Trying to concentrate was becoming incredibly hard with the sounds of stone cracking and the yells of fear coming from those we saved. I tried to tune them out and began to picture the next marble of air. This time instead of removing the center portion of air, I started at the middle and pushed the air out to the edges condensing it. The marble didn’t shatter and now contained a vacuum at its center.

I began arranging these in various configurations like the other spells, but nothing clicked. I tried a square, adding more and more of the balls but nothing. Next, I tried a rectangle and then a circle, nothing clicking. I thought back to the dungeon's door and its shape and gave that a try. I created the odd shape with a top and flat bottom point. The shape resembled a curved triangle bowing out.

Five orbs, nothing, twevle orbs northing. I kept adding orbs until they began touching one another. Something clicked when the doorway became an outline of these orbs, but not entirely as others had. What was I missing?

The old Beastkins words rang in my head, how even a oneway portal had to imagine the space inside a pocket dimension still for the spell to work. I imagined the field just outside the dungeon and nothing. I focused on the back of the dungeon, an outline of the door of where I wanted this portal to go, and finally, the mental click followed. I stood up and shouted to the prisoners. “Get ready to run thought! Don’t hesitate! I have no idea how long this will remain open!”

Kiszo ran over and handed me another sack. I looked inside to find it filled with cores. “Where did you get these?”

“Chief thought you were too generous, told me to save them for a bad day,” she grinned.

“Get them thought as fast as possible. I don’t know how long this will last.”

She nodded, and I pushed the construct out of my mind. A moment passed and nothing, then I felt the drain, and my knees were cut from under me. I fell to the ground just as a doorway popped into existence. Two things happened at once; My chest felt afire once again where my Stigma rested, and then my ears popped as the air pressure from the surface and down here equalized. I could see everyone else had covered their ears as well before hell broke loose as the people began running into the bright gateway.

I began to toss back the cores a few at a time. I could barely maintain the mana needed to keep the gateway open and began to toss more inside my mouth. The sixty or so people had thinned out to just a handful before my cores ran dry. “Go, Kiszo! Now, I can’t hold it much longer!”

I could tell she didn’t want to leave me, but she gave me a quick hug and told me to come to find her when I came back. She was about to step through the portal with Omaar when the massive crash came from the second stone pillar. The massive crab came barring towards the bright portal and at the off-guard Kiszo. Omaar dove pushing himself and the panther through the gate just as it winked out of existence.

I started pushing myself backward and into one of the narrow tunnels with the cells. The massive Gnit slammed into the tunnel’s entrance and shoved its massive pointed arm into the tunnel and into my shoulder. I pulled away with a sickening suction sound as the arm vacated the massive hole in my now bleeding shoulder.

I kept crawling backward, getting as far away from its reach as I could. As my back hit the end of the tunnel, I took a look at my shoulder, I could see the wound closing, but I was losing a lot of blood. I would take this fucker out with me, and maybe a large portion of the hive as well.

I began to picture the Tier 1 fireball again. Instead of the blue fire, I pictured the fusion reaction from the reactors aboard our vessels this time. The system seemed to understand my intent as the construct clicked. I opened my eyes and started as the massive Gnit tore away at the tunnel’s entrance. I raised my hand and thought of some smart-ass thing to say when a tiny cry came from the cell to my right.

The construct vanished from my thoughts, and I crawled towards the stone opening to find a small creature huddled in the corner crying its eyes out. I pushed myself forward to find what looked like a baby azure-furred dog. Its head came out from under its belly, and these shiny golden eyes looked up at me. Its face had scales running from the top of its nose to between two small golden horns. Now being able to see more of its body, I could see golden markings in different places on its arms, neck, body, and legs.

I scooted close and picked up the small, what I assumed was a baby Kobold. If I had to guess, this was the Kobold god our Kobold friend had spoken off. I cradled the creature in my arms, my movement sending out streams of blood from my shoulder and onto the quivering creature. “I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner. Let me try to open a door for you.”

Try as I might, I couldn’t draw enough mana to open even the smallest of doorways. My heart tore into two. I wasn’t going to be able to save this little guy. He would die with me as I took out this fucking hive. The crashing outside the cell grew louder as the massive Gnit began to break chunks of stone to reach me.

I looked down at the blue creature, now with a blood-soaked body from my wound. I picked the creature up and looked into her eyes. “What’s your name?” I looked down and could see it was a female. She just stared at me as she quivered in fear. “How about, Luin? It means blue on my world.”

She made a joyful sound then seemed to look at something over my head. She then looked down and licked me before biting my fucking nose. She let go of my nose just as quickly.

“What the hell was that for?!” I said before the right side of my chest burned hot. “I guess I deserve that for what’s about to come. Again, I’m incredibly sorry we didn’t find you sooner.”

I cradled her into my arm. She nudged her snout between my body and arm and whimpered. I began stroking the back of her head and back, the act calming me before what I was about to do.

I could now see the Gnit’s arms darting into the tunnel outside our cell. It was getting closer now. I looked down at the bundle of blue and closed my eyes as I began to cry for her. I began to create the fireball with the power of fusion behind it. Opening my eyes, I raised my hand and had to push with every ounce of willpower I had. A small pure white orb no bigger than the tip of a finger materialized. I ran my hand down her back one last time before I flicked my hand, and the World went white.

***

I felt the blow from the back before I came tumbling into the sunlight. I pushed Ommar off of me and sprang to my feet, looking back at the portal. It was gone. I heard shouting, and I looked to see the miners yelling and pointing blades at the Kobolds. I dashed between the two groups and began yelling for them to stand down.

“Tien, Get food for everyone here. Including the Kobolds! Omaar, Get to our villagers as fast as you can and warn them before they get to that village. Don’t stop for anything! Go!”

I watched Omaar grab rations and begin sprinting towards our village. The miners were still brandishing blades and eyeing the Kobolds. I drew my two swords before shouting. “If I see anyone attack them, I will take it as an act of challenge to me, and you will answer that Blood Debt!”

That got the miners in a huff, but they sheathed their weapons and walked towards the Beastkin survivors. They could get the details from them as they ate. I pulled Tien to the side and explained what had happened over the last day.

“Ray’tha is gone? How did we not know they were tunneling in our area?”

“They had some kind of massive worms in the bottom of the hive. Some type of new brood, we don’t know how long they had them for. It was our first time seeing them.”

“I can’t believe that pup you had under your wing could create and hold a gateway. His mana reserve must be insane to allow all these people thought.”

I was coming up with a lie to tell the old bear when the ground began to shake. Then, an incredible flash of light made the sky so bright I couldn’t see the clouds or the sky. Then the sound of the world ending came a minute later as people began jumping to their feet and pointing. I turned to look in the direction, and I too jumped to my feet and pushed my way past the crowd. Over the forest was the biggest mushroom I had ever seen. Then we watched it grow larger and touch the sky.

What have you done, Zeal?

***

I stared up at the blueish-grey ceiling above me. I heard the faint clicking of the counter behind my head twice, then twice more a few moments later. Odd, I thought, but I closed my eyes to meditate before feeling something cold and wet pushing itself under my hand. I looked down to see Luin, tail wagging and trying to get her snot under my hand.

“What the hell?!”

I sat up and scooped Luin into my arms, hugging her. She yipped and licked my face. I sat there and held her for an untold amount of time before she gently bit my hand. I hopped off the table and placed her upon it. “Well, how the hell is this possible?” I thought back to my chest burning and removed my shirt.

On the right side of my chest was now what I assumed was a new Stigmata. It was in the outline of the shape of Luin’s head and had the rune for the number one at its center. My original Stigmata now sported a blue center with my original rune. I was surprised to see my fire petal was still blue. The center rune must mean void or space. Why did I have that affinity before now?

“So, did we form some kind of connection? No, construct involved?” I asked the now sideways head of Luin. “I guess you can’t speak.’

This is just another question to add to the long list of questions to be answered. Luin’s stomach chose that moment to growl. Luin turning head to yip at the noise. Well, isn’t that just precious. I looked around the room and the counter. Everything was the same as it had been.

I put my shirt back on and picked up Luin. She nipped at my hands, and I lay her on the floor. Her tail was beginning to wag. I guess she doesn’t like to be carried. I opened the door a bit and listened for the ‘clanks.’ Hearing nothing, I led the silent but swift blue Kobold to the nearest barricade with mirrors. After we both dined on dried meat and water, she hopped onto one of the beds, circling it before plopping down and dozing off.

“Oh man, I wish I had a camera right now.”

I walked through the mirror and checked all the doors. None of the skeletons seemed to have respawned and fallen down the traps. Maybe this wasn’t a dungeon, so they wouldn’t respawn? Another question, unanswered.

When I came to the door with the dead wide person, I tried to pick up the stone hammer again and was surprised when I felt the feeling of something being sucked out of my hand in into the stone hammer.

[ System Notification ]

Enchanted Hammer has been Soulbound

“What the hell does that even mean?!”