you going—?” sputters Lilith.

   I turn.

   “There is something over there,” he says without looking back. “Stay here. I don’t need you in my way.”

   “I’ll come with,” I say.

   “You are the last person I want accompanying me,” he glowers, only now looking over his shoulder to glare at me.

   “Ow. My self confidence,” I mutter. “Fine. I’ll just... sit here, then.”

   He starts off again. Lilith hesitates, but in the end decides to chase after him. They fade into the dark.

   “Cyr— you weren’t seriously thinking of leaving me behind with the seductress, were you?” Nora glares from the side.

   “H-Huh—? O-Oh, no n-not at all.”

   “You stutter when you lie,” she frowns. “I won’t let you leave me.”

   “Still on about that, huh? You never said anything about it in the forest.”

   “Because you never did leave me.”

   “True. But—“

   “Don’t. Leave. Me.”

   “G-Got it. I’ll keep that in mind,” I whimper, sulking my shoulders.

   “Admiral Leufgarde-Rosencrantz, sir,” I hear. It’s Pierce from somewhere beyond my range of vision. “There is a structure here. Some sort of large mausoleum, I believe.”

  “A tomb...?” I mutter.

   “Velaruux’s tomb...” Nora breathes.

   “N-No, we never came to the conclusion he’s dead,” I say. “...Nor do we have any idea who or what else he might be... B-But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

   “I am going ahead,” says Pierce. “There is a door ajar. Follow if you wish.”

   “Luxu,” Lasphalia whispers into her hand. Suddenly an orb of white light forms in her palm, which illuminates the area.

   “Wait... you can activate magic with words...?” I ask.

   “There are many forms of magic, as I am sure I already have said,” she replies. “Glyph magic is my specialty, which I activate by drawing the activation glyph in the air. But I also excel at incantation, in which words spoken in the language of mana form similar spells, which can be much more complex but also more predictable, as the casting time can be quite lengthy. Besides those, there is object enchantment, spiritual arts, and kujou. Object enhancement is—“

   “Miss Astellaria, while you are surely educating young Cyrus, I do believe you are beginning off on another tangent of which we do not need nor wish,” says the Admiral. “In other words, save your lectures for when you are not on duty.”

   “Understood. Sir.”

   I turn to look where Pierce and Lilith had disappeared into, and am, simply put, surprised with what I see. A long row of pillars tower over us where they disappear into shadow above. Where a gap in the columns exist sits a giant stone structure decorated with statues of weeping angels and giant snakes. An open corridor in its center is surrounded by more sturdy pillars and eerie skeletal devil molds creepily peeking out from behind them.

   “Ruushiix architecture,” says Lasphalia. “Not decorations of a tomb, however. In fact... it bears striking resemblance to a Hall of Life.”

   “Hall of life?” I mutter. “With all those creepy skeletal things? Sounds more like a place sinners go to get sacrificed.”

   “The people of the Ruushiix worshipped the dead in exchange for a form of celestial protection. The Halls of Life were likely used to channel the spirits of the deceased.”

   “Then what is it doing so far underground?” asks the Admiral, stepping lamely forward.

   “To be closer to the spirit realm,” she says.

   “The spirit realm resides on the surface. Only demons exist here,” he mutters.

   “Unfortunately, the Ruushiix period saw one of the greatest misunderstandings of the ancient world, resulting in one of the largest genocides ever to occur,” Lasphalia replies. “The details are vague, but to sum up a thousand year existence, our ancestors of said period believed that the demons of below were the true post-mortal existences. Thus making them...”

   “A civilization of dark magic users,” the Admiral glowers.

   “Thousands upon thousands of remains were uncovered showing signs of death from dark magic poisoning. All in the same day.”

   “Dark... magic...?” I mutter.

   “One of the four forbidden magic forms,” says the Admiral. “Magic relying on the evil of one’s heart, or the like. The very power you hold could be something similar.”

   “U-Uh... Well, that’s terrible and all— but if that’s the case, then shouldn’t we stop those two that just went ahead?” I say. “Because if a society of forbidden magic people built this thing, then... shouldn’t we be a little more cautious and or terrified?”

   “Do not belittle my subordinate,” the Admiral snaps. “He is yet much stronger than you, boy.”

   “Fair enough... but even so I don’t think we should just stand here waiting for shit to hit the f— err, for bad things to happen.”

   “Agreed,” Lasphalia nods. She turns to the Admiral. “Sir, I would think it best for you to remain behind, as—“

   “I waded through the blood-soaked marshes of the Thaelmont Dispute with my left leg broken backwards, I refuse to bow to a mere disease of the foot. Such is for the elderly,” he glowers, beginning off towards the entrance.

  “You forget you are elderly, yourself,” says Lasphalia. “I will not be responsible for you when that healer lady yells at you again.”

   “Tsk... Or— N-No, I will be fine,” he says, shaking his head. “Follow, Miss Astellaria, boy.”

   “I’m here too,” Nora mutters.

   The hovering white orb of light shines brightly on the passage walls, illuminating the demonic runes cramming every inch of surface that don’t seem to have any format— not even really any consistent shapes to begin with. It’s clearly throwing Lasphalia for a loop, though, so I’m assuming it’s nothing normal. Then again, what is at this point? I’ve lost track of ninety percent of this world’s vocabulary.

   “We should be getting closer,” says Nora. “I can hear the Vice-Admiral and the girl talking up ahead.”

   “So they’re not dead yet,” I nod. “Think it’s going to open up anytime soon?”

   “Yes,” she nods.

   Moments later, the tight passageway suddenly explodes in size, going from just shallow enough for me to walk under to high enough for the guild hall itself to fit snugly inside.

   “This is...” gasps Lasphalia as she paces out into the room.

   The first thing that catches my eye is a single throne of solid gold that is positioned at the far end between a row of massive engraved pillars. Sitting on it in a hunched position is a withered corpse from who the hell knows when. Its skin is still attached, but stiffened and looks almost freezer-wrapped to the bone. It has long, frizzled brownish-golden hair and a thin beard that barely seems to be holding on to what little structure remains. And even though it has no eyes, I can’t help but feel it’s gazing straight at us with unknown intent.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

   “I... I don’t understand,” mutters Lasphalia. “There is absolutely no mention of—“

   “—And this... is where I finally have a lesson to teach you, Miss Lasphalia,” says the Admiral. “The lesson here is that the past is often far more convoluted than what can ever be learned in books and excavations.”

   We approach Pierce and Lilith, who just seem to be standing there staring at the long dead corpse.

   “Anything worth reporting, Vice-Admiral Pierce?” asks the Admiral.

   “None more than what can plainly be seen,” Pierce replies without shifting his gaze. “A foul omen hangs heavy in the air. I regret to say it, but my blade alone... may not be enough to resolve this...”

   “Coming from one whose ego rests higher than the heavens, shall I assume our doom can be nary more certain?” says Lasphalia.

   “Listen, you waste of rank,” Pierce snaps. “Any time for jokes is long behind us. Our fate was sealed the moment we dared open that door. We—“

   The ground rumbles below our feet. On either side of the way leading up to the throne several blazing braziers ignite to light the path. It had still been dark, so I couldn’t have seen that they were there until lit.

   “I suppose I must firmly apologize once more,” I hear. We all seem to turn at the same time to see that very hooded figure sitting cross-legged before the throne. He pushes himself to his feet and takes a few steps closer to us. “To think that you would be aiding Them in this... Well, I had thought the ones who had agreed would be present, but that matters little. The door has finally been opened.”

   “What the hell’s going on here?” I say.

   The figure tilts his head. “You mean you aren’t really here on purpose?”

   “We care not for any of your happenings,” says the Admiral, taking a firm step. “Release us, or—“

   Suddenly the Admiral’s face grows white. His teeth clench under his lips and his arms seem to tense. He’s holding his breath, and shaking just a bit from it.

   “H-Huh—?” I mutter. “U-Um... Mr— err, Admiral? Are you al—“

   Lasphalia sighs. “No, do not give him any attention. He stomped with the foot bearing his gout. He will never learn otherwise. Ignore him.”

   “It’s the devil’s ailment!” The Admiral roars, turning to Lasphalia.

   “I am confused,” says the figure. “Th-The agreement shared, is it—“

   “Agreement?” I ask.

  “To resurrect my master. You are here for him, yes?” he says.

   “...Uh, sorry— but I think we just showed up at the wrong time,” I mutter. “We... don’t know any way to bring someone back to life… or at least, I don’t.”

   “Necromancy is a forbidden practice, the second of the four. Punishable by death in every territory,” says the Admiral. “Figure in black— I demand to know the reasons behind this.”

   “Forbidden...? The lifeblood of my people is... forbidden?” The figure mutters. He doesn’t say anything for an awkward amount of time. And then suddenly he claps, at the very least surprising me. “Well, thank the divines. Certainly not opportune for my predicament, but good on you for finally realizing how dangerous it can be. After all, my curse of undeath is a direct repercussion to the practice of similar magic.”

   His voice is different, almost cheerful. A strange contrast to the way he acted before. I don’t think I’m the only one off-put by this, either.

   “Tell us what you intend to do if your master is resurrected,” says Lasphalia.

   “What I intend to do? Well I am afraid it is not up to me,” the figure replies. “You see, my master’s intentions will always mirror those of who revives him. Call it a curse or a gift, but it is how he has lived since his first death... over ten thousand years ago.”

   “Ten thousand years? I have serious doubts towards the accuracy of that statement,” says Pierce.

   “Oh, it is true indeed,” the figure nods. “He has been resurrected many times before, only it was seven thousand years ago that I became his underling, as well as when he and I were sealed in this place.”

   “Ten thousand years... If that is true, he would have the experience of countless generations,” says the Admiral. “If true, there is little doubt his power would be near godly.”

   “It surprises me that you all have never even heard of Lord Velaruux. No, in fact I am shaken to my core,” the figure says, wrapping his arms around himself. “But if you are unable to resurrect him, then... what are you doing here?”

   Nora’s ears suddenly perk up. I turn to her, and she points to the side. It’s then that that same sensation hits me, the draining feeling and the hair on the back of my neck sticking on end. Unlike before, though, I can’t seem to locate it at one particular point. If Nora weren’t pointing, I’d have had nowhere to look to.

   “Ah, what a familiar aura,” says the figure, raising his hands. “The one who promised his revitalization. Have you finally come to uphold your end?”

   A bout of cackling laughter enshrouds the area. A plume of black smoke shoots past our legs and encircles the proximity of the hooded one. The smoke swirls there for a good few seconds while the laughing continues, its echo bouncing and rebounding off the walls over and over. Then finally the swirling stops, and is replaced by the silhouette of a man in a gold-plated gown through the dissipating dust.

   “Do I know how to make an entrance or what?!” the man chants, turning to us with his arms raised. He has long grayish hair and a pointed beard that stops just short of his collarbone, and wears the sort of look like he’s expecting everyone to be amazed. “I mean, it is not every day that I get to appear before commoners so flashily!”

   “Who the hell’s this clown?” I mutter. “He’s not that creepy thing, is h—“

   “No,” Nora replies, nearly frozen in place. “That one... still stands over there.”

   “A clown?!”

   The man is suddenly in front of me. I leap backwards in surprise and draw kenkui.

   “You dare speak of me in such a regard, the great M—“ He pauses and slowly pivots to the side. He begins to whisper to himself. “Err....right, we weren’t supposed to use our real names...” He turns back to me. “Never you mind! Just know— you should be disgusted with yourself!” He spits just a little when he got to the end of saying ‘yourself’.

   “No point in asking who you are then, right?” I say. “Then let me instead ask just what the hell you’re doing here.”

   “None of your concern!” he shouts, spinning around with a finger in the air. He plants a heavy foot to stop himself, and his finger falls to point at me. “Just know that I have been grateful enough to allow you all to witness the birth of our newest memb— err... I shouldn’t have said that either...”

   A black clawlike hand settles on the strange man’s shoulder, and shoves him aside in one long swoop. Nora screams as the monster suddenly reveals itself in its entirety.

   “Shut it, you old fool, before you spill any more,” The creature growls.

   It towers over us all, a giant spindly midnight black figure with a hunched back and largely featureless face with nothing but a mouth of sharp white teeth the size of kitchen knives. What makes it all the more terrifying though are its pair of long horns that sprawl far out of its head like tree roots. And then there’s it’s claws— Four three-pronged grabbers each with scraggly nails that look like they’re made of obsidian. It drips this strange dark ooze that doesn’t seem to stop moving even after it’s fallen off the body.

   “...I take it that’s the entity of pure evil...?” I mutter to Nora. She nods slowly.

   I can feel it again. Staring into the emptiness that is its whole body brings about some sort of primal fear in me. In the forest, I’d fought plenty of monsters that you’d only find in your worst nightmares... but this is in its own league.

   “The master,” says the hooded one, the disciple of Velaruux. “He is waiting. If you would please, whoever it is with resurrection magic— Fulfill the contract.”

   The bearded man clears his throat and steps back towards the center. “Ah, yes— that would be us. Ignore the lot of them behind me, we needed them to open the door. As you can see, that is no longer an issue and they are of no further use.”

   “Hey, hold on just a damn minute,” I say.

   The black beastly entity abruptly shifts its head in my direction.

   “Is there an issue, mortal?” it crows. “Sit off to the side and you may yet again see the light of day.”

   I think we sit in a state of pure confusion for the best part of a minute. For me, I’m just trying to comprehend what’s going on. Questions like,‘who’s Velaruux?’ and ‘who the fuck are these guys?’ are circling through my head with no clear answer in a way of connecting. But I’m getting serious bad-guy vibes from these two, so naturally I do what any idiot would do.

   “Hey asshats, I don’t like the idea of being played,” I say.

   “Oh?” the beast cackles. “Do you prefer being digested? A much easier alternative.”

   Where was I going with this again...?

   “I don’t know who any of these abominations are,” says the Admiral, “but assuming your intentions are less than sincere, it has suddenly fallen upon us to ensure this does not spiral out of hand.”

   “The tools you chose seem to have taken up blades of their own,” growls the beast, turning its head in the direction of the gold-plated man. “Get rid of them. I will begin the resurrection myself.”

   “Silence, Gorgon! The great Mephistopheles takes orders from n—“ He stops himself, hesitantly looking up to the black one. “Ehehe… I used our names again, didn’t I...”

   The creature Gorgon bares his teeth and smashes a hand just beside the one apparently named Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles recoils with a yelp of surprise. Gorgon grabs him in two hands and holds him out with elongated arms.

   “And now you have no choice in the matter!” barks Gorgon, specks of black ooze landing on Mephistopheles’s face. “If even one of them escapes now, I will carry out your punishment myself!”

   The world slows to a stop as Gorgon lowers Mephistopheles back to the ground. I turn to meet the Bloodstained Hero head-on.

   “I take it this’s one of those ‘pivotal moments’ you were talking about?” I ask.

   The gnarled version of myself nods slowly. “In my journey, this marked the death of Lasphalia Astellaria, and the resurrection of Velaruux in the name of the demon Gorgon.”

   “Lasphalia? Got it, so I just have to stick by her side, right? To keep her alive?”

   “If it were that simple, then perhaps,” he says.

   “But let me guess... that means someone else bites the bullet,” I sigh. “So what can I do?”

   “My mistake was to underestimate Mephistopheles,” he replies. “You cannot hope to best them entirely as you are now. But what can be done is to drive them away. Mephistopheles fights with curse magic, which affects the body from within. Having Lilith preemptively cast a Holy Light Shield will negate those effects. But he is also skilled with the blade. The job of overpowering him falls on one of you.”

   “What about Gorgon? He’s going to resurrect Velaruux if we don’t do anything to stop him,” I say.

   “If you interrupt him now, then you will likely face the wrath of the one in the cloak. There is a way around this, but it is up to you to figure it out.”

   “Well that’s not very helpful,” I mutter.

   “I cannot remain much longer, so I will only tell you this— If you succeed, your world will change so drastically that no further events will line up with those of mine,” he says. “That means I will largely be unable to grant you foresight. Information from monsters I have already faced, however, I still may be able to aid you with.”

   “That’s a fair exchange,” I nod. “Better not knowing what the future holds, yeah?”

   “I once prayed for such a power. I wished I could have saved them. You may pray too, when each and every person you have grown fond of is killed in front of you.”

   “Hey bud, I’m not going to be like you, okay? This change starts here. We’re gonna get through this, and I’m not gonna let anyone die.”

   The Bloodstained Hero blankly looks me through. He lets out a low sigh, and turns to the side. “Use this time to formulate your strategy against these two foes. I can grant you three minutes in temporal suspension. But this is where we part ways. Goodbye.”

   “Alright,” I nod. “Ah, shit, I was gonna ask you someth—“ But as usual, he’s gone before I can finish the sentence.

   ‘I can do this. I can do this,’ I whisper to myself. ‘Just... think. Pivotal moment, here we go. Keep everyone alive, send the baddies running. That’s not hard, right...?’

   Time returns to its original flow, the lumbering of Gorgon’s legs slowly moving back into real-time and Mephistopheles walking towards us.

   “Lilith, light shield now!” I yell just as a plume of purple smoke comes billowing from Mephistopheles’s hands, rapidly tumbling across the floor at us like an evil ocean wave.

   “Obus Sanctus!” I hear from behind me. Just as the billow nearly reaches our feet, it stops abruptly and shoots straight up into the air, creating a wall of smoke. “Leave it to me!” says Lilith. She’s holding a red wand with an outstretched arm, casting a glowing yellow barrier.

   “He’s powerful,” says Lasphalia, gazing wide-eyed at the swarming violet cloud.

  “Really? No shit,” I grunt. “Lasphalia, stay by me. Nora, I need you to protect Lilith while Pierce draws his attention. Admiral— Um...”

   “I’ll sever the nerve endings in my legs if I must. These are the kinds of battles I was born to fight,” he says, landing a long heavy sword in front of him.

   “A-Alright, well then. Admiral, I need you to—“

   “An innate skill I have is that I always know my place,” he says. “In any regard, there is little worry here. Easily the most powerful adventurers in this dungeon stand before me as allies.”

   “Glad to hear you think so highly of me,” I say with kind of a half-chuckle. “Are we ready? Pierce, humor me for a bit by doing this my way and I’ll give you that rematch you’ve secretly been wanting.”

   “I-I never said I—“

   “Let’s do this!” I shout. The shield breaks and our bodies are individually wrapped in their own holy light. Lilith chants phrases of magic as the unleashed smog floods past us with a palpable tug on our bodies. I smirk as I call my power and split off to the side with Lasphalia.

   ‘Let the battle begin,’ I think to myself.