It is dark all around me. My senses pick up nothing. Not the slightest sound, nor the faintest light. The are around me also lacks heat. Where am I? I try to think back, but remember nothing. No names, faces or places. Is this some weird case of amnesia?

A sound interrupts my thoughts. I try my hardest to listen in. It sounds like an echo, and like a mix of several different sounds. The harder I try, the clearer the noise becomes. Soon, I can recognize it. It's language. A lot of them overlapping each other. There has got to be one in there I am familiar with. I start to listen passively in hopes of noticing something and it worked.

"Congratulations! You qualify for an experiment to see what happens when sentient souls are placed in a dungeon gem. Each participant has been removed from the reincarnation cycle to exist as a dungeon. Your memories will return with some time, but for now your core ideas and such should remain. Do what you wish, we will observe. *buzz buzz* Congratulations! You-"

I listened for a good while back after noticing that it repeats itself. I recognized three languages, English, French, and Spanish. Not that I necessarily remember how to speak them, but I know why they are. That's not important right now. I am a dungeon. I don't speak. Probably.

Now that I know what I am, I need to figure out what to do. I am a dungeon, so I need to make a cavern, right? How do I dig? Magic, magic. Did I know any magic? Abra kadabra. Alakazam? Please? OPEN CAVERN SAYS ME! Nope, nothing. Ah, I need mana. How do I get it? I need to think...

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hunger interrupted my thoughts. Why am I hungry? I am a crystal, as far as I know. But I feel the need to devour something. Anything I can. I need to find something. Nothing is here though. Nothing around me, except dirt. Dirt? I can sense! How? I have a full surround view of my body. It really is a crystal. But there are no eyes in it, so how do I see? From what I know, it should be mana, but I don't know how to control it. I try my hardest to wiggle something. Move whatever I have. Flex my mind. Try to fart. Breathe. Wait a second... I try to breathe again. Something is building up inside me. Mana? Out of reflex, I exhale. The mana is gone. But I can feel it. Everything in it. I've done it! I can control mana! And whatever came out is... miasma? Is that my area of control? Maybe I can dig with it.

Erode! A small cavern forms in front of my crystal. It worked the first time! But now I feel tired. Inhale! This feels kind of weird, since I don't need to exhale.

When I've finally taken my fill, I dig out some more. Forward, upward, widen, inhale. That became the routine. After a long, indeterminate amount of time, I saw something. It was brightness like I've never seen. I've reached the surface!