NOVEL NEXT Aeternae – Chapter 250: Making Spaces
Aperio hummed to herself as she let her senses spread across Earth, and ran her hand gently through Caethya's hair. Her love was lying down on the bed with her head in the All-Mother's lap, reading one of the many books that the owner of the inn had recommended. From the few glances Aperio had at the book, it seemed interesting enough, but she knew it would not even remotely be as enjoyable as making a dungeon that would thoroughly annoy both the Fae and the council that called Riverburg its home.
She eyed Teg, the Fae still floating upside down, but now holding a tiny newspaper as well as another one of the cookies they seemed to love so much. Maybe I should make some of those for Caethya?
They seemed to be mostly comprised of mana, but Aperio herself had recently figured out that that was quite a nice thing to consume. In fact, the mana-infused tea she had had recently had been pretty much the first thing she enjoyed eating or drinking since her return.
Aperio shook her head lightly. Any attempts at making magical cookies would have to wait a little bit longer, for now she had to bless Earth with another dungeon. One that would offer a more measured challenge for the people that had by now reached something close to level one hundred. The System had been on Earth in full force for quite a while and some people had spared no effort in gathering strength. Especially the ones that had taken her invite to the dungeon at Point Nemo. Most of those people had made it all the way to floor thirty-one, where she had placed one of the portals which would allow them to leave. There were other portals, of course, but this particular one was impossible to miss as it was located near the small town that was essentially the only feature of the floor.
"Now then," Aperio mumbled to herself, a thought tugging at the threads of reality just a short hop away from Riverburg itself. "This place will do nicely."
With a gentle push of her magic, the ground gave way. Quite a lot of it, as she would need a fairly large area upon which to build the style of entrance she wanted. One themed after her temple, in fact, though the dungeon itself would neither be floating nor be an actual temple. It would simply be a rather mind-bending experience for the average mortal. Perhaps a few hints at what I am for thematic effect.
It was probably unnecessary, but Aperio would be lying if she said she did not want to have something on Earth that was fully her own design. She had mainly modelled Point Nemo after their own cities, filling it with places from their history or inspired by the very stories they told one another. This dungeon would do none of that. It would challenge their grasp on reality and teach them lessons she decided they would have to know.
With a thought, reality folded in on itself, creating a bigger pocket of space below the surface. A few runes engraved themselves on the walls Aperio had conjured, gleaming with her power as soon as they were complete. The first lesson for prospective adventurers.
She added more and more, weaving the ever-shifting runes into a tapestry that gave the dungeon itself its shape and purpose. Of course, not every etching had a meaning, but even those that did not serve the dungeon itself still told a story of sorts. One comprised of whispers pertaining to the System and how she had brought it to Earth. How, before, it had been lost to the world and it had languished without mana and magic.
Of course, Aperio did not expect the mortals to figure the story out anytime soon, but they would need learn how the world actually worked eventually. In the meantime, she would give them a few monsters to fight. A valuable lesson on its own.
The only real question was which monster she should create for the dungeon. Just having different versions of goblins, ogres, or something of the like would just be boring. She needed something a bit more… exciting.
Aperio's eyes wandered to the still upside-down form of Teg. Her wings twitched slightly as she suppressed a giggle, and began drafting the first set of simulacrums that would call the dungeon their home.
"Should I be concerned?" Caethya asked, lowering her book and leaning her head back to look up at the All-Mother. "Felt like you had to restrain yourself quite a bit."
"Nothing dangerous," Aperio replied with a smile. "I just had a good idea that will go a long way to delivering the result I want."
"You should take more time to create things," her love said, holding her gaze for a moment longer. "Seems to make you quite happy."
Aperio tilted her head slightly as Caethya resumed reading her book. Sure, she did enjoy using her power to make things, but it was nowhere as strong a feeling as when she was fighting, flying, or — as she was now — spending time with her love.
"Perhaps," she agreed eventually. "But this one is uniquely pleasing."
"Any particular reason why?"
"Spite?" the All-Mother guessed. "I am not quite sure, but I shall enjoy it regardless."
True to her word, a flex of her mental muscles caused some of her mana to take the form of a small being, not quite unlike the Fae. Of course, it was not actually alive; just a simulacrum like the ones she had placed in the first dungeon. There was a good reason for this. The dungeon she had first arrived in on Verenier had attempted to turn unsuspecting mortals into thoughtless puppets, and it stood to reason that other dungeons would try much the same. Thus, simply creating a dungeon core as her memories dictated would be out of the question until she knew how to avoid that particular danger. Besides, I do not like the idea of a sentient crystal all that much anyway.
Aperio would much rather find a mortal that would want to supervise a dungeon and put them in charge of it. With a few rules and limitations in place, of course. Perhaps I should leave some hints for that as well. The number of books Earth had of random people getting thrown into another world to rule over a dungeon — or even become one in some cases — was quite high, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to adapt to the idea. Same goes for the System itself, I suppose.
The All-Mother began to hum to herself as she created more of the definitely-not-Fae for the newest dungeon. She varied them, giving some more arms or legs, differing numbers of eyes, and of course a wide gamut of wings. Once they were done, they would lure any mortal that might enter the dungeon into traps and ambushes, but also towards hidden treasures. Of course, not every mortal had the same concept of a valuable treasure, but Aperio made sure that they could find anything from long lost knowledge to weapons made from material you couldn't find on Earth quite yet.
They're going to have to invent new industries for nearly everything, Aperio mused to herself as she began to actually build the first couple of floors of her new dungeon. The walls and floor were all made from the same black marble her own temple sported, while the ceiling showed a perfect copy of Earth's sky above. After a moment of consideration, she also added a moon, one that could actually be reached — with a little effort — from the dungeon. Just have to hope they realise it is not actually their moon…
Aperio was never quite sure how smart the average mortal actually was. They seemed to know so much and so little at the same time; a true conundrum. Not that she was much different. She had the option to be quite literally omniscient, but doing that would make all of creation… obsolete, so the All-Mother would only ever allow herself a small fraction of the knowledge she could access.
"Do you want to see something fun, Teg?" Aperio asked as she gave tasks to the Fae-Simulacrums. She offered the small being a wide smile. "I am sure you will love it."
The Fae squinted at her with all of its six eyes. "What do?"
"I created something," Aperio replied. "It is not done yet, but I have a feeling you would find it intriguing nonetheless."
"Okay," Teg said, offering a four-armed shrug. "I look."
An unneeded wave of her hand caused the Fae to vanish from their room and reappear just outside the dungeon entrance she had made.
The door towered over the small form of Teg, being over twice Aperio's own height, but opened on its own when the Fae moved closer. Teg stopped for a moment, inspecting the pattern of wings she had engraved on the door. The Fae then glanced at the ever-shifting runes that framed the whole thing, tilting its head as it seemingly failed to understand them.
Aperio gave them a little nudge with her magic, causing Teg to continue floating into the dungeon. The All-Mother let out a slight giggle as she first of the simulacrums she made noticed the intruder in their dungeon and began moving towards the Fae that had dared to enter their lair.
The sound of Caethya's book closing caused the All-Mother to divert some of her attention to her love. "Yes?" she asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly.
"I want to see what you are building," the Demigoddess replied as she sat herself up. "The amount of mana you are moving around is ludicrous, so it must be good. And also quite distracting."
"Perhaps I got a little lost in my creation… I can make it invisible, but I do enjoy having to move against the mana of the universe. It makes the process that much more enjoyable."
"Oh, I don't mind it," her love said, a small smile flashing across her face as she ran a finger along Aperio's arm. "It's distracting, but in a good way."
Caethya leaned in and gave her love a quick kiss on the cheek before she hopped out of the bed. Being in physical contact with Aperio when she casually moved an entire world’s worth of mana had side effects that she had not foreseen. One of them was that her love did not seem to mind that the mana she was commanding who-knows how far away still somehow also flowed through her body and, in some cases, made its way to the Demigoddess.
She narrowed her eyes slightly as a thought crossed her mind. She does that on purpose, doesn't she? Aperio was not good at showing how she felt about most things — at least in any normal way — so the act of giving more of her mana might be a step up from simply diverting it so it could flow around her.
Caethya wouldn't complain. It felt nice and she would not turn down the affection of the woman she loved; even if her expression of it was a tad extraordinary. But then, nothing about her is ordinary.
"You coming?" she asked as Aperio had not yet moved.
A moment later, Caethya felt the All-Mother's hand take her own as she had simply appeared next to her. "Of course."
Another use of her love's magic caused both of them to vanish from their room. They now stood in a field a few minutes outside the city, right in front of what Caethya could only describe as a small version of Aperio's temple.
"I am making a new dungeon," she said, a wing pointing at the temple. "It is supposed to teach the mortals about magic and the System. And annoy the Fae, as well as the council in Riverburg."
"Are you making an entire dungeon here out of… spite?"
Aperio merely began to hum to herself and started to slowly walk towards the entrance. The ground beneath her feet changed with each step, the grass and dirt making way for a road made of black stone that sported flecks of blue and silver.
Caethya shook her head and followed, a quick jog bringing her to her love's side. "What are you going to call it?"
"I am open to suggestions," Aperio replied. She extended one of her wings, gently wrapping it around Caethya and pulling her closer. "Preferably something relevant to local folklore."
"We could ask Hannibal. He's been here for a while, apparently, and he sure does love collecting all manner of myths and stories."
Her love tilted her head at the suggestion but gave a nod after a moment. "A good idea." Aperio reached out and grabbed something only she could see and pulled at it. "But for now, we have a dungeon to build."
"And a Fae to annoy?" Caethya asked as her aura picked up the unmistakable form of Teg further in the dungeon. "With other… Fae?"
"Exactly."