The process of replacing Kolath with Bacheus was not a short one, nor was it one Kolath was willing to let us observe. Banished to the exterior of the compound, and with nothing else to do, Shael, Anriq, Nyra, Ghost, and I sat down and exchanged tales of our respective journeys.

It passed the time, but slowly, and as the hours flew by, I grew more anxious. It was becoming more urgent that we returned to sector 18,240.

Eventually, though, a welcome Game message unfurled in my mind.

You have completed the task: Restore the Nexus Guardian. You have convinced the guardian Kolath to relinquish his hold on life and allow Bacheus to take his place. Nexus now has a new guardian.

Congratulations, Michael! You have completed a task crucial to the continued functioning of the Endless Dungeon and the survival of the Kingdom. By restoring the Nexus Guardian, you have shown yourself to be a Protector of the Ancients. This has become the second tenet of your burgeoning House.

Staying true to your House’s tenets will deepen your Wolf Mark in the future. Straying from it will see your Mark weaken.

Another tenet, I mused, and an unexpected one at that.

It was the second tenet my ‘new’—and yet unformed—House had earned. The first, Just Retribution, was more nebulous. Protector of the Ancients sounded straightforward enough, though, and it was easy to see how it would benefit me and the other scions in the short term.

Rescuing the guardians—and perhaps even assisting them with tithes—would deepen our bloodline Marks. More importantly, the tenet would give our disparate bloodlines a shared purpose, one with material benefits, and that would only help unify our House further.

Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder how many other tenets the Adjudicator had in store for us, and if I would find them all as appealing.

No use worrying about any of that now, I thought, rising to my feet. The Adjudicator would act as he saw fit, and there was little I could do to sway him.

“It’s done,” I said, turning to the others.

Not questioning how I knew that to be the case, the others stood with me. Leading the way, I re-entered the compound.

I found the same marble statue gracing the inside. It was Kolath, yet not. The statue’s features had changed, almost imperceptibly so, and at a guess, they now resembled Bacheus’ true face—one I’d never seen. More startling, though, was the statue’s new suppleness and vibrancy. It was reminiscent of the same energy I’d noticed in Draven.

The Nexus guardian had truly been reborn—and reinvigorated.

“Michael,” Bacheus intoned. “Come closer.”

That was another difference between Kolath and Bacheus. The former had only spoken to me through mindspeech.

I did as the guardian bade. “Everything went well?” I asked cautiously, not entirely sure what to expect of this ‘new’ Bacheus.

“It did,” he replied vaguely.

I waited for him to go on, but he stayed silent.

“What’s wrong with him?” Shael hissed as the seconds ticked by and Bacheus stayed locked motionless.

“How would I know?” Anriq muttered.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Shael retorted. “I was—”

“Shh! Both of you,” Nyra snapped.

Nodding gratefully to her, I took a step forward. “Bacheus?” I prompted loudly.

The guardian shook his head. “What? Oh, sorry. There is a lot about this new form that I still have to process.”

“Which is understandable,” I said. “But me and the others need to get going again, and before that…”

“You need to know if I can do what we discussed,” Bacheus finished for me. “One second,” he said, bowing his head to think.

Patiently, I waited.

A minute later, the guardian shook his head. “I can’t.”

My shoulders sagged. It had been a long shot, and perhaps too much to wish for, but I’d been hoping—

“I can’t make the guardian tower a private dungeon and bequeath it to you,” Bacheus went on, oblivious of my thoughts, “but I can stop anyone who is not a forerunner from entering or leaving.”

I straightened. “You can?” I asked breathlessly.

What Bacheus was proposing was nearly as good as what I’d asked for. We wouldn’t own the dungeon, but we would be able to control access—if only through Bacheus.

And having a say in who could enter or leave the guardian tower was vital to our cause.

Because, notwithstanding the shield generator around sector 18,240, a hostile entity could still enter the sector through the tundra nether portal. Granted, the portal was hidden away on the icy plains and was almost impossible to find if you didn’t know where to look.

But it was still a vulnerability.

One that we were now about to plug with the new Nexus guardian’s help. It meant, too, that irrespective of how the battle went tomorrow, irrespective of whether the void claimed sector 18,240 or not, the Packs would still have a safe haven to go to—one safeguarded by a guardian, no less.

“I can,” Bacheus confirmed, unaware of my musings. “Or I can permanently close the hidden portal, if that is what you prefer.”

I shook my head. “I don’t prefer.” While the tundra portal was a vulnerability, it was also our backdoor into Nexus and a second haven. And the strategic value of both those things were not to be underestimated. “Tell me more about the first option.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Bacheus shrugged. “There is not much to it. I will key the guardian tower’s entrance and exit portals to your faction tokens. That will stop any player not part of the forerunners from using them. I can also reconfigure the internal portals in the dungeon, making them two-way so your people can pass freely between levels. And finally, I can relocate the hidden portal to this sector—” he gestured at the verdant plains beyond the compound’s walls—“and anywhere out there that you want.”

“Wow,” Anriq gasped.

I could forgive his astonishment; I was feeling no small measure of it myself.

“But doing all this will come at a price,” Bacheus finished.

Ah, so there is a catch. “What price?”

“The forerunners must provide me with a steady stream of offerings. A tithe a month should be sufficient. That will keep me powered and awake.”

That we could do. “Is that all?”

“No. You will also have to forfeit any rewards stemming from the completion of your recent task. In a very real sense, the privileges I offer will become your reward.”

I grimaced.

“How can you even do any of that?” Shael demanded suddenly. “I thought dungeons were immutable. And doesn’t the Game constrain your lot from interfering with players?”

“Dungeons are not immutable,” Bacheus said. “You only have to look at the ones owned by the factions to realize that. As for my… constraints.” His lips curved up in a dangerous smile. “I am less restricted in what I can do than you think. The new Powers’ own violations have left me free to act if they—or their followers—dare enter any of my dungeons.”

He paused. “But I take your meaning. When it comes to unaffiliated players, the Adjudicator will allow me to do what I’ve proposed only because it’s in support of my primary mission—protecting the Endless Dungeon.”

Shael’s brows drew down. “I don’t follow.”

Bacheus sighed. “In the last few hundred years, do you know how many tithes the Nexus guardian received?”

Shael shook his head.

“Less than a handful,” Bacheus replied. “It was this lack more than anything else that led to Kolath’s decline. Without tithes, I, too, will fall asleep, and if I fall asleep, I cannot fulfil my duty.”

Shael nodded slowly. “Which is why the Adjudicator is letting you strike a deal for tithes.”

Bacheus smiled. “Precisely. But the deal is not yet struck.” His gaze found mine again. “What say you, Wolf?”

For a long moment, I stayed silent, weighing up my decision. But honestly, there was not much to consider. What the new guardian offered was nearly priceless in its potential.

There were the ratmen mines in level two to consider, the wyverns in level four, and the green—and very fertile—plains of level five. Taken altogether, they would provide nearly all the resources the forerunners needed to flourish and grow.

And Bacheus had to know that.

Which, I suspect, was what had spurred his proposal. Despite his new status as a guardian, the former sorcerer was still married to the forerunner’s cause.

“We have a deal,” I said finally.

The guardian grinned. “Excellent.”

✵ ✵ ✵

The status of the dungeon has changed.

The Guardian Tower has been reconfigured to consist of 5 unclaimable sectors, 2 one-way portals, 4 two-way portals, and 1 hidden portal that has been relocated to sector 109.

The dungeon status has furthermore been falsified to hide these changes and to report its current number of players as being 6 of 6. The actual status is only perceivable by a forerunner.

You have sealed a Pact with Guardian Bacheus. In exchange for exclusive access to the Guardian Tower, your faction will deliver 1 tithe per month to the guardian. Failure to deliver the agreed offerings will result in the removal of the forerunner’s access to the dungeon during the month concerned. This Pact may be terminated by you at any time.

You have 7 / 20 active Pacts.

As an added precaution, I had Bacheus place the hidden portal ten miles from the level five exit. Doing so wasn’t strictly necessary, but it made me feel better, anyway. This way, if the worst befell us, and an enemy somehow gained access to the dungeon, there was still a decent chance the entrance to sector 18, 240 would not be discovered.

Then, it was time to depart.

“Farewell, Bacheus,” I said. The others had already set off for the ‘new’ hidden portal, and it was just me and the guardian left in the compound.

“Farewell, Wolf,” he replied. “We shall see each other again, I'm sure.”

“No doubt.” I began to turn away, then paused. “You will contact Draven?”

“As soon as I’ve settled into this new skin,” he promised.

I nodded, then hesitated, not wanting to overstep. “Any regrets?” I asked eventually.

I didn't have to explain what I meant. “None,” Bacheus said firmly. “Although…”

“Yes?” I prompted.

“I wish I could be there for tomorrow’s battle.”

“Ah, well. But never fear, I’ll do our best to see it won without you.”

Bacheus grinned. “See that you do. I’d hate to think all this has been for nothing.”

“Never that,” I murmured. “And thank you again—for everything.” Turning around, I strode away.

✵ ✵ ✵

We completed the trip back home in remarkably good time, hopping first through the hidden portal, then through a second portal—this one of my own my making—and in short order, we were in the cave again.

Almost everyone else was there, bedding down for the night or already asleep. Despite this there was an anticipatory buzz in the air.

Tomorrow we would fight for the sector, and one way or the other, decide our fate.

Releasing the others and sending Ghost to truth test the last of the nagians—Adriel had finished rehoming them only an hour ago—I joined Safyre where she stood warming herself by the campfire.

“Adriel is asleep?” I asked.

“She’s finally getting to enjoy some well-deserved rest,” Safyre replied.

I nodded. Of all of us, the lich was the one that had worked the most tirelessly. And thanks to her efforts, we had one hundred powerful former-scions on our side. They would serve as the backbone of our company tomorrow. A company that was still a potent force, even without the Reachers reinforcing our numbers.

Still, I couldn’t help but ask, “Any news from the Marches?”

Safyre shook her head sadly. “None. The twins’ latest report was two hours ago. There’s still no sign of the Reachers.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “You should recall them. The twins, I mean.”

“I will. First thing tomorrow.” She yawned. “But with everything else happening, I haven’t had the time.”

“Sorry,” I said contritely. “You must be exhausted too.”

She threw me a lopsided grin. “I am. But the good news is that everything is done. All the supplies have been delivered, and everyone has been drilled and knows what roles they’ll play tomorrow.” She tilted her head. “What about you? How did it go?”

“Extremely well,” I said with a satisfied smile.

“Then we have a new guardian?”

I nodded.

Safyre’s gaze drifted to Nyra who was in the midst of an animated conversation with Shael, Anriq, and two of the forsworn. “And I see Nyra’s here. That must mean…”

“Bacheus is the new guardian,” I finished for her, then launched into a condensed retelling of the day’s events.

“Oh my,” Safyre murmured when I finished. “You’ve outdone yourself this time, Michael.”

I shrugged. “It was all Bacheus’ doing. He came up with the idea, and however he did it, he managed to sell the whole thing to the Adjudicator.”

Safyre shook her head in bemused wonder. “If you told me seven days ago, this is where we’d be, I would’ve laughed. Now look at us. The sector has been secured and ours for the taking.”

“Only nearly,” I pointed out cheekily. “There is still the small matter of one void tree and two overlords to deal with.”

She laughed, her eyes sparkling with genuine humor. “Of course. How did I ever forget?”

Chuckling, I drew her in a hug. “Whatever happens tomorrow… it’s been great.”

She squeezed me back. “Only great?” she murmured.

“Well, er… what I meant was—”

Laughing, Safyre set a finger to my lips. “I know what you meant. Now stop talking, and let’s enjoy what time we have remaining.”