I crawl, keeping low and casting my eye around the dark pit, deep below the city of Athfens.

The cavern is lit up in the distance by a soft green glow of large fungi. The large chasm seems to be a natural grey rock formation, that is wide as farm fields and tall as a castle. The cavern walls are rugged with stalagmites of grey or grey-brown.

"How fun, perhaps I should ask for extra drab in the next hole I am cast down." I mutter and laugh quietly at my joke.

I don't think you get to choose.

It's a joke.

Haha. Funny.

He replies straight as an arrow.

Looking around, I am further away from the Dragon and closer to the large fungi. Mushrooms that are as big as houses. The floor below is now smooth and worn. This doesn't stop, on occasion, sharp rocks stabbing into my hand. The steel hardness of my skin, fortunately, prevents it from piercing.

Further, there are various sparkling deposits on the walls, I cannot tell their colours without proper light, and I do not recognise what kind of minerals they are.

"Riches or a pauper's wage?" I wonder with a whisper.

I explore and notice that the cavern is damp. I spot plenty of small rivulets and pools of water while I wander. Tiny fungi grow in these damp places of the cavern, and they give off faint green light that is far too dim to see by. Tiny fish and insects live in these pools.

I drink from the pools of running water.

It's safe, nothing harmful has entered your body.

With Leokan's encouraging response, I feast on the fish and insects I can grab for some much needed subsistence.

Three Giant Moles pass overhead.

I hug the nearest wall, in an instinctive move to flee. I keep an eye on them while trying to make myself as small as I can.

They walk on two legs and stand taller than bears, to protect themselves they are wearing red chitin like armour over their black fur. In their large paws, as big as my chest, they carry huge stone greatswords as thick as walls, and their claws are as sharp as knives. On their backs are crude stone spears that are bigger than a ballista bolt.

I snake along behind them, following from a distance.

They are like normal moles, which are far more common to the northern lands from whence I hail. With rounded bodies and spade-like claws as well as short, furry tails. On their face is their distinctive tiny eyes and pink, pointed snouts.

They are easy to track from a distance, the hardest part is keeping pace.

I work out what they are doing. I stop and blink in stunned surprise.

They are going towards the Dragon.

Would you not investigate a dragon that landed on your doorstep?

I frown, my eyes forming into slits.

Despite what recent events suggest, I do not go hunting Dragons. I wanted easy sport against some weaklings terrorising the locals. Not a dragon, they are a quick way to the void.

For some. Not for me.

I grin a smile devoid of humour, at his causal confidence.

The three Giant Moles look up at the Lich Dragon. It hangs, caught like a fly in a spider's web, in the steel net.

The net creeks under the strain of the furious Lich Dragon.

One of the Giant Moles throws a stone spear. The stone missile arcs in the air and bounces off the Dragon's scales.

The spear lands on the cavern floor point first, a hair's breadth away from one of the Giant Mole.

It cries out, I guess from shock and anger, and they start to argue amongst themselves.

The Lich Dragon spews its necrotic breath down upon the Giant Moles, "You dare to attack me! Taste death, fools." It threatens. The Lich Dragon reverts to its native tongue as it screams down its rage.

The Giant Moles back up before the deadly mist reaches them. Wisely, fleeing the danger. They shout back in a language I do not understand.

I leave before I get caught up in the mess. The coldness of the stone is gradually seeping into my body, and the pain slows me down, but I struggle onwards

I head away from both the Dragon and the Large Fungi, the latter of which I assume is where the Giant Mole village is located.

Crippled and lost, I wander the cave while moving like a worm or a two-legged dog.

We should find a safe place to hide you, and then portal back to the surface. We can explore more when we have your friends to help us.

Agreed. And we are coming back, if I kill that Lich I can finally go and meet the Demons.

I smile widely at the thought of staring down at the dead dragon. Its head is separated from the body.

I didn't know that was something you wanted?

It wasn't until that fucking serpent tore away my flesh and promised to hunt me to the end of the earth. Now, I feel like getting two birds with one stone.

It is good to see you motivated.

Yes and then I will be a dragon killer too. You have got to make sure that I get the kill with an amazing plan. Just make sure it keeps us all safe.

But you get the credit? Selfish much?

I scowl.

I've paid my dues, and time and time again it has come to nothing. I'm tired of failing, I want a win even if it means asking for help.

I think if you asked for help sooner, then maybe you would have succeeded sooner. But, you already know that.

I don't reply to his comment and focus on crawling ahead. I feel my mana slowly regenerating in my mana pool. In the safety of civilisation, an hour is not long. Deep in the dark, it may as well be a death sentence.

All it takes is one Giant Mole spotting me and I am a goner.

I pass underneath a stone monolith. At its base, glowing fungi have been laid to rest. It is, I guess, a grand exquisitely carved stone tomb to mark the fallen.

They have been honouring the dead and I didn't know they lived beneath Athfens.

I'm surprised they have culture.

A half-smile forms on my lips, I feel smug satisfaction at his ignorance. Knowing my memories doesn't mean he fully grasps them.

They are an isolationist people who do not mingle with the other species. They are not beast-skin but neither are they monsters truly. Similar to goblins through the savagery with which they treat outsiders, many consider them monsters of a different more complex type.

Avoiding them is our safest bet then.

It is my only hope for survival. That and to try and navigate this cavern. If we are at their gravesites, I presume we are at the outlying edge of the village.

Seems logical.

I frown, deep in thought and conclude.

Yeah, as far as I remember they do not worship the dead or anything to make it likely to put the graves near their homes.

The long crawl continues, and the ground becomes sharper. My progress slows, as I deal with the pain with gritted teeth.

What do you think you will find with the Demons? A place to belong?

I've got to know if it is better than Athfen's, better than the slavery, nobility and the magi.

Do you mean the people who were bred in a lab to obsessively kill unstoppable forces?

Wait? What?

Demons are not natural beings of evolution.

That doesn't make as much sense as you think it does.

About two million years ago, if the records are correct. The first by the title of Undalian bred the demons to help counter the first Shepard invasion. The Sahki bred the angels before the invasion but they were not enough. These were beings who are resistant to Shepard's mind domination and they were potent warriors.

It is this resistance that allowed you to summon Artioici not once but twice and stay relatively sane. Not including your recent surges in aggression and eagerness to commit homicide.

How am I more aggressive?

You don't find it strange, that you killed those three up there without much encouragement?

I...?

I notice the heads of Giant Ants and Giant Bats impaled on great stone spears as large as pillars. The Red and Black heads of the Ant, in particular send, a tremble of fear shivering down my spine.

I gulp. The heads are displayed as fearsome warnings to any who would dare approach the Giant Mole village.

But, Giant Bats and Giant Ants have no sentience, they are monsters. The fact that these three factions are so close together means we are in a no-man's land of a war that will leave only one side alive. A battle to extinction.

If your memories are correct, it is unheard of for Giant Ants to lose.

Yes, and they should be none on this continent. It would take a bizarre accident to ferry a Queen over.

I consider the matter deeper.

Or the deliberate efforts of some devious Magi.

Noelle?

Doubtful and someone worse, we need to get out of here.

I hear the sound of heavy footfall. I turn and look back. I see a squad of fully armoured Giant Moles approaching. Each wearing thick armour made out of Giant Ant's outer shells and wielding stone weapons.

"Fuck."

Hurry.

My arm and leg start to shake. I am wobbling from having to bear my own weight. Miles, I have crawled and the strain is wearing down my endurance.

I enter into the tunnel, that to my dismay, the Giant Moles are heading towards.

Out of time, over there hide!

I dive into an alcove and bury myself in the shadows.

Shadows grow thicker, in my presence. It is easy as breathing to manipulate light to a lesser extent.

The stench of rot foul.

The clash of armour and rock thrums.

I wait and trust in Leokan.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths and the last Giant Mole passes.

Safe.

How much longer until you can portal?

A little more, I'm judging by feel. If I go too soon, then I risk causing a mana burn. I doubt even you can heal the body that disintegrates.

Depending on how total the damage is, I could heal your current wounds if we absorb living flesh.

You can?

Yes.

That is kinda scary.

Impressive, you mean?

So, you can take from another's body and use it to heal me, correct?

Yes.

It sort of, sounds like something a necromancer would do or a vile bloodmancer.

Our conversation is interrupted.

I watch, different Giant Moles return through the tunnel. Five of them, wearing ravaged armour and notched swords. One of the swords is shattered, and the Giant Mole clutches little more than a hilt in one massive paw. Another has a red pincer sticking out their chest, through a sundered gap in their armour.

They are facing steep losses.

I observe them from the safety of my hiding spot. A bloodied band of warriors limp home.

A change in shifts?

As good as guess as any. We should go and observe.

Seems risky.

It is important information gathering.

I groan, then frown and take a deep breath.

Fuck.

I squirm out of the alcove and drag myself further into the tunnel.

I see the rotting corpses of Giant Moles. Some are mostly bones, others are fresher with dried blood staining their withering fur.

To make my way through, I clamber over one such fallen warrior. I suppress my urge to retch. I desperately distract myself, thinking of friends and goods as I sink my fingers into the mushy and soft feel of their decaying bodies.

Further onwards, I see piles of Giant Ant dead clogging up the tunnel. For each dead Giant Mole, there are dozens of the Giant Ants. The dead are many, they form a sickening barrier of defence for the Giant Moles, and are a clue to the inevitability of their defeat.

For every one Mole, the Ants can breed many more to replace their dead and raise them faster as well.

It is not an uncommon pattern, though this is certainly unique and worth studying. It is fascinating to see the effects of magic and who knows what else on the ecological environment and its fauna.

What do you mean by magic's effect? What is odd about Giant Ants killing weaker animals?

He pauses for a moment then answers with... It doesn't matter.

I approach a Black Giant Ant, the way blocked, and many of them have been crushed under the footfalls of the Giant Moles.

I go to climb on top of a Black Giant Ant when Leokan says... Wait.

What?

Let me, heal your body. It will take some time, so hide. But be sure to keep a hand on the creature. I need the physical bridge.

I feel a cold dread, in the pit of my stomach.

Will it hurt?

No, you will only feel a tingling sensation.

I hide under the creature and place a hand on its hard belly.

If you are lying, then never again.

A thin, faint red mist pulls towards my body. The Giant Ant sinks before my eyes. A leg is absorbed and heals about an inch of my flesh.

Inefficient but effective and quick.

It is far slower than magic, but it is better than doing nothing.

I'll take that as a compliment.

I don't know the precise time. At least a few minutes pass and by the time the Giant Ant fades to nothing, I am fully healed.

I flex my recently injured arm. I wiggle my leg, almost in a comical fashion.

The tension around the corner of my eyes relaxes and a small smile curls on my lips, the pain is gone. The difference is remarkable.

I have little time to appreciate the moment. I spot the opposing factions ahead.

A Giant Mole swings their stone blade and three Giant Ants fall. Again and again, this happens.

But the Giant Ants charge over their dead.

A Giant Mole falls, its throat cut in between sharp pincers.

The Giant Ants rise like a sea wave. Devouring the recently dead. They run over the ground, walls and ceiling. Most of them are black but a few were red.

The Giant Moles fight while falling back. The Giant Ants chase their every step.

I don't even think to run, for I am caught in fear's embrace.

I have enough magic to take a few with me.

A crescent-shaped smile rises, as the glee of heroic death nears.

The Giant Moles pass me by.

I stare down the horde.

Two, powerful arms, hold my shoulders and drag me into the darkness. Out of reach from the Giant Ant's pincers but into what new dangers...