Re: Butterfly (Reincarnated as a Butterfly)

"I wonder how they are doing outside," Rosslyn said quietly, her voice slightly sleepy.

"The others?" Adon asked, a little surprised. "It's great that you have some leeway to think about them, but it's pointless to speculate, right?"

"I guess," she said, her mouth set in a grim line.

Her every movement still felt weak to Adon, but she walked at a steady enough pace despite still needing his arm around her.

"We're not even sure we're going in the right direction to find the Dungeon Core," Adon said quietly. "You don't need to rush—"

"People are dying outside," Rosslyn said. "Every minute I delay, because I am not strong enough—" She began coughing again before she could finish the sentence.

"I know," Adon said. "But you won't be any good to them like this either."

Rosslyn wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. "At least they would know I was there for them. If people see their leaders fighting alongside them, even feebly, they understand that we believe in the cause. That we will keep going for as long as they do. They have hope. They fight harder, last longer. Survive."

"I know." And he did. It sounded like something Rosslyn had said before. "But you have to actually make it out alive for that."

"I have faith in you for that. If I collapse in here, you are strong enough to carry me outside."

"I'm bringing you out unconscious into a battlefield," Adon replied. "If you pass out for whatever reason, I'll just spend the next week healing you inside the dungeon. Let the world collapse out there."

"You cannot—"

"You'd better not let yourself get into that condition, then."

Rosslyn glared at Adon until her stern expression turned into a smile.

"I remember when you used to stutter in your inner voice," she said quietly. "I could not have imagined you contradicting me so firmly back then. How you have changed."

"For the better, I hope?"

"It makes me happy, at least," Rosslyn replied.

"Even if it means arguing sometimes?"

"That is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

They both grinned as they continued moving in silence down the purple tinted cavern.

The two walked for half an hour down the long, winding tunnel, undisturbed.

Then they rounded a corner, and Adon saw it.

At the very end of the tunnel, a line shone brighter than any of the glowing crystals that illuminated the walls. From the distance that separated them from the two, Adon could not make out the exact shape of the object, but he knew instantly what they were looking at.

The Dungeon Core.

An orb-shaped object that gave off its own light, bright enough to outshine everything around it. Everything that the Dungeon Core had surrounded itself with in order to light this final space in the dungeon.

At this moment, Adon had the strangest thought.

Why is the lowest level of the dungeon lit by these glowing crystals too? They've been everywhere. Surely the Dungeon Core doesn't need them, though. And it didn't know it was going to be using the ants to fight down here, right? They belonged on an upper floor. So, why…?

Perhaps the core was afraid of the dark. But no. Such a thought pattern would be oddly human. Far too relatable for something that had caused the party so much trouble, threatened the capital city with so much danger.

"I should go and check to see if there are any traps," Adon said.

There's no way this thing is defenseless down here, right? he thought. Even after we killed all the ants and the spider, it would have kept something back.

"Certainly not!" Rosslyn exclaimed. "We do this together. Then we leave together. Or I may die here. Either way, you are not going into any danger by yourself. I told you already, even if I did not care for you, your life is probably more important than mine!"

"Well, we're not going forward together while you're still suffering lung damage," he said. "We're within sight of the end goal, but it's too easy. I don't know if there are traps, and since you won't let me check, we have to do something about your lungs. I don't want us to get dogpiled by giant acid-shooting scorpions or something while you cough and wheeze your way through our next fight."

Rosslyn let out a short chuckle that turned into a cough.

"Fine," she said. "If it will quiet your notions of going on alone…"

She dropped down to a crouch and then sat on the floor, and she began running green healing energy from her core directly into her lungs.

Since Rosslyn no longer needed him to support her standing up—and would hopefully be fine without that now—Adon allowed his body to snap back into its butterfly form. He had burned through a decent amount of energy just being a crutch for Rosslyn. It had been really nice, but given that they were still in a dungeon, maybe not the best use of resources.

While the Princess was healing herself, he focused his gaze on the Dungeon Core at the end of the tunnel.

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He and Rosslyn had gone so far, fought through so much, to get here. Was it truly as undefended as it looked?

No defenses made themselves obvious.

As he looked, he was able to make out the core's appearance more clearly. It was orb-shaped, and it gave off its own, violet light, which would have been easy to miss in the similarly lit hallway if not for the fact that the Dungeon Core was significantly brighter than everything around.

But it also had an aura around it that felt familiar.

Adon hadn't noticed it much in a while, but he had seen similar auras around other people before: Rosslyn, Goldie, and even that woman who lived in the castle and hated Rosslyn and her father so deeply.

His Spiritual Sight. He'd gotten so used to seeing the aura around a few people and arachnids he knew that he had almost forgotten he had it.

Even now, the first sight of Rosslyn's beautiful golden aura stuck out to him as one of the most striking first impressions he had ever experienced. Goldie's aura, especially when mixed with her golden-threaded web, had been similarly appealing.

In the distance, he saw an aura that looked the opposite. It gleamed a rust orange color, slightly faded as if an old paint job was slowly being chipped away. The color contrasted unappealingly with the core's self-generated purple glow and the similar violet tinge of the tunnel crystal lighting.

Wrong. That was how it felt to look at.

At the same time that he was looking carefully at the core and trying to grasp the implications of it having an aura that registered with his Spiritual Sight, Adon sensed an intelligence reach out and touch his mind. The sensation was of a gentle, probing contact. It was just like anyone else with Telepathy connecting, but it felt slightly more skillful than the average. Goldie and Samson were the only telepaths Adon knew besides himself, so perhaps this was more like what others felt when he touched their minds with his higher level in that Adaptation.

The butterfly heard a voice. Despite the ominous color to the thing's aura, it was a rather pleasant voice after all.

It's you, the other mind sent. You're here…

I am me, Adon replied. I guess anyone would be. Um, I'm called Adon. Do you have a name?

"What is going on?" Rosslyn asked quietly. Adon realized she had tensed up noticeably as he received the initial message and responded to it.

It's talking to me, Adon sent to her only. The Dungeon Core. Did it send you anything?

The Princess just shook her head slightly and furrowed her brow.

I have had many names across my lives, the Dungeon Core sent. You are probably the same. But I have had little use for a single name in this life. I am beyond those now.

There was a soothing quality to the voice. Not just pleasant. Like a massage for his mind.

Yes, I understand, Adon sent. I have lived many lives, too. I've just been going by the name from my last life.

"What exactly is the core saying to you, Adon?" Rosslyn asked a little nervously.

Hardly anything yet, Adon replied. Give me a minute. Maybe I can find out why these things threaten the Kingdom. It doesn't seem unkind or evil at first blush.

I've been waiting for you, butterfly, the Dungeon Core sent. You're like me. Its voice sounded strangely compelling now that Adon thought about it.

How are we alike? Adon replied.

Neither of us is human or demon, and we both remember our pasts better than those species ever could, the core sent. You belong among others like yourself. We have a network of like-minded beings.

That does sound nice, Adon sent. I bet it removes the awkwardness from social interactions.

Completely effortless, the Dungeon Core agreed. No friction whatsoever. Just as if you were talking to yourself. That is why I have never needed a name.

The butterfly took a moment to remember what he was trying to achieve with the conversation.

Right, I wanted to know if the Dungeon Core is a threat to the Kingdom, or if we can just leave it in peace, he thought. I'm pretty sure it was something close to that.

So, you only want to talk to others like yourself? Adon asked. You don't want to attack humans or something?

I have never attacked a human in my life, the Dungeon Core replied in a tone of gentle affront. Can you imagine engaging in such senseless aggression? I have only ever enabled my own children to defend themselves when humans came creeping into our nest to kill them.

That sounded strangely familiar.

How terrible that must have been for you, Adon sent, thinking through the words slowly as if his mind was a swimmer doing the backstroke through a sea of mashed potatoes.

Oh, it was frightening, sent the Dungeon Core. The experience isn't even over. There is a woman right near you who I believe means to destroy me!

That's—Adon suddenly realized that the woman the Dungeon Core was referring to was Rosslyn. No, the Princess is fair and gentle. She wouldn't hurt a bug unless it deserved it.

Even still, she came here to destroy me, despite the fact that I had done no harm to her or her people, the Dungeon Core replied.

That's—

"Adon, I truly need to know what the Dungeon Core is saying," Rosslyn interjected. "If it is trying to negotiate somehow… You have been hovering in the same position for several minutes."

No, it couldn't have been that long, the butterfly thought. We've barely exchanged a handful of words, right? It was hard to pick out the exact words the core had chosen in their conversation, though. Strange.

And he noticed that Rosslyn had finished healing herself and was standing beside him now. When had that happened?

Adon's memory was literally perfect. Impeccable was the name, but it didn't convey the half of it. Yet somehow he couldn't pinpoint when Rosslyn had finished healing herself, and the language of his and the core's conversation before now seemed to drift just out of reach of Adon's awareness.

Can't be that important, I guess, he thought.

Rosslyn wants to know what it is you would like to negotiate with her, Adon sent. You should communicate with her as well as me, so we can resolve whatever differences we have peacefully.

I have another idea, the Dungeon Core replied, speaking in its same gentle, persuasive tone. Much simpler. Kill the human who came with you, and join with us. Join with the others of your kind. You need never be alone again. You will be a great general in his armies…