Epilogue

Somewhere in southern Italy…...

“Hm, I suppose I’m first today. Odd.”

A single robed figure stood alone atop a building, arms folded together. They’d arrived for their weekly meeting, only to discover that they were first. It was a fairly disconcerting discovery, as they were usually last to arrive. Though it wouldn’t be for long.

Out the corner of their eye, the figure noticed something zooming closer at an insane speed. Whatever it was, it was moving fast enough that it would’ve caused a sonic boom if not for the barrier of magic erected around it. Moving barriers were an extremely high-difficulty feat to pull off. Which meant that it was obvious what, or who, that object was.

Just as it appeared that the object was about to slam into the figure, it stopped on a dime and dispelled its barrier, causing a burst of air to kick up which sent the figure's robe a fluttering, though it somehow never revealed who was underneath.

Now free of Mach speed, the object turned out to be a person, albeit an extremely tiny one. The tiny figure, who was wearing an equally tiny robe, stood at somewhere between six inches and a foot, with dragonfly-like wings on their back. A closer look would reveal that beneath their hood, the creature was decidedly female, with adorably charming features, which would cause most humans who saw her to believe she was a fairy.

“Seeker Nevaros? You’re early.”

A voice like a tinkling bell rang out, filled with surprise at the robed figure's presence. As mentioned before, they were usually the last to arrive, so the fairy's surprise was understandable. In response, the figure, now known as Nevaros, answered back in a rather flippant manner.

“Sure am. I finished up early today, so I came as soon as I could. Kehehehehehe, I’ve been waiting for a while now, High Seeker Tesandros.”

Despite the fact that Nevaros had been borderline disrespectful with her, Tesandros brushed it off with consummate ease. Sass of this level was child’s play compared to the mayhem her kind would get up to. In fact, it wouldn’t have surprised her for one of them to have tried to kill her this far into the conversation. That kind of environment tends to make things like this look silly.

“I see. I hope that means you’ll have lots to report, Nevaros. The others have been hard at work all week completing their tasks. I hope for your sake you haven't been slacking off.”

“Me? Slack off? High Seeker, I assure you I’ve been working just as hard as the others, if not more. But then again, why not ask them?”

Nevaros lifted an arm, pointing to the air behind Tesandros. A visible distortion was developing there as space was warped, indicating that a portal made with Space Magic was about to open. That most likely meant another of their number was about to arrive.

The portal burst with an audible cracking sound, depositing a single figure onto the rooftop. Like Nevaros and Tesandros, they too wore a robe that covered their body, though they’d modified it by cutting slits into several parts, allowing glimpses of something dark-colored beneath.

“Gasp! Nevaros, here? This early? What manner of sorcery is this?”

The new arrival gave an exaggerated gasp upon seeing Nevaros, and staggered backwards. Nevaros was used to their dramatics, having put up with them for years, though that didn’t stop them from throwing their arm forward, causing a flesh-colored tentacle to burst forward, clearly aimed at the other's head.

The new arrival responded by bending backwards at an impossible angle, using the momentum to kick the tentacle and throw a knife at Nevaros at the same time. Nevaros blocked that with their other arm, then began to prepare another attack, though they’d never get to unleash it.

“Enough! Nevaros, Asantos! I will not have fighting amongst us!”

Sharp blades were pressed into their throats, indicating that Tesandros was not messing around. A single misstep here would see them dead. The two grudgingly put their weapons away, promising to make nice with each other, though they each got an insult in on the other when they thought she wasn’t listening.

“Haaaah, why do the two of you act like this? We all have the same goal, so why can’t you get along?”

“”…””

Though neither of them answered, the glares they shot one another were answer enough. Their hatred for one another was a well-established fact at this point, and Tesandros intervening wouldn’t solve it anytime soon. Thankfully, the final two members of their group arrived just then, so things likely wouldn’t escalate any further.

“High Seeker, is there a problem? Should I deal with those two?”

“No no, it’s nothing Vekos. Just a minor tiffle between comrades.”

“Mn, okay.”

The first of the new arrivals was massive, and unlike the others, not wearing a robe, leaving their whole body visible. Extremely muscular, with dark-green scales covering their body, their very presence seemed to radiate strength. Unfortunately, they wore a full-face helmet, preventing anyone from seeing their facial expressions, so it was hard to tell whether they’d agreed with what Tesandros said or not.

“Haaah, I don’t know why the Grand Seeker keeps putting the two of you together. Everyone knows you’ll kill each other one of these days, if Tesandros doesn’t do it for you.”

The fifth and final member of the group spoke then, coming out from behind Vekos. Like Asantos, they’d modified their robe, though instead of cutting into it, they’d tightened it up, revealing all of their body lines. Add in their voice, and most people would decide on them being female, but something just felt off about them. They moved in a way that was simply wrong, like they didn’t have any bones. Just looking was disconcerting.

“Probably because they work well together despite hating each other’s guts. And they know it too.”

Tesandros shot them a glare at that moment, causing the two to look away awkwardly. Since she was technically their boss, they couldn’t really do anything else.

“Haaah, whatever. Everyone’s here now, so even they won’t continue causing a fuss. Now then-. Wait, why are you all still wearing your hoods? Come now, there aren’t any mortals here. Take them off.”

“But High Seeker-.”

“No buts! Are we not amongst our friends and companions? Why must we hide our true selves even from those we should trust? We shouldn’t!”

Knowing that they couldn’t really argue with Tesandros when she got like this, the others all lowered their hoods, though Vekos had to take his helmet off instead, revealing the fact that all four of them were definitely weren’t human.

Or rather, that they were monsters.

“There, isn’t that better?”

Tesandros smiled at her subordinates, pleased that they’d stopped being so stubborn. While they’d need to wear their special robes when amongst the mortal races, there was no need for such things when in the company of their fellow Seekers. Though it should be mentioned that Tesandros and Vekos didn’t need the robes, as their abilities were more geared towards espionage and infiltration than the others’.

Not a single one of them belonged to one of the mortal races. Though her outward appearance was adorable, Tesandros was actually a Jinjui, a type of shape-shifting monster that was well-known for infiltrating mortal settlements in order to capture the inhabitants so they could use them in their twisted games. The creatures were regarded as priority extermination targets, and most were killed on sight. Assuming you could identify them, that is.

“Eh, not really. Now I have to look at squid-boy’s ugly face.”

“Tch, shut it you fucking mutt. Crawl back into the bitch’s womb you came from.”

On the other hand, Nevaros and Asantos were obviously monsters. Asantos was a superior variant of Kobold, and looked decidedly more bestial for it, while Nevaros was from an aquatic race of monsters that resembled bipedal squids. His robe was enchanted to help preserve his body's moisture, which would normally quickly dry out in open air.

“Quiet. You are disturbing the High Seeker.”

Vekos was easily the most recognizable, even with his helmet on. Given that there are few reptilian mortal races, it was nearly a given that he’d be a monster, but without it on, his single eyeball revealed that he was actually a Cyclops, or more specifically, a Draconian Cyclops. A Draclops, if you will.

Interestingly, while he hadn’t inherited his Draconian heritage’s mastery of magic, he had inherited a racial ability that let him shape-shift, though not to the degree of Tesandros. With enough time, he could make himself look like a member of any other race, so long as they were humanoid in appearance, all the while retaining his original strength. This actually made him the strongest in some situations, as Tesandros's shifting caused her abilities to match her current appearance, though they were all the harder to detect because of it. Even DNA scans wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

“Oh dear, oh dear. What if I don’t want to? Ah well, not like it’s any bother to me.”

The final member, who’d yet to be named, fussed about for a few moments before lowering their hood, revealing the pale, hairless face of a Mivian. She’d been the one to bring Vekos, and was the most skilled with magic amongst the group. In fact, if she’d stayed with her clan, she likely would’ve become an Arch-Sorcerer by now, if not a Grand Sorcerer.

Unfortunately for her, she’d been exiled from her clan because she pursued forbidden knowledge. Dark Magic was often considered horrific and unnatural by mortal civilizations, but there were Rites even darker than that, an she’d used her clan's resources to gather the information and materials she needed to perform them. Before she joined her current organization, her Race had been Mivian Witch, and she’d been on a path that would’ve led to her becoming something Dark. Those scars were still visible, which explained why she seemed so off.

All five of them were monsters, or former monsters, to be specific. Aside from Nevaros, they had all, in one way or another, thrown off the corruptive influence of World Decay, freeing their minds from the destructive impulses that had led them up to that point. Monsters that did this were known as Daemons, and received the full backing of the World System in exchange for giving up the ability to explosively evolve that was so common to monsters.

As for why these five were here, well that was due to the fact that they were Lore Seekers, members of an interdimensional organization devoted to the acquisition and preservation of knowledge, no matter whether it was technological, magical, religious, cultural, or otherwise. The Seekers were the foremost experts on all things involving the World System and World Decay, and were often credited for being the reason that the nine Decay Worlds even existed. That’s how big of a deal their presence was.

“High Seeker, could we please begin the meeting? I was just about to figure something out with my research, and I’d like to get back before I lose my train of thought.”

“Ah, okay. Don’t worry Menayos, we won’t be long. I just need your reports on each of the major countries. We’re almost ready to begin approaching them about cooperating later on.”

“Oh. If that’s all, then why not try that Committee thing the humans started? They’ll probably continue to grow in power over time, so I imagine they’ll be able to do what we ask of them.”

“Ah, I didn’t think of them. Hm, why do mortals always make large groups to govern themselves? Wouldn’t a single person be better?”

Tesandros’s confusion was pretty clear by the way she tilted her head, though Asantos's response wouldn’t help.

“I believe that’s due to them always going on about how everyone has rights or something. Bunch a bullshit to me. It certainly won’t help them survive what’s to come. Hell, they haven’t even entered phase two and several countries are already in ruins. I give these guys a decade before they’re wiped out. Pathetic.”

Aside from Nevaros, the others were all from races with strength-based societies. Where the strong ruled the weak, though there were differences between each one. Very different from most of modern Earth. To them, things like democracy were just strange concepts that seemed like unnecessary steps to the same outcome.

“Now, now, there’s not much they can do when monsters just pop into existence right in front of them. Even we’d be killed if that happened to us before we joined the Seekers. We just would’ve killed and killed until either we or they were dead.”

“She’s right, though I’m loath to admit so. These humans are lucky no S-Rank monsters came through the rifts. Those things are like living calamities compared to normal monsters.”

“Yes, yes, we all know how bad S-Ranks are. Now are we done here? Like I said, research.”

“Yeah, we’re done. I’ll confer with the Grand Seeker and formulate a plan by next week's meeting. Oh, almost forgot. While I’m gone, I want someone to keep an eye on those Spirits to the north. I don’t like them being up there. Bad vibes and all that.”

“Hm? Really? I’d think those Dragons are more suspicious, what with all the preparations for that spell they’ve been doing, or even all the vermin scurrying about.”

“No no, they’re not anything to worry about. The Dragons are just doing what they usually do when they arrive in a new world, and the ‘vermin' are just soldiers for House Valec. Though, I suppose someone should probably keep an eye on them too, especially since one of the Night Mother's chosen is here too. If they encounter each other, it won’t end with just a bloodbath.”

“I’ll do it. My role’s already finished, so I’ve been looking for something to do.”

“Okay, good. Alright then, everyone’s dismissed.”

Those words were barely out of Tesandros's mouth before the others had all disappeared, either through teleportation or simply moving faster than the eye could follow. Tesandros stood there for a short moment, shocked at how quickly they’d left.

“Really guys? You’re in that much of a hurry?” *Sniffle….*

It was kind of funny how a creature often designated as a disaster could be brought to tears simply by being left alone. Life's funny like that sometimes.

***

Ellwood, Pennsylvania. Home of Patricia and David Walters……..

“Well, fuck. I knew it would be bad, but I didn’t expect this.”

Goblin corpses littered the ground around me, a normal sight I’d seen dozens if not hundreds of times by now. What was weird was where I was, not what I was seeing.

“I already knew that something was messed up about the System, but this just takes the cake. Why the fuck did it have to make me come back here?”

I had begrudgingly returned to my childhood home, a place I hadn’t expected to ever see again after this whole mess started nearly six months ago. The System was indicating that my Trial was in here somewhere, so I had to come back, no matter how much I didn’t want to.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the house where I’d grown up had been overrun by Goblins, allowing me to ignore the significance of the bloodstains in certain rooms. I had little hope that anyone who’d been here survived, including my parents. I’d already accepted that certain things were true, so looking to deep into this felt futile.

These Goblins are surprisingly hygienic. I haven’t seen a single skeleton this whole time. Not that I want to see one. I’ve just become used to seeing them in the lairs of monsters. Huh, maybe it’s for the best. What exactly would I feel if I did see any? …..probably best to let that thought die off.

Following the constant pinging in my head, I soon arrived at where else than my old bedroom, because of course that’s where the Trial would be. Damn System fucking with me at every turn.

Sighing to myself for the umpteenth time today, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, though I soon stopped in shock. I’d expected the room to have changed somewhat since I last saw it, I had moved out a month prior to World Decay after all, but it was exactly as I’d left it. Maybe they hadn’t had time to change anything, or hadn’t felt the need. Either way, that wasn’t what I needed to focus on right now.

“…”

A crack in space occupied the middle of my room, causing the air around it to waver like a heat haze. This close to it, I could feel an enormous amount of energy coming from the opening, something I’d never felt from any other Dungeon I’d seen. I felt my breath catch as I took a singe step forward, causing the System to send a notice about the Dungeon.

Portal to B-Rank Trial: City of Nightmares

Type: Mindscape

Restrictions: Only those attempting to acquire the Nightmare Class may enter.

Misc.: Challengers will enter Stasis once entered.

Description: An entrance point to a Trial.

Well, there it is. Haaaaaaaah. There’s no backing out now. Either I do this, or I never grow any stronger.

…

…...

……….

Fuck that.

I took two more steps forward, entering the rift. The world around me was bleached white as the energy overflowing from the entrance embraced me, and I soon felt my mind fading away. Whether I was passing out or falling asleep was hard to say, but I knew this was supposed to happen. Or at least, I hoped so.

::Entrance into B-Rank Trial: City of Nightmares confirmed.

Good luck, Challenger.::

It wouldn’t be until later that I’d realize the significance of those words.