Dungeon Dream

[Just before Dinio's awakening]

"Tch, tch, tch… Oh, how pitiful you are,"

The voice purred, its tone dripping with mockery, yet seductive, like a poisoned promise.

"To see you in this wretched state—so broken, so helpless—it stirs even my dark heart. But do not despair. I can rewrite your fate. Yield to me, and I shall grant you power beyond your comprehension. Power to conquer, to destroy, to annihilate every last one of your enemies."

The voice paused, a sinister chuckle reverberating through the air.

"Come now, warrior. Surrender yourself... and rise anew."

Dinio trembled, his fists clenched tightly, nails biting into his palms. The haunting memories of his daughter's death flooded his mind—her laughter, her warmth, the light she brought into his life—cruelly overshadowed by the horror of what he had lost. The pain and rage that burned in his soul consumed every rational thought.

"Do it,"

he hissed through gritted teeth, his voice raw with desperation.

"I accept."

As the words left his lips, a cold, inhuman energy surged through his body. Shadows coiled around him like living snakes, and his consciousness began to fade into the void. In the fleeting moment before his mind was swallowed whole, a vivid memory of his daughter flickered before his eyes—her innocent smile, her arms reaching for him.

But the vision began to distort. Her face twisted unnaturally, her laughter becoming a chilling echo, breaking apart like shattered glass. The image warped into an unrecognizable nightmare, and Dinio's anguished cry was drowned out as the voice devoured him completely.

[Present..]

Gernold, battered and bleeding, stood surrounded by the lifeless bodies of his men. With sheer determination, he charged at Dinio, his blade slicing through the air with all the strength he could muster. But his attacks were futile, each strike bouncing off the dark energy that now cloaked Dinio.

Dinio threw his head back and let out a menacing laugh, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Ahahahaha! You? You dare stand before me? A lowly peasant like you, thinking you could defeat me? How pathetic!

Despite the taunts, Gernold gritted his teeth and forced himself to respond, rage burning in his eyes.

"Pathetic, huh? That was you not so long ago, screaming like a worm when I cut you in half! And I'll do it again!"

With a guttural roar, he lunged forward, putting everything he had into his final attack.

But Dinio moved faster than he could register. In one swift motion, Gernold's sword arm was severed, blood spraying across the chamber. The beastman was flung like a ragdoll, crashing into the stone wall with a sickening thudCoughing up blood and struggling for breath, Gernold felt his strength fading fast. His vision blurred, and every instinct told him it was over. But his pride as a beastman was unrelenting. He would not let this demon claim victory so easily.

Summoning what little remained of his strength, he called upon the ancient spirit that his ancestors had whispered of in legend. A cold, otherworldly voice answered his plea, echoing in his mind.

"So you wish for power to destroy this monster?"

The spirit asked, its tone emotionless, almost bored.

"Very well, I will can grant you that power. But the cost will be steep. Your life... in exchange for the power to obliterate him."

Gernold's body shook as he coughed more blood onto the cold stone floor.

"Hah… my life, huh?"

he muttered with a bitter smile.

"Guess that's a fair trade. I'm dead either way, so... do it. Give me the strength to take this bastard down!"

As the pact was sealed, a surge of energy enveloped Gernold, a blinding, fiery aura exploding around him as his broken body became a vessel for unimaginable power. His time was short, but it was enough for one final, devastating act of defiance.

With a thunderous roar that echoed across the battlefield, Gernold gripped his blade tightly, every fiber of his being burning with the spirit's immense power. His aura blazed like a raging inferno, illuminating the darkness as his once-fading strength surged to its peak.

"Dinio!" Gernold bellowed, his voice trembling with fury and resolve. "This is for my men—and for everything you've taken!"

He lunged forward at unimaginable speed, the ground cracking beneath his feet from the sheer force. In a single, fluid motion, he unleashed a devastating slash, faster than the eye could follow. The blow struck Dinio before he could react, slicing cleanly through him.

The force of the attack was cataclysmic. The sky itself seemed to shatter as the clouds parted violently, torn apart by the sheer power of the strike. A deep, jagged fissure split the earth, carving a scar into the ground that stretched as far as the horizon. The wind howled as the world momentarily stood still, the magnitude of Gernold's final act reverberating through the air.

As Dinio's bisected form fell lifelessly to the ground, Gernold dropped to one knee, the last embers of his strength fading. The spirit's power had exacted its toll, but he had no regrets. His final act had left a mark, both on the world and in the memory of all who would hear the tale.

As the earth began to settled from the devastating strike, Gernold's body collapsed to the ground, lifeless. His blade lay beside him, still glowing faintly from the incredible energy it had unleashed. The silence was deafening, a stark contrast to the chaos moments before.

But then, from the split remnants of Dinio's form, dark tendrils of energy began to writhe and intertwine. Piece by piece, his body reassembled itself, grotesquely seamless, as if nothing had happened. Dinio let out a slow, mocking sigh, dusting himself off.

"Woof, that was close,"

He muttered, stretching his reformed limbs.

"I almost lost this fresh body I just claimed. That beastman was persistent, I'll give him that."

He glanced down at Gernold's lifeless form, smirking.

"But in the end, all for nothing."

Dinio's crimson eyes glowed with malice as he turned his attention elsewhere.

"Now then,"

he mused, his voice dripping with purpose,

"this dungeon... it's served its purpose, but it's still binding my original body. Time to be rid of it."

He raised his hands, dark magic swirling around him, the air growing heavy with raw energy. Chanting in a guttural, ancient tongue, Dinio cast his spell. In an instant, the entire dungeon shattered like glass, vanishing into a void of nothingness.

The ground beneath where the dungeon once stood collapsed into a gaping crater, leaving behind a vast, empty hole. Everything within the dungeon—treasures, traps, creatures—was violently expelled, scattered into random locations in the open sky. Objects tumbled and floated briefly before plummeting to the ground in a chaotic, surreal rain.

As the spell ended, Dinio stood alone in the desolate ruin, gazing at the sky with a sinister smile.

"There,"

he muttered to himself,satisfied.

"Now the fun begins."