"But before we begin, I would like to see my Dungeon Core," I said to the woman.

"I'm sorry but I don't have it."

"What do you mean you don't have it? You cracked open the skull. The core was inside it, was it not? Then how come you don't have it?"

But the woman shook her head. "The Core was indeed housed inside the cocoon to protect it while it was being formed, but after breaking it, the Core returned to where it should be. With you."

"With me?" She wasn't making any sense. "I don't have a Core with me. If I did, why would I bother asking you."

"Okay, listen to me," she placed the papers to the side and stood up. Facing the empty wall above the fireplace where my voice was coming from. "When a new Dungeon is formed and its Core is removed from the cocoon, the particular Core doesn't lie around to be picked by anyone. Even if that someone is like me, whose job is to set you up so you can function properly. The Core instead, is built in a way, that after its release, the thing will hide itself where it considers the safest, depending upon the thoughts of the Dungeon itself."

"I see," I mulled over her words. "So you're saying that my Core after being released from the skull, vanished and somehow ended up in a place it considers the safest. Right up till here?"

The woman nodded. Good, so I continued.

"But this safe place is determined by me. The Dungeon. Correct?"

"Yes."

"But I had never seen the Core. I don't even know what it looks like. How on earth will I assign a place for it to go, if I don't know what it is? And how did it even go there in the first place? The Core doesn't have any legs." But then I stopped and asked softly. "Right?"

The woman chuckled. "Oh, it doesn't have legs. The Core, no matter the Dungeon's size or age, will always try to protect itself. It's just its nature." She folded her hands across her chest and continued. "For a newly formed Core, however, it will have a mind of its own. It will still be inclined to follow your commands, but it doesn't fully trust you."

"Whoa," I stopped her right there before she could continue further. "You're telling me that my Core is sentient."

"Well, of course, it is," she replied like I was asking a very stupid question.

"Bu-but how? It's a part of me, isn't it? Then how can it have a mind of its own?"

"Ah, I apologise," she then muttered words in a language I didn't understand. "I think I explained it wrong. A Dungeon Core is like a newly born baby. It has a few thoughts and such, but it doesn't truly have a mind of its own, like either of us. Instead, you could say that a Core is like an echo of what the Dungeon was before he or she died. A remnant of your past. So it will have some memories of your life before and accordingly choose a place to hide, based on those said memories."

My scatterbrain tendencies would have forced me to opt-out of her long-winded speech, losing myself in my own musings. But something in those words brought my thoughts to a standstill. The Core is like a newborn. A child. "I think I'm getting what you're trying to say here." And I did. Somewhat. "But that still leaves me with questions. How am I going to look for it? Because I'm still not sure what this safe place is?"

"Now, for that I have something that will help you," the woman reached inside her satchel hanging by her shoulders and rummaged the insides until she found what she was looking for. A small glass jar, inside it — a single cookie. My thoughts came crashing to a halt. The fuck?

Oblivious to my musings, the woman opened the jar and brought forth the cookie, then returned the container back inside her satchel. "This will help you find your Core."

"A...cookie?" I couldn't keep the incredulity from leaking out with my words. "How?"

But the woman simply rolled her eyes. "This isn't a normal cookie you'll find on a baking tray. This is special."

"But it is a cookie?"

"So?" She shrugged. "Our committee decided it would be better that the first thing a Dungeon consumes is something they liked very much in the life he or she once lived. For different souls, it is different. Like the previous Dungeon I was assigned to. For her, it was a glass of wine. It was something very familiar to her. Something she could easily consume without much hassle." The woman then took a few steps forward until she stood beside the fireplace. Carefully she then placed the cookie on the partly collapsed countertop. "When we made your file, we searched for things you liked to eat before, and this is what we found. So, ah...a cookie."

I had a distinct impression she was laughing at me. Not from the outside. Her facial features remained plain and pleasant in equal measures. But I had a feeling she was laughing out loud inside but was too professional to show it.

"Fine," I gave out a sigh. "I'll take." Then I took a careful look at the cookie.

It was of the choco-chip variety, with a light brown exterior and small black dots that represented the choco chips. Not bad. I could feel the gentle warmth emanating from it as it was placed on the countertop. The thin wisps of smell reached me from the baked deliciousness. Not bad at all.

So trying to keep a stoic enough countenance and not show how eager I was to eat it, I turned towards the woman and asked, as nonchalantly as possible. "So, how will I consume it?" But the slight smirk on her face hinted I hadn't fooled her even a bit.

"Well first, I would ask you to look at it carefully. Imagine how it tasted like when you had it before, then try to think about actually eating it right now."

"But I don't have a mouth," I protested. "Don't tell me you're saying I'll be able to eat it just by thinking about it."

"Yes," but the woman nodded. "You will. Just give it a try. As I said, it is the reason why we chose something that the Dungeon liked and had many times before. Imagine you consuming it much easier than if you chose something you never had before. So go on, give it a try. Try thinking about eating it."

"And you're sure this cookie will help me find my Core?"

"Yes. I am."

"Very well," I took a deep breath, even though I didn't need to. Then I concentrated on the cookie lying in front of me. I tried thinking about how it would taste, trying to bring forth memories of the time I ate it. It shouldn't be too difficult.

And it wasn't. Soon enough, I had the memories of actually eating a cookie similar to this, the phantom taste of it all flowing inside my mouth. I felt saliva building up even though I didn't have a mouth, to begin with.

This is very strange. It felt like I was actually consuming the cookie, even though I wasn't. Because it was right there on the counterto— a quarter of it had vanished. Huh? My thoughts came to a sudden standstill. It's really happening.

"Go on," the woman encouraged me. "Don't stop. You're doing it."

And I was. Seeing it from my own damn eyes as thin white tendrils emerged from the wall above the fireplace, edging towards the cookie, the more I thought about it. The airy tendrils were slowly vanishing the cookie away and I could feel the taste of it in my mouth like I was actually eating it.

This is so damn freaky, I wanted to laugh out loud as I watched the small piece slowly vanish into nothingness. "That was good," I said out loud. "Do you have one mor—" a blinding white light came out of nowhere and consumed me.

God, I really hate this. I felt my eyelids being scorched by the bright light, but then when I blinked and opened my eyes, what I saw confused me more.

I had imagined I would return to that dark room with no light or end in sight, except perhaps the white glowing door. But what I ended up in was a brightly coloured room with walls having posters of superheroes and toys littered on the floor. Most being that of Mickey mouse.

I looked down at myself, hoping I wasn't naked again. I wasn't. But I wore the same blue shorts and a yellow Mickey mouse t-shirt. What is happening?

I got my answer in the form of a laugh coming from somewhere behind me. I turned around. There was a small bed, with beds that had numerous Disney characters drawn on them. And sitting on top of the bed sheets was the same boy I saw in the dark space, wearing the same grow Mickey mouse t-shirt. A bright smile on his face.

"So you finally came," he said to me with a smile. "I've been waiting."

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