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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea
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"So, given all you've told me... Your morals have definitely changed, and you didn't notice when they did or started to. You thought it was the original soul in the Core, but not much has changed after removing that soul. Occam's razor suggests the answer must be because of the body your soul is in, the Core itself. Also, I have to ask, what the fuck is up with that; Who is Occam, and how do I know about his razor?!"
I let my avatar sigh from where it was lying on the concrete, its feet still hanging off the ledge.
"Yes, I agree. It's the only explanation that makes sense. But I can't exactly change my body, my Core, without huge consequences—apocalyptic consequences." I answered the question of my morals first before addressing Kata's other concern. "I assume it has to do with my connection to the Children. They draw on my knowledge unconsciously and speak sayings and quotes from my original world without thinking."
They were both silent for a moment.
"Oh, and Occam isn't actually his name," I explained, drawing on memories I hadn't needed to think of in years. "His name was William, I think. It's the idea that the explanation or solution is usually the simplest or easiest. It can certainly be wrong, but it's something to remember."
"Then where did the Occam come from?"
"The town he was born in, Ockham."
"Ah, so he was lowborn?"
"I don't actually know. Wasn't told all that much about him; only his razor."
"That's kinda sad."
I turned my avatar's head left to look at Kata. She was lying beside me, eyes looking at the wispy clouds floating overhead.
"So. I've told you everything, I think. Answered all your questions. You have anything to say?"
Kata didn't respond but for closing her eyes.
"You need a moral compass," she stated after a minute of silence. "Someone who can tell you whether what you are about to do is morally wrong."
"Are you volunteering?"
"You don't exactly have any other option. The Children wouldn't dare criticize you through no fault of your own," Kata said. I hummed and sat up. I swung the avatar's legs around off the edge and stood. It was a short walk away from the edge to a window on the opposite side, one that faced Core Island. I held my skeletal hands behind my back, staring out through the flaming eyes of my avatar's skull.
Footsteps followed, and Kata soon joined me at the window.
As much as I held onto my humanity... I wasn't human anymore. A human has a heart, and his blood pumps through his veins. A human breathes the air and draws energy from the food he eats. A human would feel the fabric of his clothes on his skin.
Mana is my only way of interacting with the world. Touch... I haven't touched anything myself in a long time. Experiencing it through one of the children is different. Taste... I suppose I've used it to identify mana. Beyond the colors of the magic itself, they all have a 'taste.' Or maybe they don't, and it's just my soul being confused about how to process my senses. Synthesia, though I don't know how that would work when I no longer have a brain.
Even this avatar I've crafted reflects my new nature. It doesn't have eyes to see, skin to feel, or a tongue to taste. It doesn't have a nose to smell or ears to hear. It is a skeleton, the bones of my fallen Children, repurposed and reused. It is the product of experiments that caused and continue to cause fear and pain and...
I'm a Dungeon Core. I've killed hundreds of humans and felt nothing of their deaths. Guiltless, but not blameless. I do feel empathy, but not enough to empathize with those who are not my own.
But I wanted to. My humanity made me different; it was what set me apart from the panicked flailing a dungeon a soul like Instincts would run. It gave me my goal, dream, and vision: a place of wonders, beautiful vistas, awe-inspiring creations, and monuments.
In my fear of enslavement and destruction, I crafted horrors and terrors. Monsters that would fling themselves at invaders to prevent precisely that.
"Kata," I began, looking at the accretion disk surrounding my Core. It was painted in a rainbow of colors, with a gravity and momentum the currents that'd formed in the ocean around the island mirrored. It was beautiful. I looked down at the scaleborn, seeing curiosity in her eyes. "I'm going to ease up on the guilders. As much as I want to defend myself and protect my Core from their grasping hands... not all wish for my death. They will look for a trap if it's too great, but... a lesser number of monsters in their path wouldn't go amiss."
Kata beamed up at me. She raised a hand and placed it on the cloaked arm of the avatar. The mana in her hand was warm against my cold bones.
She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. I could feel the approval in her mind.
I left a piece of my awareness in the avatar but moved most of it upwards. I had some changes to make.
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Blackwater Port, Kolchiss County, Theona
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If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Towers-Over-Others stepped off the crane with the other children too large for the gangplank. Aston was at his side, carrying two rolls of fabric over his shoulders. They would unload the wares Captain Eli intended to sell here as part of their payment. It didn't take long. The Minotaurs were stronger than any human, and the crew was relegated to organizing and pointing out where crates were to sit.
Towers observed as the crew and the children interacted. None of the fear and wariness that had dominated their interactions at the start of the journey was present now. They joked around and laughed together. One Minotaur, Ossydus, gently slapped a human on the back, and the man fell into a pile of hay. Ossydus apologized profusely, even as the man's friends laughed and the man himself insisted he was fine.
He smiled, though it quickly faded. There was the hole in his mind again, where the comforting warmth of The Creator once rested. This time, it felt more profound. A yawning pit. During The Creator's sleep, they still felt the connection to Him. Now, the connection had been severed. Many Children were inconsolable when they heard The Creator bless them as they neared the edge of his influence. Then he was ripped away. The healing had taken time, but the week-long journey was enough for most of them to get control of themselves.
Towers took a shuddering breath and tried to ignore the pit. He turned his gaze away from the crew, scanning the crowd nearby. He saw fear and wariness. Mothers pulled their children close. Men glared as they pushed their women behind them.
"We have our work cut out for us, Baal," Towers stated as the robed capriccio joined him and Aston.
"No kidding," Aston responded in the grunting Minotaur language, placing the roll of fabric down where a crew member told him to.
"They are wary, true. But none have yet attacked," Baalzebub countered in her bleating language, waving a hand at the crowd. Towers looked again. The capriccio spoke the truth. "No guards gather to arrest us. They have heard rumors and are afraid, true, but humans are curious. A Virtue, by the words of The Creator."
Towers nodded, as did Aston.
"Perhaps the Scorpans should stay back for the first few meetings." Baal continued. "Humans fear those unlike themselves, and the Scorpans are the most unlike them. You cannot even speak a language they will understand. Let tensions cool, and familiarity breed first."
Towers didn't like it, but he agreed.
"Fine. I know some of us can be... overenthusiastic. The Drake-kin and Capriccio are probably the best for first introductions." Towers advised.
Baalezbub nodded and gathered a couple of Children. Together, they approached the crowd. Towers and Aston hung back far enough that they couldn't hear the conversation.
As the Children approached, dozens ran, but enough stayed. Tense postures softened as the conversation continued. Some shouted, accusations were thrown. "You're Monsters! Why should we trust you?" was one of the few loud enough to hear from his position.
Eventually, the crowd dispersed. None took any books or fliers, but it ended without conflict. A step in the right direction. Towers sighed, shrugging at Baal as she rejoined him. The group passed through the city together, with a guide and a few guards to protect them and the humans.
They still had a lot of trust to build here, but it was a start.
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Inside a Baby Dungeon, Near The Holy City, Theona
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Akio felt his breath catch as the constricting tunnel opened into a larger cavern. It was a welcome change from the long single corridor they'd been walking through so far, only wide enough for three men to walk shoulder-to-shoulder. At the far end sat a gem embedded in the wall. It radiated a blue light, the same shade as the glowing fox. It was bright but not too bright to hide itself. A Sapphire. Its light filled the room, and the monster in the middle of the room cast a sharp shadow towards them.
Growling, it stood on its hind legs and roared.
A Bear blocked the way.
"This is more than I expected," Guard-Captain Heliat stated, hand on his sheathed sword. "It may be too much for you three, but I will let you fight it alone for three reasons. One, while it is a bear, it is not yet a monster or mana mutant. I'd say it found the cave yesterday. It hasn't been here long enough for the mana to saturate its body. Two, this entire trip was meant to give you experience. If you only win effortlessly, you'll become overconfident. From overconfidence comes deadly mistakes. Three; Jinasa, Adrian, and I are here. We can step in to protect you if you falter."
Akio nodded. He shared a glance with Sophie and Bruce. "Ideas?" He asked.
"It's a bear," Sophie began, watching the bear keenly as it sniffed at them. "As strong as you've become, you aren't strong enough to contend with it physically. Bait and dodge it. Take glancing blows if you have to, but I'd advise against it."
"Yeah, I'm with Soph on this," Bruce agreed. "Bears are no joke, mate. Don't get hit. We'll DPS, but you need to keep its attention off us."
Akio nodded again and stood forward. He raised his shield and sword, eyes locked on the bear, which roared at him again as he stood forward.
There was no time for hesitation or holding back here. Akio cast the flash spell. His shield exploded in light... but the bear was unphased. It'd closed its eyes.
He threw himself to the right, rolling to his feet as the bear charged. Its claw slammed through where he was less than a second ago, on all fours again. Akio backpedaled, casting his other spell. His sword lit up, and the arc of coherent light lashed out as he swung at it. It raised its foreleg, roaring in pain as the light left a deep cut.
It glared at him in rage, then let out another cry of pain. Sophie's daggers flashed out of the shadows underneath it, cutting up into its belly. In the next instant, she'd pulled back into the shadows. As blood dripped into a pool beneath it, the bear backpedaled, glaring at the shadows. Its eyes flickered around, resting only moments on the three powerful humans at the cavern's entrance, then turning to Sophie. The bear wheeled around. Turning its back on Akio.
He struck.
His blade buried itself in its thigh, and he decided to try something new. He cast Arc of Light but changed the spell slightly to hold the energy in the blade. He could feel the glow building as it roared in pain. He sliced, pulling out the blade at the same time, and its flesh parted.
The smell of burning flesh filled his nose. He held back vomit as he backpedaled again, making distance. It whirled around again, eyes locked on Akio. He could see the wild rage in his eyes. Before it could move, a sharp blade of water slashed against its face. It gave a startled roar. Sophie struck again, cutting one of its tendons. It half-collapsed as its back right foot collapsed.
And so the fight continued.
Akio struck with light. Bruce lashed at it from a distance. Sophie stabbed and sliced at it from the shadows.
The bear slowed. It bled. It faltered.
Akio stepped forward and slashed at it again. He was too quick. Overconfident. Sure of victory. He only had a second to react as it struck. He raised his shield.
He must have blacked out for a moment because when he next opened his eyes, he'd collapsed against the cavern wall, pain lancing through his arm and back. A roar caught his attention, and he turned to face the bear. It had dismissed him as a threat, choosing to focus on Bruce. The Australian was far nimbler than Akio and dodged each blow like his life depended on it—which, to be fair, it probably did.
Sophie was too nimble, disappearing into her shadow whenever it turned to face her. Her attacks had redoubled with Akio thrown from the fight.
Akio let his eyes be drawn to the Core. It was right there. Mere meters away. Akio glanced back at the fight. He caught Sophie's eye and pointed covertly to the Core. Her eyes flicked to it, then back to his. She nodded.
Akio moved closer to the Core, slowly and as quietly as possible.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer!
A mere meter away from the Core, the bear roared, and Akio knew he was discovered. He lunged.
And
His
Hand
Wrenched
The
Core
From
The
Wall
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