//If you wanna read more about Aamon and his backstory without having to wait, you can find it on my Pãtrēøn. An original dedicated to telling his story. If not, the Original novel drops July 4th.
That is all. Enjoy the chapter
Pâtreøn.com/ShadowDrev
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Floor 18, Rivira. One of many safepoints scattered across the writhing cesspool of bloodthirsty beasts known as the Dungeon. It was a place that didn't spawn any monsters, making it a haven for those traversing the middle floors, providing both protection and a place to rest and recuperate.
It was actually much more interesting than it sounded.
And it sounded pretty interesting.
For starters, it was probably the closest thing to a paradise that Aamon had seen all day. The other floors had great scenery and differing styles, but they were plagued down by the fact that everything in its vicinity wanted to make mincemeat out of those who happened to wander through. On Floor 18, none of those problems existed, along with the added addition of the area looking just as majestic as the others had been. If not more so.
Sitting almost dead center of the expansive cavern was an enormous tree that towered over everything in sight, its many roots and branches extending through the land. From this behemoth of a tree, the land sprawled outwards in every direction, hills of grass, forests, and numerous lakes could be spotted before eventually hitting the Dungeon walls. Made up of solid stone, the wall shot straight up, ending at a ceiling made of pure crystals, crystals that Aamon had first mistaken for the actual sky, white crystals lining the inside in a near perfect circle and blue crystals lining the outside. Situated near the bottom of the Yggdrassil sized vegetation was a sturdy wooden wall that wrapped around a small scale town, one that looked pretty puny and rather brittle in comparison to the tree it was resting against.
"Is that the town?" Aamon questioned as they made their way up a small hill. "Rivira?"
"Yes, that's Rivira."
Aamon nodded, neon purple hues shifting away from it. Since the expedition team was taking the time to set up camp here, the white-haired youth figured they wouldn't be leaving for a while. So, even though he had a strong itch to go and scour the only Floor that didn't pose any sort of threat to him, he refrained from doing so.
If anything, he could always sleep first and explore later.
"So, what did Finn want to see me about," Aamon queried, moving to stand beside the blonde adventurer. "Was it something important?"
Ais glanced over slightly before pointing towards her head. "He wants to check your head."
"Ah." Aamon nodded. "Makes sense than. Lead the way."
The Loki Familia had already set up camp, and they had achieved it pretty quickly, at least from Aamons point of view since he had been resting for nearly a full hour when the group intially arrived in the Under Resort. Large white tents were spread out, with a multitude of smaller, more portable tents and even more sleeping bags.
Within the middle of it was an intricately built bonfire designed to start a carefully controlled inferno, perfect for an expedition group of that size. Scattered about, various members talked amongst themselves, handling their weapons, eating some food, napping, horsing around, and basically doing their own thing.
(("So. This is what an expedition looks like when it's not battling monsters.")) Aamon maintained some proximity to Ais as they wandered through the encampment, neon hues sifting from tent to tent. (("From how they are now, it's hard to tell they're seasoned warriors.....or at least some of them are."))
That's what made Aamon feel more at ease when he had first made contact with the mishmash of adventurers. Though the folks around him were strong, they were still human and didn't treat him any different despite them obviously being able to flick him off the face of the earth with a swipe of the hand. If the luck of the draw had been worse, Aamon could have very well ended up meeting someone who shoved his face through the mud or decided to use him as bait for the monsters. There were so many things that could have gone wrong from the 30th Floor onwards that the white-haired youth was genuinely surprised he had made it as far as he did. From meeting Tiona, to the rendezvous with the Familia factions, to the near introduction to the inside of an Aqua Serpent, he was alive because he was found by someone who actually cared whether he lived or died. It was pure chance but it was still something to be thankful for.
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(("Maybe I can return the favor when I reach the surface.")) Aamon narrowed his eyes in determination, staring at his empty hands. (("I don't have power now, or even memory for that matter. But that'll change if I can aquire this 'blessing' and regain my lost past."))
It wasn't much but it made Aamon feel that much better, having a goal to strive for and work towards.
All the youth had to do was continue forward and reach the surface. To reach the place referred to as Orario.
Ais stopped by the entrance belonging to one of the large white tents, namely the one centered near the middle of the camp, causing Aamon to refocus on the task at hand.
"He's in this one," Ais said simply, sidestepping so Aamon could pass by. "He's been waiting for you."
"You're not gonna come in?"
Ais merely shook her head, remaining where she was.
The young amnesiac simply accepted her decision and made his way inside, pushing the flap aside. In the tents interior, hovered around a rectangular table were four figures, ones that Aamon had already met and learned about on the way up the Dungeon. Finn Deimne, Captain of the Loki Familia, the Vice- Captain Riveria Ljos Alf, Gareth Landrock, a Loki Famila top executive, and Tsubaki Collbrande, Captain of the Hephaestus Familia and one of the best blacksmiths. They each looked up and halted their conversation the moment Aamon made his entrance.
"Oh good, you're here." Finn put whatever they were doing on hold, or at least that was the assumption since he completely ignored the giant sheet of paper on the table. "Aamon, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," the white-haired youth confirmed. "Aamon Belphegor."
Finn nodded.
"How're you feeling now that you got some time to rest?" Riveria questioned. "Do you remember anything? Anything about yourself or maybe where you came from?"
Aamon shook his head almost immediately. "I've been trying. But every time I try to recall something, anything, I come up empty. I can feel it, the feeling of something just beyond my reach, but it's like there's a blockade that's preventing me from touching it."
Rvieria looked towards Finn, of whom looked back at her.
"What do you think?" the blonde adventurer asked. "Still want to give it a try?"
"I think it's our best bet."
"Best bet?" Aamon cut in, more than a bit confused. "You guys have a solution or something?"
"Less of a solution and more of an attempt at problem solving," Gareth answered. "They want to see if healing magic or potions would help to cure your amnesia. If it doesn't work than the problem becomes a bit more difficult to fix."
"The way I see it, there're a few things that could've happened for you to lose your memories." Finn held a thumb up to his lower lip, a thoughtful look on his face. "First, you were hit by a monster that caused enough brain damage to temporarily lose track of your past. Considering that you're up and walking, functioning just fine without any damage and not in a coma, it would most likely be something that could be fixed with magic. This is the best case scenario and the preferable one since we can fix it rather quickly."
"Another outcome is that you're purposefully suppressing memories of your own accord." Tsubaki spoke up this time, adding to the conversation.
"I'm doing it myself?" Aamon was thoroughly confused by this one, especially after having followed along and agreeing with the first theory. "Why?
"When people experience something extremely traumatic, denial is usually a pretty strong reaction to it. Suppression of the memory is a common form of coping or dealing with it."
"That sounds dumb," Aamon said.
"It's admittedly one of the less likely ones."
"Then what's one of the more likely ones?" Aamon queried.
"Someone else may be suppressing your memories, or may even HAVE your memories."
Silence. That's the only answer the horned youth could respond with as his mind began racing a million miles per second, the idea of someone else having caused his situation never even crossing his mind. From his own point of view, he was a weakling, a nobody, someone so irrelevant that the act of cutting off all memory would be foolish and unnecessary. He hadn't even given the notion so much as a second look, writing it off the moment it sprung into existence within his head. It just seemed so far fetched, even within a place where magic and monsters existed, he figured he wasn't important enough.
If he was, these people seemed like figures who would have known who he was.
"Hopefully, this isn't the case. In all likelihood, this one would be the most difficult to actually deal with." Finn placed a hand on the table. "We have no information to go off of, and you have no memories prior to Tiona finding you that could point us in the right direction. If it did turn out to be the case, we would be on a wild goose chase that would require more manpower than we can spare. It may sound harsh, but we have our own priorities to look after rather than just one adventurer. Tracking down the one who did this to you would also put us in danger should they truly possess the ability to steal or seal away ones memories."
"Still, it IS a concern that shouldn't be disregarded." Riveria walked over to Aamon, stepping past Tsubaki. "If there is someone who can truly mess with someone's head, then we can't let that person roam about."
"So you want to run down the list and heal me," Aamon surmised. "Narrow down the options.
"Man, you catch on quick kid," Tsubaki commented.
"If we can formulate what happened and get some kind of clue, then we can act appropriately," Finn shifted his gaze, blue hues meeting neon purple. "We just have to cross off the possibilities."
Aamon nodded and took his leave, Riveria following close behind him. After they left, Finn bit his thumb, of which had started to throb.
"Whatcha thinking Finn?" Tsubaki asked, commenting on his focused expression.
"Something is happening just under our noses. It's big but also unreachable." Finn frowned ever so slightly. "Whatever it is, Aamon is somehow tied into it. We need to keep him close until we figure out what it is."
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Floor 24, The Dungeon
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The place known as the Large Tree Labyrinth. Given its name for the wooden walls, ground, and ceiling, it was a place that spanned 6 full floors, a virtual jungle filled with the brim with a plethora of insect type monsters. It was a dangerous place just like all environments existing within the Dungeon, but on that day, it was different; starting from the moment the expedition group reached Rivira.
Monsters of all shapes and sizes, including Bugbears, Moss Huges, Green Dragons, Deadly Hornets, and many others gathered near the very center of Floor 24. Their screeching and howling filled the air as more and more monsters poured in, presumably from multiple floors. Residing within the very center of the mass of savage beasts was a lone girl of about 17 years of age, enormous moth wings situated on her back.
Smiling, the girl reached out and touched a few of the beasts, a laugh just at the end of her lips.
"I think you all will do for now," the girl said softly, causing an uproar from the monsters. "Let's just give him a good kick in the rear shall we?"
The monsters scattered immediately, breaking away from the girl and heading in their own separate directions. Before too long, even the sound of the distinct cries faded into the background, leaving the woman all alone as she wandered the now monster free Labyrinth.
"So, Hero. What will you do now? What can you show me?"
"Aamon Belphegor."