Floating in the dark again. Well, this was familiar by now. I guess I lost consciousness from the pain, yet had somehow kept my awareness. Well, considering the skill I now possessed, could anything even harm me?

Archives seemed somewhat bemused when he answered.

Hang on, kill me? What did I miss? As far as I could tell, the skill transferred perfectly.

Mom saved me huh, remind me to thank her later, would you? Oh, Speaking of which, how did she save me, anyway?

That would explain the feeling of burning up, I suppose. Nice, so I was an Empress Sphinx now. Umm, what? What do you mean, no?

Silence. Archives, common now, it’s nothing bad, right? Archives paused, finally answered.

Wait, wait, wait. Hang on for a moment there, Empress Sphinx was the end of the evolution table. That should be it, no evolutions after that. What occurred to you?

It’s real, obviously. Now that he mentioned it, it seemed rather silly to think that way. Why would Rubolg want to stunt the growth of monsters?

Balance in all things, huh? I could not help but feel that giving such a restricting Portfolio to the Overdeity of a reality might be a… terrible idea.

Then why doesn’t he just remove it? Then why not just ignore it? Obviously not, so Portfolios were like breathing for Gods?

I couldn’t help but feel that there was something I was missing here. Before I could ponder the case any further, the darkness lit up. Finally, I was regaining consciousness.

The world slowly swam back into focus around me. The first thing I noticed was Mother standing before me. It was a pretty easy guess, considering she was the splitting image of the statue standing outside her temple on the third floor. The next thing I noticed was how different I felt. I felt light, really, really light.

I finally moved and got to my feet, which caused Penumbra to jump at the sound of movement. “So, you are awake.” Her real voice was rather melodious and had a strange, echoing tone to it. “Good as new, thanks for the help.” Mother smiled weakly. “For all the good it has done, the Void Creatures seemed content to ignore you. Speaking of, you weren’t kidding about the Lord being a tough nut to crack.” She nodded upwards toward the Lord of the Void.

I followed her gaze and froze. “Err… Mother, do you see what I am seeing?” She looked at me with a curious expression. “You mean what seems to be a sphere of darkness, then yes, I do. Why?” I shook my head. “Never mind, it’s nothing important, probably a side effect of the sudden, multiple evolutions I just went through.” Mother nodded absentmindedly.

She looked at the other combatants for a few moments. “Can you manage on your own?” She looked at me, and I nodded. Then after a supportive smile, she flew off to help another god, who had gotten himself into a spot of trouble. I couldn’t really focus on that. I was far more preoccupied with what I had just seen.

Multiple things were racing through my mind at that moment. First, I could now understand why the Lord was still alive, despite Minos, and two other gods were attacking it non-stop. I suspected that one of my evolutions had given me the ability to see through the facade and see the Lord for what it truly was.

I took to the skies and flew towards Minos and his two allies. “Hey, you three, I need you to do me a favor. Focus your attacks on one spot for me.” I yelled as I got close, and the trio paused their assault and looked at me. The God and Goddess seemed like they wanted to argue with my request.

“Look, I discovered something important, and I need you to trust me on this one.” The goddess and god looked at one another. “I’m up for it if you are, Justina, its not like anything we have thrown at this blob had done much of anything anyhow.” The god sounded… bored.

The goddess nodded and channeled an energy blast in her hands. “On my mark.” She nodded towards a certain point on the inky black surface of the Lord. The god and Minos charged up attacks of their own, building up an incredible amount of energy.

“NOW!” The trio fired, and the darkness where they hit seemed to recede for a moment. I surged forwarded and dove into the inky blackness before it could settle. As it enveloped me, I could hear the startled cries from the god and goddess and the surprised roar of Minos. Hopefully, they would keep attacking, and keep the Lord from doing anything but defend itself. They had done a pretty good job of it so far.

—————————————

As I fired the attack together with the Minotaur and Tyrros, I had not expected the Sphinx to just charge into the Lord. The Minotaur insisted she was alright, after the shock had settled. And considering the Sphinx had created him, I had no choice but to trust his judgment. “I take it we should keep attacking?” As I spoke, the sphere slowly began its descent again.

“I think so. As long as we were attacking it, it seems like it couldn’t move.” The Minotaur commented as he blasted the sphere with a bolt of green energy. It stopped and fired a blast of black flames at the Minotaur, which dodged effortlessly. “I have a feeling letting this thing touch the ground would be a bad idea.” Tyrros commented flippantly, as he blasted the Lord with ever more lightning. “So let’s keep going and buy the Sphinx the time she needs inside.” He continued as he dodged a bolt of dark energy. Huh, Tyrros was usually far more lazy than this. What had gotten into him?

—————————————

I am certain that if I didn’t have my stolen Skill, entering this thing would have destroyed me in an instant. The moment the Lord settled back into its regular shape I lost connection with Archives and my bond with Indella seemed suppressed again. Moving forwards was like moving through tar and yet, despite the utter lack of light, I could see the way forwards as clear as day.

I was tempting to open my stats to figure out exactly what skill allowed me to see in this darkness, but I thought better of it. I had far more important things to do right now. To be more exact, I had someone to meet as I pressed forward towards the core of the Lord.

The trip was slow, all things considered, and the utter lack of any input at all was unnerving. I could feel the violent energies from the Lord assail me from all sides, but because of my stolen Skill it all just bounced off with no effect. And while it slowed me further, it could not stop me from reaching my goal.

I stepped out of the murky energy and into a small chamber of rune covered stones. The energies that had attacked me swirled outside, but apparently could not enter this place. There, standing with his axe raised in a futile attempt at destroying the Lord, was a seemingly old man. I could see the frustration on his face, the tears and anger. “I take it this isn’t the first time you have been here, seeing as you appeared inside the Lord, rather than help your children outside.” As I delivered my remark, Rubolg lowered his axe, then turned and looked at me.

“Indeed, I have been here before, countless times before over the millennia. However, I can’t finish the swing. I have the power to destroy the Lord, but I can’t bring myself to do it, even though I know the destruction it will cause. What’s worse, this thing is my creation, my first creation, even. The Great Balancer. I created it, and the Void it commands, as a fail-safe to bring balance back into my creation in case something went wrong.” He sat down and buried his face in his hands.

“I had yet to realize the mistake of taking Balance as my primary Portfolio back then. I created the Lord and linked it to my Portfolio of Balance. This way, if the Void sensed my creation was out of Balance, it would activate and move to rectify it, protect the balance of my creation.”

Rubolg seemed tired at that point, but he took a deep breath and steadied himself enough to continue. “It activated on its own shortly after I created the world and began destroying it.” He seemed utterly devastated as he kept talking, a mix of despair and frustration clear on his face.

“Horrified at what my supposed guardians were doing, I tried destroying them. However, my Portfolio wouldn’t let me. The only thing I could do was to cast the Balancer and the Void out of my creation and seal it away.” His voice was bitter, full of self-loathing. “As you can see, it was a stopgap measure. It was hardly a millennium before my Portfolio was hard at work on securing its release. I held out as long as I could, but, I cannot fight it anymore.” He sounded so tired as he spoke.

I looked at the sphere that Rubolg had been trying to destroy. “So the Lord is a Dungeon Core.” I noted, but Rubolg shook his head. “The Lord is a construct used to control all the Void and its Entities, give them form, substance and a goal. You could say that sphere is the Void itself. However, the Lord has no sentience or will, it simply follows instructions.” Rubolg suddenly exploded into a surge of motion as he grabbed his axe and swung at the orb, only to stop inches from it, unable to finish the attack.

He let out a howl of despair as he threw his axe with full force into the wall, where it embedded itself with a screeching sound. “I could not even tell my children about this, the damn Portfolio wouldn’t let me. It’s like its developed a mind of its own, and I can’t even remember when I could last act without its approval. The sole exception is you. Since you and your dungeon are not part of my creation, my Portfolio can’t force me to act against you or yours. Not that it stopped the Portfolio from trying on its own.” I could see where this was going.

I looked at the core. Its stats were far out of my league. Hyper Regeneration alone would not allow me to damage it fast enough. Luckily, I didn’t need to. “Cheer up, old man, for I can solve your troubles, both of them, I think.” I replied calmly as I gave him a reassuring pat on the back. I had finally read the message that had been blinking at the peripheral of my vision since I woke up. Considering this new information, I had a difficult choice to make. “One thing at a time, though.” I mumbled while ignoring Rubolgs’ incredulous expression.

I refocused on the core. “Minos, I command you, teleport to me.” I spoke the order calmly. It was a good thing that the Lord was within my domain. Even if Minos couldn’t hear my order, he would have no choice but to obey my summons. The air rippled and twisted, but held firm. Then I felt momentarily dizzy as Minos burned through half my Essence in one go to use Edict of Passage. This finally allowed him to pass through the dimensional barrier that would normally prevent teleportation into the room.

Minos looked around before his eyes settled on me. “You summoned me, Milady and so here I am, what are your commands?” He knelt down in front of me, like a proper knight, as he spoke. Honestly, it was embarrassing. “Minos, that core is the Lord. What you have been firing at outside is nothing more than a mass of destructive Void energy meant to protect it. Do me a favor and destroy it.”

Minos grabbed the core from its resting spot in both hands and squeezed, his insane strength straining to break it. The core was losing health at about the same speed as a tortoise was running. As he squeezed, Rubolg grabbed his head and screamed. His eyes bulged, and he seemed to heave for breath. Then he grabbed his axe from the wall and swung at Minos, his eyes wild.

I intercepted the blow, and it bounced off. The stolen Skill, rebuffing Rubolgs’ mighty axe as easily as it did the energies outside the chamber. Rubolg had a look of utter shock on his face as he regained his balance. He hastened to attack again, only to be met with the same result. “Milady!” Minos looked at Rubolg with surprise and ever-increasing hostility.” I turned my attention to him as well.

“I’m fine, he can’t hurt me, so focus on the damn sphere.” Rubolg’s next swing hit me over the head with such force the sound was deafening, yet I didn’t feel a thing. “The sphere is what’s forcing him to attack me, so once it breaks he should snap out of it.” I continued as I kept intercepting attacks for Minos.

Minos’ attention immediately turned back to the sphere, and now bolts of purple energy shot from his hands into it. The speed at which it was loosing health was speeding up. Rubolg was now frothing like a wild beast, and his face was beet red. He charged me, unable to control himself. I met the charge with one of my own and slammed him into the wall, where I pinned him.

It was a good thing Minos was still channeling Edict of Unity, for I doubt I could have held Rubolg without it. Even with my potential put to its utmost limit, I could barely keep him pinned against the wall of the chamber. He thrashed like a wild beast, while screaming incoherent words that not even Babel could translate. I had little doubt that if Rubolg could think calmly rather than acting on the compulsion of his Portfolio, he probably would have just teleported.

I could hear a cracking sound behind me, and Rubolg screamed in pain once more, so I took the risk to look to behind me. Several cracks were showing up on the black-and-green glowing sphere, each one shining with a pure white light. Rubolg dropped his axe and grabbed his head once more. He didn’t look good at all. “Minos, Rubolg won’t survive much longer if you don’t break it, hold nothing back.”

In response to my order, Minos let out a monstrous roar. My Essence went to 1 as he activated one of his many offensive Edicts and there was the sound of shattering glass. Alongside this sound, a blinding white light erupted from the destroyed sphere. When it passed, the three of us were on the ground inside a small area of my Maze. Rubolg was barely standing, and he was pale as a ghost, but he was no longer behaving like a cornered rat. “Thank you.” He said weakly as he finally relaxed and dropped to the ground. Above us, the sun was now shining brilliantly from a clear blue midday sky. It was over.

All around us, the Void entities seemed to lose focus. They were still attacking, but with far less aggression and skill. Several of the lesser ones were also vanishing now that the power that sustained them had disappeared. “It’s over for now. But we still have one issue remaining.” I looked at Rubolg, who now wore a grim expression. “I take it you mean my Portfolio.” He got back to his feet and steadied himself against one of my Maze walls as he spoke.

“I do. It’s obvious to me, it’s out of control and is far too dangerous to allow it to exist.” Rubolg pushed off the wall. “Tell me something I don’t know. I no longer care too much about the balance of my world. Not more than what my Portfolio forces me to care, at any rate.” I looked at the message that was still blinking in my peripheral again.

“Out of curiosity, if another deity had the Portfolio, could you destroy it?” Rubolg looked at me for a few moments, and I had this naked sensation once again. “How did you… Actually, never mind, I can guess how, considering how you casually walked into that chamber.” He took a deep breath while slowly shaking his head. “I should be able too, never done so before, as I have never had a reason too, but if it’s not my Portfolio, it should be an easy task. But… are you sure about this?”

I couldn’t help but scoff. “Sure? Hardly. I never cared for the idea, honestly. But what choice do I have? I can’t let that Portfolio of yours lead you to destroy everything. Besides, we both know that it will try to make you do so again, it’s just a question of time.” Rubolg said nothing for a while, clearly mulling over my suggestion.

He finally looked up at me. “Fine, I accept your suggestion, however I warn you, you might need to be restrained once you receive it. Keep that in mind.” I shrugged. “Then it would be better if we gather enough people that can do so.” I turned towards Minos.

“Minos, I am sorry, but you cannot disobey my orders, so it would be best if you went into the dungeon for a while. I do not want the Portfolio to force me to turn you against our friends and allies. Do not seek me out until I come to you, understood, regardless of other orders, this order supersedes all others.” Minos bowed deeply.

“I understand, Milady, and I agree with your assessment. Well then, I will take my leave.” He vanished from my sight, most likely going to the 200th floor. I would have to remember to give Minos his proper rewards for ending the Lord later. For now, it was more important to gather enough people to restrain me in a worst-case scenario.

It didn’t take long to find that many, as my Mother, Inlas, after Rubolg lifted her ban, the Storm god Tyrros, Medino, Jusina and Rinnojj were all here. After I explained what I intended to do and the reason behind my choice, the air grew tense, but they all agreed to pitch in. Rubolg got some understandably angry looks from Inlas and Penumbra, but that was something they had to solve on their own.

With everything ready, I turned my full attention to the message. I really, REALLY didn’t care for this idea, but again, what other choice was there, wait for someone else to ascend? That would take too long. And creating a new god wouldn’t do it. This was the only option, unless the world would withstand Rubolg turning on it more directly now that the Void was no more.

I hadn’t even had time to look at my new form properly, and I was already getting rid of it. Then again, from what little I had seen it was a pretty unnerving one, so it probably wasn’t a huge loss. I took a deep breath, activated the Ascension option, closed my eyes for a moment and chose “Yes.”

————————————————

We were finishing the stragglers on the third floor now. The battle itself had become pretty damn bad when suddenly the Void creatures seemed to lose focus and several of them just vanished all together. I could sense satisfaction, but also determination, through my bond with Pearl.

The Lord must have fallen, we had succeeded. But then, why was she feeling determined, and also a slight sensation of… dread and anger? Then out of nowhere I felt a surge going through the bond, a surge of sheer power. I had felt something slightly like it a bit like this about an hour ago, but this was on an entirely different level.

I was clearly not the only one to sense what was happening. Everyone in the dungeon turned their gaze toward the entrance to the 2nd floor. Huh, Ascension just wha-?

Before I could finish the thought, a surge of power went through me and my entire body glowed a bright white. When it passed, I felt different, stronger. All blemishes on my skin had disappeared. My hair had become a pearlescent white and grown long enough to reach me to my knees. Great white wings grew from my back, strong enough to get me airborne wit ha small flex. Just what in the world was going on outside?

Before I could think of an answer, I suddenly felt incredibly weary. I leaned towards the wall of the temple and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, someone had carried me inside the temple itself and put a blanket over me. Outside, there was some kind of commotion.

————————————————

The feeling of what happened next was almost impossible to put into words. It was as if I was overflowing with power, but there was no pain like when I overloaded. Instead, it felt like my entire being overflowing with sunlight, like you were lying in the sun on that perfect summer day. The sensation became stronger and stronger until I felt it burst into a literal rising star. It propelled me upwards, and it bathed my entire field of view in golden light.

From below, I must seem like a rising star ascending to the heavens. Idle thoughts aside, I could feel my features changing again in subtle but profound ways. The shine slowly faded, and I floated back down to the ground. The moment my feet touched down, flowers sprang up all around me and then slowly faded away. Hopefully, that would not become a common thing when I was walking around.

This was a new voice. It wasn’t my dungeon, nor Archives or Indella. Probably a divine version of the voice of my dungeon, meant to notify Deities? Well, whatever. I knew I needed to take that blasted Balance Portfolio from Rubolg, but I honestly did not know what else to choose. Better to take those before Balance, just in case it would influence my other choices.

Archives? I thought you couldn’t talk about stuff like that. Good point. Nice to have you back, by the way.

I contemplated it for a while, as Archives told me everything about what had transpired between Inlas and the others. Time seemed to have stopped around me anyway, so it wasn’t like I was in a hurry. I thought back to everything that had happened, all I had experienced. The decision was suddenly far simpler. “I choose Dungeons, Prophesy and Balance.” This dungeon was my home, I would not leave it behind, so Dungeons seemed like an obvious choice to me. I would have to apologize to Mother later.

As for Prophesy, for all the trouble aunt Inlas had caused me, her intentions had been to save this world from destruction. It was a misguided notion spurred on by the power of the Void. But I could understand her viewpoint, if not agree with her actions. Besides, she was family, and I would have to see her from time to time. I might as well bury that hatchet, especially since Inlas had been under the influence of the Void and its twisted “Balance” since the last war with them. Because of this, she hadn’t acted fully of her own will, or so Archives had said.

And then Balance. Ugh, this would probably suck. Much to my surprise, however, the selection came and went, and nothing seemed to happen. Everyone around me seemed to look at me with uncertainty. Seeing as no one said anything, I figured it was best to break the ice myself. “How do I look?” In response, Rubolg chuckled and out of nowhere had a giant mirror appear in front of me, letting me see myself clearly.

I once more had a more lion-like appearance, compared to the black panther I had of my last form, if my front legs had been anything to go by. But the colors were more vibrant. My ears had become those of a lion, but were where human ears would be. Golden/honey colored feathers covered my wings, though they grew darker, and slightly silvery towards the top.

My hair cascaded back in a brilliant mane, so long it was almost a second tail. It was mostly the same golden/honey color, with two long flowing locks growing down the on either side of my head. In the now-returned sunlight, it shone brilliantly in several iridescent colors when I moved. And in the shadows it had patches of red, blue, and brown here and there.

Green, slitted eyes looked back at me from the mirror. And it was a relief to see my face remained mostly human still. My teeth were unaltered and just as sharp as ever, and my size remained unchanged, which was a blessing too. I don’t think I would have liked to grow much taller.

Mother stepped closer to me and put a hand on my back. “You look beautiful, my dear. Now, how about we remove that Portfolio before it acts up?” Remove Balance? Why would I, when it was such a perfect thing to have? Hang on, that didn’t seem right. The entire reason to take it was to have it removed. But it wasn’t doing any harm, was it? Why not let it be? No, no, no, it had to go! No, it didn’t. In fact, that was a bad idea. It should stay, no, it HAD to stay. Dammit, the Balance Portfolio was already acting up. Nah, everything was fine and dandy. I should just leave Balance alone.

Ok, something was decidedly wrong here. “Rubolg, if you would do what you need to, before I decide to do something stupid. I am getting second thoughts, and I am uncertain if that is of my volition.” The next second, it was as if my entire world shattered, and I fell over on the ground.

It took me about a minute to recover, but when I did, it was as if a massive burden I didn’t even notice had disappeared from my shoulders. The dungeon’s “voice.” Good to know my home was still mine. That being said, there would need to be a few changes around here. Though I could discuss that with Rubolg, Inlas and Mother later.

For now, I had some damage control to do. I turned towards the dungeon. “While I would love to talk about all of this, I need to do some cleanup, and I am certain you are all busy too, so let’s get going.” I turned towards the dungeon and willed myself to the first floor.

The first floor was an absolute mess. The smaller void entities had long since vanished, but there were still plenty of stronger ones still around. And while the Cubes and Shadows were putting up as much of a resistance as they could, they really didn’t stand a chance against the bigger ones. However, when I attacked, it was as one could expect when a literal deity faces off against a very mortal, very disoriented and weakened enemy.

I didn’t as much attack them as will them to disappear, and they withered in front of me until they disappeared. With the maze area cleared out, I rushed towards the 2nd floor to see how things were going there. The others followed close behind as they wished to see me test my new powers in action.

Just before I entered, however, I paused for a moment. There was someone else who I wanted to share this with. When I stepped down on the 2nd floor, I did so with Minos at my side. He deserved that much, and more. The area was mostly clean of Void entities. Striders were patrolling here and there, so they had likely cleared the place out after the Lord’s destruction. The bridge across the lake was in shambles, though it was slowly repairing itself.

As I arrived at the Adventurer camp, I stopped dead in my tracks as several thrilled Dragonewts swarmed me. It only took me a moment to figure out who they were. Though it took some time to extract the entire story behind it, since they kept interrupting one another to embellish certain details.

In the end, the entire story became clear and I couldn’t help but smile down at the newest, yet one of the older members of my dungeon. “I am happy to know you would consider it such, all of you, and I am more than happy to accept you all here, obviously.” I patted Ssatassha on her head, which had her make a happy hissing noise that caused some fire puffs from her mouth.

The camp had been lucky, thanks to the cramped area it had limited the amount and size of the intruding void entities that could get to it. Those too big had tried to appear outside, where my Umbral Spiders had caught them in their net, or found nothing at all in the Mushroom Forest.

At the library, we found Pavol lying on the floor, somehow alive, despite the massive pool of blood around him. Erem rushed over to his pale and barely breathing form and began casting healing spells. However, It wasn’t working. No matter how much Erem cast, Pavol’s condition wasn’t improving. He was beyond mortal healing. Medino put his hand on Erem’s shoulder. “Please, allow me.” He reached out and moved his hand over Pavol’s prone form, and color finally returned to his skin as all his wounds melted away.

“He will be fine young mortal, and thank you miss Spirit, for protecting him and keeping him alive.” Medino looked at the transparent form floating next to Pavol with a serene smile on her face. I, too, looked at her. This was the first time I had actually seen her. “Thank you indeed.” She gave a slight nod to both of us and floated down and kissed Pavol’s cheek tenderly. Then she faded from view as her transparent form took on a slightly pink hue. She seemed to giggle, though she didn’t make a sound.

Looks like Pavol’s love for books had captured the heart of the library’s spectral guardian. Lucky for him, in more ways than one. I didn’t know what sort of power she had used to keep him alive, but I was grateful. Pavol was a good man, and he deserved better than to die at the hands of these things.

On the third floor, things took a more serious turn. The open space between the fort and the cavern still teemed with greater Void entities, but without their Lord empowering them, they stood little chance against multiple deities. By this point, Medino split off from the rest of us. With the entities mostly dealt with, there were now so many preying for his aid to save their loved ones, he could not stay. Tyrros followed suit because he didn’t like the underground.

I moved into the Fort itself, with the rest of them, only to see a rather confusing scene play out in front of me. In the center of the fort, encircled by the Duergar, were Yrsha and her spirits. The strange thing was, the Duergar had their weapons drawn and pointing at them. The only Duergar not standing with them all was Granite, who was standing in front of Yunika with a grim expression on his face.

“What in the world is going on here?” Flint turned to me. “Blasphemy of the most heinous sort, Melady.” He spit on the ground. Blasphemy? “Let us through.” The Duergar parted was and the four of us moved towards the encircled spirits. There, in the center of the encircled Spirits, was Yrsha, cradling a sleeping Rael. Though a Rael, that had changed from how he looked the last time I saw him. Yrsha looked up at Penumbra. “I couldn’t let him die and there was no cure for the poison, outside of this.” She was crying freely, clearly not expecting any leniency here.

Honestly, I couldn’t really see the big deal. But the reactions of Penumbra and Inlas told another story. They rushed forward, intending to strike Yrsha down. Only to be stopped dead in their tracks by Justina. “Out of the way, Sister.” Inlas was openly sneering at Justina. But Justina didn’t move. “There is no justice in just killing her without a fair trial.” She turned towards Yrsha and the unconscious Rael. “Explain what happened, spare no detail.” Justina’s voice was stern and calm.

Yrsha explained how she had seen how Rael would die by saving her from a void spawn, and that she couldn’t let him. She loved him too much. Penumbra and Inlas looked equally flabbergasted at this admission. “I don’t know any healing spells that could counter the poison in those barbs. None of my Spirits nor any of the Duergar would either, and Lord Medino would not make it in time. I knew that, so I gathered the items needed for a Ritual of Reincarnation in advance.” She continued, and Inlas and Penumbra scowled again.

I could no longer contain my curiosity. “Could someone explain exactly what the big deal is?” Penumbra looked at me with a cold expression. “Reincarnating a soul into another species is taboo, it twists the soul to fit the new body, regardless of the subjects' willingness.” Seriously? I looked at Penumbra with an annoyed expression. “So, basically, the same thing that you did to me when you brought me here?” Penumbra paused for a moment, clearly taken aback by my comment, then turned beet red as she realized how hypocritical she was being. Looks like I hit the nail on the head there.

“That still doesn’t excuse her actions, she defiled his soul against his will.” Inlas argued. That statement caused me, the Duergar and several of the spirits to burst out laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation. “I seriously doubt it was against his will. It’s become a running joke here in the Dungeon that those two lovebirds are far too serious to act on their blatantly obvious feelings for one another.” Inlas blinked a few times, then turned to Yrsha. “Is this true?” Now it was Yrsha’s turn to blush as she slowly nodded.

Justina looked at the two of them, her own serious expression slowly softening. “There is no injustice here, only two lovers who can finally be together. Leave them be, sisters, Father, please.” Justina looked at both Penumbra and Inlas, and then at Rubolg. Rubolg looked back at Justina. “Why are you asking me? Dungeons are her Portfolio, not mine, not to mention this Dungeon is her godly domain now, so her laws count.” he nodded at me.

It was a surprising move on Rubolgs side, but hey, I would take a freebie if I got one. “And I say as long as Rael was willing, this was no crime, end of discussion. Besides, if I were to mete out a punishment for this, it would be that they would stop beating around the bush and just marry already. Watching them pretend not to want to be together all the time has lost its charm.” Yrsha somehow turned even redder, but the way her tails wagged showed she was far from opposed to the idea of marrying Rael in the slightest.

Justine smiled. “I sensed no lies from Yrsha. Rael did indeed consent. Whether he knew what he was consenting to I cannot tell, but he gave his consent.” I looked at Penumbra and Inlas, who looked at me, then Yrsha, then finally at each other, and nodded. Then simultaneously they spoke. “Yrsha, forgive us. We acted rashly without considering the circumstances.” Yrsha shook her head. “It’s fine, I can understand. The ritual has a history of such heinous use before, after all.”

She smiled weakly as she looked down at Rael, the Fox Spirit. Well, I was certain that even if Rael didn’t know what he was consenting to, he would not mind this at all. “I bet he will complain about the tail when he wakes up.” I commented dryly. Yrsha chuckled, tears streaming freely from her eyes, then nodded. I turned to the rest of them. “Ok everyone shows over, disperse, I am certain you have better things to do than stand here and gawk.” I looked towards the jail cell that Erika was sitting in. The guards outside hadn’t moved, despite the incident.

Now what should I do with her? As soon as I thought about it, a prophetic vision hit me like a rock. Luckily, I remained standing, thanks to having 4 legs. Once it was over, I looked at the cell again, now with a far less vindictive expression. “So, that’s how it is, funny. Mother, Inlas and Rubolg, a word with you if you please.”

———————————————————

The commotion outside had settled some time ago, and I could hear Pearl discuss something with someone outside in that strange language again. It seemed like a rather heated debate, one that Pearl seemed to win, as I could see the four approach the cell I was in. The strange energy beings next to her made me feel small, insignificant even, as they looked in my direction. How could Pearl dare to speak up against such beings?

As I pondered this, I saw movement, and from around the corner of the large building next to me came the girl who had been feeding me. I had seen her strange transformation from my cell. She had this strange, soothing sense to her now as she joined Pearl and the others. Her voice sounded in my head once more. So, it was finally time for Pearl’s judgment of me. Well, this was it then. I would probably die now, or worse.

It was a strange sensation. Despite the sheer terror the idea invoked in me, I couldn’t seem to care. It was just too unreal. The door to my cell opened, and the two guards entered and dragged me outside and onto the ground in front of Pearl and the others. The sensation of utter power I got from them all was almost overwhelming. It physically made my skin tingle, and not in a good way. Pearl looked at me with the same expression as last time. Barely restrained hate and anger. Though there was something else in there as well, something I couldn’t identify.

She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself and get her emotions under control. “Erika, I cannot begin to even describe my sheer hatred for you, yet despite that, I owe you a debt, and this world, ironically a bigger one. If you hadn’t betrayed me back then, this world would likely have met its end today.” I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out.

Pearl continued to speak as if nothing had happened. “Considering this debt, I will give you a chance to mend your ways, in my own way. If you accept, your chance will begin immediately, if you refuse... Well, that should be obvious.” As if to hammer the point home, she pulled a clawed finger across her neck. If I refused, she would kill me, I realized. That didn’t really give me much of a choice. “Fine, I will take your chance.” I answered. This time my voice did work, though it was far higher pitched than I would like.

Pearl nodded. “Then let it be so, your redemption will begin now and end when next we meet.” She turned to the other three and exchanged words. The other three seemed to instruct her as she began radiating a strange golden glow. The glow shot from her and hit me squarely in the face. There was a flash, a sensation of moving impossibly fast, and everything went dark.

Color slowly returned, but it was distant, unfocused. I could see movement. Someone or something was standing above me, looking down at me. I tried to keep focus, but I was just so… sleepy. Everything was so fuzzy and far away. Everything was slipping away like sand between my fingers, including my memories. Distant voices were talking. A few moments later, something or someone picked me up in hands almost as large as my torso. As the unfocused form carried me away as my consciousness drifted away once more.

———————————————————

As Erika disappeared, I took another deep breath. The urge to just kill her was still there, but now it was too late. I had set her fate in motion, and I could not change it now. We would meet again, of course, but not for a long time. Long enough, perhaps, that my anger would have cooled down. Besides, if my vision had been correct, this way would be better for everyone involved.

Indella walked up to me and gave me a hug on the leg. I looked down at her. “You are right, of course. As much as I wanted to kill her, that was simply not the answer here.

Besides, if things go as I foresaw, this will actually make her a better person in the end.” I looked at the Jail cell one last time, before I, with a thought, erased it from existence. This was far simpler than when I was a core, no need to go through menus. If I wanted it made, I just needed to focus on willing it to be.

“Come on, we still have work to do here before we can celebrate.” Indella nodded and hopped on my back. I turned towards Mother and the others. “I have some things I need to speak with you about as well, though it’s not so pressing as to be immediate.” The trio nodded, and Rubolg smiled wryly.

“I know what it is you want to speak about, and I agree on most of it. However, It would be better if the others heared from you directly about this. We can take care of it tomorrow afternoon. For now, we have a lot of cleaning up to do, all of us.” I nodded. “See you later, Mother, Aunt, Grandpa.” The trio smiled and disappeared. It was a strange feeling to suddenly have close relatives again. Strange, but also welcome.

The fourth floor seemed to do well. There was no sign of any Void creatures here. Then again, with five Leviathans and ghosts guarding the place, I doubted the things had fared well at all for the Entities that entered.

We found Nicomphus on the seventeenth floor together with his Redcaps, and to my surprise, Irontooth. They were busy exchanging stories about the whole ordeal and seemed to get along well. A very pleasant surprise indeed, as I never thought Nicomphus would get along with anyone. As we went deeper, it became obvious the cleanup was a formality, and it wasn’t long until Minos insisted on doing the rest himself. I allowed him to do so, as I had some other things I wanted to check up on.

Once I returned to the third floor, I noticed Yrsha and Rael sitting on the steps of the temple, their hands and tails intertwined. My first thought was to go over and talk with them. But then, to my surprise, Rael leaned in and kissed Yrsha lovingly.

Then he stepped back, went down on one knee, and presented a golden necklace to Yrsha. Yrsha looked at Rael and smiled. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she nodded and eagerly embraced him, culminating in another long kiss. “About damn time, you damn slowpokes.” I whispered to Indella, who nodded in agreement. We took a wide turn to not disturb the two and ruin the mood.

As we returned to the 2nd floor, I noticed that the Library was back to being pristine once more. Sitting on a chair, eagerly writing in his book, was Pavol. Next to him, floating silently, and I suspected invisibly, was the Librarian. The love-struck expression on her face was unmistakable. To my surprise, however, Pavol looked up from his book and said something to her, which she replied to with an eager smile. Indella seemed as surprised as I was. Though she smiled as I explained what had happened earlier. Only time would tell.

As we entered the Kobold Village, I immediately noticed an issue. The newly evolved Dragonewts were far too big for their old houses. I could see several of them already hard at work renovating. Though as I landed the entire tribe dropped their tools and eagerly ran to meet us.

Ssatassha and Lienru were in the front of them all as they eagerly awaited whatever I was about to say. “First, I wish to once again thank you all for everything you have done for me since your arrival in my Dungeon.” There was a happy rumble of voices as every single Dragonewt tried to make it clear they did not need any thanks. I held up a paw to silence the small crowd. “Considering your new Evolution, it is clear you need new and improved homes. Since that’s the case…” I focused on the village and willed it to change as I envisioned.

The area changed drastically. The ground changed from loamy soil into cobblestone, while the small ramshackle houses that the Kobolds had built disappeared. In their place were large mushroom houses fit for well-off merchants. The houses were large enough for a normal human to live in comfortably. I decorated them with ornate patterns of Dragonewts and Kobolds.

The cobblestone streets received streetlamps made from glowing mushrooms that lit the place in a glow akin to moonlight. Well made signs proclaimed the locations of the Alchemist lab, the Inn and so on. As the changes finished, I looked down at the tribe of my dear Dragonewts. “This is the least I can do. Enjoy your new and improved homes, your belongings are inside as you left them. Though I enlarged them so they would still be useful to you.”

The tribe looked at the place, their home, and then as one knelt in front of me and folded their arms in silent prayer. As they prayed, there was this weird sensation, as if I had just had a delicious meal. Wait, I can’t eat normally anymore?

Hmm, speaking of Lienru. I turned towards the bronze colored Dragonewt she had become. “Lienru, would you mind preparing a proper feast to celebrate our victory?” She looked up at me for about half a second. “Nothing would make me happier, Great One!” Her happy smile was so pure it was almost blinding. Before I could say anything more, Lienru and a dozen other Dragonewts disappeared into her eatery to begin preparations. This would likely be a feast to remember for years to come.

I was not mistaken. The feast itself was one of the biggest yet, since the entire dungeon was celebrating. Lienru’s cooking had, somehow, improved even further after her evolution. Her food was literally divine and while I didn’t need to eat anymore, how could I say now to such delicious food? A sentiment that my relatives would share in the days to come as they got talked into tasting it. It would not surprise me if Lienru would one day ascend as a goddess of fine dining and cooking.

That night, as I was lying in my bedroom on the 4th floor. I couldn’t help but to think back to all that had happened in these past few months. How stressful and difficult the days had been. The painful memories and the good memories. Indella woke up around midnight. she sounded sleepy. “Not really, it’s just like being wide awake all the time. I could probably sleep if I wanted to, but right now, reminiscing about what had happened so far was more appealing.

Indella yawned. I had tried to after the party started. “I tried, turns out you can’t see the stats of deities.” Indella didn’t seem surprised. That he did indeed. Hmm. I looked at Indella’s new angelic form. “Say Indella, could you do me a favor?” Indella tilted her head. “Say my name.” Now she looked confused. she asked, clearly confused. “With your mouth, silly.” As I spoke, I was focusing on her throat with something specific in mind.

Indella looked at me again, now with an expression that was a mix of fear, hope, and desperation. “…pearl?” It was a weak voice, barely more than a whisper, and it cracked from lack of use. “Pearl,” she said again, stronger this time. And as she looked up at me, tears fell from her eyes, a smile on her face. Soon the tears fell freely from her eyes as the elation of being able to speak normally again overwhelmed her. At that moment, I didn’t regret my choice anymore. How could I when Indella, the closest friend I had ever had, was this happy?

The next morning, one of Rubolg’s messengers interrupted our breakfast. “Here ye, Here ye! The great Lord Rubolg’s proclamation! Yesterday, the Ascension of a new Goddess saved the world from utter ruin! All hail Lady Labyrinthia, the newest member of the Pantheon! While the Goddess have Ascended, there are still some details about her Portfolios to work out, we will announce them at a later date.” Before I could properly react to what had just happened, the messenger disappeared.

Indella looked up at me. “Labyrinthia, so that was your true name.” I nodded slowly. “Yeah, according to Archives, names have power, so I wasn’t completely comfortable just giving it out.” Indella became thoughtful for a few moments. “A wise choice. Some spells become far more powerful against or specifically target someone you know the true name of.” She went back to her breakfast with renewed energy.

As I finished up my own, I couldn’t help but wonder, how did Caelyn fare in all of this? True, I was technically in the mortal realm still. Actually, sure why not, I wanted to know how Yndali and the old Priest were doing anyhow.

Besides, any moment now… As I expected, Eliandar entered the dining room a few moments later. “I am sorry to disturb you while you are eating, Lady Labyrinthia. But the city-” I rose and walked next to him and he stopped talking as he looked at me wit ha nervous expression. “I was planning to check on the Guild and the High Priest, anyway, so you could get a ride, if you want to check on someone.” Eliandar visibly relaxed. “Thank you…” The voice was but a whisper. “Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?” He looked up at me with a surprised expression before a smile spread over his face. “Right.”

Indella looked up from her meal. “You two go on ahead. I’ll meet you topside once I’m done eating.” Eliandar jumped in surprise as he heard Indella talk. Though to his credit, he quickly recovered again. I gave her a nod, and I calmly teleported myself and Eliandar to the surface. I probably could have transferred all of us directly to Caelyn, but that seemed risky since I didn’t know the exact location of Caelyn compared to my dungeon. Not to mention Indella would get furious if I left her behind.

We didn’t have to wait long, as Indella arrived about five minutes later, accompanied by Erem. “Hope you don’t mind. My Sister is the only family I have left, and…” his voice trailed off as he looked at me. “I don’t mind at all, though the trip might get slightly strange.” Erem and Eliandar gave me a curious look. I just smiled and lifted them both into the air with telekinesis. “Well then, ready to go?” The two suddenly looked far less certain about their choice.

Before they could change their minds, both Indella and I took to the skies. “How does it feel to fly on your own accord?” I looked over at Indella as she flapped her own great wings with ease. “It feels natural. I thought it would be difficult or tiring, but it’s as easy as walking.” She dove and did a loop before shooting upward a bit more, then circled back down to the three of us. “No vertigo or anything else?” She shook her head.

Walking to Caelyn was about a six-hour trip, however the flight lasted about thirty minutes. As I touched down in front of the gates, I could see the guards tense up. One of them took a step forward and with a shaky voice proclaimed. “H-halt, state your n-name and errand.” I had to admit, his bravery was admirable. Few people would have the guts to demand such of a four-meter tall Sphinx accompanied by a literal Angel.

Well, I guess I should reward his bravery appropriately. “I am Labyrinthia. I am here to speak with the High Priest and the Guildmaster. My companions are Indella, Erem and Eliandar of the Adventurer’s Guild.” If the man had been pale before, he now turned as white as snow. He looked up towards the heavens, as if expecting a bolt from the clear sky. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Erem, why don’t you show him your ID before he faints dead away.” The old Cleric hastily walked forwards and showed the tag on his necklace, and a few moments later we were let through the gate.

Erem looked up at me as we walked through. “You could have just flown over the wall.” I looked down at him. “And would have caused more panic in a city that has already weathered an unprecedented attack.” I looked around at the damaged and destroyed buildings. “I only hope that the death toll didn’t get excessive.” Beside me, Eliandar closed his fists repeatedly until Indella put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine, I am certain he’s fine.” Her voice seemed to soothe Eliandar as he looked up at her and nodded silently.

Despite the strange sight the four of us must have made as we made our way through the city, almost no one offered us more than a curious glance. There were far too many destroyed buildings to repair or rubble to clear. It seemed, however, that the number of deaths was relatively low. As we entered the plaza in front of the Temple of Rubolg, I noticed the giant fissure currently being filled in. “I can guess the cause of that one.” I mumbled silently, as it was very similar to the gash left by Rubolgs axe in the room housing the core of the Lord, only far bigger.

We walked past it, careful to not impede the people who were busy filling the massive rend with dirt. As we got to the stairs of the temple, the doors opened and the High Priest, now using a cane, walked out. “Ah, I have been expecting you, Milady.” He bowed his head respectfully. Honestly, this was getting embarrassing.

Behind him, I could see Yndali and Arana discussing something. As they noticed us, they joined us on the stairs. “Ah, Lady Pearl, or is it Labyrinthia now? I am glad to see you are well. I also hope your dungeon didn’t suffer too many losses in the fighting.” Arana looked quite pleased with the entire situation. Yndali looked at her, then bowed her head similarly to the High Priest. “Indeed, losing your dungeon would have been a major loss for everyone.”

I chuckled. “Glad to see you are alright as well. The city took a beating, it seems.” I noticed the Temple was mostly unscathed. Arana’s smile faded somewhat. “It’s almost all structural damage. Thanks to your warning, we evacuated most of the citizens into warded areas before the Void arrived. I dare not think about the complete disaster that would occur if we hadn’t received word. On behalf of the city’s Nobles and the City Lord, I thank you.” She bowed deeply, only to be stopped by Eliandar.

“Father, is he?” His voice was calm, but I could feel his worry emanating from him like a cold wind. Eliandar’s last trip had somewhat mended the rift between him and his family, it seemed. Arana smiled and put a hand on Eliandar’s shoulder. “Fear not, young man. Your Father is fine, bruised, but fine. He led his personal guard to safeguard people who hadn’t evacuated yet. He got a few minor wounds, but he has received treatment and is as good as new, well, as good as you can get at his age.” Eliandar sagged as relief flooded through him. “Thank you, Lord Rubolg, for safeguarding him.”

Now, however, it was Yndali that interrupted. “Afraid I have to say, it wasn’t Lord Rubolg that helped him. Selba led the host that protected Caelyn, and among the Celestials were Demons as well. Gave us a rather nasty shock in the beginning, considering Celestials and Demons don’t get along, yet now were fighting side-by-side.” She seemed rather calm about all that had happened. Then again, Yndali had never seemed like someone who let a bit of pain, or minor setbacks like the end of the world, impede her job.

I looked the trio over. “So Caelyn is fine, then?” Arana nodded. “As fine as it could get, all things considered. Your warning helped save countless lives here and other places as well. We messaged broadcast your warning to every major city across the entire kingdom and they sent in onwards. You prevented a complete disaster and likely saved thousands in with your warning. Sure, we suffered losses, and so did several other cities. But nowhere near as much as we would have without your warning.” Arana gave a wide grin before she continued.

“There were talks about giving you a medal, but it seems you got a greater reward than any medal of honor we mortals could provide. Didn’t you, your holiness?” Her attempted levity faded somewhat when I didn’t return her grin. “I take it you are referring to my ascension, Arana. If so, I assure you it was unrelated to any reward and something I did from necessity. Not because I desired divinity or power.”

She suddenly seemed less sure of herself. “That being said, I don’t regret my choice. It had to be done, and it allowed me to resolve some personal regrets of mine that I would not have been able to as a Mortal.” I was about to continue when the High Priest cleared his throat. The others looked shocked that he would interrupt a goddess, but I could clearly see the divine spark within.

“I am sorry to interrupt the conversation, but didn’t you have a meeting in a scant few hours? You should probably head back and prepare.” I gave him a slightly stiff nod. “You are right, of course. I will be heading back now. The rest of you can stay behind and head back on your own if you like. I am certain you have some catching up to do with friends and relatives.” Erem and Eliandar agreed quickly.

“I will probably be staying a few days at least, maybe longer.” Erem noted as he headed into the temple, towards one of the closer pews. A middle-aged woman who bore a striking resemblance to Erem himself was sitting on it, and when she noticed him, she sprang up and embraced the old man. It didn’t take a genius to realize it was Erem’s sister. Eliandar also waved goodbye and headed off towards the Noble District with Arana, no doubt to see his father.

As I looked back at the old man, I noticed he was eyeing Indella with a curious expression. “Remarkable, I didn’t expect the Ascension to also affect you. Must be a side effect of Penumbra messing with the Taming ritual, truly fascinating.” Indella seemed somewhat nervous as Rubolg studied her. So much so that Yndali, who did not know who she was really talking to, intersected. “Honestly, your Holiness, can’t you see that the young girl is uncomfortable with your staring? Besides, what would lord Rubolg say if he knew his High Priest was ogling a young woman like that.”

Rubolg and Indella just stared at her with expressions that were swapping back and forth between so many emotions I couldn’t really sort them out. Then the old man gave a hearty laugh. “Ah, forgive me, Miss Yndali, it’s just so rare to see a human ascend to a Celestial while still alive, let alone one so young. The sight enraptured me completely, please forgive me young miss, I meant no harm, truly.” Indella smiled nervously and gave a respectful bow of her own. “No harm done... your Holiness.” She knew it was Rubolg who was speaking to her. I could feel it through our bond.

Yndali looked at the two with a slightly confused expression, before she just sighed at the entire thing. “Well, I would love to continue this conversation. However, I have to oversee the rebuilding of the Guild Hall. Most of it got torn apart during the fighting and it’s going to take weeks, if not months, to repair it all. Take care, all of you.” She waved and began moving down the stairs. As she set foot on the plaza, both Micha and Mandol were right behind her, under the effect of invisibility. It was rather interesting to note they were holding hands.

I looked back at the High Priest. “Well then, we better get going, too, see you at the meeting, Grandpa.” This earned me a hearty laugh from him as he waved me and Indella off. As we returned to the plaza, I turned to Indella. “Say, how about we test how fast we can fly back? After all, we kept it rather slow since we had Erem and Eliandar with us.” Indella looked at me, stretched her wings, and nodded.

A few seconds later, both Indella and I were in the air. Her wings and my mane giving off an iridescent, rainbow-colored spectacle in the sunlight as we circled over the plaza to gain altitude. Below us, I could see people point and upwards, and I could hear indistinct yelling. No doubt it was quite a sight to behold from below. Indella flattened out her ascent with a grin. “Ready when you are.” I turned back towards the Dungeon. “Lets go!” A few seconds later, Indella and I had put Caelyn far behind us as the world turned into a blur around us.

To call the trip back short was an understatement. We arrived so fast we actually overshot it and had to turn around. When we landed, both of us were laughing hysterically at the entire thing. It felt good to not have to worry about anything for a change. As we landed, I noticed that Yrsha and Rael were sitting on a stone slab outside the entrance. Once they noticed us, they smiled and waved. Rael scratched his ears and grinned widely as we approached.

“Welcome back, you two. How was the trip? No difficulties, I hope.” His tail was wagging so fast it was difficult to see it clearly as he talked. Indella returned the grin herself as she flapped her wings and created a small breeze. “Oh, can’t complain. The trip was just a blur on the way back, though. We actually overshot the Dungeon and had to turn back around.” Rael looked at Indella with a surprised expression before he resumed his grin. “Glad to hear it, and congratulations on recovering your voice.”

He and Yndali looked at each other and then at me. “By the way, Pearl, err Labyrinthia. As you undoubtedly noticed yesterday, I finally proposed to Yrsha. And in that regard, when the day comes, would you mind being the one who officiates the wedding?” I looked at the two of them with an equally wide smile. “Nothing would make me happier. Just let me know the date beforehand.” The two smiled widely then, with a wave at us, both hurried back down, hand in hand.

“Nothing like a near-death experience to break down that last wall between loved ones.” I commented calmly. Indella looked up at me, then back at the entrance. That it took a near-death experience baffles me, I mean, everyone knew they were head over heels in love with one another.” She shook her head slowly. “Well, what matters is that they are finally together, right Labyrinthia?”

I nodded slowly. “Indeed, here’s hoping they will get a long and happy life together.” Indella tilted her head. “Can’t you just foresee the future and know?” I chuckled. “Once I get enough training with the Portfolio, perhaps, right now, I get glimpses or sometimes I get hit by sudden visions.” I explained calmly. Indella nodded slowly. “Well, I suggest you keep practicing. You have an important job now, after all. I nodded slowly in agreement. “Well, right now, the most important thing I can do is to have a nice lunch before the meeting, so let’s go.” As we entered the Dungeon once more, I felt content, truly content for the first time in a very long time. It’s good to be home, Archives. It’s good to be home.