The Twilight Dungeon brooded over her defeat and the loss of three maxed-out spawners. She was no longer a master of her own domain. She couldn't even rebuild yet. Her last scion was still respawning, and she had only Feys in any battle-ready condition. The Earth Elemental scion was slowly fading away, and she couldn't even attach him to any spawner that still existed. While the damage she sustained was painful, it wasn’t as extensive as she initially thought. However, she hardly saw any point in rebuilding her strength once again. She couldn't rebel against her new master, she couldn't defy her new master, and she couldn't even violate the rules he imposed on his Vassals. The light in her inner sanctum dimmed as she sadly wept in the darkness. The master of that Spider was a monster out of this world. She couldn't even begin to understand how he managed to force his will over all the other Dungeons and their scions. The aura that surrounded them was strange. It felt as if they served two masters, yet the will that drove them forth was harmonious. Their previous masters were not forced to follow their... Our King's will. They and their denizens willingly obeyed the King.

She was surprised to learn that her former slaves survived and were not killed by the other Dungeons. While she was not especially overprotective of them, she was rather unwilling to harm them. She had discovered that keeping Mortals alive gave her more mana in the long run rather than a single large influx of mana after they were killed. Despite her very unusual stance about the role of Mortals in the world, she was stunned to find out that the Spider, Scion Crawline, was so furious that her denizen almost killed three of them. It was an unfortunate situation, but after all, mortals die. She shuddered in fear again as she recalled the moments of dread as Crawline destroyed her spawners, forcing her to confront her own mortality. The enemy scions fighting... No, they were merely a distraction to keep her and her scions occupied while Crawline and the other monsters wreaked havoc in her domain. They never stood a chance of getting into the inner sanctum. With her four scions and nearly three hundred of her most elite denizens, the grand hall before the sanctum was too well guarded. Despite their unexpected strength, the enemies couldn't hope to kill all of her protectors. They managed to kill just over half of the forces she gathered before they almost died.

Yet, their gamble paid off. She was scared and panicking, unable to think correctly. Instead of focusing on the defences, she considered other unimportant things. Scion Crawline blamed her for violating the rules of the war, of which she wasn't even aware. Instead of ignoring that pretentious babbling and crushing the invaders, she allowed herself to be intimidated. Yes, the five scions were powerful, but they were just five monsters. She should have overrun them with weaker monsters and allowed her scions to kill them. But that was a what-if of the past that could not be changed anymore. The tipping point, the moment when she truly lost that battle and her freedom, was when the Serpent attacked three mortals. The Core replayed that moment within her memory, trying to understand the reasons behind the accusations, and shivered as the realisation dawned. It was a justification as old as the world itself. Power. The power that granted its authority to Crawline. The undisputed might that knows no defeat or struggle. She wasn't blind or stupid, realising that the King was not simply powerful but possessed knowledge that exceeded anything she had learned. Knowledge is power. A truth so trivial that some considered it just a fool's wisdom. However, there was no more fundamental truth than this one...

A sudden surge of power interrupted her thoughts. In panic and awe, she looked for the source of that power only to find something akin to a portal that opened in the most prominent ruined entrance to her domain. From it, an army emerged in perfect formation, comprised of such immensely powerful monsters that she started questioning everything she ever knew. Right behind them came an entity whose presence alone was like a shining beacon in the darkness. Six other entities also followed, accompanied by the army that had exited towards the camp made for her previous slaves. But that single powerful being stayed behind. And what was worse, he stared right at her. After a thoughtful moment, she decided to send her last, still-living scion.

•••

Amber looked at the rows of tents built just outside the Twilight Dungeon. The people she passed looked at her in shock, still covering their eyes from the bright, late spring sun. However, she didn't find anyone malnourished or bruised, which was something uncommon for the people referred to as slaves. In growing confusion, she and her sister Queens slowed down as they observed the somewhat hostile gazes of the adults slowly surrounding them. They were hardly in danger, protected by the entire battalion of Praetorians, not to mention that none of the Queens were defenceless. The children, however, had mixed reactions, from the hostility that mirrored their parents on the older children to the indifference and occasional admiration on the faces of young girls. One such girl ran straight towards Amber under the heavy gaze of the Praetorians, who normally could render even the most seasoned warriors immobile. The girl stopped a few paces before Amber and bowed clumsily and awkwardly, staring at her in fascination.

"Are you the Queen?" the girl asked while the Praetorians created a perimeter to protect the Queens.

"Yes. I am the Queen." the Half-Elf nodded with a soft smile, aware of the dozens of gazes that rapidly changed into hundreds as more and more people joined the ones that had already surrounded them.

The girl asked a question that was very strange for her age. "What will happen with the Dungeon now? Will you hurt her?"

"Hmmm... You tell me. Should we hurt her?" Amber asked loudly. The crowd responded in shocked murmurs as the child paled.

"No! Please, don't hurt her!" The girl's eyes widened. "She gave us food, and she protected us!"

"Then we don't have to hurt her." Amber extended her hand and tenderly patted the girl's head. "Where are your parents?"

"They..." The girl looked at two people, a Human man and a Nekomi woman. Seeing their worried looks, she paused, not knowing what to do.

"You have nothing to worry about." Amber nodded towards the Praetorians, who immediately escorted the girl's parents before her.

With a snap of her fingers, Amber summoned a sizable table and chairs. Without a word, the Queens of Arcadia took a seat, and Amber pointed at the empty chairs as she spoke to the girl's parents. "Take a seat."

"Queen... We... Please, spare us." The man bowed, trying to cover the woman and the girl behind him.

"Your concerns are unfounded. Do you know who I am?" Hestia asked the man, slightly annoyed by the attitude of the saved people.

"N-no, my Lady." The man shook his head with visible fear.

"That explains your fear and hostility." Hestia sighed. "I'm Hestia va'Theon, the Goddess of Arcadia and the fourth Queen of Avalon. You and everyone here have nothing to fear as long as you do not attack us."

"A Goddess?" the man paled. "How is it possible that... But..." He took a deep breath, and after stepping forward, he was stopped by the lightning-fast reaction of the two Praetorians, who crossed their halberds to block his path. Something within his eyes raised concerns—a pure, unbridled hate. "How can you support someone so vile as Josla?!"

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Oh... Oh, my..." Hestia puffed her cheeks in an attempt to hold her laughter. "Have you ever seen Josla?"

"Ummm... N-no." The man looked nervously at Amber, who sighed.

"My name is Amber va'Theon. I am the first Queen of Avalon and the Ruling Queen of Arcadia." Amber smiled charmingly, causing most of the men gazing at her to blush as she gently put her hand on her chest, pointing at herself. "Cridia is no more. I personally defeated Josla. These lands belong now to the King Theon Avalon."

"Josla is currently sweeping the streets of her ruined capital," Irene added calmly.

"As you can see, Tarlik, things have changed during the time you were held underground," Hestia added thoughtfully, staring right through the man's soul. He paled even more after hearing his name, which he had not revealed. "We, the six Queens of Arcadia, have come to check your well-being and learn about your time in that Dungeon."

"I beg for your forgiveness..." The man dropped to his knees, and the crowd's previous hostility and hatred slowly turned into an undecided mix of feelings.

"You have done nothing wrong. However, you were very close to doing something stupid." Aoi looked at the man who was still kneeling in shame. Her gaze made everyone lower their heads. "Everyone, please tell us about the Twilight Dungeon and how she treated you."

"We weren't mistreated, my Lady!" someone replied immediately, as other voices raised their support. "She called us slaves, but she treated us much better than we could ever have hoped for from the Cridian nobles!"

"Then tell us everything," Amber demanded.

The people slowly told their stories, which varied from person to person. However, the picture they painted was reasonably consistent, showing that the lives of the underground generations were oddly peaceful. These people were imprisoned and couldn't even leave that part of the Dungeon, but they were free within the limits of their prison. They started new lives and new families. They worked on underground mushroom farms, hunted for cave rabbits' or bats' meat, and some fought in the arena against the Dungeon's denizens. In a twisted way, the Dungeon seemed to really care about them, never putting them against unfavourable odds or even hurting them. They spent their lives in a fairly large community, in relative safety. While Hestia's clouded face told Amber that her sister Queen disagreed with the people, she decided to stay quiet. As for Amber herself, she returned to her memories of the darker days when she was known as Hrrin'a. Back then, she would have been envious of these people and their safe lives without worries about lack of food or death waiting behind every corner. However, she was now a different woman. A bit older and far wiser than a poor and scared Hrrin'a, Amber knew better.

"Maybe it shouldn’t be me to say, but a golden cage is still a cage..." she said as calmly as she could. "Mister Ulik, you said you were an adventurer."

"Yes, my Lady," one of the most talkative humans confirmed.

"You never wanted to break free?"

"At the beginning..." he admitted with a strangely wooden voice. "But the days turned into weeks, weeks quickly became months that bled into years... In the meantime, I met Kalla, and no one was waiting for me out here, my Queen."

"Miss Kalla?" Amber looked at a pale, blonde woman. "What about you?"

"I was born in the Dungeon, my Lady." She tried to copy the bow given to the Queen by her husband. For fairly obvious reasons she failed, but at least she tried. "I don't know of a life outside our home. I am just a tailor like my mother."

Amber focused on her. "You never wanted to get out from there?"

"No, my Lady!" she screamed in fear. "I heard many stories about the surface, about its dangers and hardships. We had everything we needed there to be happy. And..."

The woman stuttered and lowered her head even more. She was afraid of something. Irene looked softly at Kalla and studied the woman with her calm gaze.

"What are you afraid of?" the Saintess asked the Human woman in a soothing voice.

"The sky is terrifying, my Lady," the woman replied as she trembled, which gave the Queens pause.

Most of the saved people nodded in confirmation or looked worriedly above or around them. After spending so much time underground, they were afraid of the vast, unbound spaces of the surface. Some feared the wind and even the clouds that lazily traversed the endless sky. Ulik hugged his wife, trying to comfort her, but he smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry, my Queens. It's so strange, even for me, to return outside, so I understand how they feel."

"It's normal that you are lost and confused. But don't be afraid; we will help you adapt to life outside." Irene looked at them with compassion.

•••

I looked at the scorched beams and melted rock that once were the elements of a massive gate. I ran my fingers over the fantastically melted rocks, whose smooth surfaces looked like baubles of shining glass. I took one that looked like a crystal formation, with sharp splinters and yet a smooth surface– it would make an awesome paperweight or decoration. With amusement, I ignored the curious and embittered presence lurking that observed my every move. The Core of the Twilight Dungeon had an aura like no other Dungeon I had met before. She seemed to have a strong personality, which was trying to fight the geasa I forced upon her. However, I was stronger.

"What's your name?" I asked her, ignoring the denizens who started gathering in the halls adjacent to where I was.

"Name?" A weak and terrified Earth Elemental entered the room.

"Yes. A name. All living creatures have or should have names," I confirmed and crossed my arms behind me.

"We don't understand..." He lowered his head.

"Sigh..." I pulled the bridge of my nose. "Do you know who I am?"

"You have the aura of power and authority like no other. You truly are a terrifying sight. But we don't know who you are." The Elemental shook his head.

Before he could do anything or say anything more, I blinked in front of him and placed my hand on his chest. I was surprised after I noticed that he was dying. "You are vanishing..."

"Scion Crawline of the Righteous Dungeon destroyed my spawner and almost cut my link with my mistress," he said carefully, but he was not hiding anything or trying to deceive me.

I closed my eyes, still resting the palm of my hand on his chest made of rocks. I had full access to his memories, and knowing that he was actually a fairly good guy, I took pity on him.

"You were a sentinel... A guardian of the Twilight Dungeon."

"How do you know?" he asked angrily, unable to step back, held in place by my power.

"The Twilight Dungeon! You don't need a voice to talk to me. Stop hiding behind your minions!" I searched for the best-suited spawner and attached the Earth Elemental to it. He gasped in shock, which was echoed by another voice belonging to a young woman. His presence stabilised, and he rapidly regained his power. His previously frail figure started growing and became bulky. "No one can hide from me within my domain!"

I pushed him slightly, which made him stumble and almost sent him flying despite his mass. He dropped heavily on the ground a few paces in front of me and sat in shock.

"W-who are you... Lord?" he asked with a humble voice.

"I am King Theon Avalon, The Righteous Dungeon, The Champion of Eriar, The Chosen of the Archangel, The Bringer of Equilibrium, The Friend of the Eternals, The Protector of the Weak, The Bane of Void's Servants, and The God Slayer."