Chapter 15: Nice Dream

[Floor Minus 33]

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

Our adventure continues. I sometimes catch Liri sneaking glances at me, but she would immediately deny doing so. But she's not fooling anyone. Fatigue is clearly dripping from her face and she's not doing as sharply as she was before. She's doing stellar for someone in her situation though, I'm giving her that.

Since Liri and I are the only two left in the party, we have no choice but to work hard to fill the gaps. I check for traps ahead while she patrols the area for monsters, and we switch roles from time just for the sake of it. Obviously we've been progressing at a much slower pace than before. Not only that, the untiring swarm of monsters we encounter along the way is a heavy burden to our stamina.

So I decide to take a much-needed breather in one of the hidden rooms we found on the walls. Securing the room to make sure that no monster or traps was around, I unload the heavy bags on my back and sigh wearily. Back cramps immediately strike me. I'm going to be a crouching grandpa at this rate.

"This place is empty... someone else must've taken out the loot before us."

I give Liri half of my baked potato (it's quite stale, but it's better than nothing) and we eat it together.

"Oh yeah, Liri, didn't your party enter this dungeon before? Until what floor did you reach?"

"Floor minus 40. We returned after running low on supplies."

Supplies for us isn't a problem, at least for now. We took all of the group's supplies since technically they're of the party. And I hope ghost girl STILL FOLLOWING US starves to death. Wait. How do you kill the dead? Is it even possible to go deader than dead? Ahhh, I'm tired just thinking about this. Ghost girl doesn't have much of a presence if we don't mind her (she doesn't even have footsteps — it's like she floats) so it's safe to ignore her for now.

Our problem is stamina.

"Can you still keep going? You can return if you—"

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me. What about you? I should be the one carrying those bags, but you keep insisting..."

"You're barely walking with that leather armor on, don't complain. That reminds me, wear this."

The defense of Liri's armor might be top notch, but so is its weight. I'm sure I brought it with me. I rummage through my rucksack and immediately find it: a black magic-infused hood made by Ela that I was planning to wear myself in case of an emergency. But Liri can have it.

"What's this for?"

"It's a magical hood. Although its defense is probably low than your current armor, it's as light as a feather. Wear it, you'll need every weight you can save."

"I can't accept this! I'm accepting too much. I'll do fine with this armor, I've been using it for years! I don't want to part with it now..."

"Just wear it."

"Got it."

Oh, now she looks like a proper dark-elf archer with that hood. But I see just how petite she is. What the hell has she been eating, nothing? She's practically a stick. But her bellybutton is cute, though. Not that I'm paying any particular attention to it. Nope.

"Does it fit me?"

"Yeah, yeah... I mean, we should go. There's no time to waste."

We leave the stuff we don't need and carry on with our adventure.

[Floor Minus 34]

The ancient dungeon halls resound with our two sets of footsteps. We walk alongside history itself. The walls and runes that surround us must be more than a thousand years old.

But it's eerie. It's been dead silent ever since we entered this floor, and we haven't encountered any monster on the way. I don't like this.

"Liri, do you know any wide-area scan spells?"

"No, my specialty is wood spells. Sorry."

I check the map. Currently, we have two maps available, Erika's map that runs up to the 40th floor, and Liri's standard map given to adventurers that runs up to the 60th. Why use two maps? I'm more comfortable following Erika's map, but the standard map has a lot more details, so why not use both?

... The 34th floor isn't any different from the others. Traps 38b and 22c ahead will be a lot trickier to avoid, but that's all. Hmm?

I catch Liri's elf ears twitch. She hears it too?

The approaching sound of iron scrapping stone.

It's coming from the darkness behind us. My heart becomes a rampaging drum trapped inside my ribcage. Ghost girl, for the first time ever since I met her, takes her hollow eyes off me, and peers into the darkness.

There's something there.

Fight or flight? Fight or flight? Fight or flight? Fight or flight? Fight or flight?

Flight.

I drop everything on my back and scoop Liri up in a princess carry.

"Ehhhhh!?"

"We're running, now!"

I push the ground beneath my feet as hard as I can and dash away from that sound piercing through my eardrums. I've had enough freaks of nature trying to kill me for a day to last a lifetime. Even with my back behind the darkness I can still feel a prickly sensation on my nape. It's watching me. Faster, faster!

Trap 28b and 32c: Trap hole and spikes from the ceiling combo.

"Hold on tight!"

"AAHHHHHH!"

I pull off some mad acrobatics to avoid all the traps. Our only torch falls to the trap hole and the endless darkness consumes us. This is bad. A sharp pain spreads on my shoulders. I wince. I grazed a spike, but it doesn't stop me from pushing forward.

"The torch! What do we do now?"

I can hear that scrapping sound growing clearer. It's speeding up. We can't stop here.

"Keep holding."

"Eh?"

I close my eyes. Remember. I've been staring at that map for hours that its image is burned in my retinas. Remember. Visualize the map, overlay it with the surrounding and move accordingly. If I close my eyes, I can create my own world. And in this world, I don't need eyes to see. My legs feels like lead, but it doesn't stop me from pushing forward and picking up the pace. Hooray for Liri being light as a feather.

A thick haze steadily creeps into my mind. Shit. I feel so numb, but I still nimbly(?) avoid trap 12a, the huge axe swinging from above. What now? I can't feel anything anymore. Ah, sweet anesthesia, it's welcoming at this point. I don't stop running.

Where am I again? I remember, walk five meters, turn one o'clock direction, twenty meters, sharp right turn and then... the exit?

No, deeper down the dungeon.

Wait, there's supposed to be a puzzle. Answer is... a3, e7, 2d, b4, a1... yup.

The haze finally consumes my whole mind.... I feel so light... Everything is fading away... Why was I running again...?

I go into the darkness.

[Floor Minus 0]

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick.

The haze clears in a snap.

And almost immediately, my consciousness returns.

I find myself alone with Liri nowhere to be found.

These familiar wooden floorboards made from the finest wood in Efflorescence, those intricately-carved shelves containing books hand-picked by the greatest librarian in the kingdom — I know this place, and that's what confuses me the most.

This is the library I consider my home.

[Human | You are here]

The voice comes from everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. The immaculate chorus of a thousand angels trying to cram four little words directly into my brain. Silent yet booming words that just exists.

But if the voice were produced by something, it must have been produced by that divine otherworldly being occupying the librarian's desk, playing my chess set all by herself.

Her garments are as white as snow, her long flowing hair shining bright like the sun and a golden aura shrouds her entire self.

[Come and take a seat]

This strange world abruptly distorts then returns to normal, but now there's a seat in front of the table. And the chess pieces return to their starting position. Wait. Am I going to play chess with this celestial being? Fine. I take my seat and begin the game with an e2-e4.

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

"This is the weirdest dream I've ever had."

[Is it?]

"Shut up, your voice hurts and I can't understand a word you say. It's just plain distracting."

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[I ask | Do you believe in the Truth?]

"No. Truths and lies, they're just two sides of the same coin. They're all subjective in nature. Actually, everything is subjective in nature, so there's really no point in considering if a lie is a lie, or if the truth is the truth."

The world around us distorts and breaks. A gust of wind ruffles my hair... what the hell. The library is gone, replaced by a vivid landscape of green pastures and a wide blue sky above with the occasional splotch of white. The only things we bring with us are our chairs, the table and the chess board. What a surreal dream. Is this thing trying to distract me with pretty sights? I'll add pressure on the right side of the board.

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[Haughty human | You declare the Truth by your own designation and proclaim it to be what it is not]

"But isn't it so? What I see as truth may be different from another. What I see here as playing chess might be you seeing this as checkers, given how bad you're gonna be doing. Check."

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[You are a human child who believes in his own fictitious world | You are a liar]

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[The one who lies to himself | Check]

Tak.

But so what if I lie to myself? Why does that matter to this being? Is she trying to psych me?

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[Behold this chess board | It reveals knowledge beyond your kind]

The scene shifts once more. The temperature around us drops all of a sudden and I find myself playing chess on top of a freaking mountain, overlooking what seems to be the Capital City Linea. Wow, it looks so small that I could probably crush the whole city in a single step. The people look even smaller than ants.

But does that ruin my game? Of course not. But it's so cold that I'm shaking here... the divine being looks so comfy in comparison. Heh, take this.

"Knight b5 to c7. Check."

Tak.

[The pieces found on this board operate under the laws we impose on them | To every piece a distinctive purpose | A different world | But all subject to consistent Truths]

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[Pieces move only to our pre-conceived decrees]

Eh? What the hell, that bishop came out of nowhere.

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[Pieces do not go across the given boundary unless they are consumed | Check]

My rook was eaten! M—Me? Getting cornered like this!? This can't be!

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

[And this world will expire once a king falls | Check]

Tak.

The scenery around us distorts yet again and the temperature drops way, way down below.

What the hell we're flying.

This is too much no matter how crazy this dream is. It's nothing but clouds as far as the eye can see.

[No matter how each piece views the world | No matter what it believes in | Its worries | Its fears | Its ambitions | They are irrelevant to the Truth]

But you know what's crazier? In just three moves, I'm going to be checkmated. Her distractions worked. There's no way to turn this around, unless I literally flip the board. And I'd do so if I wasn't FLOATING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING SKY!

Tak. Tak.

[A foolish piece that pretends the Truth does not exists and goes against it | Is a piece living out a lie | And has relinquished its purpose on this world]

Tak. Tak.

[Without a purpose to keep him in the board | The broken piece will find itself promptly removed | That means you die]

Tak.

It's checkmate with her bishop and rook.

The world restores back to the library where we once started. Nothing is unchanged but the pieces of the board. Huh. Now I realize it, the game she was playing by herself when I first came here was actually how our game just went. What the hell?

I really lost... it's been long since I lost this bad. When will this horrible nightmare end? Wake me up, Liri.

"Fine, I lost! I lost! Happy now? So, what were you saying again? I think you were saying something during the intense match, but I couldn't quite catch it."

[I am giving you a purpose | Human | Be wise and heed my words]

So she didn't fall for my bluff. But what does she want? Maybe this is my subconsciousness speaking to me through a dream. I should listen.

[Save the world.]

...Eh? Come again?

[A liar cannot be a hero | For he will go against the Truth that gives him life | But I will make an exception]

"What the hell, I don't understand what you're saying! And don't go arbitrarily deciding stuff!"

[In your possession is the greatest expression of my authority | Pray and receive its eternal blessing]

"In my possession? Wait, the pocket watch!?"

[Feel free to be a hero | Key Falen]

"..."

Out of all the crazy things that happened today, those words shake me up the most. They strike the very depths of my soul. I feel a terrible chill, and it's not from the air alone. Feel free to be a hero. No. I can't. I cannot be a hero. Just like she said, a liar can't be a hero. I don't accept this.

"Who the hell are you anyways to decide what I do?"

The world distorts for the final time. Everything except my existence crumbles before me. This dream is breaking down, which means that I must be waking up. Finally. I just want to forget this stupid defeat.

Unfortunately, I catch her final words before I am pulled back into the waking world.

[I shall grant you the honor of witnessing my name | I am one who you mortals revere as the Goddess of the Sun | Now go into the world and let my will be done]

Tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...