Looking at the rather large silhouette of Ruel who was sitting, I opened my mouth. “I’m Alisha, this is Alice.”
Looking at the two of us, Ruel looked down at his hands. “You…freed me?” Looking at Alice, he shook his huge head. “Too long…I’ve been controlled for too long. Thank you, little ones, thank you.” Seeing tears coming from his eyes surprised me slightly.
Alice tilts her head looking confused before grabbing my hand. “Mummy, yummy back!” Looking at Alice with a tilt of my head, I suddenly see she was pointing at Ruel. Turning with my guard up, Ruel sighs.
“I’m afraid we don’t have long. I can already hear it, the darkness is once again consuming me. Little ones, tell me, where did you come from?” As if he had accepted his fate, he had a resigned face on. Knowing he had accepted his death, I decided to talk to him.
“We ––––––––––––”. Touching my lips, I was shocked. I had tried to tell him we came from Vale and entered this dungeon, but the words seemingly scrambled themselves as I tried to speak.
“I see, the System is censoring you.” Looking at Ruel, he scoffs. “I can only imagine what you were going to say, and if it’s true then my fate has already been decided.”
“The System…censored me?” That’s never happened before, I haven’t been stopped from talking in the past, so why now? Could it be that I couldn’t tell others in a dungeon that they were in a dungeon? For what reason?
“Little ones, before you go forward, know this. What you’re walking into is pure darkness, the filth of all intelligent life. I’ve seen it, the abyss in this place. T…they are trying to s-summon somet…something u-using it…” Clutching his head, he struggled to speak. “Little ones, kill me.” Using two of his hands, he plunged them into his chest and ripped it open.
A beating heart covered in crystals shone through. “S-strike it q-quickly, before I regenerate.” Nodding, I walked up, grabbed his heart and yanked it out of his chest.
“T-thank you…” As his voice faded, he collapsed on the ground.
You killed Ruel, gained 100,000 xp
Looking at the heart, I sighed slightly. This was the first time I had met someone I could talk to in the dungeon except for Cerberus. Back then, I could speak to him about the world outside, yet here I seemingly couldn’t. Putting Ruel’s heart in a dimensional bag, I decided to take what I could from his corpse. Though it was a little morbid, for some reason I believed it would be better than letting his corpse rot here.
After removing Ruel’s horns and hide, Alice and I move towards the large doors. Pushing them open, a draft hits me and this time, I could sense the deep darkness. Moving down the passageway, my vision started becoming obstructed by the darkness the deeper we walked in. The doors slam shut behind us as I hold Alice’s hand tightly.
Soon, my vision is completely obstructed, unable to see even my hand that should’ve been right in front of me. “Alice, sweety, I can’t see. Can you?”
“YES!” Shouting with a giggle, Alice tugs my hand in a direction. Following her lead, I follow her for a little bit before I stop the two of us as I sense something nearby.
“Alice, what do you see?”
“Ummm, yummy!” Breathing in at her response, I knew she must’ve seen something with a lot of darkness. I knew she wouldn’t be able to describe it properly, so I asked her to wait.
Deciding now was the best time to do this, I focused myself and started moving Lunar energy into my eyes. Seeing as this did nothing to lift the darkness, I thought it over and recalled the constellation for sight. Auraseer. Represented as a constellation that resembled a pupil, I focus on gathering Lunar magic from my mana realm while visualising the constellation.
Feeling it respond to me, an overwhelming pain blazed through my eyes as I let out a scream. I felt Alice hug me and I knew she’d used her cocoon as my eyes burst. Biting my lip, I tried my best not to scream aloud. Panicking, I had thought I made a mistake, but very quickly I felt the Lunar magic responding, weaving itself into my flesh as I felt my eyes regrow.
Spending an agonising hour in pain, my vision returns as my eyes finally finish recovering. Heaving, I threw up the contents of my stomach as I looked around with my blurred vision. That was stupid of me. Looking at Alice, she looked at me with worry and seemed scared. Patting her head carefully, I pulled out a bottle of water while washing my mouth out. Alice pats one of the ears on my head while I see a new System message.
Star Gaze Upgraded.
Your vision has been further enhanced, allowing your eyes to pierce through most illusions and enchantments at or below your level.
Spitting out the water used to wash my mouth, I slowly stood unsteadily. I knew I nearly blinded myself there, if it wasn’t for Auraseer responding to me, the Lunar magic wouldn’t have regrown my eyes. Looking away while washing the blood off my face, I found we were in a cave where a black flame sat in the middle. I found it vile to look at this flame, and looking beyond it I saw a door that was covered in darkness.
“Mummy, ok?” Rubbing her head, I reassured her I was okay now, even though my stomach still churned from the pain. My eyes were still painful, but it was fading. Pointing at the black flame, Alice looked at me. Smiling, I nod as she excitedly runs towards the flame and stuck her hand into it.
Like what had happened to Ruel, a massive swirl of darkness syphoned off the flames, entering Alice’s mouth as she ‘ate’ the darkness from the flame. The flame didn’t dwindle down, instead as the darkness left it the flame became a hot red and orange. As Alice finished, the flame pulsed, pushing the darkness surrounding the door away as the flame turned pure white.
At the same time this happened, the System went off with multiple messages.
Alert! You have freed the corruption from the Flame of Hope and Light!
Alert! The Army of Light has sensed the Flame of Hope and Light! Their strength has returned as they fight with zeal to breach the city.
Alert! This is an unexpected situation. The System is calculating.
Dungeon Quest Update:
The Flame of Hope and Light has been freed of its corruption, and those who fight under the flag of the Army of Light have sensed its return. In their frenzy, they have breached the city walls and are heading towards the source. They fear the darkness that dwells under the city of Hale and will do anything possible to prevent it arising.
Delve deeper into the depths and discover the true darkness.
Current Dungeon Performance: C -> B
Due to an unprecedented and unexpected situation, you are now on the Path to Rewriting History.
“Path of Rewriting History? Isn’t this just a dungeon?” Pondering for a moment, I tried to think what this meant, isn’t this just a dungeon? I didn’t know much about dungeons, and shrugging I looked up at the doors past the flames.
Seeing no System notifications about it, nor anything dangerous around it, I knew that by opening this door it would lead us down to the dangers that waited below.
“Ready, Alice?”
“Mmm!” Jumping into my arms, I carried Alice as we approached the doors, and using my shoulder I opened the door.
Beyond the door there were more stairs that spiralled downwards. “Alice, do you have a quest?”
“Hmm?” Tilting her head at me, I could see the confusion in her eyes. Giggling, I told to not worry as we continued on our way down. As we make our way downwards, I frown at the situation. So far it had been rather easy thanks to how Alice absorbed the darkness from Ruel and the flame.
Ruel was a Guardian and I knew that if we seriously fought it would’ve been draining for me, his regeneration was amazingly quick. Due to a punch of mine, I had knocked him out and given Alice a chance to absorb the darkness that resided within him, though it was short lived.
Then there is the situation with the flame. Is the unexpected situation due to Alice being able to absorb Darkness? She wasn’t affected by this Darkness either, in fact she just found it to be food, so what on Draken has she become? What is a Fallen that Selenia had mentioned?
Finally arriving at the bottom of the staircase, we walked down a passageway for several metres before entering a cave. At the centre sat a figure covered in shadows as he watched us enter. Without a word, he lifted a finger and pointed it at me. Suddenly, I found myself under a starry night sky, under my feet laid a lake filled with stars. A bright, blue gem laid in the sky, something that had been there since waking up after the bear attack.
This is my mana realm? A deep fear overcame me, and as I looked around I found out why. The stars in the sky that represent my mana veins were going dark…no, darkness was filling my mana realm. Feeling my heart drop, I turn on the spot and see a deep darkness approaching me from all directions, covering every inch of my mana realm.
As it crept towards me, I started hearing voices in my mind. Trying to focus and clear my mind, I found it to be a fruitless endeavour. The voices got louder as the darkness crept closer to me, hate and anger building up within me as memories resurfaced, the memories of being a slave in Crater. The way the humans treated me…the hatred I felt for humans, the anger that boiled.
“That’s right…they’re all the same. All of them want you to become stronger to use you.” A voice whispers in my ear as the darkness reaches me. “Nothing has changed. They’ll keep using you…that human from the Guild, those humans from Flowing River, that strong human, they only see you as a slave to control.”
Gritting my teeth, I tried to fight against these thoughts, but at the same time I couldn’t deny the possibility of its words. The moment that seed was planted, the darkness rushed forward, covering me.
“You can kill them. They can’t control you, they will never control you, yet they try. Even those that call themselves Gods try to control you. Accept me, we will kill them all, consume them and become stronger. We can be free.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
As the last of my mana realm is covered in darkness, I slowly breathed in. Opening my eyes, I looked at the figure in the centre of the room and smiled. Reaching towards my chest, I tore the charm off my neck and threw it away as my bloodthirst sprouted forth. I felt amazing, I had missed this feeling of anger and hate.
Warning! You are falling.
Feeling my hand being tugged, I turned and looked at Alice. “Mummy?” Annoyance bubbled within me. I never asked to be her mother, nor did I ever want to take care of her. I could sense an overwhelming amount of power coming from her, if I could consume that I’d become even stronger.
Reaching my hand towards her throat, her eyes widened as she jumped away. “NO! SCARY! MUMMY SCARY!” A talon emerges from the ground, gripping me tightly. Chucking, I exert all of my strength and break out easily as I dashed towards her with a speed she couldn’t keep up with.
Grabbing her throat, I lift her up as she struggles. I can be rid of this pest and gain more strength, then I’ll leave this place and kill those humans trying to control me. Watching her struggling made me feel amazing as a strange feeling welled up within.
Alert! You are becoming a Fallen!
Squeezing a bit harder, I wanted to relish in this feeling of seeing her die, this sudden thorn in my side. Tears ran down her face as my face reflected in her eyes. My eyes were red, a firm layer of darkness covered me and my expression was of joy. So why. Why are there tears running down my face?!
“Alice…gasp Alice love Mummy.” Squeaking out those words, Alice continues crying. I felt something pulse throughout my body upon hearing her words as I lost my grip. Alice falls to the ground but I pay her no mind as faces flash through my mind.
Sally and Gray, the two I yearned to see, the first two I could truly call friends in this world. Elizabeth, Elise and Roland, three humans who hadn’t judged me once for what I was and never once tried to lead me off my path, three who I could trust beyond anyone else. Xia, who remained by my side even though I didn’t follow the Moon Goddess like she did.
The staff at the Lily Pond Inn, who took care of me when I first arrived in Vale. Aubrey, the first friend I made in Vale, someone I cared for immensely, even if I didn’t show it to her. An overwhelming feeling came from within as those faces flashed past my mind as it became clear.
“Get…get out of me.” Focusing on my mind, I pushed against the darkness within my mind and body as that feeling grew stronger and stronger. Entering my mana realm once more, I focused on resisting the darkness that had taken hold of me.
The blue gem pulsed along with me, forcing the darkness away from me as I felt my mind completely regain its clarity.
“Impossible. You can not resis-”
“Resist this.” Somehow I knew that this blue gem was responding to my thoughts as I fully focused on pushing the darkness out of my mana realm. A strong pulse came from the blue gem as the darkness was purged from me. Opening my eyes, I looked at the figure in the middle as fury, my fury, surged within me.
Pushing a palm out, I focused everything into crafting a new spell, one that would obliterate this fucker. Visualising the moon as I used all of my mana, a massive magic circle appeared before me.
“NIGHT’S FURY!”
The magic circle disappeared and reappeared above the figure, massive in size as a moon nearly the size of the room slammed into the bastard sitting in the middle. Upon connecting with him, a blast of Lunar magic imploded with the figure in the centre, the full blast tearing him apart completely. Panting while feeling my mind spin, I turned and saw Alice sitting there, tears running down her face.
Getting on my knees, I hugged her tightly, guilt overcoming me. “I’m so sorry, Alice I’m so sorry.” Sobbing while I held onto her, for the first time in a long time, I cried as Alice did.
***
Sitting there while hugging Alice, I took care not to wake her. I’d given her several healing potions and she seemed to be okay. She’d told me in her own words that it was okay, but the guilt still ate at me. As I rested against the wall, I saw the System messages from earlier and finally knew that a Fallen meant someone who had fallen to darkness.
You have avoided becoming a Fallen.
That wasn’t the only thing.
You have pushed back the darkness that laid within your heart and overcome it. Your Race is no longer restricted in any form. In addition to previous Race bonuses:
New:
Your Lunar Magic has evolved into Celestial Eclipse Magic.
Your Lunar Mana Talent has been upgraded to Celestial Eclipse Mana.
Your Mana Realm has mutated further. It now produces mana at a faster rate and produces a moderate amount of Celestial Eclipse Energy.
Your Celestial Eclipse Mana has doubled.
Your Domain negatively affects those within, reducing their resistance to your magic by 10%
Your Domain may evolve further…
Talent: Celestial Eclipse Mana: A higher form of Lunar Mana, reduces the mana cost of all spells under this school by 50% while empowering Celestial Eclipse Magic by 50%
You have defeated an Embodiment of Darkness, gained 300,000xp
You have levelled to 43!
Gained the following Stats:
Strength: +35
Agility: +50
Intelligence: +25
Toughness: +2
You gain 10% more Stats due to Aspiring Hero, you gain the following:
Strength: +3
Agility: +5
Intelligence: +2
Toughness: +0
Health increased to 5,500.
Celestial Eclipse Mana Increased to 95,000.
Current Dungeon Performance: B -> A
Over the last few hours I had felt changes happening to my body, not just from levelling either. My body felt…complete. My Mana Realm had also changed, the sky within now reflected the true sky, similar to my Domain. A new, stronger power emitted from me, I felt that this power was similar to Lunar magic, but vastly stronger. Sighing, I knew that I had more or less been set down this path of being the Moon Goddess’s Blessed, though I still had some reservations to it.
I wasn’t sure what Celestial Eclipse Magic entailed just yet, but I knew it would be more powerful than Lunar due to what I felt. Glancing at the spot that the figure had perished, I saw a dark, pulsing gemstone the size of a fist sitting there. I knew whatever that thing was had to be a Guardian since killing it increased the Dungeon Performance. Looking at the spell I had made out of fury, I knew I had made something ridiculous.
Night’s Fury.
Turn your sheer anger and fury into a powerful attack. The more anger you hold towards your target, the stronger the attack. Drop a moon formed from Celestial Eclipse Magic onto the target and when it hits, it will implode all its magic on that target.
Mana Cost: Up to 100% depending on level of fury.
Chuckling, I had only entered this dungeon to practise Flowing River, and yet here I was, creating new Lunar spells and not even getting a chance to fight up close, except with Ruel. I knew it had used all of my mana when I used Night's Fury, thankfully in the last few hours it had mostly recovered. Feeling Alice stir, I hugged her more.
“Mummy!” Hugging me back, she looked up at me. “Mummy ok?” Stroking her head gently, I smiled.
“Yes, I’m okay now. I’m sorry.” Still feeling guilty, I hugged her once more.
“Alice ok!” As she rubs my head, I chuckle. Standing up, I carry her as we walk towards the centre.
“Alice, do you want that?” Pointing at the gemstone, I had expected Alice to leap at the gemstone, instead the opposite happened. Hugging my neck, she turned away from it.
“YUCKY!” Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what the difference between the previous darkness had been and this gemstone. Glancing at the System, I tilted my head a bit.
Pure Dark Gem
Contains pure Darkness energy.
How is this yucky? I had thought she’d want to eat this. Perhaps it was because it was a gemstone? Or…did she associate it with what just happened? Carefully poking the gemstone, it didn’t react nor did it try to invade me. Picking it up slowly, I stored it in a pouch and threw it into an empty dimensional bag. I’d get it checked out once we left this place.
Looking down, there was a hole in the ground. It wasn’t caused by my magic earlier, but rather the figure must’ve been guarding it. Even though I couldn’t sense Darkness magic like Alice, I knew that the source of it must be coming from down here. I didn’t know how far the drop was, but I knew that by using Wind magic I could slow our fall.
“Are you ready, Alice?”
“Mm!”
Jumping into the hole, we start falling.
Third Person PoV
“What do you mean, dead?!” Standing there with her arms crossed, Elise angrily shouted at the guard stationed before the doors to the Battlefield of Eternity.
“As I said, a foolish Bronze Grade dragged a level 1 child into the dungeon, thus I informed the Guild that two adventurers have died.” Shrugging without seemingly a care, the guard looked down at Elise.
“And you didn’t bother to confirm their identity?” Heaving a sigh, Elise pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d disliked dealing with the regular guards of the city, they seemingly had little care for adventurers.
“I confirmed the Bronze Grade to be named Alisha, past that I didn’t need to check further.” The guard shrugged once again.
Looking at the doors with a frown, Elise frowned. She had been informed about half a day ago, but due to a heavy workload and multiple tests and interviews, she’d only been able to arrive now. She didn’t seem worried however, only slightly annoyed.
Looking towards the entrance of the building that held the Battlefield of Eternity, where a cafe sat, she turned to the guard with plans to wait at the cafe. “When they exit, please inform the tw-”
Before she could finish, the doors to the Dimensional Dungeon flung open on its own accord as dozens of adventurers were flung out of the dungeon, much to the bewilderment of Elise and the guard.
Speechless at the sight, Elise watched as nearly a hundred adventurers in total were thrown from the dungeon before the doors slammed shut. The adventurers themselves were mostly Silver Grade, with some Bronze Grade mixed in. All of them were in a similar state, completely confused and looking around their surroundings, some holding their weapons while others were dispersing their magic, like they had just been fighting.
Spotting someone familiar to her, Elise ran over to a Silver Grade adventurer. “Ryan. Ryan!” The adventurer named Ryan shook his head and looked at Elise.
“Elise? Why ar-no, that’s not important. Elise what just happened?”
“That’s what I want to know! You were all ejected for seemingly no reason.”
“Ah? Uh, the System said something…” Frowning, he repeats what the System said. “The history of the Battlefield of Eternity is being rewritten. As you are not a part of the events, you are being ejected.” With a frown, he looks back at Elise. “That’s what it says.”
Widening her eyes, Elise’s head snaps to the doors and mutters. “No fucking way…”
Level 45 Dimensional Dungeon, Battlefield of Eternity. Locked.
At that moment, a surge of darkness wrapped around the door, surprising everyone.
“Elise, just what is happening?” Elise’s face was pale as her lip trembled. Turning on the spot, she says as she leaves the building “I need to inform the Branch Master.”