When Daleen Halifax stepped into the dungeon, she took her typical position in the squad. Nerves were on edge and weapons were drawn in anticipation of a difficult fight. The entrance to the dungeon was, as had always been the case, a safe space. As such, they were able to take in the view before them.
They stood upon a cliff face with what appeared to be the entire dungeon laid out before them. Their starting position gave them a look down at the vast area ahead of them. It was nearly two kilometers of rough and jagged cliffside down to the ground below. Halifax’s first impression was that they had arrived on another planet entirely. Everything was cast in a red hue and the heat was oppressive. There were stone structures that looked like sharp towers interspersed with pools of bubbling lava.
“Oh hell. Do you see all those creatures down there?” Anixisoj commented as they pointed to a swelling mob of creatures boiling out of the lava and starting to climb up the cliffs.
“Noted. Engage flight and fire resistance. Remember our primary goal is to capture the Core. Secondary objective is to locate and rescue the sector commander but from the looks of things we are too late for that. This is the strongest dungeon we have ever delved so we will stay together even when scouting. Do not engage unless we have to. We’re going to be in here an awful long time by my guess.”
With their plan at least initially set, they flew away from the cliff and out towards the fiery broken plains around them. Once they started moving away from the entrance, two things became instantly obvious. Firstly, the dungeon entrance had sealed them in – something that only happened in the most difficult of dungeons. Secondly, what had appeared to be spiky rock outcroppings below on the cliff were in fact creatures that had started to launch into the air and head straight for the group.
Halifax’s decision came quickly, “Doubtful we can outpace them. Engage!”
Spells, Abilities, and energy beams lanced out from the team as they rapidly moved away from the cliff face. The attacks were enough to keep the majority of creatures coming towards them from continuing pursuit. There were, however, about a dozen that were larger than the rest. They were not deterred.
As the dozen fliers approached the group, they got a better look at what was pursuing them. The creatures were not uniform but they all had some shared characteristics. They all were flying via winged membranes that showed an even deeper red in the crimson illumination of the dungeon. They also shared a stone-like appearance. Halifax’s first impression was that they were some sort of gargoyle from the horns on their heads but the fact that their horns and wings appeared more flesh than stone, she shifted from that hypothesis. What she did know, however, was that their scattered attacks were not stopping the pursuit.
“Focus fire! Leftmost target designated as one. Concentrate on one first and focus them down!”
Without hesitation or pause for confirmation, the team acted. They had been together long enough that they responded to such a command immediately – it had saved them on more than one occasion. They trusted Halifax to see things that they did not because she just plain did.
Focusing all their attacks on the single creature tore it from the sky, leaving it screaming in pain as it plummeted towards the steaming and bubbling ground. No one watched it’s fall, instead, shifting their focus to the next in line. While this approach was removing the threats from the air it allowed the pursuit to get closer. The creatures following pursued with rage and anticipation of rending flesh.
Six of the pursuers went down before they reached the party. That’s when the butcher’s bill came due. Celaith took a vicious slash to the back as she tried to avoid the rapidly approaching monster. Her Adept-ranked Dodge Skill had pushed her well beyond the creature’s reach. That is, until the creature’s arm and claws extended outwards and sliced through armor and flesh alike, finally snagging on her belt before retracting for another strike.
Celaith was bleeding from the wound but managed to turn around and engage the monster before it could get another slash in. Her spear flashed in the crimson light, it’s widened tip, a deadly vibrating blade that was both technologically and magically enhanced. The blade of the spear sliced clean through two of the creature’s claws causing it to hiss in pain as it danced backwards with a flap of its powerful wings.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The rest of the monsters came in and the melee was joined in earnest. The monsters were immensely strong, and their rocky skin was significantly damage-resistant but that was only part of the story. Core Team Three was the top team of all the Core teams for a reason. The fight lasted longer than they were used to, but the outcome was never in question. What concerned Halifax was that they had already started to dip into their consumables. There was no telling how large this dungeon’s area truly was and whether their supplies would run out. She considered all this as she noted that the monsters’ bodies were reclaimed by the bubbling lava of the floor below them, leaving no loot drops.
It took another half hour of travelling over the burning plains before they spotted more solid ground. A mesa jutted upwards from the ground and their keen sight spotted several caves of varying sizes. Halifax directed them towards the caves and relief from the exposed feeling their flight was giving her.
Edgemont sat at his desk reviewing the data stream. He had come upon a number of possibilities for talent he could poach from other sectors but he was still hesitant. If he relied on another sector’s staff, he would lose the wager and Edgemont simply did not lose. Frustration overtook him and he glanced back over to the open office door/dungeon entrance next to him. It had only been a matter of hours and he really didn’t expect an outcome just yet, but he was anticipating one before too long.
Duke separated from Aurelia feeling completely puzzled. She called it off. She told me it was too much to be around me anymore and just left. All but cut off communication. Then she was cordial at best the last time I saw her. Now she’s acting like she wanted me to chase her the whole time? I don’t understand and I don’t think I ever will.
“Aurelia, you know that you broke my heart when you left. I don’t know how to interpret all this now.”
“I’m sorry, Duke. I thought I wanted more but I just didn’t know what I really wanted. I know I hurt you and I’m sorry for that. I let you go off all alone and fight without me at your side.”
“Do you know what I did out there?” Duke gestured up towards the sky in an expansive sweeping gesture.
“No, I don’t know but I do know that you deserved to have someone there for you, and that someone should have been me. Needs to be me.”
“I could show it to you. They recorded it, you know. All the Cosmos knows what kind of monster I can be. What terrors I have lurking in here.” He gestured to his head. “What horrors are constantly pressing on my mind, desperate to be released into the world yet again. The stronger I get, the longer I can hold them back, but they are as inevitable as time. They will come out again and they will only be stronger than the last time because that is how the System works.”
She moved closer but he stiffened and continued, “What do you expect of me, Aurelia?”
Her chest tightened. She stepped forward. “I should have been there. I should have been the one waiting for you, calling for you, reminding you who you are. I thought I was saving myself from losing you, but I was just making sure I lost you in a different way.”
His hands curled at his sides. She saw it now—the tension in his shoulders, the weight in his posture. How many lives had he ended with those hands? How much blood had he spilled? And it was broadcast to the entire Cosmos? The weight of it all must be crushing him.
“I don’t deserve to ask you to take me back,” she said softly. “But I’m here anyway.”
He exhaled sharply. “And what do you expect? That we just… go back to how things were?”
“No,” she admitted, stepping closer. “Because you’re not the same. And neither am I.” She reached out, hesitated, then touched his arm. His muscles tensed beneath her fingers, but he didn’t pull away. “I can’t take back what I did, what I said. I can’t change the past – missing the opportunity to be there for you when you needed someone. When you needed me. I can’t fix what you’ve been through. But if you let me, I will stand by you through whatever comes next.”
He looked directly into her eyes with all the fire of his own gaze, the intensity of his Psyche. Her instincts screamed at her to run from this terrible predator’s gaze but she fought back with all her own will and met his gaze with hope and longing. “Together, Duke. Together.”
She saw it the moment his decision was made and his gaze stepped back from the Alpha predator he had become to the man she knew was inside as well. Silently, internally, she felt the pressure abate and rejoiced.
“Together, Aurelia. Together.”
The embrace that followed was like nothing before. She could feel the emotion pouring out of him, the need for her on far more than a physical level. She cursed herself for denying them both this bond, this connection. She felt…she felt at home in his arms. Safe, protected.
“Well, ain’t that cute. You got yourself a mate!” Ophirian’s sarcastic voice broke the moment like a sledgehammer to a plane of glass. They parted to look at him.
“Woah, boss. Put the ‘I’m going to burn the world to ash’ look away for a bit. Save it for the Syndicate, right? Sorry to interrupt you both but they are about to bring our ship out and I thought you might want to get ready before folks start loading up.”
The mood and moment broken, Duke asked, “Loading what up?”
“The First Space Legion, of course.”
Duke and Aurelia both gaped at Ophirian, “The what?”