“Gather the three keys to open the way to the Scaled Giants’ Den. Well, we’ve got one already,” Lucius muttered, looking at the engravings on the large door.

Ryu stood behind the man. They were in an empty chamber of carved gray stone. Torches lit up the large door that dominated the room. It was made of dark steel, engraved with faintly glowing words. It had three keyholes. They had received the first from killing the giant serpents in the lake of the previous room. Ryu guessed they would find another down each of the two other tunnels that exited the chamber. The only choice was left or right. In an ideal situation, they would split up, each man taking one path on their own, but in reality, they would have to stay together to survive. The fight with the serpents showed just how deadly the dungeon was.

“Taking the left pass again, I suppose?” Lucius sighed with a glum look. He smiled the next moment, his lips split to show his bright white teeth. “Unless, you want to go right? Please.”

Lucius played the unstable role very well. And Ryu was sure it was a role. He had never seen the true ‘Lucius’. Every mannerism, every quirk, and every word was fake, yet they continued with this game. Each played the other, showing only the things they meant to. It was easy for Ryu, if he was honest. He just refused to talk. Every prod was met with a grunt or hand sign. It wasn’t too different from how he interacted in normal situations, actually. Without responding, Ryu started walking down the left path. Lucius followed with a sigh.

It was hot. The cool, damp air had transitioned to dry heat as they walked. The crumbling dirt walls of the tunnels were gone, replaced by smooth black rock. Ryu’s nose picked up the rotten egg smell of sulfur. He knew the signs of volcanic activity when he saw them, and he wasn’t surprised. Dungeons went against common logic by their nature; it wasn’t surprising to find such different biomes so close together.

They found an indention in the wall to rest under. The heat in this part of the dungeon was smothering, and as best as Ryu could tell, the tunnels were meant more as transitional areas than staging grounds for attacks. They settled against the warm, jagged wall behind them, pulling out food and water from their storages.

“So, any plans for when we get out of here?” Lucius asked, speaking between bites of jerky. “You know, any dates or anything? I saw you with Bonny. I’m partial to gingers too, you see, and…”

Ryu ignored the rambling man, taking sips of water. Cultivation reduced his need for food and sleep but not hydration. He had grown used to ignoring others, and his wandering thoughts led him to a torture of their own devising.

Rest. It was times like these that Ryu feared. A person’s internal monologue is like a commentary of their actions. When he was doing something, it wasn’t hard to keep his mind from contemplating and delving into the deeper truths underlying his actions. This deeper questioning was a burden of maturity. As one grows older, it is no longer what you are doing. It’s no longer that simple. It’s why are you doing this thing? Why was he still out here? Why did he continue? Why was he such a mess of contradictions? These were messy thoughts, ones best pushed to the back of his mind. They had no answer, at least no logical one, yet in these moments where he stopped, they were all he could think about. Many scholars believed humans innately wanted peace. Ryu disagreed. It was a fear of change, not a love of peace, that drove humans to want stability.

He smiled to himself. As if a man as shattered as him was one to think of deeper truths. No, Ryu was a man of violence, and it was best he kept to that. Life seemed to have little else to offer him anyways. His breath rattled between his aching ribs at the thought.

“Do you hear it?” Lucius asked softly. Ryu cracked a single eye open to look at the man. Just when he’d thought the man would be silent.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Ryu responded. He would play the game. Just this once.

“The demon. Everybody has one you know. Or so I thought.”

Ryu nodded. “Yes, I’d say most people do have demons from the past. I’m not sure if I hear mine th-”

“No. Not your past. The demon. The Shard. The voice in your head that just won’t quit?” Lucius laughed. “That’s the thing they never tell you about Classes. It’s not just power you take, it’s madness…”

Ryu’s thoughts closed in on the presence that haunted his mind. Aye, he knew of the ‘demon.’ He knew it well.

“I think I understand,” Ryu said after a moment.

“Good. I look forward to meeting it then,” Lucius said, his eyes dead.

Strange, that. Something told him that was the most true exchange he’d ever had with the man, yet it left him confused. The chamber remained silent while they rested.

“How many days do you reckon it’s been?” Lucius asked. They walked through another uneven tunnel of red soil, the sulfuric smell of rotten eggs still heavy in the air.

Ryu thought for a moment. It was troubling how fast the body’s internal clock could be messed up when placed in a place with no cycle of day or night. Neither of them needed to sleep regularly, so they had no real guide to keep track of time. “Three. Maybe four. Wouldn’t put it over five.”

“I’ll be glad to make it to the last part of this dungeon. Maybe it’ll be nice and cool,” Lucius said, his unstable grin on full display. Ryu agreed. The heat did not bother him as much as it did the blonde man, but having to adapt to the high heat did deplete his body’s lacking strength. Still, it was too soon to think of the last part of the dungeon. They had yet to make it out of this one.

The clash of arms echoed down the tunnel, reaching the two men. Of course, Ryu had heard it for minutes now, but it would not help to be too revealing with Lucius. Investigating the noise revealed a curious scene.

On one side of the chamber, lizards walked upright like men. They were of average height with bodies too broad to be that of a man. Their scales varied in hues of orange, red and yellow, and they fought behind walls of black, volcanic rock. If these creatures were like lizards, their opponents were like salamanders. With softer features and smooth skin, the salamanders were less physically imposing than their opponents, instead using their superior speed to score hits on their opponents.

Ryu watched in silence as the monsters used Skills to manipulate the magma in the pits around them. Some of it hardened, becoming unnaturally sturdy weapons of obsidian. The casters of the group lobbed globs of the incredibly hot liquid, and he even saw a dragon of lava formed from a spell at one point, the summons rampaging around the battlefield. Their dying made hoarse, screaming hisses that wracked the air. Burned flesh filled the cavern with its scent.

A frown formed on his face. This use of Skills showed the monsters were sentient and capable of thought similar to a human. Otherwise, their Skills would have been inborn functions of their anatomy like the base kobolds. They would have to kill sentients. Kill a race that had their own culture. Their own thoughts. It was something Ryu had tried to avoid since the Trial so long ago. Sickness roiled in his stomach.

Ryu looked to his left, only to find that Lucius was not there. He glanced around the chamber, finding the man climbing to the top of one of the makeshift walls of obsidian. Ryu’s frown deepened.

“Hello, is there a leader I may speak to?” Lucius called, his voice piercing through the clash of battle. Ryu recognized the charming effect of a Skill. The battle between the forces halted, the blonde man a puzzle they were unsure how to solve. Two monsters broke from the crowd. They stared at each other with hostility before focusing on Lucius.

“I am Raz, chief of the Drakonai,” one of them said. He was a tall lizard-man with scarlet scales and an obsidian warhammer.

“And I am Shin, speaker for the Urodela. What business do you have here, human?” The words came from a thin salamander, his black skin speckled with yellow.

The scene was obviously unnatural. No true battle would be paused with such ease. Arrogant leaders would not stop to talk to an outsider. In any other situation, Lucius would just have been another target, hammered by both sides and remarked at curiously after, yet dungeons had an odd effect on the creatures that inhabited them. The presence of humans, in particular, would cause them to drop their normal lives. It was almost sad to see the monsters robbed of their natural will in just a few words. Almost.

“I’m curious. Why do you find yourselves opposed on this day?” Lucius asked. Even with their unique biology, Ryu recognized the mistrust and anger play across the monsters’ faces, but the expressions were suppressed. The dungeon’s presence did not allow for the normal hostility that came with having one’s business intruded upon.

“We battle for supremacy. Only one tribe can rule here!” Raz growled.

“Hmm,” Lucius hummed, tapping his chin. “I believe my companion and I can prove of some use in this matter. Tell me, is there a key present in the area?”

“Yes, but it can only be reached when one chief claims the obsidian throne,” Shin said. Ryu knew where this was going, but he could not stop it. The dungeon wanted this objective completed. Lucius and Ryu were just tools to do it.

“I see. Well then, my companion and I will take opposing sides in this war. I will aid you, Raz, and Shin, I have no doubt my friend will prove to be a competent advisor,” Lucius said, and as soon as the words left his mouth, the screen appeared.

Dungeon Event

You have been recruited by the forces of the dungeon to assist in an internal matter. The clans of the Urodela and Drakonai once lived under one banner, but now, their war is inevitable, a conflict that mirrors the divide in your own group. For this period of time, you will be considered an Ally of the Urodela. Assisting in this matter will result in your chance at obtaining the Scarlet Key upon. If your group wins the throne, further bonuses will be rewarded in the form of information and resources regarding the last section of the dungeon. For the next 12 hours, combat will be restricted while both parties rally their forces.

Ryu sighed.