I was starting to notice the cold air the lake emanated even through my inherent resistance to Shade.

It meant a lot. I was fatigued. And yet, I could not stop here; I had to move forward.

I trudged on the slippery ice, careful not to walk on the cracks I created myself to get rid of the Technorhino.

My targets were the five birds that, even if they had no more metallic feathers to throw at Harlow, were still capable of damaging her greatly.

Even her armor looked in pieces.

Here and there, I could glimpse her exposed skin.

Loki, my trustworthy lion, was near her. He was trying to keep the two remaining dogs away from Roana, who had nothing more to give; she had given all that she could to the battlefield and was now downed.

She was bleeding from her head, from her abdomen, and judging by the fact that she hadn't moved a single step nor got up from the ground; she likely had a broken leg as well.

They were in trouble.

When I reached close to the metal trail acting as a road for us to walk upon, I threw my knife to one of the birds.

I did not expect to kill it like that. Even my arrows were not fast enough to catch one of those birds. I would have to double my Strength stat to shoot fast enough to hit them.

But I still had two transfers at the ready.

I appeared in mid-air, ready to give all that I could to stop them. The pain would not stop me, and I knew that I was likely in for a world of pain thanks to those talons they sported.

Two of them were stuck close to each other, close enough for me to take one of them into a grip with my legs, while I stopped another one with the Spectre's Dignity.

The one I had stabbed, given my doubled Attributes, was felled by that single stab, while the other fell to the ground thanks to my weight, and obviously, I did the same with it.

I beat my back hard against the metal trail, but I didn't care. However, the claws of the beast penetrated deep inside of my thighs.

I ground my teeth for the pain but sat down abruptly to repeatedly slam my knife in the creature's small frame.

I felt the whispers soon after.

However, the other birds noticed right away, and just as fast, they retaliated, but I was grateful.

Shifting their focus to me, they left Harlow alone, she could deal with one of the dogs, or so I hoped.

I was still removing the dead creature's talons from shredding my thighs when one of the birds saw the opportunity and dove in from the sky.

His beak penetrated right through me, stabbing me through the shoulder blade.

My eyes grew wide, but my trained instincts told me to react; I reached it with my only functioning arm, taking it from the neck and slamming it to the ground. I recovered my knife soon after and dug it inside of the downed creature's chest.

I hadn't even finished dealing with it as another dashed to me, talons first.

I reacted just in time to place my broken clock-arm in front of my face. Its claws almost shredded it as they closed around it. No wonder I couldn't remove them from my thighs.

Yet, once again, the bird couldn't have the better of me. I took that chance to slam it on the ground and dig my knife at the base of its neck, stabbing it repeatedly.

It did not stop there; there was still one; it latched on my back with its talons, my armor barely enough to prevent its claws from penetrating into my meat.

It started pecking at me, trying to dig a hole through me.

I knew that my armor wouldn't resist for long, so I jerked back, slamming my back and the bird to the ground.

Then I rolled, screaming for the talons that had dug into me, shredding my thighs.

But even as I rolled, the beast did not suffer any damage; it remained there, latched on me. Until suddenly, I couldn't feel it anymore.

Then I saw the reason why. Harlow had removed it from on top of me and was tearing it apart with her bare hands.

But the dog had yet to die, two dogs were still alive, and just as I thought about that, Harlow got tackled by one of those same Technodogs. She had likely abandoned the fight to come to help me.

She was thrown to the ground as the animal tried to savage her clock arms.

I was about to limp over her, to help her, but I couldn't because, at that moment, I felt Loki's cry. He was bleeding to the ground, and the Technodog, about to maul him, for some reason changed its target, shifting its focus to Roana. She might have done something.

Yet, she was defenseless now; that crazy-head was defenseless against that creature. She would be torn apart.

She would die.

I could not allow that, not to her. She had suffered enough.

What could I do?

Of course, there was something I could do.

I threw my knife with the last of my powers, it flew right over her, but I didn't care; I did not want to hit anything, I just had to transfer myself, and I did.

A moment before the dog was on top of her; I manifested on her body.

My face was a ferocious mask of unwavering decisions, with open-wide eyes that communicated only malevolent resolution.

I stared at her equally adamant expression.

Even as the dog started digging through my armor and ravaging my back.

I stared at her, and she stared back at me.

Her eyes shedding only a single teardrop.

Then I felt the emptiness of the world wash over me.

I knew that at that moment, I was about to die. Everything felt so wonderful, so true, so satisfying.

My eyes registered all that Roana wanted to say to me, my ears felt the whistle of the wind, I understood what it wanted to say; it said freedom, a freedom I did not have because I was still weak. —weak enough to be felled by an inferior creature, a useless tech dog, produced in mass by an uncaring and unthinking Dungeon.

That was not right. It could not be. I could not be just that… just one of the many that died in the spire of a Dungeon.

For Sun's sake, I hadn't even entered it.

I would not be a nameless being dying like that.

I would draw upon everything that I had.

So I screamed with a wave of anger I didn't even know I had, and everything changed. My cries of despair called Loki back into action.

He tackled the creature down, buying time for me to act.

My clock-arm started evaporating, healing my still not deadly wounds.

My back and thigh knitted together, and I rose up, stealing from Roana one of her blades, then I turned myself and launched on the downed dog, digging the blade over and over into its frame, uncaring of the damage it would deal to me.

I hadn't even registered the creature's death, that I jumped on the last remaining dog, which Harlow's powered down armor was having problems fighting, and Loki and I attacked.

We savaged even that other metal creature's body until it ceased moving.

Then I rose back up, taking in me the vaguely smiling and uncaring sky; the Sun peeking over from the clouds seemed to laugh at me, and I roared on top of my lungs my cry of victory.

"Loke! Loke! We have to go!" I was laughing like a crazy person when Harlow started shaking me. "Come on!" She said.

I felt the buzzing then; it was distant, but it was indeed there.

She was right; the Dungeon would not stop; we had to go.

We had to go now. The Dungeon would never stop.

She picked a defeated Loki up, placing it on her shoulders; he would be too heavy for me to run with. Instead, I took Roana in my arms. She was hurt, badly.

Yet she found the strength to say the words she seemed to want to say, maybe words she had been waiting to say for a long while.

"...you came to save… you did not wait, not this time. Thank you…"

I closed my eyes, not to cry. And we ran all the way back to the Flow-cart waiting for us.

"That's… four dozen creatures? Before the median ring?" Logan asked.

"Yes, maybe even more," I answered.

"It's not that I can't believe it; it's just that… I don't know; you don't get that many until you reach the road for Citadel, past the inner ring, but more precisely… not at your levels," he answered as he stitched Roana's abdomen.

We were waiting for Nova to wake up; until then, we would not be able to receive any treatment.

A half-naked Roana was stretched on Harlow's bed as she tried to fight off the repulsion she had of somebody touching her skin by crushing my hand.

Logan seemed to be very intrigued about what I had told him, but then as he finished, he said. "I'll go see how Alistar is faring; you check on your sister."

All in all. We had managed to get out of that Abyss with just a few scars.

Roana had a broken leg, but nothing that time, and Nova speeding her recovery up wouldn't be able to heal.

Faruq had a concussion, a couple of fractured ribs, and a broken arm.

Alistar had received the worst of the deal by having been reached by three of the Technorhinos horn missiles; luckily for him, he had the Constitution to deal with it; other than that, he had many wounds but nothing serious.

He would heal even by himself.

Harlow had received a few deep cuts, but again, nothing serious, Nova's treatment wouldn't even leave scars on her fair skin.

Nova was still sleeping for the concussion and the most damage she had received by overusing her Shield. It was a really demanding Skill, likely consuming a lot of Flow, Stamina, and if it broke, she would have to pay in health, but all in all, she was faring good.

While Loki was already in top condition, he was faring really poorly once we got here a couple of hours before, but I used my Skill to our advantage, and I killed a couple of creatures, letting him feast on them; he would speedily recover thanks to that.

It was I the one that had been hurt the most during the fight, but thanks to my Technomantic Body Skill, I had recovered entirely, even my broken rib had.

Other than still soft skin tissues, I had nothing that would show I had received damage.

So I got up, caressing Roana's head, and left the room to go check on the sleeping Nova.

I sat near her bed, on a chair we had placed precisely for that, then I took her hand in mine.

She was warm, warm as she had always been, and now even more thanks to her Solar Breathing.

I smiled at her sleeping face; she had drooled on the mattress again.

Yeah, she would be fine.

Closing my eyes, I let myself relax, allowing all those whispers to sink in finally.

Too many numbers, I thought seeing all those figures, so I wished for them to be grouped based on the types of creatures on which kills I had contributed, probably all of them.

You've earned 122,589 Droids' Soul Fractions + 24488 Technorhinos' Soul Fractions + 62582 Technodog's Soul fractions + 17822 Technoperegrine's Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next TechnoHunter level: 187,984/370,000

Class TechnoHunter has leveled up to 37. You have gained 1 Attribute point. Where will you invest it?

I placed it into Constitution.

I wanted to reach at least fifteen points in all Attributes before thinking about any lifelong build.

You've earned 64676 Droids' Soul Fractions + 12458 Technorhinos' Soul Fractions + 41582 Technodog's Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Red Tamer level: 280,367/330,000

Sadly, Red Tamer did not level up, but Loki should have.

Loki has earned 64676 Droids' Soul Fractions + 12458 Technorhinos' Soul Fractions + 41582 Technodog's Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next level: 260,000/260,000

Loki has reached level 27.

Agility + 4, Constitution + 5, Strength + 5

Loki has earned 61223 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next level: 73,358/270,000

Interesting. Agility, Constitution, and Strength; practically all the Attributes he needed the most to fight against those heavily armored creatures.

I looked out of the window and Traced him; he was sleeping peacefully by the lonely oak tree.

Loki (Adult Golden Netherlion), (Titan), Level 27 (73358/270,000)

Health: 78%

Stamina: 65%

Strength: Bite, Claws, Dash, Phantasmic State, Senses

Weaknesses: None

Abilities: Fading Dash, Ghastly Senses, Phase

Agility: 36

Constitution: 37

Strength: 37

Focus: 26

Perception: 30

Willpower: 26

My new Trick Shot, though, how was it doing?

Skill points for Trick Shot Promotion:

- Trick Shot II Major Perk: 11235/20000

- Trick Shot II Minor Perk: 23/10000

- Trick Shot II Passive Perk: 26/5000

Obviously, the Major Perk had shot up into the sky after that show, but the rest didn't exactly get a fuck-ton of experience.

I sighed.

Then I looked at my friends; I had almost managed to get them all killed.

"What is it?" Roana asked from the bed. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking that I've almost lost you all," I looked over the horizon.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"No, captain. You didn't," added Faruq, from the door frame.

"How do you feel?"

"Not great, but better. But there's no need to change the topic. We knew what ship we were embarking on when we decided to be delvers," he said.

I chuckled, "You too with sea sayings. I don't even know what that means."

Roana chuckled, but she added, "Don't try to slip away from this. You know what we're talking about."

"Alistar is mad like a bull; look at him." I pointed to the window.

Despite his state, Alistar was pacing around; he looked mad, seriously mad. I had failed him.

"Yeah, he's mad. But he's definitely not mad at you," Roana said.

"He's angry with himself," added Faruq, "He wanted to fare better. But he didn't. He's not strong enough. Neither are we, nor you, Loke. That's why we spent three months in the forest for training. That's why we are here, is it not?"

I did not answer.

I believed he was right, and yet, Alistar, the always confident Alistar, looked so angry, silent, like he had been when we faced the slave-traders.

Even then, I had brought him along but didn't manage to protect him as I should have.

He, just like the others, was my responsibility, wasn’t he? They were following me. I had no idea why.

I could understand Nova, she had her dreams, and I was her brother, maybe Harlow, although... she had her job, she could live with that without having to put herself in danger, yet she had…

Then there was Alistar; he wanted to become strong, but he had said it; he had said that he would not leave me alone.

And Roana? Was she here because she felt something for me?

What about Faruq again? What was he looking for? Calling me captain and following me into this Abyss?

Whatever it was, they were all here because of me; they were following me, nobody else, and I had failed them. Putting them in danger multiple times over.

Brought the Inquisition on them, made them help me as I slaughtered Sundoorians, had them face mad Cyclopses, and now this?

I shouldn't have taken them into this.

Stop right there, said a voice into my head.

I don't know what you're thinking about, but whatever it is, sure as the Abyss it’s wrong! It was Roana's.

"Come on, don't do that. Not now."

"Loke, we are not your responsibility. We are grown-ups. We are not Nova. We are here because we want something; we desire something, not because we want to be protected by you. I don't think I speak only for myself when I say that I'm here because I don't want anything like… like what happened to me… to happen ever again. I want the power to turn the tables."

"I'm here because I know I will reach greatness, but to do that, I don't need your protection, captain. It's the opposite. I want to become someone people can rely upon. I want to become your strength," added Faruq.

"I want to become reliable. Like you are, Loke," said Nova, with the voice of someone who had just woken up.

"Little monkey!” I shot up, “How do you feel!?"

"Better, but I'll feel even better once I start healing us all," she tried to get up.

"Wait, I'll help you." I ran over to her side.

"Loke, I'm sorry," she said, taking my hand in hers. "I should have been more… proactive. I will be, I swear it."

"Nova… listen, you—"

She shook her head, "I've sworn it," she said, hugging me tightly.

I was a little confused but accepted that hug with all my heart.

It was the Blessed Hour.

Nova had applied her healing to us all, and we were already starting to fare much better. Her healing would fix our wounds, even putting back in a regular shape, messed-up fractures, or allowing some damaged organs to reknit themselves. However, her overtime healing was precious in speeding our recovery up through the roof.

I chuckled, thinking about roofs probably because I was climbing one.

I knew Harlow would be there, on top of the Hillhouse’s roof. She had been too silent since we came back.

And there she was. Her tummy and back were covered in bandages, but she was looking good, although quiet.

"I'm sorry. I've been too weak," I said as I neared her from the back, then sat at her left.

She turned toward me, "Weak? Loke, if it weren't for you, we would have all died twice over. It's the opposite, believe me."

She sighed, "I thought I had gotten better, I thought I had beaten my fears, but I didn't… I could have given it much more… but I… I just wasn't capable of pushing myself further. Even with this strong armor, I'm just not a capable fighter. Or maybe I'm still too scared."

"Now, I should be the one saying that you're wrong. You were the only reason why the other survived, Harlow. If it wasn't for you… we would have a dead Roana, a dead Alistar… I would have died too."

"Well, guess what, I was pissing my pants… My knees trembled through the whole fight. I could have given it all so much more. Dad can do amazing things with our armor, I… I just couldn't."

I let a few seconds pass by in silence, then I leaned on her.

"I guess we could've both done much more then."

She snorted, "Yeah, what else could you have done. Loke, you've been perfect. You always are…"

We let ourselves fall with our back on the hardwood tiles.

"Actually…" she said, taking my hands in hers, "You've been so good that you deserve a prize. A real good prize…"

I chuckled, "Here? At your dad's house?"

"Shush… he's down the basement crunching numbers. He wants to understand why we faced such weird odds. The Dungeon always acts the same way, so we shouldn't have. Anyway, we can have a little time for ourselves."

"Well… If you attached me a clock-arm, I mean, it would be useful—" I asked as she started giving me the prize.

"I'm not going to let you wander into the night alone, not today, big guy," she said with a grin, a beautiful grin.

Damn, this woman understands me, I realized with a chuckle.

It would be a long night. A night we deserved.