Hunie moaned and rolled onto the floor, sweat glistening down her face as hands clutched at her chest. The guards closet to her were holding her down to prevent her from hurting herself. Steel ran over to her in fear.

"Hunie, what's wrong? Hunie!" He cried out, his hands grabbing hold of her own.

"M...master, it hurts." She said weakly.

Steel ripped her dress open below her chest, where her hands were clutching. To his shock, he found her stomach glowing with darklight, the same as the stone around them.

"What's going on?" Hamilton yelled, marching up to them. His eyes widened as he took in Hunie, a gasp escaping his lips. "No! Stop her!" He cried out, drawing his sword.

Steel barely had enough time to block his strike with his shield. "Hamilton, what the hell are you doing!" He said angrily.

"Boy, there is no time for explanations, we have to kill her before its too late, for her and us." Hamilton said, his eyes serious. He slammed down another blow, but Steel blocked again, the blow reverberating through his whole body.

"I'm not going to let you kill her." He said savagely, "She's mine, and no one will take her from me!" As he said that, the darklight moved and covered Hunie's entire body, her eyes on his with a weak smile.

"I'm sorry my Master, I have to take my leave for now." She whispered, touching his face with her hand, "Sorry." The darklight finished covering her body, and Hamilton put his sword down wearily.

"We're too late." He shook his head sadly, "All we can do now is watch."

Before Steel could ask, the darklight that had been Hunie lost it's weight and was sucked into the dungeon heart. Steel was left holding air as the crystal changed from blue and black to black and pink. A little blue light exited the heart, floating up into the ceiling, and was gone. Steel gaped at his arms, Hunie's warmth still lingering in his fingers.

"Hu...Hunie?" He choked out, tear beginning to form, "Hunie? Where did you go?" As if to answer him, the remaining darklight disappeared into the crystal, leaving the expedition group in the dark, the only light the soft glow of the dungeon heart.

Then, light burst forth as the crystal's glow intensified, bathing them all in a warm, dark pink light. The crystal heart began growing, sending shoots down into the wall behind it. They watched in wonder as a wall of black and pink crystals formed over the hole in the ground, sealing it and cutting off the sparkles from entering the air. As the wall finished, a from began to appear in the crystal.

The sleeping face of Hunie appeared, followed by a crystalline shape of her dress with her hands held together over her chest like she was praying. The form was very lifelike, as if one could reach out and touch her face and feel her warmth. Steel stumbled over to her, the other guard members watching silently. He reached up and touched the face.

But there was no warmth, only cold crystal.

-------------------------

Hamilton got the remaining members of the expedition together and set them with their orders. According to him, this room would seal itself after they left, becoming the heart of the dungeon and impossible to enter. As such, it was their job now to collect as many of the black crystals as possible.

The crystals were dark mana infused, and would serve the down greatly as a surge of income. Mana crystals like these had many uses: potions, poisons, armor resistance, sword enhancements. He clearly stated, however, that no one was to touch the dark pink crystals on the wall. Everyone got to work after that, everyone but Steel.

Steel sat in front of the statue of Hunie, his grief so great he couldn't move, couldn't focus, couldn't think. He just stared, silent tears pouring down hi face as he gazed up at her face, so cold now.

A sound behind him alerted him to someone, but he didn't care. Hamilton plopped down beside him, staring up at Hunie as well.

"I don't like non humans." He stated. Steel stared ahead, aware but uncaring.

"My parents raised me in the capital to this fact, that humans were the best. We had non-human servants, and they were weak. Never speaking up, never giving their opinions. I believed my parents." He continued, staring up. "That changed some when I was assigned to Rostwood. I've met non-humans who were strong, but never stronger than us. Honestly, in my eyes, they are still only good as servants. My feelings will not change on this matter."

"That being said." He moved his head to look at Steel, "As a commander, I dislike losing capable subordinates. I should have checked before I put the dungeon heart down. You've lost some of your strength, and for that I am sorry. When we get back, I'll introduce you to some trainers to teach you how to fight better. Rest up for now whelp." He got up to leave.

"Sir." Steel said slowly, "What happened to her?"

Hamilton paused and gazed thoughtfully at the crystal, "She was badly hurt by a devil wolf before we entered, am I safe assuming so?" Steel nodded.

"Yes, she was nearly bitten in half when we were scouting the area."

"Thought so." He nodded, "You see, the reason why we had to kill all the wolves first is that all the excess dark mana needed to be absorbed into the dungeon heart. If a wolf was still alive when I did so, it's consciousness would have taken over the dungeon, and we would have all died from it's intents. When the wolf bit Hunie, it dislodged some of it's corrupted mana inside her. Nothing a blessing or too from a priest couldn't heal, but it would have eventually weakened her to her bed."

"However, she was in the dungeon when I activated the heart, which called the mana inside her. As it couldn't escape her body, it fused with her and was drawn into the heart. Her mind and soul replaced the soul that was in the heart, freeing it and removing the restrictions we place on it. Now, she has become the heart of the dungeon itself."

"Sir, some of the men were injured by the wolves, why were they not affected?"

Hamilton sighed, "That was my fault. You see, this is a beast lair. While the excess mana changed the wolves, the wolves also changed the mana. Only animals could be affected by this level of excess, another reason why it could become a dungeon. Your beast-man servant was animal enough to be affected by the mana, especially when it was deposited so deep inside her. Given enough time for it to integrate into her natural mana pool, and it was enough. I didn't bring any non-humans for that reason, but I didn't think about your maid. That is on my head."

"Is she aware? Can she be freed?" Steel asked softly.

"I'm sorry son, she is trapped here forever." He answered, "As for awareness, she is asleep right now, her soul is in the process of stabilizing with the mana crystal. She'll wake up eventually, but I don't know if she'll be the same."

"So this has happened before?"

Hamilton turned away, "That's something you should ask Captain Harkin about. His wife suffered that fate after their son was born. He'd be the best to relate with." He walked away, but not before saying, "He can tell you the reason why I tried to stop her." He left, returning to his duties and commanding the men.

Steel got up too, and walked forward to touch Hunie's face again. He put his hand over hers, and held it for awhile, not willing to let go.

"Hunie, I'll wait for you, always." He said, putting his head on her.

He had a flash of inspiration. He knelt down in front of the crystal wall and prayed.

"Milna, please grant a favor to your faithful." He began, "I will build a small shrine here in your name, in honor of my lost friend who lost her life preserving your nature. Bless it please, so she won't be lonely after I am gone."

Nothing happened, not that Steel expected anything to happen suddenly. He checked his supplies: potions, fur, ears, food. Not really materials for making a proper shrine. His eyes passed over the crystals.

"Hmmmmm."

There were a few loose pink crystals, which he picked up and inspected. They would do. He walked over to the walls and pulled some large black crystals off the wall- meaning he whacked the shit out of them until they fell off. Seeing his success, a few of the other guards started using their shields too. A few broke humorously in their face.

Returning to the statue wall, Steel set up a small shrine using the crystals. He made a small, square room with the black crystals, covering the inside with the wolf pelts by pinning them with small crystals and using Earth Wall to manipulate the ground. He then placed the pink crystals inside in a star shape. He backed up and looked thoughtfully at his work.

'Not enough.' He thought. He checked his inventory again, there had to be something. There was, a small piece of cloth he had accidentally torn from her maid outfit. He wanted to keep it, but knew it had to be this way. He put the cloth underneath the pink crystals, staining it with his tears and blood. He poured a health potion over it with a sobbing chuckle, as it was their own little joke.

The shrine glowed and outlined the room in a soft green light. The black crystals changed colors, a slowly pulsating cascade of colors that flowed through to each side before disappearing.

You have created a shrine to the goddess Milna in a place where her will was done. She is greatly pleased by your actions, and has bless it with a spark of her power. Anyone who prays here will receive a 25% boost to health regen for 24 hours.Warning: This room will not be active once all guard members leave. The shrine is unlikely to ever see another person again.You have gained +10 faith for you actions. For being the first player to create a shrine in a dungeon heart, you have forged a permanent connection to Milna in this place. Druids may gather near the dungeon to pray, rare animal variants gain an increased chance of spawning in the dungeon.

Steel smiled. Now, Hunie could rest with a connection to her goddess. He looked down at his hand, the last pink crystal resting within it. He would keep this one, his last connection to the bunny maid who had been his first real best friend.

He walked over and whispered to her, "I don't know if you can hear me, but we will meet again. Your an A.I. now, so there has to be someway I can find you again. After the fuss in town, I'll come back this dungeon, and I'll find you again. I won't abandon you." He said, his eyes fierce with determination. No one would ever take away his precious things again, not anymore!

He would take Sergeant Hamilton up on his offer, he would get stronger this time. He vowed to distance himself from the distraction of friends like Hunie until he was strong enough to protect them.

He walked over to the other guards and began to mine the black crystals off the wall, his strength and resolve coming back to him.

He would never forget, he would never give up.

---------------------

It took a few hours to load up all the men with crystals, but they managed to take a great haul out. As the last guard member, Steel gazed across the room to Hunie's statue. He bowed to her, and walked out of the room. The opening tunnel filled in with stone and dirt as he left, leaving nothing but an empty wall behind.

In the lonely room, a drip of what fell from the ceiling, rolling down Hunie's statue face. It was joined by another on the other side, but only one drop fell.

It wasn't raining.

-------------------------

Annndddd, that's it for the first book! Well, feels like a good ending anyway.

So, tomorrow begins the editing! Thanks to some very helpful comments by you readers out there, you know who you are ;), I have quite a few things to fix~actually looking forward to it.

The first chapter will be first tomorrow, and will definitely be the hardest, so many descriptions. Maybe I need a prologue? Depending on how much time it takes, I may not be able to get a new chapter out tomorrow, sorry :(

In any case, I should be getting 1-2 edits and a new chapter up every day, so thanks a lot for the help and look forward to better things, like less blasted slap-stick.

Cya