53

Entering the Dungeon

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Blazing fires reached for the heavens. A cold moon shone from behind the spiderweb of starlight. And a swirling mass of purple energy glowed in the center of the square.

A balance had formed, only to be disrupted by a single man.

The electricity that coated this man coalesced in a single spear. A current of lightning launched forward. Water split as a trail of light flew over the swamp. And at the end of this path, an explosion of raging thunder trumped every sound.

Alduin had decided on their future.

The darkness of the night disappeared. Water that coated the mud erupted with a blinding radiance. Stagnant water exploded upwards. Droplets that escaped their bond with the swamp shone like stars in the night. The entire colony felt the chaos in the heart of their swamp. And as countless scales reflected the light that illuminated the square, more beacons of energy responded to this call.

Lightning dominated all. Thunder broke every sound. And Alduin - the one who tilted the scales of survival - slumped forward as unconsciousness claimed him.

The light that dominated the night painted Alduin’s falling figure.

Veleda, who had shouted his name in panic, now dashed forward in silence.

Each of them knew the steps they had to take. Not a single command had to be uttered. The splashing water confirmed this.

Light seemed to reflect in Veleda’s eyes as she stared at the large man in front of her.

Bertrand had bent forward, pulling the unconscious Alduin from the devouring mud. But his steps didn’t stop. With a large shield in his hand and an unconscious man over his shoulder, he continued to run.

Veleda’s eyes landed on the figure behind them. Ise, who carried Hati, betrayed her exhaustion with unbalanced steps. Blood that fell from her mouth was carried away by wave after wave of water and mud.

Hilda ran next to her with eyes that showed despair. One of her 5 remaining arrows was nocked on her bow. She showed her desire to survive, yet her expression betrayed her hopelessness.

Veleda stared ahead. The final member of their group had shot forward with immense speed.

The light illuminated all for but a moment. A moment the lizardmen didn’t expect. All of this originated from the very center of this colony.

But as the light faded, the golden glow in Veleda’s eyes only grew stronger. She had seen all. From the sky to the gate. From the fire to the scales. And lastly, from the sword that was pulled to the eyes of the captain of the high-lizardmen.

But the moment Leon shouted was the moment the lizardman slumped down. The final steps it took stopped when the mud devoured the last currents of electricity.

Alduin had succeeded.

A monster that reigned over an entire colony was defeated by a human. A monster that survived the onslaught of an army. A single man with an attribute of lightning and a glowing spear.

This event had become their lifeline where the army had failed.

And trumping the echoing thunder was Veleda’s voice. “Leon!” she yelled, “Grab that corpse!”

Even before Leon thought of turning his head, Veleda continued, “Pull it inside!”

The lightning that dominated the night and the thunder that reigned over the rage of this colony disappeared as quickly as it came.

But through this window of opportunity, the entire group reached the purple dungeon gate. For the second time in his life, Alduin would once again be swallowed by a dungeon.

Two eyes glowed with a golden light. Veleda, who panicked the moment Alduin ran forth, looked back for a final time.

The fire that represented their lifeline, the sky that sealed their fate, and the colony that trudged through the freezing night, not a single thing could block them from entering the purple gate.

And everything changed as the dungeon swallowed them.

***

“Where’s the exit?!” The silence couldn’t be perceived before a voice had already broken it.

“What the fuck!” Even Leon couldn’t hold back his voice anymore.

“Where’s the exit?!” Hilda repeated, the change in scenery was enough for her resistance to break.

A wall of mud stood from the place they entered. The light that devoured them spat them back out. Glowing roots dominated their sight, yet dark soil was all they could see.

“What do we do, what do we do now?!” Hilda broke down in tears.

“Shut up!” Ise rebutted but not even a single sentence was spoken before blood erupted from her mouth.

“Veleda,” Leon crawled out from underneath a giant corpse. “What were you thinking?!”

Bertrand in turn laid his large shield down before gently lowering Alduin.

“Everybody,” Veleda’s voice dominated the chaos. “Listen closely.”

The barking Hati seemed to back up his master as he trotted from Ise’s side toward Veleda.

“We’re inside a dungeon. Gather up and prepare your defenses. We’re not safe yet.” Her golden eyes stared at each person in her group before landing on Alduin.

“Ise,” she said as she stepped forward. “Give me that core.”

Before Ise even gathered her breathing from throwing up blood, a hand already dug through her pocket.

“Bertrand, pick up your shield and block the entrance of this tunnel.”

Only now did Leon jolt awake. The sight of the manifested lightning, even the sound of thunder that originated from a human, but most importantly the fact that they had their backs against a wall - falling into a trap created by inhuman creatures - had blocked him from making rational decisions.

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

Only Veleda, the person with the weakest strength, pulled them from their stupor.

Leon muttered, “Veleda.”

“Sword,” Veleda pulled the weapon from Leon’s hand.

To her, nothing else mattered. Her attention focused on one objective. The glow in her eyes increased as she looked at the dying Alduin. Erratic breaths were drawn. Blood flowed from each orifice. Each muscle that twitched pained Veleda's heart as she saw Alduin lying there. If she didn’t act now it would be too late.

Her movements were rapid as blood flowed from Alduin’s palm. The gash on his palm was sealed by a deep blue core and two hands held Alduin's hand tightly. “This is the second time,” Veleda muttered in silence as she kneeled in the mud. “You don’t change… do you?”

Yet her reprimand only showed worry. The light in her eyes reflected in growing teardrops.

Silence descended once again.

Bertrand followed Veleda’s command.

Leon stood in shock before taking the sword and readying himself.

Only Ise - cramped with pain and coughing blood - and Hilda - who stood in a daze as her eyes landed on the blue gemstone - waited by Veleda’s side as she treated Alduin.

And like this, time passed as the core of a high-lizardman slowly dissolved.

“You shouldn’t worry me so much,” Veleda said softly, “You know you would have died, are you planning to leave me behind in a world like this?” She whispered her worries to him.

Her voice continued, easing both her worries as well as letting Alduin know she was by his side. Her shoulders gently shook as she wiped the blood from his face.

From their arrival until now, her eyes never left Alduin. It was only when Alduin stopped shaking and his heartbeat increased in strength that she turned around to face her group.

But unlike before, the golden glow had faded from her sky-blue eyes.

“Veleda,” Leon had returned and only now dared to speak.

“Hm?” Veleda looked up.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“That lizardman, you saw it as well didn’t you? Why did you-“

Yet Veleda’s demeanor had changed. Her sky-blue eyes didn’t show panic, and neither did they show her being lost. Only a small smile showed as she returned a question.

“I saw it clearly, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand, not only that, how-“

He was interrupted again as Veleda said, “The gate held the high-lizardman back, we know that for sure.”

“Right,” Leon answered.

“Did you notice anything strange about the colony itself?”

But this time Leon didn’t respond. “Bitch!” Hilda shouted, her panic had been suppressed yet her nervousness flared up. “Stop talking in riddles, what are you aiming at, we’re in the heart of their territory, we don’t have time for this!”

“Bitch?” Veleda stood up straight. “My Alduin was willing to lay down his life for our survival, and you did nothing to support him. To begin with, this was all caused by you, and here you are, complaining and crying.”

Veleda’s warm impression vanished. A sharp gaze resembling her mother and grandfather looked at Hilda. Alduin lay behind her, unconscious with his back in the mud. The fragile girl had faded and her eyes showed her determination.

A network of shining roots illuminated their surroundings and pitch-black mud was all that could be seen.

“We’re at the heart of their territory, you’re right, yet only a single high-lizardman stood guard. Our surroundings were filled with lesser and regular lizardmen, but they all kept their distance from the gate. And lastly, we entered a gate that a lizardman couldn’t enter.”

Veleda stood right in front of Hilda, her head tilted up as she made eye contact with the woman who was taller than her.

“What do you think happened?”

Hilda let her emotions run rampant, she didn’t even notice this inconsistency in the situation they escaped from.

“Veleda.” Leon put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re safe now, there’s not a single lizardman in this tunnel. Alduin survived as well. So please…” He stepped in front of her. “Please, I don’t understand what’s going on either.”

“It’s not the lizardmen,” a heavy voice sounded, “It’s the gate itself.”

Bertrand had returned with clothes covered in mud.

“Right, this is the heart of their territory, yet all the lizardmen took their distance from the purple gate. And from what we know, the high-lizardmen wasn’t capable of entering inside while he was alive,” Veleda said.

All of them stared at the large corpse laying near the wall they entered from.

“Besides that, we know for a fact we, as well as objects, can enter inside a dungeon gate.” Veleda stared at the creature Alduin killed and continued, “We need all the help we can get.”

Leon stared with shock at Veleda who reached a conclusion while surrounded by chaos. He didn’t even understand what happened, let alone think ahead while running for their lives.

Silence descended once more. Damp air hit their lungs as they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Veleda thought for a moment before she looked at Bertrand and asked, “What kind of gate did you enter to gain that attribute?”

The gray-haired man stared back. “I didn’t enter a gate, this is my first time. I didn’t even know you could enter inside.”

Ise, Leon, and Veleda, each stared in surprise at his answer.

And following her inquisitive nature, Ise asked with a quivering voice, “What happened where you lived? Where did you come from?”

A difficult expression painted Bertrand’s face.

“Southeast, a small town not that far from here,” Hilda coldly replied, “The sky cracked and feline monsters, a size between a cat and a lion, appeared out of nowhere.”

“What happened then?” Ise frowned, the pain still overwhelmed her as she sat next to Alduin.

“What do you think happened? Cops started killing them. People continued to die. In the end, all the survivors either hid or gathered to fight back.”

“So, how did you end up with that attribute? You said you didn’t enter that dungeon?” Veleda asked again.

"What do you mean?” Bertrand frowned, “If you are talking about that red gate then it collapsed with the appearance of the full moon. We hadn’t even killed all those cats yet before another wave assaulted us." His voice started shaking as he looked at Hilda.

“Only a small group of people survived,” Hilda continued, “We didn't even kill all those cats, but the largest one was covered in flames and he was the one that killed it.”

But this time, the surprise they felt was turned into shock.

“You’re kidding, right?” Leon was the first to ask. His voice shook at the thought of this event and his eyes landed on Veleda. “How-“

It was a groundless assumption that pushed their actions, yet this assumption, led by Veleda’s appearance and Alduin’s intuition had prevented the worst-case scenario.

“The night of the full moon is when we left the dungeon,” Leon sat down, the more he learned, the less he seemed to understand.

“You didn’t succeed in entering your dungeon before the last monster exited, and the gate disappeared after the final monster escaped,” Veleda said as she looked at Bertrand. But her frown only deepened as she continued, “That’s the same as what happened in our hometown, Leon.”

Both Ise and Leon stared at Veleda as she pulled a small journal from her pocket.

“We’ve already discussed all of this and now we have our answer,” Veleda said, “If goblins escaped a dungeon yet the gate didn’t vanish, does that mean it hasn’t finished its purpose? What would have happened after the last goblin exited the dungeon, why couldn’t they exit? Why did the dungeon disappear after all the goblins died?”

All attention fell on Veleda as she stared at Alduin.

“This dungeon is different from a red dungeon,” she continued, “This is a purple gate. We only have knowledge of a red dungeon gate. But we know one thing, the red dungeon gate disappeared when the sky cleared, and the purple one stayed.”

Silence descended, and both Leon and Ise stared at the blond-haired girl in their midst. They had killed the Goblin King and the dungeon disappeared. Their thoughts naturally led them to the following point as wide eyes stared back.

“You-“ Ise spoke up with a hoarse voice. “You-“ Yet she couldn’t put this discovery in a sentence.

It wasn’t something that needed explanation. Both Ise and Leon knew what this meant. And each one of them felt shivers rise up their spines.

“What do you mean?” Hilda asked back.

“A red dungeon gate has two waves. That’s what I mean.” Veleda’s gentle voice had disappeared. “Either you’re fast enough to stop it before the final wave or wait for the dungeon to break and let the final wave exit. That’s what happened in your hometown. The dungeon gate in your hometown and ours disappeared for the same reason, yet different methods were used.”

“…Don’t tell me.” Bertrand’s silence was broken. “You held them back?”

“Not me,” Veleda looked at Leon and then at Alduin, “He did.”

But seeing her grave expression, Veleda wasn’t finished yet.

“But what’s important is that we’re not in a red dungeon. We’re in a purple dungeon, and unlike a red dungeon, this one didn’t…”

Before they knew it, the tension that eased after escaping now rose even higher. All of their gazes stared in the same direction. And all of them thought the same thing.

This dungeon hadn’t collapsed. If the strongest members exited last, and there already were that many high-lizardmen outside, then what-

Veleda balled her hands. And slowly but surely, the golden light that had faded from her eyes burned into the depths of her subconscious.