Valterra knew pain. He continued to Ascend, helpless as his creatures were slaughtered by the dozens. His points of awareness kept him locked in on his creatures even as they were killed. He experienced their destruction even as he was forced to abandon them to their deaths as he breathed Aether in and out. Even their occasional victories seemed to pale in comparison to the wanton death the invaders seemed bent on dealing.

Every breath brought him to an awareness of the destruction being caused by these new beings. What was worse was that he couldn’t get a full idea of what the invaders looked like. In his fugue state, his awareness largely extended to just his creatures and their wellbeing. It didn’t quite allow him to look through their eyes. He caught flashes only.

A bit of a face here and there or a smell in other circumstances. What was even more concerning was how his Aether reacted to the invaders. Like the animals that had been his main source of conflict these beings somehow interfered with his ability to sense his own Aether but on a scale that dwarfed the previous interference.

They absorbed copious amounts of it. It was so noticeable that even asleep Valterra could feel the drain. It was like his awareness ceased to exist when it came to them. He breathed in and any invader in the way absorbed a portion and some absorbed a simply massive amount. It was hard to even maintain what awareness he had as his thoughts and senses flowed with the Aether. No Aether, nothing to see.

In the early moments of the invasion, he had managed to send out a message to his creatures that there were invaders. He had even sent a personalized message to his Mouse Captain, now that the guardian was on the Fifth Floor. That though had taken just about all he had left and he had fallen into a deep sleep for a time. His slumber had not stopped the pain. He felt the pinprick of every Dungeon creature slain and the feeling of their Aether being ripped from their bodies. Only a small amount made it back to his Core.

That had no bearing on his Ascension of course. An Ascension that was finally ending.

Valterra woke slowly, riding the last waves of Aether from a larger-than-normal breath. The golden light surrounding his Core winked out as he came to full awareness. He yawned, or at least that was his impression. The result was a massive intake of Aether as it ripped through his halls and floors. Every creature within responded in some way. The invaders responded by gasping at the sudden influx, with some even passing out from the strain. The Dungeon creatures, on the other hand, rejoiced as they felt their Master return.

Valterra hummed to himself and felt his crystal respond in ways it hadn’t before. It actually vibrated with his humming and transmitted it to the surrounding air. He homed in on his Core despite the threat of the invaders. They would be dealt with in due time but the changes to his Core required his attention. The first thing he noticed was its size.

It was much larger than it was before although he was sure he was still far smaller than any other Dungeon Core. The second thing he noticed was the lack of runes and sigils. Instead of Calamvor’s careful minute inscriptions, there was an incredibly complex latticework.

Valterra hummed again and watched as the latticework lit up from within before vibrating outward. He summoned fire, air, water, and earth, and watched how each element caused the latticework to light up in different ways. He manipulated the Core room, watching his Core the whole time. It fascinated him to no end. He felt…organic…alive, in ways he had never known before. It was as if he had been a toddler and had finally grown into his own body.

He scoffed at that thought and watched with a thrill as even that expression was captured by his enhanced Core. Of course, I feel that way. I was a toddler. He watched as his thoughts flickered in his Core and “smiled” to himself. This was going to take some getting used to. But first, there were invaders to deal with and Ascension rewards to go through. First a status report. Then he would see what his Ascension had given him. Hopefully, there would be an answer to his current predicament.

He breathed deeply and felt the Dungeon respond. As his awareness rode the wave of Aether he took in the changes that had taken place. His body, the Dungeon and its creatures, were doing their best to halt the invaders' advance, but it didn’t seem to be going well.

They had breached the third floor and the first floor, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Some had invaded the second floor in different places but he wasn’t able to stick around to see more than fertive flashes of combat. The Danians seemed to be holding well, although the first colony he had set in place was doing better than the other one being attacked.

He was pleased to see that several creatures were either currently going through Ascension and had been hidden away or they had already Ascended and had moved deeper. One of the more fascinating examples was a specimen currently running around the first floor between the walls. To his surprise, the system brought up its information without him needing to go looking. Well, this is convenient!

Pack-Leader Mantis (Rank E - Bronze)

Stolen story; please report.

Evolved from the Hunting Pack-Mantis, this insect has Ascended to lead the pack. Its instincts are primitive but effective in guiding its lesser brethren to better hunting grounds. Larger and fiercer than its prior form, this bug is a natural killer and lethal to those who run afoul of it and its pack.

Oh, now that is nice. Valterra thought as he looked upon the fierce-looking insect. It was currently waiting in ambush with its pack and Valterra left it there as he instead went to observe the invaders. He was not prepared for the sudden surge of anger that overcame him at the sight of them. His anger boiled over as he saw one of them skewer a mouse without a care in the world.

His Aether roiled in his anger and he manifested fire to crush them, water to drown them, wind to choke them, and earth to bury them. It didn’t happen. Instead, he found himself helpless to stop the carnage as his Aether refused to obey him. As soon as it manifested it flickered and died. It was like there was a bubble around the invaders that refused all attempts at control. So he was forced to rage silently as they slaughtered his creatures. His feeling of helplessness was total.

At least it was until he saw one of the invaders buried under a tide of mice before the others could get to him. Slowly he began to understand. He breathed again and watched intently as the Aether washed over the beings with most of it entering them instead. He was reminded of the vague notions he had had while Ascending and brought them to the forefront of his mind.

They were different from the basic animals that had attacked before. The difference was so startling that Valterra wondered how he could have ever mistaken Calamvor’s memory of Delving with the lowly creatures that had tried to make a living in his territory.

There was something that protected them while Delving. If Valterra had to guess, it was this amorphous quality that prevented him from absorbing their Framework too. Probably that Authority thing that Trik’Weri spoke of. Valterra thought bitterly. How dare they keep me from my retribution! Just die!

His exclamation fell on deaf ears, at least as far as the invaders were concerned. His own Dungeon Creatures were a different matter and seemed to fling themselves on the enemy with renewed vigor. Valterra grimaced as he realized that his salvation would be upon the backs of his creatures and their savagery. He had known that Dungeon Cores created their monsters for a reason. He had always known but in that dim far away kind of knowing.

He had been told by the High Spirits to keep creating floors and was pushed to do so by his own desire for Ascension. The dimmest reason of all was for the exact situation he found himself in now. Oh, he had dealt with invading creatures before but nothing of this caliber. He mostly created new creatures and sought evolutions because he thought them interesting and he wanted to play.

Foolish. Valterra thought as he looked back on his prior childish ways. He supposed it wasn’t all bad but there were definitely some changes he was going to make as soon as he was able to. For that to happen though he needed to survive his Delvers and for that to happen he needed to calm down and observe them in action. So that was what he did.

There were two separate groups which he found odd. They were so different as to appear like entirely separate instances as if both groups had stumbled upon the Dungeon from completely different sides. One group was comprised of tiny people, at least from what he could see.

The leader was a small hairy individual with a large sword Valterra’s memories denoted as a claymore, although a very small one. It was wonderfully crafted though, as were all of the invaders' weapons in this group. It was easy to denote the leader since he moved with grace and strength which was totally at odds with his tiny form.

The others in his group varied in appearance, from many fair skinned individuals to other more elemental creatures. They all retained the same basic structure but it was clear that four basic types prevailed with many having hints of one of the four basic elements present on their bodies or constantly in use.

There were tiny rock men and women, fair skinned wispy creatures that flitted from place to place, people with webbed feet and gills, and what looked like four legged lizards without scales that breathed fire or were hot to the touch. At first, he thought the last type were just beasts but he saw one shift into a flame-like caricature of a person before shifting back.

The second group was much more raggedy looking but also more savage. They behaved more like beasts than people which was an opinion encouraged by their appearance. Dark scraggly fur, a muzzled head with jaws full of teeth, a propensity to switch between loping on all fours or standing upright on two, and a willingness to engage in bloodshed that Valterra hadn’t seen even in his most violent creatures.

These little guys loved it. They were fast too. Not too durable though. Valterra thought as one of them was dog piled by mice their little teeth finding purchase in the creature’s hide and ripping small chunks out of it.

They were long, lithe, and reminded Valterra of the Savage Mink that he had claimed so long ago if albeit far smaller. They were also far more intelligent as they coordinated with each other and communicated in some unspoken way. One, in particular, seemed to command, with sharp glances and motions that couldn’t be misunderstood. It was larger, stronger, and faster than any of the others and the rest obeyed its motions without much hesitation even in the throws of their blood lust.

Both groups would make their way to the fourth floor soon and Valterra flitted down there to tell them to be ready. He watched the pod of whales acknowledge his warning with a flap of their tails on the water before diving deeper to hide among the grasses. The Deeplight Belchers could not hide as their shells gleamed with inner light but then again maybe that was for the best. The invaders did not know that these were not his highest Ranked creatures and they would pay for the ignorance.

Leaving it be he finally turned to see what his rewards for Ascending would be. Last time he had gotten his whale and while he didn’t expect anything on that level again he hoped it would be useful for his current predicament.