Trisha POV

Alright, so she just accepted to work for Vitmori, but now what? She still needed tools immediately, and looking around, she wasn't sure where she would have a forge or anything like that. She cleared her throat before speaking up a little cautiously. "Ahem, So… Vitmori. Where do we begin?" She asked as she flashed a sheepish smile.

It takes a few more moments, but she can feel the voice of the core speak up. 'Well, you need tools. I can try and whip up some cast iron tools for the short term. It won't be an efficient use of my resources, but until you have a forge, I suppose things like that will have to do. Go on and take those axes for now, and I'll put together some tools to get your people started.' He explained, and somehow she could feel his attention already shifting away.

Trisha glanced over at the core and the axes before collecting one in each hand, bringing up an axe, and resting it on her shoulder. "Hm… I'm not sure what you mean by casting, but I have a feeling that what you're talking about is more along the lines of molding." She looked somewhat serious before smirking a bit. "But who am I to question the phrasing of my new patron? See you soon, Boss." She mused before making her way out of the chamber, glancing back once more before starting her descent. She is a little disappointed that little red decided to stay behind, but she does have work to do and needs to focus.

Vitmori POV

Alright, so we're going to try casting this time. Honestly, why didn't I think of this sooner? Just shaping the metal freely in my storage space isn't stable enough, and I could save so much energy by just heating the metal to the melting point instead of trying to shape everything and compressing it to try and retain that shape. I didn't consider it earlier since the need wasn't so immediate. With all the materials I have now, I could also probably start experimenting with steel production, not to mention trying to produce a suitable quenching liquid for our future Forge Master.

Though before I could really let the ball get going on my plans and ideas, I sensed two different sets of eyes burning holes into my core as I focused back on the here and now. The first thing I see is the red-furred cub sitting at the base of my steps, his fluffy head brimming with new experiences and ideas. The other set of eyes is Dread; at some point, he approaches the entrance to my chamber and is currently kneeling, waiting for my attention. I look between them curiously before addressing the cub. 'Give me a moment, little guy; let me speak to Dread, and you'll have all my attention.' The red cub's ears droop a little, but he mrowls with confirmation as he walks forward and lounges on the first step while looking at Dread as he waits. 'Rise Dread, what's on your mind?'

With that, Dread rose to his feet and approached, a small smile on his face as he pressed a fist to his chest in salute, lowering his head respectively before standing tall. "Creator Vitmori, as per your wisdom, we eight knights have trained ourselves and each other. We have all ignited our manahearts, and we're desperate to test our mettle against the threat below your territory." He explained, though his eyes glinted with enthusiasm despite his calm expression.

That was surprising to hear, for sure. 'Wait, every last one of you? So soon? I was under the impression that it took a considerable amount of mana for something like that?'

Dread merely shrugged as he got down to his knees in a relatively relaxed kneeling position. "Sloth and Envy have considered that it is most likely due to your influence, Creator."

'My influence? But I hadn't given you any more mana outside of when I initially created you all.' I countered, not exactly sure what he was getting at.

Dread tilted his head from side to side as he mulled over his thoughts for a moment before speaking up. "Again, these are just the suggestions of Envy and Sloth. But by merely being within your territory, your 'bubble' as you put it yourself. Through meditation practices that seem to have been ingrained in these bodies you have placed us in, we were able to absorb the mana in the air. The concentration of said mana must've been rather weak where they did this practice because it was rather effective at absorbing every speck of mana around us." He explained dutifully, not entirely understanding things himself.

'I see… Thanks for letting me know; I'll have to consider the implications later. Anyways, what did you want of me?' I can't help but ask; my overall curiosity significantly sated for the time being.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

At that, Dread flashed a confident grin as he stood at attention. "Ah yes, Creator Vitmori, the Seven Sinners, and I wish to delve into caves below your mountain and work on further cleansing the rot and pestilence that dare abide there." He explained with righteous vigor.

I couldn't help but feel at least a little skeptical; only fools rush headlong into battle for anything beyond the defense of themselves or the others in your care. But then again, Dread isn't an overly cautious survivalist in a dead world. His type would probably be common in a world like this, with all this heavy old-fashioned weaponry and magic. 'Very well, you have my permission. However, you must bring along Frisby, and I imagine she would be much more knowledgeable about that place than any of us.'

Dread looked rather thoughtful for a moment before lowering his head. "As you will, Creator Vitmori, we shall bring you glory." With that, he stands and turns to leave, ducking past the entryway and into the sunlight.

With Dread off, I turn to check in on the red cub who's been patiently waiting for me. 'Alright, little buddy, you've got lots to share now, don't you? Go on, think about what you've experienced.'

The little fire bolt, in turn, mrowls pleasantly as he gets all fidgety with excitement before closing his eyes and thinking nice and hard.

Frisby POV

She didn't expect to be back here so soon. They were standing before the entrance of her old home and living tomb. She shudders but scampers forward on all fours, and she glances back at the warriors behind her as they look around curiously. Their heavy feet echo in her body with every step as they delve deeper and further into the underground cavern. Even as they passed through the second cavern, the threshold that used to be there could no longer be sensed as they kept walking and descending.

As they moved on, it was Sloth that spoke up first. "The air here… Stale… Dead… Empty." She said slowly in a relaxed tone.

Envy followed up, their faintly glowing green eyes scanning the walls before looking over to Sloth and nodding. "You're right, Sloth, whatever manner of being that once claimed this place as their own has drained every speck of mana in this place. The Creator is going to have their work cut out in restoring this place."

There are murmurs and grunts of agreement as they pass ancient and ruined traps and chambers. Though Frisby came to a stop, her front paw outstretched before she brought it back to her chest and sat back on her hind legs.

Dread came over, looking the rat over curiously before getting down to one knee to be closer to her level. "Frisby, what's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Her nose couldn't help but twitch as she anxiously wrung her tail between her hands. "S-sorry… It's just… This chamber was my home for centuries. My children, my Brood starved for so long here; the only thing that kept them alive was my mana reserve." She squeaked a shuddering breath as she looked back up to Dread and the Sinners, who were listening intently. "Of course, I'm grateful to Oururu and Vitmori for freeing me from this hell of starvation, but I still can't help but feel for my children who never got to develop minds of their own… I suppose I shall always be a Wretched Brood-Mother." She shakes herself, smacking her face lightly with her front paws as she sighs. "Come, we can't stay here forever."

At that, Wrath speaks up as she reaches out and pats her back. "Take your time, Frisby; we're following you." She says in a gentle, rumbling voice before pulling back.

She smiled a little but shook her head again. "No, no, I shouldn't; I can always come back later once it's safe." She reasoned, but mostly she was trying to convince herself as she reached out her front paw and entered the chamber, scurrying a little faster than before to try and get out of there sooner.

"So Frisby, we probably should've asked sooner, but what are we supposed to expect down here?" Envy asked, following the rat's quick pace toward the end of this particular chamber

Dread holds a fist up suddenly, signaling for everyone to stop as he narrows his gaze. "Hold on; I'm feeling something in front of us." He said quietly as he glanced back at the others.

Envy responds as he approaches, his glowing gaze studying the air. "It's another bubble, but not the Creator's. As far as we know from Basti and Oururu, the moment we cross here, we'll not be able to reach the Creator, and we'll be alone…" He then looks over to Frisby and quirks a brow. "So again, what can we expect down here?"

Frisby was silent, staring intently at a wall as she wrung her tail in her paws before swallowing audibly and speaking up after another moment. "I don't actually know… I… Err… I hoped I'd remember as we went along; it's been forever since I went deeper than my own chamber."

There was a collective sigh from Greed, Envy, Lust, and Gluttony. However, Dread spoke up at that. "No worries, Frisby, we were planning on going blind anyways, so our goals haven't changed." He reminded the others before resting his hand on his blade grip and stepping forward.

The next moments were uncomfortable to say the least, it was like one of their senses was missing, and the world just felt… Less than it was before. It was like something around the back of their heads was just absent. Though they descended deeper, the path before them winded in a spiral before they finally came to another massive chamber.

To the left of the chamber, there looked to be a natural spring that burbled audibly yet softly in what would be otherwise a totally lifeless room. The rest of the room was unnaturally smooth, the walls and floors looking properly carved as if to offer a semblance of civilization. Though with all that, moss and fungus seemed to overtake the entire chamber, save for the area directly around the spring.

Envy spoke up as he looked around curiously, stepping in further than the rest of the others. "Strange, we've seen signs of traps and other threats along the way, but why did the being choose to start making things look unnatural now?"

Frisby scampered further into the chamber, her ears twitching thoughtfully as she looked around. "There's supposed to be something in here… But where?"

"Perhaps in the water?" Dread wondered as he approached the natural spring, looking over the water's surface before grabbing a particularly chunky mushroom and tossing it into the water. The mushroom stayed on the surface… It didn't sink, and it's not just floating. All of a sudden, the water began to move while the mushroom started to melt into the surface of the thing. "E-everyone! Get away from the water!"