Forgotten Dungeon

Charles

I ran away.

Torture was never something I balked at, but the sheer amount of blood and suffering that this medical operation entailed was just too much. It felt senseless, unnecessary. Barbaric. Why not use something as simple as painkillers?

Truly, Tinna wasn't a woman I had been close to, and this fact didn't change during her second existence as Uno's chosen monster. If anything, we drifted even further apart, as it was difficult to care about somebody less than human. Not to mention, she had already murdered some of my men…

The revenants, while rare, were something that most adventurers were knowledgeable about. We had to be; otherwise, killing returned friends and family would be even more difficult. These undead, as beings born out of a betrayal, carried a stigma of failure so dire that the soul of the victim refused to stay still, personifying the desire for revenge at all costs. And yet, because of their brutality, their single-mindedness, and porcelain-like faces, it was hard to empathize with them.

So I shouldn't feel bad about the screams, the begging, and the crying. It wasn't human, but a monster. Designed flesh made a killer. Yet her identity didn't matter; in the end, the amount of suffering Non was going through still made me run away. I wasn't like Master Vincent and his apprentices, fixated on the minutiae of the proceedings, their eyes gleaming with an unhealthy obsession.

Despite being students of the arcane, or maybe because of it, they focused on satisfying their desire to know, to understand above all else. No matter how repulsive and forbidden it was, no matter what they would lose, their greed and hunger pushed them to watch. What a bothersome thing it was to contend with - alas, the madmen it produces are one of our defenders.

I left them to their devices, and instead of waiting for the inevitable failure, I retreated to the Silver Oasis proper, trying to find and comfort Agnes. She ran away after being rebuked by Uno's guardians. I worried how she would react to that reality, to the fact that her dear friend was going to die. She wasn't like me, who had to swallow sacrifices daily, deal with reality. Choose what could be lost and what could be saved. I was taught to deal with people like they were pawns on the chessboard.

She was protected, cherished. Kept on a pedestal.

Surprisingly, I wasn't jealous of her innocence, but since it had been broken, I had to make sure she was alright. So I followed her upward, into the Oasis.

What greeted me was complete chaos, with Uno's creatures running amok, including Guardian, normally the calmest of the Dungeon's powerhouses, leading the charge. It was unprecedented, weird. The monsters poured into the labyrinth's bloody gullet like it was an obvious thing to do.

I saw more varieties of rats than I even knew existed, flanked by massed Lebirs. Between their ranks, both strange dwarves and armored kobolds were cleaning their weapons, ready to kill and cut like there was no tomorrow. Their eyes glistened with bloodlust and purpose.

Worse, some of our people, especially the beastkin, were also growing anxious, their predatory gazes more often than not fixed on the entrance to that cursed landscape, and the sounds of battle coming from within.

I scoffed. Fools were always quick to sacrifice their lives.

If anyone was stupid enough to follow Uno's folk into death, then that was their decision to make.

This was not the time to address it, however. I had higher priorities - first goal was to find and calm down my fiancée, only then could I start caring about the outside world again. It wasn't like an hour or two would make the difference.

I scratched my chin, thinking. In the past, I would be giddy with excitement to notice that my perfect superwoman was finally showing some cracks. To see that she was human, too, just like me and every poor sod in the Oasis. But these feelings of mine changed after I understood how she was playing the only role she knew, and how her heart was still pure - now I was just anxious about her well-being.

My mouth twisted in a bitter smirk. We were teetering on the brink, with the Geinard's Kingdom and wasteland monsters ready to strike us down. The tomorrow was uncertain, but whatever the choice, it was ours and ours alone. So, rather than curl up and die, I decided to stand at the helm of this place with Agnes at my side. No matter the cost.

I kept my eyes open as my hitched walk continued. Thankfully, Silver Oasis was a small place, and Agnes wasn't inconspicuous at all.

I found her staring forlornly at the southern reaches, in the direction where Shieldstar and the Geinard's Kingdom proper were located, behind the wastes and the undead. She was alone; the desolate aura she radiated scared off her normal attendants. As I wrapped my hands around Agnes' trembling back, she was already hyperventilating, her eyes closed. A few seconds into my hug, she turned around, hiding her face into my collarbone.

"It was too much." She mumbled. "Tinna was screaming, bleeding…" She took a trembling breath. "She wanted to die. I could see it. Gods… And for what? Why didn't Uno just end it? Why?!"

"I know." I hugged her tighter. Right now, she just needed somebody to listen as she poured her heart out.

"I-I'm… I'm not used to being helpless, to be unable to do anything." She continued, words flowing out like a flood. "If my power wasn't enough, I could always ask my parents, or just force others to do my bidding. Make them cough up healing potions, scrolls, money, and techniques."

"It was easy. It felt good. Doing righteous things, making evildoers pay. Black and white."

"I never…" Her voice cracked. "I never knew how it felt to be helpless. To be forced to just watch, hoping, praying that somebody saves those dear to me." She sniffed, and I felt my shirt getting wet.

I continued to cradle her in my arms, knowing well that sometimes words were not enough. It might've been minutes, or maybe an hour. Who knows?

But the universe has an ugly way of reminding people about reality.

We both trembled when something happened, but it took us a few seconds to understand what had changed. We blinked away, confused, but it was Agnes who first understood the difference.

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"It's silent." She marvelled. "The explosions… they stopped."

We stood in place, listening intently to the sound that was no longer here. I nodded. "Yes. That irritating, metronome-like noise just ceased to be." My brow furrowed. "But why? Wasn't Uno adamant about the continued destruction? He said that it was needed. Our lifeline!" I screeched, imitating his voice.

"So… what changed?"

"I'm not sure. However…" My voice trailed away as I noticed another change.

Agnes' eyes narrowed. "Spit it out!"

"Better take a look for yourself."

Hearing my words, Agnes turned around, still cradled in my arms. I could feel her tensing muscles as she fought to cough out the heavy words.

"Wh-who is that?"

We were looking at a continuous wave of troops pouring out of Uno's Dungeon. Like before, rats and Lebirs were the main bulk of the assault, but I noticed many rarer monsters poking their heads out. Most noticeably, there were two "boss" monsters that I hoped never to see again.

"That's Decapitator and… the Jailer? I think? They look a bit different."

"Meatier, you mean?"

My mouth twitched. "Call them more powerful, instead."

Jailer Jonathan was pretty much just a fat humanoid undead, but Decapitator reminded me of how Uno's earlier designs were an unhinged mess of metal and bone. It walked with the unsteady gait of a nightmare made real, with various implements of death sticking out from various places.

"It's just like several pairs of scissors bunched together into one being. Not quite Freddy Krueger-esque enough, but a man can dream, eh?" I muttered, weird words flowing through me.

"What?" Agnes asked, turning her head toward me, eyes wet with worry. "What are you talking about?"

"I-I…" The words of explanation dried in my mouth as I noticed what arrived next. Well, more like - who arrived next. Sensing my bewilderment, Agnes turned around once again and stiffened up, also silenced by the shocking development.

From underground emerged a woman, clad in black matte armor, her steps unhurried but purposeful. She was inhumanly beautiful, with graceful poise and a perfectly shaped face. Her black eyes and even blacker hair seemed to suck in light, while the monstrous scales visible on her hands and neck surprisingly only added to her charm. A weird black-and-green symbol swirled between her brows.

Taijitu, suddenly, a word appeared in my mind.

Despite being unarmed, she carried a heaviness of power I had rarely encountered before. Only those old monsters like my ancestor, Hekkan of Ash, or Kingdom's Iron Hand felt like this. I trembled, cursing Uno's experimentation. What kind of monster did he summon now?! A God?!

The said monster gazed at her surroundings with curiosity, as if seeing the surface for the first time. The Dungeon's denizens around her flowed out of the way as soon as she moved, their reverence visible to anyone with a brain. The gap behind her closed immediately, and the army followed her footsteps.

It was only now that I noticed Uno's Guardian kneeling nearby, his armored hands closing the eyes of brutalized creatures. It was a strangely human gesture. About a dozen kobold and dwarf bodies were lying on the ground, each straightened and cleaned up, just like we did with our own dead.

The armored woman hesitated and changed her course, her solemn steps stopping near the kneeling monster. She put a hand on his arm, speaking softly.

"I thank you for the sacrifice, brother."

It took a while for the Guardian to respond, and when he rumbled back, his voice was filled with… pain?

"They died for you, just as my Lord commanded. There is always a price, and it is an inevitable truth of life. But while I follow orders without hesitation, to grieve or not is my choice. Let me be, sister. Let me send them off."

"They died for me." She nodded. "So they will live for me too." Guardian's gaze suddenly flitted upward as he noticed the magic gathering on her palm.

"What are you doing, sister!" He cried in alarm. "I will not stand for turning my chosen into undead, no matter the Lord's will!"

"They won't be undead. Shush." The green gathered on her palm, while the symbol on her brow, Taijitu, swirled. "Rise again, and serve again, oh believers. Your Master calls."

With that short chant, the spell dispersed, flowing into gathered bodies. For a moment, there was nothing but tense silence. Then a kobold arm twitched, with a dwarven leg following, like it was some macabre dance.

The dead opened their eyes, filled with wonder and curiosity. A few Ratlings lying around also rose, their gazes filled with fervor.

"Go and make me proud, children. Make our Master proud." The armored woman spoke, her eyes turned into happy crescents.

"Blessed be the Creator's messenger!"

"Blessed be!"

"We follow into the oblivion and beyond!"

The spell was grand, powerful. It spiralled out of control, part of the green settling on our own casualties laid to rest close by. I observed the situation with growing hope.

Resurrection magic was the stuff of legends. We didn't have access to healing (I wasn't counting Uno's concoctions turning people into beasts), not to mention more potent divine magic, and I certainly didn't hear about anyone who could bring back the dead, even in the past.

So I waited for the happy ending, and yet my expectations were cut short, as only one of the beastkin stirred. The rest were lying down on the grass, cold and unmoving.

The divine magic wielder wandered closer to us, her nonplussed face reminding me of someone. It was Agnes who connected the dots, though.

"Tinna?" She whispered, staring at the renewed revenant with a shocked gaze. "You're… alive."

"Hello to you too, princess." The woman answered, a small smile dancing on her lips. "I am back, but I think I'll keep the name Non. After all, it was given by my Master, who sacrificed much to bring me to life. Now I can do the same for others."

"But?" An unasked question hung between us.

Tinna… no, Non, smiled apologetically. "I can bring back those who are fellow believers." She pointed at the sole resurrected beastkin already mingling with Uno's monsters. "That, and the body can't be too old. There's nothing to save, then."

"There are other restrictions, right?" I asked.

"There are." She smiled once again, not elaborating.

I shook my head. "We need to speak to the soldiers before any rumor spreads. It's too late to hide your ability." I suddenly glanced at her much-too-innocent face. "You…"

"You did that on purpose!" I shouted, suddenly understanding.

"All is for my Master." She grinned before turning serious. "And besides, they are coming. Both He and you will need all the believers we can get."

"Who is coming?"

"Slaves of justice." She answered cryptically.

Before I could force a real answer, someone interrupted our discussion. A young boy, serving as a courier.

"My Lord! My Lord! U-urgent news!" He nearly fell, the stench of fear and sweat hanging in the air.

I kept him upright, gazing into the crazed expression. "Calm down. I said CALM DOWN!" It was the shout and a smack that brought his concentration back. "What's the matter? Speak!" I asked resignedly. Shit was hitting the fan.

Whatever that meant.

"A mountain!"

"A mountain is flying!"

"It's coming for us! We're all doomed!"

I turned to look at Non, who grinned with a bloodthirsty expression, before silently mouthing T-H-E-O-C-R-A-C-Y.

"Fuck! Can't this day get any worse?!" I screamed to the heavens.