《Grave of the Goddess》


 Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - The End

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    Floor ???


    Garden of Eternity


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    None had ever walked on the surface of the Garden of Eternity, a place so removed from all of reality that only a handful of beings knew that it even existed. Vast fields of grass grew freely with forests of obscure and unique trees a common sight no matter where one stood. The flowers that bloomed were unrecognizable, a mixture of beautiful and near perfect blooms combined with what could only be obvious mistakes of nature. Streams ran across the landscape in symmetrical patterns, with lakes that looked to have been placed strategically to create formations. The only light that illuminated the Garden of Eternity came from a singular sun in the sky, no stars or moons shared the heavens with the light purple orb that painted everything in a pastel hue.


    Anyone would have viewed the Garden of Eternity as an unusual yet entertaining locale to visit. Those who had managed to fight their way through the labyrinth would have also viewed it as a haven, somewhere to hide away from the final floors of terror which only a god could hope to pass through. Yet for myself there was to be only a singular memory that mattered, one that would haunt me unto death and beyond.


    A gentle smile was all I could give as I cradled the body of my beloved. The armored suit that I had worn was torn and battered, barely functional, yet all I could care about was the woman that I held. Her flawless face that had been crafted by some unknown being so far past, her smooth skin which refused to ever change to a different shade of color, even her numerous sets of wings that emerged from her back, everything about her was something I never wanted to forget in those moments.


    "Promise me," she whispered with a shaking voice, even as she tried her best to reach up and touch my cheek with her left hand.


    "Of course, you know I won''t ever let you down," was all I could say as tears spilled forth and a tightening in my throat made every word a trial to speak. "I''ll do anything you need Lute."


    Luticia''s eyes began to close as her head turned to the side. A slow stream of blood began to slip out from the corner of her mouth, one that worsened as she spoke again. "One story, please one more story."


    So I told her a tale, the only one that I truly knew. I spoke of how we had met and how we had grown together over time. I spoke of our friends, some lost and others adrift within the labyrinth on their own personal quests. I recited even how she told me of the truth of her, and what would eventually come if I stayed on the path that I had chosen. I even let her know of the feelings which had stormed within when our dearest friend was taken, feelings which drove me to break a promise to her.


    While she listened Lute remained as still as possible, all of her energy had been invested in staving off the inevitable. She smiled while she listened, her eyes filled with tears long before I even recounted the death of our best friend Pierre.


    "Then I finally arrived here," I reminded her, though I did not go on from there. Instead it was all I could do to not stare at the sword that stuck out of her stomach at an awkward angle, one which had pierced through her heart from below.


    "And you freed me," she said, a quiet murmur filled with gratitude. A few more words were spoken, words that were spoken in a tongue that I knew to be her own special language. With all the strength she had left she lifted up her face to mine and kissed me once, on the lips with the gentleness that had so captured my soul. A hint of warmth spread from her into my body, a charge of energy which felt like nothing I had ever felt before.


    "Goodbye," she said, before her body slumped over and she went still in my arms.


    With her death all I could hope to do was to sob and hold her tighter to my body. The tears flowed but the guilt of what I had been forced to do remained, the fact that she had wished for it in no way a comfort. How long I knelt there in my state of grief I would never be able to recall, although the sensation of coldness that grew was one which I only cared to notice when I began to regain control. An obvious pool of blood had spread out around Lute and myself, one which did not only contain the blood of the Goddess.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    With a weakening of the arms I dropped her body to the ground, while my own body followed not long after as dizziness and fatigue hammered my injured body. Cuts, none of which were shallow, had been carved into me and a stump where my left foot had been marked the sacrifice I had given to win the fight. The damage that had been wrought was enough that when I tried to think on it there seemed to be no logical reason why I had lasted long enough to defeat my beloved.


    A grunt of frustration was all I could manage when I tried to touch her face one final time, when I struggled with the weakness and realized never again would I do anything. My gaze rested on her face as it lay half-submerged in the pool of blood and crumpled grass, a punishment I had earned when I shoved the sword into her heart.


    When the darkness swept over me there was only a momentary feeling of happiness, along with a strong regret. Cold and dead Lute would be left in the Garden, alone and forgotten by all without even an unmarked grave. To not even cover her with a cloth, to leave her fallen form bared to anyone who might some day happen along in the far flung future, it was enough to send a ripple of rage through my very soul.


    "If only," was the final thought I had before the grasp of death gripped hold of me and claimed my soul. A dark veil settled over my vision while my body went limp alongside my dead wife.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    Or so one would think, as when next my eyes opened I realized that the world was not the same anymore. Above was a sun that had a strong drying sensation as though it wished to suck away all moisture from my body.


    Yet as if to deny the concept of reality itself a warmth coated my body. The breeze that tickled at the ears told me that I was in a place entirely new, alongside the sensation of dry air that sucked away the moisture of my skin. My eyes opened and took in the view of a blue sky with a yellow orb above, a sun so bright and warm that it made the purple one of the Garden all the more unreal. Somewhere in the distance I could hear the sound of a bird as it cried out in a lonely voice. While I lay there on the ground with a turn of the head I could see to the left and right only a barren landscape devoid of significant life, inhospitable and disgustingly arid.


    Confused all I could do was stand up, at which point it became obvious that my body had changed drastically. While the clothes were of a similar style that I favored in the past the rest of my body had lost most of the muscle mass which I had gained over the years of hard training. Somehow the scars that had accumulated over the decades of fighting through the labyrinth had been washed away, along with the wounds that Lute had torn into me during the fight. The green shirt and dark green pants I preferred in casual life had not a single mark of damage, and pristine black boots designed from some unknown type of leather protected my feet from the rocks.


    Imagine perhaps if you had someone simply remove half of your body weight from one moment to the next and you might understand why every motion I made felt odd. The alien form that had been granted to me mysteriously proved difficult to even stand up straight, too much strength into my legs when I walked threatened to send me face first into the ground. It was a trial I had to endure for a few hours as I struggled to relearn the most basics of movements.


    To compound onto the problem my eyesight and hearing had changed along with my weight. What had once been fuzzy, distant and small had transformed into an easily viewable object. The far off shadowed creatures that lurked scared and hidden in the desolate wasteland were not only audible with their far off growls but visible to the point that I could readily see the hostility on their faces. With a puff of breeze that cast some dust up the long white hair fell in front of my face, an aggravatingly long hairstyle which instantly annoyed me to the point that I thrust it back behind my pointed ear without a hint of hesitation.


    "What is this?" I asked, my voice so significantly different from before that at first the belief others were nearby came to me. "Am I an elf?"


    Without even a single shred of amusement I glared at the world that I had been thrust into, perhaps seeking someone to take my frustration out on. It was then that I saw the shadowed distant sight of buildings, the style of which were strikingly familiar. Combined with the landscape that I stood upon my confused mind managed to scrounge out the truth of where I was.


    Grantis. The original city of the humans, the place of my birth and the beginning of my own crazed journey into the labyrinth. What I saw though was not the Grantis I had known, but a different one with easily three times the sprawl of buildings merely within my current vision. Most of the deeper buildings were more than twice the height that I could recall, and it was a shift in size that made me wonder how much time had passed since my fight with Lute.


    I tugged at the simplistic grey cloak that adorned my backside with hope that the harshness of the sun could be warded off by that meager movement. Armed with only my bare hands and the knowledge I had accrued on my trip through the labyrinth I began to march toward Grantis. A singular nagging thought which began to worm its filthy way through my mind drove away any hesitation as I approached the outer slums.


    Returned anew to the first floor, forced into a body I didn''t know, time and gear and everything else ripped away. Yet there was one thing I had to do, one place that required my presence and one thought that pushed me onward.


    "I''m coming, Lute."

 Vol. 1 Chapter 2 - The First Step

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    Floor 1


    Grantis - Town of Beginnings


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    When I entered into the outskirts of Grantis I was greeted by more than a few stares. From out of nowhere had come this unknown elf from a place that most people avoided, save for the most desperate, due to the harshness of the wilds. The confusion that had overwhelmed me on my awakening had for the most faded and my mind worked hard at not only the future plans but also what had occurred.


    At one point in the past Lute had told me of her abilities, a dizzying list which contained what sounded like the impossible. Though she could only use most of the scarier skills after a good deal of time there was one that she mentioned that had leapt to the forefront of my thoughts. Reincarnation.


    If I could remember correctly it was while Luticia and I had spent a small time crushing Architects on floor eighty-three that she had told me of it. In truth it was a power that she refused to use for fear the Architects themselves might one day learn of it and break free from shackles she had given them.


    "Elf!" barked out an angry voice from my side. "What are you doing outside of the pens?"


    For a few steps I ignored the voice, still unaccustomed to my own racial change I didn''t even think I was the target of the shout. All around murmurs from the strangers that I had no interest in began to flow, some angry and others curious in nature, with a singular word the most commonly heard. Elf. It was blatantly obvious who they spoke of, even to someone as distracted as myself.


    I paused for a moment to look at the originator of the shout, an older man so thin that I doubted he had properly fed in years. His thin face was dotted with a scruffy beard while the top of his head barely had any hair at all. With a dismissive wave of my hand I turned and continued on my way.


    My hands tightened into fists, the babble an unneeded aggravation that I knew I couldn''t stop. It would not only be a waste of energy silencing them, but it would only cause more of a problem in the long run. Instead I focused on walking, ignoring the jeers and cries of disgust.


    Before long I arrived at a type of large and open plaza without even a central fountain. The filthy look of the slums had given way to simplistic architecture, houses that were little more than boxes. The dirt ground had shifted to gravel, and the gravel had begun to turn to a flagstone. A minimal amount of shops were scattered around the plaza, each one offering next to nothing of interest to me.


    With my left hand I shielded my eyes from the blistering sun which hung above, while I casually surveyed the area. None of the shops were familiar, the lettering used similar to what I had learned in my past life. A slight change in the angle on some of the lettering was the only real change I could pick out. Even the words that people spoke were very similar to the past, a much needed blessing since it meant I didn''t need to learn yet another language.


    To the right of me a large noise started up, as people were ordered to move out of the way by a boisterous fellow. A group of six men walked along with dark blue clothes on their bodies, one of them held a club that was easily the size of my entire body. The rest had large looking knives with crude handles crafted from either rock or flint. The one in the lead had the only metal out of them all, a knife of iron unsheathed and attached to his belt like the rest.


    "Hoo, I told you there was an Elf out of the pens!" declared a thin looking fellow with dark eyes, brown hair and a gaunt face. He grinned as he pointed in my direction, while his other hand rested on the handle of his cheap looking knife.


    "Indeed you did," the man in the lead glared in my direction. There was no hostile movement, though the air about him vibrated with a promise of pain. It was the eyes that caught my attention most, the eyes of a man who had no qualms with murdering anyone.


    With as little noise as possible I let out a long rush of air, while my pinky fingers wiggled. I clenched them individually before moving on the next set of fingers, then the next and after that the next. The thumbs wiggled, clenched and then separated properly. While nobody could see it the toes on my feet began the ritual as well, a careful check through of muscle control.


    I had hoped to have time in order to practice my new body, but as always life would never be the easy path that I sought. So far I had figured out the basics, so once more I would need to entrust in myself and instead face my dilemma without a shred of fear. If this group of fools wanted a fight then so be it.


    Careful to not reveal any of my inner feelings I put a smile on my face, waving to the group. "Good day, sirs, may I help you in some fashion?"


    The six stopped outside of arms range, not even interested in surrounding me but instead clustered about the central man. "An Elf with manners, well well that''s a rarity," scoffed out the man in the front. He gave the slightest of shrugs. "Simply put I want to know why the hell you''re not in the pens. It''s not night yet."


    Once more someone mentioned the pens, something that didn''t exist in my time. At some point the social position of the Elves had changed from vanguard and scouts to mere slaves, and not even proper slaves but worms kept in the dark. "I''m sorry, I''m on my way back there but I got lost and could use direction," I replied to the man, hoping to at the very least evade a fight.


    The wiry little fellow from before snickered in my direction as he pulled out his knife. He brandished it in the most threatening way he could imagine, which was in no way at all. "Mid-day and you''re not in the pens already? No way you got lost you little dog, so we should just drag you off and use you as our own."


    "Calm down," the leader commented to his friend, one hand lifted toward him in caution. He looked at me again, this time letting his distaste show in his eyes. "As my friend said it''s long past when you should''ve been in the pens, and yet here you are. Explain well enough and I might help you get back to your cage."


    For a moment I studied the group in front of me. The man on the far left was well built, he had a long dagger crafted from flint. It should have been capable of cutting skin but I doubt it could go too deep. His clothes were primarily leather, with cotton or some other comparable material used for his shirt and pants. The hairstyle was short cut, red in color with green eyes. He had freckles, while his skin was well tanned from continual exterior activities. He had a stance that screamed novice, his body leaned too much forward in a show of pointless aggression.


    The second man was the thin, wiry little bastard. His only weapon was the openly visible knife while his clothes were far worse than the first. Filth littered the front of his smock, as though he hoped to salvage leftovers at a later point from it. When he spoke his teeth were visible, they looked rotten and numerous gaps showed he had lost many already.


    The third man was the large muscled oaf with the huge club weapon. The design was odd, a very long handle coupled with a long cylinder of rock. The overall weight had to be staggering, enough that the speed when swung would be low. The muscles in his legs were bunched, but he had them flexed almost permanently due to the excessive weight.


    Man number four had long black hair that he let fly free, he wore a visor on his face which helped keep out the sunlight. One dagger rested on each side of his hip, while on his right forearm the handle of what I could only guess was a third dagger could barely be seen.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The fifth was probably second in command, he stood close to the leader and a pair of glasses adorned his face. He had blue eyes and brown hair, a well kept beard without a mustache. The weapon he had belted looked to be a type of short sword made of stone. Most of his clothing had been taken well care of and his overall stance was one of confidence.


    "Since when are Elves banned from walking in Grantis during the day?" I asked, as the smile on my face vanished. There was no tensing of my muscles, there was no preparation, if anything my overall stance screamed defenseless and inept.


    The leader almost swore at that, hand tightening around the handle of his sword. "You know it''s been that way for hundreds of years!" the man declared. "Now explain yourself or we''ll beat you and sell you!"


    "You mean you can try to," I commented, a cocky grin my response to his anger.


    It was the rat-faced man who chose to attack first, his wiry ugly body leapt in with wild swings of the knife. The pitiful attacks of an idiot who had no combat training worth speaking of, most likely he was used to beating helpless Elves. The reaction from me was entirely different than what he had anticipated, instead of quivering in fright I lunged into the attacks.


    Right arm lifted up, my fingers latched onto the wrist that was in turn connected to the hand holding the knife. A twist of the hand, downward wrench and a scream came from Ratman, the knife lost immediately. Before he could pull away my left hand snapped out, my weight and body shifted forward and a palm strike smashed into the rotten jaw.


    Down the thin man went, while with a whirl I bent and picked up the knife he had lost. Upon returning to face the remaining five their aggressive stances had changed into defensive ones, the ease with which I had dispatched their friend most likely on repeat in their minds.


    With a flourish I spun the knife in my left hand, while with the right I beckoned to them. "You seem to be a bit bad at beating up Elves."


    Number One and Number Five decided to test their luck, approaching in from my respective sides with drawn daggers. The single dagger on the left was a far less threat than the right, so when Five attempted to stab my arm I spun, pivoting on my right heel even as I started to crouch. If my teacher had seen me he would''ve clapped, a picture perfect sweep struck in against the side of Five''s shin, which caused him to lose his balance and fall down.


    Thug Number One attempted to capitalize on the distraction generated by Five, yet I responded to that by casually flicking the cheap knife at him. There was no need for me to hold onto that crude weapon. He batted it away instinctively and realized far too late he should''ve simply dodged it instead, as I lunged in and drove an elbow into his stomach.


    When hit by the elbow the fool couldn''t stop his body from reacting to it, his spine bowed and all the air gushed out from his lungs even as pain contorted his face. My arm reached up to wrap around the exposed neck, and with a shift of weight and some of my lithe muscle One was sent tumbling right into Five and his exposed blades. The result was a bit bloody, and hopefully enough of a problem that neither would bother me again.


    It was no surprise that One had dropped his dagger onto the ground after being hit so hard in the stomach, and so it became my own weapon. As I stood up and watched the two on the ground try to recover the heavy footsteps and a loud grunt warned me of the next assault. The only potential move I could think of was to fall backward, tumbling back away from what I expected was a dangerous attack. With a quick shove of my free hand against the ground I did a handspring that gave me both more distance and brought me back to my feet.. "Well now, that was a bit close wasn''t it?" I asked of my opponents.


    The man with the giant club weapon had swung and almost taken my head off, if not for how loud he was it would''ve been a certain kill. Most likely with a few years of proper training he could probably become a very lethal opponent, but for now he was too rough around the edges. "I''ll take him out, Karn, I promise!" the man bellowed as he started to walk toward me.


    It was the sharp whistle that came from the leader which stopped the behemoth of a man. All of the men, including those who were battered and wanted nothing more than to get revenge, stopped what they were doing and looked at him. With a slight laugh he stepped forward a few feet, hands clapping together as though he''d enjoyed a good show.


    "Very good, Elf, very very good," he said. I could only assume he was Karn, though without confirmation from the others that wasn''t a certainty. "I haven''t seen a fighter like you in a long while, at least not in Grantis."


    My long white hair tumbled forward as I nodded in affirmation. Only a fool dropped their guard entirely, so my body was still taut and ready. The dagger I had acquired held at the ready in my left hand. Around the plaza spectators had gathered, some had even clapped during the midst of the fight. The sound of coins being exchanged could be heard as bets were made, most likely on whether or not Karn and his goons would kill me.


    "I don''t know who the hell you are but I''d prefer if you''d leave our territory," Karn said after a long period of silence. "We won''t bother with you anymore if you get out of here."


    "I will leave if you honestly answer me one question," was my response. "Where might I find the portal?"


    Karn stared at me, mouth half-opened as he attempted to wrestle with the mere thought of the question. All I could assume was that since the Elves were slaves of such a strong degree that most never went through the portal anymore. To me that was an oddity, I had met many an Elf in the past and found them to be useful for a multitude of reasons.


    "Where the hell...fine. You can find it if you head that way for about three blocks, then hang a left," Karn said as he gestured off to my right.


    Carefully I started to sidestep toward the right, my eyes locked on those six men in front. My pointy ears twitched as I listened to everyone nearby, my hearing far greater than it had been in the past. It was an advantage that I would have to learn how to properly utilize, and based on my current plans I would need to do so quickly.


    When I felt the going was safe I turned and focused my hearing behind me, listening for any signs that the thugs had decided they actually wanted to attack me. Murmurs of disappointment abounded in the crowd that had gathered near the plaza, but I ignored all of that and instead tried to prepare for the near future mentally.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The sound of people whispering filled the streets as I walked through Grantis in the direction of the portal. Armed with the dagger I had stolen during the scuffle I continually twirled and played with it in my left hand, getting a feel for the balance of the poor weapon. There would be a need to upgrade as soon as I could to something better, preferably bypassing the iron tier of equipment if possible.


    During the course of the fight I had already begun to notice one of the key differences in my body change. While I felt light and agile there had been less strength behind my attacks than I had anticipated. Even the weight of the flint dagger was more than what I expected, a strength so weak that I barely reached a single percent of my previous abilities.


    I had achieved the level of a Godslayer, so it was understandable that a fresh new body would be so poor in comparison. I was also almost excited by the changes since it meant I could try out a different approach to fighting, relying more on quick attacks and acrobatics rather than pure brute force. In the end though that would depend on how the climb through the labyrinth went, and what I had to face off against.


    The place that the portal was at was a wide open park, one which no longer flourished. Dried out bushes tried desperately to grow alongside dead fountains that had cracked and fallen apart. The ground itself was littered with refuse, garbage left by inhabitants and most likely people passing through. Time had not treated Grantis well, and yet people still managed to find a way to flourish and live on. The portal itself hung in the air, a sphere of milky white that had ripples which ran up and down it.


    I walked up to it and casually touched the exterior, while people who had noticed my casual stroll through town watched on. To them an Elf in daytime was probably a rarity, and there I was not only armed but also touching the portal. The only way to use a portal was to will it, and so with my eyes closed I began to form the image of a door in front of me. With my right hand I reached out and opened the door, then pushed it wide open and revealed the other side.


    The temperature shifted to a more temperate one, the breeze picked up a fair margin, while the smell of grass filled my nostrils. It was a scent most welcome after the stench of Grantis. When my eyes opened I was located in the middle of a vast plain with undulating hills, a few trees dotted here and there.


    A chirping noise sounded from somewhere in the distance, followed by a few more which continually came closer to my position. Across the ground there were large holes which might remind one of a burrow for a rabbit. My grip tightened on the dagger in my left hand while the grass rustled, the inhabitants had come out to say hello. The lips on my face twitched, then curved into a grim smile. My attempt to reach my dead wife had properly begun.


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    Floor 2


    The Feeding Grounds


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 Vol. 1 Chapter 3 - Only A Slave

    The first true encounter of the labyrinth was often misconstrued as a cute animal. Visually it was a hybrid of a rabbit and a cat, although the fur itself was far more puffed out than what either of those would have. Feline eyes colored red with white fur, the albino species had retractable claws that were thick and could dig through dirt. On this floor they were the only predators, though small birds and a type of deer could also be found. From the ground up the height of the creature was a bit shy of two feet with at least four feet in total length, a thin body which simply exploded out wide with a silly amount of fur.


    Due to the overall cute look of the animals the first people to encounter them gave them a cute name, and for the most part ignored their existence. Fuzzies were deemed as a mere side entertainment, nothing more than an amusement to look at on your way to the next floor. It wasn''t until people started to report serious attacks that people began to realize that the labyrinth had already taught them a lesson. Appearances can be deceiving, and those who don''t learn that lesson will merely be food.


    At first there was only one of them visible, but with the rustle of grass I knew that many more had started to arrive. Beneath the night sky filled with only stars I could barely make out visually where they were due to how dark everything else. I knew well the difficulty of fighting the Fuzzies, since I had already dealt with them personally at the young age of twelve. A rite of passage for anyone who lived on the first floor, you were given a stone knife and forced to go through the portal.


    Those who failed to return were not worth investing any more resources into, while those who came back often brought with them food and possibly water from the second floor. So the cycle of trade would begin, people would risk their lives in the labyrinth to bring back whatever they could while those who stayed on the first floor focused on mining and trying to grow crops. It was a system that had worked in my time, and from what I could see while in Grantis nothing had changed.


    To be fair a deadly threat when I was twelve could only be a joke to me now. All I could do was chuckle when the first Fuzzie tried it''s hand at attacking me with a clumsy pounce. While it was in the middle of the air I swayed to the right and raised up my left hand, the knife extended toward the creature. Using the momentum of the Fuzzie I slashed into its side and dragged the blade all the way to the rear. By the time it landed on the ground it had already been dealt a mortal wound and could only collapse. As the internal organs began to spill out of the wound the Fuzzie could only lay there and gasp, trying desperately to stave off death.


    There was no time to spare for the dying Fuzzie, as three others that had gathered began their own assault. None bothered with a leap and instead they utilized the high grass to try and hide their advance, aiming to strike at my lower legs and feet. Before any of them could even hope to touch me I had already chosen to leap over them, flipping upside down in the middle of the air. A quick flick and the dagger I held was tossed into the head of the lead Fuzzie and instantly brought it to a stop.


    The two others that had decided to attack tracked my descent and waited, patient and eager, until I had almost reached the ground. At the same time they both pounced, a hope perhaps in their minds that I would be caught unable to escape them mid-landing. It was a poor choice on their part as instead I simply dropped down as low as they had been moments before, and their long muscular bodies passed overhead. Before either of the Fuzzies could fully bypass me, I reached up and grabbed their tails in a tight hold. Without a shred of mercy I began to slam the Fuzzies against the dirt, only pausing at the end when they went limp.


    The other animals in my vicinity had already started to leave while I was in the midst of murdering their brethren. No predator would want to fight a more dangerous one, and even the simple Fuzzies knew they were completely outmatched against me. Once I was certain that I could hear no more of the fuzzballs I retrieved the dagger I had tossed before, noting that it was slightly chipped already. Before I did anything else I approached the first Fuzzy who had attacked me, the one who continued to try and breathe even with half of its insides exposed to the air. Out of mercy I cut the throat, before I went around and did the same to the other three in case any of them were still alive.


    To some my actions might have seemed brutal, almost unnecessary, but one of the lessons taught by the labyrinth was that such an act would become commonplace. While everything was quiet I started to butcher the dead animals, making sure to try and skin them for fur as well as most of the usable meat. Even a few of the organs, such as the hearts, were harvested and put to the side temporarily. Once I was content with how much I had collected from the corpses I used the grass combined with a few branches scattered about to create a crude basket.


    In truth it was barely even a basket, at the very least it was something I could never sell to anyone except for the most desperate. I piled all of the salvaged chunks of Fuzzies into the basket and picked it up one-handed. A quick study of the stars and I had formulated a rough course to follow based on past experiences. The portal was almost always in one of a couple of spots, changing depending on how the floor itself functioned, so even if I had to wander the miniature planet for days I''d eventually find what I needed to.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Unsurprisingly the first place I went to, where I had last known it to be, was devoid of any white sphere and had been overgrown by weeds.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The design of the labyrinth had been explained in intricate detail by Lute quite some time back, as she had felt the need to explain to me everything after we had grown quite close. Each floor itself was a separate reality, or as she put it a pocket universe, and the portals served as elevators that only moved a single floor. There were special portals that she had created which could move far more than a single floor, as well as a few other oddities that Lute had put in. There was even the potential for malfunctions, as nothing can always work perfectly, but for the most part the rules Lute had put into place kept the labyrinth functioning.


    Conquering a floor was no easy feat for the novice, you had to locate the portal which had a habit of changing location. There were objects you could gain to help in finding the portal, such as a compass-type item that would lead you straight to it. Even if you were able to be guided to the portal some floors had traps, and others would have entire species of animals unseen elsewhere. Cities of monsters, unending graveyards filled with ghouls, towers of death designed to kill you at the slightest mistake.


    It was thanks to the kindness of Luticia that the second floor was not a large place, as I had seen some floors that seemed near infinite. Due to that after a couple of failed attempts to find the portal I came across a settlement. The buildings had been crafted from the wood available on the floor, while a crude fence had been set up on the perimeter to try and ward off any potential Fuzzies. It was doubtful that they would attack a group of armed humans, but I had seen odder things in the past.


    Dead center amidst the structures was the portal, that familiar sight of a milky white sphere which defied gravity and hung quietly. People milled about it, some probably interested in forming groups to move on to the next floor while others probably only cared to keep an eye out for animals. A small chunk of bloody meat hung from my mouth as I chewed on it, relying on an uncooked meal for sustenance since I couldn''t buy anything from Grantis. I continued to march toward the encampment even as people began to notice me.


    "Holy, is that a slave?" a man with a long black beard asked, he pulled a cigarette away from his mouth and squinted in my direction. A puff of smoke slipped from his mouth, before he grinned wide at what he was seeing. "I ain''t heard of any slave surviving on its own out here in the labyrinth!"


    A few of the other labyrinth divers had looks of complete shock on their faces. When I walked closer those who did not believe had no other option but to, especially when I casually tossed the sack of meat and skins onto the ground. I twirled around the dagger, demonstrating a dexterity that many could only dream of, before I tossed it into the ground as well.


    The blade buried in nice and deep, a move that made some of the divers step back and reach for their own weapons. The wiser ones knew it was a signal that I meant no harm, a style of greeting only used by experienced divers. "Yeah I''m a slave, an unowned unwanted one," I commented casually while I studied everyone. "Any of you looking to dive deep with a worthless slave in tow?"


    "No owner?" some people whispered with shocked expressions, which to me meant that Elves without owners were basically non-existent. Quite a few of the people wandered off, uninterested in my offer, while others laughed.


    The man with the cigarette continued to grin at me, though he only shook his head. "Not interested, I feel you''re far too hard to handle," he admitted honestly. "Ain''t going to need that fur are ya? What you looking to trade for it?"


    "Some rations and water would be good," I offered, which the man quickly agreed to. He tossed a small bag along with a pretty generic waterskin to me before he picked up the crude grass basket.


    A pair of hooded and cloaked people stepped forward, one of whom was tall and thin while the other was a few inches shy of my own height. "Exactly how deep do you think you''re going to go?" the tall man asked, his voice surprisingly deep for looking like a twig.


    "All the way," was my response. I bent down and pulled the dagger from the earth, before I cleaned it off on my grey cloak. It was a poorly made dagger but it was all I had and probably would be for a while.


    "Odd answer, but I like it," the thin man stated before he threw back his hood. He had dark green hair and brown eyes, his overall face was rugged but still young.


    "I don''t like it," came the clear bell-like voice from the smaller of the pair. The hands, as thin as my own, lifted up to pull away the hood. The woman that was revealed was not one who would draw the attention of others, but her eyes were fierce and full of energy. Her pink hair was a coloring that I had never seen before, while the red eyes reminded me of someone. "He''s only a slave."


    My hands had clenched before I even realized it, then I let out a sigh and relaxed once more. I had to remind myself that this was only the second floor, and that they wouldn''t be here. Before I could muster a response to the girl the thin man had already acted, one hand lifted up to pat the pink-haired head gently. "Alexia we don''t have much in the way of options, nobody here wants to help us and if we don''t hurry it might be too late."


    The woman glared up at him, pushing his hand away before she turned in a fit of anger and stomped away. There was only hostility and anger in her, a combination that could prove disastrous in the near future. The tall man walked up closer to me before he offered his hand. "The name is Lucas, that was my little sister Alexia," he informed me. "What might I call you?"


    That question caused me to freeze up, I didn''t exactly want the truth of my reincarnation to be known for certain reasons. I had been known as Theodore in the past, then Ted and Dore to some people. A few even gave me nicknames based on my style of fighting, though none were kind since it mainly my enemies created them. All I could think of was to use a fake name, and for some odd reason a bird Lute had shown me on the sixtieth floor kept coming to mind.


    "I''m Fenix," I told him even as I took his hand in my own and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

 Vol. 1 Chapter 4 - The Not-So-Deadly Tower

    We walked through the small settlement of the second floor, and as we passed by people I made a note of their equipment. Almost everyone still used a stone or flint weapon, while their armor was predominantly either fur or leather which looked quite thin. It was doubtful that I would find anything worth of trade save for basic necessities until I hit the tenth floor, and even then I didn''t even need to bother with trading at that point. A small smile flashed across my face at the thought of reaching that sanctuary.


    Lucas lead me over to where Alexia had stomped off to, where a new person stood with crossed arms. He had a basic set of clothing along with a bow on his backside, the bow itself one of the worst ones I''d seen in a long time. There was no happiness in his face as he glared at me, clearly unhappy with the choice that Lucas had made. Not far off behind him floated the sphere itself.


    Alexia opted to remain quiet, though her distaste for a slave had already been laid bare. "Was that all you could really get?" the archer asked, one finger pointed rudely in my direction.


    A slight incline of my head to the side, I couldn''t resist smiling at the man. "Oh, are you that intimidated by me?"


    "Ivan!" Lucas said as he moved in between us, a response so quick that the archer couldn''t even go two steps before being stopped.


    "Slave dreck," Ivan responded, spitting on the the ground in front of me, before he turned and stomped over toward the sphere. He turned his head to look at us, his next words filled with malice that obviously was directed toward me. "Are we going?"


    Lucas bent over and whispered into my ear. "Please don''t antagonize them, I''d rather not have you die because of your choice in words," he requested. It was a request that I would most likely choose to ignore given how aggravating the others had already proven.


    Still I nodded to him in an attempt of reassurance before I walked over to the sphere. Rather than standing next to Ivan I opted to go all the way around the sphere and take up the exact opposite side, whereupon I reached up toward the milky object.


    "Stupid slave," Alexia muttered before she stood next to Ivan and also touched the sphere. Her jaw visibly clenched, while her eyes closed in concentration.


    My eyes closed while the thoughts started to focus on what was required, the need to move on to the next floor. If one didn''t properly concentrate there was a strong chance of an accident happening. Pierre once told me of how he had gone the opposite direction before, and somehow even skipped down an extra floor, because he had been distracted.


    <hr>


    Floor 3


    The Imps Tower


    <hr>


    There was that slight sensation of a shift, and then all four of us appeared in the middle of a floating island. The island was not altogether large, barely a tenth of the size that Grantis had been. What made it so impressive was the tower that stood slightly offset from where we had arrived, a twenty story tall building designed to kill everyone and anyone.


    If the first floor was designed to prepare you with basic equipment, and the second was designed to prepare the diver for combat, then what was the third? A death trap that Luticia had handcrafted carefully, literally a building full of traps meant to kill or ensnare. While there were imps that ran about the place the quantity was far too low to be a threat, not to mention that the imps themselves were a minor opponent on the level of the Fuzzies.


    The funniest part about the tower was that often you could run across dead imps, caught in the traps that divers had to learn how to evade. I had once asked Lute about why that happened and she explained that the tower was a buffer zone, because anything sentient could utilize the portal system. The tower was there to help dissuade anything from going down to the second floor and upsetting the balance, while also serving as a training area for the divers.


    While the other three of our group stood and began to prepare themselves I had already begun to walk in the direction of the tower. I spun the dagger slowly in my left hand, mostly out of a sense of boredom than anything else, while I called up from my memory everything that I knew about this floor.


    "Where are you going?" Lucas called out from behind as he watched me walk away, then he hurriedly ran to catch up. Alexia watched the both of us head off and followed suit, although slowly, while Ivan pulled out an arrow from his quiver and placed it at the ready near his bowstring.


    "Mm? I was heading to the next portal," I gave a shake of my head, since where else would I have gone? While the normal place of a portal was randomized in the Imp Tower it was always located on the top floor.


    "There are traps inside! A lot, like...an infinite amount that will kill you!" Lucas told me, as he reached out to grip onto my right shoulder. With the slightest of shrugs I avoided being grappled by the oaf.


    "I know, but the placements don''t change," I informed him, as I turned my head slightly to glance behind. A fact that any experienced diver would have known due to passing through this floor multiple times. It was a fact that I hoped was still true given how an unknown amount of time had passed by between my death and rebirth.


    "Let the slave take the lead, if he dies it''s a load off our backs," Alexia chimed in from behind her brother. Her hands were beneath her cloak, and if she had any intelligence most likely right near where she kept her weapons.


    "We can''t simply let him die, and of course we know the placement doesn''t change. Everyone knows that, but there really are an infinite amount!" Lucas declared.


    A shake of the head was the only reply I could muster up to that pitiful complaint. The quality of the divers had apparently dropped during my hiatus, and the fact that this fodder was so hesitant caused a hint of regret to worm into my heart. During the fight in Grantis I had heard a comment about hundreds of years, a comment that meant at least that much time had already gone by with my dead lover cold and exposed in the Garden. If someone had come along since then...I shook with rage at the thought.


    When I reached the front of the tower I did a quick study of the archway to make sure nothing major had changed, that unknown type of stone used to create the tower as stubbornly existent as always. At one point in the past one man had tried to smash his way through the walls only to discover that the tools he had were incapable of such a feat, and so most gave up on the idea of figuring out a way to cheat through the tower. As it had been ingrained into me from dozens of times passing through I put one foot onto the entrance before I retracted it, a guillotine created entirely from stone slicing down and cutting the air where my foot had been. With a grating noise the guillotine slowly began to rise back up, a slow movement that would be followed by an even slower rearming sequence.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Are you coming or not?" was all I asked, before I continued to walk through the inside of the tower.


    Lucas gawked at what I had done, perhaps not expecting an Elf to know about the trap, though Ivan and Alexia merely shrugged. Everyone who went to the third floor inherently had to know about the guillotine trap at the start, since anyone who didn''t died to it. To me this place was little more than a playground, a fun place where you could pick up some easy imp meat or even some of their equipment if they brought any with them.


    The other three hurried up to catch up to me as I continued to push onward. Little did they know that, while they hoped to use me for their unknown goal, I had opted to go with them in case I needed a body or two to protect me. While I had confidence I could win in most fights against anything until the tenth floor there was that off chance things had changed, or even that monsters had evolved, and I doubted that I would revive again upon a second death.


    Our ascent up the tower was draped in silence, it was for the best to make as little noise as possible even on a lower floor. Only the dead marched around making as much commotion as possible, so for a blissful while I didn''t have to contend with the silly racial comments. The various traps of the tower that sprung out seemingly at random were easily dodged by me, even the more obscure ones that caused the rest of our group to react with shock. Arrows that shot from the walls, guillotines that fell from above, holes that opened in the ground, a variety of crude yet capable traps that would easily kill the slow-witted newcomers.


    By the time we first encountered the imps we had already passed by a staggering sum of traps, to the point that the others had started to accept I might not be completely worthless. Though we never spoke hand movements were more than enough to warn each other of potential death, and soon the three were reacting without worry to my own suggestions. When we came across the small black rotound monsters I was almost excited, as dodging the traps I had memorized long ago was more of a chore than anything else.


    To call one of those extremely short and spherical creatures a threat would be to insult any competent fighter out there. While they could kill novices it was doubtful that anyone in our current group would be in any danger. The wooden spears ended with stone blades that the imps carried were laughably poorly utilized, as they tried to stab at anything they could hope to get to. With weak little balls for hands and almost no arms I once again had to wonder how exactly they held the spears, as there were no visible fingers. It was a question I had never gotten around to asking Lute since it was of such minimal importance in the overall scheme of things.


    When the imps began their attack I hovered back, leaving the fighting to the others. It was not an act of cowardice but rather a strategic choice on my part. While I could have easily murdered the imps before the three did anything, caution dictated that I should hold back and not show everything to them. So it was that when the imps charged in to attack I took my time, pretending to struggle with my opponent.


    Though I fought against an imp I still had more than enough time to observe the others and their style of fighting. Ivan was, of course, a user of a bow and although he used a badly crafted one his arrows still had a good degree of accuracy. Each one he fired somehow found either an eyeball or forehead belonging to one of the imps. Alexia preferred to use twin axes, small one-handed ones that surprisingly had iron blades. With quick swings she tried to keep on the move, not giving the imps time to land a single stab. Lucas was the most surprising of the three as he simply used his bare hands, a dizzying display of pugilism that would have made any fist fighter proud to watch.


    After the fight Ivan glanced at the single dead imp at my feet and sneered, before he laughed and walked over to talk with Alexia. Lucas on the other hand grinned, patting me on the back as though we were good friends. "Good job," he commented, even as I knew that being able to kill a single imp was something even a child could do.


    As the others walked away I tucked the dagger into my belt, careful to not cut myself in the process. The spears that the imps had used were garbage, but even the scraps from a dog would be useful to me at this moment. I picked up two of the fallen weapons, one for each hand, and then hurried to catch up to the group.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    It was a while later when we neared the top of the tower that Ivan asked for a pause, his breath ragged as he panted openly like a dog. We had moved at a quick pace, one set by myself, and the archer had spent too little time working on his stamina. I couldn''t hide distaste for the break that showed on my face, but I kept quiet and leaned against a nearby pillar and waited.


    "How the hell do you know where all the traps are?" Alexia finally asked, her face clouded with disgust. "You''re a slave, A SLAVE, slaves aren''t even good for dying!"


    Her complaints were for me a background noise, one that I had little interest in. Obviously there was a degree of racial hatred for Elves nowadays. I would have to focus entirely on dodging that as best I could until I pushed up to at least the tenth floor. From that point onward so long as nothing major had changed in the labyrinth I suspected clear sailings. That was if only a couple hundred years had passed...


    Lucas smiled tolerantly toward Alexia while she ranted. He pulled out a few pieces of bread and some water from a backpack that had been under his cloak and started to eat it. Ivan had pulled out his own waterskin and drank excessively from it. The archer had slumped to the ground unceremoniously and looked far too exhausted for how little work we had put into the dive thus far.


    "Also where did you learn how to fight? Slaves aren''t allowed to touch weapons!" Alexia continued, her light voice making the rage hard to take seriously.


    Her eyes bothered me far more than her voice. While the others began to eat I did as well, pondering on what it meant to see red pupils. Seventy floors too early to see those. It was such a farfetched idea that all I could do was discard it as fanciful thinking. Perhaps the human race had changed while I slumbered between death and life. In either case I didn''t respond to her, enjoying the fact that she became more irate the longer I didn''t respond.


    "Tch," Alexia clicked her tongue, before she turned away. Her rage was pitifully amateur, it would get her killed if she didn''t learn to control it in the later floors. Neither of the others bothered responding to Alexia and her outcries, nor to my own indifference.


    "Alright, let''s keep going," Lucas commented after thirty minutes had passed.


    Once again I ended up in the front. Though they probably didn''t want to admit to it the Elf in their party had obviously been the sole reason for the quick ascent. Though I had no clue how good they were I doubted they would have gone through the tower anywhere close to as quickly as we had without me. The edge I had of knowing exactly where every trap was and how to counter it was a common occurrence back when I had been active in the lower floors. It was more evidence that there had been a distinct drop in quality during my absence, though what had caused that I wasn''t certain.


    A couple more flights up we reached the top of the tower. Lucas pulled out a small crystal object and glanced at it before he pointed where it told him to go. It was a device that would be useful for any and all people who wandered the labyrinth, and one that I might need to pick up at a later point in order to save time. A few minutes later of walking and we arrived outside of a small room that contained the portal we had sought. I came to a full stop and frowned, pulling up from my memory all the information I had on this rarely seen room.


    Alexia ignored how I had paused and instead marched right toward the door of the room. "No!" I shouted even as I grabbed her shoulder and yanked the pink-haired girl back. The pull was a bit too strong, so she ended up hitting a nearby wall and having the air knocked out of her.


    Ivan responded instantly to what I had done, his bow lifted and an arrow notched before Alexia even had a chance to stand back up. Lucas had adopted a fighting stance, fists raised and held up at about chin height. He had been hiding iron gauntlets this entire time and only now did he have them equipped.


    "Explain," Ivan growled, his eyes narrowed.


    "Watch," I said, pointing toward the portal. "Just watch."


    Ivan begrudgingly looked to where I pointed, though the doubt was obvious on his face. For a few seconds there was nothing and I could already anticipate his complaints, but then a flash of movement went through the air between us and the portal. Ivan''s eyes widened even as Lucas stepped forward and asked, "what was that?"


    While Ivan lowered his bow I carefully walked forward, making sure not to cross into the line where the object had appeared. With one of the spears I had taken from the dead imps I extended the shaft out and waited patiently. A tremor ran through it when a metal object thunked directly into the spear. When I retracted the spear a knife could clearly be seen stuck in it, a hint of a liquid oozing out from the hole it had made in the wood.


    "That''s it?" came the comment from Ivan, as he looked at what I had acquired. The knife was very small, small enough that it was difficult to see when in motion.


    "The tip is poisoned," I explained. Obviously the archer had felt this was in no way a real threat, and if not for me at least one of them would''ve been hit by it. I plucked the knife from the spear and then discarded the wooden weapon. In my left I grasped the remaining spear, while in the right I casually twirled around the poisonous weapon as though it was a toy. "Don''t worry though, it''s only instantly lethal if it impales you close to an organ like the heart or the brain."


    Without explaining further I stepped through the trap line, though new blades whisked by a few seconds after. "All you have to do is wait for them to go, then you have a window to get through," I remarked, before I walked around the sphere and took up a spot on the other side of the room from everyone else.


    The other three understood, thankfully, and it didn''t take much time for them to all pass through and come up to the portal. Alexia had muttered about how her back hurt and made certain to glare at me, but I responded by smiling at her instead. For some odd reason she only became madder, though I clearly had no idea why.


    "Thanks for saving her," Ivan whispered as he stepped up next to me at the portal. "But who the hell are you?"


    "Haven''t you guys said who I am all along?" I responded, unable to resist smiling. "I''m just a slave."

 Vol. 1 Chapter 5 - Dead End

    <hr>


    Floor 4


    The Flat-Earth Forest


    <hr>


    As we materialized on the next floor I had already dropped into a battle-ready stance. Poisoned dagger held out in front while the spear was kept down and low. It was a habit that had been ingrained into me over the many years I had spent traveling in the labyrinth. We had stepped into the realm of the imps, and beyond this point there would only be deadlier monsters that grew smarter with every floor. Ivan, Alexia and Lucas stared at me as though I was insane. To me it was a bad sign, that they were still far too young and foolish to survive all the way to the tenth floor.


    Unless things changed I would need to break off from the party and head out on my own. I wanted to wait until I gained access to magic, since at that point I could easily kill anything before the tenth floor, but I had begun to doubt that the three could even reach the necessary floor for that.


    We had appeared in a forest that consisted mainly of pine, a white blanket of snow lain out about us. The air was frigid enough that I immediately regretted not stopping to pick up at least a fur cloak from the second floor. While I studied the environment I saw no immediate signs of danger. As I shifted my weight and took a more relaxed stance the snow beneath my feet crunched audibly.


    Lucas held up the compass, then started to walk toward the direction that it pointed. "I don''t know how far it is, but it shouldn''t be too long given how small this floor is."


    Since he knew the way Lucas inherently led the group. Our formation became a straight line with Lance ahead, me directly behind him, Alexia watching our back and Ivan taking up the rear. Once more Alexia had tucked her axes back under her cloak and resumed a relaxed look. The other three had thrown fur cloaks, though none had either brought a spare or cared to offer me one.


    The forest was thick with trees, a wall that blocked out our line of sight and cast shadows everywhere. Above at an angle a dim sun peeked through the thin tips of the pines. The light was welcome, but the warmth it granted was barely enough to ward off the cold.


    Without any encounters we emerged from the pine forest after walking for about ten minutes. A wide basin spread out in front of us, with a low level of water situated in the midst of it. Ice had crept in along the fringes, but most of the water had managed to evade the winters grasp. Along the right edge of the basin the forest hemmed alongside the shallow lake, unblemished by any roads or visible pathways.


    Off in the distance imps could barely be made out, moving about in the shadows of the trees. Small, round and devilish this floor was one that they happily controlled and propagated on without concern. I had heard of goblins reaching this floor before, but it was one of those once in a billion chances. On our left there was a plain layered in snow, whisps of grass desperately trying to poke up out of the white coating. A few imps could be seen on the plain, their little ball-hands tugging at the grass as they tried to gather it.


    "So what direction do we go?" Ivan asked from behind, while he eyed the various imps to our left and right.


    Lucas squinted at the compass for a few seconds. From out of his pack he pulled out an eyeglass and stared at the horizon. Based on my past experiences I had already surmised where the portal was, and also figured out that we would have to fight our way through imps to get there.


    "It''s on the other side of the lake," Lucas clicked the spyglass close and stowed it. "There''s no way we can wade through that water, we''ll freeze to death before we hit the other side."


    "I vote the left side," Ivan called out, for obvious reason. An archer in the middle of a dense forest would be useless to us all.


    "There''ll be more over there though, we should get through the right and hug the waterline. Less trees," Alexis stated her opinion.


    Lucas frowned at them both, then turned to look in my direction. I shook my head, in truth either direction was fine by me. The imps on both sides would offer up almost no rewards and I only wanted to get this floor done with.


    "Left then," Lucas declared before he started to walk down the incline in the direction of the plain. We stepped along the edge of the basin, the slope gentle enough that we shouldn''t accidentally fall.


    As we walked along Ivan had pulled out an arrow from his quiver. He lifted his finger up to his mouth and licked it, before rubbing that finger along the fletching of the drawn arrow. It was an act that I couldn''t not notice, and when I cocked an eyebrow in his direction he responded with a grin. "Trust me," he worded in response to my quizzical look, before he turned his attention back to our surroundings.


    My mind shifted form the oddity of Ivan and instead to the fact that I had no clue about the time difference between my two lives. I had to avoid letting them know who I really was, or what had happened, but I also needed to know if there had been massive shifts in society or technology. I also didn''t want to accidentally tell them about technology that they shouldn''t even know unless someone had reached the fiftieth floor.


    "How far have you dived?" I asked, opting for the safe route.


    "Sixth floor is the furthest we''ve gone," Lucas glanced down at the compass in his hands. "A little off course..."


    "Goblin shamans tend to make for too much difficulty, so we''re working on upgrading our gear," Ivan told me from behind.


    Goblin shamans were the labyrinths way of introducing magic to the divers. It was a tool that the divers could gain if they knew how, and with that tool their ascension toward the higher floors became almost guaranteed. The fact that the sixth floor gave the trio such a difficult time solidified my belief that I would be best off leaving them behind sooner rather than later. Dead weight caused dead divers, as the old saying went.


    "You wouldn''t happen to know any good stories, would you?" I inquired, trying a different tactic to extract information.


    Lucas chuckled at the request from in front. "I suppose I could tell a tale or two," he motioned with one hand out at the world around us. "At least until something actually happens. Any requests?"


    "Something historical would be great, we don''t hear a lot of that in the slave pens."


    "I know, how about the creation of the labyrinth," Lucas decided on after a moment of thought. "Thousands of years ago a Goddess stood alone on the planet and looked around her. Her sight was filled with emptiness, and longing for more she decided to create the labyrinth. First she made Humans, then the Elves to serve them, then the floors to give them food and materials. She became the Goddess of Life for us all and our kind prospered."


    The choice in story brought a smile to my face, as did the mention of Lute. It was different from how she had worded it to me in the past, especially the part dealing with the Elves, but all in all that mattered little. Whether these strangers knew about the real reason for the labyrinth or not had little impact on my life.


    "More like a goddess of death, if I could I''d kill her for making this death trap," growled out Alexia. "Hell if she came in front of me right now I''d cut her head off!"


    For a moment I lost myself in the anger that flared up at Alexia''s comments. My beloved, who had given her life for everyone in the labyrinth, was being insulted by a red-eyed sow. Before anyone could respond I had already turned and pounced at Alexia, the rage obvious in my face. Mid-air I delivered a powerful elbow with my right that drove the girl to the ground. The poisoned knife that I held tightly in my clenched hand dipped down toward her neck, a movement stopped by Lucas and Ivan as they grabbed hold of me from both sides.


    "What are you doing!" Lucas yelled at me, eyes still wide from the shock of my attack on his sister.


    Ivan continued to pull me away from Alexia while Lucas helped his sister up. The glares that the siblings sent me spoke volumes of how quickly I had destroyed any trust built so far. What surprised me was that Ivan hadn''t shot me with an arrow. "I don''t know why you did that but you need to calm down," Ivan whispered to me.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "You couldn''t understand," was all I mustered as a response. Even with how cold the air was I couldn''t cool down all the way, my distaste for Alexia a feeling that would take quite some time to recover from. "Don''t worry, once you''re done with whatever task you''re on I won''t go with you."


    Before anyone could respond the snow around us started to crunch as multiple little imps surrounded us. Perhaps they had waited for us to get distracted, or maybe it was pure chance, the imps had chosen the best time to launch an attack. All of the anger I had felt was put into my eyes and I glared at the nearest imps with such ferocity that they went still, and then started to back away.


    "I need to relax," I murmured to myself, body lowering into a battle stance.


    Before the imps could reach us with their spears I went into motion, my body a smooth dark shadow that slipped past their wooden weapons. The wooden spear I held in my left hand buried itself like a lance into the center of an imp, while the others hurried to try and turn their own spears toward me. My left hand snapped out and catch the shaft of one spear, yanking it away from the imp. A quick step toward the unarmed imp while I twirled the spear around and the tip was directed into the left eye of the disarmed monster. It was all one smooth motion that put even more fear into them, a movement that went above and beyond anything they had seen before.


    The imps started to scatter, spirits broken, but I had no interest in letting them go free. A quick duck down allowed me to acquire the spear of the first dead imp, and I threw it as hard as I could at one of the escaping cowards. It crumpled over face first into the snow, left behind by its brethren. I turned away from the fleeing imps and looked to the other three, wondering how they had fared in the little skirmish.


    All in all I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Lucas had managed to beat a couple of the imps into the ground hard enough that they were mere lumps of black in the snow. Ivan had managed to keep his distance, not a hard task given how slow the imps could move, and his bow and arrow had made a joke of the critters. Alexia had barely fended off her own imps before they retreated, most likely still shaken from what I''d done to her.


    My distance from the other three was exaggerated, but calculated. Lucas gave a nod toward me, a look of relief on his face. It would be for the best if I maintained a distance from them. So while they talked in whispered tones amongst each other, voices still loud enough for my ears to pick up on what they said, I could only stand there and wait for the three to return to the trek. After what felt like an eternity they started to walk again, and I stalked after them at a fair distance. Not long after where we''d had our fight we came across a hill, and at the top of the hill our goal was in sight.


    There suspended as always was the portal, as white as all the other normal ones. Far off from it lay the edge of the world, a sheer cliff that fell off into a black abyss. The dim sun continued on the circular path it had, never once passing down below the edge of the world. The four of us gathered around the sphere for the ritualistic touching, and unlike the previous floor no traps could be found near it.


    "I''ve always wondered what happens if you fall off," Alexis mused as she stared at that goosebump inducing drop off.


    "You''re teleported to the second floor at a height which breaks bones," I commented, one hand placed gently on the sphere.


    Alexis turned to look at me, eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. She looked ready to retort what I had said, then frowned and finally shook her head. Instead she put her hand on the sphere and focused on the task at hand. A few seconds later and all four of us vanished from the frozen floor.


    <hr>


    Floor 5


    The Imp Nest


    <hr>


    The ease with which we cut through the first few floors reminded me of how blissful this area of the labyrinth was. Gone were the monsters that attacked from beneath, gone were the creatures who looked like your allies, gone were the magicians who could throw lightning from each fingertip. I didn''t even have to worry about the fact that I had no real armor, a fact that would normally have chilled me to the bone. However even if it was easy I still dropped to the ready upon arrival on the next floor. How badly would I feel if I was attacked during that moment of helplessness by a mere imp?


    Once more there was no ambush at the point of arrival. Instead we were greeted by a cavern so vast and dark that we could barely make out anything around us. Lucas had already pulled out a torch and lit it, as he brandished it like a weapon against the inky black.


    "Oh, oh!" Alexia cried out, eyes locked onto her wrist at some odd bracelet. "She''s here! She''s still here!"


    "Really? Alright, you''ll have to take point and show the way then," Lucas told Alexia. "And I suppose we better explain what we''re here for to Fenix."


    "What''s that on her wrist?" I asked with a nod toward Alexia.


    Lucas frowned at the question. "It''s a finder..? Everyone who dives has that."


    The answer brought a pause to my line of thought, as I wrestled with the idea of the technology. I could recall a few theories about people making items like that, but group dives had fallen out of fashion during my time. "How long has that been around for?"


    "Wow, is that a serious question? Alright, uh...five, six, I don''t know maybe seven hundred years?" Lucas mused, before he shook his head. "I thought even slaves knew about that. Look, we''re here to find our friend. We got separated and before we realized it she was gone and we had to drag ourselves back through everything all over again."


    Alexia had already started to move off from us, her eye stuck on the tracker rather than her surroundings. Like a sheep to the slaughter she marched resolutely into the darkness, forcing the rest of us to hurry after her. Meanwhile around us the noise of the imps had begun to increase, a horde of the black monsters clamoring loudly in the dark.


    We approached the edge of the cave, the roof curving downward ahead of us. A tunnel had been bored through the wall with barely enough height and width for a human. Alexia went into it without a stutter in her step, while Lucas ducked down his tall frame to squeeze in. Ivan scowled at the tunnel, his eyes glancing temporarily at his bow, before he looked to me.


    "Go ahead, I can guard the back easily," I reassured Ivan.


    In truth I wouldn''t have been upset if Ivan had died against a back attack, but his bow and arrow would prove very useful when we got closer to where the portal was. Unlike some of the floors the portal was permanently in one spot, which also meant it would be where we''d find the leaders of the imps.


    At a split in the tunnel Alexia paused, uncertain as to exactly which direction to go, before she finally took off down the right path. While we walked through the tunnel I had already begun to map where I was versus my knowledge of the imp den, and if my memory proved correct I hoped we weren''t going in the direction I thought we were.


    When we stepped out of the tunnel and into another wide open cavern Alexia was kind enough to pause and wait for the rest of our group to gather. Ivan stepped to the side, his back to a wall, while he prepped an arrow for the inevitable fight. As I emerged from the tunnel I studied the cave ahead, curious as to how it had changed. Unsurprisingly nothing had changed, the cave was still as wide and tall as I could recall with a crevice that cut through the middle.


    From below a noise of scratching could be heard, the sound of young imps who were still incapable of carrying weapons. They fought amongst their own and cannibalized each other, the strongest eventually emerging by climbing once they were strong enough. On the other side of the crevice the stone floor was flat and wide with a large imp resting on it. It was the size of a boulder and looked laughable, stubby legs and ball hands along with eyeball sacs on top of the head, but it was a dangerous foe for the novice. In one ball-hand was a spear that was the size of Lucas, both in width and length.


    Alexia pulled out her axes and leapt across the crevice. As she charged toward the rotound giant it began to stir, and lift up on little black stumps. For a moment one might think it was cute, but then the mouth opened and that illusion was shattered. The mouth was excessively large with rows of sharp teeth on the top and bottom. A loud snap sounded out as the imp tried to bite Alexia, but she was smart enough to back away in time to avoid losing half her body.


    Lucas trailed after Alexia, his passage over the crevice as easy as her own, and followed the imps attack with his own. His fists covered in gauntlets swung out and pummeled away at the portly form as hard as he could. The imp barely moved from the impacts, and instead flailed its large spear dismissively toward Lucas. Ivan''s arrows started to sink into the thick imp, but it reacted to those with the same level of disinterest as the punches.


    "Ivan!" I called out, the frustration in my voice leaking through. I motioned toward the imp that the other two had engaged in melee combat with. "The little eye sacs on the top! Aim for those!"


    Ivan stared at me for a few seconds, then he gave a quick nod of his head. Perhaps it was because of how I''d helped guide them through the tower, or how I''d demonstrated a competency at murdering the imps, but in the end he did as I told him. The arrows he fired accurately struck into the eyeballs on top of the giant imp and popped them like water balloons.


    The screech of the imp was enough to deafen all of us, and blinded it could only flail about randomly with the massive spear. Alexia and Lucas backed away in surprise at the chaotic response, but I on the other hand chose that moment to go on the offensive. The poisoned dagger was my weapon of choice as I darted in, slipping past the wild swings, and sliced to the left along the lower part of the imp. A spin to the right and I applied another cut, doubling the application of poison.


    A flick of the dagger removed the main bulk of the blood, and I casually walked away from the beast as it toppled over. "We need to keep moving, the rest of the imps are going to swarm now that it''s gone."


    Ivan hurried over the crevice to catch up to us, the clamor of the imps growing from the tunnel that we had used to reach this cave. "Alexia!" Lucas called out to his sister. "Where is she?"


    Alexia had looked ready to retort to me before her brother called out, and once more she looked to the bracelet. "Follow me!" she responded as she tucked her axes away.


    She didn''t even wait for the rest of us again, but instead she took off at a full run. The wall of the cave came in and formed a large doorway that led into another cavern, and through the doorway she went on what I could only call a suicide mission. She had left our line of sight when we heard her cry out, a strangled cry that combined rage and sadness into one pitiful noise.


    When we passed into the back cavern Alexia once more came into our line of sight. Nearby the portal she had collapsed to the ground on her knees, an object held up to her chest while tears flowed free. In the dull light of the portal I could make out it was a bundle of cloth stained with blood. It was a sight I had seen far too many times and my own distaste for the girl dissipated as I, instead, felt overwhelming sympathy for her instead. Without wishing to disrupt her I turned away and instead focused on the entrance of the cave, keeping an eye out for any more imps.


    By the time Alexia recovered from her sobbing fit Lucas had already pulled out a small crystal object. He offered the hand that held the crystal palm up toward Alexia who gingerly took it, her other hand still clutching the bloody cloth.


    "Coming with us?" Ivan asked, as he offered his hand toward me, Lucas'' free hand resting on his shoulder. "We...we don''t need to keep going on."


    "Uh...what?" I stared at the three of them in confusion. My gaze tracked down to the hands that currently clasped the crystal between them.


    "It''s a return crystal," Lucas said, his voice full of fatigue. "We used it before but...the imps knocked her away when it activated."


    Seven-hundred years I had been asleep. In that time at least two new items had infiltrated the lower realms of the labyrinth, which meant that someone had come down to the bottom with technology that hadn''t even existed in my time. If there were such large changes down here how badly would the upper floors had shifted? Would the armory even still stand?


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t stop here," I told them all. I stepped past the others and touched my hand to the sphere, the warmth of it entering my body. It was as though one touched the very soul of Luticia each time they used the portal.


    "Good luck," Lucas told me, before he closed his eyes and the three of them vanished in a flash.


    It was a comment that drew a laugh from me. I would not need luck, at least not until I reached a real threat. All I needed was to be cautious, and to prepare myself. My own eyes closed as the noise of the imps approaching grew louder. By the time they arrived, ready to murder the intruders, I had already vanished.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 6 - Waterfall of Memories

    <hr>


    Floor 6


    The Encroaching Horde


    <hr>


    My eyesight was filled with the image of a lance, the tip nearly in my eyeball, when I first arrived on the next floor.  Instinctively I swayed to the left, then my body leaned forward as I slipped down the length of the spear toward its holder.  The imp at the end could barely react in time before my dagger tore into its face, which I followed by doing a straight kick that sent the little monster flying.


    The leaves nearby rustled, a warning sound of more imps, and I leapt backward as they tried to spear me.  When I touched down on the ground I threw the poisoned dagger into the nearest one, before I retrieved the stone knife from my waist.  As always the movements of the imps were slow, slow enough that I had plenty of time to close the gap on the remaining imps and dispatch them.


    When silence fell I let out a long sigh and focused my attention on my surroundings.  The arrival point had placed me in the middle of another forest. The leaves had grown brown and amber, as the smell of fall filled the air.  A carpet of fallen leaves blew as a gust cut through the forest, flying over the short beaten down grass .


    Etched into a couple of the tree trunks were symbols, crude in design and recognizable to me.  Though I couldn''t translate what they said I knew that the symbols belonged to the goblins. Even as I gathered not only my poisoned dagger and a spear from the ground I kept my eyes open.  If a group of goblins came across me it would be prudent to have as many weapons as possible.


    "Perfect," I murmured to myself as I studied the dry leaves.


    With a new body I had also lost a lot of the finer skills ingrained into me. This floor would prove to be a good place for experimenting, especially before I pushed on to the goblin nest.  Through the leaves I walked out of the glade, the noise of each footfall obnoxious to my delicate ears.


    If I was to fight on I would need to relearn how to move with minimal noise and energy expended.  So it was for a few hours I labored at teaching my own feet and legs to move how I wanted. The shifting of weight, the tightening of certain muscles, every little aspect that most wouldn''t think of were all I focused on.  My progress was limited, and after the first hour frustration started to set in.


    Near the middle of the third hour a distraction arrived to take my mind off of the training.  The telltale noise of metal on metal, along with voices speaking in a language I couldn''t translate, drew my immediate attention.


    With footsteps that I could only hope were as quiet as I wanted, I slipped up next to a tree and put my back to it.  Cautiously I peeked around the trunk in the direction of the noise, sighting two goblins who casually strolled through the forest.  As always the goblins were just shy of four feet tall, with misshapen ears and dark green skin. Their long and bulbous noses along with the sickening pure yellow eyes only added to their disgusting look.  All in all the goblins were a creation by Lute that I had never found enjoyable.


    My pulse quickened as a thrum of excitement ran through my body.  I could barely contain myself with joy at the sight of a fairly long dagger in one of the goblins hands.  It may not have been steel but it was iron, and since one of my only weapons was stone it would make for a huge upgrade.  The armor that they wore, however, didn''t even matter to me due to our size difference.


    As the patrol continued to stroll through the forest the goblins refused to stop their talk.  As though uncaring about the potential for ambush they made plenty of noise to warn even the moronic imps of their approach.  The goblin who didn''t have the long dagger carried a stone club, iron bands wrapped about it for added weight and damage. It was a heavy looking weapon that would only slow me down in combat.


    Oblivious to my presence the goblins wandered toward where I hid, and as they neared I slipped back fully out of their line of sight.  When the noise of their footfalls on the leaves placed them somewhat close to five feet from the tree I went into action.


    The cheap spear was what I used first, tossing it straight into the head of the goblin on the far side of the pair.  He crumpled to the ground without a noise, his companion temporarily confused by the sudden attack. Before he could even lift his club up in defense I had already dashed next to him, my poisoned dagger flicking across his throat.  While the blood flowed from the neck I backed away, leaving the goblin to finish dying on his own.


    While he died I pulled out my canteen and sipped from it, my attention once more turned to the surroundings rather than the goblin pair.  Soon I would reach the seventh floor, a place that was very important to me. A wistful smile crossed my face as I thought about the past, and of her.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    When the noise of the goblin thrashing about came to an end I approached the two corpses.  The long dagger was the first item I procured, followed by the little pouches each goblin had.  Though I didn''t know what was inside of them I could only hope it was rations, or perhaps even a magical item.  Once I had finished looting the dead I slipped back into the depths of the forest, my search for the portal having started.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The pouches I had stolen ended up having food and some bandages in them.  One of the pouches I opted to throw away, while the other I attached to my belt.  The poisoned dagger I carried openly had finally found a new home, as I put it in the pouch after moving the food out of it.  My new iron long dagger even came with a poorly crafted sheath, which I put on the opposite side of my waist of the pouch.


    Reinvigorated by the acquisition of a new weapon and some extra food, I began the long search for the portal.  Without a compass to lead the way I was relegated to the old fashioned approach, which meant wandering randomly across the floor until I finally found it.  Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days and by the time I finally found what I sought my inventory had grown.


    A new goblin dagger had been gained, along with enough food to last me for weeks, and I had even managed to find a couple of waterskins.  Though I couldn''t carry everything that I looted, what I did gain as I murdered everything in my path kept my food and water well stocked.


    When I found the portal I also discovered a bit of a problem.  A large canyon spread out in front of me, the edge of the forest on the fringe of a cliff that could easily kill the unwary.  In the middle of the canyon I could make out the white sphere, but it was not alone. All around the portal were tents and campfires, a gathering of goblins had settled to control the only way out of the floor.


    I knelt at the edge of the cliff, as I studied the encampment to see how the patrols moved and where I could slip through easiest.  One goblin stood out predominantly, a hunched over one that carried a staff adorned by a crystal.


    A goblin shaman had finally appeared.  For the novice diver it was a deadly opponent who would most likely kill them, but to an experienced one such as myself it was a foe we wanted.  That silly trio of adventurers I had tried to work with feared them, which meant they didn''t know the secret behind the magic.


    Darkness fell before I made my next move, the canyon below brightened by various torches.  The goblins, unlike the imps, had poor eyesight in the dark and it was that failure which I had hoped to see.  They were very much like a human in that they moved about in daylight.


    Clouds covered the heavens as I started my descent down the cliffside.  It was slow going, as I had to avoid making too much noise, but there were plenty of footholds so I never felt truly in danger.  The sound from the camp grew quieter as the night continued on. By the time I reached the bottom the patrols and guardsmen had for the most part dwindled down to almost nothing.


    Perhaps it could be viewed as a cowardly act, but the first task I chose to undertake was not going to the portal.  Instead I went to where I had watched the shaman go, a fairly large tent near the center of the camp. When I entered quietly into it the shaman didn''t stir from his slumber.  When I left the tent a few moments later I had assured he never would awaken, and in my left hand I clutched his staff.


    It was not much later that I reached the portal, having weaved my way carefully through the tents.  Unnoticed by the complacent goblins I put my hand against the warm sphere and closed my eyes. Within my mind once more I opened that mental door and passed through it.


    <hr>


    Floor 7


    The Hillsides of Water


    <hr>


    From the thick forest that felt almost like a cage of trees, I instead arrived in a land wide open with almost no trees at all.  Hills dipped and raised as far as the eye could see, with most of the grassy landscape dotted by rocks of varying sizes. Large boulders could often be seen in the lowest areas, having rolled there either by force or mere gravity.


    Why the floor was named what it was became obvious to even the most unobservant.  Streams and rivers flowed all over the world, criss crossing the hills and eventually back into themselves.  Somehow Lute had crafted rivers without end, and without a source.


    I glanced at the staff in my hand, but I chose not to get around to the removal of the crystal yet.  It would be prudent for me to move away from the entry point of the floor and to set up camp. So I began my trek across the seventh floor.


    Of all the floors this was one that I knew far too well, having spent many years in the first ten floors.  As I walked I went past hills and streams that brought up flashes of memories, of my past life and my time with Luticia.  Before the sun had set for the day I came upon a large rocky outcropping, one that slopes downward and away from the hillside.  A stream flowed down the outcropping and formed a waterfall that fed into a pool.


    I couldn''t resist smiling as I walked toward that waterfall and pool.  This was the place that had completely changed the entire course of my life.  From a rookie into one of the most experienced divers in the labyrinth. From a bumbling oaf into a Godslayer.


    When I reached the edge of the rocks I chose to hop down, rather than following the rest of the hill.  The drop was short enough that I had no chance of injuring myself, and when I landed I smiled and turned to look at the waterfall.


    What I saw froze me in my spot, as a woman stood in the waterfall rubbing dirt off of her body.  Slender hands ran through her hair, and she was completely oblivious to my presence. During my youth when I had first arrived on the seventh floor I had encountered a woman at this pool, one who had also been naked.  Her response to my accidental peeking was to beat me within an inch of my life.


    In truth I couldn¡¯t even stop myself as I spoke a single word, "Lute?"


    Though it was a waterfall the noise wasn''t too high, and so the woman heard me and turned to look.  The response was normal for a naked woman, she cried out in shock and covered her ample chest with her hand.  On her head fox ears twitched, while behind her a wet red tail tried to puff up.


    She was clearly a kitsune. Lute had created them by combining foxes with humans, and had granted them a metropolis on the tenth floor.  I had always had a favorable relationship with the kitsune, which was one of the reasons the armory had been housed in their city.


    A hint of disappointment rose as I realized it was not Lute, but I was in the presence of a stranger.  I had met many people in my life and sometimes they proved deadly to trust, not to mention the shifters who loved to emulate allies. My eyes locked onto the alleged kitsune, while I prepared myself for the potential that she might be an enemy.


    "STOP LOOKING!" the woman cried as she backed away from me and to the edge of the pool. Near the edge a pile of bloody and torn clothing had been left, clothes that I could only guess she owned.


    Instead I pulled out a piece of jerky and kept watching.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 7 - Foxy Lady

    At what point should you stop staring at a naked lady? The average person would have already turned their back and apologized. I on the other hand stood there with jerky in mouth, studying every curve of the woman in front of me. My time in the labyrinth had taught me never to trust anything you see, in truth I had lost a lot of friends because they''d fallen for tricks just like what I saw in front of me right now.


    She had turned her back to me while she picked up the tattered clothing from the poolside. Her long red hair flowed down her back, still wet from the waterfall. The red fox tail, slick with water, had a slight bit of white at the very tip. As I studied her body I noticed a couple of marks of recent combat, wounds that had barely healed. The rest of her body was lean and muscular, though I already knew well how large the front of her chest was.


    Even as she struggled to put her shirt on she glanced nervously over her shoulder at me. Green eyes turned in my direction, an expression mixed with rage and fear so blatantly obvious on her face that I could tell she was still young. Though the floor we were on was very warm her hands visibly shook.


    "Why won''t you stop looking!" she cried out, as she cringed underneath my gaze.


    "I''ve seen too many shifters to trust strangers," I replied honestly.


    It was a response that caused the kitsune to go still. Her left fox ear flicked, then she glared at me with open hostility. "Shifters aren''t even real, they''re a myth!"


    With a great deal of control I managed to keep the confusion from showing on my face, as I wrestled with the idea that shifters had gone from a fact to a myth. Lucas had told me it had been possibly seven hundred years, but there still should be divers traveling from the first floor all the way through to the thirtieth. The only other possibility was that a divide had happened between the colony on the higher floor and the first floor.


    "Sure they are," I shrugged my shoulders, refusing to turn away.


    The kitsune growled at my cavalier attitude, almost finished dressing herself. "What''s a slave doing here anyways?" she muttered in a voice overflowing with rage.


    "Diving, what else would I be doing? What''s a kitsune doing out of the tenth floor?," I counter-asked. During my time in the labyrinth the fox people stubbornly refused to leave the tenth floor.


    With her shirt and pants on, though filled with holes from combat, she slipped on boots made from a type of cheap leather. "What?" confusion had filtered into her voice, softening the anger. "Everyone knows the kitsune wander the labyrinth ever since the Tenth War. Even you filth from the pens."


    New inventions and now a mention of a war that I had no knowledge of. The changes continued to grow the further I went into the labyrinth, and sooner or later my lack of knowledge would prove fatal. "Why would a slave know anything about some silly war?" I wondered aloud, playing up the role of a pitiful Elf.


    "What do you mean why?" the words were almost spit out by the woman. She had picked a dagger up from next to where the bundle of clothes had been. "You slaves were used as shock troopers against my ancestors during the war!"


    "That..." I trailed off as my mind struggled with the new information. The Elves that I had known were best as scouts and support, they specialized in using their hearing and vision to pick out the dangers for the humans. "Why would they do that?"


    The kitsune''s ears lowered as she studied my reaction, the anger in her eyes vanishing. She made no move to step closer, but when she spoke her voice was quiet. "You don''t know? About the war of the tenth floor?"


    "Why would they even have a war in the first place?" I asked, still lost as to why this had even happened. The kitsune had always been friendly and helpful, supporting anyone who asked for aid. Lute and I had even chosen a chapel in the middle of their city for our wedding.


    "You don''t make any sense," the kitsune declared, her dagger lifted up into a defensive spot. "You can''t trick me by pretending you''re dumb!"


    Though I hated to admit it the labyrinth had changed a lot, and those changes would prove to be my weakness. If it had been during my previous life I could''ve gone through the first ten floors blindfolded and naked, but now? To demonstrate that I had no hostile intent I sat down on the ground, placing the goblin staff next to me. "Lets just imagine for a second that I''m not ordinary. Why would anybody wage war against the kitsune?"


    The kitsune''s tail swayed ever so slightly behind her, as she lowered the dagger and stared at me. Her eyes, once narrowed in suspicion, widened and she glanced around as though expecting an ambush. "Umm, okay," her ears twitched nervously. "A bunch of humans died in the kitsune city so the humans claimed it was done by them. The kitsune said it was all a lie, but eventually the humans declared war."


    "Hold on, I can theorize why the war happened," I admitted to her. "Why would the Elves be the first ones in for a war between the humans and kitsune?"


    "I...don''t know," the kitsune''s ears sagged. "All I know is ever since the war they''ve been in the pens."


    "I wonder if they were bullied into it," I scratched at my chin. "Then they were a good scapegoat when the war ended in failure..."


    The kitsune adjusted her stance, the dagger was retracted while her free hand rested on her hip. "So mister not-ordinary what are you doing alone here?"


    "I''m diving until I reach the final floor," was my response while I stood up from the ground.


    That was the first time she openly laughed, the overall tone of it was beautiful like wind chimes in a light breeze. "A slave is going to beat the labyrinth?" she asked, a smile on her face. "The furthest anyone has ever gone is only like forty or fifty, but you think you can go further?"


    "Yes," my voice was calm and very certain. While she stood there and gawked at me I studied the area near the waterfall and pool. The place hadn''t changed much in the interval between my lives, though a boulder had vanished.


    "That''s impossible, you can''t even go alone in here without dying," she told me. "I even came with some friends and almost died!"


    It was information I hadn''t anticipated, and it immediately brought to mind what I had dealt with recently. A person separated from their friends who had almost died, the various wounds on her body along with the torn clothing. The fact that I couldn''t see any type of pack...


    "Are you talking about Lucas and his sister and friend?" I asked.


    Both ears pointed forward, as her eyes widened and stepped forward eagerly. "You know them? Are they okay?"


    "They are, they used a return crystal not too long ago on the fifth floor. I''m expecting it was your tracking thing they found in the imp nest?"


    "It was torn off me by the imps when they attacked me. I don''t know why but I blacked out and woke up here...I''ve seen some goblins but I''m worried about going it alone," the kitsune murmured. She absently stroked her own tail.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Probably the return crystal malfunctioned, you were caught in the portal aura but since you had been separated from the transitioning party you were thrown randomly to a nearby place," I told her.


    It was not the first time I''d seen or heard of people being randomly spit out while transferring. While I wasn''t used to the return crystal, it had happened to people who were physically touching the portal themselves. A strong enough disruption while using the portal, according to Lute, was enough to cause something she called a spatial disruption.


    "That makes sense, I guess," the kitsune nodded her head. "Though now I''m stuck here since the imps hit my pack."


    "I propose a deal," I spread my hands open, palms facing out toward the lady. "I''ll escort you to the tenth floor, and once we get there we can use a red gem...they still get red gems right?"


    "Uh...yes?" the kitsune half-asked me, she tilted her head quizzically. "You know about red gems but not about the Tenth War?"


    "I told you, I''m not ordinary," I responded with a wave of my hand. "Will you accept the deal, then? I promise I can get us to the tenth floor and then we can go reunite you with your friends. All I want is for you to give me information if I ask for it."


    The kitsune paused for a moment, then nodded her head. She did not walk over and shake my hand or anything else. For some odd reason she kept a fair distance between us, as though she thought I would gut her alive. "Very well, though don''t touch me unless requested."


    "A fair request," I admitted to her. "You can call me Th-..rmm..Fenix."


    "Please, call me Kuzu."


    ? ? ? ? ?


    A small little nook could be found near the waterfall and I retreated into it, my body drained of energy. I had been forced to remain on high alert since I was alone, and now that most of the tension had been removed by reaching such a calm floor the fatigue came back in full force. I sagged against the rock wall, the waterfall outside a light background noise, while I told Kuzu of how I''d met up with her friends and helped them reach the fifth floor. It was a tale that I hoped would help build a degree of trust between us, as if I was to take her to the tenth floor her current distant attitude would prove a hinderance.


    Most of my life had been spent in the labyrinth fighting through nightmarish trials. I had been surrounded by death, friends and enemies both unable to persevere and instead leaving me mostly alone. It had been Lute who had helped to stabilize me, to help show me there could be more than violence in this labyrinth. If not for my family I suppose I would have gone insane, but that did not help make my dreams any better.


    So when I finally fell asleep in that little rocky hole what I saw in my mind was not a happy thing. Instead I dreamed of horrors that would turn most men white, of strange societies that broke from the norms of humanity, and of the war that I had declared in the name of vengeance. The war that had led to me holding Lute in my arms one final time.


    Movement near my actual body caused the dreams to shatter, my instincts kicking in immediately. The long dagger had been pulled out and aimed toward where the movement was sensed, my other hand reaching for the spare goblin dagger. Kuzu had approached me, hand lifted halfway up toward my face, while a scared look now adorned her own. She had gone as still as a rock, the long dagger an inch from her neck.


    "Don''t come near me when I''m sleeping," I warned her as I forcefully relaxed my muscles.


    I glanced up out of the hole at the sky and noted how dark it had gone, a sign that hours had passed by during my slumber. Once more my body felt lighter, energy coursing through it. Renewed, albeit it only partially, I mentally planned out my next course of action.


    "I''m sorry, it''s just you kept saying weird things, and..." she started, then she bit at her lip as though she didn''t want to say the next thing. "Tears. I thought it''d be a good idea to wake you."


    My study of the surroundings paused at that comment, as I reached up to touch at my eyes and found moisture there. All I could do was sigh, a hint of regret at how I had frightened the girl, before I put my daggers away. "I''m sorry, I''m still on edge. The next time you want to wake me up say Theodore," I told her, before I scouted around and found the fallen goblin staff.


    Due to having looked up at the stars I had already made a rough map of where I should be, based on the geography that I knew of the floor. I began to move away from the pool, a slow pace as I kept my eyes on the horizon. Though I enjoyed this floor there was always that off chance a goblin patrol might wander nearby.


    Kuzu''s tail twitched at what I had told her, and what I had not told her, though she didn''t say anything more. "Where are you going?" she hesitatingly asked, though she started to follow me from a short distance.


    "Floor seven is designed as a rest point, so the overall setup is simple. The portal is always located on a point directly south of where you first enter, although that point changes depending on the time of the year."


    "How do you know that but not...you don''t make any sense!" Kuzu declared while she followed after me. While I gracefully stepped past the various rocks, boulders and pebbles as though they were not there she did not. Her movements were quite clumsy, especially for a fox person.


    I paused, and turned to look at her. "I thought you were a kitsune, why are you acting like a kitling?"


    Kuzu''s tail puffed up a bit at that comment, while she glared at me with her golden eyes. "How dare you! I''m a perfectly reasonable kitsune!"


    "You''re...very unpracticed at moving compared to the ones I''ve met," I commented. The term kitling was perhaps a bit rude, but it was true that the children of the kitsune often moved like she currently did.


    "That''s because you''ve probably met the ones from the tenth floor, where they''re trained for combat," Kuzu told me. She lifted her head a bit high and smiled wide. "I was born on the first floor, that''s why Lexy and I know each other. We''re old friends, after all."


    "Impressive, I didn''t realize the kitsune grew inept at basic motor skills if they aren''t born on the tenth floor," I jokingly told her, before I turned away and kept on the move.


    Kuzu spluttered a bit at that before she leapt after me with renewed energy. It was fairly easy to stay out of her reach, while her desperate attempts to grab ahold of me also gained me quite a bit of amusement. "Why are you so good at this! You''re just an elf!"


    "You''re just bad, if you want to survive you''ll need to get better!" I informed her with a chuckle. The chasing game continued on for a few hours while we headed in the direction I felt the portal would be at. On the second hour we came within visual range of uplifted rocks that formed a circular pattern.


    Lute had never told me where she had thought up the design for half of her floors, but this one she said was inspired by something from the olden days. "There," I commented while I held up one hand to Kuzu to recommend a halt in her actions. With the goblin staff I motioned toward the ruins, crouching down to create a smaller silhouette.


    She paused, though she looked unhappy about it. Her tail was quite puffed up, while her ears had flattened against her head. Still she was wise enough to settle down near me, though outside of arms reach. Her distaste for my physical presence had been rekindled now that she had calmed. "Is that where the portal is?"


    My response to that was to ignore her, a response which gained a quick look of hatred. Instead I pulled the goblin staff up close to my chest, gripped it tight in the crook of my left arm and then carefully pried at the crystal. After ten minutes the crystal came loose and fell to the ground with a dull thud. While I could have smashed the staff against the ground, I had seen a dangerous feedback effect happen before when others did that. Without a care I tossed the staff away as I lifted the crystal up and stared into it.


    "What...are you doing?" Kuzu asked. She had decreased the range between us again, her curiosity trumping her fear of me.


    Once more my option was to ignore her, mostly out of personal amusement. Instead I pulled out the long dagger from my waist and put the crystal down against a flat rock. What came next was almost an hour of slow carving, an act that produced a very thin slice of crystal.


    "Okay, come on, please tell me?" Kuzu almost begged, her ears once more sagging.


    "You really don''t know?" I asked her as I picked up the shard. With the dagger I began to sharpen and narrow the edge of the crystal, a hint of dread building at what I would do next.


    "No, nobody I''ve ever met has ever even used those, they just throw the staffs away since they''re explosive, usually," she told me. Her tail had returned to a smooth look and flicked back and forth automatically.


    This caused me to pause, a look at her told me that she was being honest and yet it seemed impossible. "Tell me, what do you know of magic?" I finally inquired.


    "Ah, it''s something the monsters in the labyrinth use!" she said with a wide smile.


    "But...don''t the divers use it as well?"


    "Not since the Tenth War, all the magic users died along with the secret of how to use magic," Kuzu told me. Her head tilted a little to the left. "Why?"


    There was no answer I could give her that couldn''t be equal to what came next, and so instead of responding I simply shoved the shard of the crystal into my left arm. It was a pain equal to taking a piece of glass and ramming it into your own skin, but it also came with a painful bolt of electricity as energy surged from the shard into my body.


    Kuzu''s eyes widened while she watched my pain-filled face. "What are you doing!" she cried out at a volume far too loud.


    Sadly at that time I was too busy dealing with the sensation of pain that smashed through me. It was a feeling that I had hoped never to feel again, yet there I was doing the same thing once more. Like an idiot, a desperate idiot who needed power to complete his task.


    A noise in the distance drew Kuzu''s attention and she stood up with a start. I knelt down onto the ground and pushed my head against the soil, my teeth clenched tight and a groan of pain my only response."Goblins!" she hissed to me, while she brandished her dagger.


    From my vantage point, which was peering directly at the ground, the goblins looked harmless. Totally harmless. At least that''s what I could hope for, as my arm started to feel it was about to explode. There was nothing that could be said to Kuzu, and instead she was left to figure things out on her own.


    With the grace of an ordinary human the fox-girl ran away from me. In the distance I could hear a slight grumble, a grunt and then exclamations of surprise from the goblins. Due to the poor night vision of the goblins Kuzu had the superior eyesight, which should have meant she could catch them by surprise. What came next was the sound of metal on metal, most likely a dagger parried by another, and her own shouts of anger at the goblins. It was a yell that did not bode well for the kitsune.


    Kuzu was hard pressed against two goblins, one who was armed with a goblin sword and the other who had a type of quarterstaff that was in no way long enough to be called one. A large stick, perhaps? Kuzu meanwhile was armed with a short dagger, so the dead goblin at her feet was probably the only one she would manage to kill.


    So it probably surprised her when a bolt of lightning leapt from out of nowhere and seared one of the goblins into something that smelled unpleasant. The other goblin twisted around in time to see the origin point of the lightning, which was my left hand, before his life was devoured by another burst of electricity.


    The stunned kitsune could only look at me with wide eyes as I casually walked up toward her. Lightning crackled up and down my left arm, almost as though it lived and was eager to act again.


    "What was that about all the mages dying off?"

 Vol. 1 Chapter 8 - Ambushes Ambushes Everywhere

    The usual reaction you would expect when you saved the life of someone was at least a word of thanks.  After all if I hadn''t been there for Kuzu she probably would''ve been badly hurt, or even killed, by the goblins.  Instead she threateningly pointed her dagger at me, her tail puffed up behind her while her ears went flat against her head.


    "You could''ve warned me about what you were doing!" she yelled at me.


    I studied the lightning that continued to flow up and down my arm, mentally feeling the flow of power that drew from within and fed the magic.  With a bit of concentration I shut the energy flow off. If I was to leave it open eventually my stamina would be drained, and worst case scenario I would collapse and be useless for quite a while.


    "You could have not yelled like an idiot," I pointed out.  I had erred in my belief that she would at least keep quiet until the merging was completed.


    I started to walk down the hillside as I headed toward the stone ruins nearby.  Each of the blocks were tall and rectangular, forming a circle which would often have the portal in the middle.  Along the hillsides the sound of thunder rolled, an echo caused by the little bit of magic I''d already used.


    When I realized that Kuzu had not moved yet I turned to look at her.  "We need to move before any more goblins show up to investigate all that thunder.  There are never any storms on this floor so they''ll know something is off," I explained to her, before I pointed toward the ruins.  "You have the night sight, do you see any more goblins?"


    For a moment it looked like she was going to argue with me, but then she turned to look at the ruins.  For a while her emerald eyes studied the rocks, before she gave a shrug of her shoulders. "There are none out in the open, but they could be hiding."


    "Good, keep an eye out for patrols and wait here," I told her, turning toward the ruins.  "If you see any patrols come running and screaming."


    With each step forward I could feel the lush grass softly bowing down beneath my feet.  Even my Elf ears couldn''t pick up any noise as I walked, and so when I reached the outer ring of the ruins it was fairly obvious that no goblin could have hoped to notice my approach.  When I reached the first stone I placed one hand against it, the feel of it a familiar sensation I''d felt many times in the past.


    My long elf ears twitched automatically as I tried to listen for any sounds nearby.  I could easily make out the breathing of Kuzu, not to mention her grumblings about how stupid I was.  A couple more presences were noticeable, and with the aid of my hearing I approached them as quietly as possible.  It wasn''t much later when I finished killing off the three goblins who had been lazing about toward the center of the ruins.  The best part about murdering the goblins was when I found a couple of throwing knives while looting their corpses.


    Once more I listened for any goblins nearby, and only once I felt certain I was alone in the ruins did I return to the edge.  With a whistle to get her attention, I waved toward Kuzu. She almost ran over toward me as soon as I had reemerged from the ruins, a look of worry on her face.  As to what she had been worried about I could only guess, though it was probably that she''d be stuck all alone on this floor.


    Back into the ruins I walked, this time flanked by a slightly distant kitsune.  As we passed through the inner ring of rocks we came into full view of the portal, that surreal glowing ball which would serve as our way to the next floor.  Kuzu ran up to the sphere with a cry of glee and wrapped her arms around it in a hug.


    "Yes! Now we''re heading back with a return crystal right?" Kuzu asked, as she stepped away from the portal.


    "Do you think that I''d actually have one?" I asked her, before I shook my head. While the requirements to gain one was not known it seemed likely you had to buy them, and if that meant money then there was no way a slave would get ahold of one. "Besides I told you we''re going to the tenth floor."


    Kuzu''s fingers twitched at that, then she almost cringed in fright. "We can''t do that," she finally said she squirmed for a few moments. "They say that the goblins have an ambush set up on the eighth floor, I''ve only heard of one person ever returning!"


    It was a comment that could only be responded to with a laugh. "Please, the goblins ambushing? That''s like children throwing a temper tantrum. Alright, I promised we''d reach the tenth floor so do you really think I''d fail to deliver?"


    Kuzu stared at me, while she stood outside of my arms reach. She glanced to the side, as though the gaze I returned to her own was too much for her to bear, and she murmured a few words. "How far have you dived?"


    "Deep enough," I told her. I walked to the sphere and placed my hand on it. "Now you can either join me on the eighth floor or you can wait here, alone, and die when the goblins start hunting you for fun."


    With that I promptly vanished.


    <hr>


    Floor 8


    The Goblin Capital


    <hr>


    The smoke was thick and invasive, the smell overpowering anything else in the vicinity.  Nearby the cacophony of noise of multiple goblins as they marched about in armor, talking back and forth in their strange language, made it impossible for me to hear anything.  Even my sight was limited by the fact that it was night time on this floor, and the only sources of light were the portal and crude torches attached to the upper parts of a wooden wall.


    The wall itself encircled the portal, ten feet tall and adorned with makeshift spikes at the top.  Some sections of the wall had spikes that jutted inward, though a few of those had broken and not been repaired yet.  It was beyond the wall that I could hear the goblins, though a single goblin who looked to be almost asleep sat on a platform above the wall itself.


    It was my arrival that caused a change in the guard, as he noticed me and then rubbed at his sleepy eyes. A moment later he stood up straight and started to jabber, calling to his friends that were below.  An immediate reaction could be heard as all of the chattering that the group of goblins had been doing came to an end, and then angry yells and shouts that anyone should be able to hear sounded out.


    There was no noise when Kuzu formed from thin air next to me, her eyes widened in horror as she took in the current situation. "I told you! I told you we shouldn''t have come!" she declared, as she pointed at the wall. "Now what do we do about this!"


    I pulled the goblin dagger out and threw it as hard as possible at the goblin guard.  The weapon struck into his chest, as he stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. His body toppled over out of view, hopefully onto another goblin. "It''s easy, although I''m going to have to ask you to not yell," I told her. My left hand lifted up, as lightning began to trace along it once more.


    "What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes locked onto my left hand as though mesmerized.  The panic she had shown was temporarily forgotten, and even her tail flicked excitedly as curiosity overcame the fear.


    There was no warning, as I didn''t want to waste any more time, and instead I wrapped my arm around Kuzu''s waist and pulled her up against me.  She fought against that, eyes filled with a terror that seemed unusually strong for what I''d done, but thankfully her knife was pinned under my arm so she couldn''t reach for it.  With my left hand I threw forth a bolt of lightning which ripped through the cheap wood wall, the thunder roaring loud enough to make the goblins outside fall down in shock.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Time to bolt!" I yelled out, my hearing hindered temporarily due to the thunder.


    Refusing to let go of Kuzu I started to run toward the hole in the wall.  With each step a burst of electricity crackled near my feet, and my speed grew faster and faster.  Before long I had become nothing short of a blur to the goblins, a trail of lightning left behind in my wake.  We crossed over that barren landscape for minutes, the entire time Kuzu''s fingers gripping tightly into my flesh so hard her nails drew blood.  When at last we came to a stop it was near a copse of dead trees, rocks and little else.


    Before I did anything else I put Kuzu down gently, and then staggered over to a tree and leaned against it for support.  My breathing was ragged, and my chest heaved as I tried to suck in air like a half-drowned man. Every part of my body shuddered from the strain of what I''d done, and eventually my knees gave out and I sagged to the ground.


    "Are you alright?" Kuzu asked from a fair distance away, her eyes still wide from the shock of what I''d just done.


    With a trembling left hand I flashed her a thumbs up. "Give me a few moments, using that much magic right now was a bad idea," was the response, though my voice had started to grow quieter near the end.


    All I wanted to do was blame it on being a bit excited over getting magic, but in the end it was my fault and only mine that I had overexerted myself.  Though I had excessive knowledge in how to use magic it mattered little if I didn''t work on my stamina, and it would probably be a good idea on my part to improve my body some more before I reached the twentieth floor.


    All of that mattered very little though, as the fatigue from my overuse of magic pushed me into a forced slumber.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    In my arms was what I could only consider perfection, a flawless feminine face looking at my own.  With a smile that could have melted a glacier instantly she reached up and cupped my face with her hands.  For a short while she slid her left hand up and stroked at my hair, while her eyes refused to stray from their stare deep into my own.


    Though she smiled there was a hint of sadness that haunted her eyes.  Somewhere in her was a memory that refused to let go, and it was one that would weigh heavily on her for the rest of her life.  My arms tightened about her as I kissed her gently, wishing I could help her forget that nightmare for even one second.


    "Theodore," she whispered my name into my ear, as she returned my kiss. "Theodore."


    "THEODORE!" came the loud voice of Kuzu, loud enough that it woke me from my slumber. I groaned in protest at that, why the hell did she have to ruin the dream at the best time?


    "What?" I growled out from the ground, my face had ended up against the filthy soil of the goblins homeground. There was no happiness that could be seen in my face when, with a push of the arms, I staggered up to a standing position.


    Kuzu merely gestured at the area near us with a look of fear on her face. It was a look that, combined with her flattened ears and tail tucked close to her waist made it obvious that something was amiss.


    Due to the aid of Kuzu I was able to focus in on the problem quickly enough, a problem that was as laughable as the goblins. The eighth floor was a cesspool of a place, the goblins who lived there had used up most of the resources with such disgusting need that barely anything survive. It was perhaps the main reason the goblins spread from the eighth floor to the nearby ones, and also why they tried to wage a war against the kitsune on the tenth floor long ago.


    What had frightened Kuzu were creatures akin to regular dogs. They were easily the size of a goblin, though down on all fours, with snarling mouths and slimmed eyes. The eyes were white, pus covered and ugly looking things that made one think they could only be blind. Their ears were tattered, with one of the dogs even missing an ear.


    It was a horrid position to be in, there were at least thirty of the monstrous looking dogs pacing around us. The fact that none had attacked yet seemed to be something close to a miracle, one that bordered on the insane. It shouldn''t have been possible, both Kuzu and I deserved to have been eaten by that point.


    My response to the situation was to yawn, loudly, and then stretch out my arms and legs very very slowly. "Didn''t take them long to find us," I commented, my distinct lack of fear obvious.


    "Theo-"


    "Fenix!" I told her, sharply, one finger lifted up toward her.  "Try to use that in conversation."


    With a quick flick of the left hand I sent a burst of lightning toward the hounds, an act that caused all the dogs to whimper and back up. They were the whipped dogs of the goblins, used for tracking their prey. There was an instinctive need to not harm prey that they had built into them.  If it followed their normal behavior I''d seen in the past one or two of the dogs would''ve gone off to find their handler and bring them here.


    Once the goblins arrived they would either give the order to attack, or the goblins themselves would be the fighters. In either case the dogs knew that touching us without permission was not allowed, it had and always would be met with severe abuse. It was that knowledge which allowed me to not be worried by the pack that crowded us.


    "Alright, don''t worry, they''re too whipped to attack," I informed Kuzu. My left arm lifted up and pointed toward the nearest of the beasts, a slip of electricity coursing the length of it.


    From the first show of magic the dogs had already learned that the electricity was dangerous, and so they backed up even further and continued to whimper.  Obviously this was due to the hardships rained down on the dogs by the shamans.


    Goblin shamans are some of the worst creatures in the labyrinth. Every single goblin shaman that has ever lived loved to kick their dogs. Their need to abuse and feel superior over the weak is such I wouldn''t put it past a goblin shaman to beat up a baby.  To that end one of the things that the dogs feared most was magic, since it was the number one way that they were abused.


    When the hounds refused to run away, but instead put a little distance between us, I let out a sigh.  "Fine," I said to them, before the electricity that had built was unleashed in a burst that electrocuted a small part of their pack.  Their fear of my magic overcame any fear of a potential abusive goblin, and the pack scattered to the four corners of the floor as quickly as possible.  Next to me Kuzu had already put her hands on her sensitive fox ears, a grimace on her face from the new burst of thunder.


    "Sorry about that," I told her, as I checked the surroundings for any stragglers or goblins. The area was as desolate as the rest of the floor, the burnt and dead trees the only things to stand out against blackened rocks and grey soil.


    "It''s okay," Kuzu mumbled toward me, though she still held her ears down.


    "This is like the imp nest in that the portal is always found at the exact same spot," I told Kuzu while kicking at one of the burnt trees. It cracked loudly before it fell over with a dull thud onto the dead soil. "The plan is simple, we''ll go to it and then move on to the ninth floor. We''re going to need to kill some goblins first, though."


    "Why''s that?" she asked, her eyes studying my movements as I began to destroy the trunk of an already dead tree.


    With loud crunches my boots came down and smashed the fallen tree over and over again, chunks of the dead plant scattering with each stomp. To some it would seem as though I was using the tree as a stress reliever, though I had a goal in mind.


    I bent down and started to sift through the pieces of wood with a grin on my face. "Because I lost a dagger and want a new one."


    ? ? ? ? ?


    A half hour later a few goblins approached where Kuzu and I had been at. The hounds that returned to retrieve their masters led the goblin hunting party directly to where we had last been, and upon arriving started to sniff around to find our trail.


    The goblins could only frown and mill around near the broken trees.  They scratched at their heads and talked in their alien language to each other. The hounds weren''t idiots, they might beat them and treat them poorly but it was to make sure they did their job right. Even the worst goblin tracker in the bunch could clearly see the vast amount of footprints left by the dogs, as well as footprints of two decidedly non-canine individuals that had vanished into thin air.


    One of the goblins leaned against a tree to relax, while his friends discussed back and forth.  Most likely it was a blame game, and they''d eventually agree it was the dogs fault and hit them a few time.  Before any of that could happen, however, I stretched out my arm and snapped the goblins neck.


    I could only guess at how much terror the goblins felt when they saw part of the tree separate from the rest and kill their friend.  When another tree did the same thing, as Kuzu ran at the goblin nearest her and stabbed it in the eyeball, the group of goblins did the only wise thing they could.  They ran as quick as they could away from the tree monsters.


    The disguise was simple enough, a combination of dirt and long pieces of wood could mask us and help hide our scent. If the goblins were as trained as some opponents deeper in the labyrinth the trick would''ve failed. Thankfully goblins had never been all that clever, and so my simple plan had easily worked.


    The hounds bayed loudly, then attempted to rush to the help of their masters. Kuzu with her dagger began to lacerate them wide open, before kicking their sliced bodies away roughly.  With simple kicks I joined in on pushing away some of the dogs, and soon they followed their goblin masters.


    The fight was brutal, short and for the most part one that lacked any real tension for me. Kuzu kicked at the dead corpse of one of the dogs that had nipped her tail a bit, before she turned and stared at me.  "What next?"


    "We''ll head for the portal next," I told her while I started to scour the couple of corpses for any goods.


    For the most part all I could find were food and bandages, though a single waterskin was one of the better finds.  I threw it toward Kuzu since she had lost most of her stuff, and then also one of the goblin pouches followed it soon after.  For myself I picked out a few of the better iron daggers, and tying the goblin belts around my legs instead of my waist I was able to sheath them.


    "That worked a lot better than I thought it would," Kuzu admitted.  She had called my plan insanity when I first brought it up, but all I had to do was show a bit of electricity to remind her of my superior knowledge and she caved soon to my requests.


    "Don''t worry, it''ll only get harder," I told her while I started to walk toward the horizon. I hummed loudly to myself, a tune that was one of my favorites from a floor so deep that nobody else had probably heard it before. It was an uplifting little tune, one that Lute had sang to me whenever I was depressed.


    Kuzu''s response was to twitch her ears as she walked a little distant, but to my side instead of behind. Her tail twitched back and forth in tune with the humming, while a smile had begun to appear on her face.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 9 - The Curiosity Of A Fox

    After our ambush of the goblins we were no longer hounded by their pack of tracking dogs, nor did any goblins seem to be interested in following after us.  So for hours we walked onward, as I used the position of the moon and stars in order to triangulate the position of the portal. As always on a nest it would be found in the exact same place, a feature that allowed for the race that lived there to expand and control their territory properly.


    With the sun about to rise I called out for a halt in our march, a move that drew a confused look from Kuzu.  "The goblins can''t see well in at night," I told her, as I motioned toward a couple of larger rocks nestled near the bottom of a hill.  "We should wait until night, rest up, and then check on the portal."


    Kuzu stood there, awkwardly, as she looked around as though uncertain on what to do.  I motioned toward one of the boulders close by, a large rock that easily reached my waist.  "Hunker down, relax, get some sleep," I told her, perhaps a bit more brusquely than I needed to.


    "Oh," she flashed what could only be called a horrible attempt at a smile to me, then she walked over to the other side of the boulder and sat down.


    For a blissful short while there was silence, and I closed my eyes and embraced it.  Though I''d gotten some rest once recently I was still fatigued, the burden of the magic I''d used not easily washed away.  My current body was inferior to what I needed, and it would potentially prove lethal if I didn''t make some changes soon.


    "Hey...Fenix?" Kuzu sudden spoke up from her side of the boulder we shared.  "Why can you do magic? Is it an Elf thing?"


    That was a question I hadn''t expected, and I couldn''t stop the chuckle that came from the absurdity of what she thought.  "Everyone can do magic," I lifted my arm up, the one that I had shoved the gem shard into. "Don''t you remember me taking the magic crystal and putting it in my arm?"


    "Didn''t that hurt though?"


    "Dying hurts more," I told her, speaking from experience.  "Besides, without magic or science you can''t even dream of reaching the higher floors."


    "Science?" Kuzu''s voice made it clear she had absolutely no idea what that word meant.


    "Ah, how to explain it," I looked over my shoulder at the side of Kuzu''s head.  "If magic is using thought and belief, science is using your hands and knowledge.  Science is what lets us make antidotes and medicine, understand why we can start fires using flint and steel."


    "That sounds like something the Guild knows about."


    That comment put a piece of the puzzle into place.  "The return crystal and that tracker are from the Guild aren''t they?"


    "Yea.  So could you teach me science then?"


    "That''s not possible, I''d need years to even cover the basics."


    Her ears visibly sagged at that comment, before they suddenly perked back up.  "What about magic! You said anyone can do it! Just give me some of that gem you used."


    "I already used it," I responded at first before I realized that there''s no way she''d understand why that mattered.  "The core of the gem holds the power, the shards left over are garbage."


    "Oh," she sagged against the boulder, as her ears wilted once more.


    I turned my attention from her once again, instead looking out at the horizon.  The sun had risen fully and the beams colored the wasteland in a dull red hue. No goblins had shown up, and since we were in the middle of nowhere it was doubtful they ever would.


    "Fenix?" Kuzu suddenly called out.


    "Yes?"


    "Why did you bring me along?  I mean, you could have left me, I''m really not all that helpful."


    It was a valid question, one I hadn''t expected at all and all I could do was sit there for a few minutes.  In truth I had only brought her along because I knew she''d die otherwise, and no matter how useless she was I couldn''t leave someone to die a pointless death.  Even if I didn''t care much for someone, abandoning them out of laziness was an act that would only haunt me.


    "Get some sleep," I told Kuzu, before I closed my eyes.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    When we finally reached the vicinity of the portal we took up a spot distant enough that no goblin could hope to see us.  Though it was night, the goblins kept the portal area well lit and so I could easily study their fortified base.


    The white sphere was nestled inside a circular wall, which in turn had tents and hounds littered everywhere.  Goblins sat near fire pits, their interactions much like what you''d see from any other race. A pathway wound up toward the wall that blocked off the portal.  The pathway itself started on the other side of a stone wall that had been setup in a half-circle, as the entire goblin encampment was based on the cusp of a canyon.


    It was a well designed, heavily fortified spot that would probably prove near impossible for the divers like Ivan and Alexia. Even with a group of ten or twenty men the assault would result in a lot of lost life and possibly end up lasting for hours.


    "What are we going to do?" Kuzu asked, as her tail wagged back and forth.


    "I was kind of hoping we''d find some magic crystals before we got here, that way we could simply blast our way through."


    "I don''t think that''d work," Kuzu muttered to me.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "It did last time," I quietly murmured, so quiet I believed Kuzu wouldn''t be able to hear it.


    "What are we going to do?" Kuzu asked me again.


    All I responded with was a wicked grin.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    "I HATE YOU!" Kuzu yelled at me while the winds roared past us.


    The noise of rocks as they fell, and the feeling of dirt as it crumbled away with each touch seemed to have put her on edge.  The suicidal and impossible to climb cliff that was the dumbest way to approach the portal was of course the way I had opted to go. The initial part of the climb, which required finding a good spot to climb down at outside of goblin view, wasn''t too hard. The long climb toward the direction of the portal, using daggers and our hands and feet, was the part that took the most time.


    We had already gone more than halfway to where I wanted to go, a small hole in the cliff wall that had been there in the past.  The climb had been slow, the unstable cliff face a consistent danger, but every movement I made was assured. I had climbed many a cliffs in my previous life, and this was by far not the worst one I''d dealt with.


    Kuzu was not taking it well, she clung desperately to the daggers that I had stabbed into the rocks.  She watched how I managed to climb without usage of any tools, before she yelled once more. "This is suicide! You''re going to get killed!"


    "Don''t worry, this is nothing compared to floor thirty-eight!" I responded, before I leapt up to grab onto a rock that jutted out from the loose soil. My right hand grabbed hold of it, while my left snared onto some dirt which crumbled beneath the touch. My right foot kicked into the soil even as with my left I reached up grabbed a small solid stone.


    For Kuzu I had given my daggers, and I had told her to use them as handholds.  At first she had been incredulous at the idea, but she began to show promise the further into the climb we went. From my pouch I pulled out a fresh dagger and stabbed it in above the rock.


    A moment later and I surged up again, driving my left hand into a crevice between two flat rocks, before I stepped up onto the dagger which moments before I had buried into the cliff. My blood was pumping and for the first time in a while I felt happy to be back in the labyrinth, there was something about approaching the floor in a different way that made it all the more refreshing.


    The last time that my party had hit the eighth floor our means of clearing it was brutal, straight forward and in some aspects cheap. We simply walked in and used our magic to blast a line straight through all the fortifications and goblins in our way.  To the other divers of the time it had been awe inspiring, but to me it was simply the easiest way to achieve the task at hand.


    Not before long we came upon the cave that I had aimed for, a small little alcove that barely had any room for the both of us.  I pulled myself up into it, arms aching from the climb, and reached down to help Kuzu up as well. For a few seconds she hesitated in taking my hand, that odd look of fear on her face once more, before she accepted my help.


    "I can''t believe you''re having us do this," she muttered to me, her hands covered in dirt and her hair altogether a mess. Even her usually clean, sleek tail was snarled and in desperate need of attention, attention she started to give it immediately.


    "If I wasn''t still so new to the magic in me I could''ve had the stamina needed to take down their small army," I let her know, as I offered the waterskin.  "Right now I can probably do it, but lightning magic doesn''t work so well against stone fortifications."


    "Why don''t you just use fireballs or something?" she asked while she started to drink from the waterskin.


    I began to pick through one of the goblin pouches I had, eating some of the nuts and berries that they''d most likely farmed from the sixth floor.  "Each crystal holds a specific element in it, and whatever one you implant and absorb is the element you have access to. I really need to get my hands on an energy crystal though."


    "You can have more than one crystal in you?" Kuzu exclaimed while her green eyes went wide in surprise.  She also began to pick through one of the pouches I''d given her, nibbling at the dark green berries hesitatingly.


    "Only a couple," I casually tossed some of the more dubious food items out of the alcove.  "Your body will start to reject the gems if you can''t absorb anymore. Usually you can only handle two or three at most."


    "Rejects?" Kuzu wondered aloud, as she sniffed at a piece of what should have been jerky.


    "It builds up in your blood and ends up coming out when you," I paused at that, as I struggled to find the best way to put it.  It was then that I noticed she was about to eat the goblin jerky and I lifted up a hand toward her. "Don''t!"


    Kuzu''s hand stopped a few inches from her mouth.  "What? What''s the matter?"


    "Never eat meat that belonged to a goblin."


    "Oh, why?" Kuzu threw the mystery jerky outside.


    "Don''t," I said, not really wishing to ruin her mind with the nightmares I''d seen in the goblin cooking pits.  "Please, just don''t."


    Kuzu went quiet at that, her eyes studying my face for whatever reason she had.  I, in turn, huddled up against the wall of the cave and tried to rest a little more.  Depending on what happened next I would need the full potential of my magic at hand.


    Outside the wind continued to roar past us, the darkness of the night sky furthered by a cloud cover that blotted out the moon.  My ears could barely pick out the sound of the goblins above, but as the night was still fresh they hadn¡¯t quite calmed down yet.


    The cave we had found temporary refuge in was a cold one, and the flimsy little cloak I had barely warded off the inherent coolness of the floor.  As I fell asleep it was probably that cold sensation mixed with the noise of wind which brought on the nightmare I had.


    Wind blasted past me with such speed that it threatened to tear away at the heavy armor I wore.  A one-handed sword was grasped in my right hand, while in my left a long and overly complicated rifle was barely held.  It was a firearm designed to shoot slugs at an accelerated rate capable of moving so fast that not even the Architects could react.


    Across my face was a visor which allowed me to see information that was normally beyond the hope of a regular human to understand, knowledge that was all the more capable of increasing my efficiency in a fight.  Every indicator on it screamed all types of warnings about what lay ahead of me, and the fact that I shouldn¡¯t try to fight against it.


    The source of the wind was a miniaturized hurricane that floated above the left hand of a beautiful woman.  Her eight silver wings spread out behind her, she floated freely in the air without any visual effort. A golden halo floated above her head, while a massive sword was held in her free hand.


    "Why can''t you just live with me!" I cried out to her, my voice nearly robbed away by the gusts that constantly hammered at my body. "Why can''t we turn our backs on everything and simply live!"


    The face that looked down at me only turned into one of infinite sadness, it was a face that spoke of the tragedies it had witnessed. The woman''s voice came, so beautiful that no matter when it was heard it always made me feel warm. "You know I can¡¯t fight it, you know why I told you to stop getting stronger."


    To call the fight that happened easy to follow would be a lie, the movements that both of us made accelerated almost to the point of breaking our bodies into pieces. Magic infused boosts that tossed me left, right and forward, backward away from attacks while inward at the openings. Nothing in the entire labyrinth could even hope to follow our movements in that moment.


    Her sword strikes rippled reality, tore apart the ground and created miniature canyons. The landscape around us became nothing more than a hellish place of destruction, the beautiful garden that had been so painstakingly crafted by a tender touch scarred via brutality and senseless conflict.


    Across the whole of an entire world that was naught more than flowers, trees and grass we battled. We went from deep canyons to fields of hybrid roses, past volcanoes that raged and forests that shattered with our passing.  By the time we finally came to a stop most of the planet had been forever ruined, but the last place would prove to be one of the least touched.


    My sword had once more found the heart, in a moment that I could have sworn she allowed to happen.  A flicker of control over those automated impulses within her, a gap in the flawless defense that only an idiot would¡¯ve missed.  A sacrificial move, or a suicidal one?


    "Theodore!" came the loud voice of Kuzu as she shook me, her small hands on my shoulders. Her eyes showed how concerned she was, while the ears on her head were slumped down against her hair.


    I could only blink my eyes in response, and then clear my throat.  It¡¯d been a long time since anyone had touched me in my sleep, not since my wife before I¡¯d instigated the change.  I could only suspect it was because of how close we¡¯d already been to begin with, or because I¡¯d begun to trust Kuzu to not stab me in my sleep.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I studied the very tiny alcove, and then peered outside.  The night sky was still visible, but above the sound of the goblins had grown dim.


    "You were having a nightmare again," Kuzu told me, before she seemed to realize she still held my shoulders and lifted her hands away.


    A deep inhalation, a slight sniffle, and I realized my face was wet. With the back of my left arm I wiped away the tears that had fallen, while I grumbled a few words of thanks toward Kuzu.  Once again I took those feelings of regret and loss and shoved them back into the dark recesses where they¡¯d oozed out from. I could cry after I buried my wife.


    "Who''s Lute?" she asked. Her tail curled around her waist, and her ears flattened fully against her head, almost as though she feared my reaction.


    The name sent a tingle across my skin, nobody alive would know who she was and yet hearing someone else mention her made the memories more real. "Someone I lost," I murmured to her, while I flexed my muscles to test them. "Forget about it. Are you rested now?"


    She nodded, while her ears began to return to their default relaxed state.  The tail began to unfurl away from her body once more, up until I motioned toward the exit. "Not again," she half-cried in response.


    Once again the only reply she received was a smile.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 10 - Foxes And Goblins

    When my hand touched the top of the cliff the moon had already set, and the western sky was stained in a pink hue that signaled the oncoming sun. One of the oddities of the labyrinth was that there was no guarantee as to how the floor would function. Some would be flat, some would be spheres, some had suns that rose in the east and others in the south, some had no sun and others had no moons. There was only one consistent aspect of each floor aside from the portal, and that was it had at least one star. Lute once told me they weren''t actually stars, but for some odd reason she never elaborated.


    I slipped up onto the cliff edge without a single noise, my attention focused on the goblins encampment and not Kuzu below me. With the approach of morning the goblins had begun to stir. My body stayed low to the ground while I scanned our surroundings.


    "Thanks for the he-," Kuzu started to complain as she pulled herself up behind me, but then noticed how many goblins were in view. Instead a strange strangled noise came out from her mouth to finish her sentence.


    About a half dozen goblins were near enough to hear Kuzu as she whined, and each of them turned with sleepy expressions to gawk at us. Their little minds worked slowly, and it felt like an eternity before they finally reacted. One or two of them went for their weapons, but the smarter ones started to shout as loudly as they could and point.


    Our distance to the portal wasn''t that far off, although we had a wooden barricade in between us and it. I grabbed hold of Kuzu and scooped her up into my arms once more, before I swung my right foot up in what would normally have been a forward kick. As the kick started I had begun to generate a bolt of lightning that started at my heel and shot up in advance of my foot.


    In the world of science such an act would have melted my boot, burned my foot and probably crippled me for good measure. In the world of magic my foot stuck to the bolt like glue, and as the bolt flew up into the air above the wall I was dragged along with it. Magic was and always would be the realm of imagination and wishes, and I had vast experience in figuring out tricks during my past life.


    Kuzu''s scream at that was far louder than I''d expected, and it also served as a beacon for the already alerted goblins. Everywhere across the entire encampment thousands of goblins not only paid very close attention to us, but also began to run for the portal.


    We landed right near the portal, pain shooting through my legs due to how far we''d fallen. A goblin near the sphere cried out in shock, as he''d failed to see us due to the wooden wall in the way. Normally I would''ve simply kicked his head off, but at that moment my body refused to move as I wanted.


    Kuzu, surprisingly, came through for us at that moment. Even though she''d been frightened by the leap it seemed as though her instincts kicked in, and she pulled out and threw her dagger into the goblins face.


    I shifted my weight forward and lightly headbutted the portal, the warm sensation a welcome feeling. "Kuzu, touch it and go!" I ordered her, afraid that if I went first she''d somehow mess it all up and the goblins would get her.


    For a moment there was a hesitation, but then she placed her hand against the portal. A few seconds later she vanished from my arms, gone to the next floor, while a gate opened on the wooden wall around me. The goblins started to pour in, armed to the teeth and enraged at the intrusion into their home territory. Amongst them there was even a couple of shamans, one of which tried to crowd past the other goblins as though eager to show off.


    With my hands free I had plenty of time and opportunity to wave goodbye to the goblins before, with my forehead still against the portal, I focused inward and activated the magic inside the sphere.


    <hr>


    Floor 9


    The Goblin/Kitsune Border


    <hr>


    All of my daggers had been exhausted in the climb, so when I showed up on the ninth floor I could only ball my hands into fists and prepare to use magic if it was needed. Around me autumn had obviously come to the floor, gold and amber leaves scattered through the air as a light breeze teased at the loosely spread forest around me.


    Kuzu stood off to the side, moved perhaps ten feet away from where the arrival point was. Her tail had puffed up, her ears flat against her head while she glared not at me but toward the treeline. Three dark figures stood there, shadows that watched from within the shadow of the forest. I could make out, from their silhouettes, the obvious fox ears on their heads.


    I staggered toward Kuzu, the protest of my legs ignored, and cleared my throat loudly. "Kuzu," I tried to draw her attention. "They''re kitsune, like you."


    "Look at his ears!" one of the kitsune exclaimed, before the three stepped into the clearing. Each of them was lightly armored with steel and leather, while armed with two-handed swords that had a slight curve built into them. "Isn''t that an Elf?"


    "There''s no way, those filth wouldn''t dare come to our floors," one of his friends proclaimed, his hand already on the handle of his sword. An eagerness was visible in his golden eyes, and much like Kuzu his body language was obvious.


    Any further conversation was cut off as noise came from behind. I had heard it before, the sound of someone appearing via the portal system, and I twisted around with arms lifted up in a defensive posture. The goblins had begun to arrive in vast sums, and before all of them had transferred the first of the arrivals dashed at our small group.


    My hand snapped out in a quick jab at the nearest goblin, the bones of his nose making an audible crunch. While he reeled from the strike I grabbed his wrist, twisted it hard enough to snap the thin bone, and caught the freshly dropped club. I buried the club as hard as I could into the goblins face, the little monster unable to even react to anything I''d done before he collapsed dead to the ground.


    The kitsune darted past Kuzu and I, their dark cloaks they wore giving them the illusion of living shadows. Their large swords swung out and quickly began to prune the battlefield, body parts of goblins sent flying in all directions. However while the kitsune were quick the amount of goblins managed to continue to grow, and the tide changed drastically when one of the kitsune was impaled in the shoulder by a thin lance of ice.


    "Osai!" one of the kitsune called out, as they hesitated in their attacks at the sight of their stricken ally.


    The goblins took advantage of that hesitation and pushed hard against the seemingly powerful kitsune. With renewed vigor the goblins pushed the kitsune back toward Kuzu and I, while the shaman in the backlines began to lift his staff up. Though all the goblins looked the same to me, I expected it was the shaman who had pushed his way past all the others on the previous floor.


    Kuzu had become involved in a fight with a couple of goblins, her punches and kicks barely enough to stagger the weak monsters. I knelt down quick and scooped up the club from the dead goblin, before I walked quickly toward Kuzu. While she had the goblins distracted I began to pummel one of them from behind, which instantly earned me the combined enmity of all nearby goblins.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "We need to retreat!" Osai proclaimed as he pointed toward Kuzu. "Girl, come with us and leave the Elf!"


    What came as a surprise to me was that Kuzu responded instantly, as she did a crude spin kick into the head of one of the goblins. "I''m not going to leave him behind!"


    "He''s an Elf, we''re your kind!"


    "He''s not an Elf," Kuzu told him as she backed away from the fight. "He''s my friend."


    "I hate to interrupt your lovely conversation," I finally spoke up, "but I''m going to have to ask you to carry me."


    Electricity began to course up and down my arms, a sight that caused every goblin and kitsune to pause in their fighting. The shaman in the back screamed out something in that foul language of theirs, and he waved his staff in my general direction. A shower of small shards of ice spat out from the tip of the staff, a couple of the goblins nearest me caught in the cone.


    Before the ice could touch me I had already begun to move, the world around me gradually slowing down. I dipped into the realm of the impossible again as I utilized the electricity to increase my reflexes. Much like with the lightning leap I had done on the previous floor, I used minute bursts of lightning to move my body faster than what I''d normally be able to.


    My main goal was not to kill the goblin foot soldiers, they could be dispatched with minimal fuss by the kitsune warriors. Instead I slipped through the giant crowd of armed goblins so quickly that I was a blur to them, and when I reached the goblin shaman I backhanded him. The blow was sudden, powerful, and the goblin shaman fell to the ground immediately.


    While he floundered on the ground I tore away the staff from his hands, before I shoved the wooden end of it into his side. I stabbed him with his own crude weapon over and over again in that slowed time reality of mine. With the shaman out of commission, or more likely dead, I turned off the enhanced mode and lifted up the staff.


    "Run if you want to live, you garbage monsters!" I roared at the goblins around me.


    Like so many times before the power of the magic drew upon my body, and I gathered as much as I could that wouldn''t instantly knock me out. My mind focused on the image of what I wanted to execute and I lifted one hand up in front of me, clenched into a fist. When my fingers unfurled so did the power, a ball of electricity that exploded outward and instantly killed most of the nearest goblins, while causing the rest to scatter toward the outside of the clearing.


    It was a brutal, powerful, and deadly use of the magic that dropped me to one knee. The goblins were too shaken to take advantage of my weakened state, and thankfully it was the kitsune warriors who recovered their sanity first. With an eagerness born of their lifelong hatred toward the goblins they once more started to murder every single one. Kuzu on the other hand ran toward me with a worried look on her face, though she remembered to grab a couple of daggers from the now dead goblins.


    "Don''t worry, they won''t kill me in my sleep," I whispered toward Kuzu. "It''d stain the honor of their skulk."


    "What? What are you talking about?" Kuzu replied, though she was smart enough to keep her attention on the goblins who still lived and not on me.


    Watched over like that by her I began to relax, a feeling of trust already having begun to properly grow between the two of us. I smiled at that, before the memories of my lost friends started to push to the front. Before I could explain anything further to Kuzu my eyes closed and I slumped fully to the ground.


    "Damn, I..."


    ? ? ? ? ?


    "He''s an Elf, I don''t understand why you like him so much," Osai growled, his voice distant but easily heard.


    "He promised to help me reach the tenth floor and he''s done a good job on keeping that promise," Kuzu responded from somewhere nearby.


    "He used magic! Nobody can do that! He''s obviously a demon in disguise!" was another masculine voice, one that was a bit huskier. "We should put him in chains before he wakes up."


    "I''m already awake," I growled as I opened my eyes.


    We had at some point been brought to a large tent, one that could easily contain a crowd of ten. Cushions were put off to the sides, though a couple had been put under me and I could verify how comfortable they were. Kuzu was seated on her knees near me, while she had put on a light robe that had a sash that came around the front.


    Across her back was a two-handed sword that was favored by the kitsune, a ''Gift of the Fox'' given to newcomers to their society. "Are you alright?" she asked, her hands on her lap. Her eyes, however, showcased a degree of worry more than what I¡¯d expected.


    "I''ll be fine. Did you manage to keep hold of the staff?" I lifted myself up onto my elbows to get a better look at her.


    "The kitsune took it away. They want to know how an Elf got to this floor," she glared accusingly toward Osai. As her head turned some strands of red hair fell down toward the open front of her robe. My eyes started to drift, before I wrenched the gaze away from somewhere too tempting to look at.


    Two kitsune approached, hands on the hilts of their swords as though they feared I would harm them. "My name is Osai, this is Pritz, what are you doing here?" Osai bluntly asked.


    "Diving, I figured that was obvious," I gave a light laugh at that. "Where is the reynard of your skulk?"


    The two kitsune went rigid at that question, then they looked at each other and started to rapidly talk in a quick, almost barking language. It was easy enough to imagine a dog when one heard that, though it wasn''t quite right. There was enough of a difference that it was obviously not a dog, but something else.


    "Don''t treat me like I''m an idiot, now where is your reynard?" I asked them, my words spoken in the same dialect they had lapsed into. Vulpese was what Lute had labelled it, although the origin of it had been half her influence and natural evolution.


    Both of the kitsune failed miserably at hiding their surprise, then slowly turned their heads in my direction. Osai for the first time showed respect, as he went down to one knee, while his head bowed. "My apologies, but we are cautious by nature. Our reynard is in the city and meeting him will require going to the next floor."


    Kuzu tilted her head at all of it. She had no clue what we were saying, a side effect of how she had been raised on the first floor. How she''d even managed to end up there was a mystery, one that I doubted I would ever get around to solving. In the end though it gave her less knowledge than that of a kitling, and made her more of a human than she might realize.


    Carefully I stood up, my balance only slightly shot. I could feel a painful sensation in most of my body, but it was more of a muscle ache than anything else. Time would fix that, and so long as I didn''t use my enhanced time magic I''d most likely recover soon enough. "They''re going to take us to the portal."


    "Where did you learn their language?" Kuzu whispered to me as she stood up as well.


    "Something I picked up a long time ago," I honestly replied. A glance was directed toward Osai and his friend, before I requested something of them. "I''m going to have need of the staff that I grabbed from that shaman. It is meant to be my ''Gift of the Diver'' to your reynard."


    Osai''s already surprised look became even more, and I wondered if it was possible for eyes to break from widening too far. To me it was common sense, one should always bring a gift if they passed through the tenth floor. The kitsune were a respectful group after all and deserved the same kindness back that they gave to others. From his response I could tell that he hadn''t expected me to even know of it, a reaction that brought a smile to my face.


    "Are you sure you''re not a kitsune in disguise?" Pritz spoke up from the side, as he started to rummage in a wooden chest. From it he pulled the staff with the blue crystal embedded in it, blood still stained along the bottom half of the shaft. "Even the other skulks have been lax in their gifts."


    I accepted the staff from him with a slight bow. "Manners and tradition are more important than personal feelings," I told him honestly. Though I didn''t care for their clearly racist attitude toward Elves I wasn''t about to break etiquette. "I expect I have the protection of your skulk until we reach your reynard?"


    "On the honor of our skulk you shall not be harmed," Osai promised, one hand motioning toward the exit of the tent. "At the least we owe you for helping with the goblin invasion."


    I gave a dismissive wave at that comment. "It was our fault, we didn''t sneak through their camp and dragged them here."


    "Pritz is right," Osai told me as Kuzu and I passed out of the tent and emerged into their makeshift camp. "You should be a kitsune."


    The camp was, for the most part, generic and unimpressive. A couple of tents with a single large fire pit made up the bulk of it. There was no wall, as the exit to the floor would shift randomly and make such a structure obsolete. Instead the kitsune had designed their camp to be quick to tear down, and quick to put back up.


    The portal itself was dead center in the camp. A single kitsune stood watch near it, most likely to make certain nobody tried to use it without permission. When we approached the portal the kitsune knelt toward Osai, a sign that instantly told me the command structure.


    "Pritz, you have the rights to command," Osai announced to his friend, "if they attack send a messenger and I''ll send support. Until then continue the guard duty until our skulks rotation runs out."


    "As you say it shall be." Pritz bowed his head toward Osai, before he pointed at the kitsune''s shoulder. "Are you going to return after you have healed?"


    "Perhaps, though I''ll definitely visit Sala before I do anything else." Osai smiled at his friend. "Be well."


    "Greet her for me as well."


    Osai walked over to the portal and put his hand on it, before he motioned toward Kuzu and I. Kuzu, with a shaking hand, touched the portal. Her tail refused to stop moving as she looked at me, a smile on her face. "I''ve never been there before!" she whispered to me, as though embarrassed to let the other kitsune know that.


    "Don''t worry, you''ll never forget it," was all I told her before I vanished to the next floor.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 11 - The Vulpine Capital

    <hr>


    Floor 10


    The Kitsune Capital


    Checkpoint 1


    <hr>


    Our point of arrival was on a vast prairie, the grass around us stamped down from consistent travel. The sun had begun to edge upward in the eastern sky, a handful of clouds with some dark grey tinting in the far off distance. The breeze on the tenth floor was gentle and warm, moving in advance of what was most likely rain clouds.


    A pinch in the back of my right hand was the first thing I noticed, and the wince on Kuzu''s face made it obvious she had the same sensation occur. I checked my hand, though I already knew what should be there, and smiled at the sight of the red crystal embedded in my flesh. It was opaque, but when you stared at it long enough you could almost imagine that blood flowed through it. From firsthand experience I knew that nothing short of an attack from Lute could hope to damage the crystal.


    With the rising sun providing a decent backdrop, the city of the kitsune was framed with tall spires centralized. A stone wall surrounded the city, tall and thick with mortar that held the material together. Along the top of the wall seven archers had been stationed with about ten feet between each of them. Even from this distance I could tell that those kitsune who guarded the walls looked bored, depressed and tired expressions obvious on their faces.


    The relaxed stance of the archers changed instantly when they noticed our distant figures. They called back and forth to each other, bows raised and arrows prepared in case they needed to fire. A single one of their group pulled out a spyglass and stared at it, before he gave a signal with his fingers to the others. It was only then that they returned to being relaxed, while one of their group vanished from the top of the wall.


    "Only seven?" I wondered aloud, while we started to walk toward the city.


    "If we need more than seven it means our camp on the ninth fell, or the orcs pushed past our holdings on the eleventh. In either of those instances we''d know about it before anything came through the portal," Osai explained.


    Kuzu adjusted the strap that held the scabbard on her back. She was obviously new to carrying such a large weapon, and I doubted that she had much experience in using two-handed swords. However she had been wise enough to accept the gift. Thankfully I doubted we''d need to do much fighting anytime soon, although with the changes caused by the Tenth War my expectations could prove wrong.


    Our approach toward the wall put us near a small gate, one that had been layered in steel and most likely had taken centuries to construct. It was doubtful that anyone could ever get through it without the help of extreme magic, or perhaps some type of weapon from one of the higher floors.


    The archers on top of the wall all looked down at our trio, and they made little effort of hiding their interest in Kuzu. It was only when Osai placed himself in front of her that they realized how obvious they''d been, a hint of shame on their faces.


    "What''s an Elf doing here!" one of the kitsune called out, his fingers lightly touching the end of one of his arrow shafts. The others on the wall also took note of me, a couple actually preparing their bows for use.


    Osai lifted his arm up and placed it in front of me. "This man is on his way to meet my reynard, if you wish for our skulk to fight yours than shoot me now."


    Kuzu''s tail twitched in confusion, because she still had no clue how to speak in the language of the kitsune. "What''s going on?" she whispered, her eyes locked onto the agitated archers.


    "A disagreement about me," I told her. Though I was calm on the outside, my inner warrior raged to be released at this aggravating delay. Though I wasn''t fully recovered I could most likley make quick work of the archers with a few well placed lightning bolts.


    "You offer your skulk''s protection to this thing? Are you insane, Osai?" one of the archers on the left cried out.


    "They are both under the protection of our skulk, until our reynard says otherwise. Now will you calm your souls or must we settle this with blood like kitlings?"


    One of the archers spat on the ground, but he lowered his bow and moved his hand away from the quiver. "If it kills someone it''s on your head, remember that Osai."


    The other archers followed his lead, though some seemed much more hesitant than the original had. Some didn''t even bother putting their arrows away, their hostile glares directed at me. Though they''d never seen an Elf in their life it was obvious their race had learned to hate them.


    Kuzu and I followed Osai as he walked to the metal gate. The worry on her face was obvious, as she couldn''t stop herself from glancing up at the archers as we neared the wall. "Don''t worry, they won''t touch another skulks protected people," I informed her, patting her lightly on the shoulder.


    Kuzu inched a little bit away from me at that contact, although she didn''t flinch away. "What''s a skulk?" she asked me while we waited for the gate to open.


    "Kind of like a family for the kitsune, although broader than that. Numerous families come together, they work together, they swear to guard and help each other," I explained, my interest less on the archers and more on the gate I''d never seen before.


    Bars on our side visibly slid in multiple directions, before a loud clunk came from the other side, and then even more metal sliding could be heard from somewhere inside the gate. It was almost as though they''d designed it to be a puzzle, perhaps so that intruders couldn''t simply swing the door open.


    "The reynard is their elected leader," I continued to explain. "They''re almost always the most respected, and quite often older, member of the skulk and tend to be male."


    "There have been some females though," Osai added in from the side. "I met one once when I was a kitling. Their skulk moved on to the twelfth floor a while back, and I haven''t heard of them since."


    When we passed through the open gate we were greeted by an exterior ring of very poorly constructed homes. Much like with Grantis the shacks were designed for the poorest, usually the kitsune who had been relegated to not having a skulk or those who had dishonored themselves severely. In the case of a war they would be the first to die, but any who survived would recover some respect from their fellow kitsune.


    It was easily an hour of walking before we finally reached an area with proper housing. The buildings were single floor, but wide and quite often with wide open doorways. The kitsune had a very open approach to their housing, most likely because of how they cared significantly for their families and friends. In one of the houses we could see a group of kitling seated around an adult who had a book.


    Throughout all of our walk Kuzu couldn¡¯t stop her tail from wagging back and forth excitedly. Every new building and person constantly brought a smile to her face. I could understand why she was so excited, but at the same time it was a slight embarrassment to have her acting like that near me.


    We walked even further into the city and eventually reached a district where the buildings were made of brick. These were the buildings that stood much higher than a single floor, and yet the truly tallest were even deeper. Osai came to a stop when we reached the brick district, his attention drifting toward the north.


    Kuzu and I couldn¡¯t resist following his line of sight, and what we saw made me want to start laughing. At some point in the past the reynards had made good on their threat, and they had constructed statues out of steel. They had been well crafted, but for some obscure reason they were fifty feet tall.


    "The heroes who saved us over a thousand years ago," Osai proudly announced before he turned to look at Kuzu. "I know! I have something I can show you since you¡¯ve never been here before."


    "Oh? What?" Kuzu asked, her eyes almost glittering at the prospect of seeing something new.


    While they talked, I didn¡¯t even hear a single word. That thousand years resonated deeply within me, a vast sum of time that made my heart drop. A thousand years since all my friends had died, and a thousand years since I¡¯d left Lisa and Mika behind.


    A thousand years with Lute¡¯s corpse festering in the deepest, hidden part of the labyrinth. All alone, cold and exposed to anyone who wandered in. An anger grew within, mostly at myself, one that caused me to clench my jaw and curl my hands into fists.


    "Fenix?" came the gentle voice of Kuzu, a voice that pulled me back to reality.


    I forcefully relaxed my muscles and put on a fake smile, trying to reassure her. "Yes?"


    "Osai said he wants to show us the Black Fortress," Kuzu told me, as she pointed toward the kitsune in question who had already started to walk away.


    Black Fortress? I scoured my memory for any information on that, but I couldn¡¯t recall ever running across a Black Fortress in the city of the kitsune. All I could guess was that they¡¯d built it, perhaps due to the Tenth War.


    For another twenty minutes Osai lead us through the city, our path taking us through the various types of districts. From the brick buildings we wove our back to toward the wooden homes, and from there we looped into a deeper part of the city.


    In the end we arrived at a very familiar place for me, one that had cherry blossom trees and a large open field. A small pond had been placed toward the south end, and all around the park numerous families could be seen relaxing.


    "Oh no," I muttered as I figured out what the Black Fortress was.


    Ahead of us near the center of the park a massive building could be seen. It was easily four-stories in total height and at least three hundred feet wide. A balcony could be seen at the top in the center of the building, though no door or window was visible near it.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The building was blacker than the night itself, created from a type of metal that couldn''t be found anywhere on the tenth floor. It would require going all the way to the fortieth floor in order to get even a small amount of it.


    If not for Lute cheating the place never would''ve been made. In the end she wanted to create a memorable, permanent aspect to our lives. A mark that we had been there, and a way to commemorate our love after we married. Even knowing her secret I had chosen to marry her, and she knew eventually I would either grow too strong or pass away.


    "The home of Theodore and Lute, the heroes of our distant past," Osai said as he smiled at the building. We stood on the fringe of the large park, yet the building still dominated most of our vision. ¡°They who stood against an orc army and saved my ancestors from destruction. With their most trusted friend Pierre they worked miracles and brought peace.¡±


    Kuzu''s tail stopped moving and even her ears went rigid. Her head started to turn in my direction, yet she stopped and instead looked at Osai with a smile. "That''s wonderful, does anyone go inside it?"


    Osai laughed at that, before he started to walk away from the park and back into the city depths. "Nobody can get inside that thing, it''s made of something harder than steel. Apparently some mages even tried blasting it open with their spells about five-hundred years ago, but all it did was spit the magic back at them."


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kuzu followed after Osai once more. ¡°What were those heroes like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we really need to talk about them,¡± I murmured as I shadowed the two, my eyes focused on the back of Kuzu¡¯s head.


    ¡°You really want to know, huh?¡± Osai clapped his hands together once. ¡°I got it. Pierre brought the knowledge of concrete with him. He apparently learned it somewhere deep in the labyrinth. Thanks to him we were able to make some of our larger buildings.¡±


    ¡°That sounds pretty neat,¡± Kuzu¡¯s tail tip started to wiggle. ¡°How far did those heroes manage to dive?¡±


    Osai paused for a moment as a large group of armed kitsune walked through an intersection in front of us. His one arm lifted up in front of me of all people, though I knew it was to warn those kitsune not to interfere with the Elf.


    ¡°Legend says that the three heroes came back from the eightieth floor once,¡± Osai said after the kitsune had finished walking by. ¡°All we can confirm is they knew things that made us look like savages, but they shared much and helped us grow.¡±


    ¡°What about...who was it, Lute?¡± Kuzu innocently asked, before she glanced behind her at me. There was a smile there, a wicked little one that I wanted to wipe off her face.


    In truth she knew a bit too much, a mistake on my part. I¡¯d figured I could simply pulverize my way through everything, but I¡¯d overlooked my need for deceit. It was a lesson I¡¯d need to take to heart before I reached the Architects. If they ever found out the truth of who I was, if He was still somehow alive, the entire labyrinth would be in danger.


    ¡°Ah yes, I¡¯ve heard she was named after the Goddess,¡± Osai laughed at that one. ¡°She was the greatest swordswoman to ever live, so good that merely watching her would raise your skill.¡±


    Osai paused as we arrived at a district where everything was made of crystals and concrete. The concrete worked as pillars and flooring, but the crystals made up most of the walls and ceilings. Archways were heavily used, and the only doors were designed to slide open rather than swing.


    Each of the buildings had a single emblem etched into the crystal above their main entrances. Osai led us to one that had a tulip, a symbol I¡¯d never seen before. He slid the crystal door open and boldly walked in, before he turned and motioned for us to follow.


    After we walked into the building Osai led us even further in, passing by numerous kitsune who stared at me. Some were openly hostile in their look, and others simply confused, but none stood in the way of our chaperone.


    The room Osai finally brought us to was not altogether large, with a clean interior. The floor had cushions and a thick carpet. Each of the walls where thick, and someone had draped thick cloth from ceiling to floor. A single person was inside and looked like he was asleep, as he lounged on a pile of cushions with a steaming cup on a small wooden stand next to him.


    "Reynard Niran, I bring guests who wished to meet you," Osai stated loudly before he stepped to the left and promptly sat down on the ground cross-legged.


    I chose to speak next, given the fact that Kuzu was unpracticed in both Vulpese as well as the manners of her kind. "My humble hands bring a ''Gift of the Divers'' for the reynard who is so kind as to receive us."


    While the man who looked asleep continued to not move I pulled out the staff and placed it gently on the ground in front of me. Before anyone said anything I took two steps to the right and knelt down, before I nodded at Kuzu toward the empty space to my left.


    Kuzu was not altogether dumb so she caught on quickly and followed suit. I gave a small smile to try and reassure her, though the nervousness was obvious on her face.


    "Ah...a gift? How long have we reynard gone without one," asked the kitsune before he opened his eyes. One was a brilliant gold while the other was a dark blue, and both settled upon the beautiful Kuzu who sat across from him. "Is she a mute? Does she not know her manners?"


    "My apologies, but Kuzu was born on the first floor and her parents seem to have not taught her properly," I explained quickly, while Kuzu continued to merely twitch her ears in confusion at our conversation. "She means no disrespect to you, aged elder, and I hope my gift can help overcome the disrespect she still brings through ignorance."


    Niran laughed at that, his free hand slapping against his knee. "So you don''t know your own tongue, child? A kitling still are you?"


    Kuzu blushed a little at that, although she could only nod in response. "I haven''t had the opportunity to learn how to speak the language of the kitsune, I''m sorry."


    "Very well, we shall speak in the tongue of the humans then to make it easier for you," Niran told her. He looked at the staff and then scoffed, before glaring at me. "A goblin staff? How foul, why did you bring this as a gift? This is nothing but trash."


    "I did not bring the staff but the knowledge on how to use the magic within to you and your skulk, Reynard Niran. It is my hope that you will find it useful and use it to boost your skulk to a point greater than the others," I told him.


    Niran could not resist moving his ears forward eagerly. "Magic? That is lost to us and the others, how could one of the Elves from the first floor know the means by which to use it?"


    Osai cleared his throat to draw his reynards attention. "He was using magic during a fight on the ninth floor, Master Niran. According to Kuzu, the female, he knows the secret of granting magic."


    "Indeed, all you need to do is carefully remove the crystal and then carve it until the center is a proper sliver. After doing that you implant the piece into the arm of the carver, and they will be able to use magic. Though there will be pain," I warned him. "Two warnings though. The first is that the original crystal loses the power when you carve it, and the second is that you can only inject one crystal over the course of three to five days. Do it too fast and the person might die.¡±


    Niran listened to my words and nodded his head. He calmly reached down to the cup of clear liquid and drank from it, before he tossed the empty cup over his left shoulder. The noise of it breaking made my heart skip a beat, as it was not a good sign.


    "If we were to try this tactic you seem to have told me there is a chance of death, and you wish me to use my own kitsune as an experiment?" Niran half-asked, before he shook his head. "My skulk will not conduct this experiment, not until we know a kitsune can safely do as you say."


    It was what I had been afraid of. The act of tossing the cup had been a move similar to flipping a coin. If the cup had not broken he would have agreed to the proposal, though most likely hesitatingly.


    "I''m sorry but I know of no kitsune who would help me in this endeavor," I told him honestly. To do something that might kill them, especially at the behest of an Elf?


    "I will," Kuzu calmly announced. It was a statement that drew all of our attentions back to her, and one that surprised me.


    "Are you sure, kitling? You might die during this," Niran checked. ¡°You would trust this Elf with your life?¡±


    "Yes, I''ve seen the process done so I''m sure I can do it too," Kuzu said, before she reached for the goblin staff.


    All three of us watched on as Kuzu began to pry the crystal out, and then she pulled out a steel dagger from her sash. The process was slow, as Kuzu carefully began to slice away at the gem in her hand. Not long into it her concentration on the crystal became absolute, and so while she worked on the task I made a move of my own.


    ¡°With your blessing might I speak with you?¡± I requested of the reynard.


    Niran gave a nod of his head. ¡°You may, though I would love to know how an Elf learned our language and etiquette.¡±


    ¡°My benefactor was wise, and he taught me of magic and words beyond the normal knowledge of my kind,¡± I told Niran, lying through my teeth.


    ¡°A wisdom that one could hope might help change this stagnant labyrinth,¡± Niran sighed to himself. ¡°Speak of what you wish.¡±


    ¡°You seem to doubt what I¡¯ve told you, so how about a wager?¡±


    Niran leaned forward a tiny amount, his one ear flicking. ¡°You have my interest, Elf. What shall we bet on?¡±


    That aspect of their culture had apparently remained intact over the last thousand years. Their race preferred to stick to the tenth floor, and that lack of moving gave them a good deal of extra time. To that end some smart kitsune far back in the past had fallen in love with gambling.


    Pierre had loved that, often making a small fortune whenever he passed through the tenth floor. The fact that the kitsune always repaid their debts made them some of the best victims for my gambling friend.


    ¡°Since you doubt me, how about we make it an interesting one. Let¡¯s bet on whether or not Kuzu will live.¡±


    ¡°Hah, interesting. You¡¯re either certain of this procedure or you don¡¯t care for her. To that end I can grant you some gold, what do you offer?¡±


    ¡°I will serve your skulk for a year.¡±


    ¡°An Elf,¡± the reynard gave a small shake of his head. ¡°I would normally say no, but Osai backs your claim of magic. To that end I will happily agree to your little bet. Though I hope you win, as I¡¯d rather not see such a beautiful flower wither.¡±


    Kuzu had paused in her carving, her attention once more shifted back to us. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± she worriedly asked.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine,¡± I smiled at her, my hand waving toward the crystal. ¡°Is it finished?¡±


    She brandished that crystal in front of her with a wide smile, her eyes wide and bright. It was crudely done, and yet I couldn¡¯t bring myself to tell her how badly mangled it was. ¡°All I need to do is put it in my arm?¡±


    "Yes, and it¡¯s going to hurt,¡± I reminded her.


    Kuzu looked down at her left arm, the crystal in her right hand. She started to aim it at her arm, but I coughed and raised my hand. Still next to her I leaned over and put my hand on top of her own.


    ¡°Oh?¡± her smile faltered, but her ears didn¡¯t sag.


    ¡°Trust me, if you put it in the wrong spot you¡¯ll bleed all over the place,¡± I informed her. My hand moved her own, and I tracked the crystal toward an area where fat and muscle should be.


    When I started to move my hand away her own quivered, and she looked down at that crystal with a hint of fear. Though she¡¯d put on a brave front it was easy to see that she dreaded either the pain of the crystal, or the pain of the mana merging into her.


    "It''s okay, we''ll go on three," I told her, my mouth close to her ear. The fox ear flicked at the breath of air from my mouth, and she couldn¡¯t stop herself from giggling. Apparently the kitsune ears could be tickled quite easily.


    ¡°Alright, on three!¡± she smiled once again, her eyes turning to look at me with such trust that it almost made me feel bad.


    "One," I counted out, before I forced the crystal into her arm.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 12 - Home Sweet Home

    Kuzu started to writhe on the ground, a torrent of cries spewed forth at an impressive rate. More swear words then I expected her to know were uttered in that. Reynard Niran watched this with a great deal of interest, while Osai could only stare on in silence.


    ¡°Do you have any food, I haven¡¯t eaten anything in a while,¡± I calmly inquired.


    The question drew looks of surprise from both of the kitsune, though Niran managed to retain some degree of emotional control. He motioned toward Osai, an act that led to Osai immediately standing up and leaving.


    ¡°You are quite easily one of the strangest people I have ever met,¡± Niran admitted to me while we waited for Osai to return.


    ¡°Strange to a kitsune, but for all you know I¡¯m normal for an Elf.¡±


    Niran¡¯s ears twitched at that, as though he¡¯d forgotten that he was talking with an Elf. He opened his mouth, then closed it, before he let out a long sigh. ¡°Even if she lives through this, and your gift is acceptable, your kind will not be welcome amongst mine for a long time.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do this for the Elves,¡± I honestly admitted, though I didn¡¯t elaborate beyond that.


    Before Niran could pry any further the door slid open and Osai stepped back in. He had a wide circular tray with legs, and he placed it in the middle of the room. It was far enough away from Kuzu that she couldn¡¯t accidentally knock into it while she continued to squirm about.


    The kitsune liked to eat anything they could get their hands on, a bonus of the fact that they were a hybrid of humans and foxes. Even grass could be enough to sate them, at least for a short while. My experience with them had me quite ready for the variety on the tray, though the more eccentric foods were thankfully not present.


    I didn¡¯t take anything, and instead I sat there and waited patiently. Niran smiled at my distinct lack of greed, and with his right hand he motioned toward the tray. ¡°Please accept this minor feast from my skulk.¡±


    For the next few minutes the two of us ate freely from the tray, while Osai stood near the door. Though I doubted that his reynard would have been upset with him joining us, he seemed more interested in keeping an eye on Kuzu.


    A hint of a chill filled the air as my companion grew quiet on the floor. The chill started to grow, enough that Niran and I could see our breaths. The reynard stared at me, perhaps accusingly, before he started to realize that I wasn¡¯t the source of this event.


    ¡°On three,¡± Kuzu growled, her face against the floor.


    Her tail puffed up and with minimal difficulty she stood up. There was a slight wobble in her stance, but she recovered and glared in my direction. The already cool room dropped another ten degrees, even as a hint of frost formed on the floor near Kuzu.


    "You said on three!" she hollered.


    "Best to go when you don''t expect it." I motioned toward Niran with one hand while I popped some berries in my mouth. "Told you she wouldn''t die."


    "You bet on my life!" she shrieked loud enough that everyone else present winced.


    "Five, four," I started to count out.


    "Why are you counting!" she yelled even louder than before, the cold wind surged while fresh snowflakes formed and swirled around her.


    A moment later it was like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and she tumbled to the ground. Before she could hit the ground I leapt up and caught her, cradling her gently in my hands. ¡°Right on cue,¡± I murmured, ¡°nice work Kuzu.¡±


    ¡°The mythical mana exhaustion?¡± Niran spoke up from the side, his eyes focused on the unconscious Kuzu.


    ¡°Normally it happens when you use the energy within until you run out,¡± I explained, ¡°but Kuzu¡¯s untrained and not ready, so her emotions made her subconsciously drain herself.¡±


    ¡°How does one use magic? They need to get angry all the time?¡±


    ¡°No, with training and practice you can form a mental image of what you want and give it life. You wish for what you want the magic to do, and it subsequently pulls on the energy within your body to manifest it.¡±


    Niran grew quiet at that, his eyes still locked on Kuzu. He finally looked up toward Osai before he spoke again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can not think of any way to accept this gift. My skulk will owe you a debt beyond any I¡¯ve ever heard of before.¡±


    ¡°Then your debt will last through my own families lineage, until such time as your skulk feels they have returned enough.¡±


    ¡°If it means I am allowed to use this knowledge for my skulk, I am certain all will agree,¡± Niran said, as he motioned toward the unconscious Kuzu, ¡°but what of your companion?¡±


    ¡°I promised her something, and I try to keep my promises,¡± I said, ¡°but to that end I will need to rely on your debt to me already. Do you know what a return crystal is?¡±


    ¡°The gems of the humans? The kitsune have looted some from the humans who decided to try and play with us over the last few hundred years,¡± Niran commented as his eyebrow raised, ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°Her home is on the first floor, and I¡¯ve heard that those return you there,¡± I answered honestly.


    ¡°They do, though her point of origin interest me due to that fact,¡± Niran commented, ¡°when we first seized the crystals from their original owners we decided to retaliate against the humans by sending some of our elites. They never returned, so we assumed they were killed.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you think she¡¯s one of their descendants?¡±


    ¡°If she is I¡¯m surprised the kitsune blood still flows so strongly in her,¡± Niran motioned toward Osai before he spoke again, ¡°I require you to go and speak with Ciraz, and offer him whatever he wants for a human crystal.¡±


    Osai gave a quick nod of his head before he turned and left the room. The crystal door slid closed once more without a sound, and Niran and I were left alone with the sleeping Kuzu.


    ¡°Kitsune genetics overwrite any other species they mate with,¡± I informed Niran, ¡°it¡¯s their special gift that the Goddess gave them. That¡¯s why she¡¯s still pure kitsune.¡±


    ¡°Geenaticks?¡± Niran fumbled with the new word, mispronouncing it slightly, ¡°I have never heard of that before.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have,¡± I responded, before I realized I needed to add a little bit of deceit to that, ¡°I was taught about it by my mentor.¡±


    ¡°My skulk would love to take in your mentor. By the way, what are the other races gifts?¡±


    I could only blink at that question, before I laughed. Of course he¡¯d be curious about something I¡¯d drop a hint on, and in the end I doubted there¡¯d be any harm in letting him know more. ¡°The humans were gifted with the twentieth floor, though only if they could make it there. The orcs were granted a strength that puts them a step above all others. The other proper races you wouldn¡¯t know of, so it¡¯s a waste to let you know about them.¡±


    ¡°What of the Elves?¡±


    ¡°That,¡± I mysteriously replied, ¡°the Goddess has an odd sense of humor.¡±


    Niran¡¯s eyes narrowed at that, his head tilting to the side. I could almost hear the sound of his brain as it worked hard at what I¡¯d said, but in the end I doubted he could understand since it wasn¡¯t easily noticed audibly.


    The two of us sat there and continued to talk, though our conversation started to move toward the more mundane. He told me of how the kitsune had grown over the last few hundred years, and also explained how the battle with the orcs and goblins went. After a while Osai returned with a crystal, which I happily accepted. A few minutes later and he escorted me to the portal, and while I gripped Kuzu I initiated a transfer back to the first floor.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    <hr>


    Floor 1


    Grantis - Town of Beginnings


    <hr>


    The arrival point for Grantis was set, and it was as it always had been. A large stone hallway with a very high ceiling spread out around me as I appeared. Nearby I could make out what had to be a medical center, as a woman draped in a white long dress stood nearby a door with a big red and white symbol.


    The main trading hub of Grantis could be made out through a side hallway to the right, the noise of it so loud that I regretted my Elven hearing. I had no interest in the trading center, instead I focused on the exit from the hallway that led out into the town itself.


    What I had forgotten was the fact that I was considered a slave, and the immediate reaction from those who saw my arrival proved hostile. Weapons came out from sheaths, men shouted and a few arrows were pulled out and aimed in my direction. Nobody stepped forward first, but it was obvious that any wrong move on my part would result in a fight.


    ¡°He¡¯s got a kitsune!¡± one of the more backward placed men whispered urgently to his friend.


    With a slight shift of the unconscious Kuzu I slowly lifted my right hand upward, fingers straight and palm facing forward. It was a sign that most would take as surrender, or at least pleading for mercy, but it was not what I intended.


    Instead once my hand reached the highest point I clenched it into a fist. A blast of lightning that originated from the hand unfurled all around me, singing a couple of the closer thugs. Most of the men pulled back instantly, their faces clearly showing how confused and scared they were. A couple of the less brave even whimpered as they retreated further back, no longer interested in dealing with the Elf.


    ¡°You have two choices,¡± I informed the gathered morons, ¡°I can either kill you all, or you can tell me where I can find Lucas, Ivan and Alexia.¡±


    For some odd reason they almost fell over themselves telling me what they knew of the trio. A few of the smarter men also figured out who I held in my hand from those three names, which they proudly proclaimed to the others.


    About twenty minutes later I had arrived at a shack near the outskirts of Grantis. It was on the opposite side of the slave pens, according to the helpful men from before, and Lucas and his group had moved into it years ago. All in all it was a pretty miserable place, barely two stories tall and made of a rotten wood. A strong enough wind could probably knock over the whole thing.


    I knocked on the door, loudly, and then stood there with a sleeping Kuzu in my arms. While I waited I studied the kitsune in my arms, and wondered at how she¡¯d managed to survive Grantis as a child. If the Elves were treated so poorly how had she managed to dodge the pens?


    The blistering sun that hammered down on my head began to aggravate me, so when nobody opened the door I became a bit irate. With a quick kick I smashed the door open, and then I boldly walked into the shack.


    A pink-haired head popped out from the doorway of one room, and Alexia¡¯s eyes widened as she saw me. At first all she saw was the Elf that she didn¡¯t like, but then she noticed Kuzu in my arms and any angry comment she was about to make faltered and died.


    ¡°Kuzu!¡± she cried out as she rushed out of the doorway and over to me, her hands reaching out for her friend.


    ¡°While I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re happy to see her again, can I put her down somewhere?¡± I almost growled out. Between Alexia¡¯s ignoring of my knock on the door, the stupid people in town who kept bothering me due to being an Elf, and the awful weather I was in the mood to punch something.


    ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± Alexia repeated herself as she turned and guided me toward the doorway she¡¯d emerged from.


    From a small front chamber I walked through the shack into a larger room, one that had multiple pieces of furniture. Most of it was wood based, though one had some pillows that I could only surmise had been made from Fuzzies. A throw rug was centered on the floor, and that too was made from the hide of a Fuzzy.


    ¡°Over here,¡± Alexia stepped over to what some might call a couch, though it barely qualified. The wooden frame was bent in some places, and the cushions had long lost their plump and soft state.


    I placed her gently down on the couch, before I turned my full attention toward Alexia. Once again I stared those red eyes and felt something well up within, though whether it was fear or hatred I couldn¡¯t quite figure out.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you find her?¡± Alexia ignored me as she knelt down next to Kuzu.


    ¡°She was on the seventh floor, battered a bit but alright,¡± I crossed my arms in front of my chest, ¡°I managed to help get her to the tenth floor and then we came back here.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t have a return crystal?¡±


    ¡°The kitsune were kind enough to lend us one.¡±


    She went stiff at that response, her eyes turned up toward me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. ¡°Why would they help an Elf?¡±


    ¡°The kitsune society puts a lot of emphasis on debt and respect,¡± I informed her, as I turned and started to walk toward the doorway, ¡°I merely used that to my advantage.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why a slave would help Kuzu, though,¡± Alexia murmured to herself.


    There was no response I could think of to that, since she had such a deep seated hatred of Elves. I doubted she would even believe me if I was honest, so instead I chose to walk out of the room and head for the exit.


    On my way out I paused one time to look back at the hovel, and gave a small nod of my head toward it. ¡°Goodbye Kuzu.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    <hr>


    Floor 10


    Kitsune Capital


    Checkpoint 1


    <hr>


    Hours had passed by and I had taken up residence on top of a tree. My eyes were focused on the Black Fortress, as well as the area near it, and I had watched it since my return to the tenth floor.


    Though I wanted to go into it I needed to wait until people filtered away, and though the kitsune could operate well in the night they favored a day time schedule. So all I needed to do was wait them out, and once everyone had for the most part cleared out I¡¯d open my home back up.


    Some people might have been shocked by how the kitsune arrived at their current sleep schedule, but they had little choice in it. Between the goblins who had poor night time vision and the orcs that refused to fight at night, the kitsune had to consistently defend during the day times on both sides of their territory.


    When they went on the offensive, however, they made sure to abuse their night vision as well as the reluctance of their enemies. The orcs especially hated how the kitsune struck at night, and had been forced to create a special unit of warriors who were granted allowance to fight before the sun came up.


    While I thought about the intricate workings of kitsune, orc, and goblin interactions time continued to pass by around me. The crowds that had once filled the park dwindled down rapidly, and as the night had already gone halfway past most of the city went silent.


    When I felt it was best I dropped out of the tree, a silent descent that no kitsune could have hoped to pick up on. My Elf ears twitched as I listened for any noise nearby, the noise of insects all I could pick up on. Confident that I was alone I began my approach toward my home.


    The front entrance was a paved walkway that cut through to the middle of the park where the building stood, and so when I stepped out onto it my first move was to look both ways for anyone else. Nobody was visible to me, although my eyesight was inferior to a kitsune at night.


    I arrived uninterrupted at the front of the building. Unlike what you would expect to find there were no doorways nor windows visible, instead a flat permanent blackness was the only greeting anyone could hope to find here. Not even a single button or other type of device for interacting existed.


    A twig snapped and I pivoted, my attention immediately shifted to the person who had sloppily approached. The silhouette I could barely make out in the night had a familiar ring to it, one that brought a frown to my face. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Kuzu sniffed at that question, her tail curled around her waist. "I don''t remember saying I wanted you to leave me with my friends like that, Fenix. Or would you prefer Theodore, the hero of the kitsune?"


    For a moment I mused on the potential danger of Kuzu knowing who I actually was. I had already decided against the idea of silencing her, even if I wanted to the mere thought of staining Lute¡¯s gift of reincarnation by murdering an innocent was horrifying.


    ¡°You should go back to your friends, Kuzu,¡± I told her in a flat tone.


    ¡°You know, I was so happy to see Lexy when I woke up,¡± Kuzu half-smiled, as she toyed at her own tail with one finger, ¡°but then I noticed you were gone.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± I maintained a cold demeanor and tone, with my arms crossed in front of my chest.


    ¡°Lexy and Luke and Ivan, they don¡¯t really need me,¡± Kuzu admitted, ¡°they love me like a sister but all I¡¯ve ever done is cause them problems. They even moved to the slum area because of me.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re implying that I need you?¡±


    ¡°You need someone,¡± Kuzu brazenly told me, ¡°I¡¯ve already seen how you handle things. You choose the craziest tactics, I¡¯ve never seen someone so stupidly pigheaded in my life.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you,¡± I bluntly told Kuzu, ¡°you¡¯re not even as good as a kitling. You¡¯re barely even able to beat a small group of goblins. You¡¯re dead weight.¡±


    A hint of a chill spread across the park, a cool wind that had Kuzu as the point of origin. She lifted one finger up and pointed it at me as ice formed on the tip. ¡°then teach me, show me how to be better. At the very least make it so that when I go back to my family I can keep them safe.¡±


    My gaze focused on that hint of ice on her fingertip, a small bit of frost which showcased something interesting. It was the potential, she had already started to grasp at the power inside her even without help from another. In my past life I¡¯d seen many people who hadn¡¯t even been able to use magic consciously after decades of trying.


    ¡°If we do this, if I take you, you might die. You might never see Alexia or the others ever again, or even worse you might be tortured and torn to shreds by monsters beyond your understanding.¡±


    ¡°And if I bury my head in the sands and ignore you, and you die, what are the chances those dangers might someday leak all the way down to the first floor?¡± Kuzu asked with a hint of steel in her eyes.


    ¡°The labyrinth is designed to try and discourage that,¡± I let out a long sigh, ¡°but even I can¡¯t promise it¡¯ll all stay proper. The kitsune never went to the twelfth floor in my time, but now they have a small base set up there. Everything has changed, and it¡¯ll all keep changing.¡±


    ¡°If you train me will I be able to fight those monsters?¡±


    ¡°With my training you could probably handle everything up until floor forty or so. In a one on one fight, of course.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m going with you.¡±


    It was a stupid idea on her part, she was potentially throwing her life away simply because of some arbitrary wish to get stronger. Even if she lived on her own and trained by herself she¡¯d eventually get strong enough that she could easily handle the first ten floors. My eyes narrowed as I suspected that there might be something more to it, but I pushed that idea away. Even if I wanted to I could never hope to understand the female mind.


    ¡°Fine, but you need to promise a few things,¡± I finally caved in to her request.


    ¡°Oh...what?¡±


    ¡°Obviously you can¡¯t let anyone else know who I am, I¡¯m Fenix. There are people later on in the labyrinth who would dissect me for decades to try and figure out how to do what I did. Also if I tell you to do something, you do it. Don¡¯t question me, don¡¯t doubt me, you¡¯ll die otherwise.¡±


    Kuzu nodded her head at that, while her tail unfurled from around her waist. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°The last promise is don¡¯t die,¡± I said in a tired voice, ¡°I¡¯m tired of seeing that. Now stand back, I need to do something.¡±


    I turned away from the kitsune and stepped over to the so-called Black Fortress, the sensation of Kuzu¡¯s stare on my back. I lifted up and placed one hand against the dark wall, the cool sensation of the strange metal somehow a welcome feeling. Nothing happened, though, and I gave a sigh since it meant I¡¯d need to try a different tack.


    "System activation requested, username master zero one. Password five six five eight nine one two two four."


    A slight rumble came from the dark building, while the nearby animals that had slept so peacefully stirred and ran. Birds flew from the trees in the park, while off in the distance some of the nearer houses began to stir. Lights flickered on, as the kitsune could hear and feel that something was happening.


    System online. Activating security check. Check confirmed. Requesting secondary password.


    A voice came from the place I had called a home a thousand years past. The voice itself resembled a little girl, one who was still around the age of seven. I smiled at that, quite happy to hear that voice, before I responded, ¡°Love nest.¡±


    Password confirmed. System online. Welcome home, I''ve missed you.


    The black wall that had been in front of us slipped downward into the ground like a shutter. Ahead of us lay a darkness that no light could hope to pierce, and though Kuzu tried hard to peer into it I knew she would fail. I reached one hand out toward Kuzu. ¡°This is your final chance to go back home.¡±


    Without a hint of hesitation she took my hand.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 13 - Lisa And The Armory

    We stood in the darkness, Kuzu pressed up against me as though fearful of what might lurk nearby.  There was a slight hum that sounded from machinery in the distance, and the door we had passed through closed silently.


    Air began to flow as fans whirred to life, and two straight lines of light blue illumination stretched out in front of us.  The parallel lines ran up to another doorway made of a dark wood. Confidently I walked up to the door and opened it, while Kuzu followed reluctantly.


    The room on the other side of the door was wide, although pitch black.  Our presence caused lights to flicker on far above our heads, revealing the contents of the room. It was made of that same black metal as the exterior, while a dark blue rug covered the floor.  A long wooden table was center, a flowerpot that held nothing on top of it. Staircases at the back curved up and allowed access to the higher floors.


    Near the right side staircase was the entrance to the armory, what I had come here for.  The left side had a sofa pressed up against the wall, along with a large mirror. The mirror allowed one to view the other floors.  The means to access that had been known only to Lute, though she would sometimes let me watch alongside her.


    When we walked into the room there was a flicker in front of us, and then a small girl wearing a cute black dress with a fluffy hem appeared.  Her white hair was long and whirled out as she twirled around, her happy laughter filling the quiet place.


    ¡°A ghost!¡± Kuzu screamed as she backed away from the girl.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hologram, not a ghost.¡± I rubbed at my eyes and sighed deeply.  ¡°She¡¯s not dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long!¡± the little girl declared, her hands going to her hips while a wide grin spread over her face.


    "That it has Lisa, apparently a thousand years?" I asked.


    "One thousand two hundred and seven years since you were last here." Lisa snapped a finger which generated an image beside her.  It was a still image of my previous body, one that she had taken when I left her behind. ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot, daddy, is that why you¡¯re late coming back?¡±


    "Your mother did this to me," I explained as I walked over to the armory door.  "Record my new biometrics for entrance, please. Oh, and add a guest login for Kuzu. She might need to come here at some point when I''m not here."


    "Registering user Kuzu as guest zero one, expiration of one hundred years, biometrics being scanned right now. Do you wish for an audible password?"


    "Don''t bother.  It¡¯d take too long for her to memorize."  I opened the door to the armory and strode into it.


    Kuzu scrambled after me, although she didn''t look altogether happy with what I had said. ¡°I could memorize it!"


    "Do you remember what I said to open the door?" I asked her while we waited for the lighting to turn on.


    "Some numbers?"


    ¡°Exactly, we¡¯re not staying for long and I doubt you have a twin sister in this city, so it¡¯d be a waste of time,¡± I told her, ¡°Lisa, what¡¯s the status for the house?¡±


    The hologram appeared in the center of the dark room, while lights started to flicker on.  A large amount of them were either dim or completely burnt out. The room itself was nothing more than a giant cube made of a dark material similar to, but not the same, as the rest of the house.


    ¡°All of the combat suits are gone, and most of the firearms.¡±  Lisa sat down in the air on her knees. ¡°I had to salvage most of the higher tech for parts and energy packs.¡±


    ¡°You survived, and that¡¯s what matters.¡± I reached out and tightly grabbed hold of Kuzu¡¯s head.  ¡°Don¡¯t move. Lisa, open it.¡±


    Kuzu struggled initially against my hold on her, but when the walls ripped apart and slid open she went still.  Some of the newly revealed shelves even came up about an inch away from Kuzu and I, while a few only emerged halfway from the wall.  Metal objects fell off of the shelves, no longer held in place by stasis fields that Lisa had long since given up on.


    As I walked past the shelves I felt a pang of sadness at how many of the objects had fallen into disrepair.  Exoskeletons, plasma shield projectors, camouflage suits, miniaturized automatons, holography weaponry, the amount of absurd items I had once used could make a mockery of anything in the labyrinth.


    I paused in front of a large section of one shelf, the faux glass panels on the front allowing for easy viewing of the inside.  Parts of dark green material that had been made out of smart textiles hybridized with nano-carbon weaves had been turned to tattered remnants due to time.  A long time ago it would have allowed me to fight on par with Lute, but now it was nothing more than scrap.


    ¡°You owned all of these?¡± Kuzu poked at the various items on the shelves, before she finally picked up a claw glove with diamond tips built into it.  ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°I tried to emulate the nyanko.¡± I started to pull gear off of the shelves, picking the best I could out of what remained.  ¡°Markov helped me with the design.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Nyanko?¡± Kuzu questioned as her head tilted to one side.


    ¡°They live on the fiftieth floor, they¡¯re a feline type similar to you kitsune.  Lisa, what about Mika?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from her in six hundred years,¡± Lisa said in a quiet voice, ¡°the last thing she told me was she needed to do a full lockdown.¡±


    It was news that bothered me, since it meant my other daughter was in a dangerous position.  I paused in my gathering to stare at Lisa, hoping her solitude hadn¡¯t caused anything irreparable.   ¡°Has anything else happened to either of you since I left?¡±


    ¡°Markov came by about fifty years after you went away.  He told me to focus on maintenance, because you were coming back eventually.¡±


    Everything Lisa had thrown at me had been a bit of a surprise, but out of it all this was the biggest one.  Markov would¡¯ve known my lifespan wouldn¡¯t let me live that long, so he must¡¯ve known that I was going to be reincarnated.  I thought on the new question in my mind, before I finally tossed it aside. I¡¯d worry about it when it actually mattered.


    I hefted the sword I¡¯d picked up from the shelf, the weight making it seem like an illusion.  The blade of it was able to slice through steel with ease, and I¡¯d probably find nothing that it couldn¡¯t cut until the latter half of the labyrinth.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done well, Lisa,¡± I praised my daughter, ¡°did you have anything you wanted to ask me?¡±


    Lisa floated down toward the ground and sat on it, even though she was a hologram.  ¡°When¡¯s mom coming back?¡±


    ¡°Lisa,¡± I said, before I turned my face away from my own daughter, ¡°she¡¯s...not coming back.  Lute¡¯s dead.¡±


    A moment of silence filled the room, even Kuzu had gone quiet as she watched our exchange.  The lights dimmed while the machinery that had hummed consistently went still. When I managed to gird myself for what I might see on Lisa¡¯s face I turned to look at her, only to discover she had vanished.


    I let out a long sigh, and then I grabbed all of the gear I¡¯d gathered.  ¡°Kuzu, grab whatever you like and meet me on the second floor,¡± I told her as I walked out the door.


    A few moments later and I had gone up the staircase and into a side room, one that I left open so that Kuzu would find it without a problem.  As I set about putting on a new set of clothing, along with the gear I¡¯d gathered, I thought about Lisa.


    Lute and I had been unable to have children due to Lute¡¯s biology, so after a few years of being together she decided to solve that problem a different way.  I¡¯d pointed out that she¡¯d outlive any child, so she chose to make immortal children. Lisa and Mika were computer programs, and their cores were housed in the two different houses we had.


    So long as the houses remained standing they would survive, although since Lisa had to cannibalize Markov¡¯s creations it meant that time had deteriorated her hardware.  Mika should be better off in that aspect, with a smaller building to maintain along with higher technology. However once again the fact that she¡¯d gone into a lockdown bothered me.


    I stepped in front of a full body mirror in order to make sure everything was on right.  While I adjusted the belt Lisa flickered into life behind me, her gaze aimed down toward the floor.


    ¡°How¡¯d mom die?¡± Lisa asked.


    ¡°I killed her,¡± I replied, not wishing to lie to my daughter.  ¡°She explained why she made the labyrinth to you, right?¡±


    Lisa gave a slight nod, and then shook her head.  ¡°She said there were two reasons she made it and wouldn¡¯t explain the second.¡±


    ¡°Two?¡± I turned to face Lisa, before I laughed and rubbed at my eyes.  ¡°She would keep a secret from me to the end.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you have to trigger the system, dad?¡±


    "Justice, vengeance, stupidity, take your pick.¡± I slipped on a pair of sunglasses. "Right now I''m working on getting back to her, so I can bury her."


    When I stepped out of the bedroom I felt like a new man. I wore a set of dark black combat boots, laced with a metal string. The leather used for the boots was from a rather tough type of crocodile deep in the labyrinth, and was for the most part impervious to iron and steel.


    My pants were soft and dark green, they had pockets on the sides which could contain ammunition or supplies. The material was similar to cotton and yet had a stronger durability, as well as water resistance.


    The belt around my waist was designed from the same black leather of the boots, while the hip holster on my left was from a regular type of cow.  Opposite of the hip was a scabbard that housed the sword I¡¯d picked up earlier.


    My shirt was of the same material as the pants, dark green in color. I wore a black vest on top which had pockets sewn into it. My right arm was left bare, although my hands had some weighted-knuckle gloves. My left arm had a black armguard on it which also served as a holder.


    The sunglasses I¡¯d put on allowed access to a HUD, which contained basic information.  Ambient temperature, wind speed, a built in zoom which enhanced my already heightened Elf vision were all accessible to me.  I slipped a watch onto my left wrist.


    Kuzu had walked up the staircase, a few items in her hands which included the claw gloves from before.  She stared at my face with a confused look. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re called sunglasses,¡± I told her while I reached up and tied my white hair into a ponytail.  I¡¯d thought of cutting it short but Lute had given me the hair.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen those before.¡±


    ¡°Obviously, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t ask what they are.¡± I motioned toward the door behind me.  ¡°Go in there and pick out some new clothing, that robe the kitsune gave you won¡¯t work well for combat.¡±


    Kuzu''s tail bristled momentarily and she looked ready to argue, but instead she did as I asked.  When she went into the room she slammed the door behind her, and then locked it.


    While she changed her clothing I double checked all of my weapons.  In my holster I had a firearm named the Flagra, which was able to fire regular and hollow point bullets.  I had three magazines of each type of bullet stowed away in my various pockets.


    The extremely light sword had been sheathed.  A crystal was situated on the guard that could channel magic and generate an aura around the blade.


    Scattered into the pockets of my vests were a total of four throwing knives, each made of the same material as the sword on my hip.  A steel stiletto had been hidden in the armguard on my left.


    Lisa appeared atop the railing of the second floor, her holographic legs dangling over the edge. "So you''re going to leave again?" she asked with a sad tinge to her voice.


    "I can¡¯t leave her like she is," I told Lisa as I leaned against the railing. I lifted my sunglasses up so they rested on top of my forehead, since there was no reason to wear them indoors.


    For a while there was silence between us, while Lisa stared at nothing and I tried my best to not look at her.  We both knew that what I¡¯d done had been horrible, but also necessary, and now we had to wrestle with the aftermath.


    Lisa finally looked at me and, in asked in a quiet voice, ¡°Can you take me with you?  I don¡¯t want to be alone again.¡±


    "All you had to do was ask.¡± I lifted my wrist up and with my other hand motioned to the watch. "Load yourself into this, but don¡¯t break your link to the house.  I don¡¯t want anything happening to you if the watch gets broken."


    "Thanks daddy!" she said, and then her holographic projection vanished.


    Behind me the door opened and Kuzu emerged, no longer wearing the robe of the kitsune.  Instead she had a blouse over a white undershirt. The large sword was still on her back, and she had the claws on her hands with the tips exposed.  Her pants were similar to mine, although she¡¯d gone for a white pair. At her hip she¡¯d stowed a long dagger. She¡¯d upgraded her footwear to some of those crocodile leather boots.


    "Make sure you retract the claws,¡± I told her, ¡°simply focus your magic on it and the crystal lattice inside will react to what you want.¡±


    Kuzu blinked at that, and then lifted her hands up and stared at them.  Her eyes narrowed as she put all of her focus onto that task.


    "Where are you planning to go next?" Lisa asked from within the watch.


    "This new body of mine is still a bit too fresh, and Kuzu is a rookie, so we''ll need training," I told her. "We can find a good training place on the seventeenth floor."


    ¡°That sounds a bit dangerous though,¡± Lisa said, ¡°isn¡¯t that an orc nest?¡±


    "Exactly."

 Vol. 1 Chapter 14 - Enter The Orcs

    <hr>


    Floor 12


    The Kitsune Frontlines


    <hr>


    We had left the house before any of the kitsune could bother us. When we reached the portal we moved on to the eleventh floor, at which point I hurried Kuzu along to the next portal. While it had been the original frontline between the kitsune and orcs, according to Niran the eleventh floor had changed to a simple farmland. The weather was consistently kind, and the soil was extremely rich, so the kitsune had an easy source of vegetables and fruits.


    While we passed through the eleventh floor we were left alone, a fact I was thankful for. Given the natural animosity they seemed to have for Elves I¡¯d expected a few of them to pick fights with me. I could only assume it was thanks to Kuzu¡¯s presence that they kept their distance.


    When we arrived on the twelfth floor I immediately dropped into a battle ready stance, sword at the ready while my other hand gripped the Flagra. As it had been on previous floors our arrival point was in a wide glade in a forest, though this floor had a lot of larger rocks that protruded up out of the ground at odd angles.


    Kuzu had stood there, her form relaxed and her awareness poor. It was a habit she had developed from the earlier floors, one that her friends had shared. I dipped low and swung my leg into Kuzu¡¯s own to knock her over. The most she could do was make an odd squeak before she hit the ground.


    ¡°Ow! Why¡¯d you do that!¡± she cried out.


    ¡°If you¡¯re traveling with me you¡¯re going to learn how to act properly,¡± I said, ¡°and the first lesson is when we transfer always expect an ambush.¡±


    Kuzu grumbled as she stood up, brushing some of the dirt off of her. She pulled her tail around to the front and picked out some of the pebbles that¡¯d ended up in it, scowling at me.


    I reached up and adjusted my glasses, the information that was being presented in real time drawn from a combination of the watch and the labyrinth itself. A compass was visible to me, and it pointed off to my right.


    ¡°We should be mostly alright, Niran told me that the kitsune still have the exit locked down,¡± I informed Kuzu, ¡°but if we do run into an orc don¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Kuzu answered with a cold tone.


    Once she was done with her preening I led the way, moving at a quick pace that she struggled to keep up with. She complained the entire time, acting as though I was being a horrible person, but I had no plan to be gentle with her. If I was lax in preparing her for the higher floors she¡¯d die long before we reached the garden.


    After a couple of hours I came to a stop in a nice wooded area, the light foliage that barely kept out the sunlight a pleasant combination of red, orange, and yellow. The grass grew low and thin, while numerous smaller birds happily hopped about while they pecked at bugs or seeds on the ground.


    "It¡¯s a beautiful forest," Kuzu commented as she leaned against a tree. "Are the deeper floors like this too?"


    "No. Some are prettier, some are scarier, some simply kill you for looking," was my response. "Don''t worry though. We won''t reach those floors anytime in the next few years."


    Kuzu looked at me sharply, then sniffed a bit. ¡°For looking? Like I just open my eyes and I die?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Come on, that¡¯s stupid,¡± Kuzu said, ¡°how are you even supposed to know not to look?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Goddess made sure to keep the arrival point safe.¡±


    ¡°Theo-,¡± Kuzu started to say, but then stopped and instead said, ¡°Fenix, exactly how far do we need to go?¡±


    ¡°All the way.¡±


    Before Kuzu could ask any more questions we heard a loud crashing sound in the distance. Our vision was blocked by the trees that littered the twelfth floor, but I could easily recognize the sound of a tree falling. The distinct noise it made was one of those unforgettable sounds.


    ¡°Put your claws away, don¡¯t pull them out and don¡¯t do anything at all,¡± I warned Kuzu, ¡°and don¡¯t argue with me. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you, so trust me.¡±


    ¡°I do trust you!¡± Kuzu tucked her claws into the pack she¡¯d brought along with her, though the worry on her face was easy to see. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    I pulled free the light sword from my scabbard and rested the flat of the blade against my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve got some visitors.¡±


    From out of the treeline three figures emerged that were easily well over my height. Their arms were nothing short of excessively muscled, and scars from numerous fights covered every bare spot. The skin color of the orcs was a light green, while the skin itself was toughened by combat and weather.


    Each of the orcs wore basic leather armor that covered their groins, chests and stomach. The rest of their bodies were completely bare, not even footwear utilized. Their faces looked similar to a hybrid of humans and pigs, while tusks curved up out of their lower lips.


    One of the orcs in the back held a trunk of a tree, the length of it having been trimmed of any excessive branches already. He had an ax on a loop at his waist and showed no sign of going for the weapon. The orc that was next to him had no weapon, nor did he make any sign of aggression.


    The orc in the front hefted a large misshapen sword that could be mistaken for a cleaver. He tucked the blunt side up against his shoulder, as though mirroring my own stance. When he saw Kuzu he began to grin wide, but it was my ears that made that grin turn into a loud laugh.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The three orcs began to talk in their guttural language, chattering back and forth while every so often clacking their teeth loudly. Finally they reached an agreement and the other two moved further back, while their leader strode forward and stood ten feet in front of me.


    ¡°As beautiful as a cow¡¯s rear, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked in the tongue of the orcs.


    The fact that I knew their language brought another laugh, as the orc leader waved his hand in the direction of Kuzu. ¡°Not as ugly as your fox girl. Do you dare stand against me and mine if we choose to hunt the fox?¡±


    ¡°Any follower of the Moon will be met by my blade. Do you have the courage to face me, or will your pack show wisdom and leave?¡±


    One of the orcs in the back grew irritated at that and started to approach us, but the leader gave a quick look over his shoulder. While this all happened Kuzu watched on, confused as she had no idea what we were saying.


    ¡°An Elf thinks he can challenge an orc?¡± the leader asked of me.


    "An elf thinks he can follow proper etiquette and inform you that you will not live, if you cross swords with me."


    The orcs all laughed at that, a loud guttural noise which caused the nearby trees to shudder. We could hear nearby the sound of numerous birds taking flight, while any landbound animals took off running. "Then will you be orc enough to take the test?"


    "Only if you''re Elf enough to not die," I responded with a large grin on my face, "Kuzu, don''t get involved and don''t draw your weapon."


    "Don¡¯t you want my help killing the orcs?" Kuzu asked in confusion.


    "Orcs aren''t always trash, some can be useful," I informed her as I stepped forward.


    The orc leader and I both discarded our weapons to the ground. I made no move to grab the pistol on my hip, as the orcs would consider it a weapon of a cheater. Even the magic that I had engraved into my body wouldn¡¯t be used since the orcs would respond poorly to it.


    Instead I lifted my fists up and took a simplistic boxing stance. The orc did the same, his grin all the wider as he watched me with extreme interest. It was probably the first time he¡¯d ever been challenged by a non-orc to a proper duel.


    The orc made the first move, a habit that most orcs had due to their aggressive nature. He jabbed his left fist in at my face, a move that prompted me to sway my upper body out of the way. The fist itself was massive, large enough to be equal to my own head, and if the blow had landed the duel would¡¯ve already been over.


    While he withdrew his fist, I stepped in close and low to try and make it harder for him to attack. I threw a quick punch to the jaw, one that hurt my hand the instant the blow landed. He grunted in response to the blow, as he barely noticed the impact, and tried to drive his left elbow down on my head.


    I made a step to the left even while I began to drive quick punches into his right side, attacks that resulted in almost no damage. The orc chortled at me as he chopped his right hand at my own right shoulder.


    I abandoned my attempt to punch the orc into submission, and instead I shifted over to a grappling style. I caught that right hand and turned around, stepping forward at the same time. With my backside almost up against the orc I drew the taller orc forward and off center, and before he knew what had happened he was on the ground in front of me.


    I capitalized on his confusion by putting my entire weight into the next attack. While he stared up at the sky from his backside I fell onto his neck elbow first. The strike hit into the side of his neck and his only response could be to squeal in pain.


    ¡°Does the Blood yield to his better?¡± I asked of the orc, still ready to continue fighting.


    What he replied with was an unintelligent gargle of pure animalistic noise. For a moment I thought he was about to start spitting blood, something I¡¯d personally prefer to not have to deal with, but instead he grew quiet and rubbed at his neck.


    ¡°The Elf is a true warrior,¡± the orc finally growled.


    I turned my back to the orc and walked over to the weapons that we¡¯d discarded, picking up both of them. My sword went into the scabbard as I walked back over to the orc.


    ¡°Your weapon, and a good fight.¡± I offered the cleaver to the orc, but not my hand to help him stand up. ¡°My request as victor is free passage for the fox girl and I.¡±


    The orc snorted at that request. ¡°If that is all this warrior of the Moon has no problems agreeing.¡±


    "Kuzu,¡± I called out to her at long last, ¡°we¡¯re leaving.¡±


    Kuzu stared at me in confusion. When I began to walk away from her and the orcs she chased after me, though she kept a lot of space between her and the orcs.


    After we¡¯d moved on deeper into the forest she finally spoke up, ¡°Why¡¯d they let us go?¡±


    ¡°Orc society puts a lot of stock into fighting prowess and honor,¡± I told her, ¡°they respect anyone who can win a contest of strength.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you gotta pop them in the face real hard!¡± Lisa exclaimed from the watch, before she started to giggle.


    ¡°So now they¡¯ll all leave us alone?¡±


    I brought our walk to a stop and turned to face Kuzu. ¡°No, only the pack that that orc is in charge of will leave us alone. If we run into any other orcs I¡¯ll have to do the same thing again.¡±


    ¡°So how can we make it so the orcs stop attacking us?¡±


    ¡°The only way would be to do what...Theodore did back when the orcs went to war with the kitsune. He punched his way to their capital and beat all of their chiefs, and made them all swear to never launch a full invasion again.¡±


    Kuzu¡¯s right ear twitched at that. ¡°Then why are they still invading the kitsune territory and fighting them?¡±


    ¡°War isn¡¯t the same as hunting. The orcs will never give up the joy of a good fight.¡± I looked up toward the sky and tried to figure out where the sun was through the foliage. ¡°Lisa, can you estimate how long until floor thirteens night cycle starts?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯d be around seven hours, daddy.¡±


    Meanwhile Kuzu had been deep in thought, and she raised up one hand to get my attention. ¡°But what if you¡¯re like a crazy murderer guy? Like you¡¯re the worst person in the world. They¡¯ll just ignore that if you beat them in a fight?¡±


    ¡°First you¡¯d need to get the orcs to agree to a duel, that¡¯s why I had my sword how I did,¡± I told her, ¡°but even then the orcs can decide to ignore that if they don¡¯t like you. If you¡¯re scum, like a person who kills children or unarmed people for no reason, an orc will normally ignore your duel request.¡±


    Kuzu nodded her head, while her tail twitched back and forth gently. "So me not moving and not having a weapon was to make sure they fought the duel?"


    "That¡¯s right, orcs rarely attack unarmed people. They think it¡¯s rude to kill anyone who can¡¯t protect themselves. If they know you¡¯re ducking a fight out of cowardice it might backfire though."


    "So why didn''t you put your sword away and walk by them?"


    "If the leader has his weapon already drawn it means he¡¯s looking for a fight.¡± I took my sunglasses off and rubbed at my eyes. "Are you going to ask me for details about everything from now on? It''s going to get tedious really fast."


    "I''m sorry, I just want to know what you know so I can help out!" Kuzu said with a hint of steel.


    "I can help with that!" Lisa exclaimed from the watch, "I can show you stuff to read on the glasses when daddy doesn¡¯t need them! That way you can read up and get super smart!¡±


    Kuzu looked like she was about to say something, and then she blushed a little and muttered toward the ground, ¡°I can¡¯t read.¡±


    It was a bit rude on my part but I chuckled at that. ¡°Of course you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Kuzu said while at the same time Lisa yelled, ¡°daddy don¡¯t be mean!¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I apologized to Kuzu, ¡°but we should get to the portal before some more orcs pop up.¡±


    With that we began to walk once more toward the exit, though I made certain to lend my sunglasses to Kuzu. As we moved through the forest Lisa talked to her through the watch, teaching her the basics of reading the human language.


    When we arrived at the kitsune base the initial response was hostile, as I was an Elf. It was only when I mentioned the name Niran and that I was under his skulks protection that they backed off. One of them proposed heading back to the eleventh floor to check on what I said, but none of them wanted to wander back through the forest and deal with any more orcs.


    The base itself was a simple camp, similar to the one on the ninth floor. That meant whenever the portal shifted the kitsune had to relocate it, set up their camp again, and deal with any orc infestation at the spot.


    I wanted to ask the kitsune about their interactions with the orcs, but the glares I received dissuaded me of that idea. Instead I settled down in a corner of their camp along with Kuzu.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we going?¡± Kuzu asked after we¡¯d been sitting there for an hour.


    I glanced at my watch. ¡°We¡¯re waiting for nightfall on the next floor.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a nap, if you pay attention to Lisa you¡¯ll find out why,¡± I bluntly told her. Before she could even respond I had already closed my eyes.


    While I fell asleep the sound of Lisa talking to Kuzu was my only comfort. Her voice bubbled with excitement at the idea of teaching Kuzu, and every time she got something right Lisa would cheer for her. It proved a bit difficult to nap with all that noise going on, but for some reason I didn¡¯t mind it.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 15 - Tricks, Traps, And Annoyance

    <hr>


    Floor 13


    Unlucky Thirteen


    <hr>


    We flickered into existence on the thirteenth floor, my body low to the ground as I readied for potential combat.  Though the orcs would most likely not attack due to the time, there was always that off chance we¡¯d run into an Umbra.  All in all, though, it wasn¡¯t the orcs that would be the most dangerous thing on this floor.


    I glanced at Kuzu, who stood next to me with her claws adorned and at the ready.  She¡¯d taken my recommendation to heart, which I considered a good sign for the future.


    The sword I¡¯d had at the ready was put away, and I offered my left hand to Kuzu.  ¡°Grab hold and don¡¯t let go until we¡¯re through this floor.¡±


    She flicked her fingers to put away the diamond tips on her claws, and then reached for my hand.  There was no hesitation like on the eighth floor, and her soft hand squeezed my own tightly.


    ¡°Why do we have to do this?¡± Kuzu asked while her tail twitched behind her.


    ¡°If we get separated on this floor it could prove dangerous,¡± I said, ¡°and if you see orcs leave them alone.¡±


    I began to study the area near us, barely glancing at the compass on my wrist.  Normally I could have used it to find the portal, but on this floor that feature wouldn¡¯t work.  Lute had made certain of that when she created this annoying place.


    We were inside a large plain room, one that had no distinctive markings anywhere.  Only two doorways were visible to us, one to the north and the other to the east. I already knew that the direction we took didn¡¯t matter, so I walked with Kuzu in tow through the eastern door.


    We stood at the top of a staircase, while around us numerous other staircases led in every conceivable direction.  I pulled Kuzu along with me as I descended, my attention focused entirely on what lay in front.


    When I reached the bottom of the staircase what lay in front was a hallway.  It was unlike any other hallway that existed in the entire labyrinth, one that warped to the left and yet somehow seemed to go to the right.  As though multiple images overlaid onto the world in front of us the hallway itself splintered in every direction imaginable.


    Kuzu¡¯s grip tightened on my hand, and when I glanced at her she¡¯d started to sway.  ¡°Close your eyes,¡± I told her as I did the same thing, ¡°you can¡¯t rely on your eyesight for this.¡±


    I closed my eyes as well, the sensation of vertigo that had started to creep up on me negated instantly.  I reached out with my free hand to make certain I didn¡¯t walk into a wall, and then began to move forward.


    Blindly we walked through the hallway for what felt like an eternity.  Though I had left myself easily attacked I knew that it was a necessity.  The only way to get past this floor was to move forward, since a retreat often meant a reset of all progress.


    When the environment changed I almost fell flat on my face, stumbling forward into hot sand clumsily.  Kuzu fell against my back as she cried out in surprise as I accidentally pulled her off balance.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± she cried out with her mouth so close to my ear it twitched uncontrollably.


    I opened one eye to check on the situation.  From the dizzying hallway we¡¯d arrived in what could only be called a desert.  In every direction I looked it stretched onward, the hallway we¡¯d used to reach it magically gone from sight.


    I lifted one hand up to block the sunlight, the heat that beat down on us intense and sudden.  When I glanced at Kuzu it was obvious the heat was even worse for her, as she had started to visibly wilt beneath the scorching sun.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Kuzu, you can open your eyes,¡± I said as I looked over my shoulder at her.


    While she opened her eyes and started to look around I couldn¡¯t help smiling, as she gawked so comically at the desert we¡¯d ended up in.  ¡°How¡¯d we get here?¡± she asked as she pulled away from my back.


    ¡°The floor is aware and wants to stop us from getting to the next floor,¡± I said, ¡°but it can¡¯t straight out kill us or manifest anything too dangerous.¡±


    Kuzu wiped at her forehead, the sweat already enough to make her bangs stick to her face.  ¡°How is this not too dangerous?¡±


    ¡°What, the heat?¡± I laughed at Kuzu.  ¡°This is nothing compared to the volcanos later.  Besides, you can fix it for us in a snap.¡±


    She slowly tilted her head to the side and looked at me with an obviously confused stare.  Her one ear even went flat against her head, helping her to double down on her dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°You have an ice gem in you,¡± I reminded her, ¡°all you need to do is focus on creating a light cool aura and maintain it.¡±


    ¡°I forgot about that!¡± Kuzu exclaimed.


    ¡°Obviously, now try to focus on your magic.  Form the image of yourself surrounded by cold air, but don¡¯t let the image go.¡±


    Kuzu closed her eyes and put her empty hand to her chest.  We stood there for a while, with the heat crushing down on us, and it started to look like I might need to choose a different course of action.  A little tickle of cold crept up from Kuzu¡¯s hand that I held, and the goosebumps that lifted up on my arm were very welcome.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°That was easy!¡± Kuzu opened up her eyes and smiled at me, perhaps not realizing how long she¡¯d taken.


    ¡°The hardest part is keeping the aura active.¡± I started to walk across the desert, once again heading straight ahead and not looking back.  ¡°If you start to get dizzy let me know. It usually means you¡¯re getting exhausted.¡±


    For the next hour we trekked across the desert, the horizon unmarred by any landmarks or changes.  Next to me Kuzu continued to follow me, though her attention seemed to be more focused inward as she tried to maintain the cool air.


    There was no warning, instead one moment we were in a desert and the next we were in a metal hallway.  The only lighting came from lightbulbs embedded in a transparent floor, and etched into the walls were numerous arrows pointing back the way we had come.


    Kuzu tripped at the sudden change and actually fell down onto her knees.  Her concentration had been shattered and so the cold air no longer surrounded us.  While she tried to adjust to the new environment I offered my other hand to her to help her up.


    We emerged from the hallway into a large room, one that stretched upward and to our sides for what seemed like infinity.  I didn¡¯t even bother to look around, and instead focused on pushing straight ahead, since I already knew that anything nearby wouldn¡¯t matter in the long run.


    It was a mistake, however, as Kuzu let go of my hand and started to run off to my right.  She half-turned and beckoned toward me. ¡°Come on! It¡¯s the portal!¡± she called out.


    A short distance in front of her was what looked like the portal.  ¡°Kuzu! No!¡± I yelled at her.


    My warning came too late as beneath Kuzu¡¯s feet the floor opened up, and then she vanished into a dark pit.  Her scream of terror wafted up out of the trap up until it slammed shut and the seam in the floor sealed.


    ¡°Kuzu fell, daddy!¡± Lisa told me, a hint of panic tainting her voice.  ¡°Is she going to be alright?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine, Kuzu isn¡¯t so helpless that she¡¯d be hurt bad by something as simple as that.¡±  I turned my gaze up toward the ceiling while a hint of electricity crackled down my arm. ¡°And if Jinx doesn¡¯t want me blasting a hole in him he¡¯ll open that trapdoor for me.¡±


    There was an eerie silence that filled the large chamber, even the air itself seemed to stop.  Then, almost as though embarrassed, the floor slowly cracked open and revealed the pit that Kuzu had fallen into.


    I walked up to the edge of the pit and jumped in without hesitation.  The pit itself was filled with darkness, though as I descended down toward what I assumed was the bottom a hint of light peeked out of the black.


    As I fell into the light I could see a large forest spread out beneath me, the foliage thick and wide.  Trees with leaves that were larger than most men stood tall out of a sea of green.


    When I landed it was on a giant pile of ferns that were excessively springy.  Like a trampoline they bent downward, and then rebounded and pushed me up and off of them.


    I touched down on solid ground a few seconds later in a crouch, my attention focused on the forest around me rather than the ferns.  The trees grew thick with vines and leaves everywhere, a heavy curtain of green that made my enhanced vision pointless. I could hear the distinct sound of bones clacking together, something you wouldn¡¯t normally hear in a jungle.


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± came the voice of Kuzu from somewhere ahead in that tangled mess of vines and trees.


    I whipped the sword out of its scabbard and sliced through the vines, while I dove headlong into the jungle in search of Kuzu.  Every so often I could hear that odd bone noise along with the sound of Kuzu grunting and yelling. I used those noises to zero in on where she was and perhaps only a minute or so later I came across her.


    Amongst the thick trees stood Kuzu, who had ducked behind the trunk of one of the squatter trees.  In her hands was the two-handed sword that the kitsune had given her.


    On the other side of the tree from her were two skeletons armed with swords made from bones.  A skeleton without a skull had collapsed on the ground near the other two.


    Neither of the clattering skeletons seemed to notice me, and so I leapt in from the side and delivered a quick stab with my sword at the nearest skull.  The tip of the blade cut easily through the bone, and as I drove the rest of the sword through the skull it fractured instantly.


    Kuzu cried out in joy as she noticed me, but I ignored her happiness and instead quickly pushed past the defeated skeleton and attacked the last one.  It had begun to turn, sword lifted up in defense, but my own sword had no issue not only slicing through the defending weapon but also the neck of the skeleton.


    WIthout their heads the skeletons couldn¡¯t live, and so the two skeletons had already been defeated.  Once more I put my sword back into its scabbard, and only then did I turn to look at Kuzu.


    She¡¯d picked up a cut on her arm along with a few scratches, but for the most part she looked alright.  I reached into one of my many pockets and pulled out a very small bundle of gauze, and then I walked over to Kuzu and started to wrap up her arm.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she murmured while her ears drooped, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t expect a trap like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to hold my hand until we get to the next floor.¡± I finished wrapping up her cut, and then flicked her forehead.  ¡°Don¡¯t screw up again, otherwise you¡¯ll get something worse than a cut.¡±


    Kuzu flinched from the flick to her head, but she gave a small nod of her head.  The large sword she still held with one hand was slowly put onto her back again, and then she offered her hand to me.


    I took that hand in my own, though for a moment I thought about sending her back.  Ever since we¡¯d reached the tenth floor we¡¯d been embedded with red gems, and they served as checkpoint crystals.  Similar to the return crystal they would allow us to use a portal to go back to any other checkpoint we¡¯d been to, so at the least I could¡¯ve put her on the tenth floor while I continued forward.


    Yet I didn¡¯t choose to do that.  I wasn¡¯t even quite certain why I decided to keep going through the labyrinth with Kuzu.  Perhaps I¡¯d subconsciously noticed some sort of potential in her, or maybe I simply didn¡¯t want to give up on someone I¡¯d already invested time and effort into.  Or it could be that she reminded me of myself, when I was useless and could barely survive fighting regular goblins.


    I gave a small shake of my head, one that drew a look of confusion from Kuzu.  ¡°Just remember, until I tell you it¡¯s safe don¡¯t let go of my hand.¡±


    Once more I started to walk in a straight line, deviating only slightly to go around any trees or other obstacles in the way.  As we passed through the jungle it shifted into an open field dotted with piles of gold, and then after that it turned into a dark house filled with weird sounds.


    My favorite place that Jinx tried to use to stop us from going forward was the dragon nest, a large rocky valley with a bunch of dragons in the air above.  As we approached the far edge of the valley one dragon swung down from above and breathed a stream of fire at us, a move that I blatantly ignored since I knew it was an illusion.


    Kuzu¡¯s reaction was to squeal in fright while she clung to me, her fox ears pressing down on her head.  After the flames passed through us she opened one of her closed eyes, and immediately tried bright red in the face when she realized it¡¯d been an illusion.


    Finally we arrived at what could only be called a white expanse, one that had a couple of campsites setup that included hide-based tents.  Above the stars glistened in the night sky, while a moon could be seen to our left. A white orb hung in the middle of the area.


    Around the tents were orcs, each one squatted down on their haunches and relaxed. Our appearance drew the orcs attention but none of them made any move to attack.  A few did stand up and put themselves on the edge of their camps, but they crossed their arms and merely glared at us.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just taking the fox girl to the next floor,¡± I told them in their own tongue.


    The orcs stiffened at that, most likely not expecting an Elf to know their language, and then they nodded and relaxed.  The ones who had taken up a defensive position wandered back to the campfires. In a matter of seconds it was as though we weren¡¯t even present to the orcs.


    I finally released Kuzu¡¯s hand and rubbed my hands together.  Due to how long we¡¯d held hands mine had started to go numb, with that tell tale tingling sensation having bothered me for a while.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± Kuzu asked.


    I glanced at her and gave a nod of my head.  She was focused on the orcs in front of us, the worry obvious on her face.  ¡°They won¡¯t attack us right now, it¡¯s still night time.¡±


    ¡°Why would that matter?¡±


    ¡°Learn how to read and Lisa will teach you why.¡± I motioned toward the portal.  ¡°We should move on before the moon sets, though.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Kuzu said, though she made no move to walk toward the portal.  Her tail twitched behind her as she stared at me.


    I turned away from her and walked toward the portal.  I could hear her following behind me, her light footfalls barely loud enough to pick up.  When I reached out to touch the portal I paused, and turned to glance at Kuzu.


    ¡°One thing,¡± I said, ¡°when we reach the next floor don¡¯t move, and don¡¯t say anything.  No matter what you have to stay absolutely quiet.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I promise I will!¡±


    It was a promise that would decide her fate, since if she couldn''t do what I''d asked the labyrinth would deal with her for me.  Without another word to her I placed my hand on the portal and focused.  A few seconds later I vanished as I triggered the transfer.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 16 - The Ones Beneath

    <hr>


    Floor 14


    They Who Chew


    <hr>


    Whenever anyone arrived on a new floor the labyrinth would supply them with information. It was always the number of the floor, the title of the floor, and if it was a checkpoint or not. The labyrinth was what decided on the title, and quite often it leaned toward the mysterious.


    I always believed it was due to Lute that the labyrinth liked to choose something obscure, though she never admitted to it whenever I brought it up. Instead she¡¯d smile innocently and divert the conversation to something else.


    So the first time I arrived on the fourteenth floor I was left very confused as to what the title meant. The only thing I could theorize was that it dealt with the orcs, since at that time I was still fresh and innocent and hadn¡¯t learned the horrors of the labyrinth yet.


    It wasn¡¯t orcs.


    When we appeared on the fourteenth floor I already had my sword and gun out and at the ready. With the sunglasses on my face I scanned what was nearby, looking for any signs that the ground had recently been burrowed.


    Next to me Kuzu remained quiet, the large two-handed sword drawn. The tip of that sword sagged down, as she still lacked the muscle strength to easily hold it up for extended times, but I knew from the previous floor that she could at least use it if required.


    We had been deposited onto a prairie that stretched out, a flat area with high grass and no sign of civilization. Off in the distance that the compass pointed I could make out the fringe of a forest, while behind us was a mountain range. Above us the sun shone brightly, but I knew that on this floor that wouldn¡¯t matter in the slightest.


    I motioned in the direction of the forest with the gun, and did it again and again until Kuzu finally gave a nod of her head. Her one ear had tilted to the side, while she looked at me with a curious look, but she thankfully remembered her promise to remain quiet.


    As I walked my footsteps were light and slow, as I tried my absolute best to remain as quiet as possible. Behind me Kuzu must have imitated my actions as I couldn¡¯t even hear her, a vast improvement over how clumsy she had been on the seventh floor.


    From behind the sound of grunts and metal rang out loudly across the silent prairie. I turned around, and so did Kuzu, to stare at the new arrivals on the floor. A small group of orcs had arrived where Kuzu and I had, and they had immediately started to shout and stomp their feet.


    "What''s goi-" Kuzu started to say before I reached up and placed my hand over her mouth. With a shake of my head I nodded toward the orcs, and then forcefully pulled her down into a crouch amongst the high grass.


    Thankfully even though the orcs had seen us they didn¡¯t care. They had come to this floor for a different kind of prey, and it was one I¡¯d rather not have to deal with. If I was to hazard a guess I¡¯d assume they were part of the Maw Hunters, the orcs who thrived on coming to this floor and throwing their lives away.


    The orcs, unlike the ones we¡¯d seen before, wore a mixture of leather and metal armor on every part of their bodies. They even had helmets on, a thick and crude style that was reminiscent of a bucket. Each of the orcs held a long blade that made a mockery of Kuzu¡¯s two-hander.


    A slight shake of the ground happened nearby, centered in the direction of the orcs. They paid it no heed, and instead started to shout and bash their swords against the ground. Kuzu¡¯s ears pressed against her head at the cacophony that the orcs had created.


    Tentacles covered in clods of dirt burst out of the ground nearby the orcs, the long tendrils whipping about randomly. Kuzu struggled a little beneath my hand, but I held firm so she couldn¡¯t scream at the arrival of the Maw.


    The orcs had no such fear, instead they gave out cries of joy at the sight of the tentacles. As the tendrils swung in closer to them the closest orcs swung their weapons. The blades cut easily through their intended targets, blood spurting uncontrollably from the severed limbs.


    It was time to move on while the Maw was distracted, so I removed my hand from Kuzu¡¯s mouth and instead grabbed ahold of her hand. I pulled her along as I turned and began to run, as I didn¡¯t want to get caught up in the fight between the two forces.


    Kuzu tried her best to follow me but she couldn¡¯t manage it, and as I pulled her along she stumbled and fell down. I turned to try and help her back up and saw that she¡¯d been too busy staring at the Maw behind us.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The fight had evolved, as the creatures had finally emerged from the ground. They looked somewhat similar to the goblin hounds, except that from their spine numerous tentacles spread outward. Each tentacle was long enough to reach ten feet, and as Kuzu and I watched the amount of tentacles on each of the Maw seemed to almost double.


    The orcs didn¡¯t even flinch back from that, instead they let out cries of joy. Their large weapons were swung constantly into the mass of writhing tentacles, yet it seemed two more appeared to replace the severed one. It was only a matter of time before the tentacles overwhelmed the small group of orcs and the Maw started to move in for the kill.


    ¡°Go!¡± I whispered into Kuzu¡¯s ear, even as I tried to almost pick her up and push her toward the forest.


    Behind us we could hear the Maw as they started their feast. The sounds should¡¯ve been unsettling, but I¡¯d heard them so often in the past that it was akin to background noise. Kuzu whimpered in fear ahead of me, a noise that I hoped she would stop making very soon.


    When we reached the edge of the forest Kuzu curled up behind the nearest tree while she covered her ears with her hands. She had tears in her eyes, and adamantly refused to look back at the prairie that we¡¯d just crossed.


    Unlike her I had no such issues, and when I glanced behind us I could see that more of the Maw had arrived on the surface. Any sign of the orcs had long since been torn to shreds, and even the armor that they wore would¡¯ve become food for the monsters.


    I put one hand on Kuzu¡¯s shoulder and leaned in close to her. ¡°Kuzu?¡± I whispered as quietly as I could. ¡°We need to keep moving.¡±


    Kuzu took a couple of death breaths, but even as she stood up there was a shake to her hands. Her ears had only slightly lifted off from her head, while her tail had been tucked in around her waist.


    ¡°What about those things?¡± Kuzu asked in a quiet voice.


    ¡°We¡¯re past the burrowers, now we need to watch above. Use your claws.¡±


    ¡°A-alright,¡± Kuzu stuttered a little as she put the large sword back into the holder on her back.


    "The Maw have two breeds,¡± I told her as I studied the canopy above us, ¡°the first live underground and control the prairie and rely on sound. The other are above us, if you see a tentacle don¡¯t hit it unless it actually grabs you.¡±


    Our walk forward into the forest was a slow one, as I kept my eyes out for the signs of any Maw overhead. The forest was similar to any other you might run into, regular trees with heavy foliage overhead and a mixture of shrubbery on the ground. The only difference was that these trees had vines that hung from them, and those vines weren¡¯t always what they seemed.


    Every time a leaf fell from above I snapped my gun toward it, and every time a branch swayed I went rigid. The Maw were my least favorite creatures made by Lute before the twentieth floor, and it was because they were absurdly dangerous for where she placed them.


    When what looked like a vine swung down toward us, as though moved by a breeze, I stepped to the side. Kuzu watched what I did and caught on quickly enough, making certain to keep a distance from any and all vines even if they didn¡¯t move. She smiled at me, but all I did was motion in the direction of where the compass had pointed me.


    The leaves above rustled as more and more of the Maw began to move in, the vines that draped throughout the forest starting to all collect near us. I knew from personal experience that they would only emerge if we provoked them, as the forest breed weren¡¯t as aggressive as the prairie.


    We managed to weave our way through the vines and eventually find our way to where the portal was. Amongst the trees and vines it sat there, untouched by the Maw.


    It was when it came into view that everything became worse, as the canopy nearly exploded apart with an excessive amount of tentacles. As though the Maw knew that we were nearly out of their reach their hunger for food pushed them to attack.


    Kuzu was the one they ended up grabbing as their tentacles wrapped around her arms. They began to pull her up into the air like a puppet and she reacted as anyone would¡¯ve, laying into the tentacles around her with the diamond claws. Though it was a good move on her part it was the signal for the Maw to attack en masse.


    The Maw which emerged from the canopy were small, far smaller than the prairie breed, but their tentacles were more muscular and dangerous. Each of them was a shade of green that blended well with the foliage above, and striations of darker colors helped them to hide amongst the greenery.


    My own reaction was simple enough, I started to fire my Flagra at all of the Maw in between me and the portal. ¡°Kuzu!¡± I shouted out to her, ¡°get to the portal! They won¡¯t go near it!¡±


    With my sword I sliced a Maw who got too close to me in half, and then fired a bullet into the head of a Maw that had slinked up behind Kuzu. She let out a small scream of surprise, but started to run for the portal. Her claws snapped out and cleaved through the tentacles that tried to grab hold of her, though none of the Maw ever once cried out in pain.


    It was an odd scenario as fresh blood and chunks of tentacles flew everywhere. Behind us I could hear the noise of more Maw falling to the ground, and I turned halfway to fire more rounds into the new entrants to our scuffle.


    With a flick of my wrist I ejected the magazine and I put the Flagra back into the holster. I had no time to reload it and so I¡¯d instead put my focus into the sword. Even though it had little impact I even relied on my feet and free hand to stave off the swarm of tentacles.


    Ahead of me Kuzu let out a cry of frustration at the wall of tentacles that had formed. Her claws tore easily through them, but as with the orcs it seemed like there were always more to replace the fallen.


    ¡°This is insane!¡± she finally yelled out, coated in blood and chunks of tentacles.


    I tightened my grip on the sword and focused on the gem built into it. The electricity that would normally run across my skin instead sparked out from the gem, and then the blade itself let out a small cluster of electrical bursts. With a quick swing of the blade I sent out a surge of electricity at the Maw nearest us, scattering them away.


    When the tentacles naturally were pulled back by the retreating Maw Kuzu and I surged through the opening. We ran up to the portal while behind us the Maw gathered once more, though their tentacles never once got within five feet of the portal itself.


    I leaned against the portal, slightly dizzy from the use of what I liked to call the lightning blade. Though I had moderated the power toward the lower end it had still been more of a draw than I¡¯d expected, and once again highlighted how flawed my current reserves were. I would need to practice magic consistently over the next four years if I wanted to get anywhere close to my past capacity.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t they come closer?¡± Kuzu asked from next to me.


    ¡°The Goddess,¡± I replied, ¡°she hard coded it into their genes. They literally can¡¯t come near the portal, it hurts them. A lot.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Kuzu said, before she looked down at herself and sighed. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°We move on, of course.¡±


    Kuzu had nothing to say to that idea, and instead she put her hand on the portal. A few seconds later she vanished. I continued to lean against the portal, staring into the white nothing of it, and thought for a moment about what had happened.


    Then we were both gone and the Maw could only wait for the next fool to enter their domain.

 Vol. 1 Chapter 17 - The Long Valley And Beyond

    <hr>


    Floor 15


    Valley of the Orcs


    <hr>


    The place we arrived at on the fifteenth floor was a wide open space, one that had a nice vantage point on what could only be called a vast valley with steep cliffs.  A small river cut through the middle of the valley. The vast majority of it was a combination of plains, forest, and hills.


    Immediately around us there were no signs of orcs, save for footprints.  It was almost as though the entry point had been left unguarded. I could only theorize it was either due to how it had moved recently, or the orcs simply didn¡¯t care who came to this floor.


    After I¡¯d checked out what was nearby, afraid we might have ended up in a cluster of fight hungry orcs, I glanced at Kuzu.  She¡¯d run over to the stream and started to scrub at all of the viscera from before. Though her back was turned to me the slight shiver that ran through her body consistently was very noticeable.


    I took the Flagra out of the holster and slipped a new magazine into it, making certain to chamber a round before I put it back.  From one of my pockets I pulled a small piece of cloth and used it to wipe the blade of my sword. Once it looked properly clean, or at least clean enough, I put it away.


    I walked over to Kuzu and gently placed one hand on her shoulder.  ¡°Kuzu, are you alright to go on?¡±


    She jerked away from my hand, an instinctive reaction from what I could tell, and lifted her hands up into a defensive position.  Her ears twitched and she realized that it was me and returned to scrubbing the blood off. ¡°I¡¯ll...I¡¯ll be fine. What were those things?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the Maw, the Goddess made them to teach patience and stealth,¡± I said, ¡°they¡¯re only found on that floor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard anyone ever say anything about them ever!¡±


    ¡°Of course not, most divers prefer to forget they even exist.¡± I didn¡¯t mention the fact that it was because of the nightmares.


    I turned my attention from the kitsune and back to the valley.  The cliffs were nearly impossible to climb, so we would only have one path available to us.  A quick glance at the sky informed me that it was obviously day time, and roughly around the middle of the day.


    ¡°Once you¡¯re done we need to move on, otherwise some orc parties are going to start popping in next to us.¡±


    That comment made Kuzu go rigid, and then she rapidly stood up and shook her wet hands.  The moisture clung to her clothing, but instead of enjoying the sight I worried more about how some orcs might perceive her.  If the wrong kind of orc came along I¡¯d probably need to emasculate him.


    ¡°Well, hopefully that¡¯ll dry off fast enough,¡± I muttered as I started to walk away from where we¡¯d arrived.


    As we started our journey toward the inner depths of the valley Kuzu suddenly let out a cry and pointed ahead of us.  ¡°What is that!¡±


    My eyes tracked to where she¡¯d pointed and I only saw what I was used to, stakes that had skulls on them.  The skulls weren¡¯t limited to animals nor even orcs. Some were obviously from humans, and others had a slightly more slender look that¡¯d mark them as kitsune.


    ¡°They¡¯re skulls,¡± I calmly replied to her as I continued to walk.  After all it was ordinary for the orcs to put a warning sign up to mark where their true territory was.  ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    ¡°Daddy, shouldn¡¯t you maybe wait for night time?¡± Lisa asked from the watch.


    ¡°The only orcs normally active on this floor are the Bones and the wall guards,¡± I replied without a break in my stride.  Behind me I could hear Kuzu as she scrambled to catch up after she had paused near the stakes. ¡°Even if I wanted to avoid a fight there¡¯ll probably be Umbras on guard.¡±


    ¡°Be super careful then!¡± Lisa called out cheerfully before she went quiet.


    ¡°Umbras?¡± Kuzu inquired from behind.


    It was a question that I chose to ignore and instead I focused on moving forward.  Eventually we found a slight path that had been beaten down into the grass. Even from where I was I had a good view of most of the valley and from what I could see there were no patrols active.


    As we walked Kuzu tried again and again to ask me questions, often about where we were going or how we were going to get past the orcs.  She even asked me questions about the animals she saw, the button nosed rodents and the winged cats that lived within the valley.


    Instead of answering her I put my attention on our surroundings.  Though we would most likely not deal with any sort of ambush there were orcs all over the place.  Most plucked at the berries on the bushes, putting what they harvested into woven baskets. Others hunted the native animals of the valley, and a few even utilized nets to catch fish in the river.


    "Answer me!" Kuzu suddenly shouted at me.


    "Shush," was my only response. I was far more interested in the hint of brown that had started to become visible on the horizon, one that stretched from one side of the valley to the other.


    We continued to walk for a couple more hours, unmolested by any of the orcs that were nearby.  Kuzu grew more and more agitated, though she had stopped asking questions every few minutes. Instead she glared daggers at me and randomly muttered complaints under her breath.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Perhaps I was being a bit too rough with her, but Kuzu would need to gain a great deal more tolerance if she wanted to survive in the labyrinth.  If she couldn¡¯t toughen up she¡¯d struggle with some of the later floors that attacked the mind.


    We arrived at what could only be called The Wall, a massive wooden fortification that had taken years to build by the orcs.  Next to me Kuzu¡¯s open distaste for my silence had given way to awe.


    Toward the central part of The Wall was a group of orcs who were in the midst of playing rock crush.  They looked up at us and gave grunts of disapproval, before a couple of the larger amongst them swaggered over to greet us.


    ¡°Good day, we seek to use the portal,¡± I told them in their tongue.


    "Oh, you speak like us?" the orc with the largest sword responded. He towered over Kuzu and I, a look of open curiosity on his misshapen face.  "Are you willing to pay?"


    "I lack the stones required," I regretfully informed him, "I seek admittance by right of arms."


    The orcs all laughed at that though the leader remained silent.  Instead he stared at me, before he gave a shrug of indifference. "Right of arms means you might die, are you sure about that?"


    My right hand rested on the handle of my sword. "Right of arms means whoever faces me will die. This may be rude but I will need to cover her admittance as well."


    "You speak mad words little Elf," the orc said with a shake of his head.  He walked away from all of us and toward a small level section on the right.


    "Stay here," I told Kuzu.


    While she stood there with a confused look I followed after the orc leader.  He led me over to a flat area that was in the shape of a rough square. It was twenty feet by twenty feet and instead of dirt there was sand.


    Without instruction I stepped onto the square and walked to the furthest side, before turning around and pulling out my sword.  I left my pistol holstered, as to use it in this fight would violate the rules followed by the orcs.


    Two of the orcs who had laughed from before stomped over, eager to show off their strength in front of their leader.  They stepped onto the sand and pulled out their swords, crude weapons made from a black material.


    ¡°You may pass through by right of arm only if you beat my men.  Leaving the square or dying is a loss,¡± the orc leader said, as he jerked one finger in the direction of Kuzu, ¡°and if you lose she becomes ours.¡±


    "Agreed."


    The leader of the orcs announced the start to the fight as one might expect, he simply yelled to all of us to fight.  The two orcs that I had to fight edged in closer with wide ugly grins. The older orc on the left had a big scar that ran from his scalp all the way to the chin, while the one on the right could only be called a very generic orc.


    The scarred orc went to make the first move, but his friend held up his sword to block him.  A few quick words were muttered between the two before the obviously younger half-turned to spit a few insults at his elder.


    Before his head turned back I¡¯d already thrown my sword into it.  The blade had no problem piercing the skull and it ended up buried all the way to the hilt.  The older orc¡¯s eyes widened at that, and then he turned and bellowed at me. With little thought to defense he made a mad dash for me, sword lifted up high above his head.


    Instead of backing away I lunged in, taking advantage of the aggressive behavior of the orc.  My elbow drove hard into his stomach, hard enough that my elbow would ache for a few days, but the orc barely felt it and instead laughed.  He dropped his sword down like a guillotine for my head in retaliation.


    I slid to the left in order to evade the sword.  The weapon hit the sand with enough force to throw some of it into the air, which caused both the orc and I to squint.  While he started to retract his sword I slid the stiletto out of my armguard.


    The next time swing he sent at me was a horizontal slash, one that I ducked under.  I jammed the stiletto up into his extended arm and pulled it back. As the orc tried to swing his arm at me in retaliation the sword fell from his hand, a side effect of the damage to the muscle cluster I¡¯d attacked.


    Perhaps from the shock of losing control of his hand the orc took a step back, a move unusual for most orcs.  Before he could choose if he wanted to surrender or not I struck first. With a quick hop forward I drove my stiletto clear through his sternum and into the heart.


    In one smooth movement I slipped the stiletto out, wiped it on the cloth of the dying orc, and then turned to walk away.  Behind me I could hear the guttural cry of the orc as he collapsed to his knees on the sand. Before I walked off of the little orc arena I recovered my thrown sword and, once again, used the clothing of the dead orc to wipe off the blood.


    The leader of the orcs stood there with his arms crossed, a slight look of annoyance on his face.  He glared pointedly at the dead orcs I¡¯d left in the arena. ¡°Next time I should let you pass, I don¡¯t think I can afford to keep losing men.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in that?¡± I retorted, before I flashed a grin at the orc.


    The orc laughed in response as he clapped me on the shoulder, a friendly gesture that nearly brought me to my knees.  ¡°A pity you¡¯re a little Elf and not one of us!¡±


    We walked back over to Kuzu and the others.  The orcs watched me with a certain degree of respect in their eyes, though a few of the younger ones seemed ready to pull their weapons out at any time.  If not for the fact that I¡¯d already won the contest I was certain they would¡¯ve challenged me on the spot, if only for entertainment.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Kuzu asked as she stepped up closer to me, her voice quiet.


    "I''m fine, get ready for the next transfer.¡±.


    The giant wooden wall ahead of us splintered open after the orc leader bellowed at it.  The jagged looking gate swung inward and revealed the far side of the valley. There were dozens of orcs all about, most of them hard at work on smashing into the rocky sides of the valley.  Even a few women were mixed in with the men, their slightly leaner bodies and thinner tusks the only way to tell the difference.


    Off to our left and a bit distant we could see the portal.  It would always spawn somewhere on this end of the valley, which had made it easy enough for the orcs to fortify where it was.  The orcs glanced from what they were doing when the gate opened, but even though it was a kitsune and an Elf they went back to their task of mining shortly thereafter.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I told Kuzu as I walked toward the portal.


    <hr>


    Floor 16


    Gralk - City of the Orcs


    <hr>


    To be fair to Kuzu I had made a very simple mistake.  So when she started to scream I couldn¡¯t blame her entirely.  After all we appeared in the middle of a large plaza filled with orcs.


    Some of the orcs were in the middle of fighting each other, some had fresh meat slaughtered on tables nearby the arrival point, and some of the orcs simply glared at us when we arrived.  To me it was normal, after all Gralk was the home city of the orcs. I¡¯d forgotten to warn Kuzu, though, as I was used to either being alone or with people who were halfway competent.


    So she screamed, but that scream was cut off a second later when I put one hand forcefully on her mouth.  With my other hand I grabbed her neck from behind, a move that made many of the nearby orcs relax. Kuzu shrank beneath my grip as her tail wrapped around her waist and her ears went flat against her head.


    I could feel something wet on my hand that was over Kuzu¡¯s mouth, and I realized she had started to cry.  ¡°Kuzu, calm down,¡± I leaned in and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m only grabbing you to make them see me as your owner. They won¡¯t attack you or I so long as I do this.¡±


    Kuzu gave a very small nod of her head, though she still seemed extremely tensed around the neck grip.  As I moved my hand away from her mouth I also slightly loosened the hold on her neck, but I didn¡¯t remove it.  If the orcs perceived me as someone escorting a kitsune slave they¡¯d stay out of my way, unless we did something to set them off.


    Screaming obviously counted toward that, hence why I¡¯d put my hand over her mouth.  I began to slightly push her ahead of me, as I needed to stay behind her to maintain the illusion.


    Our journey through the city was a slow one, as we had to wait for any orcs to walk by us.  While I could¡¯ve pressed through I had no interest in showing my dominance to every single one, especially since some of the better fighters would give me a very hard time.  I¡¯d been lucky enough to fight some of the dumber ones.


    The city itself was made almost entirely from various types of rocks and mortar.  The buildings trended toward the smaller, but they were far thicker than most and could easily withstand the extreme winters.  There were sand arenas set up near most of the squares of the city, and orcs actively fought one another consistently.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Kuzu finally whispered.


    ¡°To see some old friends.¡±

 Vol. 1 Chapter 18 - Preparations And Deals

    Our walk through Gralk was one filled with tension, as every single orc we encountered brought with him a chance of a fight.  Most gave little attention to Kuzu and I, but there were some who stalked after us with open curiosity.


    Those were the ones who either wanted to know how an Elf had arrived in Gralk or to take Kuzu for themselves.  It was only when I entered into the Stone District that they backed off, mostly because of the increased presence of guards.


    Gone were the arenas where orcs fought one another, and gone were the orcs who stood around and muttered threats.  Instead we had entered into the merchant area, where every corner was laden with an orc who had purchased the rights to it.


    I had no gems, or what the orcs would call rocks or stones, and instead I could only walk by the food stalls that were scattered throughout the district.  Compared to the Bloods that we¡¯d seen before it was such a vast difference that it almost seemed like a different race.


    ¡°They¡¯re trading?¡± Kuzu asked from ahead of me.  I hadn¡¯t let go of her neck even though we were in a safer district.


    ¡°They¡¯re Stones,¡± I replied, slightly distracted by the signs on the buildings, ¡°while the Bloods are focused on being the strongest fighters, they¡¯re all about money.¡±


    ¡°That has nothing to do with strength though.¡±


    I paused in our walk which meant Kuzu was forced to stop with me. ¡°The original orcs would¡¯ve agreed with you, but the Goddess hammered into them that there¡¯s more to life than punching each other.¡±


    ¡°Why would she do that?¡±


    ¡°The first orcs tried to murder each other to prove who was the toughest, so she stepped in to stop them from committing genocide.¡±  I turned Kuzu toward a nearby building. ¡°Let¡¯s go, this is the place I was looking for.¡±


    She looked up even as I studied the fairly large building.  Columns held up an overhang with arches between each pillar.  An open doorway that could fit two orcs side by side was centered between glass stained windows.


    I tried to be as gentle as I could when I pushed Kuzu toward the trading center.  We passed through the doorway uninterrupted, and as soon as we entered the building all we heard was noise.  The interior was filled with orcs in a vast open room and every single one was in the process of yelling at each other.


    The inside of the building was by and large impressive.  The small staircase that led down to the central room had been crafted from marble, and even the entire floor was made of a white smooth material.  Pillars embedded with lanterns held up a curved ceiling far above.


    "What is this place?" Kuzu asked in a whisper, as she shook beneath my grip.


    "What is this! Is that a kitsune in Gralk?"  An elderly orc stepped in from the right with his arms spread wide.  ¡°Tell me this means a war is coming.¡±


    It was easy to tell that he was an elder, given how his tusks were cracked and darkened.  He looked at us with eyes that had a white film that had started to creep over them. On his back rested two obsidian swords, while a multitude of pouches hung from his belt.


    He was flanked by two other orcs.  The first was a lean female orc who had pulled her hair back into a ponytail.  Her tusks were well cared for, and even though she was an orc she seemed to wear some type of makeup to darken her eyelids and lips.


    The other orc had what could only be called a generic look to him.  He had short cut dark hair, and his tusks were of an average size. The only distinguishing aspect to him was the brand on his left cheek, one that was in the shape of a crescent moon.


    ¡°No war this time, though I might wage one later,¡± I told the orc as I released my grip on Kuzu¡¯s neck, ¡°I¡¯m only here to make a deal.¡±


    That brought a hideous grin to the old orcs face.  He started to walk down the steps to the central part of the large chamber, and then veered off to the left.  ¡°Follow me!¡± he called out to us, as he slowly marched to the entrance of a hallway.


    Once we entered into the hallway the noise from the central chamber began to die down, though it was still loud enough to make me want to grit my teeth.  The old orc, along with the woman and the Umbra, stepped into a side room. A wooden table, along with six chairs, were the only things within.


    ¡°Come, sit sit,¡± the orc said as he seated himself at the table, ¡°the children are being loud today.¡±


    ¡°Kuzu, sit,¡± I ordered her as I settled down across from the elder.


    She hesitatingly stepped over to the table and settled down, her shoulders scrunched down and her ears flat against her head.  She looked at the three orcs who were present with obvious fear, though she managed to not whimper like a baby. I was a little proud of her for that.


    ¡°Human tongue?  What a foul tasting language,¡± the elder grunted.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The female orc sat down next to the old orc, though she never touched him.  In fact there¡¯d been a sort of separation between all three of the orcs throughout the entire walk.  Even as she seated herself the Umbra leaned up against a wall near the back corner, his interest in Kuzu obvious with how much he stared.


    ¡°My name is Fenix, and my familia was once friends with the Crackers,¡± I told the elder before I motioned at Kuzu, ¡°she is Kuzu.¡±


    ¡°Ho ho, the Crackers! I haven¡¯t seen one of their familia in at least a hundred years,¡± the old orc commented, ¡°I am Lorak, and this is my daughter Utsa.¡±


    ¡°Are you the spokesman for this place?¡±


    ¡°For now.¡± Lorak pounded his fist against the table top, and then he pointed his other hand at Kuzu.  ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t sell her? I know a Bone who¡¯d sell his familia¡¯s rights for a kitsune girl.¡±


    ¡°Her familia would seek vengeance if I did that,¡± I replied, ¡°I have a better deal for you anyways.¡±


    ¡°Better than a kitsune?  I doubt you have the rocks for that.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any of those,¡± I regretfully informed him, ¡°though I was wondering.  You¡¯re still stuck with only trading to orcs right?¡±


    "Sometimes the humans on the nineteenth trade," Lorak said with a sigh.


    ¡°The kitsune are still sore over your invasion aren¡¯t they?¡± I pressed for an answer that I already knew.


    "Last time I sent someone to talk to the kitsune they murdered him and left him hanging from a tree," Lorak growled as he slammed his fist against the table.  A crack formed in the hardwood at the point of impact.


    "Dralg was an idiot, he probably tried to fight them instead of talk to them," came the rough voice of Utsa. "Never send a Blood to do a Stones job."


    "Dralg was your fiance so be happy you didn''t get stuck with him," Lorak half-yelled at Utsa


    "If I offer you a way to trade with the kitsune how much would that be worth?"


    Utsa gargled.  In all my previous life I¡¯d never heard an orc make that noise before, but somehow she still managed to do it.  Lorak glared at her, but then turned his attention back to me.


    ¡°If you can get me exclusive rights to the kitsune,¡± he said with an almost dreamy voice, ¡°oh the rocks I could get.  You could have anything, maybe even Utsa.¡±


    I lifted my hand up at that comment, if only to stop Utsa from yelling at her father.  "I need two Stones markers and a slip for the nursery for a start. I¡¯ll also need rations for two people for four years."


    "The slip is easy enough, but four years?  And markers?"


    "I need to spend four years training with the kitsune, and the nursery is the best place for it."


    Lorak''s one bad eye twitched at that. "I see.  The real question is how am I going to get the trading rights to the kitsune?¡±


    ¡°Fetch me a hide and a trustworthy messenger.  I¡¯ll write a letter to one of the skulk leaders who owes me a favor.  I¡¯ll teach your messenger how to not get killed on sight.¡±


    ¡°Utsa! Fetch Targ and a Maw hide,¡± Lorak ordered his daughter, ¡°if this Elf is telling us the truth I want this dealt with immediately.¡±


    Utsa didn¡¯t argue with Lorak, though she glared at him.  The elder orc turned to me after his daughter had stomped out of the room, pointedly ignoring how upset she was.  ¡°You do understand that I can¡¯t agree to what you want until you deliver?¡±


    ¡°The kitsune and I will need a place to rest.  I¡¯m sure you¡¯re willing to share food with us until news comes back?¡±


    ¡°Share food?¡± Lorak laughed at that.  ¡°You¡¯re going to stay with Utsa and I, I¡¯m not letting any other familia even get a chance at talking to you.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    It was four days later that we gathered near the portal of the sixteenth floor.  Lorak, Utsa, and a couple more orcs of their familia had escorted us happily to it.  Along the way the old orc had spoken at length about all of his plans to further the trade with the kitsune, most of which were centered on getting more gems.


    When we reached the portal Lorak handed over the permission slip, markers, and even a requisition for supplies from the nursery storehouse. ¡°If you get bored of training you can always stop by for a drink or two,¡± Lorak said to me with one of his hideous grins.


    ¡°I¡¯d better not, I know how strong an orc ale can get,¡± I offered my hand to him, ¡°thank you for your help though.¡±


    Lorak took my hand and shook it with a bit too much force.  ¡°Keep yourself safe little Elf. The nursery isn¡¯t meant for weak races like yours, don¡¯t let your guard down while you¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me,¡± I reassured the orc.


    Before I was dragged into another discussion by Lorak I turned to the portal and approached it.  Next to me Kuzu followed quickly enough, though she had a hard time not peeking over her shoulder at the gathered orcs.


    <hr>


    Floor 17


    The Orc Nursery


    <hr>


    "Nursery?" was the first thing Kuzu said once we were clear of the orcs.


    I slid my sword back into the scabbard, having automatically gone into a battle stance as usual.  ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the orc nursery.¡± I started to walk away from Kuzu and off in an eastern direction.  ¡°So long as you have that marker on you no orc will attack.¡±


    The landscape of the nursery was a tad unusual.  While the arrival point was in the middle of a forest a mere handful of yards away everything changed.  Rocky hills that fell into canyons, valleys and rivers that criss crossed seemingly at random, and giant lakes filled with surreal fish were only the beginning of what the floor had to offer.


    As Kuzu and I walked I could see shadows in the sky, while my ears picked up the sound of a variety of monsters that lurked amongst the gullies.  While this was called a nursery it wasn¡¯t meant for babies, but rather this was the training ground for orc children. It was only here that they would be turned into proper warriors, or they would die in the process.


    Eventually we arrived at the top of a cliff.  Out across the horizon what looked to be blue flowers bloomed, though they were actually crystals.  With my eyesight I could make out a few orcs here and there as they trained, though none of them worked together.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s beautiful,¡± Kuzu said as she looked out at the giant field of crystals.


    ¡°Kuzu, put the marker on,¡± I told her as I pulled mine out from the pocket I¡¯d stowed it in.  It was a crude necklace with an onyx, one that had a symbol carved into it.


    ¡°Um...okay,¡± Kuzu slowly mirrored my action, though one of her ears was tilted.  ¡°Why are we doing all of this?¡±


    For the first time since I¡¯d put it on I removed the watch from my wrist.  I gently placed it on Kuzu¡¯s own, and then took off the sunglasses and slid them onto her face.  ¡°You¡¯re not ready for the next few floors,¡± I told Kuzu bluntly, ¡°and pretty soon I won¡¯t be able to protect you let alone myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really answering my question.¡±


    ¡°Lisa, you¡¯re in charge of her.  I¡¯ll bring food and check in every so often, but aside from that it¡¯s up to you to teach her for the first year or so,¡± I told my daughter.


    ¡°Sure thing daddy!¡± Lisa exclaimed happily from the watch, ¡°I¡¯ll teach her everything I can about everything so she¡¯ll be super smart!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± Kuzu asked with a hint of panic in her voice.


    ¡°Your first lesson is that those crystals out there respond to sound.  The louder you are, the sharper they get. Before we get to your training I¡¯m going to let you ask me one question as a reward.¡±


    Kuzu froze at that as her eyes widened.  Her tail flicked behind her excitedly but she remained quiet for a while.  I could almost hear her brain as it worked hard at whatever she was thinking.


    ¡°Will you ever betray me?¡± Kuzu finally asked.


    It was a question I hadn¡¯t expected, as I figured she¡¯d want to know more about my past life.  I couldn¡¯t resist the smile that appeared on my face. ¡°No, I¡¯m never going to betray you.¡± I reached out and gently patted her on the head. ¡°I won¡¯t abandon you, and I¡¯ll help you become a stronger version of yourself.  Do you think you¡¯re ready for training now?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Kuzu smiled brightly at me.


    I gave a nod of my head and promptly picked Kuzu up and threw her off the cliff.  Before she¡¯d hit the ground I¡¯d already turned and walked away.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    Herein ends Volume 1 of Grave of the Goddess

 Vol. 2 Chapter 1 - 4 Years Later

    <hr>


    Floor 20


    Heron - City of the Humans


    Checkpoint 2


    <hr>


    The Laughing Fox was a fine establishment in regard to most of the other bars and taverns within Heron.  It had been crafted mostly from wood and towered above the nearby houses, as it doubled not only as a bar but also an inn.  From the exterior it was hard to guess the purpose of the large structure, with only a single sign placed near the front door.


    As soon as I entered the rich smell of ale, coupled with the thick scent of sweat and roasted meat, assailed my nose.  The central part of The Laughing Fox held tables and booths inside a room that easily reached eighty feet in length. Almost every place one could sit was already taken, while patrons who were already well into their tenth drink or more staggered around at random.


    A long counter ran along the western edge of the taproom, one that had dozens of bartenders who constantly dealt with the thirsty patrons.  At the two ends of the counter were two doors which led to the kitchen, and it seemed as though a continual stream of waiters flowed through those doors.


    I walked down the short flight of steps that led to the taproom, taking care to not walk into anyone.  I wore a light cloak that I held tight, as I had no interest in showing off what I wore to anyone here, and my hood was also kept up.  From behind the sunglasses I studied the people at each table in the hope of finding who I had come for. Most of the people looked to be rather mundane, though a few obvious warriors were mixed in with their hardened looks and visible weaponry.


    There was a slight ripple of conversation from those who saw me, as curious onlookers attempted to try and get a peek under my hood.  Since I could barely see past the hood myself I knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to see much of me, and so I continued on without a second thought.


    About halfway through the taproom I found who I sought.  A pair of men lounged at a table near the center of the room, large glass mugs that were almost empty on the table in front of them.  The tables nearest them were spaced out further than what seemed normal for the place, though I wasn¡¯t sure why.


    One of the men was a muscular man who was at least six feet tall, but he wore no armor and had no visible weapons.  The other of the pair was barely taller than Kuzu and had dark green hair with emerald eyes. He wore a monocle on his right eye, and a short steel knife had been impaled into the top of the table next to his mug.


    A small girl who barely reached my waist slipped past with a plate filled with steaming meat on wooden sticks.  She carefully placed the plate on the table for the two men and then scurried off back to the kitchen.


    The larger of the two men picked up one of the sticks of meat and tore at it with slightly pointed teeth.  He had dark red spiked hair that ran down his back to his waist, with a pair of dark red eyes that not once had moved off of me.  I wasn¡¯t sure when he started to stare at me, but it had been at least before the waitress had put the plate on the table.


    Rather than any type of obvious armor he simply wore a dark red leather, with odd red fur tufts at the wrists and neck. About his neck he wore a necklace that had a purple crystal captured within a lattice of silver.


    ¡°Sup?¡± he half-growled out after swallowing the chunk of meat he¡¯d chewed on.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Wolfe brothers,¡± I said.


    The green-haired man glanced at his companion before he gave a shrug of his shoulders.  ¡°I¡¯m Adam Wolfe, this is Lance,¡± he responded as he motioned to his brother, ¡°why are you looking for us?¡±


    I grabbed an empty chair from one of the nearby tables, ignoring the fact that the table itself had many people at it, and dragged the chair over to the Wolfe¡¯s.  With a thump I slouched into it as I rested my elbows on the table. ¡°I heard you two are some of the best divers in Heron,¡± I began, before I pulled out a sliver of metal and put it on the table, ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯re willing to sell your services.¡±


    Adam stared at that sliver of metal, as the light shone off the gold and glinted visibly in his eyes.  He cleared his throat and started to reach for the pip, but then paused as he glanced at me. ¡°May I?¡±


    I gave a nod of my head and Adam followed through without any more hesitation.  He scooped it up and stared at it intently before he handed it off to his brother.  ¡°Depends on how much you¡¯re willing to hand over, and what you want,¡± he finally replied after Lance returned the pip to him with a nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you two managed to reach the forty-fifth floor,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m planning an expedition, but I could use some guides.¡±


    ¡°Guides? Well, that sounds a bit casual,¡± Adam pushed the gold pip back to me, ¡°so you probably want to go to thirty or so at the deepest?¡±


    ¡°Fifty.¡±


    It was a reply that caused Lance to choke on some of the meat he had shoved into his mouth.  He stood up, gagging, and then slammed his hand against the top of the table. ¡°You an idiot!¡± he bellowed as bits of saliva and meat flew from his mouth, ¡°that ain¡¯t possible!¡±


    ¡°Lance, calm yourself.¡± Adam reached over and put a hand on Lance¡¯s nearest arm in an attempt to calm him down.  ¡°I have to agree with my brother, the highest anyone has gone is forty-seven and that was two hundred years ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh?  How do you know that?¡± I wondered.


    ¡°Because our ancestors made it there.  The only reason we even made it to forty-five was thanks to the notes they left us, and we knew better than to push further in because of how deadly those two other floors are supposed to be.¡±


    ¡°Vivah, the ruined city of the yetis,¡± I said in a calm voice as I pulled out a canteen from beneath my cloak.  I sipped from it, ignoring the drinks available in The Laughing Fox. I had a strong memory of how badly I¡¯d felt after getting drunk the night before my wedding.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The agitated Lance¡¯s eyes widened at my words before he slumped into his seat, blissfully silent.  Adam cleared his throat, and then he leaned in closer to the table. ¡°May I inquire as to how you know that?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re the only person who has ancestors?¡± I gave a small shake of my head.  I pulled out the Flagra and placed it on the table in front of me, and then tapped it gently as I looked at Lance.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t need our help then do you?¡± Lance asked with a snort.


    ¡°My information is severely out of date.  I might know a lot of stuff you fellows don¡¯t, but you¡¯ll also know what has changed in the last hundred years or so.¡±


    Adam sat quietly next to his brother, his gaze locked onto the gun on the table.  One finger went up to trace gently along the edge of his monocle, and then he gave a nod of his head.  ¡°If we get into a fight Lance and I will prioritize our safety over yours.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.  I can hold my own, and I¡¯ll be bringing along another companion who is a competent fighter.¡±


    "Fine, we''ll need ten pips of gold," Adam stated before he held up one hand, "and another ten pips when we reach floor fifty. We also hold the right to pull out at any time we feel the journey is too dangerous."


    "I have no problem with that, shall we head out tomorrow afternoon then?"


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The portal in the city of Heron was nestled inside a green park with an open area in the middle.  A ring of trees grew along the outer part of the park, while a stone pathway cut through the short grass and led straight to the portal.


    The townsfolk avoided the inner area of the park and instead lounged near the trees.  Two men who wore light leather armor and held metal spears stood near the sphere. Given that there were no restrictions on usage I could only guess they were there to stop children from accidentally using the portal.


    I stood near the portal with my arms crossed in front of my chest.  While I waited for the Wolfe brothers I had worked mentally at my plan.  Though I had a rough sketch of what I wanted to do the specifics eluded me, though I knew one of the first things I would do was on the twenty-second floor.


    ¡°This easy money, Adam! We got this!¡± boomed the loud voice of the younger Wolfe.


    He walked alongside Adam as they entered the park, his outfit still the exact same as it was in the bar.  What drew my immediate attention were the night steel arm guards he wore, something I hadn¡¯t expected to see anyone use until the fiftieth floor.  Aside from that he carried a knapsack that he¡¯d slung over his shoulder, and had a couple of long daggers belted on his hip.


    "Lance, calm down," Adam told his brother while he adjusted his monocle. The clothes he wore were baggy and light, crafted from cotton or some other simple material. On his belt there was a small handgun a few steps below the Flagra in terms of technology.


    It was the item on his back that made me whistle in appreciation, a long rifle that easily put the pistol he had to shame.   He carried a knapsack similar to Lance¡¯s, the strings held in his left hand.


    ¡°So that¡¯s your secret,¡± I murmured to myself as I stared pointedly at their equipment, ¡°presents from your ancestors?¡±


    Adam gave a small smile at that but didn¡¯t answer.  Instead he lifted his free hand to me before he said, ¡°Ten pips.¡±


    A bit disappointed he didn¡¯t say where he¡¯d gained his rifle from I still relinquished the gold that he wanted.  Adam checked each of the pips, a move that raised my opinion of him, and then he put the pips into a small bag on his hip.  He handed the bag over to one of the guards at the portal with a few quiet directions.


    It was a move that instantly put me on edge, as I¡¯d been ambushed by people before.  Obviously I¡¯d have the extra money on me and if the guards plus these two attacked most people would expect that I¡¯d die.  I slowly reached for the hilt of my sword, my eyes locked onto Adam and the guards.


    "Don''t worry ''bout that, we ain''t going to betray you," Lance spoke up from next to me, "we only want to make sure the money don''t get lost, in case we die."


    "I see," was my reply, though I didn¡¯t relax. The chances that a diver would betray you were a bit too high for me to fully believe in two strangers, even if the information brokers in town had spoken highly of them.


    When Adam returned to us he didn''t even spare a glance at me. "So where is your companion, mister...uh?"


    ¡°You can call me Fenix,¡± I knelt down and picked up a duffel bag in one hand, and then I grabbed a smaller bag in the other.  ¡°She¡¯s going to meet us on the next floor.¡±


    The Wolfe brothers nodded at that and didn¡¯t waste any more words, as instead they walked up to the portal and activated it.  I followed suit, once more leaving behind a safe floor in exchange for a place that could lead to my death.


    <hr>


    Floor 21


    The Hybrid Packs


    <hr>


    When we reached the next floor I was assailed by the smell of grass and trees.  Above a brilliant sun illuminated everything, easily piercing through the canopy of the sparse forest we stood in.  A light wind came in from the north, the scent of salt in the air. The grass was long with only a slight trail that marked where the divers tended to walk.


    From the edge of the trees a low growl started to emerge, while my ears easily picked up the sound of multiple animals breathing deeply.  What some might consider monstrosities started to slink out from the treeline.


    Their bodies were fairly large given the way they resembled a wolf.  With pointed ears and elongated muzzles anyone would consider them an obvious canine, but the fact that they were the size of bears and far more thick bodied than most wolves made them quite a bit odd.


    Over a dozen of the beasts stepped out into the light.  They bristled their fur and looked even larger than what they actually were, while saliva dripped from their mouths as though in anticipation of a meal.


    Adam and Lance threw their knapsacks to the ground.  Adam pulled his pistol out and sighted down the iron sights at the nearest of the wolf-bears, while Lance brandished his long daggers in a wide-armed stance.  I could tell from the way the light hit the blades that they were made from night steel.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to arm yourself?¡± Adam asked when he noticed the fact that I had chosen to stand there holding the bags.


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    What came next was  a flash of movement as a figure dropped from the canopy.  They landed on Lance¡¯s shoulders and then leapt off in a forward arc.  Arms swung out in the direction of the wolf-bears as a sparkle of light followed the moving fingers.  Spears shot forth from the fingertips in the direction of the beasts and impaled each of the stricken monsters.


    The new entrant landed on the ground in front of us in a slight crouch, one hand placed against the ground for balance.  Adam had shifted the aim of his pistol toward the new person, but I put one hand on top of his gun in order to dissuade him from firing it.


    "Put the weapons away, she''s with me," I told the Wolfe brothers.


    Kuzu rose from her crouch with a slow smooth movement.  She wore a tight leather armor that I knew from personal experience could ward off steel blades, along with combat boots.  Kuzu lifted one hand up and snapped a finger in the direction of the remaining wolf-bears. As though in response to her snap a burst of ice darts erupted from thin air and showered the survivors.


    Their response was to retreat and leave the remnants of their pack.  Kuzu watched their withdrawl before she finally turned and smiled at the three of us.  Her fox ears flicked, almost as though from excitement, while she lifted the sunglasses she wore up off of her eyes.  Kuzu waved at us with the diamond-tipped claws I¡¯d given her four years ago.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you got here! Lisa and I have been waiting for a week.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that, it took me longer than I expected to find comptent guides,¡± I apologized to her as I walked over and gave her the smaller bag, ¡°Adam, Lance, this is Kuzu.¡±


    Kuzu openly frowned at that introduction, though she didn¡¯t voice why she was displeased. She took the sack and put it behind her, right above where her tail emerged from her pants.  She tied the string of the bag around her waist, making sure to hook it through some of the belt loops. Above the bag the two-handed sword she¡¯d gained from the kitsune hung horizontally in a dark brown scabbard.


    The watch that I¡¯d given her four years ago was still on her wrist, at the request of not only her but also my daughter.  At some point during the training they¡¯d grown quite friendly and I had no interest in upsetting my daughter. To that end I¡¯d been forced to head back to the tenth floor and pick up a new watch and sunglasses to replace the ones she¡¯d taken as her own.


    Adam spared only a single look at Kuzu before his attention was diverted to the dead animals. Each had been carefully pierced through the head by a single ice-based lance so sharp that the skull had offered no resistance. "Magic? I think I heard a rumor that some of the kitsune had started to use it."


    "Ain''t a bad thing," Lance told his brother, as he nodded toward Kuzu and winked. "At least she ain¡¯t garbage like some clients."


    I frowned at the wink from Lance, but I let it slide since I knew Kuzu could probably gut him if she had to. "Perhaps we should move on before another pack comes?"


    "I can show the way, I scouted out the portal when I first came here and it hasn¡¯t moved since," Kuzu told me before she turned away and started to walk into the forest. For some odd reason her sleek looking fox tail had begun to slowly sway from left to right.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 2 - Markovs Legacy

    The path that Kuzu took us on led deeper into the forest, with the loose canopy above of blackened leaves thickening rapidly.  The once glorious light that had come through dwindled as the leaves proved terrifyingly efficient at catching every ray. For Kuzu who led us it wasn¡¯t a problem, her natural eyesight able to handle the dark, but for the rest of us it proved difficult.


    To that end I produced a cylinder from my duffel bag that I¡¯d scrounged from my home.  When I snapped it a dull orange light was produced that helped us to see, while also being dim enough to not bother Kuzu.  The Wolfe brothers had looked at me with curious expressions when I produced it, but I had no interest in explaining the origins of one of Lute¡¯s creations.


    I had so far been impressed with how Lance and Adam acted, as they not only kept weapons at the ready but also remained silent.  Instead of asking questions about Kuzu or myself they instead focused all their attention on the forest. If they could maintain that degree of discipline throughout the dive we stood a great chance of surviving.


    After we¡¯d walked for a short while I casually lobbed the glow stick back to Lance, who managed to catch it even without warning.  He cursed a little and raised an eyebrow at me, but I ignored his unasked question and stepped up to Kuzu.


    ¡°Did you finish everything?¡± I asked as I matched her pace.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kuzu said as she lifted her left hand up, the red crystal embedded in it glistening in the dull light from behind us, ¡°this checkpoint gem is really nice.¡±


    ¡°Between the return crystal and that it definitely makes moving through the floors a lot easier.  Did you have a nice time with your family?¡±


    ¡°It was great seeing them again,¡± Kuzu said, but her tone shifted into a depressive one.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Four years ago when I decided to leave them I knew they wouldn¡¯t be happy about it.¡± Kuzu¡¯s ears drooped.  ¡°When I showed up a few weeks ago though they acted almost scared of me. Lexy said I didn¡¯t even act like I used to.¡±


    "Four years," I reminded her, though I avoided admitting that she had changed.  She wasn¡¯t so stupid as to not already know that her time with Lisa and I had warped her.


    "Lexy was still happy to see me, but Ivan and Lucas acted scared of what I could do,¡± Kuzu muttered.


    I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to reach over and pat her gently on the head.  ¡°Don¡¯t let it bother you, they¡¯ll get used to you again,¡± I said in an attempt to encourage her, ¡°besides they¡¯re your family.  No matter how much you change they¡¯ll always love you.¡±


    Kuzu smiled, though whether it was due to the pat or my words I wasn¡¯t sure.  ¡°Thanks, by the way why¡¯d you want me to ask Lexy about her parents?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a hunch I have, one that could be very useful to me,¡± I replied, ¡°so what¡¯d she say?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, why don¡¯t you try kicking me off another cliff,¡± Kuzu said with a sniff before she hastened her pace.


    I had a bit of a mixed reaction to that, struggling between smiling and sighing, but in the end I shrugged and followed after her.  When it came time to need the answer I¡¯d push her for it. Instead for the moment I focused on finishing our journey through the twenty-first floor.


    During our trek we¡¯d encountered no other wolf-bears which made sense to me.  Unless something had changed drastically over the last thousand years, the wolf-bear packs tended to maintain ownership of an area.  Any territorial incursions would often result in large scale fights, ones that the wolf-bears instinctively knew were bad for all of them.


    So all four of us touched our hands to the sphere and focused on the next floor without a concern.  Far off in the distance a howl could barely be heard, but it was obvious to all of us how little it mattered.


    <hr>


    Floor 22


    Gremlins in the Gears


    <hr>


    Our arrival on the twenty-second floor was how it usually went for that floor.  Beneath our feet the metal platform we¡¯d appeared on opened up instantly. Kuzu had already leapt to a wall and dug her claws into it, while Adam and Lance had thrown hooks up at the piping on the ceiling.


    I was the only one who was caught by the trap, and so I was dumped down a chute toward one of the lower floors.  My descent was rough, a tumble that ended in me being face first against the ground when I finally stopped moving.  I stood up and brushed off the dust and dirt that¡¯d gathered on my clothing and then reached up to lower my hood.


    From above I could barely make out the sound of Adam¡¯s voice, ¡°Are you okay? Stay there and we¡¯ll find you!¡±


    I glanced up the chute and gave a small shake of my head.  I¡¯d forgotten to warn the brothers about my plans for this floor, in fact I hadn¡¯t even warned Kuzu.  It had been a sloppy mistake on my part.


    To rectify that error I lifted the watch on my wrist up to my mouth, ¡°Lisa I know you can hear me,¡± I said into the embedded microphone, ¡°put a message up on Kuzu¡¯s glasses that I¡¯ll meet them at the exit.¡±


    As I turned away from the chute Lisa replied to let me know it¡¯d happened, and I began to walk through the floor alone.  Around me I was surrounded by hallways of metal and machinery, the consistent thrum of equipment a tedious backdrop. It was a promise of what was to come in the deepest parts, or perhaps a threat.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the thin arms and legs began to emerge from the gears on the walls.  Creatures that were impossibly thin and flexible slipped out into the hallway, some in front and the others behind.  Their limbs all connected to a small core that had two eyes and a single mouth, with a thin layer of fur covering every inch of flesh.  Bladed nails stretched out from ghastly thin fingers.


    As the gremlins walked forward on their slim legs I let a surge of electricity course down my arms.  It was an act that caused the gremlins to pause in their advance, but they had reacted far too slowly for their own safety.  I swung my right hand out in a wide arc and scattered lightning across the entire hallway.


    The thunder that it caused blasted away the sound of the machinery, while the gremlins behind me audibly whimpered.  All of the gremlins who had stood in front of me were gone, little chunks of their bodies sizzling from the heat of the lightning.  I glanced over my shoulder at those behind and they quickly slipped back into the walls from whence they¡¯d come.


    I had never found the gremlins to be hard to fight, but even so I¡¯d much rather eliminate the prospect of a fight as soon as possible.  While I believed in Kuzu I didn¡¯t care much for leaving her alone with the Wolfe brothers.


    I continued to walk through the metal hallways, though the gremlins tried to attack me one more time.  They came out quicker than before and even managed to run at me, but the result was the same. It was after that second demonstration of superiority that the gremlins gave up on me.


    Every so often I¡¯d come across a ladder, one that led up to the higher walkways that connected to the entrance point.  I stepped past each of them since I¡¯d come to the bottom of the floor for a specific reason, though I made certain to remember exactly where they were in case something unexpected happened.


    Eventually I came to the intersection I¡¯d wanted to find, and I turned left and stepped into a dead end.  Most people would have looked at that and gone back, but I knew there was more than merely a wall in front of me.  Nearby a mark had been embedded into the side wall, one I was quite familiar with.


    "System activation requested, username master zero one. Password five six five eight nine one two two four."


    A loud roar erupted from the machinery that surrounded me, as the gearwork covered wall splintered down the middle.  The dead end began to change as a doorway opened up, one that had no lighting inside.


    I didn¡¯t hesitate as I strode into that inky black, and after I¡¯d passed through the doorway closed behind me.  After I was enclosed in darkness new machines began to whir to life, and then lights started to flicker on around me.


    With the new illumination I could see that I¡¯d ended up in a far smaller hallway, one with no gears visible in the walls.  Instead it was a smooth dark metal that was very familiar to me, and as I stepped forward part of the walls slid open with a quiet whoosh.


    Whereas my home had a certain degree of elegance to it, this new place I¡¯d come to was crude.  Ventilation ducts ran openly alongside piping for water and other types of liquids, all of which hung above in a chaotic cluster.  One corner of the room had a cot, while a large machine with a darkened display screen sat right next to it.


    I knew from personal experience that it was one of Markov¡¯s creations, a type of food fabricator that you could put almost anything into in order to get something edible out of it.  I had witnessed Markov in the past dragging gremlins in and shoving their corpses into the fabricator, a sight that still sent a shudder of disgust through me.


    Shoved into another corner was a work table that had all types of tools, including ones that I¡¯d never be able to understand.  A pile of papers sat on the table, but time had worn away at them and left only a pile of dust and scraps. From what little pieces remained and were still legible I could barely make out complex blueprints for unknown devices.


    I walked away from the table.  I had no hope of ever knowing what Markov had been working on, and even if I stared at the remnants of his blueprints for days I¡¯d make no progress on them.  Instead I walked over to a flat wall that had a single screen on it, one that glowed with a dull light blue.


    I wiped off the grime from the screen with the back of my gloved hand, and then I tapped gently at a single red icon.  More icons appeared on the display and I worked my way through Markov¡¯s silly layers until I finally reached what I wanted.


    A single press of a green icon on the screen caused a loud clunk from somewhere behind the wall.  Two compartments slid open and produced long tubes, ones that had a green hue to them. Each of the tubes were about two and a half feet wide and four feet long, and quite transparent.


    "You crazy idiot," I muttered as I stared into the tubes, ¡°you actually did it.¡±


    Though I had plenty of time, and also had hoped for what Markov had done, there was still a degree of eagerness and nervousness that plagued me.  With shaking hands I pulled a canvas bag out of my duffel bag and unfolded it, and then opened it as wide as possible. I emptied the contents of one of the tubes into the bag and then tied it closed.


    I put one hand against the other tube and stared for a moment, and then gave a sigh as I walked over to the display and forced the compartments to close once more.  The rest of the room was pointless to me, and so I grabbed both bags from the ground and headed for the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back,¡± I promised the empty room before I walked out.


    When I stepped back onto the metal walkways I noticed the gremlins were completely gone.  Before I¡¯d heard them in the gears, a consistent presence that lurked but didn¡¯t interfere, but at some point they¡¯d vanished.  I could only guess my opening Markov¡¯s lab had caused so much noise it¡¯d bothered them.


    I headed back with my two bags to one of the ladders I¡¯d passed by already.  When I reached it I slung the duffel bag and, with my left hand holding the canvas bag, I began a tedious ascension.  The ladder rungs were solid enough, but the gremlins seemed to almost sense that I was a bit occupied and had begun to gather nearby me once more.


    I glanced at the watch on my wrist mid-climb, and made note of where the compass in it pointed.  When I reached the top walkway I reoriented and started to head to the exit, though with my two bags it made for a bit of an awkward trek.  A few gremlins actually popped up to try and get in my way but a few more bolts of lightning put a quick end to that.


    After a quick jaunt through the walkyways I came across an open platform, one that held the sphere I sought.  The portal sat dead center and was surrounded by Kuzu and the Wolfe brothers. Before I¡¯d even come into view Kuzu had already started to stare in my direction, most likely because she¡¯d heard me coming with her fox ears.


    When Lance noticed me he took a step forward before his brother caught him on the arm.  A murmur that I was unable to make out passed between the two, and then Lance stomped over to the portal and glared at the white sphere.


    ¡°Where¡¯ve you been?¡± Adam asked after I¡¯d gotten closer to the trio.


    ¡°I needed to pick something up,¡± I replied as I hefted the canvas bag, ¡°it¡¯s delicate though so we need to be careful with it.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°An important present from an old friend of the family.¡±


    Adam adjusted his monocle as he stared at me before he let out a sigh.  ¡°Listen, if you want us to help you need to warn us before you do one of these little side adventures.  If you can¡¯t do that Lance and I are going to bounce right back to Heron.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense,¡± I admitted, ¡°but if that¡¯s the case I¡¯d better warn you now.  I need to make a stop on the twenty-fifth floor.¡±


    ¡°Da hell you talking ¡®bout?¡± Lance angrily asked from his spot near the portal, ¡°ain¡¯t nothing worth nothing on that floor.¡±


    ¡°I need to break into the warlock¡¯s citadel.¡±


    The Wolfe brothers stared at me as though I¡¯d said I was going to jump off a cliff.  Adam lifted a finger up and started to speak, but then he stopped and instead started to stare at the side of my head.


    ¡°Long ears?  But...an Elf?  Are you an ELF?¡±


    ¡°Obviously,¡± I said, while I tried to ignore Kuzu as she started to laugh behind Adam.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s ever been an Elf in Heron though!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like Elves strut around shouting that they¡¯re visiting.¡±


    ¡°Alright, whatever.¡± Adam shook his head.  ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the fact that you want to run into a place filled with magic wielding monsters and the only person we have that can use magic is your kitsune.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall saying you¡¯re going into the citadel with me,¡± I said as I walked past Adam, ¡°you¡¯d just slow me down.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you hire us then?¡± Lance growled at me.


    I put the duffel bag down on the ground next to Kuzu and glared at the large man.  ¡°Because everything I know comes from hundreds of years ago, I don¡¯t know where the safe places to hide are, I don¡¯t know what type of new traps there are, or what type of changes have happened.  For all I know the ratkin could be extinct.¡±


    Adam once more moved over to his brother and put a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him.  ¡°I understand, but if you end up dying in the citadel we won¡¯t bother coming to drag your body out of there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a deal, now can we get moving?  The sooner I can get a crystal heart the happier I¡¯ll be.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 3 - A Casual Stroll

    <hr>


    Floor 23


    Gremlins in the Golems


    <hr>


    The twenty-third floor was another of the industrial designs.  Metal walkways cut across a chasm while suspended in air massive gears churned.  The only means by which to traverse vertically were a scattering of ladders. Far above a ceiling crafted of steel blocked out the sky, and lights ran along the entire stretch of it.


    The Wolfe brothers had stuck with Kuzu and I, though they hadn¡¯t shown much enjoyment over that choice.  After we arrived on the twenty-third floor Lance glared at me, his aggravation worn on his sleeve, while Adam didn¡¯t even talk to me and instead checked his own compass.


    Adam shortly thereafter took the lead with Kuzu right behind him. In the end I was caught in the middle, even though I¡¯d tried to linger so as to be in the back.  Instead Lance had stubbornly refused to move until I did. With every step I could feel his glare on the back of my neck, an annoyance that I was tempted to remove.


    We walked in silence for a while with Adam setting the pace.  He moved with a certainty that marked how experienced he was with the twenty-third floor, and he always kept his hand on the pistol at his side.


    At one point Kuzu went rigid, her tail puffed up while her ears flattened against her head.  She held up three fingers in my direction before she called out to Adam, and before he¡¯d turned she¡¯d pulled the two-handed sword out.  Off in the distance I could make out the sound that had caused her alarm.


    ¡°There are three approaching us, one heavier than the other two,¡± I warned Lance.


    From one of the higher walkways there came the obvious sound of heavy footfalls, loud enough as it grew closer that even Adam and Lance couldn¡¯t fail to notice.  A large hand gripped the railing that ran along the side of that specific walkway before a giant leapt over and fell onto our own.


    The golem was at least eight feet in height with a width of about three feet.  It had been designed to be humanoid but it lacked any proper face or other markings, giving it strange blank style.  The skin was made of a type of malleable metal that bent readily with every movement of the body.


    Two more shadows fell from above as a couple of gremlins joined the golem.  They landed quietly on the walkway in front of us, though they chose to drag their fingernails along the floor in an attempt to intimidate us rather than to attack.


    Adam pulled his pistol out and fired it in one smooth movement.  The bullet hit the gremlin on the left before it could react, piercing through the center. The stricken monster could only fall down as blood started to ooze from the bullet hole.


    The other gremlin leapt behind the golem in reaction to the gunshot.  The large construct in turn had already started to walk forward, each footfall bringing a shudder to the walkway that we stood on.  With one hand it swung out at Adam to try and swat him aside, but he proved nimble enough to dodge.


    Kuzu darted at the golem and slashed the nearest leg, her blade easily cutting through the unusual metal.  She pushed past and in one fluid combination severed the hidden gremlin into two chunks before coming to a stop.  The injured golem swayed due to the blow, but instead of falling it turned and tried to backhand Kuzu away.


    Before the hand could connect Kuzu swung her weapon up, and in the wake of the blade a wall of ice appeared.  The golem¡¯s fist connected hard with that magical wall and was stopped, but most of the ice cracked and began to crumble.  A second later Kuzu emerged from behind the ice wall with a leap, pushed up from what I could tell by a pillar that she spawned beneath her feet.


    As she leapt over the wall she did a forward flip before she brought her sword down on the golem.  The machine had no time to react and the weapon connected easily enough, cutting through the entire height of it along with the gremlin buried inside.


    The two halves of the golem fell separately onto the ground with a loud bang while Kuzu gracefully landed.  Kuzu¡¯s ears twitched as she scanned the vicinity, and then she pulled out a cloth from her pack and used it to clean the sword.


    The Wolfe brothers had watched her actions quietly, but Lance let out a long whistle as he walked over to his brother.  He nudged Adam in the side as he motioned at Kuzu, ¡°Ain¡¯t she a bit of a nice thing to see?¡±


    ¡°She is quite capable at handling herself,¡± Adam admitted as he rubbed the edge of his monocle, ¡°a nice change of pace from the other people we¡¯ve worked with.¡±


    Kuzu on the other hand had no interest in the Wolfe brothers, or their words of praise.  Instead after she¡¯d reslung her large weapon she approached me, her emerald eyes shining with excitement.  Behind her a slight wiggle of her tail made her emotions obvious, and she smiled at me in anticipation.


    I responded as she wanted and gave her a light pat on the head, and then I gripped one of her twitching ears tightly.  ¡°You were showboating,¡± I scolded her, ¡°next time kill the golem in one move and don¡¯t let it get a chance to attack.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I will!¡± she said as she squirmed in my grip.


    I let go of her ear, and once again I gave her a light pat on the head.  I couldn¡¯t resist smiling at Kuzu, but by the time I looked at the brothers it was gone.  ¡°Sorry for that interruption, let¡¯s get moving shall we?¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The rest of the twenty-third floor was an unending repeat of that first encounter.  Gremlins would often come attached to a golem or two, and for the most part Kuzu handled each of the instances.  It wasn¡¯t out of a need to impress the Wolfe brothers so much as I didn¡¯t see the point in Adam wasting his ammunition, and after I¡¯d told him to only worry about himself he was quite happy to leave everything else to Kuzu.


    All of the walkways eventually lead to one of the scattered chambers that would house the portal.  The dome was easy enough to see from a distance, and as we got closer the gaping hole in the side was our way in.  The walkway itself ran directly into that hole, though the inside was difficult to see due to an interior hallway which curved.


    We paused at the entrance to the dome to prepare for what would be the fight for the portal.  Instead of pulling out a weapon like the Wolfe brothers I instead leaned against a wall, arms crossed while I watched Kuzu.  She had drawn close to the bend in the hallway and her ears visibly twitched.


    When the Wolfe brothers walked over after their preparations I held up one hand.  ¡°She¡¯s got this, stay out of her way,¡± I told them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, she could die!¡± Adam replied, his one hand tightening on the grip of his pistol.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t nice to let her fight alone,¡± Lance said in agreement with his brother, ¡°shame to lose a girl as good as her.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t resist the chuckle that welled up inside.  I slowly pointed with my left hand to where Kuzu had been even as a grin appeared on my face.  As the Wolfe brothers turned their heads they realized that she was already gone.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t heard nothing,¡± Lance muttered in shock, and then he started to walk quickly down the hallway.


    I followed the Wolfe brothers as they hurried after Kuzu, but by the time we reached the interior of the dome it was already too late.  Kuzu had killed off the four golems that guarded the portal and was in the process of cleaning the gremlin blood from her sword.


    Two of the dead golems had been pierced through by large spears of ice, while a third one was simply cut in half with what I could only assume had been a horizontal slash.  The final one had a single hole in the chest, a sign that Kuzu had stabbed in and killed the gremlin with a well placed thrust.


    She sat on top of one of the defeated golems while she ran her cloth down the blade.  Her tail swung gently behind her, and she had a smug look on her face. ¡°Easy,¡± she declared when she saw the three of us enter the room.


    ¡°I would hope so, a child could do it,¡± I said as I casually walked past her and approached the portal.


    During my time in the labyrinth I¡¯d dealt with a lot of people similar to Kuzu, those who¡¯d been trained by someone with a good deal of experience.  It often led to quick growth but it came with the penalty of arrogance. After all if they could kill something like a golem as easily as breathing than the rest of the labyrinth would be easy.


    I knew that it caused an immediate reaction in her.  She let out a little sound and I could almost feel her pouting behind me.  I gave a slight shake of the head, placing my hand on the portal. With a glance over my shoulder I could see that the Wolfe brothers had paused to stare at what Kuzu had done.


    Based on what they¡¯d said already I knew that they weren¡¯t accustomed to capable fighters.  Most likely a similar decrease in skill had happened to the humans of the twentieth floor as what the first floor had seen.  With the two groups cut off for hundreds of years they¡¯d probably opted to play it safer.


    So why had the Wolfe brothers not?  For some reason they had pushed the limits that others seemed to have been shackled with, and they¡¯d even been willing to take money for what could¡¯ve been a suicide mission.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you on the next floor,¡± I let the others know.  I¡¯d worry about their motives later, as instead I wanted to simply get away from all of the gremlins and their tedious toys.


    <hr>


    Floor 24


    The Workforce of the Warlocks


    <hr>


    By the time the other three arrived on the floor I had already found a nice vantage point atop the hill nearby.  It allowed a good view of the open plain that stretched out welcomingly. To the far north I could make out a forest while mountains stretched up everywhere else.


    ¡°Come on,¡± I called out, already heading in the opposite direction of the forest.


    It went without saying that the portal was always located in the same rough area on the twenty-fourth floor. We would find it nestled inside a cave along the southern mountain range, though we would also discover the gnomes that lived there.  Sometimes there were gremlins, but this was most definitely where we¡¯d start to see the next race.


    As we walked the soft grass beneath us began to dampen our feet, the morning dew an aggravation that we¡¯d simply have to put up with.  A sliver of sunlight cut over the mountains to our west and brought a tickle of warmth along with it.


    While walked a new formation started to form, as Kuzu and Lance took up the back while Adam and I shared the front.  He¡¯d already unslung his rifle and held it in a comfortable position in his arms. I, on the other hand, kept one hand near the hilt of my sword in case of a fight.


    We didn¡¯t talk since it would be a waste of time.  Neither of us would gain much from the conversation, and instead we¡¯d much rather stay on the alert for a potential gnome ambush.  Still I was curious about his rifle since the design was slightly different from any I¡¯d seen before.


    A distant yell came to my ears, followed by the sound of metal on metal, and I knew we were near a battlefield.  ¡°Someone¡¯s fighting,¡± I let Adam know as I pointed in the direction of the noises, ¡°over there.¡±


    ¡°Lance!  Go check in that direction, Fenix says there¡¯s a fight happening,¡± Adam called over his shoulder.


    Lance lowered his tall frame to the ground and dashed off, no hesitation in his actions.  He approached a hill and crested it, and then turned and motioned toward Adam. His arm movements were erratic and meant nothing to me.


    ¡°A warlock¡¯s hassing someone,¡± Adam said as he started to jog after his brother, ¡°come on!¡±


    While the Wolfe brothers had no qualms with rushing off to help someone I didn¡¯t know, I struggled for a moment.  In truth it would be best if I ignored them, but Lute would never forgive me if I left them to die.


    Kuzu didn¡¯t wait for my response and instead ran off after the Wolfe brothers.  She had already pulled out her sword and shown she was ready to fight for someone she didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I finally said to myself as I followed after them.  Though I wanted to get to the fiftieth floor soon this was most likely only a minor delay.


    When I caught up to them Adam and Lance had crouched near the top of the hill.  Kuzu stood off to their right, kneeling down amongst the grass, and her ears couldn¡¯t stop twitching.  The brothers talked back and forth in quick whispers and I caught the name Wendy often mentioned.


    I crept up to the edge of the hill and peered over it, making certain to keep as little of myself from being exposed as possible.  In a small flat section of land a thin and tall man draped in a purple robe stood before a group. From his gaunt hands flames shot out, and though I couldn¡¯t see beneath the hood I knew he was smiling as he toyed with the divers.


    A loose ring of gnomes had gathered around the people to keep them penned in.  They were a little taller than the goblins and had pale skin. Each of the gnomes was draped in loose robes made of a thick cloth, and their only weapons were swords that were a little too large for them.


    Adam laid down on top of the hill near me, his rifle rested on one arm.  With a click he popped open the main length of the rifle and loaded a bullet in, one that what I could¡¯ve sworn was titanium casing.  The oddest part of the bullet was the red tip that glowed.


    ¡°This ain¡¯t nothing but a bit o¡¯ fun,¡± Lance said with a laugh as he pulled out his long daggers.  He began to walk down the hill without any interest in stealth.


    A couple of the gnomes saw Lance as he began his march and they called out to the warlock.  Swords were pointed at the Wolfe, but none of the gnomes made any move to attack him. Instead the warlock turned and lifted one hand while flames began to spiral around his wrist.


    A loud crack sounded as Adam fired and the bullet pierced the hooded head of the warlock.  What came next surprised me as the bullet erupted into what I could only call a fireball. The warlock was dead, anyone could see that, but everyone nearby had gone still in shock at the explosion.


    The only one who moved in that period of uncertainty was Lance.  He dove into the gnomes with reckless abandon and began to slash his way through the confused men.  To call it a fighting style would be an insult to any proper fighter, instead he lashed out at random with his long daggers and mixed it with physical blows.  Every so often he would throw a kick, an elbow, or even a knee which would be followed by a dagger to the face.


    The gnomes discipline vanished and they began to scatter.  Some of the gnomes tried to put up a fight but the divers who they¡¯d been surrounding had quickly recovered and turned on them.  In a short amount of time what had been a precarious situation had turned into a complete defeat for the gnomes.


    I walked down the hill to join Lance alongside Adam and Kuzu, the latter of who held her ears with a look of slight pain.  She was unaccustomed to noises as loud as what Adam had caused, something I hadn¡¯t even thought about training her for. I made a mental note to keep track of her during any loud conflicts in the future.


    The group of divers that had been under attack were a small gathering of seven.  Most of their equipment had been damaged to the point of being useless, with a few severely burned.  One of the seven had been cut by the gnomes to the point I doubted he¡¯d survive.


    Adam stepped over to one of the strangers we¡¯d helped with a clear look of concern.  ¡°Are you okay, Wendy?¡± he asked one of the women in the group.


    Unlike the other six the woman he¡¯d talked to wore a full suit of plate armor, except for her head.  A purple cloak ran down from fasteners on her shoulder, while a fairly long sword held behind her waist in a leather scabbard.  As she turned to face the first thing I noticed was how her jaw appeared larger than what I¡¯d normally expect. Her tanned skin had a slight hint of green to it, and her short hair had been left in a tangled mess.


    ¡°Worthless trash ambushed us,¡± she said in fluent orc before she spat some blood onto the ground, ¡°I¡¯m fine but we need to get Tricks back home.¡±


    Kuzu¡¯s reaction was a bit hasty as she stepped back, sword pointed in the direction of Wendy.  Though I doubted she understood what was said she clearly recognized what language it was. Her four years spent in the orc nest had been one that involved countless fights against orcs.


    ¡°Calm down,¡± I told Kuzu as I put a hand on her shoulder, and then I looked at Wendy with an upraised eyebrow, ¡°was that orc?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Wendy said with a wide grin, one that revealed that her teeth were a bit thicker and longer than what you¡¯d normally see, ¡°my ma taught it to me and the brothers and I use it a lot.¡±


    ¡°It does make it easier to talk in public places about private matters,¡± Adam said as though to explain why.


    Lance on the other hand had ignored the direction our conversation had taken and instead walked up close to Wendy, a hand lifting up half the way to her arm before he let it drop.  ¡°Ya going to be fine?¡± he asked her in what was probably the softest tone I¡¯d heard him use.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but like I said Tricks is in a bad spot and we need to get to the portal right away,¡± Wendy told him before she slipped back into orc, ¡°thanks for helping us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to help them get to the portal,¡± Adam said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder once more, ¡°if you don¡¯t like that you we can sever the contract right now.¡±


    ¡°What, do you think I¡¯m a monster?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but shake my head.  Though it would slow us down, and make it far easier to find us, I had no concern about how we could handle anything the floor threw at us.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 4 - And Then They Were Five

    By the time the sun had begun to set we had made good progress over the hill-laden plains, but we still had too much distance to go to make a night time trek safe.  Instead we set up a quick camp, as Wendy and her friends even put up a few tents. The Wolfe brothers ended up offering to take the first turn at nightwatch, and so Kuzu and I picked up the second half.


    Through the night there were no incidents, and when we broke camp in the morning our meal was light.  We headed off once more for the mountains, though as we grew closer to it we began to rely on the compass to find the portal.


    At one point I found myself near Wendy.  ¡°So you said your mother taught you how to speak orc?¡± I asked after my curiosity about her won out over any concern for stealth.  After all our group was fairly large and only a blind man wouldn¡¯t see us coming.


    Wendy let out a quick laugh, one that sounded similar to a bark.  ¡°Yup, she was an orc if that¡¯s your next question.¡±


    ¡°I thought most orcs killed any children they have with the other races?¡±


    ¡°Normally they do, but ma lost to father in a fight.¡± Wendy flashed her teeth at me in a grin. ¡°He ordered her to marry him.¡±


    It was news that made me stumble, a move that caused Kuzu to look at me in concern.  I lifted a hand up to sign that everything was fine before I returned to my conversation.  ¡°I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s a man alive who¡¯d want to marry an orc.¡±


    ¡°Better not let Lance hear you say that,¡± Wendy nudged me with her armored elbow, ¡°he¡¯s been trying to net me for years now.¡±


    After that our conversation steered to how she¡¯d grown up surrounded by humans, a youth that ended up being far easier than I¡¯d expected.  Given the bigotry of the first floor it seemed the twentieth floor had grown quite tolerant. I could only guess it was a side effect of living and trading with the orcs.


    When we reached the mountain range all we encountered were gnomes.  Small parties patrolled the various pathways that ran between the cave entrances.  Each time we ran into one it was a clear victory, so easy that at times all it took was Lance to wipe out their tiny groups.


    We found the portal not long after that and Wendy¡¯s group used it first.  Their members used the checkpoint gems to head back to the twentieth floor, although they had a hard time getting Tricks to use it given his blood loss.  Before she left Wendy and Lance walked off to the side to talk, and then away she went and he rejoined us.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re all set for the next floor,¡± Adam let us know once Lance had rejoined us, ¡°you said you needed to make a detour?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be stopping by the citadel,¡± I said, ¡°you¡¯ll need to take us to a safe spot to camp at while I get what I need.¡±


    ¡°I know a few good spots, we¡¯ll have to see where the portal drops us before I can pick one,¡± Adam said before he walked over to the portal, ¡°see you on the other side.¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 25


    Citadel of the Warlocks


    <hr>


    The clouds were thick and blotted out the sun, while lightning raked across the sky in continuous flashes.  Cold rain pelted down onto a landscape that was rocky and barren. It was an inhospitable floor that offered little in the way of usefulness for most.


    Adam had led us to a cliff with a bunch of holes in it.  We¡¯d found the deepest one and set up temporarily in it, a small campfire already lit to help warm us up.  Kuzu had already started to work at cleaning her tail, while the brothers had squatted down near the fire.


    I peered outside and glanced at the distant city on the horizon.  A city that had already fallen into ruins long before I was originally born sat like a skeleton.  Stone buildings and walls had collapsed, with only a few of them still standing after so many years.  Vines had reached up to strangle away at what remained.


    I put down the canvas and duffel bags I carried nearby Kuzu.  ¡°Alright, so you three are going to stay here while I do this,¡± I told them, ¡°Kuzu, make sure these bags stay untouched and safe.¡±


    Kuzu flicked one ear in my direction, her eyes on the Wolfe brothers. ¡°Try to get back soon.¡±


    ¡°You crazy? You ain¡¯t really doing that by yourself?¡± Lance asked as he stood up.


    ¡°You¡¯ll slow me down.¡± I pulled my sword and pistol out and put them down on the bags, before I cracked my neck.  ¡°All I need you to do is to keep an eye on Kuzu.¡±


    ¡°It seems unwise to head out there without a weapon,¡± Adam commented as he warmed his hands at the fire.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°We all have our skills,¡± I replied mysteriously as I walked out of the cave.


    As I stepped out I pulled my hood up to try and ward off the rain and wind.  I realized before I even reached the ruins how pointless that had been, as the rain came in at a harsh angle that ignored my hood entirely.


    Ahead of me at the center of the ruins rose a shining golden tower.  Gold lines ran up the stone walls, while something similar to steel consisted of the base section.  Before one could even reach the tower they would have to get past the large gate that stood in front of it, a gate that had dozens of gnomes standing guard even in the downpour.


    I lifted my empty hands up while lightning started to crackle down the length of my arms.  In the distance a couple of the gnomes caught sight of me and shouted to their companions. Their response was quick as the lax guards went to attention, spears and swords prepared for what they perceived to be an easy fight.


    Before they could grow wise enough to escape I threw my hands forward.  From each of the fingertips emerged arrows of lightning that burst at the gathering of gnomes, generating a explosion of electricity that melted metal and incinerated the little men.  Even the gate that stood behind them took some damage, as a chunk of it melted due to the heat of the lightning.


    I walked confidently through the group of gnomes, my boots crunching loudly on some of the skeletal remains.  As I passed through the gate I did a quick check around the base of the tower and saw no other gnomes nearby. So I looked upward at the total height of the building, and thought about how I needed to reach the top floor.


    Why the Wolfe brothers had considered my idea to attack the citadel insanity was due to how you would normally reach the top floor.  A grueling climb up a spiral staircase, with every floor in turn housing either gnomes or warlocks, would be the normal approach. I had another way of getting to the top floor.


    A few seconds later I had begun my ascent, as lightning crackled out from beneath my boots.  I rode it upward at a somewhat uncomfortable speed, my hood already pushed back by the ferocity of my ascent.  As I began to near the top I gave one push of magical ascension and cut it, my own momentum more than enough to carry me up to the final floor.


    Before I could enter the tower I¡¯d need to get past the window, and so I pointed one hand at the tower and let loose a bolt of lightning.  I gripped the lightning, something normally impossible, and was dragged at the window at a high speed. The gear I wore was more than enough to stop any cuts from happening, but the exposed skin such as on my face picked up a few scrapes.


    When I hit the floor on the inside I rolled for a short distance, and then quickly came to my feet.  What I saw when I stood up was within my expectations, a small cluster of warlocks had gathered in a circle around a pedestal upon which glowing objects sat.  Their gaunt hands reached out to that light as though it was sustenance. Even with the noise of my arrival they didn¡¯t break from the trance they were in.


    I took advantage of that and lunged at the two nearest warlocks.  Each of my hands gripped a head tightly, and then lightning coursed out and ran through the warlocks bodies.  When I released my hold both bodies crumpled to the ground.


    The three remaining warlocks hissed as they realized I was there.  They drew away from the crystals on the pedestal and lifted their skeletal hands.  Fire gathered around their fingertips as they prepared to unleash their magic on me.


    I leapt back to avoid the streams of flames as I grabbed the hidden knives in my vest.  A spark of electricity was the only warning the warlocks had before I threw the knives at two of them, the magic I¡¯d used enhancing not only the speed but also the destructive ability of the mundane weapons.


    While the two warlocks collapsed with holes where their heads had been the last one had already begun to back away.  It made a dash toward the archway that lead to the main stairs, strange hisses and clicks coming out as it spoke in the odd way the warlocks always had.  Before it could escape I threw one more of my knives at it.


    With a period of silence I took stock of my current situation.  I¡¯d used a lot of magic in the climb, but I should be well enough to not worry about exhaustion yet.  The cuts I¡¯d gained from the window were minimal, and so I¡¯d worry about first aid when I was back at the cave.


    Instead I scooped up the three gems that sat on the pedestal. Each of them glowed while emitting a small amount of heat.  The energy crystals were shoved into my shirt, as I didn¡¯t want to chance them falling out of a pocket. The rough edges of the gems pushed uncomfortably into my skin but it was a small price to pay for what I would gain.


    I could hear the sound of the gnomes as they began to climb the stairs, their voices crying out in alarm even as a couple warlocks clicked out commands.  Before they could reach the top floor I ran to the window and jumped back out, letting gravity pull me down to the ground once more.


    As the ground grew closer I realized I¡¯d forgotten about how I wasn¡¯t wearing a suit, and that I¡¯d need to slow down myself.  Much like how I¡¯d done with entering the tower I once more summoned a lightning burst and grabbed it, using a very small upward burst of speed to try and counter my dangerous descent.


    The end result was that when I hit the ground only my right foot hurt, a light cracking sound easily heard.  I winced at the pain, gritting my teeth in the process, and then started to limp away from the tower. A throbbing sensation in my right shoulder warned me that I¡¯d slightly damaged it while it became obvious to me that I¡¯d broken my ankle.


    By the time I saw the cave that the other three were in I had already grown woozy from the bloodloss.  With each step a bit of blood came up out of my boot, and when I staggered into the cave Kuzu¡¯s response was immediate.


    ¡°You idiot!¡± she declared as she ran over to me, supporting me with her own body.  She lead me over to a drier and thankfully warmer section of the cave where a blanket had been lain.


    ¡°You actually made it,¡± Adam said, a note of surprise obvious in his voice, ¡°did you get what you needed?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± was my cranky response as I pulled one of the three crystals out from under my shirt.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t never seen one of those,¡± Lance admitted as he crowded in close to look at the gem.


    ¡°That¡¯s because the warlocks need them to live,¡± I said as I put the crystal gently into Kuzu¡¯s hand and whispered to her, ¡°she¡¯ll show you what to do with it.¡±


    ¡°You seem a bit battered though, things went bad for you?¡± Adam inquired as he handed me a canteen.


    I accepted it and drank until it was empty, before I handed it back to him.  ¡°I overestimated my abilities a little,¡± I replied honestly, ¡°I think my ankle is broken.  Can one of you wrap it up?¡±


    ¡°I got ya,¡± Lance said with a grin as he removed my boot with a lot more care than I¡¯d expected, ¡°I¡¯ve fixed up Adam lots.¡±


    ¡°Usually because you started a fight I had to finish,¡± Adam said as he removed his monocle and cleaned it, ¡°so I take it with this broken ankle we¡¯re calling your current dive a failure and returning home?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± I said as I watched Kuzu open up the canvas bag behind them, ¡°all I¡¯m going to need is stick.¡±


    ¡°Ya but ain¡¯t ya useless in a fight now?¡±


    My reply to that was to lift up one hand and release a small bit of electricity.  I¡¯d had no interest in showcasing my magic to the brothers, at least not yet, but I wanted to dissuade them from stopping our expedition.


    ¡°First a magical kitsune and now this,¡± Adam let out a sigh, ¡°what¡¯s next?¡±


    There was no warning when a small figure dashed past Adam and Lance and dove at me.  Small thin arms reached out and wrapped around my neck as a little body hung onto me in a hug.  Adam and Lance had already pulled their weapons out, an act that had caused Lance to abort his bandaging of my ankle.


    ¡°Put them away,¡± I told the brothers as I held up a hand to ward off any potential attacks, ¡°allow me to introduce to you the fifth member of our group.  My daughter, Lisa.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 5 - Luticias Daughter

    The Wolfe brothers had gathered around me, abandoning the warmth of the campfire. Off in one corner of the cave Kuzu and Lisa talked, though it seemed Lisa was more interested in showing off her one-piece yellow dress. I was still on the ground, though thankfully Lance had wrapped my ankle up. He¡¯d gotten a bit rough after Lisa appeared but it was a decent job.


    ¡°Where¡¯d she come from?¡± Adam asked, his voice almost a whisper.


    ¡°Twenty-second floor, remember the canvas bag?¡±


    ¡°Ya had a little girl shoved in that bag this whole time?¡± Lance growled at me as he inched in a little closer.


    All I could do was sigh as I rubbed my eyes. While it was cute that Lance seemed upset over how I¡¯d had Lisa in a bag this whole time, the fact that he didn¡¯t understand why was tedious. ¡°Do you know anything about Architects?¡±


    ¡°Of course, there are a lot of architects back in Heron,¡± Adam answered.


    ¡°Probably not what I¡¯m talking about,¡± I said, since Heron¡¯s technology was nowhere close to what an Architect would bring, ¡°how about this, she was asleep and I required the crystal to wake her up.¡±


    Adam mused on that while his brother stomped angrily over near the entrance to the cave. ¡°Why do I think you¡¯re skipped important details?¡± Adam finally asked after a little bit of time.


    ¡°Because I am,¡± I replied honestly before I reached up with my hand, ¡°mind helping me up? I¡¯m going to need to find something to use as crutch.¡±


    ¡°Lance,¡± Adam called to his brother as he helped me up off the ground, ¡°go see if you can find a branch for Fenix.¡±


    ¡°Yea, whatever,¡± Lance muttered as he walked out of the cave and into the thick rain outside.


    ¡°Are you sure bringing a little girl along is a good idea?¡±


    ¡°She can take care of herself, but we¡¯re going to need to take a small break to wait for me to recover a little though. Any idea on safe areas on the next few floors?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about that myself, we can probably stop in with some friends I know on floor twenty-seven.¡± Adam nodded his head. ¡°They¡¯re a nice family who have been friends of mine since I first started.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I leaned against the wall of the cave with one hand. It took a great deal of concentration to not use the injured ankle.


    Kuzu and Lisa walked over to join us while they held hands. Lisa beamed with happiness as she almost skipped next to Kuzu. ¡°She seems fine,¡± Kuzu told me, ¡°she said some guy named Markov left instructions in her.¡±


    ¡°This is so neat!¡± Lisa exclaimed as she held up her free hand in front of her face and looked at it.


    Kuzu¡¯s left ear flicked in response to that, though she smiled openly. ¡°Did you pick up another crystal? I figured you¡¯re doing the ritual here.¡±


    I shook my head in response, but then decided to expand on that, ¡°We¡¯re heading to the twenty-seventh floor. Adam says we can find shelter there and I can do it then.¡±


    ¡°Ritual?¡± Adam inquired, one eyebrow cocked up inquisitively.


    I studied him, from the tips of his green hair all the way down to his simple looking boots. I wondered at the potential for magic that he could have, since he already had a lot of experience in using ranged attacks. What sort of psychological impact would the power of magic have on a man such as him?


    Kuzu remained quiet while I stared at Adam, our years together had attuned her to my thought patterns. It was Lisa who broke the silence caused by Adam¡¯s question as she stepped over and tugged at my hand. ¡°I think we can trust him!¡±


    It was hard to say no to her, and so with a sigh I merely gave a nod. ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± I said with a light pat on her head, ¡°but now isn¡¯t the right time for that discussion.¡±


    ¡°Adam!¡± called out a loud voice from outside of the cave before Lance burst in through the rain. He held a long stick in one hand, but in the other he had a dagger coated in blood.


    ¡°Lance! Are you alright?¡± Adam stepped over to his brother and looked him over for any injuries.


    ¡°Gnome hunters and warlocks are coming!¡± Lance half-shouted as he tossed the stick over to me.


    It was easy enough to catch and without a moment to waste I began to rely on it as a crutch. ¡°Kuzu, take my sword!¡±


    Kuzu ran over and bent down to pick up the weapon before she dashed to the cave entrance. Her tail had begun to puff up while her ears flattened as she prepared for combat. ¡°I¡¯ll meet up with you at the portal then,¡± she told us all before she vanished into the rain.


    The brothers watched her actions with confusion, and then they glanced at me with their unasked question written on their faces. ¡°Where¡¯d she go?¡± Lisa asked as she tugged at my clothing.


    ¡°She¡¯s running interference, we need to get to the portal now,¡± I told everyone as I started to limp to the exit, ¡°Lisa can you grab my pistol and bag?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, daddy!¡±


    While Lisa instantly responded to what I¡¯d wanted, Lance stepped over to me and started to yell, ¡°Are you insane! She¡¯s going to die if she goes up against all those patrols!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Kuzu, she¡¯s probably the second deadliest person in our party,¡± I told the fuming Lance. As I stepped out into the rain it was quick to soak me to the bone, and I could only marvel at the miserable state of the weather.


    ¡°Makes you the strongest then?¡± Adam asked as he followed after me as we left his brother to pick up the rest of the gear in the cave.


    I could only scoff at that as I motioned to my injured ankle. ¡°Not with this injury, plus I used up a lot of my magic for now. I¡¯m probably the fourth deadliest right now.¡±


    It was a comment that brought a smile to Adam¡¯s face, though he didn¡¯t say another word. From nearby I could hear the grumbling of Lance as he caught up to us with all of the gear on his back.


    ¡°Father, Kuzu is fighting now,¡± Lisa said from beside me.


    ¡°You¡¯re still linked to the watches and glasses?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lisa said with a big smile on her face, ¡°I thought it¡¯d be a good idea!¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°It was, nice work,¡± I told Lisa before I turned my attention to my own watch. The embedded compass was our only way to find the portal out of this floor.


    We pushed our way across that wasteland, the weather not once offering a respite for us. Instead our way forward lay through mud and partially flooded rocklands, with only a handful of flora even noticeable. Similar to how the goblins had laid waste to their own floor it seemed that the warlocks had sought to devour everything living or usable on their own floor.


    Hours later we managed to crest a small hill, and in front of us a white orb glowed amongst a gathering of ruins. Lightning criss-crossed the sky momentarily and pointedly illuminated what had to have once been a beautiful small city, but had since been destroyed by the warlocks.


    We gathered around the portal, and the Wolfe brothers even reached out to touch the warm sphere. ¡°Now Kuzu needs to get here,¡± I commented, hoping they¡¯d get the hint that I didn¡¯t want to leave her behind.


    The wait was not long for her to arrive, as only an hour passed before Lisa giggled, ¡°She¡¯s coming!¡±


    When Kuzu came into view over the crest of a hill she was in a dead run, and the reason for that became obvious when the army of gnomes behind her appeared. ¡°Go go go!¡± she yelled out from afar, waving at us while arrows flew up from behind her.


    ¡°Get going!¡± I barked at the Wolfe brothers, as I prepared to call on the last reserves of my magic if needed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her die,¡± Lisa asked of me before she stood up on her tiptoes and touched the portal. A flicker came from the sphere, almost as though it had responded to her, and then she was gone.


    The Wolfe brothers hesitated, especially Lance, but in the end I think it was because Lisa had already gone through that they followed suit. After they were gone I turned my attention back to the distant kitsune. ¡°Kuzu! Bubble!¡± I cried out as loudly as I could, hoping she¡¯d hear me over the rain and thunder.


    Still yards away from the portal Kuzu came to a halt, but as she slid to a stop her hands touched down against the muddy ground. The change in what she¡¯d done caused a cry of excitement from the gnomes behind her as they thought she¡¯d tripped, and with renewed eagerness they increased their pace.


    Behind Kuzu a wall of ice erupted as though it drew upon the rain to form itself. The wall lifted upward far higher than it probably needed to, and then it arced in the direction of the portal. The left and right sides of the wall curled inward, and soon enough a dome of ice had been created that covered where Kuzu and I were.


    I limped over to Kuzu as quickly as I could and offered her my free hand. She took it, but as she stood up the exhaustion was obvious. Her face was covered in fatigue and her color was pale, while every step was slow. Blood had splattered on her here and there, though from what I could tell it wasn¡¯t her own.


    ¡°Here we go Kuzu, time for the next floor,¡± I told her in a gentle tone as I helped her over to the portal, and then I even lifted her hand up to touch it against the sphere, ¡°focus on the next floor alright?¡±


    While she vanished the noise of weapons on ice was easy enough for me to hear. The gnomes worked hard at breaking what Kuzu had created, and I knew that soon enough they¡¯d break through. If I¡¯d had all of my gear I could¡¯ve left a mine behind to dissuade them, but with my current gear all I could do was touch the portal as well.


    <hr>


    Floor 26


    The Goat Riders


    <hr>


    Where we appeared was a flat plateau that was high enough for clouds to be within a couple of arms reach. It was a place so barren of plants that it looked impossible for anything to survive, but I knew that wasn¡¯t the case. Lisa stood near Kuzu with a worried expression, while Lance had moved over to help support her.


    I gave a nod of approval at Lance, though if I hadn¡¯t had a broken ankle I would¡¯ve supported Kuzu myself. ¡°We¡¯re going to want to move, that army is probably going to chase after us,¡± I told them, ¡°I know we planned to bunker down on the next floor but is there anywhere we can take a quick break at? I don¡¯t think Kuzu can reach the portal.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one spot, it has a creek near it too,¡± Adam told me before he walked to the edge of the plateau. Without another word he slipped over the side of the plateau and began a descent down the rocky terrain.


    For me the climb down was far more difficult than I could recall, though it made sense given my current situation. With one good foot I had to pick my way even more carefully than normal, though since Lance had opted to carry Kuzu on his back I wasn¡¯t the only person moving slowly. Lisa on the other hand had fun as she simply jumped from one small rock to the next, her tiny feet and small body finding plenty of footholds that could support her.


    When we reached the bottom Kuzu got down from Lance¡¯s back, though neither he nor I let her walk completely alone. Lisa walked in front of us, though behind Adam, and every so often she would twirl or let out a small little tune. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling at how much fun she seemed to be having now that she had an actual body.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    We¡¯d reached a small area nestled between some hills a bit of a distance from the portal. When we¡¯d finally stopped walking Kuzu had collapsed, and so I¡¯d set her down on a blanket. Near us a small stream ran with fresh water, and Lisa had helped me to clean most of the blood off of Kuzu while she slept.


    Exhausted I sat down on a rock and looked up at the sky. This floor was similar to the previous in that it had a lot of cloud coverage, but there was no rain or lightning. Instead a sun sat on the other side of the clouds and teased at us with a hint of warmth.


    Adam walked over to where I sat and offered me some type of hard cracker. ¡°So is she going to be alright?¡± he whispered to me, as though afraid to wake up Kuzu.


    I took the offered cracker and tried to eat some of it, only to find that it was almost as hard as the rock I sat on. ¡°You probably think that magic has no limits, right? Just like anything else magic requires energy, run out of energy and you end up like that.¡±


    ¡°Will she recover?¡±


    ¡°A single nights rest is all she needs to get back on her feet,¡± I told him, though I lifted up one finger, ¡°however she won¡¯t be at full capacity. Recovering all the way takes time, but she should at least be able to throw around a few icicles.¡±


    I glanced over at the unconscious Kuzu, and at my daughter who had nestled up next to her and started to take a nap. ¡°One to go,¡± I murmured to myself as I stared at Lisa.


    There was a clatter of rocks from the top of a nearby hill, and when I looked I saw a small figure on top of a horned creature. Recognition flashed through my mind, and in one fluid movement I pulled out one of my last throwing knives and threw it straight into the gnome¡¯s head.


    My reflexes were fast enough to land the hit, but the gnome rider had already pulled out a curved horn and started to blow into it when he was struck. The rider fell from his steed even as what he¡¯d managed to sound on his horn reverberated off of the hillsides. Before the corpse had even finished rolling down into the gully Adam had called to the others in alarm.


    Off in the distance the noise of more horns could be heard as the gnomes tried to figure out where the first call had come from, it was a sound meant that we had limited time before the riders would bring the rest of the gnomes on us.


    By the time I had picked up my sword and pistol from nearby Lisa, the first of the gnomes had arrived. Each of them rode a goat that was far from what lived on the first floor. Rather than hooves they had claws, and their horns and overall bodies were hardier than the regular goat. I¡¯d once seen one fall from the top of a plateau and get back up without a scratch.


    When some of the goat riders hurtled down from the top of the hill at us Lance responded, his long daggers aimed at whatever came into range. From behind him his brother used his pistol to lay down support fire, and together they worked hard at butchering the small wave of gnome riders. After the first couple that died they fell into a rhythm of Adam killing the gnome, and then Lance would finish off the riderless goats.


    I cursed myself for how useless I was, not to mention how I¡¯d forgotten the fact that the goat riders could track our smell. With a sword in my left hand I held my Flagra in the right, and anytime a gnome rider came in from a different direction than the front I was forced to deal with them. My ankle screamed in protest as I stood directly on it, the stick forgotten as I tried to rely on adrenaline to push through the pain.


    As the fight continued and more gnomes started to appear it became obvious we were in a bad situation. The army we¡¯d evaded on the previous floor had started to trickle in, and at the far back a single warlock hovered and patiently waited. ¡°Adam!¡± I called out to the brother, but I soon realized how pointless it was to try and get him to snipe the warlock.


    The Wolfe brothers had been swarmed over by the gnomes and were far too busy to do anything but defend themselves. A couple of the gnomes had gotten lucky and landed cuts on Lance, though his brother had somehow evaded injury so far. Gone was their strategy of support as they had instead fallen into a back-to-back stratagem.


    I gritted my teeth as I looked down near me at the unconscious Kuzu and my daughter. Lisa had put herself into a place as though to be a shield for the kitsune. When I looked at her, though, I realized that there was only one choice left given the situation.


    ¡°Lisa! Did Markov give you the Heredity Gift?¡± I asked my daughter as I sliced the head off of a gnome. It was a question that I already knew the answer to.


    Lisa¡¯s eyes glazed over as I could only assume she searched the information Markov had left her, and then she smiled and nodded her head. ¡°Yes! Are you asking me to use it?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t at least one of us is going to die!¡±


    When she stood she was still smaller than any gnome, and yet when Lisa rose up from her place next to Kuzu all of the gnomes backed away. Inside their minds they could probably feel that internal alarm of fear as it told them to run, a sensation that I knew since I could feel it as well. The air itself seemed to ripple around Lisa with every step, while a halo began to form over her head.


    A single pair of silver wings emerged out from the back of Lisa¡¯s dress, and the halo glowed a brilliant gold that illuminated the entire battlefield. There was a moment of silence as every single participant of the fight paused to look at my daughter, and from afar the screech of the warlock was one filled with terror. Lisa lifted up her right hand toward the heavens as though to beseech aid from whatever lay above.


    ¡°Luticia system activated,¡± she murmured in such a quiet voice that I was certain only I heard her.


    It was not magic that came from her hand but rather raw energy, and that energy was coalesced into a sword that shone much like her halo. Her fingers wrapped around the handle, and almost as though the summoning of the sword itself did it she started to float upward off of the ground. Though she didn¡¯t need to walk my daughter took one step forward while she swung the sword down.


    When the tip of the sword touched the ground she was on the other side of the warlock, at least fifty feet away from where she¡¯d been. With the sound of shattered glass the sword she held broke apart and disintegrated into nothing, and slowly Lisa turned to look back at all of us. The silence of the battlefield continued as everyone tried to figure out where she¡¯d gone, and it was perhaps only I who even understood what she¡¯d done.


    Luticia had created the labyrinth for a reason, and one of the side effects of going through it was that you either grew stronger or you died. So it was that everyone learned the chain of strength, that a regular human would lose to a regular orc, that a regular orc would be destroyed by a shifter, that shifters would always lose to avians. That was how it went all the way up to the Architects, with only Luticia herself above them in strength.


    Markov had been a genius of an Architect and our time together had changed how he perceived the beings of the lower floors. While most of the Architects felt that they were all that mattered, Markov had believed cooperation and coexistence was the best approach. Perhaps his last and greatest creation had been the body that stood in front of us


    The gathered gnome army fell down one by one, their bodies sliced into numerous chunks that were so precise that I expected even the blood had been severed at the cellular level. The warlock itself split right down the middle. While Adam and Lance could only gape at the defeat of what had almost killed them, I walked over to Lisa, worried that what she¡¯d done might have caused damage to her.


    ¡°Did I do alright, daddy?¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 6 - The Nest In The Garden

    The ornate table was covered in a variety of racks, each that held a glass flute with a different chemical.  A few mechanical gadgets sat off to the side, though I knew that they had been placed there temporarily. Some of the liquids and minerals I¡¯d personally dealt with before, but there were a few that I¡¯d never even seen.


    ¡°Mentally unhinged,¡± Markov commented to me as he sipped at a glass flute, one that I hoped didn¡¯t hold some sort of acid or other chemical.


    Markov was a lean and muscular man, though I knew that he could change the overall look of his body as he wanted.  He wore a business suit, unbuttoned at the top without a tie, and his short white hair had been slicked back. Red eyes peered over the top of blackened sunglasses as he looked at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly sane,¡± I responded as I motioned at the datapad he¡¯d left on the table next to him, ¡°so, what do you think?¡±


    "Legendary acquisition, thesis certainty?"


    "Yes, I checked with her, do you think you can pull it off?"


    "Incomprehensible distrust," Markov said with a shocked tone, even as he picked up the datapad and perused it once more, "Goddess Architect Human hybridization laborious. Schedule?"


    "However long it takes, though I''d prefer before I die of old age," I commented with a laugh, "you really think you can fuse all three of the races?"


    "Indubitably," Markov stated confidently before he began to visibly count on his fingers, "immortality degradation, omnipotence decreased, senescence granted, propagation possible, power source requirement."


    I could only rub at my eyes while all of those words were thrown in my face.  Even with my extensive history with the Architects I would never enjoy the silly way they spoke, some sort of game they played where they tried to always be the smartest sounding. "Well you did a great job on the power suits, the weapons, everything, so I''m sure you''ll do fine on this."


    "Solitude necessary. Secret laboratory security overhaul. Borrow yours?"


    "That''s fine, I''ll talk with Lute later and see if she can''t help."


    As though her name summoned her her my wife appeared, framed temporarily in the doorway of the kitchen while she carried a plate of sandwiches. Lisa floated near her, slowly cartwheeling in the air while in a seated position. Behind Luticia floated another figure that was as small as Lisa, though she was a girl with dark hair and a serene yet quiet presence.


    "Dore," Luticia said, though the voice wasn¡¯t right.


    "Lute, come on, Markov and I are getting hungry," I told her as I cleared off some of the junk from the table.


    "Dore!" came a louder voice, a familiar one.


    I snapped out of my slumber to the face of an upset kitsune.  She sat on the ground across from me, Lisa nestled on her lap and asleep.  ¡°It¡¯s about time you woke up,¡± she told me, but the irritation she showed gave way to a smile quick enough.


    ¡°It¡¯s already time?¡±


    She gave a nod of her head in response, and then without disturbing Lisa she jerked her thumb in the direction of the brothers.  ¡°They don¡¯t seem very happy, what¡¯d you do while I was asleep? They won¡¯t tell me anything.¡±


    ¡°I was forced to ask Lisa for help,¡± I told her as I stood up, ¡°I doubt they can even understand what she did.¡±


    ¡°Lisa?  But she¡¯s a little girl,¡± Kuzu said as she looked down at my daughter.


    ¡°Markov made her body so it combined Luticia, his, and my makeup.  So she has a few tricks at her disposal, though I really wanted to test those at the armory in case anything went wrong.¡±


    Kuzu gave the tiniest bit of nods in regard to that comment, her focus on the sleeping child in her arms. Being afraid of the Lisa was something beyond Kuzu''s capabilities, she viewed her like a little sister due to their years of contact. Even if she had seen the aftermath of the fight I doubted it would have changed her opinion.


    I walked over to check on the brothers as they stared down at the open area below us.  We¡¯d set up a temporary camp in an alcove of a cliff, while the portal nestled in a crater below us. From our spot we had an easy time viewing the guards, an amount that could prove dangerous if we tried to fight them fairly.


    "How''s it going?" I asked with a casual glance at the guards.  A few warlocks had joined up with the veritable gnome army.


    Adam glanced up, adjusting the monocle on his face, before he returned his attention to the gnomes. "Doesn''t look like they''re moving away from the portal. Haven''t seen a goat rider in a few hours, though, not since the sun came up."


    "Nocturnal," Lance chimed in from Adam''s left, "ain''t going to be hard at all. Use that monster girl."


    ¡°That¡¯s my daughter,¡± I growled at him, tempted for a moment to punch him, ¡°you can already tell she¡¯s drained from what she did.  Besides it might not work again.¡±


    Lance was oblivious to my anger but Adam was quick enough to notice my clenched fists. He touched one hand to Lance''s shoulder before any more comments were made.  A shake of his head at Lance made it clear that he needed to be quiet.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "We appreciate your daughter¡¯s help with that army, but I don''t understand how she could even be your daughter," Adam said, "and I don¡¯t just mean the obvious lack of Elf ears."


    "It''s complicated and you wouldn¡¯t understand it, but simply put she can¡¯t fix all of our problems.¡±


    Adam let those words sink in for a moment, and then he shook his head.  ¡°You¡¯re keeping far too many secrets, I think it might be best for Lance and I to leave."


    Lance gave a grunt of approval from beside his brother.  I studied the two of them as my arms crossed in front of my chest, my thoughts on how useful the two of them were versus how much I wanted known.  It was due to my talks with Kuzu over the last year that I¡¯d realized I needed to be a bit more secretive.


    I could already theorize that if things hadn¡¯t changed at all getting to the fiftieth floor was within the realm of possibility for Kuzu and I.  However I¡¯d already seen changes, and places that I¡¯d never even known about like the alcove we stood in had popped up. While I rested between life and death reality had moved on, and it was a reality that could prove lethal if I wasn¡¯t careful.


    ¡°Fine, you win,¡± I finally said with a shake of my head, ¡°if you guide us to that safe zone on the next floor I¡¯ll have a talk with you Adam.  A private one.¡±


    "That sounds agreeable, but if I don¡¯t like what you say we¡¯re done. Now how are we going to deal with these pests blocking our way?"


    I looked down at the gnomes and warlocks and noticed how they¡¯d clustered into small clumps.  "Say Adam, mind if I borrow a few of your rifle rounds? The regular kind."


    "What? Why?"


    "Magic!" I said with a wide grin.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    Near the entrance to the alcove Kuzu, Adam, and I all stood at the ready with our various weapons of choice. While it irritated me I ended up leaving the sleeping Lisa to Lance, though not without severe warnings about what would happen to him if she ended up hurt.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked as I lifted up one fist.  Electricity began to crackle up and down my arm, with most of it circulating around the metal objects in my grasp.


    ¡°Been ready,¡± Kuzu replied from her crouched spot near the edge, ¡°can you get them all?¡±


    ¡°If I used too much magic power yes, but I don¡¯t want to drain myself when we already have one unconscious person,¡± I said, ¡°I should be able to get most so make sure you tag any I miss.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to do it hurry up, my arm¡¯s getting tired,¡± Adam commented from the side. He stood near the hole of the alcove with his rifle at the ready.


    A fresh burst of electricity crackled up my body and was absorbed into the bullets held within my fist. With no more words spoken I cast the bullets down at the guards.  As soon as they left my hands they accelerated, an image similar to lightning bolts tossed from my hand. When they collided with the gnomes or even the ground an explosion erupted.


    Holes were gouged in the ground while gnomes and warlocks alike were ravaged.  Cries of pain came from the gnomes that weren¡¯t instantly killed, and the shrieks of the warlocks grated on my ears.  Throughout all of the chaos that covered the crater the portal remained a constant, untouched by any of my magic and as immobile as always.


    Kuzu leapt off after the bullets contacted with the gnomes, a layer of ice formed beneath her feet.  She lowered her body to make it easier to stay standing and slid down the ice ramp, more of it forming as she rapidly descended.  Kuzu leapt off of the ice when she neared the crater, and her two-handed sword swung out and decapitated a gnome without a problem.


    Adam¡¯s skill with his rifle was in full display as he worked his way through the warlocks.  Again and again a bullet would find itself lodged in the head of a warlock before it could cast any magic.  Soon enough a small pile of spent cartridges had blossomed near his feet.


    It was a slaughter.  The gnomes had no chance to mount a proper response, and once again our ambush against the forces of the warlocks proved absolute.  From my vantage point I kept an eye out for any problems, but I ended up being able to save my magic for any potential problems in the near future.


    Once the battle was finished I threw the rope over the edge, and then we began our descent.  Lance carried Lisa much like how he¡¯d done with Kuzu, and I was impressed with how careful he handled her on the way down.  When we reached the bottom I was tempted to take Lisa, but given my broken ankle it¡¯d just cause a problem for all of us.


    ¡°Good thing I had you practice that ice slope,¡± I commented to Kuzu when I limped over to her, ¡°and you didn¡¯t hit a tree this time.¡±


    Kuzu flicked her left ear at my words, a scowl on her face. ¡°And you just let me hit it while laughing.¡±


    ¡°You should be proud of how much you¡¯ve improved,¡± I told her as I patted her on the head.


    ¡°If you¡¯re done flirting we should hurry up,¡± Adam walked past us and approached the portal.  He didn¡¯t even wait for us before he moved on to the next floor.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t, nevermind,¡± I muttered as I realized I couldn¡¯t even respond to him. Instead I walked with the other three over to the portal, and then when we reached it I poked Lisa gently in the face.  ¡°Lisa, you need to wake up.¡±


    She groaned in protest as her eyes barely opened, and then she let out a long sigh.  ¡°Want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re transferring floors, if you don¡¯t want to get left behind wake up,¡± I told her.


    Her eyes opened further, and then she waved her hand in the direction of the portal.  Lance got closer to the sphere, close enough that Lisa could reach it with her hand, and then she vanished.  Lance followed after her as quick as he could, and then finally Kuzu and I both put our hands to the portal.


    <hr>


    Floor 27


    The Garden of Gnomes


    <hr>


    We appeared in a place that was filled with flowers, a cluster of various species gathered all around.  Trees could be seen on the horizon, but for the most part the entire floor was grasslands covered in flowers.


    Adam had his rifle unslung yet he cradled it casually in one arm.  Lisa had once more been picked up by Lance and they stood near his brother.  Kuzu was next to me, but she swayed ever so slightly as though dizzy. It was a sign to me that she¡¯d used a bit too much magic in the previous fight.


    ¡°Adam, you said there¡¯s a safe place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, give me a moment to orient,¡± Adam said as he studied the sun that hung above us.  After a while he gave a small nod and began to walk through the ocean of flowers.


    Lance took up the rear as Kuzu and I followed after his brother.  A silence fell upon our group as we worked to keep an eye out for any gnomes, but even with all of us on the look not a single sign of gnomes could be detected.  If anything I could only guess that all of the antics on the previous floor had drawn most of the gnomes away from the twenty-seventh floor.


    It wasn¡¯t long until we reached a copse of trees that seemed to be the same as all the others, yet Adam paused in front of one. ¡°Wait a moment,¡± he told us before he approached one of the trees.


    He knocked on the tree, paused, and then he knocked once again a few seconds later.  There was an awkward period of time where nothing happened, and then with a creak the trunk of the tree swung open.  Framed in the freshly revealed doorway stood a thin woman with spiked hair, sharp features and eyes that resembled an eagle. Though I couldn¡¯t see her back I knew that she had wings.


    With one finger that ended in a sharp talon she beckoned toward us.  She stepped back into the tree, enveloped by a darkness that seemed immune to all of the sunlight.  Even after she was gone the door remained open, and Lance showed no hesitation as he strode over to the tree.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing to worry about,¡± he said with a grin, before he vanished into the dark.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Adam told Kuzu and I as he followed after his brother.


    Kuzu¡¯s ears flattened against her head while she glared at the tree, obviously displeased with the idea of entering an unknown place. She flicked her right hand and deployed her diamond-tipped claws, I could only surmise in case of an ambush, and then she slipped through the doorway without a sound.


    I took a deep breath before I walked into the freshly opened door.  In truth I didn¡¯t like the idea of how we¡¯d be lead to a place that I¡¯d never seen before, but the real question I had was a bit different.  How had an avian ended up on the twenty-seventh floor?


    After I¡¯d walked in the door closed behind me, a dull click sounding before the locking mechanism whirred.  A dull light flickered ahead as though beckoning to me, a light similar to what a candle would give off. The quaint idea of a wax candle made me smile as I stepped along the dark pathway, one that should¡¯ve been physically impossible since at no point did it head downward.


    The room I entered was wide enough for twenty people, with multiple tables and chairs randomly scattered about. A kitchen area was visible off to the side, a small library nestled on the opposite end of the room, and one door had been left open which was easy enough to recognize as a bathroom.  A final door was set into the wall to my left, one that I could only assume lead to the sleeping quarters.


    In the center of the room stood the bird woman along with Adam, the two of which were in a conversation.  The look on his face was one I could recognize without much difficulty, the softness of the eyes and that slight smile easy to read.  I couldn¡¯t resist the chuckle that came to me at the thought of some boyish little romance between two races.


    It was that noise which drew the avian¡¯s attention to me, and with hands on her hips she turned to face me.   ¡°Alright, so what the hell are you and why are you with Adam?¡± she asked in a strong tone of voice.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 7 - Rest For The Weary

    The avians were created to have certain similarities to birds, while still resembling humans. They lived on the fortieth floor in a floating fortress, one that would require flight or teleportation to reach. Due to that they had grown xenophobic and rarely mixed with the other races of the labyrinth.


    For the most part they looked almost angelic, with their wings that came from their back. They had hollow bones and often almost no fat on their bodies, which made them as light as possible. In a stand up fight they would often lose, so to counter that they preferred avoidance and range in a fight.


    Luticia had been kind enough to grant them three advantages to make up for their frail physique. The fortress they lived in was the first, and she also granted them an innate ability to use wind magic at the cost of no other magic being usable.


    The final bonus was their ability to manipulate space, which was how we stood inside a house while in the trunk of a tree. I¡¯d always found it somewhat pointless to give a race that had the entire sky to themselves that blessing, but I¡¯d learned quick enough that Luticia had her own sense of humor.


    The avian in front of me had short black hair that was spiked backward. She had golden eyes reminiscent of an eagle, and her fingers ended in talons. A slight bit of scaling similar to a bird patterned her hands. She stood in front of me with her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed at me with open hostility.


    Adam stepped in between the two of us, his one hand lifted up to hold me back from reacting to the avian. ¡°Calm down, Row,¡± he told her, ¡°I told you we¡¯re escorting someone. This is Fenix, he¡¯s an Elf, and Kuzu is a kitsune.¡±


    At the mention of Kuzu my gaze shifted to her. She had knelt down on the ground with her two-handed sword on her lap and a whetstone in one hand. With slow movements she worked the stone along the blade, her full attention dedicated to the sharpening process.


    ¡°With your permission may I take my daughter to the bedroom?¡± I asked as I turned back to Row.


    It was a request that caused her anger to falter, and her eyes shifted to Lance who held the sleeping girl. ¡°Oh,¡± she let out a quiet sound in surprise, and then she strode quickly over to the closed door and opened it, ¡°please, this way, I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±


    For some the reversal of her attitude might have been a shock, but I knew from personal experience how much weight the avians put on family and especially children. So when Lance carried my daughter past I wasn¡¯t surprised that Row watched her with a big smile.


    On the other side of the once closed door was a spacious room with two beds. One of the beds was clearly meant for two people, while on the other side of the room sat a smaller one. The rest of the place was by and large sparse, with no proper furniture except for a table near the center of the room.


    ¡°You can use my bed,¡± Row said as she pointed at the single bed in the corner.


    I limped alongside Lance as he carried Lisa to the bed and put her on it. When he stepped back I pulled the blankets up and covered her with them, before I gave a light pat on her head. ¡°Thank you,¡± I told Row as I turned to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we¡¯re intruding like this.¡±


    The avian looked at me with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment, before she clicked her talons together and turned away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Row muttered as she left the room.


    When I returned to the main room I noticed that Row had walked over to the kitchen, a knife that seemed to be gnome in origin being used to cut some vegetables. Adam had leaned up against a wall and his eyes were permanently locked onto Row.


    ¡°Adam,¡± I called out his name to get his attention and then beckoned to him.


    A few moments later and Adam and I were in the bedroom alone, or rather alone with the sleeping Lisa. ¡°So what¡¯d you want to know in order to keep you and Lance from leaving?¡± I bluntly asked Adam.


    ¡°First, how can you do magic, and the second is I want to know how your daughter did what she did.¡±


    ¡°Magic, well I¡¯ll be doing that soon enough since I suppose we¡¯ll be spending time to rest,¡± I mused, ¡°so simply put you¡¯ll learn how I can do magic before we leave Row¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Using magic requires doing a type of ritual first, and I¡¯ll be doing that ritual so you can watch,¡± I told him with a shrug.


    ¡°Alright, what about Lisa? How can she be that powerful?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°That will require a bit of explaining,¡± I said, ¡°first I¡¯ll need to talk about the Architects.¡±


    ¡°People who make buildings?¡± Adam asked with an upraised eyebrow.


    ¡°No. The Architect race is a humanoid species found after the seventieth floor. Technologically advanced they¡¯ve focused on genetic and cybernetic manipulation of the body to create the superior form.¡±


    ¡°Floor seventy! How would you know about that?¡± Adam exclaimed with wide eyes.


    ¡°The Architect Markov is an old friend of the family, and since my wife and I couldn¡¯t have children he helped us,¡± I continued on, brushing aside his question, ¡°he created Lisa, but it required mixing in a little Architect genetics.¡±


    ¡°So there are entire floors filled with monsters like her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a monster,¡± I told Adam with clear anger in my voice, ¡°and yes, there are a lot of floors filled with Architects. Most of them will murder you, so if you ever see people with white hair and red eyes avoid them.¡±


    Adam blanched a bit at the open hostility I showed. ¡°Why that combination of hair and eyes?¡±


    ¡°The labyrinth won¡¯t let the purebloods be anything else,¡± I responded, ¡°Lisa isn¡¯t like that because she¡¯s a mixed race.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so you know about the Architects because of this Markov guy, I¡¯m guessing he had his own reasons for wandering into the lower floors.¡± Adam nervously adjusted his monocle. ¡°Why are you so intent on going to floor fifty though?¡±


    ¡°Lisa¡¯s twin sister is there, plus Markov left me equipment,¡± I told him as I opted for honesty.


    ¡°Another one, dear Goddess,¡± Adam muttered before he asked me a very dumb question, ¡°you aren¡¯t planning to take over Heron or something along those lines are you?¡±


    ¡°What? No, I promised their mother I¡¯d protect them.¡±


    Adam rubbed at his chin as he stared at me, his mind most likely tackling the answers I¡¯d given him. After he thought to himself for a while he gave a nod of his head. ¡°If you let my brother and I have access to some of your gear on the fiftieth floor we¡¯ll stick with you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but some of it requires years of training,¡± I warned him, ¡°and some of it you won¡¯t be able to use at all.¡±


    ¡°Deal. Now how about that ritual?¡±


    I reached into my shirt at that question and pulled out the two remaining crystals I¡¯d stolen previously. ¡°One is for me, and the other is for my daughter,¡± I told Adam, ¡°but once you see how I do this you¡¯ll know how to do it yourself. Mind if I borrow a knife?¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    By the time we finally left Row¡¯s home it was two weeks later. When we left the tree the sun was still in the sky, and the flowers nearby were in full bloom with numerous types of butterflies feasting on the nectar.


    Kuzu was the first to leave as she darted out at her quickest speed. She vanished into a cluster of sunflowers and high grass, her body lost amongst the greenery. She¡¯d already volunteered to scout around and keep an eye out for any ambushes, and given Lisa and I had a way to contact her from a distance I¡¯d had no issues with it.


    I walked with a slight limp while using a wooden cane that I¡¯d carved during my convalescence. Lisa skipped alongside me, a smile on her face, while the Wolfe brothers left the tree last. As we walked out Row came along with us and paused a few feet from the tree.


    It was obvious to me that Adam and Row wanted a moment alone, so I walked over to check out a bunch of tulips along with Lisa. She poked at the flowers, either out of curiosity or mere childish delight, and I made certain to pretend I couldn¡¯t hear what the two behind us were saying.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to come with us?¡± Adam whispered.


    ¡°No, not yet,¡± was her reply, ¡°but soon. I mean, I can¡¯t leave the house until my parents get back.¡±


    ¡°Do they normally leave for weeks?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said in such a way that I thought she was about to cry, ¡°please, please keep an eye out for them!¡±


    ¡°I will. I promise I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    I could hear as Adam walked away from her, his feet making a slight noise on the grass behind me. When he came up close I half-turned my head to glance at him. ¡°Are you ready now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but try to keep an eye out for any other avians,¡± Adam told me, ¡°Row told me her parents are missing.¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± I told him as I looked back at my daughter.


    Lisa had shoved her face into a tulip and had begun to smell it deeply. ¡°It tickles!¡± she declared with a giggle as she turned to me, a light yellow powder on the tip of her nose.


    I licked my thumb and wiped off the pollen. ¡°Yes it does, your mom loved this floor,¡± I told her, ¡°but we need to move on. I¡¯m worried about Mika.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s tougher than me!¡±


    ¡°Mika, is that your other daughter you mentioned?¡± Adam chimed in from the side.


    ¡°Yes, and the last I knew of she might be in trouble,¡± I started to limp away from the Wolfe brothers and my daughter.


    They followed after me with Lisa taking my free hand in her own. She stared at everything we came across, every type of flower and tree and even the various insects that buzzed about. Her curiosity was high, a side effect I could only theorize of how she¡¯d been a computer program all of her life.


    It wasn¡¯t long before we came upon the portal for the next floor. A small contingent of gnomes had gathered around it, their attitudes lax as they lounged openly on the ground near the sphere. We approached it from the deep bushes, our advance slow and cautious as we didn¡¯t want to alert the gnomes to our presence.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Kuzu?¡± Adam whispered to me after we¡¯d come to a stop a few dozen yards from the gnomes.


    I gave a wave off in what seemed to be a random direction. I already knew that she wouldn¡¯t stay still, and the last time she¡¯d made a noise so I¡¯d know where she was had been five seconds prior.


    ¡°When we attack she¡¯ll follow suit, but we need to make sure we stop any gnomes from getting through the portal,¡± I said.


    Adam slipped his pistol over to Lance before he unslung his rifle. Much like he¡¯d done previously he held the rifle with two hands and aimed down the sights. ¡°Tell Kuzu not to go through the portal, the last time we came through they had an ambush setup.¡±


    Lisa handled relaying the warning to Kuzu as Lance and I prepared our pistols for the fight. ¡°She said okay, and she¡¯s all super ready!¡± Lisa told us with a smile, though a bit louder than I¡¯d have preferred.


    The noise was enough to draw the attention of a couple of the gnomes who looked in our direction. Before any warning could rise up the first gnome had his head removed by one of my bullets, and then Adam and Lance started to fire as well. The gnomes roused from the ground as quick as they could, but before any of them could reach the portal Kuzu was on them with her two-handed sword.


    A few of the gnomes tried to skirt around Kuzu and she responded with a wall of ice, one that blocked off access to the portal. A few more seconds went by and the rest of the gnomes were either dead or well on their way, and our small group emerged from the bushes to join up with Kuzu. We didn¡¯t waste time cleaning up the bodies and instead hurried on to the next floor, worried that a gnome messenger might stop by and find out what we¡¯d done.


    <hr>


    Floor 28


    The Gnome Slave Mines


    <hr>


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s new.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 8 - Plea Of A Child

    The words that I¡¯d seen within my mind upon our arrival weighed on me.  When I¡¯d last gone through this floor it had been a mine that the warlocks used to gain gems, but they hadn¡¯t used slaves.  If they had slaves it¡¯d mean they¡¯d somehow procured them and the only source of bodies were the gnomes.


    Unless if the warlocks had managed to kidnap the adventurers pushing through their territory?  I mused on the question, but it was when Lisa poked me in the side that I came back to my senses.  I¡¯d failed miserably to pay attention to my surroundings, and they were clearly hostile.


    Around us were walls made of stone with no easy way to get out of the pit we¡¯d arrived in.  What looked like hooks at the very top of one of the walls probably served as a spot to put ladders or ropes, but I had an easier way out.  I knelt down and laced my fingers together to create a makeshift foothold.


    ¡°Kuzu!¡± I called out to her.


    She turned to look at me and responded a second later, as she put her foot right on my hands.  I flung her up into the air and she easily cleared the top of the wall. Her two-handed sword came off of the holder on her back as she descended, and then we heard the sound of gnomes crying out in fear a moment later.


    It wasn¡¯t long after when we climbed over the walls and got out of the pit that the gnomes had made.  Around us was a large cavern, one with a seemingly infinite width and a height double that of the pit we¡¯d appeared in.  I knew from personal experience that the entry point was always somewhere inside this cavern, and so I surmised that the gnomes would move their makeshift pit whenever the arrival spot changed.


    A single makeshift hallway lead out of the cavern and to the rest of the mines.  It¡¯d been a natural tunnel at one point, but the gnomes had labored to smooth it out.  The Wolfe brothers took the lead as they crept quietly along the passageway, their actions telling the rest of us that stealth was important.


    When we reached the end of the hall Adam came to a stop and motioned at me.  ¡°Once we get outside we¡¯ll need to keep to the shadows near the cliff walls,¡± Adam whispered, ¡°if we set off an alarm there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯ll have another army charging at us.  A larger one.¡±


    We crept out of the hallway and began to move, with Adam in the lead and Lance right behind him.  Lisa stuck close to me, and Kuzu chose to be our rearguard. If we did get attacked from behind she could make a barrier to hold off any gnomes for a short while.


    The mine itself was in a gorge, one with sharp walls that stretched upward for almost a hundred feet.  Wooden and metal walkways had been installed onto the sides of the gorge, and holes had been burrowed in various places.  Random piles of rocks had been cast down onto the ground from above, making for some potential cover.


    Even from the bottom of the gorge it was easy to hear the cries of pain from an innumerable amount of people. We flattened ourselves against the cliff wall, bathed in shadows, and crept along in silence. Lisa could tell that stealth was important, so gone was her childish behavior and instead she clung to me in silence.


    For it being a major place of gnome activity the overall security was lax. From our spot at the bottom of the gorge there were no patrols.  When we attempted to peek upward at the walkways there were almost no gnomes, and the bridges that ran between the two sides of the gorge were left unguarded.  Instead large buildings at the top of the gorge looked to hold the main bulk of their forces.


    While we crept along the noises from above continued to filter down to us. For the most part we could hear the sound of mining, but every so often conversations would manage to make it to us. Most of the people who spoke used the language of the gnomes, but here and there I could make out snatches of human.


    However it wasn¡¯t until a barely audible song reached our ears that Adam froze in his tracks, head lifting up toward the cliffside of the gorge. There was only a look of intense anger that was on his face, one that Lance mirrored when he grabbed Adam by the shoulder tightly.


    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Adam muttered with a shake of his head, ¡°it¡¯ll be suicide.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Kuzu worriedly asked.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t your problem,¡± Lance replied.


    ¡°Lance,¡± Adam said, ¡°don¡¯t be like that.¡±


    ¡°Well it ain¡¯t,¡± Lance muttered darkly.


    ¡°Adam, what¡¯s going on?¡± I finally asked.


    Adam let out a long sigh and then pointed upward with one thumb. ¡°That singing sounded like Row¡¯s mother.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I owe you for letting me make a detour for Lisa,¡± I told Adam, ¡°Kuzu, scout ahead to the portal and secure it. Eliminate any guards.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Kuzu turned to look at me, concern obvious in her gaze.


    I gave her a look that spoke volumes of how stupid her question was.  ¡°If you have any problems let Lisa know via the glasses,¡± I told her before I gave a gentle push, ¡°now get going.  We don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    Kuzu started to walk away, but she had a moment of hesitation as she looked back at me.  I gave a wave of my hand and it was enough to encourage her to keep moving on, and she vanished as she slipped into the darkest shadows in the gorge.  I smiled at the thought of how she was actually worried about me, yet I pushed that to the side and focused on the task at hand.


    ¡°How are we going to get up?¡± Adam asked as he looked up at the walkways.  There were no easily accessed ladders nearby, and we lacked any proper climbing gear.


    I grinned at Adam as I pointed at Lisa. ¡°She¡¯ll take us up there.¡±


    During the conversation Lisa had burrowed herself against me. When I pointed at her and made that statement she gave a wide smile.  ¡°Sure thing, daddy!¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°Uh...what?¡± Lance tilted his head a little to the side.


    The confusion was solved a few seconds later when Lisa shoved me into the Wolfe brothers, and then with her little arms she hugged all three of us and leapt up.  We landed on the lowest walkway with a slight bang, the metal frame swaying slightly from the impact. Adam and Lance seemed phased by what had just happened, perhaps still not accustomed to a little girl being as strong as she was.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked Lisa as I rubbed her on the head, ¡°you didn¡¯t need to take all of us up, you could¡¯ve jumped up and dropped a rope.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Lisa said with a smile.


    Adam pulled out his pistol as he shook off the surprise, his eyes focused on the walkways above and across from us.  It proved to be too late as a gnome dozens of feet up, perhaps interested by the shaking of the walkway, managed to notice us from his vantage point.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move! Lance, find her!¡± Adam yelled as he fired a round into the gnome¡¯s head as it began to scream.


    The dead sentry fell from the bridge, a quiet thud from below letting us know when he hit the ground, while Lance sniffed at the air. Numerous yells of surprise came from the various alcoves and caves along the cliff, while more and more gnomes that were armed started to emerge onto the walkways.


    ¡°This way!¡± Lance barked as he took off running, his long daggers pulled out in preparation of combat.


    Ahead of us a few guards stepped into view in time to be assaulted by Lance, his weapons cutting their heads off. With no visible concern that he was running recklessly through enemy territory he plunged further on.  It was only when he reached a ladder that we had a chance to catch up, the awkward ascent due to the design of the ladder slowing him.


    I decided to put some pressure on the more distant gnomes while we took turns climbing the ladder.  Adam joined in with his rifle, demonstrating once again an accuracy with his favored weapon that even put my own shooting to shame.  Meanwhile Lisa began to climb up the ladder after Lance, who had started to clear away gnomes on the upper walkway.


    Adam waved me up after she had finished her climb, though I discovered that the ladder had been designed for gnomes.  The awkward climb was only made more aggravating when arrows started to fly down from above. After I¡¯d reached the top Adam began his ascent while I tried my best to cover him.


    Once we were all up the ladder Lance took off once more, but instead of heading along the walkway he instead turned and went into one of the caves.  When we followed him in he had already gotten caught up in a fight. His kicks were hard enough that we could hear the bones crack, and at the slightest opening he finished off any gnome with a stab to the face.


    He ignored the open wounds that he¡¯d gained on his body from the gnomes who¡¯d hit him.  With a flick of his one long dagger he threw a gnome off of it, and then he turned and strode further into the caves.  From behind Adam pushed me lightly on the back.


    ¡°Keep going, we can¡¯t dawdle now,¡± he told me, ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out here.¡±


    I put away my pistol and pulled out my sword, and with cane in one hand and weapon in the other I followed after Lance.  I walked past corpse after corpse as we went further into the dark tunnel that had been burrowed into the cliff. I caught up once more with Lance as he was in the process of crushing the skull of a gnome beneath his boot.


    ¡°Be more careful!¡± I chastised him.  I didn¡¯t want to deal with him dying and then his brother probably following soon after.


    He didn¡¯t respond and instead turned to start looking at the cages built into the walls of the cave.  A single lantern hung in the center of the room from the ceiling, and so most of the cages were cast in a darkness that proved difficult to see past.  Even so I could make out the small figures of gnomes in most of them, including children.


    ¡°When did this happen?¡± I whispered to myself.  A thousand years ago the gnomes had been loyal servants to the warlocks, and they had maintained an almost symbiotic relationship.


    Lance drew my attention once more as he started to punch one of the metal doors of a cell.  The bars shuddered with each impact, but the door refused to yield to his attack. Meanwhile from within I could hear voices speaking in a language I hadn¡¯t heard in a thousand years.


    ¡°Lisa, can you help him?¡± I nudged her in the direction of Lance.


    She skipped over to Lance and brushed past him, his punching pausing momentarily as he stared down at her in confusion.  With a smile on her face she reached out to the bars of the cage and easily bent them. After she¡¯d made it easy for anyone to enter or leave the cell she stepped back, but swayed unsteadily on her feet.


    Adam came up from behind us, muttering a few choice words beneath his breath.  From further back I could make out the sound of an innumerable amount of gnomes on the metal walkways, as well as a few that had started to enter into the cave.  ¡°We need to hurry up,¡± he said as he loaded another bullet into his rifle, ¡°they started to sound the alarm at the barracks.¡±


    Two adult avians emerged from the cage that the gnomes had shoved them into, shackled at the wrists with thick steel rings.  A few gnomes followed them, beaten and tired from a long time in the mines. I lacked a key to free them from their current chains, but once we were clear of the mines it wouldn¡¯t be hard for me to use my sword to carefully sever them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll assume these are Row¡¯s parents,¡± I commented to Adam, ¡°that should be everything we need to do right?¡±


    Adam started to nod his head when Lisa pushed forward and tugged at my clothing. ¡°Daddy,¡± she said in a pleading tone, ¡°are we going to leave all these other people behind?¡±


    A little part of me felt pride in that question, but I also knew that it was a request that would cause only problems.  There were probably dozens, if not hundreds, of people locked away in all of the cells. We¡¯d already passed by many on our way to this one, and all those people would be a weight that could drag us down.


    Yet it was a plea from my daughter.  Luticia had been so proud of when she¡¯d made our daughters.  Years of hard work to create children for us, ones that would have the ability to grow and change as they met new situations.  Those expectant eyes looked at me with the hope I¡¯d not turn my back on the slaves.


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re asking me to do here, Lisa?¡± I finally asked her while I knelt down. Outside of the cave more gnomes armed and furious gathered, ¡°what type of skill I¡¯ll need to use to even hope to do it?¡±


    Lisa lowered her gaze toward the ground, as though ashamed by what she¡¯d asked. Still she clung to my clothes while her brain worked away, she could already guess at what I meant with my questions. Nearby her Adam and Lance watched on alongside the people we¡¯d already freed.


    ¡°Please,¡± Lisa finally said as she looked back up at me.


    ¡°Fine, help them open the cells,¡± I told her while I started to walk away, ¡°Lance! I¡¯m going to need you to carry me soon.¡±


    ¡°What? What¡¯s happening?¡± Adam cried out from behind me.


    ¡°Stay here and wait until the screaming stops.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 9 - Skill Of The Godslayer

    As I walked down the tunnel back to the entrance of the cave I threw my cane to the side. While I had a throbbing pain in my ankle I¡¯d have to ignore it, as I wanted both hands free for what I was about to do.


    The end of the tunnel had begun to fill up with gnomes as they all pushed in. They saw me, their voices excited as they talked back and forth and motioned threateningly in my direction. Once the ones in the front of the group noticed my lack of weapons in my hands and charged at me.


    I held up one hand at the gnomes. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, leave now,¡± I warned them.


    There was no response from the little men and instead they seemed all the more eager to attack me. I could only sigh in frustration at that, but it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise. I flexed my hands while I started to draw on the energy inside of me, focusing not on the lightning I¡¯d used so often but rather the energy crystal.


    Perhaps it was when I took the step forward that they started to realize something was amiss. The ones in the front hesitated in their charge, a move that caused a bit of a wrinkle in their formation. The ones toward the back shouted at the frontline as they decided to take their eyes off of me.


    My right foot stepped forward.


    A gnome to the right was impaled with a straight thrust of a golden sword. A gnome¡¯s sword from the left was blocked by another golden blade, while a third sword thrust into the gnome¡¯s chest. As a gnome came in close to the front two short swords appeared, and then like a pair of scissors sliced him in half.


    I swung my hands out to the sides and the blades to my front followed suit. They each swept to the side and cut horizontally a gnome of each of my sides, before they flickered out of existence as quickly as they¡¯d appeared.


    My left foot stepped forward.


    Some of the sharper gnomes started to take a step back, as they¡¯d noticed all of the swords appearing from nowhere. They were too late as a large scythe appeared and swung, their heads arcing through the air as blood spattered all over their friends. The last gnomes closest to me tried a mad dash for me, but large shields covered in spikes formed in front of me and fell on them. Their small bodies were crushed to the ground as the spikes impaled them.


    My right foot stepped forward.


    Four spears formed over my shoulders and then were thrown forward as though by invisible hands. They pierced through gnomes, all of them going all the way through the bodies and hitting another gnome behind the first. As the gnomes near the newly deceased ones recoiled in horror spikes erupted from the shafts of the spears. Over the course of a few seconds dozens of gnomes were impaled amongst a sea of glowing blades.


    My left foot stepped forward.


    The gnomes furthest back started to notice what was happening near the front. A few turned, running and yelling in fear, while the frontline of their group simply screamed in terror and tried their best to push back against their brethren. An array of knives formed near their backs and stabbed them all, over and over the golden blades sliced into them until the gnomes collapsed.


    My right foot stepped forward.


    Axes far too large to be used by a normal human form near the back row of the gnomes. They swing in, their blades biting into the bodies without a problem, and then they push all the way through and continue on into the next gnome. The axes continued forward through the cluster of gnomes as if they were thrown, and soon enough dozens of gnomes had been bisected by them.


    My left foot stepped forward.


    The blood of the gnomes touched against my boots as I began to walk through the pile of corpses. Ahead of me more swords, knives, axes, and everything else imaginable formed and cut away at the fools who hadn¡¯t already run. Their screams grew quieter with every step I took, and soon I was alone in the tunnel.


    ¡°So much for the Thousand Blades of the Sun God,¡± I muttered sourly to myself, as I glanced at the collection of weapons that still hung in the air.


    At one point I had been able to manifest so many, but now I struggled with only a handful. It was a sign that I still had a long way to go with this body. I would also gain a great deal of help once I picked up a suit from the arsenal, as I could draw on the embedded energy source to help supplement any lack on my end.


    When I emerged from the end of the tunnel not much had changed outside, though there were far more gnomes on the walkways and bridges. They held their weapons at the ready, aimed in my direction, but I could tell with a glance that they all shook with fear. There was no doubt they¡¯d seen the gnomes running in fright that had escaped.


    At the very top of the cliff stood a dark thin figure draped in a cloak. One gaunt hand was pointed at me while a red light surrounded the entire figure. It was a sight that drew a chuckle from me, a reaction that the warlock most likely hadn¡¯t expected. A red light shot from the finger of the warlock, and it served as a signal to the other gnomes who all fired their arrows.


    I raised my left hand and then swung it to the right, a thin lattice of energy formed in it¡¯s wake. Everything that had been thrown at me by the gnome forces struck that barrier and fell to the ground. The air around me began to quiver as I pooled all of my remaining energy to my right hand.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    A small sphere of pure golden light was formed and I sent it forward, through the lattice that had no qualms with letting it by. It floated out into the gorge and the gnomes could only watch on with confusion, even as some of their friends screamed in terror and continued to run away.


    A snap of my fingers was the signal. From the sphere thin shafts of light shot out like spikes in all directions, each shaft aimed to strike one of the gnomes. Even the warlock was not spared as I sent at least three shafts at him so he could not escape, and in a matter of seconds the entire area had grown quiet.


    I swayed as I surveyed what I¡¯d done, and then I stumbled backward uncontrollably. My body grew heavy and fatigue assailed me with such ferocity that I almost winced at it. Whether I wanted to or not I had no control over what came next.


    I collapsed on the spot.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    I wasn¡¯t sure how long it was before I woke up, but the warmth of the sunlight meant that I¡¯d most likely slept through the whole night. My head was rested on the lap of something soft, and when I shifted my gaze I noticed Kuzu¡¯s ample bosom long before anything else. She leaned forward and smiled down at me.


    ¡°How is everyone?¡± I asked her.


    Before she could even answer I heard the giggling of Lisa, along with a few other children, and turned my head to see a group of gnome children and her running around. Beyond them some of the adult gnomes watched with wary eyes, though none of them had any sort of weapons. The fact that they had been the slaves was easy to notice due to the scarring on their wrists.


    ¡°Everyone is fine,¡± Kuzu replied as she pushed a few strands of her hair away from her face, ¡°you missed a couple of guards and one warlock with your last spell but I dealt with them. You shouldn¡¯t have done that alone, you could¡¯ve died.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the first time,¡± I chuckled at that, ¡°any clue what we¡¯re going to do with all of these slaves?¡±


    ¡°Adam told me that there¡¯s a small gnome community on the twenty-ninth floor,¡± Kuzu turned her gaze skyward, ¡°Lance will go through to the next floor first, to make sure they know we¡¯re coming. Adam left to take Row¡¯s parents home, and then he¡¯s coming back and we¡¯ll move on to the next floor.¡±


    ¡°Hah, guess he can probably handle that chore,¡± I closed my eyes, ¡°wake me when it¡¯s time for us to leave, I¡¯m going to rest some more.¡±


    ¡°Good night,¡± Kuzu murmured to me so quietly that my elf ears barely heard it. As I slowly fell back asleep for a brief moment I thought I felt a small bit of pressure on my cheek, though that was probably my imagination.


    <hr>


    Floor 29


    They Who Stop The Darkness


    <hr>


    I managed to wrangle in a few more hours of sleep before the brothers were finished with their preparations. Lance moved on ahead of us to make sure we wouldn¡¯t be killed on sight, and then the rest of us went through before the gnomes.


    When we materialized on the next floor I had already pulled out my sword and braced for an attack. While I trusted that Lance had gone on ahead to warn them about us, there was still the strong potential for a Shifter or two to have invaded. Or for a guard to not believe him and to still attack us.


    Around us was a ring of archers on an uplifted wall made of metal. The archers had their bows out and arrows held at the ready, and with our appearance they prepared to fire. Adam lifted up his right hand and stuck out his left hand, a signal apparently as the archers all relaxed.


    A metal gate off to our left opened wide and revealed a column of soldiers armed with spears and shields. They parted down the middle, allowing us free passage, and so we took them up on the offer. Behind us I could hear the sound of the gnomes arriving.


    ¡°Grandice wants to see you Adam,¡± one of the soldiers nearest the gate stated in a loud voice.


    ¡°Figures, thanks for the heads up Illius.¡± Adam rubbed at his eyes. ¡°You three should go rest up somewhere, there are tents all over the place. I need to talk with the leader of the camp.¡±


    Before he could take two steps I clamped my hand down on his shoulder tightly. ¡°Try to avoid talking about us,¡± I asked of him.


    ¡°Hah! Good luck on that one, you¡¯re probably all he¡¯ll want to talk about.¡± Adam laughed before he shrugged my hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯ll try to avoid talking about anything you¡¯d like to keep quiet about. Head toward the red tents, they¡¯re for visitors.¡±


    I turned my attention away from Adam as he walked away, instead more interested in the tents he had commented on. When I had last gone through this floor it had been untamed wilderness, yet during my absence it had changed into what I could only call a settlement.


    A metal wall ran along in a vast circle, and within that circle were a handful of cabins and a lot of tents. The tents were of two colors, one was blue and the other red, and it was at the red ones that the gnomes proliferated. Even from where we stood it was easy to see the families gathered, while their children played openly in the settlement.


    As I took a few steps forward Lisa started to dart away, but I managed to grab her. ¡°Hold on a second,¡± I told her, before I motioned toward the direction of the red tents, ¡°see those? We¡¯re going there first, then you can run all over the camp like a wildfire.¡±


    ¡°Alright daddy!¡± Lisa exclaimed with a happy face, though it was obvious that she was reigning back a great deal of energy. It seemed that the long time we had spent waiting on the previous floor had allowed her to recuperate.


    We walked along a dirt path that led to the center of the red tents. With each step Lisa continued to be on the verge of dashing off, so I ended up holding her hand. I didn¡¯t want her taking off and getting lost, or worse getting into trouble. Obviously she could find us due to the equipment that Kuzu wore, but it was always best to err on the side of caution when possible.


    A tall man who looked a bit too thin stood with a clipboard in the midst of the red tents. Every so often he would point people toward different directions in a quiet voice. When we walked up to him he adjusted his glasses and peered at us curiously.


    ¡°Newcomers? Oh, a nice family of three,¡± the man commented, smiling at Lisa.


    ¡°We¡¯re here for a tent, not for conversation,¡± I brusquely said.


    The tall man recoiled at my attitude as he adjusted his glasses. ¡°Sorry, uh...you can take one of the open ones in quadrant three,¡± he said with a wave off to the left, ¡°pick one that¡¯s empty.¡±


    A quick nod was my only way to say goodbye before I walked away. It took us only a few minutes of searching to find a suitable tent to borrow, and so we settled into it. No sooner than had we decided on one before Lisa ran off, shouting that she¡¯d be back in a few hours.


    ¡°I remember when I was like that,¡± I murmured, though with a small smile.


    It was a tent that could easily house four or five people, one with a large flap on the front that was left open when unoccupied. I left the flap open while I sat down on one of the simple wooden chairs inside the tent, pulling a flask of water from my bag.


    ¡°I wonder how you were then,¡± Kuzu fluffed her tail out and then pulled a comb from her knapsack.


    ¡°A pain in the ass,¡± I told her with a laugh, ¡°I was just starting to learn about diving and thought I¡¯d be awesome at it. Nearly got killed on the second floor on my first run...but the money I could make, the thrill of the diving. Never could walk away from that.¡±


    ¡°I mostly dove for the others,¡± Kuzu¡¯s comb continued to work away at her tail, her golden eyes turned away from me, ¡°I¡¯ll never forget their kindness.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± I told her in a soft tone, much softer than I normally used with anyone.


    The comb paused for a second and Kuzu looked at me. ¡°What are you going to do after you bury Luticia?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought about that,¡± I admitted to her.


    ¡°Maybe we coul-¡± Kuzu started to speak before I lifted up one hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I told her, a flat tone that was a tad too harsh, ¡°please don¡¯t. I¡¯ve heard too many people say something like that and die. How about for now we just focus on getting through the labyrinth?¡±


    Kuzu¡¯s tail had bristled a bit at the way I¡¯d interrupted her, though she gave a small nod of her head. Once more her eyes turned away from me, the comb working at her unsettled tail, ¡°sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just¡­¡± I started to explain before I paused. It was far too hard to put into words, perhaps even to understand myself, ¡°anyway I wanted to talk to you about our plans.¡±


    Kuzu¡¯s left ear twitched at that. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re going to make a side trip on floor thirty-eight.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 10 - The Shapeless

    Our stay on the twenty-ninth floor ended up being far longer than I¡¯d expected.


    Three days after we were still there, waiting for permission to go on to the next floor. Adam and Lance spent most of their time in discussion with the leaders of the settlement, but due to what lay beyond this floor they¡¯d grown cautious about who they allowed through. It was a delay that irritated me as in my day there¡¯d been no limits and no camp on this floor.


    So Kuzu and I had opted to do some training out near the settlement. We¡¯d found a nice open spot of grassland, and each day we¡¯d done some basic combat practice. Even though we fought without weapons we¡¯d still managed to pick up a few spectators, perhaps though it was due to Kuzu more so than myself.


    It was while we were still in the middle of a session that Adam finally showed up. While I knocked aside a roundhouse from Kuzu I gave a quick glance in his direction, before I waved at Kuzu. ¡°Hold on a second,¡± I told her.


    ¡°The old men finally relented, we¡¯re cleared to go to the next floor tomorrow morning,¡± Adam said as he adjusted his monocle, ¡°this would¡¯ve gone faster if you weren¡¯t so insistent on taking along a child, you know?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m leaving my daughter behind with strangers,¡± I retorted, ¡°how¡¯d you manage to convince them?¡±


    ¡°It helped that the gnomes we saved talked about you. My brother and I vouched for you as well.¡±


    We walked back to the settlement as we talked, mostly about what the Wolfe brothers had done over the last few days The sentries at the gate nodded in greeting as we passed by, but the gate was left open as the gnomes were still out harvesting lumber and food. From what I¡¯d learned a little distance away were actual farms which helped to feed everyone.


    Our walk through the camp took us near the tents, and around them the children ran with boundless energy. My daughter was in that group, and though she had a clear physical edge she had enough intelligence to not abuse it. I could only smile at how happy she was to get to play with other kids.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that people are being born and raised here,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, if not for them I doubt the labyrinth would be in the condition it is right now,¡± Adam replied, ¡°The shifters would¡¯ve probably pushed through by now.¡±


    ¡°Will you be ready to head out tomorrow morning?¡± I asked Adam as we stopped in front of our tent.


    ¡°Of course, and Lance can¡¯t handle all this sitting around.¡± Adam gave a slight wave of one hand before he turned and walked away.


    I watched him walk away and then turned my attention to Kuzu, who had remained quiet during our conversation. ¡°Coming?¡± I asked while I opened the flap a little further as though to encourage her to come in.


    Kuzu gave a flick of her left ear before she turned away from me. ¡°I¡¯m going to go check up on Lisa.¡±


    Ever since our conversation the other day she had become displeased with me. That feeling was all the more obvious during our sparring sessions, as she would often give a smile every time she managed to hit me.


    All I could do was watch her walk away. I had often thought of talking to her about why I had said what I did, but in the end I knew it would only lead to more problems. Women, after all, were a bit of a mystery.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    A wall had been placed around the portal, the rickety walls a sign that they¡¯d only put it up recently. Nearby it a handful of guards stood watch, though the main bulk of the guards would be back at the arrival point.


    Lance still wore his darkened clothes and the night steel armguards, the twin long daggers sheathed at his hip. He had washed his red hair and combed it back, though the scent of metal still clung to him thanks to the various equipment he had. A dark red cloak lined with fur was draped about his body, though the hood that was attached to it was left down.


    Nearby stood Adam, pistol holstered while he held the rifle at the ready. He too wore a dark red cloak designed for cooler climates, the hood had been lifted up and covered his dark green hair. With his left hand Adam adjusted the monocle on his eye.


    Kuzu had opted to wear conservative clothing, baggy articles designed to help deal with cold temperatures. Unlike the Wolfe brothers she did not have a cloak, though I had forced her to pack one in case it became a necessity at some point. The powerful two-handed sword she favored was still strapped to her back, while the claw gloves that she¡¯d picked up from my small armory were still worn.


    Like the brothers I had chosen to wear my cloak, the cooler floors ahead an issue I wanted to be prepared for. My equipment hadn¡¯t changed aside from that, though I¡¯d changed from a duffel bag to a more compact knapsack.


    ¡°Lisa,¡± I said to get her attention. Out of us all she still wore a casual dress, a white dress that would normally be insufficient for cold weather.


    She stood in front of the portal and was peering up into it when I spoke to her. ¡°Daddy?¡± she responded with a quick turn of her head.


    ¡°Try not to fight anything on the next few floors, and stick close to me.¡± I knelt down near her and rested one hand on her head. ¡°Can you do that for me?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing!¡± she exclaimed while bouncing up and down excitedly.


    ¡°I think we should all stick close to each other,¡± I rose up and looked to the Wolfe brothers, a glance at Kuzu gaining me little more than a tail twitch in response, ¡°if we get separated the shifters can play their little games.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Adam checked his rifle before he approached the portal, ¡°see you on the other side.¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 30


    Lost City of the Shifters


    Checkpoint Three


    <hr>


    When we arrived on the next floor every single one of us was ready for combat. I pulled Lisa in close to me and held her between myself and the others of our group, even as we studied the perimeter of our entry point. Both Kuzu and I perked our ears in an attempt to hear any type of threats.


    Nothing moved within the flat and empty square we¡¯d appeared in. Near us stood tall buildings that were easily thrice the size of any found on the earlier floors, and stood in a ring around the square. Most of the buildings had become rotten and started to fall apart, the broken chunks scattered about.


    There were no commands as we moved out, instead we relied on simple hand motions to dictate our coordination. We stepped into a fog-laden street that was wide enough for five men to stand side by side. Each of us walked as quietly as we could, with Lisa being the loudest out of us all. Her energetic nature and lack of experience in the labyrinth made it all the more difficult for her to comprehend the importance of silence.


    What impressed the Wolfe brothers, given their looks of shock as they peered at her, was the silence from Kuzu. It was easy enough to forget she was even there, her foot falls so quiet that my elf ears failed to pick up the slightest of noises. While she walked she kept moving into shadows without thought, her body so well trained in stealth that she maintained an absolute lack of presence during the entire march.


    It was hard not to feel a hint of pride when I looked at Kuzu. Certainly a good deal of what she had learned derived from the crystals I had thrown her into at the orc nursery. Still I had helped to refine the rough gem, and a flawless diamond was the end result. I had in the past never bothered to teach others, but what I had managed with Kuzu made me wonder about what could¡¯ve been.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    My train of thought was disrupted when the sound of stones falling clattered off to our left. A pure white figure clung to one of the half-destroyed walls of a large building. The legs and arms were gaunt and the skin looked wet. The head of the creature turned in our direction, black eyes staring out from an alabaster white face that had no hair.


    The creature made no noises but instead darted up the wall and clambered into some inner chamber of the building. From nearby Adam let out a long sigh at the sight, before he turned to glance at me. A quick shrug was all he gave before we returned to our forward march, though our alertness had grown even more.


    There was an almost oppressive feeling to the city as we walked through it. Fog swirled around our ankles and often blotted out our vision of the buildings. Sometimes the fog would let up, yet all it did was reveal the structures which towered over us, and also made one feel as though you were caged in. Even looking up into the sky only presented clouds that were dark and kept back most of the sunlight.


    When we all heard the crying of a child the entire group froze. Lisa, who had clung onto my clothing, looked with concern in the direction of the noise. The Wolfe brothers for a few moments stared at the fog-coated figure of a young girl before promptly ignoring her.


    It was Kuzu who started to approach the weeping child. When I grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her back the look she sent me was one of anger, but also embarrassment. It was noble that she had so readily wanted help the kid, yet in this case her kindness was vastly misplaced. She knew it, but at the same time she had been unable to fight her instincts.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shifter, Kuzu,¡± I reminded her in a hushed tone, ¡°leave it alone, let¡¯s keep moving.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­¡± Kuzu started to trail off while she stared at the weeping child. With a twitch of her left ear she sighed, then turned her gaze away.


    As we walked away from the shifter the sobbing grew louder and louder, the figure still knelt down on the ground amidst the fog. After we lost sight of the shifter the sobbing came to an end, a silence that fell with such suddenness that it caused all of us to instantly stop in our tracks. With worried looks we began to scan the nearby mist in hopes of seeing what lurked beyond, yet our eyes were incapable of noticing anything more than glimpses of the large buildings.


    In the wall of white mist some creatures stirred, their footfalls quick and sharp against the stone. A sound reminiscent of ice cracking could be heard from different directions, and at least three sources produced an animal call. I pulled my daughter in closer against me even as I raised my sword up in preparation of a fight.


    What emerged from the fog was not the white figure that we had seen before, nor the child that wept, but instead it was a snake that was as thick as my torso. The large serpent slipped out of the mist without a sound, while it¡¯s long tongue tasted at the air. The snake¡¯s head swung from left to right with slow motions, the pitch black eyes focusing on none of us. When the snake came within five feet of us it hissed, and the mouth opened wide to reveal long fangs.


    Lance intercepted the snake before it got any closer. With a flourish of his right hand one of the long daggers was brandished, before he promptly drove it down into the top of the head. The dagger stabbed through to the ground and impaled the snake, and all it could do was twist and struggle to escape. Lance ended any hope of that happening when he pulled out his other dagger and sliced the head off.


    A spurt of red blood came from the large stump of the snake. Lance stood up and tore his dagger free, not bothering to clean either of the blades off before he deposited them back into their sheaths. With a look of indifference Lance kicked the decapitated head far away from the corpse.


    From the mists came more of those odd animal calls. What emerged next was not a snake but rather two people who wore ragged cloaks about their bodies. From beneath the hoods that covered their heads long serpentine tongues slipped out, while both of the strangers held curved swords made from stone.


    Before one of the lizardmen could take more than one step blood blossomed from out of the hood, the loud bang of the fired rifle echoing loudly in our ears. Next to me Adam stood with his gun lifted as a hint of smoke billowed out of the muzzle. The usage of the rifle was enough to make the other lizardman freeze, perhaps scared at what had happened, and gave Lance all the time he needed to step in close and slice off its head.


    What came next was a surprise for me, as Lance uttered noises similar to the oddities coming from the fog that surrounded us. He rested one foot on top of the decapitated head of the lizardman, spewing forth a stream of crackling sounds that seemed impossible for any ordinary person to produce.


    The silence was all too unnerving as we stood there and listened for any signs from the shifters nearby. For a while there were no more discussions in their alien tongue, perhaps baffled as equally as I by how Lance could talk in their language. Then from beyond our sight the sound of movement came at once. A noise that started out loud and gradually grew quieter, one that marked the departure of the shifters.


    ¡°Told ya, ain¡¯t nothing to worry about,¡± Lance called out to his brother.


    ¡°It helps that it wasn¡¯t one of the major tribes,¡± Adam said, ¡°hopefully we can keep clear of them.¡±


    ¡°Tribes?¡± I glanced back and forth between the brothers, for the first time in a while perplexed.


    It was a question that made Kuzu look at me with a startled expression. She was accustomed to me knowing more about the labyrinth than anyone else. For a second Kuzu started to open her mouth to speak, then she thought differently and turned her attention toward the fog. One of her ears remained half-turned in our direction, a testament to her curiosity.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know about them?¡± Adam asked as he checked his rifle, ¡°the shifters all live in tribes. Some are big and some are small, but they rarely go solo.¡±


    It was information that blindsided me. During my youth the shifters had been an infamous species that terrorized the thirties. Few divers had managed to survive their encounters with them and so little knowledge about them had spread. Even during my first sojourn into the thirtieth floor I had gone in without any idea of what was to come.


    What I had encountered was a bunch of animals that masqueraded as anything they encountered. Disorganized and dangerous they fed on each other almost as much as invaders. My first few attempts to get to the fortieth floor met with close calls, even with the help of Pierre there were times when I had never thought I¡¯d return home.


    After I returned to the floors with Lute she taught me a bit about the shifters, and the city that we currently walked through. It had first been made to be a gentle and assistive presence for divers. At one point in time it had been a checkpoint.


    Then Lute had walked away and worked on the other floors, never once realizing the mistake she had made. By the time her attention returned to the thirtieth floor the shifters had already killed off everyone and threatened to spread to the lower floors. With the floor already being considered completed she could only stare in horror at the monsters that had been unleashed.


    In the end she decided on a course of action that would forever change the shifters. While she had the potential to reset the labyrinth back to start instead she chose to leave it, a reminder for herself about the importance of double-checking her own work. After that she then gave the shifters something that halted their descent toward the lower floors.


    Fear.


    All animals have an instinctual need to protect themselves from harm. Most will back away when faced with a dangerous situation or deploy some sort of mechanism to guard themselves. The shifters originally were not like that, instead they had been created to know no fear and fight to the death. Lute had intended them to teach how to handle monsters that would never stop attacking.


    By instilling fear into their psyche Lute had managed to make them afraid to change floors Those few that did were often alone and summarily died off in the new environments. The fear of the unknown became so crippling to them that soon the shifters stopped changing floors altogether.


    ¡°Fear made them band together?¡± I muttered to myself.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Adam looked up from his rifle at me with an upraised eyebrow.


    ¡°An idle thought,¡± was all I said in explanation before I motioned in the direction we were headed, ¡°how much longer until we reach the portal?¡±


    ¡°Well, based on the compass it looks like it hasn¡¯t moved since our last dive. A few more hours, I believe.¡±


    ¡°We might want to pick up our pace.¡± I pointed at the remains near us. ¡°Unless you think the other shifters won¡¯t be drawn by that smell?¡±


    ¡°Agreed, here¡¯s hoping we can avoid the tribes.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, since they know we¡¯re in the area do you mind explaining this whole tribes thing to me?¡± I asked him as we started to walk in the direction of the portal.


    Once more our group began a steady march through the foggy city. Off in the distance I could barely make out the sound of movement. It was probably shifters that had heard or smelled what had occurred, as I doubted much else lived on this floor anymore.


    ¡°From what we¡¯ve been able to piece together there are three main tribes, with numerous minor tribes,¡± Adam explained as he walked next to me, ¡°the minor tribes tend to stick to specific floors while the main ones try to control the portals.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you have a settlement on the twenty-ninth floor, to keep them from spreading?¡±


    ¡°Ah, in a sense. The main tribes all are in agreement that trying to start a war with the humans isn¡¯t worth it.¡± Adam tapped at his monocle absent-mindedly. ¡°They¡¯re much more interested in gaining complete control over the other shifters.¡±


    ¡°So they fight internally for dominance. Do the major tribes battle one another as well then?¡±


    ¡°Oh most definitely. The Scarlet Blood tribe is the most infamous in that regard, it absolutely loves to murder fellow shifters and rule via force. The Beast Lords utilize the natural animals of the floors as slaves and allies, which means they¡¯re often at odds with the shifters who want to eat them.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the third one?¡±


    ¡°The Doppelgangers,¡± Adam said, ¡°they¡¯re the reason why the settlement was able to be made. They warned people passing through about the other major tribes and befriended them. The Doppelgangers look at humans and the other humanoid races not as food, but as potential friends.¡±


    It was news that sent a chill down my spine. When I had died the shifters had been intelligent to be sure, but in no way could they have been so smart that they were able to properly interact with humans. The change in them was to such a degree that it made me fear what I might find on the later floors.


    We came upon the portal without another interruption, and by that point Adam told me about all of the minor tribes they knew of. The fog had thinned considerably as we grew closer to our destination, and at the portal itself there was almost none. The sphere hung in the middle of an orchard, one that had long since withered.


    ¡°How trustworthy are the Doppelgangers?¡± I asked Adam, my attention split between the portal and my companion.


    ¡°For the most part they aren¡¯t too bad, but I¡¯ve run across a few that are downright dangerous.¡± Adam slung his rifle around his body before he pulled his pistol out and double checked. ¡°Also a lot of the other tribes like to pretend to be them to try and create a false sense of security in their prey.¡±


    ¡°Is there any way you can tell the difference?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better if you consider all shifters as a potential threat instead,¡± came a voice from the orchard.


    All of us instantly dropped into defensive stances as we peered in the direction of where the voice had come. From behind one of the withered trees a woman draped in black stepped out into the dull light that filtered through the cloudy sky. Her clothes were tight and fell down across the full of her form with little difference in color. A flawless black that made her skintight outfit somehow less provocative and yet at the same time all the more interesting.


    With red-tinted fingernails she lifted one hand up to brush away the scarlet bangs that fell about her face. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Pups,¡± she said with a gentle tone, ¡°have you been doing well?¡±


    Lance was the first one to relax out of the group. When he sheathed his long daggers Adam lowered his pistol. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s on our side,¡± Adam told me, though the displeasure was clear on his face.


    ¡°Who is she?¡± I sheathed my own sword, my free hand still protectively placed on Lisa.


    ¡°Viva, the Empress of the Doppelgangers.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 11 - Into The Nest

    <hr>


    Floor 31


    The Shattered Race


    <hr>


    I suppose you could call what was nearby a hill, though it was a far more nefarious thing. Even from the distance that we were at we could see the holes in it. They were entryways into tunnels that interlaced beneath the ground. It was very much similar to an ant hill, a fact that unnerved me given that each hole was large enough to let a grown man through.


    Lisa had found a small stream of water to play at while the rest of us had taken to studying the nest. Adam and Lance were deep in discussion with a third person, Giln, who had been sent along to offer support by Viva.


    I knelt next to a small boulder for cover, hand placed against it for balance, while I studied the holes on the hill. From the darkened interior I could make out small glimpses of movement as guards stood at the ready near each entrance. ¡°This is different,¡± I commented to Kuzu who was to my left, ¡°they never nested before.¡±


    ¡°Is this a good idea? I mean...should we be helping shifters?¡±


    ¡°If it was back on my first time through I never would¡¯ve helped them.¡±


    ¡°So why now?¡±


    ¡°Things change.¡± I pointed at the hill as evidence for that fact . ¡°That is new. The way they are acting is new, the fact that they even have leaders and social groups is new. I don¡¯t know if it was intended or not, but the shifters aren¡¯t just animals anymore.¡±


    ¡°Neither were the goblins,¡± Kuzu pointed out.


    ¡°True, but you can¡¯t negotiate with goblins, they¡¯d sooner eat you,¡± I jerked a thumb back over my shoulder at the brothers, ¡°those two have proven you can with shifters.¡±


    ¡°So this mask relic is important enough to die for?¡±


    ¡°Relic, I suppose that¡¯s one way to put it¡± I said with a chuckle, ¡°Pierre¡¯s creation made into something grander.¡±


    From behind the sound of gravel crunched as Adam walked up close to us. ¡°Alright, Giln is heading on ahead to set up near the portal. We¡¯ll prepare a small ambush in the forest south-east of here while Lance secures the spy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I couldn¡¯t hold in my surprise at the strategy laid out by Adam. ¡°Why is your brother going into the nest alone?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need no help, you¡¯d just slow me down,¡± Lance boldly stated while he started to strip off his arm guards and clothes.


    ¡°You said yourself if the Doppelganger¡¯s don¡¯t get this mask back that they¡¯d lose their hold on floor thirty,¡± I argued, while pointedly ignoring Lance¡¯s stripping, ¡°sending in only your brother sounds idiotic not to mention suicidal.¡±


    Adam eyed me for a short while before he glanced at his brother. ¡°Lance, take him with you,¡± he ordered his brother, ¡°you know he¡¯s right, we can¡¯t risk the Bloods getting the mask.¡±


    ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± Lance threw his hands up in the air before he started to walk away from the nest and over to the nearby stream. ¡°Follow me smart guy.¡±


    ¡°The nest is over there?¡± I commented with a quick point at the large mound.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t going there first, something we need to do,¡± Lance continued to walk ahead of me.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Strip.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The rate at which we approached the hill was slow enough that I had plenty of time to wonder about my future plans quite thoroughly. The hours that we spent crawling over the grass, dirt and mud was enough to let night begin her steady appearance on the horizon. To add onto the aggravation the crisp evening air teased at my mud-clad body.


    Lance had taken the lead, a fact that did little to help with my discomfort. Whenever he went still I followed suit, hoping that he knew what he was doing. Prior to the start of this odd mission to infiltrate the nest Adam had told me to believe in his brother, but I barely knew the man.


    When we reached one of the dark holes that lead into the nest Lance came to a stop, and with one hand motioned for me to do the same. A dark figure loomed within the shadowed interior, what I could only assume was a guard. The fact that it had failed to notice our approach only showed how horrid the creature was at it¡¯s assigned task.


    A noise to the right and the dark blob shifted it¡¯s attention away from the front. When the gaze of the shifter turned back to our direction a golden hand floated in the air before it¡¯s face. Before the monster could hope to cry out in warning the hand grabbed hold of it¡¯s head and smashed it into the ground.


    We both rose from the muddy ground and darted to the open entrance as more hands formed about the shifter guard. By the time we had passed through to the interior the sound of bones breaking could no longer be heard, the hands crafted from my magic dissipated into thin air.


    What greeted us on the inside was the complete opposite of what I had anticipated. Rather than a small and dark tunnel, the pathways of the nest were wide enough for three people. The height of each tunnel was twice what one would expect, a waste of space in my opinion. The most intriguing aspect of the nest hallways were the fungus patches that grew throughout it, each patch producing dim light.


    ¡°How are we going to find this spy?¡± I whispered to Lance.


    ¡°That ain¡¯t too hard, leave it to me,¡± Lance responded as he strode ahead, confidence obvious with each step.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    For a long time we walked through the tunnels that wound through the nest. I could feel a slight incline in the paths, and a few curves, which meant we were heading down deeper into the ground. Every time we came to a junction we would pause before Lance moved on. Though I couldn¡¯t tell how he picked where to go, the fact that he walked so confidently only helped to bolster my belief.


    Somehow we evaded contact with the enemy shifters. While we had rolled around in mud to hide our scent it was still odd. If what Lance had told me was right, and the sense of smell from a shifter was extreme to the point of detecting even clothes, how had we avoided them?


    At one point we paused near an entrance into a large subterranean room. I could only guess that it was their version of a larder, as it was filled with dead animals that were in the middle of being bled. There were a couple of shifters that stood in the room, but their backs were turned to the door.


    What bothered me the most about what I saw in that room was that one of the guards wasn¡¯t any type of animal I could recognize. Instead it looked like he had somehow created a new form, something that I hadn¡¯t known they could do. I could only hope it wouldn¡¯t become a problem in the near future.


    After we walked past the larder we reached yet another intersection. It was then that Lance grabbed my arm and pulled me back, one hand lifted to his mouth to signify a need for silence. I didn¡¯t struggle against the pull, but for a moment I couldn¡¯t figure out why he¡¯d done that. A few seconds later I barely made out the sound of some sort of creatures approaching the intersection.


    We sat there tucked around the corner, hidden as best we could be in the tunnel, while a small group of shifters slithered through the corridor near us. Out of all of the available paths they luckily chose one that we weren¡¯t on. Lance remained still for a few seconds longer before he returned to the intersection.


    Whenever I attempted to engage with a quick and quiet conversation with Lance he hushed me into silence. For once his gaze was serious and gone was the silly man from the previous floors. It was a reversal I could only consider caused by the amount of danger we were in.


    Another hole in the tunnel came up on our left and we approached it slowly. Lance slipped up to the edge of it, peered inside, and then stepped back over to me. ¡°There¡¯s nine in there,¡± he whispered to me in a voice so quiet I could barely even hear it.


    ¡°And the spy?¡±


    ¡°In there as well. The room is a sleeping area with lots of space, think you can do that hand thing on all of them?¡±


    ¡°Let me take a look,¡± I slipped past him and peeked into the darkened room.


    What lay within was far removed from what I considered a sleeping chamber. The condition inside the bedroom was spartan to the point of idiocy, with no form of cushioning on the grounds except for a few leaves brought in from outside. A shifter had dug out shallow holes in the floor to serve as the beds, of which many were full.


    Each of the shifters was a dark ball of fur and scales, a hybridization of a bear and some sort of lizard. The taloned paws coupled with their pronounced snouts extending out from an ursine face made for a surreal animal. Their overall size was larger than what a normal man would be, but thankfully smaller than some of the beasts I¡¯d run across in the past.


    ¡°They¡¯re too far away from the door,¡± I informed Lance when I pulled back from the doorway, ¡°I could throw my hands at them but they¡¯d be able to react to them before they get there.¡±


    ¡°Gotta fight, eh?¡± Lance growled as he glared at the doorway.


    ¡°What about the spy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle her, let''s clear out the other idiots first.¡±


    ¡°How do I recognize which one is the spy?¡±


    ¡°I can handle that easy.¡±


    ¡°Want me to make a weapon for you?¡±


    ¡°Naw.¡± Lance waved me off. ¡°Ain¡¯t gonna need that.¡±


    He stepped away from me and walked through the doorway of the bedroom. Unclothed, unarmed, and coated with mud he had no problem confidently striding into the view of all the shifters. While most of them were asleep a couple were still aware enough that they noticed his arrival.


    ¡°Isa! It¡¯s time to go!¡± Lance almost yelled, even as he casually punched a nearby shifter in the head before it could finish standing up.


    My ability to watch Lance faltered after that point as three of the shifters rose from their resting places. Each of them lunged at me with no finesse or subterfuge. Before the three could hope to even reach me I had already summoned two short swords into my hands.


    The golden blades sliced through the body of the first shifter, which slumped to the ground with that single attack. His brethren ignored the death and came at me, their claws swiping with what I considered an obvious lack of experience. A quick flick of one of my swords knocked askew one of the claws, and I also sidestepped the other attack. I pushed off of my right foot, extending my sword deep into the nearest of the two shifters, and impaled him through where I hoped his heart was.


    The shifter let out a wet gurgle as blood poured from the corners of it¡¯s misshapen mouth. As I slide the sword free from the chest and turned my attention to the remaining shifter who¡¯d attacked me. After I¡¯d so readily dispatched it¡¯s ally it had opted to pull back, but only a few feet. Behind it two more shifters moved in to join it, and so I went from a one on one to a somewhat unfair fight once again.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m not too lucky,¡± I muttered, since I had to deal with five of the nine.


    Two of the three began to stalk toward me, their bodies low to the ground. With each step their bodies rippled and the flesh seemed to crawl randomly across their bodies, though their black eyes never once moved from me. I brandished my twin swords in front of me, taking on a more defensive posture as I waited for one of the shifters to make another mistake.


    What came next caught not only myself, but all of the shifters, by surprise. A single long blade extended through the head of the two shifters in front of me, the blade itself originating from the hand of the shifter behind them. It had extended out the fingertips and pierced it¡¯s allies, and even as I struggled to adjust to this the shifter whipped it¡¯s hand from side to side. The motion caused the extended fingers to slice the heads in half.


    The remaining shifter in front of me stood up straight and it¡¯s body began to ripple. Soon enough a form that looked almost like a human with clothing replaced the strange bear-lizard hybrid. Long black boots stretched up pure white knees, while the almost translucent legs ran up until they vanished beneath a black skirt. The skirt itself hugged so tight that it looked like it was part of the skin itself. A white belt ran around the waist, while the black bodice held back a chest that was obviously exaggerated.


    A mask covered the face of the shifter, one that looked to be made of a bronze-hued metal with ruby dust etched into it. Across the entire mask swirled intricate patterns that looked to hold no purpose, though I knew what it was supposed to do. A pure white hand reached up to the mask and removed it. The face that was revealed was that of a youthful girl with crimson lips, red eyes, and hair that had been styled short and wild.


    ¡°What are you doing here!¡± the girl yelled as she turned away from me.


    Thanks to that I was reminded of Lance and so I turned to survey what had happened. What I saw was the mud-caked man splattered with shifter blood, along with fresh four corpses. In truth I hadn¡¯t expected that he would¡¯ve won against them, but somehow he proved me wrong.


    ¡°Shut up, Isa,¡± Lance shook his hands to remove some of the excess blood that covered them. ¡°Viva sent us.¡±


    ¡°Mother.¡± Isa spat on the ground. ¡°Why¡¯d she send you, and what¡¯s this little one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an Elf,¡± I told her.


    The fact that she was the daughter of Viva registered but didn¡¯t matter much. Instead the mask that she held in one hand continued to garner my interest, the intricate design significantly similar to what Pierre had utilized in the past. Yet I could make out alterations, shifts in the swirls and patterns that most definitely resulted in a different effect.


    ¡°The Bloods contacted Viva,¡± Lance said, ¡°apparently they wanted the Dopples to stay out of a fight for this nest. She said yes, but that means you¡¯ll get caught in the crossfire.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense, she wouldn¡¯t want to lose her precious toy.¡± Isa casually waved the mask in her hand, her face contorted into a look of disgust.


    A tremble ran through the ground, a hint at something quite unpleasant, as the sound of shifters echoed from the tunnel outside the room. ¡°I think we need to leave,¡± I commented.


    ¡°You and Isa head for the portal, I¡¯ll lead them away,¡± Lance stated as he motioned at his blood splattered body, ¡°they¡¯ll be able to follow me anywhere with this. I¡¯ll draw them away before hopping into that stream outside.¡±


    ¡°Good, bye, try not to die,¡± Isa flippantly said to Lance while she started to walk out of the cavernous room, ¡°you coming Elf guy?¡±


    ¡°Wait, Lance, are you sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Tch. Ain¡¯t nothing to it,¡± Lance told me before he grinned wide, ¡°keep Isa safe, I won¡¯t forgive you if anything happens to her.¡±


    When I left the room I paused at the door to look back over my shoulder at Lance, yet the man retained his calm demeanor. ¡°Good luck,¡± I told him.


    Ahead of me Isa had already walked down the hallway. She had a confident strut and didn¡¯t spare a glance at me when I started to walk next to her. Instead she was focused on the walls and tunnel, eyes narrowed while her head was cocked to the side. Through the whole of the nest the howl of the shifters resounded.


    ¡°Figures, a few dozen already on their way down,¡± Isa muttered.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t just leave Lance behind, he can¡¯t fight that many alone,¡± I discarded the gold swords which caused them to vanish into thin air, and the blood that had been on them dropped to the floor, ¡°he came all this way to help you after all.¡±


    It was a comment that made Isa stop in her tracks and twist around to face me. ¡°Look here, Elf thing.¡± Isa flailed the mask at me as though she planned to smack me with it. ¡°Lance can handle everything just fine, we need worry about someone getting this mask instead!¡±


    ¡°What makes you so confident he can take on dozens of shifters alone?¡±


    Isa laughed as she straightened her back, while her free hand lifted up to cover her mouth. ¡°Wow he didn¡¯t tell you anything did he? Figures. There¡¯s no way my brother can die so easily.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 12 - A Moonlit Walk

    While we walked down the dimly lit tunnel I thought on what Isa had revealed to me. It was a bold claim to say he was her brother, given how long I¡¯d spent with him. She was a shifter and if they were actual siblings it would mean that he was too. Yet I knew due to Lute telling me that when a shifter passed through the portal they would temporarily lose their false form, which I¡¯d never seen happen with Lance.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but brother?¡± I finally asked as I rubbed at my eyes. The fact that we were surrounded with the echoed howls of shifters didn¡¯t even disrupt my curiosity.


    ¡°You came here to help him without being told anything?¡± Isa said as she moved down a different tunnel than any Lance or I had gone through.


    ¡°The brothers were quite adamant about helping out Viva,¡± I commented while conveniently leaving out the fact that I planned to use this to my advantage later. It would prove easier to coerce them into stopping at the oracle on floor thirty-eight if they owed me a favor.


    ¡°Lance sure.¡± Isa gave the mask in her hand a quick shake. ¡°Viva wants this though.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why would she care about some mask?¡± I feigned ignorance. Though I could recognize the mask and knew the origin there had been changes made that made me curious.


    Our conversation was disrupted as from around the curve in the path ahead two figures bounded out. The sudden appearance of the shifters caused both Isa and I to freeze, while the shifters themselves glared at us with open hostility. Before Isa could make any type of move I lifted up my right arm to stop her from advancing.


    ¡°Stay back, you¡¯ll just get in the way,¡± I told her while I raised my left hand.


    A crackle of electricity ran from my shoulder down my arm and to my hand. A single golden shaft emerged from my palm and shot out down the hall to where the shifters were, and then it split into two pieces that shunted into the walls on opposite sides. They served as a source for my lightning, as that end of the tunnel turned into a veritable cage of electricity.


    The reason I had opted for such a widespread attack was made obvious when the shifter on the left twisted his body. A sound as the bones warped beneath the muscle and skin was audible even over the noise of the electrical burst, the desperate shifter hurting himself in a vain attempt to avoid the magical attack. In the end his attempts to escape my attack were a failure as the storm devoured both of the shifters.


    While the freshly made corpses smoked near the bend in the tunnel I turned my attention back to Isa. Her eyes were wide while the mask she held with one hand had been clutched close to her ample chest. The red eyes turned to look at me, one eyebrow lifted, as she attempted to word her jumbled thoughts.


    ¡°We¡¯d better hurry up,¡± I gently reminded her.


    The words shook away the confusion that had so readily seized her. Isa strode down the tunnel with a hint more speed than before. As she walked past the corpses of the shifters she spared them a look, a shudder visible on her thin shoulders. ¡°Can all you Elf things do that?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m one of a kind.¡±


    ¡°I can see why Lance brought you along,¡± Isa spoke up, ¡°why¡¯d someone of your caliber be helping my little brother?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m merely trying to look after my family.¡±


    Ahead of us the tunnel once more had what looked to be an intersection, though as we drew closer the fact that one of the pathways was actually a door into a large chamber became obvious. Within the room held a few dead animals that had been skinned, crude buckets placed beneath the hung bodies.


    ¡°You have kids?¡±


    ¡°Two daughters,¡± I said with a nod of my head, ¡°we were separated and the brothers are helping me reunite with them.¡±


    Another bend in the tunnel brought us to a straight hallway that inclined upward. From behind the sound of howls continued to resound, though no shifters could be heard chasing after us. Throughout the turmoil of noises I was unable to make out any sign that Lance had been caught.


    ¡°You¡¯d risk your life for your family?¡± Isa¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t help but betray the surprise she felt at that.


    ¡°Always.¡± I stepped over a cluster of large rocks that had fallen from the ceiling at some previous point. ¡°Their mother would never forgive me if I left them alone.¡±


    ¡°I wish all mothers thought like that.¡±


    We walked on in silence after that, as the path ahead of us twisted and splintered numerous times. On the way in I had felt the nest was far too close to a maze for my taste, but the return to the surface only hammered in the feeling. I could only theorize it was a defensive measure built into the nest.


    ¡°You know,¡± Isa spoke up without warning, ¡°if it ain¡¯t for this mask I doubt Viva would have sent anyone to recover me.¡±


    It was a sort of comment that I didn¡¯t know how to respond to. So all I could do was look at her and wait.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°You know, no you don¡¯t, but you know, my brother ain¡¯t even a proper shifter. He¡¯s a halfie.¡±


    It was obvious how surprised I was to hear that since Isa giggled at me. ¡°I didn¡¯t know shifters even mingled with other races like that.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t, but Viva had a plan, she needed a tool,¡± Isa¡¯s tone became noticeably darker while she spoke, ¡°she used the Dopples to find any humans and then she...well you know.¡±


    Before I could say anything in response Isa continued on, ¡°I was still a kid, but even I knew what she was doing wasn¡¯t right.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t do anything to stop her,¡± I pointed out in an attempt to console her.


    ¡°Yeah, ¡®sides when Lance found out what she¡¯d done he took off.¡± Isa gave a small laugh, though her eyes still had a flare of anger to them. ¡°Found that Adam fellow. Didn¡¯t see Lance until eight years later.¡±


    Isa¡¯s left hand lifted up to get my attention, while she motioned with her right at a doorway on the right side of the tunnel. Her finger moved to her mouth to signify a need for silence. A second later her body rippled and shifted to what looked to be a harder skin.


    We both quietly approached the door and Isa looked in first. A second later she let out a sigh of relief, and then started to walk in. ¡°It¡¯s clear, come on.¡±


    ¡°What are we doing here, we need to get out of the nest?¡± I asked as I followed after her.


    It was a storehouse of some sort with numerous shelves made of wood shoved up against the walls. Crude clay pots along with buckets littered the open sections, each of which was filled with berries or herbs.


    ¡°I always planned to get out of here in a hurry,¡± Isa replied while she strode to the wall.


    Her fingernails stretched out into long claws, and she used them to rip a large rock out of the wall. It slammed onto the floor next to her, revealing a tunnel that was large enough for a grown man to crawl through.


    Before we could even get into the tunnel a cry came from behind us. I turned and saw a shifter in the doorway, and with a quick flick of my hand I threw a golden knife into the chest of the beast. When it struck the knife let out a burst of electricity, and so the shifter collapsed without making another noise.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Isa called out to me. Her body rippled and twisted as she turned into a thick serpent. Her new form easily slipped into the tunnel and moved on ahead without any further words.


    Before I crawled into the hole after her I gathered a ball of light in my hand. When I dove in the hole the ball exploded behind me, the main direction of the explosion directed up into the ceiling. By the time I was a good distance the path back had been blocked off, at least enough that they¡¯d need to spend some time digging at it.


    When I emerged from the nest I drew in a quick breath of the cool air. I pushed myself up out of the hole, covered in grime, and smiled at the open sky above me. The moon hung above and bathed everything in a white light, and I had to fight the urge to spread my arms and bathe in it.


    ¡°Hey Elf, where we supposed to go?¡±


    Isa¡¯s question drew my attention back to her. She¡¯d changed out of her serpent form and taken on her human aspect, but she¡¯d made a few changes. Her body was slimmer, and her ears had been extended. The overall bone structure had been altered to resemble an Elf more than a human.


    ¡°We need to head for the portal, which was that way,¡± I said as I pointed in the direction I¡¯d confirmed prior to entering the nest, ¡°and my name is Fenix.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m Isa, though Lance already said that,¡± Isa hopped down the muddy hillside, ¡°come on! The guards will find us soon.¡±


    I ran down the hill after her, both of us abandoning stealth, as we headed in the direction of the stream. Beyond the frigid stream a forest spattered with thick oak could be seen. While I could not see it I knew that even further was a canyon that lead to where the portal.


    After we splashed through the stream the night air grew to have a harsher bite to it. The crisp cool air poked at my exposed skin without a hint of mercy. The fact that I was still completely unclothed only added to my discomfort. From behind we could hear a few cries from the exterior of the nest as some of the shifters realized that the intruders had escaped.


    The trees blocked out most of the moonlight, and it became so dark that even my eyes could barely see. Isa walked without any issues as her shifter nature allowed her to adapt quick enough, and so she took the lead while I tried to follow. There was one tactic I could have used to see but I had no interest in lighting up the forest.


    We had barely gone into the forest when the sound of pursuit reached our ears. To the left and the right pairs of felines darted through the trees, low to the ground, and long and large enough to dwarf a regular human. I¡¯d encountered those types of animals before on another floor, and I knew from their behavior they were shifters in disguise.


    The shifters came in from both sides, a simple pincer maneuver. Yet when they got in close instead of an attack they blocked our front, their mouths open as they let out long hisses. Isa and I came to a stop, and she in turn hissed back at the shifters.


    ¡°Isa, be careful,¡± I warned her while I lifted up my hands, palms facing outward, ¡°keep your eyes on the left, I¡¯ll take the others.¡±


    Four hostile shifters would make for four targets, and as I had only two eyes I could not keep my gaze on all four at the same time. I gave up on my backside and prepared to handle two of the four personally.


    There was no incantation nor flick of the wrist, no trick that would warn the shifters of what was to come. Instead a burst of light erupted from my palms with such brilliance that the shifters could only cry out in pain, their bodies flinching instinctively away. Before they could recover I swung my hands out to the side, then brought them back forward.


    What formed in the wake of my hand movements were two large blades. The blades swung in from both sides and cut the two shifters right through the middle. Before their bisected bodies hit the ground I turned to check on Isa.


    Isa had already finished off one of the shifters and thrown herself at the other. With the mask discarded to the grass she rolled around, hissing and spitting, while she tried to tear at the throat of the enemy shifter. More monster than animal their bodies rippled as they grew extra limbs and tried to slash at each other, a tangle of what could only be called tentacles and hardened skin.


    It had only been a span of ten or twenty seconds before Isa finished her fight with the second shifter. She stood up and her entire body rippled, the familiar human form she so favored appearing once more. Before Isa did anything else she stopped to study the wounds on her body, injuries that remained even after she¡¯d changed her form.


    ¡°We need to find something to bandage that,¡± I walked over to her, ¡°it¡¯d be bad if you collapsed from blood loss right now.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t a problem.¡± Isa lifted her arm up so I could clearly see one of the cuts on it. As I watched the flesh acted almost like a thread and needle to create a stitch as expertly done as any I¡¯d personally sewn.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s nice, can all shifters do that?¡±


    ¡°Only the smart ones.¡± Isa ran her hand gently over where the wound had been, as though to test to make sure it was knitted together properly, before the rest of her cuts received the same treatment.


    A figure burst out of the darkness of the forest, their form caught in a few shafts of moonlight that pierced the forest top. At a glimpse I could see red hair, ears that resembled a fox, and hands that had shaped into claws. The face was familiar but at the same time one I hadn¡¯t expected to see at that moment.


    ¡°Lance,¡± I said to him with a nod, while I tried to look at his body to see any other alterations he¡¯d made.


    ¡°I thought I smelled Isa, are you alright?¡± Lance said as he walked in closer to us. With a shake of his hands the claws shifted back to normal even as his ears reverted.


    ¡°Fine just a bit banged up.¡± Isa walked over to the mask and scooped it back up off of the ground. ¡°You lost the others?¡±


    ¡°Left a trail of blood off to where Viva said the Bloods are coming,¡± Lance said as he brushed past the two of us and started to walk in the direction of the canyon, ¡°doubled back, but you two made a mess so there ain¡¯t no way they don¡¯t know someone went this way.¡±


    ¡°You did a bad job as decoy,¡± Isa told him while she quickly followed after.


    The two of them were dark figures that melted into the forest ahead of me. For a short while I stood behind and watched them leave, my gaze instead moving to the defeated shifter corpses near us. The way they had changed was something none of us ever expected, a change that would either bode fortune for their race or ruin.


    ¡°If only Lute could have seen this,¡± I murmured to myself.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 13 - The Departure Of Isa

    We emerged from the forest with a canyon ahead of us, a dark scar in the moonlight that looked as uninviting as it always had. From one end of the canyon to the other there was no life to be found. Not even insects bothered with it, as though driven away by something within.


    As we approached the canyon part of the ground lifted up as someone emerged from the dirt. All three of us went on alert, prepared in case it was a shifter ambush.


    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s me,¡± Adam called out, his one hand lifted up as though to ward off any potential attack.


    Adam was draped in a blanket that he had covered with dirt and pebbles to help blend in with the ground. He had taken some mud and covered his face to help darken his skin and diffuse his scent.. After he¡¯d revealed himself he took the blanket off and started to roll it up, though not before he shook loose the dirt and rocks that had been on it.


    ¡°Nice to see you again, Isa,¡± Adam told her while he worked on the blanket, ¡°is that Viva¡¯s mask?¡±


    ¡°Adam! You¡¯re thinner,¡± Isa said with a wide smile.


    Adam gave a small grin in response to Isa, and then he motioned to the canyon. ¡°Follow me, walk where I walk. Giln and I laid some traps.¡±


    He led us down a small path, the incline steeper than what I remembered from my last time here. Adam pointed out a few marks on the ground at random intervals to let us know where the traps were. I had a smidgen of temptation to step on one to see what kind of traps shifters would use.


    ¡°What if they fly in?¡± I wondered aloud.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t going to happen,¡± Isa responded, ¡°flying is a big pain so most shifters don¡¯t bother learning.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lance stepped up close to me to avoid one of the mine locations.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said as I turned my face away from him, ¡°just muttering to myself.¡±


    ¡°Over here,¡± Adam called from ahead as he pointed at a cluster of boulders, ¡°I left your clothing here, Giln¡¯s up ahead with the girls.¡±


    Once I reached the boulders I grabbed my bag and started to put my clothes back on. ¡°Are Kuzu and Lisa alright?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fine, though your daughter won¡¯t stay quiet.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s young.¡±


    ¡°All we need to do is get her to the portal, right?¡± I inquired of the brothers as I slipped my sword belt on.


    ¡°Yes, Giln will escort her back to Viva.¡± Adam motioned down the canyon. ¡°Shall we proceed?¡±


    ¡°Viva,¡± Isa gave a derisive snort before she strode ahead of us all.


    ¡°She really hates her mother doesn¡¯t she?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t a shock,¡± Lance said, ¡°Viva has a habit of using people for her own motives.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good ally for humans.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± Adam chimed in as we started to follow after Isa, ¡°Viva goes out of her way to help humans when possible.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Isa told me that she took a guy in order to...¡± my line of thought started to trail off as I looked pointedly at Lance.


    ¡°Sis exaggerates things,¡± Lance told me, ¡°ain¡¯t no kidnapping or nothing.¡±


    ¡°Oh that story,¡± Adam said, ¡°Lance¡¯s father was just a regular guy who Viva managed to seduce. He left a few weeks later a very happy man.¡±


    ¡°Found him once but eh, who cares about him?¡± Lance gave a shake of his head. ¡°Ain¡¯t my dad anymore than Viva¡¯s my mom.¡±


    While Adam, Lance, and I chatted back and forth we approached the location of the portal. The serene sphere floated a foot off of the ground in a wide patch of the canyon. The canyon walls stretched up high on both sides and cut off most of the moonlight, while the floor of the canyon was flat and easy to walk across.


    Kuzu stood off to the left of the portal, ears flattened against her head while she stared up at the night sky. The goosebumps up and down her arms made it obvious the cold had gotten to her. With her arms tucked in close to her body she breathed out a small burst of vapor.


    Lisa on the other hand showed no problem with how cool the air was. Instead she ran around the portal in circles with her arms extended out. With loud laughter she constantly darted away from the darkly clothed Giln who playfully ran after her. At no point did he ever give off an aura of someone who wanted to catch her, instead he seemed intent on keeping her occupied while he waited for us.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    With our arrival Lisa let out a shout of joy before she turned away from the portal. When she saw me she darted over, and as she came within range I scooped her up. ¡°Daddy!¡± she cried out happily with a hug around the neck.


    ¡°Are you being a good girl?¡± I carried her as I walked to the portal.


    ¡°Of course I am! Ask Gilly!¡±


    Giln turned to look at us, one dark eye visible amongst a mass of hair that looked akin to tendrils. He gave the smallest of nods before his attention shifted to Isa. No words were spoken by the pair, instead they walked to the portal and held out their hand to the white sphere.


    ¡°Lance,¡± Isa called out as she looked over her shoulder, ¡°make sure you visit sometime soon. I ain¡¯t happy with you constantly avoiding me!¡±


    Lance gave what could only be called a half-hearted shrug. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he responded to his sister before he gave a quick wave of her hand, ¡°scoot home, I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Isa said with a grin, ¡°you take care of yourself too, Elf. Was fun while it lasted.¡±


    Right before Isa vanished via the portal she gave me a quick wink. It was an act that caused the brothers to look at me, and I could feel a glare from Kuzu from behind. I shivered a little at the intensity of the glare.


    ¡°What?¡± I finally asked her, as I turned to look at her.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Kuzu muttered before she strode over to the portal and activated it.


    From behind an explosion stopped any further conversation, and it was the first of many that followed in quick succession. In unison we all ran for the portal, pushing our hands eagerly on the sphere. Even Lisa, who had wrapped her arms around my neck, knew to let go because of the urgency of our situation.


    <hr>


    Floor 32


    An Innocent Hallway


    <hr>


    When we appeared on the next floor there was only darkness. As though our presence was the trigger lights flared into existence. Brazier lined the walls of the long and wide hallway we¡¯d appeared in, but it was only near us that any were lit. The light revealed the white wall and the dark floor, all of which were hard enough that even with my strongest magic I couldn¡¯t hope to pierce through it.


    Astride the braziers on the walls were carefully crafted statues of the various animals found within the labyrinth. Each statue had a mirror of itself on the opposite side of the hallway. Along the floor and walls slits were barely discernible and interspersed at random.


    ¡°Do you know about the qualities of this floor?¡± Adam asked as he adjusted his monocle.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kuzu responded with a nod.


    ¡°Not really!¡± Lisa chimed in with a wide smile on her face.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re staying in my arms,¡± I told my daughter as I scooped her up, ¡°lead the way, Adam.¡±


    Adam gave me a nod before he approached the first noticeable mark in the floor. His pistol and rifle had been put away as they¡¯d be useless here. Gone was any confidence in his walk, instead an extreme caution was easy to see with his hesitant steps that took what felt like forever.


    The reason for his caution became obvious when a crescent blade swept up from one of the slits in the ground. Before he could be cut apart by the sharp edge his brother reached over and dragged Adam backward. ¡°Maybe you ain¡¯t the best idea for leader right now,¡± Lance said as he tossed his brother to Kuzu.


    Lance strode through the hallway and into what was the trap area without hesitation. His legs swung smoothly, boots stepping down on spots where no slits could be seen, while he grinned at what I could only assume was the joy of his near suicidal actions. After three steps a loud click emitted from the right wall and a silver arrow shot out at Lance. With a swing of his arm Lance knocked aside the arrow, his arm guard not even scratched, while he continued to walk forward unperturbed by the trap.


    Adam shadowed his brother, though he gave him plenty of space, and Kuzu followed along after Adam. While the group moved down the hall I remained where I was and instead studied the architecture. The statues and braziers were inset into the wall, and not a single inch of anything protruded out.


    Along the ceiling were numerous engravings in the unusual stone, engravings that were some type of symbols that were indecipherable. It was only thanks to my interactions with Lute that I knew what they were, though she had never taught me exactly what each one meant. A dead language that predated the labyrinth itself she¡¯d called it.


    A brazier near Adam fell as though pushed by an invisible hand. The green flames spread outward, a wave that threatened to incinerate him in the span of seconds. As he recoiled in caution a sheet of ice erupted from the ground in front of Adam, a semi-circle wall of cold that stretched to the ceiling.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Adam said as he cast a grateful look to Kuzu.


    The only response she gave was a flick of her right ear before she motioned for him to keep moving.


    Out of the three it was Adam who had the worst luck with the traps. Whether it was a pendulum that swung from the ceiling or a spike that extended from the wall, Adam managed to consistently find himself in danger of dying. If not for the awareness of Kuzu and Lance he never would have survived the hallway.


    Lance found the hallway to be more of an entertainment than a test. After he¡¯d deflected a few arrows he even went so far as to try and catch some. Each one he managed to snag out of the air he pocketed in his bag, though I had no clue why he would do such a thing.


    To call Kuzu impressive was almost an insult, so beyond the Wolfe brothers that not a single trap activated. Silent steps that touched lightly on the ground, her presence was as ethereal as a ray of light slipping through the curtains. The hallway couldn¡¯t even detect her as she flitted along after Lance and Adam.


    When the trio finally reached the portal Adam let out a long sigh of relief. Lance patted his brother on the shoulder before he turned to check on Kuzu. It was then that he noticed that neither I nor Lisa had gone beyond the start point of the hallway.


    ¡°What you doing there? Hurry up!¡± Lance shouted with a frown.


    ¡°Theo! Lisa!¡± Kuzu cried out as she pointed behind me.


    I could hear them as soon as they appeared on the floor, the breath and movements of two fresh arrivals. When I glanced back I saw two pale and featureless bodies, the telltale sign of a shifter in their original form. Even as I watched they started to twist and change, taking on a hybridization of ursine and reptilian design.


    Down the length of the hall I could see in almost slow motion as Kuzu started to move back to Lisa and I. Lance only stood there, his face a mixture of anger and concern. Adam had started to shoulder his rifle as he planned to use it to defend me against the shifters.


    I took a step forward while behind me the two shifters let loose beastial cries. It was easy enough to hear their movements as they edged in closer, one even swinging what I suspected was a paw at my backside.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste the ammo,¡± I said as I put one hand on Adam¡¯s rifle, lightly pushing down the barrel.


    In the matter of a few steps I¡¯d walked down the full length of the hallway, a trail of electricity left in my wake. Even then it felt slow to me, a far cry from what I¡¯d been able to do in the past, and when I directed my senses inward I could tell I¡¯d drained a lot more of my magic than I¡¯d anticipated.


    Lance¡¯s mixed face had turned to one of shock as he backed away from me, confused for a few seconds. Even Adam and Kuzu recoiled momentarily in surprise when I appeared next to them. Behind me down the length of the hallway a crackle of electricity could be heard, a thin light line of lightning traced in a straight line in my wake. There was only a single deviation in the line near the center of the hallway.


    It was the keen eyed Kuzu who made note of that strange alteration in the course of my path. She lifted one finger up and pointed at it, head cocked to the side inquisitively. Near where I¡¯d curved my path down the hallway one of the statues that lined the walls was broken, the top part smashed at such a fast velocity that the fragments scattered the full length of the hallway.


    The pair of shifters stared down the hallway at me before they released a howl of frustration. One of them started to walk forward, but grew hesitant when the sound of stone shifting against stone resounded through the floor. The corridor started to shrink, or rather the ceiling began to descend, which forced the two shifters to back into the spawn area. It was only there and at the portal where the ceiling did not descend.


    I brushed past the others and stepped up to the portal, free hand reaching up to touch against the white sphere. ¡°We should move along before the reset is over,¡± I told the others.


    ¡°The hell was that!¡± Lance shouted at me as he pointed in the direction of the crumpling hallway.


    Kuzu came up next to me and put her hand on the portal as well. For that brief moment she¡¯d been surprised, but she already knew that I could move significantly faster than a regular person.


    ¡°Lisa, put your hand on the portal. We¡¯re going to the next floor,¡± I said in a gentle tone to her.


    From behind us the sound of the descending ceiling continued to sound out, a sound that brought a chill down my spine. I had seen people in the past fall victim to traps like that and never expected to use it to shake off a pursuit. However I pushed away those bad memories and instead focused on the portal.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 14 - Fire And Ice

    The room was circular in design, though in truth it was more of a cylinder with an absurd height. Long tendrils of gems hung down from a darkened distant ceiling. The gems were suspended into the purple lighting that illuminated the main section of the chamber. In the cardinal directions four pillars made from diamond held up the distant roof.


    The black wall had portraits embedded directly into it, colored not with paint but instead with jewels. Each portrait was of a different eminence that had once lead the Architects. Around the inner part of the chamber stood statues that were in honor of some of the greatest of their society. Each one had eyes made from rubies, white hair that had been created thanks to a white jewel, and a body made of diamond.


    Even with all of those works of art none of them mattered to me. Instead all I cared about were the two people near me. One was a flawless woman who cradled the other in her arms, though the one she held had already died. The ever present smile I had grown accustomed to seeing had vanished, along with his life. His chest was all one had to see to understand why as it had been ripped open.


    ¡°Pierre,¡± I murmured as I stared at his body. Out of all the people I¡¯d travelled with he¡¯d been the one I most would¡¯ve wanted to call brother.


    His heart hit the floor with a wet sound and the momentum of that fall caused it to roll toward Pierre and Lute. My eyes tracked to where it¡¯d come from, to the male figure who was at least a foot taller than myself. The familiar sight of red eyes and white hair made it easy enough to know what exactly he was.


    The Architect had a bored expression on his face as he stared at the blood on his hand. The red liquid slowly started to slide down toward his wrist and the long sleeve of the white shirt he wore. As though uninterested in my very existence he paid no attention to me and instead glanced at one of the two other Architects who stood near him.


    ¡°Feculent blemish,¡± the man uttered in a hoarse voice as he flicked his hand at the ground, the blood on it splattering against the hard surface.


    The other two Architects began to chortle at that comment. The one on his left was taller than him, but thinner and almost sickeningly pale. The other was a female Architect draped in a silk dress embroidered with emeralds.


    ¡°Why!¡± I bellowed at the Architects.


    Without a thought I had already gripped the hilt of my sword with my right hand, while the left began to point in the direction of the trio. The sensation of magic as it began to surge from within tingled down the length of my arm. All around the statues that had been so carefully crafted hundreds of years ago cracked loudly and started to crumble to the ground.


    ¡°Irksome presence.¡± The central Architect showed no concern about my growing fury, though his friends had stopped their laughter.


    ¡°Markov said this was a safe place! That you all were peaceful!¡±


    ¡°Markov,¡± the man said his name with a sneer, ¡°dysfunctional miscreant.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I demanded of the mysterious Architect.


    The blood stained hand lifted in my direction while a flicker of something flashed in the air. What appeared to be slivers of metal appeared one by one and coalesced around a central image. The rate at which it gathered was almost too fast for me to even realize it had been formed on the spot, the total construction of the object requiring a mere two seconds. When it was all finished a powerful looking handgun was held in the grasp of the murderer, and the weapon had been aimed at the weeping Lute.


    ¡°Helim,¡± was what the Architect said right before he pulled the trigger.


    <hr>


    Floor 33


    A Frigid Affair


    <hr>


    When I woke up from my dream the chill had already seeped deep into my body. Even with a small fire lit within our small cave it could barely hold back the cold. At some point in the night Lisa and Kuzu had crowded in close to me, while the Wolfe brothers had taken up residence as close to the flames as they could get.


    I detached myself from the girls and stepped over Kuzu so I could get closer to the firepit. Adam glanced up and gave me a nod, though Lance remained asleep. I knelt down next to the flames and held my hands out to the heat, as though begging for a bit of warmth.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Adam whispered.


    ¡°Fine, just fine,¡± I glanced at the entrance to the cave. The sound of the blizzard outside was a constant reminder of how we couldn¡¯t hope to move off from this frozen wasteland yet.


    ¡°You were mumbling a bit in your sleep, something about a Pierre.¡±


    I remained quiet for a short while as I thought on that statement. It was no surprise that I spoke in my sleep, thanks to both Lute and Kuzu I had already confirmed that habit. To agonize over every little thing I spoke of in my slumber would only be a waste of energy.


    ¡°Friend of the family.¡±


    ¡°You seem to have a few of those,¡± Adam murmured.


    ¡°I thought everyone did.¡±


    Adam scoffed at that but didn¡¯t press the matter further. Instead he focused on the firepit, the flame dancing in an almost hypnotic way, while he wrapped his arms tighter around his body. Outside the howl of the wind was an ever present reminder of how we had become bogged down on the thirty-third floor.


    ¡°Adam, why don¡¯t you take a nap,¡± I said, ¡°let me handle the night watch.¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡± Adam asked, his eyes half-closed from the weight of fatigue.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry,¡± I patted him on the shoulder to try and reassure him.


    Adam swayed beneath the pat but gave a nod in response. He stood up and walked over to a corner of the cave. From his pack Adam pulled out a thick blanket, then collapsed next to his brother.


    As he drifted off to sleep I listened to how he breathed, I waited for that moment when any pretense at being asleep would turn to reality. The weather was cold and miserable with little hope of turning to the better, a situation that could ruin my plans and cause innumerable issues for the near future.


    Once I was certain that everyone was asleep I quietly stood up and stepped away from the firepit. The entrance continued to be a wall of wind, sleet and snow but I walked into it without hesitation. The frost layered onto my body immediately while my skin cried out at the frigid situation.


    I placed one hand on the hilt of my sword.


    ? ? ? ? ?If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    It was probably the warmth of the sunlight that woke up Kuzu, as the shafts of warmth filtered in through the cave entrance and tickled her face. She stirred slowly and in turn caused Lisa to wake up alongside her. Like a domino effect the Wolfe brothers were awakened due to the sudden activity within the cave, as Lisa stood up and let out an excited cry.


    I had taken up a spot in the doorway of the cave, back pressed upon the cool stones, with my attention focused on the tundra outside of our safe haven. Through the remainder of the night I had seen no sign of any life on the thirty-third floor, though that did not guarantee we were alone. The shifters ranged throughout the thirtieth to the thirty-sixth floors so it was never a good idea to drop your guard.


    ¡°The storm already broke?¡± Adam stood up slowly as he pressed one hand against the wall for support.


    ¡°Not too long ago, shortly after the sun came up.¡± I gave a shrug of indifference.


    ¡°Strange,¡± Adam mumbled as he peered out the cave.


    Lance clapped Adam on the back and laughed loudly, as he demonstrated a lack of concern about how fast the blizzard had vanished. ¡°Good luck ain¡¯t it? We be blessed by the Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Luck...yes.¡± Adam gave a nod of his head before he started to gather up his gear. ¡°We should make for the portal before the next storm rolls in.¡±


    Deeper in the cave Lisa darted around Kuzu while she prepared to leave. Kuzu slipped the glasses onto her face and checked the compass on her wrist, a glance in my direction the most attention she spared me.


    The exterior was a bleak flat plain of white with wisps of snow that danced in the wind. No trees could be seen nearby nor any type of animals. It was an inhospitable place that even the shifters found oppressive, a floor that encouraged everyone to move on as fast as possible.


    We trudged steadily across that white field with little to do. The entire trip I spent tensed, worried that at any moment a shifter or other creature would burst from the snow. Kuzu couldn¡¯t help but mirror me, this was a new place for her and snow was a rarity she had learned to despise. The Wolfe brothers, however, were so relaxed that I wanted to smack them upside the head.


    When the portal loomed on the horizon my daughter let out a squeal of delight before she tried to dash ahead of us all for it. I managed to scoop her up in my arms before she slipped away. She didn¡¯t struggle against me, though she did end up becoming a tad grumpy.


    ¡°There might be an ambush,¡± I reminded my daughter before I let her go.


    Lisa let out a small sigh at that comment. ¡°Fiiinnee.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, ain¡¯t nothing here,¡± Lance called over his shoulder to me.


    I glared at Lance¡¯s back, though I didn¡¯t vocalize my displeasure. It was fine by me if Lance wanted to be flippant, but when it came to my daughter I preferred caution over recklessness any day. I could only hope she didn¡¯t develop any type of bad habits due to her continual exposure to him.


    We gathered around the sphere that acted as a bridge between the floors and even still I didn¡¯t relax. I knew well enough that ambushes could happen while a group was in the midst of a transfer.


    Yet in the end we vanished peacefully from the frozen wasteland.


    <hr>


    Floor 34


    The Lava Bridge


    <hr>


    If the previous floor had been too cold than the thirty-fourth was absurdly hot. Even though we¡¯d only been on the floor for a few seconds I¡¯d already developed a thin layer of sweat. Our arrival marked the appearance of a small fog bank around us as the ice and snow melted from our bodies.


    Around our entry point were numerous rocks that reached about waist height, bumpy and uneven with no two the same. Further out was a sea of lava that never once stopped moving, no matter how much time would pass the lava was a permanent and active presence on the floor. The rocky ground we stood on, painted red by the glow of the lava, stretched out in a singular direction to where the portal was.


    It was not a complex floor, if anything it was one of the simplest in the entire labyrinth, and yet that did little to decrease the danger. Not only was the lava a threat for anyone clumsy enough to fall into it, but there were often shifters that nested amongst the rocks.


    As always happened when we arrived on a floor all of us were ready for a battle. I had Lisa pulled in close to my right side while in my left was a pistol. Kuzu had her claws out while her ears twitched, eager to hear any potential threat to us. The Wolfe brothers had weapons prepared in case we were ambushed right from the start.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t alone,¡± Lance growled in warning.


    Before I could ask how he knew that to be a fact a nearby stone began to twist. From the side of it extended a long and thin tentacle, one that was bright red and covered in small spikes. The tentacle itself swung at my head. I ducked away from it, dragging Lisa along with me, and aimed my pistol in the direction of the shifter.


    Adam proved to be the faster of us as he put two bullets in the shifter. The tentacle it had thrown at us flinched before it fell motionless to the ground. He fired a few more bullets into the now deceased threat to make certain it was dead, the noise of his gun far louder than I might have preferred.


    When my attention moved away from the now deceased threat I noticed that Lance was focused on a rock bridge ahead of us. ¡°Smell something?¡± Adam asked as he stepped in close to his brother.


    ¡°Yeah, ain¡¯t sure what though.¡±


    ¡°All the more reason for us to hurry,¡± I pointed out to the brothers.


    Lance gave a sniff at the air, and then he flashed a grin at us. With quick steps he moved over onto the land bridge that stretched over the lava. Every so often he would come to a stop, sniffing at the air like some dog, before he progressed further.


    It was when we were halfway across the bridge that four of the stones warped into a humanoid shape, tentacles tossed at us from numerous directions. I leaned to the right, hand pushing Lisa down close to the ground, while I aimed at the nearest shifter with my pistol. When my bullet lodged into the body of the shifter a large hole erupted out the backside of it.


    Kuzu dealt with her own problem in a somewhat merciless fashion, claws snapping out at the tentacles at a speed nearly impossible to follow. The bladed ends sliced through the tentacles and turned the long string into numerous chunks. Kuzu gave the shifter no chance to recover as she moved in closer with her claws aimed forward. When her body collided with the hardened body of the monster her claws dug deep into the torso, before she ripped out one of the internal organs.


    Relieved that Kuzu did not need my help I turned toward the Wolfe brothers. Adam and Lance had drawn close to one another. Any tentacles that swung in at the pair were knocked away by Lance, his daggers apparently incapable of severing them, while Adam fired his pistol numerous times at the enemy.


    What we had all forgotten about was what our little conflict would generate on this deadly floor. A few more shifters rose from their curled forms and moved in like hungry vultures to steal the prey of their fallen brethren. From behind and in front they came, all the eager to capitalize on our distracted state.


    ¡°Kuzu! Needles!¡± I cried out to the kitsune over the cacophony of the fight, a barely discernible call that I could only hope she understood.


    Kuzu finished slicing open the throat of her opponent and turned to me, one eyebrow cocked up as though she wasn¡¯t sure what I meant. It was the nod after that helped to dissuade my concerns. Her thin hands lifted up into the air in front of her and she waved them out in the direction of the distant shifters behind our group.


    Thin spears of ice formed in the air near Kuzu and shot out at the shifters she had motioned toward. Most of them pierced into the bodies of the monsters, but due to the warmth of the floor a few melted mid-flight.


    Reverberations ran across the whole of the land bridge that we stood on. The lava nearby rippled while a few of the small pebbles and rocks on the ground bounced. From off to the east I could hear a loud splash that sounded as though a mountain had fallen into the burning sea. It was a noise I was not familiar with, a fact that did not make me feel any better.


    The noise caused the shifters to pause in their attack on us, and then they scattered. Some of them curled up and tried to hide themselves amongst the rocks, but the main bulk of them ran and never stopped. It was such a shift in their aggression that I glanced at Adam and Lance for answers.


    ¡°A magma serpent,¡± Adam breathed out in a whisper filled with fear. His gaze looked to the east while his hands had begun to shake.


    Before I could ask what he meant a loud screech that made me wince filled the air. From the horizon on the east a long shape rose out of the ocean of lava, wings made of a leathery material outstretched to their fullest. The head of the creature had the look of any ordinary snake but it was easily large enough to swallow a man whole. The body looked to be heavily armored, while lava dripped freely from the nooks and crannies of the monstrosity.


    ¡°Oooh, I didn¡¯t know mom made that,¡± Lisa commented while she peered at the beast, ¡°what is it daddy?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing! Run you idiots!¡± Lance roared from ahead of us, already well on the way toward the portal.


    The yell shook the rest of us out of our stupor and brought our attention back to what was needed. All four of us followed after Lance, though I couldn¡¯t help but sneak a few peeks in the direction of the magma serpent. It was easily one of the larger creatures I had seen in the labyrinth, and one that I had never known even existed.


    I could only attribute that to the fact that whenever I¡¯d previously come here I¡¯d slipped through as fast as possible. Or perhaps it was due to the amount of activity we¡¯d generated? If it was a monster that relied less on sight and more on smell or sound than all of that fighting would¡¯ve been like a spotlight.


    It became obvious in a short amount of time that we would not outrun the magma serpent to the portal. My mind began to work at potential ways to deal with the situation, my grip on my sword tightening while my brain churned. While I could run to the portal infinitely faster than I was currently doing I could only carry one person with me, perhaps two at most. The amount of energy required to go back and forth to gather all of us would put me past or close to my limit.


    Given the dangers that the next few floors offered it was a risk that I didn¡¯t want to take. So too was another option discarded, though I¡¯d rested a bit on the previous floor I¡¯d also spent a bit too much magic. Lisa could possibly handle the magma serpent but given her lack of combat experience I¡¯d be a risk. That left me with a simple enough solution, though it meant letting the brothers see more of my abilities.


    While the others continued on I came to a halt, my feet skidding gently on the rocky ground. Far nearer than I might prefer the magma serpent continued to swim across the surface of the lava, wings folded back against the spine while it¡¯s form stayed low and partially submerged.


    Nobody noticed when I stopped, nor did they notice when I aimed my right index finger at the serpent. Kuzu was the first to stop and turn, perhaps because she didn¡¯t hear me running anymore, and so she saw the small ball of light that began to gather near the tip of my finger. As though the monster could sense that I was up to something dangerous it came to a halt, the main bulk of it¡¯s body lifting up out of the lava.


    When Adam and Lance turned around all they saw was the aftermath of my attack. Like some sort of guiding light the ball had shot out and attached to the left eye of the serpent. While the monster could only blink and recoil at what had happened a lightning bolt far stronger than what I¡¯d normally utilize struck the ball, drawn to it.


    The magma serpent let out a screech that sent a chill down my spine, my arms coated in goosebumps. The great behemoth swung it¡¯s head left and right furiously while blood burst from the erupted left eyeball. With the remaining eye it tried to glare at me, but then it noticed my other hand had lifted up and pointed at it.


    While it was a bluff, given my reserves of energy at that point, it was more than enough to spook the monster. With a loud hiss it turned and dove back into the lava. The others all let out sighs of relief as the magma serpent returned back to the east.


    ¡°I believe we won¡¯t be bothered anymore,¡± I said as I turned to the others, ¡°can we get to the next floor now?¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 15 - Fear And Rage

    <hr>


    Floor 35


    Waterfall Steps


    <hr>


    We¡¯d appeared in a pool of water that was ankle deep, with a soft running river nestled nearby. No matter where one looked all they could see was water and rocks, while waterfalls fell from numerous cliffs and hillsides. Whether it was a river, a lake, or even an ocean, all of the sections of the floor were separated by stone walls.


    Lisa giggled as she scooped up some of the water and threw it up into the air. With arms outstretched she spun around, the joy she felt easy enough to see on her face. It was impossible for us to not smile at the antics of my daughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s fish! Can we catch it?¡± Kuzu asked as she stared at them.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t a good idea,¡± Lance told her as he sheathed his daggers, ¡°the shifters on this floor don¡¯t like people hunting.¡±


    Adam adjusted his monocle as he studied the nearby water. ¡°If they act like they¡¯ve done in the past we should be able to get past without worry, but just in case let Lance and I try to talk to any shifters that show up.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you think is best,¡± I said.


    ¡°Hey, portal¡¯s that way,¡± Lance called out as he waved off to the south with his left hand. In his other hand a compass could be seen, one he¡¯d fished out from his pack.


    ¡°That¡¯s troublesome,¡± Adam said, ¡°isn¡¯t that where they camp?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we can handle it though. Doubt they forgot our last scuffle.¡±


    Adam nodded at his brother and then took the lead, heading off at a quick pace across the water. While I could recognize some of the landscape most of it had changed for some reason. One of the things that hadn¡¯t changed were the odd islands in the sky, half-buried in a wall of mist.


    The steady progress of the sun eventually dropped it beyond the horizon, and with that came the darkness of night. Adam began to have a hard time with his attempts to get through the water, though Kuzu, Lance, Lisa, and I adjusted easy enough. In the end he was forced to pull out a lantern from his pack and light it, a move that made our presence impossible to miss.


    The islands that hung in the sky, amongst the mist, became all the easier to see as we came closer to them. Though water ran off of the islands there were also forests, ones that consisted of massive trees with gnarled and thick roots. Near us the ground lifted up and formed a makeshift staircase, one that lead to the first island.


    Each of the trees was big enough that an entire ecosystem thrived on them, insects and small animals lived alongside birds within a cluster of giant mangrove trees. Though I couldn¡¯t tell at a glance I was certain that at least one of those creatures was a shifter.


    ¡°We come with no intentions to harm you or your brethren,¡± Adam suddenly called out to the trees, ¡°we seek passage to the next floor and wish to leave your home untouched.¡±


    The water near one of the trees began to bubble, a precursor to the arrival of a darkened figure. It rose up from what should have been shallow waters, a figure that easily dwarfed Lance in height. The form was slick and thin, yet humanoid in shape, but also spliced with an alligator or crocodile.


    ¡°Yet you bring strangers here without fear.¡± The elongated snout of the croc-man snapped in a fit of anger. One webbed hand lifted up to motion in the direction of Kuzu, Lisa and I. ¡°You make us look weak!¡±


    ¡°You know we can not choose where the portal appears,¡± Adam replied in an even tone, ¡°is there any way we can pass peacefully and maintain our gained trust?¡±


    The shifter stood there as he crossed his arms, his reptilian expression difficult to read. Dark figures that looked similar to the croc-man could be seen within the fog bank that surrounded us, a reminder of the trouble that a fight would cause us.


    ¡°Half your food,¡± the croc-man finally declared.


    ¡°Half of my food? I have no problem with that,¡± Adam said while he started to unsling his pack.


    ¡°You misunderstand. I meant all of you shall donate half of your food to my people.¡±


    ¡°What! That ain¡¯t going to happen!¡± Lance exclaimed as he took a step forward.


    Adam stepped in front of Lance and placed his hand on his brother¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but if we do that we can not reach our intended goal, we¡¯ll starve before then.¡±


    ¡°We can make it,¡± I said.


    ¡°What? No, we can¡¯t, we¡¯ll run out of food before floor forty!¡±


    ¡°I know a place on floor thirty-eight. Trust me.¡±


    Adam paused in his argument with me to stare. In the end he turned away with a loud sigh and grumbled a few choice words beneath his breath. The only word I could pick out was secrets, so it was obvious that he was unhappy with my withholding information.


    ¡°Fine, half of all of the food of everyone here,¡± Adam said to the shifter, ¡°so long as we have your word we can pass to the next floor without harm.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we are not savages that would abandon a deal struck,¡± the croc-man declared.


    From the fog emerged small figures that carried sacks made from an unknown fiber. Each of them stepped up to us and offered their sack, their forms lacking in any defining features. It took me a few seconds to realize that they were children, a fact that made me wonder at how assured the adults were to let them handle this task.


    Each of us in turn put our food into the bags, though when they reached Lisa she couldn¡¯t resist giving the child a hug. It was a response that nobody expected, especially me, and yet the young shifter didn¡¯t seem to hate the physical contact.


    ¡°An odd child, no food?¡± the croc-man inquired.


    ¡°An inheritance from her mother,¡± I explained, ¡°she only needs to eat when she wants to.¡±


    ¡°If only we could all be that way,¡± the shifter muttered before he gave a casual wave of his webbed hand, ¡°get on to the portal, and next time don¡¯t bring scraps with you.¡±


    Adam took the initiative to lead us past the croc-man and the children shifters. We walked through the mangrove trees and past the gnarled roots. When we reached the portal in the middle of the mangroves Adam wasted no time putting his hand on it.


    ¡°If we take too long they¡¯re liable to ignore their promise,¡± Adam warned us before he flickered out of existence.


    Without another word the rest of us started to flicker out of sight, as we transferred to the next floor via the portal. Out of all the floors I would need to contend with prior to the armory it was the one I least looked forward to.


    <hr>


    Floor 36


    The Intoxication Of Fear


    <hr>


    The first thing I saw was the nothingness around me. To be fair it would be more that I wasn¡¯t seeing anything, as there was no light present. A permanent darkness that hung like an oppressive curtain.


    Even if I tried to feel or speak out I knew that I would be unable to. Instead I waited with arms crossed, a frown on my face, for the most annoying thing in the labyrinth to show up. Is it possible for a shadow to have a shadow? For darkness to have varying degrees of black when no light is introduced?If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Those were the questions I often wondered whenever the show started on the thirty-sixth floor, as it seemed so implausible to my mind. There was no warning when around me the world rippled as though something floated beneath the surface of the shadows themselves.


    Similar perhaps to a large shark that disturbed the surface of a lake I knew what lay within, and though I could do something about it I knew the rules. When a figure started to emerge from the curtain of shadows I made no move to attack or defend myself. Instead I let out a long sigh, one brought on by annoyance.


    A figure that was familiar to me had appeared, as Pierre staggered in front of me with blood coating his body. He held out one mangled hand in my direction before he collapsed on the ground. With far too much strength for a dying man he dragged himself to me while blood continued to pool about his body.


    ¡°Why, why did you lead me to my death?¡± Pierre pleaded of me as he looked up from his spot on the floor.


    ¡°Can we move on with this?¡± I requested of the thin air in a cold tone.


    Pierre scoffed before his body dissipated in a puff of smoke that was absorbed back into the shadows. The ripples occurred again while something churned within the depths of the darkness, a low hissing laughter echoing within the chamber.


    Before I could respond to it a figure fell out of the shadows in front of me, a beautiful woman with wings that spread out behind her. From out of her body a familiar sword extended, embedded through her heart, while blood oozed from the corners of her mouth. One hand lifted up as if to plead for help.


    I felt a twinge of both sadness and frustration at that image, though I managed to maintain control over my emotions. I turned my face away from the impersonation of my dead wife and glared at the shadows. ¡°Stop playing around.¡±


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t met in how long, Theodore?¡± a quiet voice hissed in my ear.


    ¡°Not long enough.¡± I batted at a tendril of smoke that had curled up next to my face. ¡°When are you going to realize you can¡¯t scare me?¡±


    An imp-like face floated in front of me, one unattached to any body. ¡°Even though you¡¯ve tasted mortality and killed the one you loved?¡±


    Before I knew it I¡¯d lashed out at that face, though the smoke scattered about my fist. ¡°Whatever you try nothing is going to work, so just let me pass on to the portal already!¡±


    ¡°And here I thought we could be friends,¡± the whisper resounded within the emptiness, ¡°though perhaps one of your companions might be more fun?¡±


    Without another word the presence was gone and the shadows within the chamber were absorbed by the walls. In front of me stood a single doorway that had a golden trim, an unknown symbol nestled at the arch. Beyond I could make out the portal in the distance, a familiar sight which brought with it relief.


    Around the white sphere a little girl with blond hair ran at a pace so fast that I could barely follow it. She giggled constantly as she completed her laps, arms extended to her sides, even while two grown men watched her. Both of the Wolfe brothers had already arrived and glanced up at my entrance into the central chamber.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t take you long did it?¡± Adam adjusted his monocle. ¡°Though your daughter was here first.¡±


    ¡°The ghost guy said I didn¡¯t taste good!¡± Lisa called out in between her laughter.


    ¡°That ain¡¯t a normal thing to hear,¡± Lance growled.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Kuzu though?¡± I wondered aloud as I looked at the numerous doorways that connected to the portal room.


    ¡°You did warn her about this floor right?¡± Adam turned to look at the doors as well. ¡°Lance and I have come through before so it¡¯s not much of a hassle, but since it¡¯s her first time¡­¡±


    ¡°Lisa,¡± I called out to my daughter, as I had a sudden thought.


    The energetic child came to a sliding stop before she turned and darted over to me, nearly tackling me with a hug. ¡°Yes, daddy?¡±


    ¡°When you were helping Kuzu train do you remember her ever talking about any trauma in her past?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t want to talk to me about her past.¡±


    ¡°That idiot,¡± I muttered, though I gave Lisa a light pat on the head, ¡°can you point me to the room she¡¯s in?¡±


    Lisa detached herself from me with a quick hop and then started to twirl around. Her finger lifted up and when she came to a stop it was pointed in the direction of a doorway to my left. ¡°Locked on!¡± she proudly proclaimed with a wide grin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I told the Wolfe brothers before I marched toward the doorway that Lisa had pointed at.


    Though there was no actual door it still felt as though a hard substance blocked up the entrance into the portal room. I lifted my right hand and drew upon my magic, a glow exuding from my skin, and I gently pushed my hand against the shadows.


    As though the light hurt the shadows recoiled with a low hiss and soon I gained access to the room beyond. At first I could hear nothing as I pushed through the darkness, but soon a noise of a woman crying came to my ears. It was a noise that made my anger flare up, the light from my hand seemingly reacting to that as it burned brighter.


    Curled up in the corner of the room was a teary-eyed Kuzu with her ears pressed down against her head. Her arms crossed over her knees while she tried to hide away behind them, as though nothing would get to her. Even from a distance I could hear the whispers of something, while a shadowy figure that looked like a fat elf turned at my arrival. A low hiss was all it made before it burst into nothing.


    ¡°Kuzu!¡± I called out to her, a flick of my wrist leaving a sphere of light to float in the center of the room.


    She made no response to my call and instead stayed curled up in the corner. Even when I walked over to her Kuzu merely quivered, her face buried against her arms as tightly as was possible. As I reached out to touch her shoulder she let out a scream and began to flail, her claws slicing into my skin and scattering blood across the floor.


    ¡°Kuzu! It¡¯s me!¡± I yelled at her, ignoring the pain and bleeding, while I gripped hold of her shoulder.


    ¡°Theo?¡± Kuzu slowly moved her face away from her arms, her eyes turning to look at me. In those green eyes all I could see was an immeasurable fear. One of her ears started to lift away from her head and then she lunged at me, arms wrapping around my neck as tears flowed.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I caressed her head in an attempt to console her, trying to maintain control of my own emotions. ¡°I¡¯m here now. We¡¯re going to go back to Lisa and get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± she said between her sobs, her body shaking so badly that I could barely hold her still.


    We turned to where the door should have been and started to leave, with Kuzu tight against my body the entire time. Centermost in the room my ball of light continued to beat back the darkness, that malicious entity who fed on fear kept at bay for the moment. With every step I could hear the hiss of it¡¯s breath more and more as anger welled up within it.


    ¡°You¡¯re breaking the rules!¡± the entity hissed.


    ¡°Be happy that I¡¯m not ripping this entire floor down around you,¡± I retorted in a flat tone, ¡°or do you want to see me upset?¡±


    That unnamed entity let out a long sigh before it flickered away. Much like the first time the doorway appeared from amongst the darkness, a symbol centermost at the apex of the arch. When I walked out of the dark chamber and into the central room everyone was still present.


    ¡°Daddy! Kuzu!¡± Lisa let out a happy shout as she ran over to us, latching onto both of us in a hug.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone do that before.¡± Adam walked over to join us, though he visibly recoiled at the sight of my bloody arm. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Kuzu said with eyes filled with tears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I patted Kuzu on the head before I offered my arm toward Adam. ¡°Mind bandaging this for me?¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Adam searched through his pack for a few seconds and then produced a roll of gauze. While he wound the white material around my arm he glanced at the doorway we¡¯d come back through. ¡°How¡¯d you do that? Nobody can ever go back in.¡±


    ¡°That thing is nothing but shadows given a personality,¡± I explained as I continued to rub Kuzu¡¯s head with my free hand, ¡°light made by magic can disrupt it, and an intense enough light can pierce through the barriers it uses.¡±


    Adam gave a small nod of his head before he put away his gauze. ¡°All done,¡± he informed me before he turned and walked to the portal, ¡°think Kuzu will be alright for the transfer?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Kuzu boldly claimed, though she was in the midst of rubbing her eyes with her forearm.


    Suddenly conscious of the fact that I had my hand on Kuzu¡¯s head I removed it, then cleared my throat. ¡°You heard her, we¡¯ll be moving on.¡±


    Once more our odd group gathered around the portal in preparation for the transfer. Adam and Lance left first without a word. Kuzu cuddled in close to me as though afraid to walk more than one step away, while Lisa held her left hand tightly in an attempt to reassure her.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay,¡± I whispered to Kuzu, ¡°let¡¯s get going, we have a lot more floors to clear.¡±


    Kuzu offered me a smile, though it was one that didn¡¯t reach her eyes, and put her own hand on the portal. It was a look on her face that caused the embers of rage to remain within me. When Lisa stood up on the tip of her toes and also touched it they both vanished together.


    Only I remained behind and I looked over the dark room once more. It had been a long time since I had been forced to come to grips with my fears, my traumas, and the potential horrors that lay ahead. No matter what I might say there would always be something buried within my mind, a regret at the least, and in a way this floor helped to prove that point.


    ¡°Godslayer,¡± came the voice of it, as tendrils made of night stretched out from a doorway, ¡°greet my sister for me?¡±


    ¡°I will. I should be seeing her soon after all,¡± I replied. No matter how angry I might become at the entity I would never strike it down, as it was in the end a child of Luticia.


    ¡°Tss, a present then, as thanks,¡± the voice began to laugh as the tendrils slipped back into the door from whence they came.


    Before I vanished to the next floor two figures appeared, framed by the doors. Each door showed a different scene, as though a slideshow of art. Though I would never call what I saw art, nor a gift. After all it was a secret not meant for me to know unless Kuzu wanted to tell me.


    Even when I vanished to the next floor I could still hear that horrid laughter of it.


    <hr>


    Floor 37


    The Gargoyles Of The Pit


    <hr>


    When I materialized the brothers had already prepared for battle. Lance stood a distance in front of his brother, twin long daggers drawn, while Adam had shouldered his rifle and aimed it in the direction of a wall. Nearby where I appeared Kuzu and Lisa stood, with Lisa held close to Kuzu¡¯s body as though to protect her.


    We were in the bottom of a dry well, small hints of moisture the only bit of water that could be found. Those who owned the well had clearly left it long ago and so others had taken over, or so the story was supposed to go. What had been placed as the guardians of this hole were creatures as hard as stone.


    One of those ripped itself free from the side of the pit wall, three arms of differing length and thickness pushing against the stone that clung to it. The head had an almost human look to it if not for the horns and long teeth. No air came from the mouth as the gargoyle had no need for breath nor sustenance.


    When Luticia had crafted this floor she had opted to make a place to check the abilities of any who had come so far into the labyrinth. To that end one could arguably call this place a test of strength, more so than any other floor, as only people with a great deal of competency could hope to best the monstrosity here.


    ¡°Hope this ain¡¯t going to take a few days like last time,¡± Lance commented from ahead, while he casually twirled his blades. ¡°Rather not have to climb the harpy cliff with broken bones again.¡±


    It was rude of me and also childish, but I shoved past both Adam and Lance. ¡°Get back,¡± I growled at him, the obvious anger I felt from what I¡¯d recently seen nearly oozing off of me.


    Lance hesitated to respond to me as he stepped away, a worried glance at his brother gaining him no more than a shrug in response. Even Kuzu looked at me with a confused expression, which only added to the uncertainty that Lance and Adam most likely felt in that moment.


    When the gargoyle pried itself from the wall it fell to the bottom of the well, four large feet smashing into the dirt floor with enough force that all could feel the vibration. A roar erupted from the mouth of the stone beast while it lifted up two arms. The stone creature was at least three times our height and twice our width.


    My hand rested on the handle of my sword, a trail of electricity dancing down the forearm.


    I slid my sword back into the scabbard I¡¯d pulled it from while I turned to the others. Though it¡¯d been a bit of a waste I¡¯d at least managed to let out some of my anger at the Shadow. ¡°Alright, lets go to the next floor.¡±


    Behind me the bisected gargoyle fell to the ground, a large slash down the middle that had gouged out everything visible. Beyond it even the wall that made up the pit had been sliced in half, large boulders and rocks knocked loose by the sudden removal of structural support. A cloud of dust lifted up from the unending stream that fell down from the well wall.


    Without waiting for another word from the others I turned and walked forward. Ahead, with the defeat of the gargoyle, a portal lifted up from out of the center of the well via a hidden compartment.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 16 - The Oracle Of The Cliffs

    <hr>


    Floor 38


    Cliff of Omens


    <hr>


    A billow of dust whirled away from our feet when we appeared near a steep cliff. Ahead of us the wall that was our next ordeal stretched so high that quite often it seemed to be nighttime when it was still close to noon. The wall itself was jagged and had no easy to find footholds, a true test of any free climber.


    Adam and Lance showed little interest in talking about what they¡¯d witnessed on the previous floor. To be fair to myself I had been in a highly agitated state and needed to outlet my rage in some fashion, but not only had I shown off a trump card I¡¯d also drained myself severely. Even though I stood there near the cliff I could feel the fatigue that had built up, my own muscles aching at the strain I¡¯d put on them, and I knew I desperately needed sleep.


    Lisa continued to act as she always did, energetic and carefree, though Kuzu had quieted down. She hovered near me, almost as though at any moment she might leap into my arms for comfort.


    ¡°You said there¡¯s a supply place here?¡± Adam asked as he started to approach me, but then stopped six feet away.


    A glance at Adam and I could already tell from his body language what he was thinking. His muscles were tensed, ready to go at any moment, while his left hand remained close to the grip for his pistol. The rifle had been adjusted so that it was slung in such a way that it wouldn¡¯t interfere with a fast draw.


    ¡°Mm, yes, but we¡¯ll need to pass through the nests to reach it,¡± I warned him, ¡°did you and your brother want to take the lead?¡±


    Adam narrowed his eyes before he turned his attention to the cliff. ¡°We should wait for night, the harpies aren¡¯t as active,¡± he said as he dodged answering my question.


    ¡°No,¡± I vetoed that idea immediately.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°The harpies nest at night, so while it¡¯s a great time to climb we¡¯re planning to go through the nest.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Adam gave a small nod of his head. He turned away and walked back over to his brother. ¡°Lance. We need to move.¡±


    The Wolfe brothers began a quick argument, one that was often punctuated with one of the two glaring in my direction. While I waited for the two to finish I studied the cliff that was in front of us. Even a thousand years had done little to change how it looked from the first time I had laid eyes on it.


    It was an odd world as the entire planet was nothing more than a single plain combined with an unending cliff. Everybody arrived at the base of the cliff, and everyone would eventually have to climb to the top. No tricks or traps were placed on the floor, merely a cliff and the vicious harpies that guarded it.


    ¡°The nest is this way!¡± Adam called out to me as he pointed to the south.


    We walked across the plain, the knee high grass deep enough that if there had been pitfalls we would¡¯ve never seen them. Though I knew that there were none when I had last been to this floor now I walked carefully, choosing instead to follow in the wake of the brothers.


    Ahead the cliff developed a large crack that ran down from the midpoint to the base. At that midpoint a hole could be seen, one large enough for multiple people to enter at the same time. The closer we got to the hole the more alert all of us became, as we all knew that the chances of a harpy sighting inevitably increased.


    Further south of us I could make out the light noise of harpies as they screeched back and forth, their high-pitched voices as grating as I could remember. Lance approached the edge of the cliff first and leapt up, his hands gripping hold of the rocky face.


    To the average person the cliff would look unclimbable without a tool. That was the entire point as it put a lot of emphasis on knowledge and skill, forcing any incapable explorer to learn how to climb such an unwelcome rock face. Anyone who failed to meet that requirement would instead be food for the harpies.


    Kuzu and I moved in close to Adam while we watched his brother climb, the steady upward progress impressive given how hard it was to find proper spots to grip. At no point did he slip, and I began to suspect that he was using some of his shifter blood in order to assist him in the ascension.


    ¡°He¡¯ll toss us down a rope when he gets up, in the meantime we watch for harpies,¡± Adam informed me as he unslung his rifle and gave it a quick check, ¡°you¡¯re not going to do something outlandish again are you?¡±


    ¡°Outlandish,¡± I repeated the word with a smile, amused at how he¡¯d put what I¡¯d done to the previous threats we¡¯d come across lately, ¡°no, I¡¯ve used up most of my energy. If I push myself further I¡¯ll collapse.¡±


    Adam stared at me in silence, and then after a few moments he turned to focus on the south. He made certain to load a round into his rifle and squatted down, obscured almost completely in the grass.


    It was a motion that reminded me of our need for a certain degree of stealth and I gently motioned to Kuzu and Lisa to follow suit. Lisa giggled while she dropped into the grass, vanishing entirely, while Kuzu and I knelt near Adam. While he kept his gaze set on the south I turned my attention to the north.


    No signs of the harpies were noticed by any of us, aside from the light noises that could barely be made out. Most likely they were off hunting the small animals like rabbits which frequented the plains, a simple food source that Luticia had left here for them.


    ¡°The rope is here,¡± Kuzu whispered to both Adam and I. She went to it and climbed up the rope before we could respond.


    ¡°Lisa, you go next,¡± I ordered my daughter.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Lisa replied with a giggle, and then ran over to the rope.


    While they continued their ascension I could hear Adam behind me lower more into the grass, the sound of his breathing growing more controlled. It was enough of an alteration to let me know that he¡¯d sighted at least one harpy at a distance, so I glanced over my shoulder to check on what had alarmed him.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    A flock of about seven dark figures could be made out in the distant sky. Even from where I was I knew that they looked like women with wings in place of arms. Their legs would be almost reptilian with scales and end in claws. If I had to choose my least favorite feature of the harpy though it would be the face, the way that when they opened their mouths all you could see were razor sharp teeth.


    I¡¯d seen a few people eaten alive by them in the past, so my first instinct was to obliterate them from the sky. Yet given my current reserves of energy I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so without alerting more.


    With slow movements I pulled out my pistol and checked the ammunition, as I would look like an idiot if I had no bullets. Content with the condition of my gun I focused once more on the harpy flock that was to our south.


    Adam and I waited for the worst to happen, for one of the flock to notice the two girls who were in the middle of climbing. Adam had already chosen a target, his rifle shouldered and aimed in the direction of the foremost member. I waited to lift my pistol, knowing from experience that it would merely worsen my aim if I held it for an extended time.


    Luck favored us as the flock turned to the east, perhaps still on the hunt for more rabbits and not wanting to return home. When we could no longer see any of the filthy bird-women we let out a sigh of relief, then checked on how the girls had done.


    ¡°You first,¡± Adam said.


    As I began to climb the rope I thought on how Adam had shifted in his body language. To be fair I¡¯d done a few too many things as of late that¡¯d make anyone leery, and I had a hunch he¡¯d already figured out I¡¯d also stopped the blizzard on the thirty-third floor. Perhaps I¡¯d been a bit too showy in my actions, or maybe I should¡¯ve actually told him some of the truth?


    I¡¯d started to like Adam and Lance, especially given how well they¡¯d treated some of the other races. In the end it didn¡¯t matter though as soon we¡¯d reach the fiftieth floor, and at that point we could part ways. Once I reached the armory I would be able to utilize the equipment created by Markov. At that point I could send the brothers home to the safer floors.


    Once I was at the top of the rope I climbed into the cave opening. I looked around at the nest of the harpies and found that little had changed in the millennia I¡¯d been gone. Various rock shelves were carved into the walls, while a long pathway wound past a variety of stalagmites. From above droplets of moisture fell from stalactites that gave the cave a look of a monstrous mouth. Not a single shelf had anything on it as the harpies used them for sleeping.


    It was the absence of eggs that made me smile, as it meant that none of the harpies would be worried about the sanctity of their nest. I turned to glance at Lance, as he helped pull his brother up into the nesting area, and wondered if he or his brother realized how lucky we¡¯d been today.


    ¡°We need to move fast,¡± I informed everyone, ¡°once they¡¯re done hunting for the day they¡¯ll probably have a flock or two scout back this way to make sure the nest is safe.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s some sort of supply place here?¡± Adam asked from near the entrance of the cave. Next to him his brother worked on recovering the rope we¡¯d all utilized in order to climb the cliff.


    ¡°It¡¯s hidden in the back,¡± I reassured him, while I started to walk past all of the stalagmites, ¡°try not to leave anything behind, otherwise the harpies will know someone came through.¡±


    ¡°We ain¡¯t dumb,¡± Lance retorted.


    As we picked our way along the pathway that was built into the cave floor we went deeper into the cavern. The light from outside started to become a dull glow behind us as we headed into the shadows of the nest. Ahead all we could see was darkness, yet without hesitation I continued to press forward.


    Two balls of flame flickered to life in front of us, seated on top of what looked to be columns made out of the rock that surrounded us. Centered between those two pillars was a door made from a metal that seemed to almost absorb the light, an utter blackness so absolute that it called to mind the previous floor.


    I walked with an assured grace to the door and pressed my hand against it. The door opened without complaint, revealing the interior to us. It was a large chamber that held a table made of wood, and chairs with black cushions pushed up against the table.


    When we all walked into the room the door behind closed by itself. It was a movement that put the others on edge, and the brothers even became nervous enough to pull out their weapons. I glanced at them, but opted to not bother with reassuring them since I trusted they wouldn¡¯t act too hastily.


    ¡°Good day,¡± came the sudden voice of a woman.


    Because all the others had been distracted by the closing door only I noticed the arrival of our hostess. She had slipped out from behind a very plain screen and taken up a place near the grand table in the middle. With hands clasped together at the front of her waist she bowed deeply to us all.


    What she wore was nothing more than a very large purple robe, one that was so long it dragged against the dirt floor of the chamber. On each of her ears were little bells, while very thin black rim glasses suited for reading sat on her face.


    ¡°Hello Rinth.¡± I bowed back in response. ¡°Have you been well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been most fatigued, your return is a blessing I¡¯ve longed for.¡± Rinth motioned with her left hand at the table. ¡°Please, you have all been through enough, why not have a seat?¡±


    ¡°Uh...this ain¡¯t a trap?¡± Lance eyed Rinth with open mistrust. ¡°You ain¡¯t some man-eater in disguise?¡±


    In an attempt to help dissuade any mistrust I tossed my sack to the side and sat at the table first. I motioned at Kuzu and Lisa to follow suit, before I turned to look at Rinth. ¡°Don¡¯t mind their nervousness,¡± I said as an apology for Lance¡¯s comment, ¡°they don¡¯t know of you for some reason.¡±


    ¡°With time all knowledge is lost.¡± Rinth settled down in the seat opposite of me, her hands coming together as though she wished to pray. ¡°Yet the joy of relearning is perhaps well worth the loss.¡±


    Adam and Lance cautiously settled down into chairs, though Adam placed his rifle on top of the table. Neither of the brothers offered any words and instead sat next to one another, primed to bolt in case of some betrayal.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you still offer your services,¡± I said, a little afraid that something may have changed during my absence.


    ¡°I would never betray my purpose for being,¡± Rinth responded with a wide smile, ¡°you and your friends may eat, bathe and sleep to your content. However you can only stay for up to two days before I will have to require you to leave.¡±


    ¡°What do you want in return?¡± Adam spoke up from his end of the table.


    ¡°I exist for this, why would I request anything?¡±


    ¡°Exist for this? What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Will that be your question?¡± Rinth tilted her head to the right.


    ¡°Question?¡± Adam frowned before he turned to look at me. ¡°What¡¯s she talking about?¡±


    I let out a sigh at that, mostly because I had wanted to avoid letting the brothers find out about it. My plan had been we would bunk down for the night and then while they slept I would utilize Rinth. Even if I feigned ignorance now she would still tell them when asked, it was part of the process she had to follow.


    ¡°Rinth is...an oracle,¡± I said in an attempt to explain, ¡°every ten years she offers every traveller an answer to a question that is beyond normal comprehension.¡±


    ¡°Technically I am able to answer a single question to each person about anything past or present, no matter who or what they wish to know about,¡± Rinth supplied, before she motioned at Adam to gain his attention, ¡°so, will ¡®Exist for this?¡¯ be your inquiry?¡±


    ¡°No, give me a few moments here,¡± Adam grew quiet as he leaned back in his chair. Next to him Lance also gained a very thoughtful look on his face, a look that was quite rare to see.


    ¡°You already answered a bunch of questions though,¡± Kuzu pointed out.


    ¡°Any question I can answer personally does not fall under the domain of the special question.¡±


    Adam looked at Rinth with a look of utter shock. ¡°You don¡¯t know why you were granted this ability?¡±


    Rinth gave a small shrug of her shoulders. ¡°No, I have theorized but nobody has ever asked.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should get the show started, otherwise we¡¯ll never get around to eating and sleeping,¡± I said in an attempt to steer the conversation away from exploring the depths of Rinth¡¯s past. It was the best I could do given the current situation.


    ¡°Very well.¡± Rinth placed her palms against the table. ¡°When you are ready please inquire.¡±


    ¡°For my question please let me know has anyone aside from myself entered the Garden of Eternity?¡±


    Rinth¡¯s eyes closed while she started to mumble something beneath her breath. It was a language that was unknown to me, not for my lack of trying. I could have wasted a question on discovering what it was, or what the words meant, but for some reason I had always chosen not to.


    ¡°You are the last known entity to enter into the Garden of Eternity,¡± Rinth replied, her eyes opening once more, ¡°will that be all of the questions for the day?¡±


    ¡°Ooh! Me! Pick me!¡± Lisa nearly stood up on her chair as she raised her arm up real high. ¡°Miss please tell me if my sister is okay!¡±


    ¡°Your sister slumbers deeply, but safely, and waits patiently for her family to come back,¡± Rinthe told Lisa after her ritual.


    ¡°Am I the only human-shifter?¡± Lance wondered aloud.


    ¡°There have been two known instances aside from yourself of a human and a shifter having a child, though you are the only one who has achieved adulthood,¡± Rinth informed Lance, before she gave a shake of her head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kay,¡± Lance grumbled as he hunched down into his chair, ¡°figured it was like that.¡±


    ¡°I know what I would like to ask now,¡± Adam adjusted his monocle, a smug look on his face.


    ¡°Please, what would you like to know?¡±


    Adam lifted up his right hand and pointed directly at me. ¡°What secrets are he keeping from me?¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 17 - Secrets Revealed

    ¡°I regret to inform you, but your question is too general and can not be answered,¡± Rinth told the smug faced Adam.


    For a moment his face faltered as his confidence was shattered, a nervous glance shot in my direction. In truth it was a question I¡¯d hoped he wouldn¡¯t ask, and why I¡¯d hoped for him not to find out the truth behind our visit. However I wasn¡¯t about to kill him, at the very least he¡¯d shown he could keep a secret.


    When Adam noticed that I hadn¡¯t responded to his question he straightened up and looked at Rinth. He reached up to his monocle and fiddled with it, an action that made me want to take it away and toss the darned thing across the room. I think in the time since I¡¯d met him he spent more time playing with his monocle than anything else.


    ¡°Then what is the biggest secret he¡¯s keeping from me?¡± Adam finally asked.


    When I sighed it caused Adam to reach for his rifle, and even Lance responded by standing up in preparation of a fight. Kuzu on the other hand shot a glare at Adam that spoke volumes of her protective feelings for me. Out of our little group only Lisa ignored what was happening, as she swung her legs happily and hummed a little song.


    Rinth shot me a look before she placed her hands against the table. A look that pleaded for forgiveness, or so I assumed, as to what she was about to reveal. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I told her with as gentle a tone as I could muster, ¡°you can¡¯t ignore your duty.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Rinth said as she flashed a small smile at me, ¡°in regard to the question posited by one Adam Wolfe, the biggest secret being kept for you...well that is actually a very hard one to pinpoint.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± Lance asked. He slowly settled back into his chair once he realized that I lacked any hostile intentions.


    ¡°I mean that he has so many secrets that you do not know about. Also your request is a bit subjective.¡± Rinth placed her forehead against the table as though all her energy was drained. ¡°With your permission, old friend, may I?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯d rather you not break yourself trying to pick one.¡± I resisted the urge to stand up and walk around the table to her. ¡°I¡¯m sure your mother would be upset with me if I let you injure yourself over this.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± Rinth lifted her head and hands clear of the table. With noticeably paler skin she slumped into her chair and let out a long breath. ¡°The biggest secrets being kept by this individual are three, all three of which are valued of equal greatness. Due to his permission I shall now tell you all, instead of becoming permanently locked up.¡±


    Adam scoffed at that, if only because of how ludicrous it sounded. ¡°How could a single Elf have so many massive secrets?¡±


    ¡°The first secret is that this individual is a reincarnated form of a human from over a thousand years ago,¡± Rinth told him, ¡°granted the blessing of the Goddess Luticia he has returned to life with a new form.¡±


    Adam leaned forward with hands pressed against the top of the table. ¡°Reincarnation isn¡¯t possible! Otherwise it would¡¯ve happened before! And why the hell would the Goddess do that for him and nobody else?¡±


    Rinth lifted up a finger and then casually pointed at the seat behind Adam. As though a giant hand gripped him he was forcefully pulled back against the cushions. ¡°Do not interrupt me.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t resist the laughter that boiled up from within at that, while Kuzu developed her own smile at the actions of Rinth. The look on Adam¡¯s face on the other hand spoke deeply of how shocked he was, as he stared at the woman across from him who had thus far been amicable


    ¡°The second of the biggest secrets is that this is the man who married, and was loved by, the Goddess Luticia,¡± Rinth pointed at me when she said it.


    ¡°That ain¡¯t-¡± Lance started to refute what had been said before Rinth pointed one finger at him. Instead of continuing he merely sat there, as he tried to sink further into his own chair.


    ¡°The final secret is that the man now called Fenix was the one who killed Luticia over a thousand years ago,¡± Rinth frowned as she spoke those words, her eyes downcast.


    The silence in the room was absolute at that moment. The Wolfe brothers turned slowly to stare at me, their eyes wide and faces a few shades paler. Kuzu and Lisa had already known of this, but even they couldn¡¯t resist looking at me at that moment.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to go take a bath,¡± I announced as I stood up, ¡°Rinth, I¡¯ll skip dinner tonight.¡±


    Without a word to the others I walked to the other side of the chamber, where a single door was placed. When I opened it a long hallway was revealed that had other doors attached to it, each one a bedroom with its own attached bathroom. I didn¡¯t yearn to listen to any conversation that might occur after those revelations.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    I leaned against the railing of the balcony with my left arm, my right bandaged and pressed up against my body. Behind me a familiar figure leaned against my back, her gentle breathing and warmth a comforting sensation. Beyond the balcony lay an entire city of grandiose spires crafted from crystal and metal.


    We stood there in silence as I absorbed the sights of the metropolis. Beneath the distant sight of many white-haired individuals could barely be made out. Each of the citizens walked freely as they went about their lives, unattached to the insanity that was about to emerge.


    ¡°Why do you have to do this?¡± came her voice from behind.


    ¡°Because nobody else can,¡± was my simple response, ¡°because everything will be destroyed if I don¡¯t.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Or because you feel guilty?¡± Luticia asked as she wrapped her arms around my waist.


    I let out a long hiss at that comment. ¡°I told him it would be safe,¡± I muttered more to myself than to her, ¡°I promised his wife he¡¯d make it back fine!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t protect everyone.¡± Lute buried her face against my spine. ¡°Stop beating yourself up. Lets go home to our daughters.¡±


    ¡°You know what Helim is planning.¡±


    ¡°If you push it you¡¯ll die,¡± Lute warned me.


    ¡°I won¡¯t die.¡± I motioned at the injured right arm with my left hand. ¡°That only happened because I let my anger get the better of me. Next time I¡¯ll crush Helim and every bone in his body.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say Helim would kill you!¡± Lute turned away from me as the anger she felt became obvious. ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything and you still don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re being an idiot?¡±


    ¡°No. What are you talking about? If I can take out the Originator I doubt the rest of the Architects would be a problem,¡± I said while I turned to look at her.


    ¡°Nothing, forget it!¡± Luticia stalked off of the balcony and back into the bedchamber.


    I could only respond with a sigh as I rubbed at my eyes. The stress and frustration of the day had only been compounded by this little discussion.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    ¡°Daddy,¡± yelled out my daughter happily while she bounced on top of me, ¡°time to get up!¡±


    I groaned in protest to her treatment of me. As I rose up from the bed I reached out and ensnared her in a hug. ¡°Morning, Lisa.¡±


    ¡°Kuzu said it¡¯s time.¡± Lisa hugged me back while she giggled.


    ¡°Fine, fine, go tell her I¡¯ll be there in a moment,¡± I told Lisa as I released her, ¡°I need to clean up first.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Lisa bounded off of the bed and darted out of the room.


    It was a short while later that I left the room. Fresh from a shower I felt more invigorated than I could recall as of late. With the solid sleep on top of that I was primed and ready for whatever the labyrinth might toss at me. I paused outside of the main room for a moment, one hand placed against the wooden door, while I gathered my thoughts.


    The door of the main room creaked as if to announce my arrival, and the conversation that had been happening came to an end. The Wolfe brothers looked at me as though it was our first encounter, while Kuzu and Lisa ate from bowls on the table. Our hostess Rinth was seated in her usual place, a golden robe coupled with a red ribbon her outfit for the day.


    ¡°A good morning to you.¡± Rinth nodded her head toward me. ¡°I hope you do not mind but I took the liberty to prepare some soup and bread for breakfast.¡±


    I walked over to the table and picked up the bowl which nobody else had touched. Without a response to Rinth I began to drink it, swallowing noodles and broth with minimal concern for chewing. When I placed the bowl back down on the table I motioned with my hand at the Wolfe brothers.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, I¡¯m hoping to use a shortcut but it has a small window,¡± I told them before I picked up the bread and chewed on it, ¡°So answer two things fast. Are you still with me, and do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°Please answer my question first and then we can answer if we¡¯ll go with you.¡± Adam pushed his half-empty bowl of soup away. ¡°Why were you keeping who you are from us?¡±


    ¡°Because nobody can know that reincarnation is possible,¡± I told him as I placed half of the bread into the empty bowl, ¡°Imagine what would happen if any of the critters we¡¯ve dealt with could reincarnate, learning time and again from every death.¡±


    ¡°Nobody? That ain¡¯t a threat is it?¡± Lance asked.


    ¡°Only if you don¡¯t promise to keep the secret. Though I¡¯d rather not upset Rinth.¡±


    ¡°Calm down.¡± Adam held up his hands to both myself and his brother. ¡°Fenix, why are you dragging us along when you¡¯re obviously strong enough by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I figured that was obvious. First off everything is different. The shifters have changed, even the gnomes are different. I knew that changes would have happened, especially based on what I saw in the first few floors, so I needed people who were up to date.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why you looked for the people who have gone the deepest as of late,¡± Adam said with a nod.


    ¡°Also as I¡¯ve told you before there¡¯s a limit to how much magic I can toss around. I didn¡¯t want to run the risk of Kuzu or I collapsing in the middle of a major fight.¡±


    ¡°Are you still going to pay us when we reach the fiftieth floor?¡±


    ¡°Of course! If my place on the fiftieth floor is still intact I could even double the reward.¡±


    ¡°No, a deal is a deal, and if anything you being this strong made the job easier for us.¡± Adam stood up from his chair. ¡°What do you think, Lance?¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re getting paid I don¡¯t care,¡± Lance muttered as he sighed, ¡°ain¡¯t like anything changed, just now we know why he¡¯s stupidly strong. Thought he was some demon monster in disguise.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on then, I¡¯d rather not miss our window and have to wait another week,¡± I commented, as I walked over to the main entrance.


    I paused to pick up my backpack that I had left there, noting that it felt fuller than when I had arrived. A quick glance at Rinth and she merely responded with a smile, though it was enough for me.


    While the others began to gather around the door Rinth approached us, her movements slow yet smooth. She managed to make it appear as though she glided across the floor rather than walked, a practiced movement due to her extensive age. When she stood next to me she leaned in close, though she made no effort to conceal her voice.


    ¡°After we last met only one other has come here, your old friend Markov,¡± Rinth told me, ¡°he visited a few times to make use of my ability.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised he found time to leave his labs.¡± I chuckled lightly. ¡°What did he end up asking you?¡±


    ¡°About you and Luticia.¡± Rinth patted me lightly on the cheek. ¡°Do not worry about those you left behind, they turned out well. Last I knew of he found a place on the first floor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the exile finally made a home for himself?¡± I batted at Rinth¡¯s hand. ¡°Though that helps to explain someone I met.¡±


    Lance opened the entrance and peered out into the cavern of the harpies. With a nod to the rest of us he darted out of the room. Adam quietly followed after his brother, pistol drawn and prepped in case Lance required his help.


    ¡°Take care Rinth, this should be the last time I come for your help,¡± I told my old friend, ¡°I plan to finish all of this.¡±


    The smile that Rinth directed at me was a warm one, her eyes half-closed while her head tilted a little to the left. ¡°That would be wonderful,¡± Rinth admitted to me, ¡°I¡¯ve grown quite tired.¡±


    With no more words between us I walked out of Rinth¡¯s home. The door closed behind me with an audible click. While Kuzu and Lisa walked on ahead of me to meet up with the Wolfe brothers I paused to stare at the door. The last time I¡¯d seen it I¡¯d never expected to return, focused on the fight that would eventually kill me.


    My attention returned to the others in the cave with me as I once more walked away from the oracle. Lance and Adam had already entered into the main nest area. I was thankful to see that Kuzu had approached it with a bit more caution, as she waited near the edge of the darkness with my daughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s clear!¡± Adam called out to me, loud enough to make me cringe. While the Wolfe brothers tended to be overall good divers they often made careless little mistakes, and it was those mistakes that could turn the later floors into deathtraps.


    ¡°Quiet down,¡± I hissed at him, ¡°if any of them are outside they¡¯ll hear the echoes.¡±


    The look on Adam¡¯s face made it obvious he realized his mistake. We didn¡¯t talk and instead approached the cavernous maw that was the exit from the harpy nest, guns at the ready in case one of the foul avians was outside. Instead we were greeted by an early morning sun that sparkled off of the dew on the grass below.


    Lance moved to prepare for the climb to the top, his hands rippling visibly as they shifted into claws. A pat on his back from Adam was all he needed for encouragement before he clambered out of the cave and began his ascension.


    ¡°Daddy,¡± Lisa said in a quiet voice as she tugged at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Rinth leave and go somewhere else?¡±


    I tried my best to smile at Lisa while I patted her gently on the head. ¡°You know how your mother made all of this?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°She had a reason behind it all, but one of the things that she did was put in keys to help people.¡±


    ¡°So Rinth is one of those?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s one of the most important ones.¡± I mussed up Lisa¡¯s hair before I glanced back outside of the cave. ¡°There are two others, but Rinth is the one that is the most approachable.¡±


    ¡°But why can¡¯t she leave? That seems mean of mom to do!¡±


    ¡°Your mom had reasons behind everything she did, Lisa,¡± I reassured her, ¡°believe in that.¡±


    ¡°Still, I wish she could come with us,¡± Lisa pouted.


    ¡°So do I,¡± I replied honestly. I reached out and pulled Lisa toward me into a hug, for some reason feeling the need for it at that moment.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 18 - Ascension To Hell

    What came next for us after our escape from the harpy nest was an ascension to a flat, barren landscape that offered minimal food or shelter. It was inhospitable enough that only a handful of insects and rodents managed to survive.


    We refrained from talking as we marched across the flatlands. Off in the distance every so often a hint of noise would ripple our way, yet what came next would only be more silence. By the time we reached the portal no harpies had shown themselves.


    In truth it was a welcome lack of fighting. We had already been forced into dangerous situations time and again during our passage through the previous floors. One or two floors without a threat could only bring a needed respite.


    <hr>


    Floor 39


    The Ratnest


    <hr>


    After we utilized the portal our location shifted again, from beneath a blazing sun into a darkened chamber. The dry air was replaced with moisture and coolness, while the new smells made one think of caves. All around us there was only a black that could not be seen through.


    A lantern held by Adam flared to life to my left. The green light that it produced cast a brilliance over the ebon walls that surrounded us, and the illumination revealed where we were. We¡¯d arrived within a crudely shaped dome made from stone. Slits had been built into the upper curve, which I could only surmise had been made for airflow and spying.


    Squeaks could be heard from outside of the dome due to the slits. It was a noise that meant we had drawn the attention of the floor owners. Before anyone spoke Adam adjusted the lantern, the green flame produced dimming to a mere flicker. While we could barely make out the surroundings with the lessened light I already knew it was a necessary move on his part.


    A loud clang made our entire group jump in surprise, before a metal door that had been built into the dome swung open. A figure that stood about four feet in height took up the main bulk of it, a plump ratman that glared at us all with beady black eyes. Whiskers that were obnoxiously long stretched away from a snout that sprung forth from the rodent face.


    ¡°Come on, come on,¡± the ratman said as he motioned to us all, ¡°don¡¯t have all night.¡±


    I grasped Lisa¡¯s hand with my own while we walked out of the dome. When we passed through Kuzu¡¯s ears flattened, as the noise from outside became an unbearable cacophony. The roar of a thousand thousand ratmen hammered into us. It was impossible to distinguish anything amongst all of the arguments and yelling.


    We had emerged into a massive underground cave. How large it was proved difficult to deduce, as only a handful of lights littered the city. Though it was a place of trade and commerce there were few visitors to the ratkin city due to the danger of the labyrinth.


    ¡°You staying or leaving or causing troubles?¡± the ratman who had let us out of the dome inquired. From out of the tattered rags that barely clung to his portly body a clipboard had appeared, one that looked quite devoid of any writing.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be shopping for a short while,¡± I replied, before I led my daughter and Kuzu further into the Ratkin city. While it had been a bit abrupt I knew the rat would sit down and do nothing, as was common for the men in their society.


    We barely made it far into the city before a loud cry of joy brought us to a stop. A thin and tall rat walked into view, with a small group of others in tow. At a glance I could tell they were female, the thin build and carefully cleaned fur the telltale signs.


    ¡°Lance,¡± crooned the leader of the group, ¡°you finally came back!¡±


    Out of all the things that could have happened a troupe of women showing up for Lance had been the furthest from my mind. I probably would¡¯ve expected an armed resistance to our presence before that. I glanced in the direction of the brothers with one upraised eyebrow.


    ¡°Can you guys go on without me?¡± Lance scratched at his left ear, a somewhat embarrassed look on his face. ¡°Gotta follow through with something I promised.¡±


    ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have to do with that silver rights purchase?¡± Adam asked, though he was visibly amused.


    ¡°Yeah, uh, hey I¡¯ll see ya later kay?¡± Lance half-asked of us before he was promptly dragged away by the ratwomen.


    ¡°Meet us at the portal when you¡¯re done!¡± I yelled out to him.


    ¡°Are they going to go play games?¡± Lisa asked.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± I patted her on the head. ¡°Let''s get going, hopefully we can find what I need.¡±


    The main entry into the city was a wide road that led toward the darkest sections of the cave. Every so often a small creature would flit overhead, some type of bat that nested somewhere in the interior. All of the buildings stood dark since the Ratkin thrived in the shadows. If not for the handful of little lanterns that hung outside some of the trade buildings the entire ratnest would¡¯ve been a nightmare for most visitors.


    Adam tightly gripped his rifle that he had carried through all the floors. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind I know a supplier on this floor who can help me out,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯d like to check in and stock up.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I gave a nod of my head. ¡°Once I find a packrat I should be able to get what I want and then we¡¯ll meet up at the portal?¡±


    ¡°Obviously.¡± Adam gave a shrug of his shoulders. Before he left he paused, as though debating mentally if he wanted to ask something, and then stalked away into the darkness.


    ¡°What¡¯s a packrat?¡±


    Kuzu¡¯s question caused me to turn toward her, a smile on my face. ¡°Lisa didn¡¯t teach you that one?¡±


    ¡°Noooope,¡± Lisa chimed in, ¡°I thought we would just dash through this place ¡®cause it¡¯s so dark and stuff.¡±


    ¡°My fault for not warning you, I suppose,¡± I admitted before I looked at Kuzu, ¡°a packrat is a ratkin who specializes in gathering odds and ends from floor forty.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need one of them?¡±


    Once again I began to walk through the city, my eyes occupied with looking at the signs outside of the buildings. ¡°In order to use a shortcut I need to pick up skyrock, which packrats like to gather and barter.¡±


    It was nearly an hour later before we found one of the packrat stores. As we walked through the city groups gathered to stare at us, amused perhaps by the presence of people they¡¯d never seen before. A few of the younger rats even pointed at Kuzu¡¯s ears and tail.


    The store of the packrat was a squat building. Compared to the far larger ones next to it the entire feel made one think of a dirty and rundown place. The door hung loose on the frame while one of the windows was cracked. An odd smell permeated the place, a scent that made Kuzu refuse to go into the shop.


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    ¡°Hello?¡± I offered in greeting as I walked in.


    A clatter of metal came from deeper into the shop, and was followed by a voice. ¡°What what! A customer,¡± squeaked out a male rat, ¡°one moment! Moment!¡±


    A few more loud noises resounded as the rat caused many an item to fall. Then a blinding light burst into view, a light blue color that erupted from a small marble that was grasped in the hand of the ratman.


    ¡°Augh, no no too bright!¡± the ratkin exclaimed before he stroked the marble with his fingers. The intensity softened to the point that only a subtle blue coated everything in the shop.


    To call the ratman offensive to look at would¡¯ve been a kindness. The snout which should have been long and straight was bent at an awkward angle, with some of his teeth sticking out in ways that meant he had to be in pain. The fur that normally coated the Ratkin was half there, some spots of it gone while what remained was smeared with scum.


    ¡°An avian glowstone?¡± I stared at the source of the light with wide eyes. The last I knew of the birds hated to share any of their hard crafted items such as that.


    ¡°Ah! You know huh? Yes, got this very carefully, had to make a few deals that cost me a lot but it¡¯s my favorite so far. Not for sale though!¡± the ratman exclaimed as he held up one deformed finger.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Lisa whispered to me.


    ¡°Lisa, you can¡¯t say that,¡± I told her.


    ¡°No worry, I¡¯m ugly,¡± the ratkin said before he cackled. He glanced with one white eye that oozed pus at my daughter. ¡°My denma didn¡¯t want me, let¡¯s leave it like that. Now, what you want?¡±


    I gently rubbed Lisa¡¯s head to help reassure her that the odd looking rat wasn¡¯t a threat. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you have any skyrock for sale?¡±


    ¡°Skyrock isn¡¯t all that easy to get, the vultures hate it when you take from them,¡± the merchant commented, ¡°plus the rarity of it...I¡¯d only be able to sell a small chunk for sixty reds.¡±


    Reds? I could only cringe inwardly at the fact that they had changed their preferred means of exchange. When I¡¯d lived they favored metals, primarily iron due to how rare it was for them. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money. Is there any other way?¡±


    The ratkin studied me from top to bottom with his beady eyes, one gnarled finger toying gently with a whisker. The intense gaze of the merchant settled on my hip, and he pointed at my holstered gun. ¡°That banger, you willing to trade that?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t resist the smile that crept onto my face at the terminology used by the rat. ¡°This pistol should be worth more than a rock from the sky though,¡± I pointed out, even as I unholstered and presented it.


    ¡°Tss tss, course. Pick something else out of my shop, anything you want that¡¯s for sale.¡±


    ¡°Lisa,¡± I said in a gentle tone, ¡°pick anything you want.¡±


    Her eyes shone at what I told her. ¡°Really?¡±


    With a simple nod of my head I confirmed it, and then turned my attention back to the ratman. In the background Lisa scurried into the depths of the shack. ¡°Remember to be careful with this, it¡¯s probably a bit stronger than most bangers you know of,¡± I cautioned him as I handed over the pistol.


    ¡°The design is different,¡± the ratman murmured to himself, ¡°not even the vultures have something like this.¡±


    ¡°I would hope not.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    It was about two hours later when we arrived at the portal. Kuzu and Lisa had talked about the packrat, as well as Lisa¡¯s new necklace she¡¯d picked up. Her excitement and need to show it off demonstrated how she seemed to have an unending stream of energy.


    The ratkin kept a light guard near the portal. For the most part the guards looked bored, were quite fat, and ignored our existence. I had my own doubts that even if someone shouldn¡¯t come near the portal they wouldn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Yo!¡± called out Lance as he walked up the street near us, his left hand lifted in greeting.


    To call his clothing dirtied would have been kind. The normal crimson red had been browned by mud and cuts were visible in the dark leather. Even his armguards made from the hardest material imaginable shone dully in the light.


    ¡°Lance!¡± Lisa bubbled with excitement as he approached us. She lifted up the necklace she¡¯d gained and directed it at him. ¡°Look at what daddy got me!¡±


    ¡°Hoo, ain¡¯t that a nice thing?¡± Lance¡¯s eyes sparkled in amusement at Lisa, though it was easy enough to tell he wasn¡¯t all too impressed with the simple jewelry. The silver chain that had a simple ruby centered in it looked easy enough for an apprentice jeweler to make.


    ¡°You finished up with your friends?¡± Adam¡¯s voice called out from the other side of the portal.


    ¡°Nothing to it.¡± Lance shrugged his shoulders, though a red hue creeped onto his cheeks. ¡°Mind if we push along then?¡±


    I chuckled at the interaction of the brothers. ¡°Afraid that they¡¯ll be coming back for seconds?¡±


    He ignored me and brushed past to touch the portal with his left hand. Without another word he disintegrated, swept to the next floor by the magic of the labyrinth. It was an abrupt enough departure that even his brother was quiet for a few seconds.


    ¡°My sincerest apologies for Lance,¡± Adam offered before he too walked to the portal.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Adam,¡± I told him. My hand reached out and touched the pulsating sphere. ¡°Shall we then?¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 40


    The Aviary


    Checkpoint Four


    <hr>


    Our transfer to the next floor of the labyrinth was smooth, and when we formed all of us brandished our respective weapon of choice. My own weapon was only a sword now, given that I had relinquished the pistol in the previous trade. So long as nothing unexpected occurred I had little concern over that trade off.


    Without warning Kuzu¡¯s tail puffed up and her ears went rigid, while her eyes darted from left to right rapidly. Kuzu lowered her body into a battle ready position, one that made the rest of us quite wary of our surroundings.


    ¡°Kuzu?¡± I prompted her for an answer.


    ¡°We¡¯re being watched by someone, I can feel it on my skin,¡± she murmured barely loud enough to be heard.


    It was a response that made the brothers laugh, while I sheathed my own sword at my hip. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about then,¡± I told Kuzu while I pointed up at the clouds, ¡°look.¡±


    Far above rested amongst the white there stood a single dark blemish. The width and height of it exceeded the town found on the first floor of the labyrinth, yet somehow still it hung there as though nailed into the heavens themselves. Across it a few dark dots could be seen that flitted around, patrols or people out for silly little flybys.


    ¡°The avians are keeping an eye on the entrance,¡± I informed Kuzu before I walked away from the group.


    ¡°That ain¡¯t where the portal is!¡± Lance called out from behind me.


    ¡°I know, come on!¡± I responded.


    Before I even said anything Kuzu and Lisa had already begun to follow me. Her tail still quite fluffed up, Kuzu¡¯s gaze continued to linger on the city in the sky.


    Our point of arrival on the floor had been a wide open section of land bereft of any plants or animals. A string of rocks had created a low circle, almost like a fence of stone, that had four exit points at the cardinal directions. Normally one would walk to the city of the Avians, as beneath where it floated the portal could be found.


    Instead I led our group in the opposite direction, as we instead trekked across a grass plain that began to show signs of life. Small animals such as squirrels and moles became more common once the city was no longer in our line of sight, and even larger animals like deer began to appear.


    We reached a grove of trees that bore white fruit that resembled apples. Even as we passed into it I paused to pick some of the fruit. I bit into the faux apples, enjoying the sour taste of the juice. Before long we finally reached my intended destination, one that brought many responses from my companions.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Ooohhh it¡¯s pretty!¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t that a sign of evil?¡±


    ¡°Row was right, it really exists¡­¡±


    What floated serenely in the air a foot above the ground was a sphere, untouched by the ages. Across the surface ripples of pink and white fluttered while the deepest part of the object itself was crimson. Even the air itself around the ball had a hint of red, as though tainted by the magic of the unusual portal.


    Lisa started to run toward it, a move I¡¯d expected, and so I caught her in my arms and picked her back up. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it yet,¡± I told her before I glanced in the direction of Adam, ¡°if you touch it at the wrong time you get randomly tossed through the labyrinth.¡±


    It was a comment that drew Adam¡¯s immediate attention. ¡°So Row¡¯s story about touching a red ball that sucked her and her parents away was true?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The Goddess put in these types of special portals, and then locked them with special keys. Without the right key and knowledge they¡¯re more of a danger than anything to use.¡±


    ¡°The weird rock you traded for?¡± Kuzu asked as she stared at the portal.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grin at how smart Kuzu had started to become. When we¡¯d met she had floundered so horribly I had wondered if she could even survive against the fluffiest of monsters. ¡°Once I touch the stone to the portal we¡¯ll have a few minutes to pass through before it stops functioning again.¡±


    ¡°Let''s do it then!¡± Lance exclaimed. ¡°Where we going to get tossed? The highest floor?¡±


    ¡°I wish.¡± I walked up to the portal. With my free hand that wasn¡¯t holding my daughter I pulled free the rock I¡¯d purchased from the rat. ¡°We¡¯re going to the fiftieth floor. It¡¯s a nice city with some friendly cat people. The nyanko.¡±


    ¡°Ten floors.¡± Adam shook his head. ¡°Travelling with you is just one surprise after another isn¡¯t it?¡±


    When the skyrock touched the portal it sunk in as though the surface was made of water. The portal eagerly devoured it, sucking it from my hand with enough force that my fingers stung. With a bit of a start I stepped away from the portal and waited for a few seconds.


    From where the stone had entered a spiral of colors began to flow out across the whole of the sphere. Soon a cascade of rainbows swirled around the entire orb, while the nearby plant life began to undergo a change of color.


    ¡°Time to go,¡± I informed the others while I put my hand against the sphere, ¡°don¡¯t hesitate, go now while we still can.¡±


    The rest of the group ran to the portal and placed their hands on it. Adam and Lance had a nervous look on their faces while Kuzu¡¯s showed not a hint of fear. Lisa, still held in my arm, reached out her own small hand and put it against what her mother had crafted.


    Then we were gone.


    <hr>


    Floor 50


    The Enslaved And Forgotten


    Checkpoint Five


    <hr>


    We appeared in the park of a bustling city. All around us people moved, all too busy with their own lives to even pay attention to the new arrivals. Though we¡¯d appeared in the middle of a park most of the trees were gone, the majestic spires of metal instead the only things reaching toward the skies.


    The brothers groaned and in my arm Lisa squirmed, the feeling of the shortcut one that wore out the body and made one''s muscles ache far worse than any ordinary workout would. Yet while they all complained in grunts and groans about their discomfort something else had caught my attention. The flash of information we got when we arrived on the floor.


    It was then that I noticed the ornaments that the nyanko wore around their necks.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I whispered as my body shuddered in fright.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 19 - When Darkness Falls

    The city of the Nyanko was laid out in a circle of tall buildings with a park in the middle. The arrival point of the floor was always within the park, and the last time I¡¯d been there it¡¯d been a flourishing locale. Yet at some point the trees had withered, the grass had died, and the nyanko no longer lounged in the sun.


    Instead the feline based humanoids trudged through the park in silence. Their heads were kept low and they refused to look at anyone. It wasn¡¯t their behavior that bothered me the most, instead it was what they had on their necks.


    Lisa started to move in my arms, as though eager to leap down and go on an adventure of her own. I tightened my grip as I began to walk hastily away from where we¡¯d arrived, my attention not on the nyanko but the distant surroundings. I had no interest in being caught by surprise.


    When I realized that only Kuzu had opted to follow me I turned and motioned at the brothers with my free hand. ¡°Quick, we need to move now,¡± I hissed at them, ¡°don¡¯t talk to anyone, don¡¯t go anywhere. Follow me or we¡¯re going to die.¡±


    ¡°Mind explaining what¡¯s going on?¡± Adam whispered as he, and his brother, hurried after me.


    ¡°If I¡¯m right we need to stay as quiet as possible, and hurry,¡± I replied. When he started to talk again I held one finger up to my mouth to try and encourage silence.


    There was a near visible tension in the air as I rushed the group through the city. We managed to avoid any contact with the nyanko, as they instead seemed far more interested in avoiding not only us but each other. Some of them tugged at the collars on their necks with their displeasure at the ornament easy enough to see.


    As we neared the edge of the city a forest of crystalline trees loomed ahead. The multi-colored plants fractured the sunlight into rainbows that covered everything in sight, except for the center of the woods. Instead darkened ground could be seen, as though some sort of entity had destroyed the heart of the forest.


    My pace quickened as we reached the wall of crystal trees, while I struggled with the fear that had continued to grow. When we walked through that outer ring I was greeted by a sight that only continued to worsen my mental state.


    The handcrafted forest of crystal had been scarred at some point in the past. A large chunk in the center had been turned into a blackened wasteland. As we walked the ground beneath our feet crunched, as though it had been turned to glass. The only feature within the remains of the heart of the forest was a solitary black pillar.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why she locked it all down,¡± I murmured as I stared at the pillar, ¡°Lisa, I need you to try and get in contact with her. We need to get inside immediately.¡±


    In my arms my daughter looked at the pillar, a troubled expression on her face. She glanced at me and then wriggled out of my arms and jumped down. Her little feet crunched into the glass as she started to run.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll wake her up good!¡± Lisa exclaimed as she twirled mid-run, a wide grin on her face. When she reached the pillar she knelt down on the ground and placed her head directly against the metal.


    With her dealt with I turned to face the others. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all have questions so I¡¯ll try to answer them all now, but we probably have minutes at most before company arrives.¡±


    Kuzu didn¡¯t even ask a question, nor wait for a response, instead she followed after Lisa. Our gazes connected for a brief second and it was long enough for me to know what she planned. No matter what would happen next she would guard my daughter with her life.


    ¡°A quick question then,¡± Adam said as he unslung his rifle and chambered a round, ¡°why¡¯d you want us to stay quiet and hurry to here?¡±


    ¡°Remember the nyanko in the city? They all had those collars on them, did you notice that? Each of those has been slaved to a commanding unit who in turn is able to know everything they hear and see.¡±


    ¡°Commanding unit?¡± Lance raised an eyebrow at that.


    Before I could respond a tingle ran down my spine, one that I¡¯d felt numerous times in the past. While the brothers watched on I leapt away from them as pulled my sword free from the scabbard. I gathered a small amount of my magic in preparation even as I yelled to the others, ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡±


    A dark figure arced down out of the sky and hammered into the ground with enough force glass was sent flying everywhere. As it straightened up we could all clearly see that it was taller than even Lance. With wide shoulders and muscles that rippled beneath a skintight outfit it was clear that there was power within that body. A single hand came up to run fingers through white hair, while red eyes stared so hard at us that it felt like the gaze would punch holes into our bodies.


    ¡°An Architect,¡± I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, and it was the word that brought a look of concern to the brothers¡¯ faces.


    Black boots crunched against the glassed soil as weight shifted and the Architect turned to glare at me. A gloved hand lifted up to point a singular finger at me. ¡°Peculiar specimen,¡± the Architect said in a gravel-laden voice, ¡°homo sapien offshoot perchance?¡±


    Before I could respond the hand dismissed me with a wave, a wave that was strong enough to move the air itself and bowl me over. As I tumbled to the ground I could barely catch a glimpse of the response from the brothers.


    Lance had pulled a long dagger out and lunged in close to the Architect, his course of action a simple stab at the chest. For a moment I could see that he almost managed to impale his target before I hit the ground head first, and the crunching of glass near my ears ruined any hope I had of hearing what came next.


    When I managed to stand back up a hint of blood spilled down from the various cuts on my scalp. All I could hear was a combination of the rush of blood in my ears and a howl, one that sounded like it came from Lance. I shook my head and then focused on where the howling had come from. What I saw was that Lance had somehow lost most of his right arm, and he¡¯d fallen to his knees as blood gushed from the wound.


    Adam¡¯s rifle roared as he fired round after round, his hands a blur as he worked the bolt and loaded a new round faster than I could follow. Yet his bullets slipped past the Architect as the thing walked toward Adam, the bloody and torn off arm of Lance held in it¡¯s left hand. It grinned as with minute sways of the body it avoided each shot and continued to close the gap.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    When it got closer Adam pulled out his pistol and tried to fire into the Architect¡¯s face, yet it lifted Lance¡¯s arm and slammed Adam in his own face with his brother¡¯s limb. Adam collapsed to the ground while the Architect discarded the arm on top of him, a neutral expression once more on it¡¯s face.


    My fingers tightened on the hilt of my sword while electricity began to dance down my arm and to the weapon. It was what I¡¯d used to disrupt the blizzard, and what I¡¯d used to sever the gargoyle in half, and yet even as I swung the weapon there was that doubt in the back corner of my mind. The blade slipped through the air so fast that it wasn¡¯t even a full second, and it was still too slow.


    Instead the Architect caught the tip of the blade with a single forefinger. ¡°Astounding,¡± the Architect commented as a hint of blood dripped free from a fresh minor cut on the finger, ¡°absolutely impressive.¡±


    I growled in response to it¡¯s pointless platitudes and retracted the sword. My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to deal with the current situation. If I¡¯d had access to Mika¡¯s armory I would¡¯ve had no problem, as Markov¡¯s suits should have still been in there. Even if they¡¯d degraded due to a loss of the stasis fields I¡¯d have had a way out.


    If I tried to summon weapons it would knock them away, as my current energy reserves weren¡¯t enough for me to deal with an Architect with that strategy. I could create a clone, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain it for long enough. I took a couple steps back in order to create more distance between us, while I worked at my internal strategizing.


    The thing before me cared little for my distancing, instead it studied the small injury I¡¯d caused on it¡¯s finger. The emotionless mask that it wore remained flawless as it licked at the blood, and then the red eyes shifted to look at me.


    It walked only a few feet before icicles speared the Architect from behind. The ice projectiles managed to pierce at least a couple of inches into it¡¯s body, though they weren¡¯t deep enough for my preference.


    The Architect¡¯s face was as impassive as it had mostly been from the start, even as it reached over it¡¯s shoulder and pulled one of the icicles out. When it brought the icicle in front and looked at it, the Architect¡¯s eyes widened and a smile appeared. ¡°Magic,¡± it hissed as it turned to glare at Kuzu.


    Everyone else no longer mattered to it, as instead Kuzu had garnered all of the Architect¡¯s attention. It walked with an air of confidence toward her, taking it¡¯s time while Kuzu¡¯s eyes widened. Even from afar I could tell that she was scared, as her ears tucked in close to her head and she wrapped her tail around her waist.


    Out of nowhere a small bag flew over and hit the Architect in the arm, an act that made it stop and look down. Once it realized what had hit it it looked up at who¡¯d thrown the bag and noticed that Adam was awake. There was almost no time for it to react before Adam fired his pistol at the bag at the Architect¡¯s feet.


    The ammunition in the bag ignited on contact with the bullet and the spot where the Architect stood turned into a ball of fire. Even at a distance I could feel the heat as it washed over me, and I held up one hand to shield my eyes and face from the light and potential shrapnel. Try as I might I couldn¡¯t see past it all to check on how Kuzu and Lisa were.


    If the explosion had been loud the clap that came next was even louder. A burst of air erupted from the center of the fireball, and the Architect was revealed as the flames spread outward and dissipated. It held it¡¯s two hands together, and though there were burn marks all over there was no telltale sign of significant damage.


    For the first time since we¡¯d seen the Architect there was a look of hatred on it¡¯s face. One hand lifted up and formed a fist, and then it swung so fast that I couldn¡¯t even see the movement of it¡¯s hand. The fist was aimed in the direction of Adam, and soon thereafter a blast of powerful wind hammered into him. The impact was enough to send Adam hurtling back into the crystal forest and out of sight.


    While it¡¯d been distracted by Adam I burst into action and utilized my high speed to get in close to it¡¯s back. The smell of burnt flesh filled my nostrils as I once more did my lightning quick sword slash, this time at point blank range, and attempted to cut horizontally along the waist. Beneath my feet the ground cracked as I shifted my weight in an attempt to maximize the damage of the blow.


    Once more my blade bit into a finger, though this time I managed to reach all the way to the bone. In that split second between the middle of my swing and contact the Architect had put it¡¯s hand down. Fingers curled around the blade and wrenched the sword out of my hand, while the Architect¡¯s left hand lifted up and it tapped at it¡¯s ear with one finger.


    ¡°Acoustic mistake,¡± the Architect said before it drove an elbow directly into my face.


    I fell over onto the ground while blood oozed from my broken nose. I let out a groan of pain as I laid on the shattered glass shards, new lacerations gained all along my back from the fall. The Architect gave no more attention to me and instead returned to it¡¯s walk toward Kuzu. It was then that it paused, and from my vantage point I could barely tell that it was instead looking past Kuzu.


    ¡°No!¡± I almost shouted as I realized what, or rather who, that had garnered it¡¯s interest.


    Kuzu threw icicle after icicle at the Architect, but it swatted each of them out of the air even as it hastened it¡¯s steps. When it came close Kuzu threw up her hands and created a dome of ice, one that blocked her and Lisa away from the Architect.


    As though curious about what had happened it put one hand against the wall of ice and slowly slid it¡¯s fingers down the exterior. A tilt of the head was it¡¯s only reaction before it punched the wall, the ice cracking as the fist went deep into the wall. A few more punches was all it took to make a large hole in the front of the dome.


    I struggled up to my feet as the Architect reached in and yanked Kuzu out of the dome. She clawed at him, and the diamond-tipped blades of the gloves were more than capable of cutting into flesh. Yet the Architect treated her like a pest as it threw Kuzu off to the side, a toss that had enough power that she cleared a good thirty yards.


    When the Architect walked into the dome and approached Lisa I could only feel a combination of fear and anger, and I ran as hard as I could to get there before Lisa could be harmed. I knew that the reason she hadn¡¯t reacted was because she¡¯d connected with Mika¡¯s system, and that meant she was in that world of machines and systems. I didn¡¯t even want to think about what might happen if the Architect caused a disruption of that connection.


    Perhaps it was due to the noise I made as I dashed, or maybe the Architect¡¯s instinct, but in the end it turned and caught sight of me before I could get close enough to attack. Without a hint of haste it reached up and gripped the shattered edge of the dome, tearing off a chunk. When it threw the chunk at me I tried to guard, but the aim was far lower than I¡¯d expected as it aimed for my left knee.


    I wasn¡¯t certain if it was the ice or my knee, but in either case all I could hear was a loud crunch. I tumbled face first and skidded to a stop near the dome of ice, my face covered in fresh cuts from the glass field. Every part of my body had started to ache and all I could feel was my energy steadily draining as I continued to bleed.


    I wanted to stand up, but the ground was so warm and I was so cold and tired. We stood no chance, we couldn¡¯t get away, and the Architect would show no mercy. It even seemed like it was stronger than what I could remember, which meant that it¡¯d only get worse even if we survived.


    ¡°What about your promises?¡±


    It was a question that made me chuckle. ¡°You would ask that,¡± I muttered from my place on the ground, as I started to push my hands against the glass.


    Though the shards dug deep into my palms and fingers I ignored the pain. Though my knee screamed in protest, as something cracked and blood oozed out of my pants, I stood up straight. Though I could barely focus on the Architect I still balled my hands into fists.


    It¡¯d already turned away from me, far more interested in my daughter and the pillar. I gathered all of my energy and focused, as there was only one solution that I could think of. I put all of my weight onto my right leg, and then used a burst of energy to throw myself at the Architect.


    It had no chance to hear the sound of my forward leap, as I¡¯d moved far too fast for the sound to beat me there. I unleashed a punch at the exposed back of the Architect, refusing to listen to the burning pain that filled my entire body.


    There was a gratifying grunt of pain from the Architect as it¡¯s body lifted for a moment off of the ground. It turned and glared at me, one hand lifting up to swipe at my neck. It was an easy enough move to see coming, and with my current speed I had no problem swaying back enough to avoid the fingers.


    It was as the fingers neared my neck that I realized the mistake I¡¯d made. In front of my eyes the fingers seemed to almost elongate and reshape themselves, and instead of a hand it was instead a thin blade. I attempted to pull back further but it was already too late as the tip of the blade cut into the front of my neck.


    I already knew that it was a lethal wound. Soon enough I¡¯d bleed out and the Architect would have all the time it needed to do anything it wanted. It even knew that, as it grinned at me and crossed it¡¯s arms. All the damage I¡¯d done so far had been nothing compared to what it could handle.


    That was why when my fist connected with the Architect¡¯s chin there was only surprise on it¡¯s face. The blow was far stronger than the one before, and as my hand touched against the chin I also released every ounce of magic I had left. The strike was strong enough to rip the Architect¡¯s head clear off and send it hurtling upward, and as it hit the dome the head crashed through the thick ice and continued to ascend.


    Like I was a puppet who had it¡¯s strings cut I collapsed on the spot. I¡¯d basically laced my bones and muscles with magical energy, and then used it to force myself to move faster than I was physically able to. All in all it was almost like I¡¯d had Markov¡¯s suit on again, but without the safety features there was only one result.


    It didn¡¯t matter what that result was though, since I could feel numbness as I continued to bleed. I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes, savoring that moment of victory I¡¯d had.


    And then there was darkness.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 20 - When War Comes Knocking

    A soft blue light tickled at my eyes as I regained consciousness. Nearby I could make out the light sound of machinery, along with a slow yet steady beep. I blinked in confusion as I tried to figure out where I was, and a white ceiling above filled my sight.


    When I tried to move I realized how bad of an idea that was. As though the movement reminded my body that it was there, all I could feel was a strong pain in every part of my body. Every muscle burned, every bone ached and stung, every organ felt like glass had been rubbed against it, and even my eyes hurt as I looked up.


    I hissed at the pain as I tried to lift myself up to look around. What I managed to see before I settled back down was that I was alone. The room was nothing more than a white cube, and I was on a soft bed. I¡¯d been unable to make out any door or window, nor any markings.


    I knew where I was.


    ¡°Mika,¡± I said, my own voice bringing a frown to my face. It¡¯d changed to one that was hoarse and more of a whisper, and the pain in my throat mirrored the pain that pulsated across my entire body.


    A small girl flickered into existence seated on my bed. She wore a black dress and had long dark hair. She didn¡¯t look at me, but instead remained focused on an open book in her hands. ¡°Father,¡± Mika said in her quiet voice, ¡°I see you finally woke up.¡±


    ¡°Wher-¡± I managed to croak out before I had to swallow.


    ¡°If you are attempting to ask where everyone is, they are all here,¡± Mika told me.


    Before I could try to ask anything else a beep sounded. It came from one of the walls, and as another beep sounded the wall parted and revealed a hallway along with three figures. Lisa, Kuzu, and Adam entered the room before the door vanished once again.


    Though to say that Lisa walked in would be a lie, as she instead tried to run right for my bed as soon as she saw me. It was thanks to Kuzu¡¯s quick thinking and hands that she failed at that, as Kuzu scooped her up. I gave a weak smile as my thanks to her.


    ¡°Well look who didn¡¯t die,¡± Adam commented as he strolled over to my bed, ¡°Lance is going to be mad that he lost the bet.¡±


    I gave the slightest of nods to Adam, but then I realized what he¡¯d said and how his brother was missing. I tried to word my thoughts but my throat refused to listen, and all I could do was frown at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Adam wondered, before he seemed to realize why I was concerned, ¡°Lance? Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s in one of those bedrooms recovering. He¡¯s focusing on growing his arm back, but it¡¯ll take him a while.¡±


    ¡°I missed you!¡± Lisa cried out from the arms of Kuzu.


    ¡°Yes yes, we all missed father,¡± Mika told her as she closed the book in her hands, ¡°but we need to talk about more important things than that.¡±


    As though in response ot her comment the light above me shifted color, and a deep blow hue coated my blanketed body. With that light a sense of relief came over everything as the pain steadily numbed.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said to my daughter, before I cleared my throat and tried to speak again, ¡°how¡¯d I get here?¡±


    ¡°Adam carried you,¡± Kuzu said, ¡°and then Mika showed herself and told us to put you in here. She said it was a room that could heal you.¡±


    ¡°Technically the bed has a vibrational system designed to help stimulate the natural healing process,¡± Mika told her, ¡°though I had to rely on the last of the nanites in the system to repair the life threatening injuries father sustained.¡±


    ¡°Nanites?¡±


    ¡°Miniaturized machines, though I only had a small amount left in my storage since I had utilized the rest for maintenance.¡±


    While the two of them talked I lifted my right hand and touched the front of my neck. I could feel a slight bump, one that was new, and figured I¡¯d picked up a scar from the Architect¡¯s cut. I already knew that it should¡¯ve been enough to kill me, but at the same time there was no way they could¡¯ve gotten me into the tower in time to save my life.


    ¡°Kuzu was the one who stopped the bleeding,¡± Adam whispered from my side when he say me fingering where the cut was, ¡°she used her ice to block all your cuts. You almost froze to death, but better than bleeding out right?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling at that, and I looked at Kuzu while she continued to talk with Mika. Whether I wanted to admit to it or not she¡¯d helped me to meet my second daughter again, and perhaps in the long run she¡¯d be the reason I reached the garden once more.


    ¡°Hold on now,¡± Mika suddenly said as she held up one intangible hand at Kuzu, ¡°while I would thoroughly enjoy explaining the intricacies of the systems, I need to speak with my father.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, do you need us to leave?¡± Kuzu asked as she tilted one of her ears to the side.


    ¡°No,¡± I said, answering the question before Mika could, ¡°stay.¡±


    My daughter looked at me, a hint of annoyance flickering momentarily on her face, and then she gave the smallest of nods. ¡°I will take that to mean you do not mind sharing everything with all of these here,¡± she said, ¡°so I will first assert that right now, father, you are useless.¡±


    I narrowed my eyebrows at that. ¡°What?¡±


    With a wave of her right hand Mika summoned numerous images onto the white walls of the room. For the others here they were strange, dark images with what looked to be skeletons, but I knew full well what they were.


    ¡°Whatever you did during your scuffle outside did extensive damage to your body,¡± Mika explained, ¡°and it wasn¡¯t merely to your bone structure. I¡¯ve detected fissuring throughout your muscular system, as well as at the very least bruising to most of your organs.¡±


    ¡°Fissuring?¡± I asked to make sure of what she was saying.


    ¡°Indeed, at a microscopic level no less.¡± Mika waved her hand to dismiss all of the images on the walls. ¡°Normally you could rest and recover from muscle damage, but you are hurt so extensively that all of my projections are showing you will never achieve full recovery.¡±


    ¡°What if we get more nanites?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°As if they grow on trees, as mother would say? You know that in order to acquire more nanites we¡¯d require a manufacturing plant, one that we can only access via one of Markov¡¯s factories on a higher floor.¡±


    I sighed at that comment, as I¡¯d always put off on making one for the base. ¡°I really should¡¯ve built you one when I had the chance.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you should have. But to answer your question if I receive a new supply of nanites I could at the very least utilize them to create a cybernetic alteration to you. As it stands, though, you will never fully recover.¡±


    The room grew silent at her words as even my companions knew what she was saying. The work I¡¯d put into trying to make my new body useful had all been pointless, and I already knew that even if I recovered more than Mika expected I could never use one of Markov¡¯s suits. If anything ever went wrong with one of the safety systems it¡¯d tear me even further apart.


    ¡°I think maybe I should go check on Lance,¡± Adam finally commented as he started to move for the wall he¡¯d come in through.


    Before he made it to the door the entire room shook, while from somewhere distant a dull and heavy thud could be heard. It was something which caused everyone in the room to look up in surprise, and Mika flickered momentarily as though she struggled to maintain her hologram.


    ¡°Father, we might have a problem.¡± Mika lifted one hand at the nearest wall and summoned a new image on it.


    What we were shown was a white haired figure with red eyes, one who had a muscular frame and a very familiar face. Behind it was the darkened glass field that we¡¯d fought on a short time ago, as well as a bloodied body. Even the others here could easily tell that the dead body on the ground was an exact match for the person in front of them.


    As we watched the figure lifted up one hand and hammered it down slightly below where the camera was. In a direct mirror to that impact the entire room shook again, and once more Mika flickered.


    ¡°We killed him already!¡± Adam yelled as he stared in confusion at the live feed from outside.


    ¡°It, not him,¡± I almost instinctively replied.


    Mika¡¯s eyes widened at the confused look that Adam gave at what I¡¯d said. ¡°You did not tell them about that? Are you dense, father? You allied with these and yet burdened them with a lack of knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Mika, not now,¡± I told her, ¡°we need to go. Use Adam.¡±


    Without another word a second Mika split off from the first, and with a beckon toward Adam the new one floated to the wall. Once more the wall parted as the automatic door opened, and Mika floated in the doorway while she waited for the startled Adam.


    After he¡¯d left the room I turned my attention back to the images on the wall. Off in the distance another figure could barely be made out as it emerged from the crystal forest, though I already knew what it was.


    ¡°Two drones, you should feel honored,¡± I commented to the hologram of Mika that was still in the room.


    ¡°They had about forty before I shut down,¡± she said while she began to float randomly in the air, ¡°speaking of which I thought you stopped Helim?¡±


    ¡°I did, I laid waste to his entire empire and killed every last Architect I could find.¡±


    ¡°Well you missed some.¡±


    The room shook as both of the drones outside pummeled the exterior of the building. I knew that it would take a while longer for them to get past the outer wall, but since the lights flickered everytime I could only guess that Mika¡¯s systems were still damaged from before.


    ¡°Mika, chair mode please.¡±


    There was a momentary flicker of annoyance on my daughters face before she waved her hand at me. The bed I was on started to change at my request. The feet section lowered down, while the head area lifted, and soon the entire bed had shifted into a chair. With a hiss wheels came out from the sides of the bed while arm rests emerged.


    ¡°I find this is unwise, father, you should rest more.¡±


    ¡°Yeah daddy, listen to Mika!¡± Lisa said as she watched me wince in pain.


    I waved off their concerns before I pointed to where the door was. ¡°If something goes wrong and we can¡¯t get away we¡¯ll need to prepare. Mika take us to the armory.¡±


    There were no more arguments from my daughters after that moment. Instead Mika floated with her original hologram to the exit and opened it for us, while the wheelchair I was now in followed automatically. Kuzu and Lisa were the last ones to leave the medical room.


    Unlike my home on the tenth floor the forward operating base was more compact, with short hallways and small rooms. It¡¯d been designed with the usage of the avian dimensional magic, but my lack of knowledge in regard to that had forced me to cut down on the space. There were no ornaments or portraits, no statues or anything else. This was a place made for my personal war against the Architects.


    So it took us almost no time to reach the main storage of my little fortress. As we entered Kuzu let out a little cry of surprise, as along the walls of the small room were suits of unusual armor and weapons. Each was a creation by Markov, as he tried his best to take his knowledge of Architect technology and fuse it with the magic of the lower floors.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised so many stasis fields managed to stay active,¡± I said as I looked around, ¡°I¡¯m going to assume the suits are still coded to my old biometrics?¡±


    ¡°Obviously,¡± Mika said, her tone a bit cold, ¡°so if you wanted to stick one of your new friends into one you are out of luck. Without Markov to help it will take years before I can synchronize one of the suits.¡±


    ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t work without training anyways,¡± I replied as I looked over everything.


    Aside from the suits there were weapons that were unlike anything found elsewhere. Hilts without blades, until one wanted a blade, as well as rifles which could fire beams of energy. I¡¯d even talked Markov into creating a type of gun that could fire different magic, based on the crystals embedded in it.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Kuzu asked as she peered at one of the weapon cases. Within was a spear that was made entirely from a type of grey crystal.


    ¡°An experiment, Lute told me that it¡¯s one of the hardest substances.¡±


    ¡°Father,¡± Mika suddenly called out, ¡°we¡¯re ready. Adam has inserted his hand and I¡¯ve set it to twenty.¡±


    I let out a long sigh at that. It was the moment of truth, since if the system failed we¡¯d have to abandon my base and take whatever we could past the drones outside. It was an idea I didn¡¯t care much for, since I¡¯d have to rely on Lisa to do most of the fighting. Even if we overpowered the two I expected they¡¯d have at least one more near the portal.


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    The response was instantaneous. The room we were in shook more than when the drones had hammered on the exterior, and even Kuzu struggled to keep her balance. The lights in the room started to dim while Mika¡¯s hologram vanished. All of the stasis fields began to turn off one by one, and some of the items that¡¯d been on display fell off of their hooks.


    Lisa clung tighter to Kuzu while the shaking only worsened. I clenched my jaw as I fought against the waves of pain that all of the movement caused. Above all of the lights completely turned off, as the energy of the base was drained. It wasn¡¯t for a few more moments until a few dim lights clicked on. They were the emergency lights that ran off of a backup system.


    ¡°The slide system activated, but you¡¯ll need to check if we made it,¡± Mika said, her voice emitted from speakers embedded in the walls.


    ¡°Thank you, Mika,¡± I said, and then I pointed to a cloak that was on the ground, ¡°Kuzu wear that and grab one of the weapons. Lisa, take the spear that Kuzu was looking at before.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s special about this?¡± Kuzu asked as she scooped up the cloak and put it on.


    ¡°Active camouflage, there¡¯s a button embedded in the collar on the left,¡± I told her, ¡°if you press it you can gain a degree of invisibility.¡±


    Before she could ask any more questions I used the controls on the arm rest to turn the wheelchair around. I drove it to the door, which slowly opened due to the severely low power, and then went out into the hallway again. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Lisa almost skipped her way out of the small armory, the large spear held in one hand. Behind her Kuzu followed with a rifle in her hands. She¡¯d pulled the hood of the cloak up, and I knew that with her natural stealth it¡¯d make even an Architect unable to find her.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to exit, if you see one of the drones Lisa needs to summon her wings and start the engagement. Kuzu will follow through with support when they¡¯re distracted,¡± I told them as I stopped my wheelchair in front of the exit.


    ¡°If?¡± Kuzu wondered, though I gave her no answer.


    Instead I opened the door, the light outside illuminating the dark hallway. A crisp breeze that was filled with the scent of grass flowed past us, while Lisa started to jump up and down excitedly even as Kuzu gasped.


    I thumbed the control of the wheelchair and drove through the door, the wheels struggling with the grass outside. I glanced to the left and right, but I saw no drone, and let out a sigh of relief. I motioned with my hand to the girls behind as I studied the horizon and some familiar buildings.


    ¡°What¡¯s this place?¡± Lisa asked as she bounded out of the base, her spear dropping to the ground in the midst of her excitement.


    ¡°That¡¯s Heron,¡± Kuzu whispered as she stared at the city, ¡°but how¡¯d we get here?¡±


    I wheeled over so I could be next to her. ¡°Markov called it the slide system, he based it on Architect technology. Mika read the data in Adam¡¯s checkpoint crystal and then shifted the entire base.¡±


    ¡°The labyrinth lets you do stuff like that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯d you think the portals were, magic?¡± I asked with a small grin, as I was reminded of one of Lute¡¯s favorite quotes, ¡°but first we need to talk about what we¡¯re going to do next.¡±


    Kuzu lowered the hood of her cloak as she realized no fight was about to happen. ¡°What do you mean? We saved your daughter and you¡¯re hurt really bad. I figured you were going to retire.¡±


    ¡°No, the Architects are spreading and sooner or later they¡¯ll get to the lower floors. We¡¯re going to need to recuperate and prepare, and then take the fight to them.¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t fight anymore and just one of those drone things almost killed you, how can anyone hope to fight their whole race?¡±


    It was a question I¡¯d heard from a few of my friends in the past. ¡°We¡¯re going to need reinforcements, and someone to help with Markov¡¯s systems.¡±


    Kuzu turned to look at me as she lifted the length of the rifle to rest against her shoulder. It was a placement that I¡¯m certain she¡¯d learned by watching Adam. ¡°Where are we going to find someone who can help with Architect technology?¡±


    I could barely contain my laughter at that. ¡°You already know her, so that¡¯ll make this a lot easier.¡±


    ¡°What? Who are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I thought it was obvious. You¡¯re going to recruit Alexia.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    Herein ends Volume 2 of Grave Of The Goddess

 Vol. 3 Chapter 1 - The Second Genocide War

    All around me the entire place shook violently, while above the lights grew dim. I knew without having to ask that everybody else in the base was anxious, as this was what we¡¯d worked toward for seven years. When at long last the shaking finally came to an end I glanced to my left and waited for what I hoped was good news.


    "We have arrived."


    I gave a nod to confirm that I''d heard her and then reached out and opened the door. I strode out onto the black glass plain of the fiftieth floor, my heavy feet sinking into the fragile surface. As I stood there my daughters joined me, one on my right and the other to my left. The door to the forward operating base closed automatically, but we made no further move.


    "This is boring," Lisa grumbled, "why can''t we just run over and punch them right now?"


    On my other side Mika looked past me and glared at her. "Father already explained he wants to see how he compares to a drone."


    "But we could do that at their little base place can''t we?"


    A figure emerged from the edge of the crystal forest and its emergence brought the discussion to an end. Before long another came out as well, and even from this distance we could tell that they were identical in shape and look. Next to me Lisa let out a little cry of excitement and pumped her arm in victory.


    "I call dibs!" Lisa declared as she pointed at the one on the right.


    "That is fine by me." Mika put one hand on her hip. "Try not to get killed by doing something dumb."


    The two Architects walked with a measured pace across the blackened plain. They were in no rush to get to us nor did they show any emotions on their identical faces. Lisa was the first to make a proper move, as she burst across the glass field. Behind her long blonde hair flowed out, while she slipped free a sword from a scabbard hidden on her spine.


    I could only smile at my eager daughter as I followed after her, my heavy metal feet crushing the fragile glass surface with each step. I lifted my left hand up and aimed it at the Architect Lisa hadn¡¯t claimed. Within the forearm the crystal system triggered and started to spin, as it gathered fire magic and then produced a ball of flame. The drone ahead of me showed it''s surprise on its face and stepped out of the way of the flames.


    I clenched my hand and the ball of fire exploded, the strong concussive force enough to knock the Architect off of his feet. Even the other two who were in the midst of their fight had to pause for a moment due to the shock wave that I''d caused. Unlike my daughter I had no weapons on me, so when I reached the fallen drone I straightened the fingers of my right hand and drove it into the stomach. The nightsteel digits easily pierced the flesh of the Architect, and before it could hope to respond I drove even more of my arm in. A second later I ripped my hand free along with the heart that belonged to the drone.


    The drone reached up for its heart, as though it would be able to put it back in without a problem, but I crushed it and walked away. When I checked on Lisa and her own fight the head of her opponent had been sent flying, while its body was covered in numerous slashes. Yet with all of those obvious hits landed on the Architect, Lisa''s pale white dress was still unsoiled. She nudged the head of the Architect that she''d beheaded with her white boot, a look of annoyance on her face.


    Mika walked over to join us while her sister put away her sword, the sword mechanically accepted into the automated scabbard on her back. "It would seem that our estimates were right, father, how is the body?" Mika asked as she studied me from head to toe.


    I looked down at the black fingers and arms and did a quick check of my range of motion. "I think I damaged the pinky finger," I commented as I noticed that it wouldn''t bend again, "but aside from that it''s working fine."


    "Even if it wasn''t we got this." Lisa pointed off in the direction of the nyanko city. "Let''s go kick them off of this floor!"


    I studied my heads-up display and checked the embedded compass. "We need to head a little to the west of the city, that''s where the portal is," I said as I casually removed the troublesome pinky finger, "their outpost should be there. Once we arrive you two need to clear it as fast as possible."


    "Would you prefer if we mobilize in advance, father?"


    I shook my head at that idea. "No, Mika, if there''s an actual Architect I''m not sure how strong they are now, so let''s err on the side of caution okay?"


    Mika gave a nod to that request, though Lisa didn''t look altogether happy with it. However she didn''t argue and so shortly thereafter we¡¯d already headed into the crystal forest. Though it''d been seven years since we''d last been on this floor the landscape had thankfully remained the same.


    After a short bit of running we emerged nearby a hill, one that was large enough to obscure where I¡¯d expected the base to be at. I held up one hand in order to get my daughters attention and came to a stop. Instead of rushing over the hill and into a possible ambush I instead began a slow walk, my body lowered down to try and use the terrain to my advantage. Mika and Lisa followed suit behind me, though Lisa grumbled under her breath about how we were wasting time.


    What we saw after we''d crept up the hill was a dome with four pillars located at the cardinal directions. On two of the pillars stood drones and we saw nobody else nearby. The dome itself was made of a type of steel. There were no visible markings on the outside with only a single door in view on the eastern side.


    I gave the smallest of movements to my daughters to get their attention. When they looked at me I pointed at each of them and one of the drones. Each of my daughters nodded before they looked at each other. Lisa gave a big smile at Mika and quietly pulled her sword out. Mika rolled her eyes in response.


    Wordless and yet still flawless in timing my daughters leapt over the top of the hill and ran down the other side. Lisa immediately split away from Mika as she headed to the drone to their right, her sword held out horizontally to her side. Mika on the other hand held no weapon, instead she focused more on closing the gap while her gloved hands hovered near her hips.


    It wasn''t merely their combat attitudes that were in contrast to one another. While Lisa wore a white dress, stockings, and dress gloves her sister instead had opted for an almost business suit attire that was a dark purple. Mika''s black hair had been styled to be a short cut that barely reached her shoulders. She wore a belt that had round objects, one on each side of her hip. Mika wore thick leather gloves that had been combined with nightsteel to create a flexible yet durable type of material. The only thing they both wore were boots, though their colors matched the rest of their outfits.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The two Architects on the pillars noticed the approaching girls and turned. Once my daughters reached some invisible line the drones leapt from on top of the pillars at them. It was, to me, a strategic blunder and one that Lisa revelled in as she swatted her opponent out of the air. There was no finesse to her attack, she relied instead on her brute strength and swung the sword more like a bat. The Architect tried to stop her attack by catching the blade, and instead ended up thrown to the ground with its fingers gone.


    Mika on the other hand waited until the very last second before she made her move. Her right hand went to the sphere at her hip, and then she flung her hand at the shoulder of the Architect. While it landed Mika ducked to the left and tried to get to its backside. Once she''d flanked the Architect she reached out and grabbed at what looked to be thin air, and then she yanked it as hard as she could. Blood blossomed as a thin diagonal line appeared on the Architect''s torso, a line that went all the way around its hip and I could only assume its back as well. The drone looked down at the deep cut that went through its entire body with a confused expression.


    I focused on her gloved hand and noticed the slight flash of light. When she''d told me about her idea for a weapon I''d scoffed, but I''d allowed it since I didn''t want to get in the way of her own ideas. Seeing the metal string that she''d just used I could only admit in my mind that it might actually be useful. I doubted that most people would ever try to use it though.


    For Lisa her opponent was easy to finish off. Perhaps fazed by the strike the Architect took too long to get back up, and so Lisa started to impale it over and over again until it died. Mika on the other hand opted for a simple kick to the back of her foe, a move that caused the torso to split almost in two due to the cut she''d already given it.


    I jogged down the hill while they worked to make sure the drones were dead. I knew full well that they had the situation in hand, and so instead I focused on the dome. I reached down to my right hip which opened up, and then I pulled out a small block. I walked up to the dome and put the block against the steel before I turned and ran back.


    "Get back to the hill," I ordered my daughters as I ran past them.


    When I reached the top of the hill I went over to the other side and knelt down. My daughters followed not long after and crouched down near me, once more with one on each side. "We are ready father," Mika told me as she lowered herself even further, as though to hide entirely from what was about to happen.


    "I''m popping it then," I told the two of them, "so keep your heads down and watch for debris."


    I lifted my right forearm and flipped open a small pad. With my left forefinger I pressed a red button, at which point an alert flashed across my heads-up display. I ignored the warning, as I wanted to arm the bomb anyways, and then I slid open a cap on one of the other buttons. At that point I pressed the revealed button and triggered the small block of high explosives.


    The resulting explosion was a tad stronger than what I''d expected. The dome ruptured from the side and shot most of the debris away from us, and two of the pillars were instantly shattered. A few chunks of metal flew in our direction but none of them landed on us. Electricity sparked as machinery within the dome was exposed and ripped apart.


    It was only a few seconds after I''d blown up the dome when Lisa stood up and started to walk toward it. I reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her, which caused her to look at me with a tilted head. "Don''t go without Mika. Make sure the equipment inside is completely broken, and then swing over to the arrival point."


    Mika stood up from the ground, with her hands on her hips. "Do not worry about us, father, we can handle it if their slide is still active," she told me, "do you want us to carry you?"


    "No, once I send them to meet up with you I''m going to swing back to the base," I said.


    "Say hi to Kuzu for me!" Lisa exclaimed as she bounded down the hill without her sister.


    I could only sigh at that, but it was what I''d started to grow accustomed to from her over the last few years. I laid down on the hill, with my face pointed to the sky, and closed my eyes. "Disconnection activate," I said to the air.


    My words generated a ton of messages across my heads-up display. I didn''t bother with reading any of them, and instead patiently waited for the system to finish shutting down. After what felt like an eternity my vision went dark and my body grew heavy, while an alarm started to sound out in my ears. With shaking hands I reached up to remove the visor that covered my eyes.


    What I saw was the familiar sight of the pilot chamber, or rather the storage room I¡¯d converted. There was a set of displays in front of me that fed information from the shell, while the chair that I sat in had numerous straps and devices which I''d had to attach to myself. I flexed my hands slowly, and with a noticeable quiver I reached for the scanners on my left wrist to start removing them.


    "Kuzu," I called out in my hoarse voice, "Kuzu are you there?"


    From outside of the room I heard a clattering as something was dropped, and then Kuzu poked her head into the room. Once she saw that I was awake she stepped into the room, her ears twitching with excitement. Her long tail flicked behind her as she casually strolled around the chair and started to help me remove all of the pieces.


    "You weren''t gone very long," she told me with a little smile, "did you manage to break their outpost?"


    "Yes, and to be honest I probably didn''t need to go," I replied as I waited.


    Kuzu shook her head at that comment, and once when she was done helping me to remove everything she straightened up and offered a hand. "They''re your daughters, there''s no way you wouldn''t have gone."


    I reached out and gripped her hand, giving it a soft squeeze in the process. When I went to stand up I used my free hand to push against the armrest while Kuzu helped to lift me with my other hand. I tried to keep my weight focused on my right side as I stood up. Even after seven years my body still ached from the desperate fight from before.


    "Come on, we need to talk to the others," I told Kuzu as I picked up my cane and turned to the exit.


    "Sure they''re all in the hall, but Lexy is still connected so you should leave her alone."


    Kuzu and I walked out of what had once been a storage room and entered our makeshift little house. It contained a bed, dresser, table, small kitchen, and a single cupboard. It''d taken a bit of work but with the help of the others we''d turned the forward operating base into a temporary shelter.


    I glanced at the kitchen and noticed that Kuzu had been in the midst of cooking something. I opened the door of the room and limped my way out into the hall, while Kuzu hesitated to follow me before she opted to go back to cooking. She knew that sooner or later I''d go back to the control chair, and that nobody in the base was about to hurt me.


    What greeted me in the hall was what I could only call my personal army. I''d only had seven years to prepare everyone, but in that time I''d managed to make a couple of useful fighters. Adam stood closest to me with his battlesuit on and he was in the midst of a conversation with his brother.


    Row was further down and next to Wendy. Wendy was almost done putting her equipment on, though she seemed to be having a little bit of difficulty with it. Row, on the other hand, wore no gear as she was a bit too frail due to her avian heritage, so instead she''d opted to help Wendy with the process of putting her suit on.


    Closest to the exit of the main base stood Ivan and Lucas, the two men I''d met on the second floor. Both of them had also put on a suit and with it and their training I knew they could at least handle a drone. When they noticed me emerge from my room they gave a nod, but neither moved away from the exit.


    I turned my head to the side when I felt a slight prickle on the back of my neck, as though someone was behind me. What I saw when I looked was a beautiful woman who wore a tight black outfit. Unlike the rest she had neither a suit nor a weapon, as she didn¡¯t need them.


    "Why hello there Fenix, are we all set?" Isa asked as she tried to lean in close to me, her excessively large chest nearly touching my back.


    "Yes," I said before I cleared my throat and tried to raise my voice, "alright everyone. This is what I''ve prepared you all for. My daughters and I cleared out the outpost so now they can only access this floor via the arrival spot."


    There was a smattering of applause from everyone in the hall at that comment. Wendy raised her hand as she asked, "So now we can work on releasing all those cat people right?"


    "Yes and no. We''re splitting into two teams for the moment. Adam will lead the first, and his job will be to guard the arrival point. Lucas, Ivan, and Wendy are going with him. Isa is in charge of the second team and she''s going to take Lance and...wait, where''s Osai?"


    "Ain''t here, got all nervous and ran off to the bathroom," Lance said. His words brought a light chuckle and helped to lower the tension that¡¯d started to gather.


    "Well we''ll have him meet up with Isa and Lance at the city."


    "Oh? Why aren''t I allowed to fight some of these silly little Architects?" Isa asked as she put a hand on my shoulder.


    "You can after you''ve removed all the collars from the nyanko. You and Lance can shift to look like nyanko, so they''ll trust you more than us if you go,¡± I told her, and then I turned to everyone else, "any other questions?"


    There was only silence that greeted me and so I lifted up one hand and pointed to the exit. "Alright then, move out and good luck. Keep an eye out for Architects and work together if any should appear."


    Everyone that had been gathered in the hall began to move for the exit. Lucas and Ivan took the lead, while Wendy followed after them. Adam gave Row a quick hug before he left, the lights of his battlesuit flickering with every step. Isa slipped by me and gave a sly little wink.


    Unbeknownst to the Architect race a new war had started, and it was one I intended to win.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 2 - The Family Advances

    I¡¯d returned the shell I¡¯d used back to the forward operating base and stored it. The room we used for holding it was once the armory, but we¡¯d stripped and converted it into a laboratory. After I¡¯d unhooked myself again from the control chair I headed there, not only to check up on it but also our lead scientist.


    The old armory now had an entire section of the wall converted into monitors and computer servers. A single chair sat at the middle of it all, an odd looking helmet attached to the computers via wiring. The other side of the room had a table covered in machinery, some of which I could recognize and others that I had no idea about.


    Deepest into the room stood the shell, settled into the maintenance system that we¡¯d made for it. The missing finger was in the middle of being replaced by the small robotic arms that worked on it, while a scanner checked it for any internal damage. A shelf of magic crystals sat next to the system, at the ready if one wanted to exchange the ones already equipped.


    There was only one person in the room, and as I hobbled in she glanced up to look at me. Even after the seven years we¡¯d worked together she still couldn¡¯t hide her annoyance at me, but I¡¯d learned that it was more out of a protective nature than anything else.


    ¡°Good day to you,¡± I said in greeting.


    Alexia rubbed at her temples while she growled at me. ¡°I really need to figure out a way to get rid of that headache side effect,¡± she complained, her red eyes shooting daggers at me, ¡°and you already broke the remote controlled combat suit?¡±


    I held up two fingers that were almost touching each other. ¡°Only a little bit,¡± I told her with a smile, ¡°how¡¯d your download go this time?¡±


    At those words Alexia put one hand on top of the helmet next to her. ¡°Stupendous. I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve even scratched a tenth of the knowledge he left behind.¡±


    I walked with my cane over to her table of gadgets and looked down at them, noticing that there were a few more than the last time I¡¯d been in the room. ¡°Markov was the smartest of all the Architects, so that doesn¡¯t surprise me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite compunctious that he wasn¡¯t able to pass down his lineage to my family directly. I wonder how the first floor would¡¯ve turned out if he had.¡±


    ¡°Based on what you and Lucas have told me about the Guild I doubt it would¡¯ve turned out much better,¡± I told her. I also pointedly ignored the fact that she had fallen into a habit of using words that were a bit odd, at least for casual conversation. I could only guess that it was some aspect of Markov bleeding through the data that he¡¯d stored in his lab.


    In fact it¡¯d proved to be a stroke of luck that his descendent had been on the first floor, and that I¡¯d managed to meet her. It was due to her being related to him that we were able to properly access his computers. The systems embedded in his laboratory on the twenty-second floor had held a vast amount of data, and with Alexia¡¯s genetic data everything had opened up.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he thought this far ahead, though,¡± I admitted, more to myself than to Alexia, as I thought on what we¡¯d found.


    Detailed instructions had been left behind by Markov, instructions that dealt with how to download his compressed information into a descendent. It was with those instructions we¡¯d made the helmet, and with Alexia¡¯s permission we¡¯d tried the first transfer of information.


    The end result was that she¡¯d gained more technical prowess in minutes than most would have over their entire lifespan. I¡¯d tried to have my daughters access the data, but as Mika had put it there was a biological lock built in. While he¡¯d used Architect genetics to help make my daughters he¡¯d utilized a woman¡¯s, and not his own, in order to achieve their creation.


    Alexia stood up from her chair and walked over to the table. ¡°My ancestor was smart enough to know that his knowledge shouldn¡¯t be lost,¡± she told me as she picked up a cylinder from the table, ¡°by the way I¡¯m planning to embed this in the shell so you can use it.¡±


    I studied what she held and tried to figure out what it was, but it looked like a simple black rod with a red band on one end. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken to calling it a magic blade.¡± Alexia aimed the red band away from her. With a slight shift of her fingers a blade that consisted of ice sprouted from the hilt. ¡°I¡¯ve loaded it with an ice shard and a fire shard, and the crystals should hold enough charge for your entire trip.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll come in handy, I think I already broke a few of the systems because I tried to fight them with my bare hands,¡± I admitted to her, ¡°did you manage to finish the gun?¡±


    Alexia put the hilt down, the ice blade already gone as soon as she let go of it. ¡°Since Markov made it and the stasis fields worked I only had to do some minor tweaks. I¡¯ve set it so that the weapon will only work for your shell, so if anyone else holds it they can¡¯t discharge the crystal energy.¡±


    ¡°And you got the control system to work with the shell, which means I can manipulate the firing pattern?¡±


    Our conversation was interrupted in that moment by a beep from the door, which was shortly followed by another beep as the door slid open. Kuzu walked into the room with a smile on her face, and she gave a small wave to Alexia.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Hi Lexy, is Fenix bugging you?¡±


    ¡°Our esteemed leader has been a minor annoyance at best,¡± Alexia said as she walked over and hugged her friend, ¡°how are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m great, but Fenix needs to go to bed,¡± Kuzu told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly capable of choosing when to go to bed myself.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Kuzu said as she pointed one finger at me, ¡°you¡¯re an idiot and you¡¯ll keep pushing yourself until you collapse. Now get back to the room and eat what I made. After that wash up and go to bed.¡±


    I started to try and argue but Kuzu glared at me with her green eyes, and all I could do was close my mouth and nod my head. I¡¯d learned quite well that once she was riled up I could never win.


    I returned back to my miniature home within the base and ate the dinner. I barely even thought about it, though, since as I washed myself down and prepared for sleep my mind was elsewhere. All I could think of was the upcoming journey to the highest floor, a journey that would be filled with hazards.


    I tossed and turned for a bit after I¡¯d gotten into bed, my concerns for my daughters weighing heavily on my mind. I planned to take them into the deadliest places of the labyrinth, and the guilt of that continued to eat away at me.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    The next morning I¡¯d settled into the control chair of the shell, and I piloted the repaired machine over to the portal on the fiftieth floor. The white sphere floated over a small plot of grassland, not that far distant from where the Architect outpost had been.


    Lisaand Mika had already arrived, and they both had a single bag between them. Within would be their supplies for the upcoming trek, and at a glance I could tell that the amount was a bit lower than I might prefer for them to take.


    ¡°Are you two sure you want to do this?¡± I asked them, as I slung a heavy looking rifle over my shoulder.


    ¡°One of us has to go, so we might as well both go,¡± Mika commented, her gaze fully on the portal.


    Lisa gave a small fist pump with a big smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us dad, we can beat any Architect easy!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± I replied, and then offered a hand to her, ¡°mind helping me out here?¡±


    It was one of the few downsides we¡¯d discovered with the shell. It was a machine, and that meant that it couldn¡¯t transfer via the portal system unless held by someone. If not for that I probably would¡¯ve gone without my daughters.


    Lisa¡¯s smile somehow got even bigger as she gripped my hand. ¡°Sure thing, now let¡¯s do this!¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 51


    Within The Darkness


    <hr>


    After we¡¯d gone through the portal we arrived on the next floor, and it was a place that was entirely black. There were no lights save for a couple stars far above, and so it was impossible to see anything. Even our own hands when held in front of our faces were basically invisible.


    I cycled through the vision options of the shell until I decided to stick with the thermal choice. The nightvision relied on amplifying existing light, and given the lack on this floor that¡¯d only prove pointless.


    My daughters had their own choice on how to deal with the problem they faced. Halos appeared over their heads, which put out enough light that they could see everything close to them.


    All around us was a lush jungle filled with tall grass and shrubs. Large roots reached up out of the ground and interlaced with one another, competing for the nutrients and water below. The trees were much more squat than what one might expect, and in the light produced by my daughters every plant was white.


    I¡¯d always known plants to be green and so my first time on this floor had been a bit of a shock. Lute had told me she¡¯d gotten the idea from a type of plants she¡¯d seen in a cave before, though she¡¯d tweaked it a bit.


    ¡°The compass is pointing to the west,¡± I informed my daughters as I pointed in the direction, ¡°we should try to hurry.¡±


    Lisa held up one hand in an attempt to stop me. ¡°Wait, didn¡¯t you say there was an outpost on like every floor?¡±


    I knew that I shouldn¡¯t have explained everything to them, but I didn¡¯t want a big surprise coming along and getting them killed. ¡°I told you at the briefing, we don¡¯t need to clear every outpost.¡±


    ¡°But I want to see if one of those real Architects you kept talking about is there!¡±


    Mika reached out and grabbed Lisa by the ear, dragging her to the west. ¡°Father already explained time is of the essence. We need to get to the fifty-fifth floor as soon as possible.¡±


    I followed after my daughters, thinking on those words. As Mika had put it we had little time to get to the fifty-fifth floor, as we¡¯d already destroyed one outpost. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the more senior members of the Architect society began to grow interested. If their best fighters showed up en masse I doubted the shell would stand a chance.


    Our walk through the darkened jungle was a bit on the surreal side. One would normally expect to hear the sound of birds, but within this dark floor there were none. Reptiles didn¡¯t exist either as there was no sun for them to rely upon. So instead all we encountered for a while was absolute silence intermingled with the light sound of leaves rustling.


    It was thanks to my thermal vision that I was able to see the attack before it happened, and I whirled the rifle off of my shoulder and into my hands. The energy beam it produced was thin, but it was more than enough to take care of the doberman sized beetle. The hole it made in the head of the insect went all the way through, and the entirely black bug collapsed on the spot.


    ¡°Get ready!¡± I barked at my daughters as my eyes tracked further movement within the undergrowth.


    The pair of halos glowed even brighter as my daughters put more of their internalized energy into them. Lisa whipped her sword out from the back scabbard, while her sister crouched and held her hands on the orbs at her waist.


    More of the beetles began to swarm our location, their movements quick and silent. With their black bodies I knew my daughters would have a hard time seeing them, but my current vision made it all too easy to see every single one.


    Lisa and Mika went back-to-back as they faced the new threat. For the most part they managed to deal with the beetles, but a few would slip in close enough to nip at them with their large mandibles. It was those that I focused on with my rifle.


    While we worked to defend ourselves from the nest we¡¯d managed to run into I began to notice something. The beetles only rushed at my daughters and completely ignored the shell. It was a fact that made the fight all the easier as I didn¡¯t have to put any awareness to my personal surroundings.


    After a continual fight of roughly ten minutes the beetles had stopped appearing. My daughters were lathered in sweat, but neither of them looked winded even though they¡¯d never stopped fighting. I felt a bit of pride at that, but I didn¡¯t voice it.


    ¡°We should move on before anything else shows up,¡± I told my daughters as I walked past them. My metal feet crunched on dead beetles, but I paid it no attention. After all I¡¯d stepped on worst in the past.


    We moved through the forest for a while, all the while waiting for another attack to come. The entire floor might have been a jungle but it was also an insect kingdom. There were worse things in the dark than the beetles we¡¯d run across.


    The portal was easy enough to see long before we got near it. Even with the thick plantlife of the floor the white shine it produced served like a beacon in the dark. As we got closer my daughters pace quickened, and it was only because I grabbed their shoulders that they stopped.


    ¡°We need to be careful here,¡± I whispered to them, ¡°since the portal moves on this floor there¡¯s a high chance for an Architect here.¡±


    Yet when we crept closer to the portal there was no sign of any Architect. I looked around, studying every nook and cranny within the vines and trees, but all I saw was plantlife and very small insects. If there was an Architect they¡¯d hidden themselves so well we had no hope of finding them.


    After I¡¯d given my okay Mika and Lisa slipped out of the foliage. My daughters wisely chose to turn their halos off before we walked out in front of the portal, relying on the light of the portal itself. We stepped up to the white orb, once more Lisa taking my hand, and a moment later we flickered out of existence.


    And all the while I wondered why there was no Architect.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 3 - The Boogeyman

    <hr>


    Floor 52


    Her First Trial


    <hr>


    We arrived on the new floor amongst a sea of fog. It swirled around our legs and spread upward, blocking our vision of what might be nearby. Even the ground was impossible to see amongst the seething mass of white.


    Lisa let go of my hand and looked at the wall of fog with narrowed eyes. ¡°So what do we do here, you¡¯ve never explained that one.¡±


    I went to explain the details of the floor, but even though I was within the forward base two floors away I couldn¡¯t speak. Instead all I could feel was an invisible hand gripping my neck, a warning sign that I¡¯d felt numerous times in the past.


    It was only when I stopped thinking about the trial of the floor when the invisible hand finally loosened. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to find that out yourselves,¡± I told my daughters, ¡°good luck.¡±


    While they both looked at me in surprise a wind whipped up, and the fog that¡¯d lingered at our legs swirled and obscured us from each other. When the wind finally died down I was in a completely white room.


    The white room was circular in design, with a domed ceiling and tiles on the ground. The wall was made of a type of stone that I had no hope of identifying. There were no doors on any of the walls, nor even any windows.


    The only thing in the room was a single chair upon which a woman sat. With her back to me I could see that she still wore a long red dress, and her black hair had been put up into a bun. What looked like chopsticks made of gold ran through her bun, and a single ruby hung off of a gold chain from one of the sticks.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re still playing your games.¡± I walked over and stood next to the chair. ¡°How¡¯ve you been, Wye?¡±


    ¡°Tolerable. Have you enjoyed your new body?¡±


    A tingle ran through my body at those words. ¡°I should¡¯ve known you did it,¡± I half-accusingly said to her, ¡°but why¡¯d you take so long?¡±


    Wye lifted up one pale hand, her fingers uncurling with the motion. ¡°Without Luticia integrating a soul like yours into a new body proved arduous.¡±


    The mention of my dead wife caused me to sigh. ¡°I¡¯m still shocked she did what she did anyways.¡±


    Wye looked up at the shell I was using, her eyes a rainbow of colors that never stopped moving. ¡°That is because you were not yet informed about the true purpose of the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°But she told you, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Wye rolled her eyes at my question. ¡°Of course, otherwise I couldn¡¯t achieve my own purpose.¡±


    There was a short period of silence as I waited for her to continue, but it became clear that she¡¯d said all she wanted to on that subject. ¡°So why¡¯d you put me on the first floor?¡± I asked, as I tried a different line of questioning.


    Wye gave a shake of her head. ¡°When you reach me again I will gladly tell you, but only at that point in time.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Wye, can¡¯t you at least give me something?¡±


    For the first time since I¡¯d arrived in that room Wye stood up. She turned and put one finger against the mechanical head of my shell. ¡°Pay close attention to the state of the floors, because what you see will impact our next meeting.¡±


    Before I could ask what she meant a swirl of white erupted out from the ground, and then the entire room that I¡¯d been in was gone. The fog cascaded around me in random patterns for what felt like an eternity. As the fog finally started to settle down I realized that I was standing near the portal, and that I was no longer alone.


    ¡°I see you two made it,¡± I said, a sense of relief washing over me. I knew that this floor was rarely deadly but my daughters were unique to begin with.


    The looks on their faces spoke volumes for what they¡¯d just gone through. Lisa, who was often a bit too happy, instead had her eyes downcast. Mika in turn was biting her lower lip and had her hands clenched into fists. My words seemed to snap them back to reality, though, as they both looked at me and smiled.


    ¡°That was quite different,¡± Mika commented as she watched us, ¡°I never expec-¡±


    Before any more words could come out of her mouth she went rigid, and both of her hands reached up to her neck to pull at the thin air. It was an act that caused Lisa to cry out in surprise and run to her sister, though I remained where I was since I knew she would be fine.


    The invisible hand that I knew choked at Mika¡¯s throat released a few seconds later, though the confusion on her face was easy to see. ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone anything about what happens here,¡± I told them, ¡°what happens here is for you and you alone.¡±


    ¡°Why though?¡± Mika coughed out as she rubbed her neck.


    I gave a shrug of my shoulders. ¡°We should focus on going to the next floor. I¡¯d rather not spend any more time here.¡±


    Perhaps it was due to how cold I¡¯d seemed to them, but both my daughters glared at me. Yet it was a sacrifice I¡¯d have to make, as what happened on this floor was nothing compared to the deeper floors.


    Lisa walked over to the portal with Mika, and then she roughly grabbed my offered hand. The fingers almost creaked under the power of her grip. I almost wanted to chuckle at that, because even though my daughters had grown up it seemed they still had a bit of an immaturity to them.


    <hr>


    Floor 53


    That Which Hunts The Hunter


    <hr>


    The scent of flowers was transmitted through the shell¡¯s systems, and I could hear the noise of birds chirping. All around us was a fairly large meadow that was filled with flowers, though further out to the north a forest could be seen.


    The forest itself had thin trees and yet lush leaves, the trees themselves a very pale brown. From our vantage point we could see there were no birds amongst the trees, even though an excessive amount moved around amongst the flowers.


    ¡°Hunts the hunter?¡± Mika asked, her gaze sweeping over the area.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    I made certain that the rifle was properly slung over my shoulder, and then I walked in the direction of the forest. From my left hip a rod extended, which I gripped and pulled out. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s an immortal thin creature which lives in the forest and tries to eat anything that enters.¡±


    Lisa also pulled out her sword, her eyes locked on the distant trees. ¡°If it¡¯s immortal how can we kill it?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t, all we can do is slow it down and run away,¡± I explained as I continued forward, ¡°the portal is somewhere in the forest. Stay close together and pay attention.¡±


    ¡°Father, hold on a second,¡± Mika called out from behind.


    I stopped instantly at her request and turned around. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Mika opened her mouth to say something but then closed it and looked at Lisa. With one hand she nervously reached up and brushed her bangs away from the front of her face. ¡°Maybe we could take a little break? I am getting kind of hungry.¡±


    I knew she was lying at those words. My daughters didn¡¯t need to eat, the crystal inside their created bodies supplied them with all the energy they needed. While they might need to sleep, or at least rest in order to recover, they rarely ever ate. In fact the only reason I ever saw them eat anything was because it tasted good.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go check in with Kuzu and the others and eat something myself. I¡¯ll reconnect in an hour,¡± I told the girls as I lowered myself to the ground.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Mika said as she smiled at me.


    I ignored the fact that she¡¯d lied to me, as I could guess as to the real reason for stopping. ¡°Disconnection activate.¡±


    Once again the system started the automatic process by which to turn off the shell. I waited patiently for all of the information windows to appear and vanish, and before I was fully disconnected I glanced at the readout of the shell. Though we¡¯d crossed over two floors there¡¯d been almost no change to the status.


    After I took off the visor I noticed that Kuzu was seated to my right. She held a thin rectangular object in her hand, one that I knew was a type of digital tablet. ¡°Studying hard?¡± I asked her as I put the visor down.


    My words caused her to jump in surprise. ¡°When¡¯d you get back?¡± Kuzu asked as she stood up, the tablet placed on the chair she¡¯d just used.


    ¡°Obviously right now,¡± I offered my one hand to her again.


    After I¡¯d stood up and stretched a little I hobbled my way out of the shell control room. ¡°Mika called for a short break, so I decided to come back here and check in with everyone.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re alright though, right?¡±


    I paused at that question, but as I couldn¡¯t explain everything because of the rules of the fifty-second floor I merely nodded my head. In truth it was one of the reasons I hadn¡¯t wanted my daughters to go with me. They would see things that would change them.


    We went out into the hallway and walked to room three. Rather than simply opening it I knocked on the door, waiting patiently for a response from within. The door opened after a few seconds and both Kuzu and I walked in.


    Much like our own miniature house Row and Adam had also set up their own in the base. However they had a desk in the corner of the room, at which Row was seated. On top of the desk were monitors that showed video feeds.


    Row was absorbed in what she was doing, barely giving a wave at us upon our entry. ¡°How many Architects have attacked so far?¡± I asked as I limped over to the desk.


    ¡°None.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± I looked sharply at the avian. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±


    Row could only give a shrug at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about those things except what you¡¯ve told us, but Adam and Lance haven¡¯t seen a single Architect yet. To make matters worse Isa keeps whining about how bored she is.¡±


    I tried hard to articulate what I felt in that moment, but no words came to mind. Kuzu even stepped in close to me and put one hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°The relay station should¡¯ve gotten the news about the outpost,¡± I said as I tried to explain to the two, ¡°there¡¯s no way the coordinator would ignore something like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Kuzu said as she wrapped her arms around me in a soft hug, ¡°getting flustered about it isn¡¯t going to help anyone.¡±


    Though the lack of Architect activity bothered me, I knew that as of that moment I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. I nodded my head in response to Kuzu. ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s go back and eat something. I need to meet back up with the girls in a little bit.¡±


    ? ? ? ? ?


    When I reconnected to the shell my daughters had already finished their break. Mika offered me a weak smile while Lisa waved energetically at me. It seemed as though she¡¯d already forgotten how I¡¯d irritated her, a fact that I wasn¡¯t going to complain about.


    We walked across the field with our preferred weapons at the ready, though I didn¡¯t have any blade summoned from the tip of the iron rod. When we crossed from the meadow and into the forest there was a subtle shift in the atmosphere, as though all life except for the plants no longer existed.


    The forest itself was composed of thin trees with lush foliage, and yet the foliage wasn¡¯t thick enough to block out the sun. Instead all of the sunlight that came through the canopy cast shadows everywhere, long thin ones that made the ground look as though iron bars were lain across it.


    Our pace through the forest was slow, and I was the one who set it. I¡¯d seen far too many people try to rush through before. Every single one had ended up torn to shreds.


    A tree creaked off to our left and I came to a halt, a sudden stop that made Lisa stumble into me. It was only the slightest of noises but I put all of my attention on it, my eyes probing the shadows for any sign of Him.


    It was due to my wariness that I noticed the long fingers that stretched out from behind a nearby tree. The fingers had almost reached Mika¡¯s head, and so I bolted over to her and swung the rod out. Ice formed in the middle of the swing and sliced off one of the pure white fingers.


    The hand retracted instantly at the loss of the finger, the arm it was attached to seeming to almost shrink as it slipped back behind the tree it¡¯d emerged from.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Mika asked as she stared down at the finger that squirmed on the ground.


    ¡°Babus the Immortal Man.¡± I let the ice vanish from the magic blade. ¡°He can stretch and twist as much as he wants, and once he finds prey he¡¯ll hunt until they¡¯re eaten.¡±


    ¡°But we can chop him,¡± Lisa commented as she nodded at the finger on the ground.


    ¡°If we can remove his head it should buy us enough time to get to the portal. Otherwise he¡¯ll just grow everything back.¡±


    There was that moment of silence as we stood in the middle of the forest and waited. Mika had her hands on the spheres at her hips, while Lisa held her sword in a relaxed stance.


    When Babus came it was from above, his emergence from the foliage without any hint of warning. His long and thin body was as gaunt and ugly as I remembered, and the pure black eyes made it impossible to see exactly where he was looking.


    His descent was straight at Lisa, and it was only due to the wariness of Mika that her sister didn¡¯t get caught. With a quick flick of her right hand Mika threw one of her nigh invisible hooks out at Babus. The anchor cut into one of the extended hands, and Mika gripped the wire and pulled as hard as she could.


    Caught by surprise Babus was yanked midair away from his target, and as he hit the ground his long limbs became a tangled mess. I moved in to try and cut his head off, but rather than trying to untangle himself Babus instead writhed and rolled away from my attack.


    Babus put one hand against the ground and lifted his entire body up, not even bothering with standing. One of his legs stretched out from the mass as he tried to drive his foot into my face.


    I managed to fall to the right, away from his attack, and I hit the ground rolling. Lisa followed through on my dodge as she ran across the forest floor and joined the fight. Her sword sliced into the extended foot and she dragged the blade all the way down the leg.


    Babus¡¯ unused hand came in on her left in an attempted slash, but Lisa caught it. Her fingers curled around the gaunt hand and applied enough pressure that everyone could hear the bones crack. Before Babus could try to pull his hand back Lisa had already delivered an ascending swing.


    The long arm retracted without the hand that¡¯d been on it, and Babus hissed in rage at my daughter. ¡°This thing is a lot easier to kill than an Architect isn¡¯t it?¡± Lisa commented as she discarded the monster¡¯s hand.


    It was a fact, as my daughters were accustomed to training against each other. With their heightened speed and strength a thing like the Babus wasn¡¯t even a proper threat.


    ¡°Say that after you cut his head off,¡± I reprimanded Lisa, hoping to stem her growing arrogance. Sooner or later we¡¯d run into an executive and that would be the true test.


    ¡°I know!¡± Lisa snapped back at me, a hint of anger in her voice. It was a reaction that made me wonder exactly what¡¯d happened to her on the fifty-second floor.


    While we talked the Babus had already begun to regrow his lost body parts. Before he could become much more of a threat two nearly invisible objects flew past him, glittering momentarily in the sunlight, and then the metal threads wrapped around his neck. Mika gripped her wires with the protective gauntlets and pulled her hands back and to the sides.


    The wires sliced through the neck without a problem and Babus¡¯ head was removed from his neck. The entire body went limp and all of the regrowing parts stopped mid-regeneration. The various parts on the ground that we¡¯d separated also stopped moving at the same time.


    Mika walked past Babus as well as her sister and I, as she headed in the direction of the portal. She glanced back at us while she adjusted her gauntlets, an upraised eyebrow her only question.


    ¡°I had him,¡± Lisa muttered to herself as she followed after Mika.


    While my daughters moved on without me I turned and looked at the head of Babus. Those unblinking black eyes seemed to almost stare at me from the ground. I raised my left hand up and aimed it at Babus head, the crystals inside whirring as they gathered energy.


    A few minutes later I caught up with my daughters. My late arrival caused them to look back at me, and I knew they could easily see the wall of smoke that had started to fill the forest.


    ¡°Something you want to tell us about?¡± Mika asked.


    I gave a wave of my one hand. ¡°An old grudge,¡± I said by means of explanation, ¡°come on we should be near the portal.¡±


    Thankfully my daughters didn¡¯t pry into that old matter. Instead we continued on through the forest of thin trees and after perhaps five or ten minutes we finally saw an uplifted section of ground.


    The ground was raised by about ten feet from the rest of the forest. I knew that these types of spots dotted the forest and that the portal bounced between them at random. So of course when we leapt up onto the miniature plateau we saw the portal. It was what we saw seated on top of the sphere that made all three of us stop in our tracks.


    A single woman had taken up residence atop the sphere, her long white hair nearly reaching the sphere upon which she sat. At our arrival she turned to look at us with red eyes, and a smile appeared on her face.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 4 - Contract With The Devil

    I threw the rod in my hand at the Architect, even as I reached for my rifle and pulled it forward. Lisa had jumped into action as well, leaping all the way up to the Architect and swinging her sword horizontally. Mika on the other hand retreated back as she crouched low to the ground, her hands at the spheres on her hip.


    The female Architect knocked the rod I¡¯d thrown away with the brush of a hand. Her other hand was used to catch Lisa¡¯s incoming sword. From my position I could see her arm bulging as all her muscles were used to stop the attack, and the Architect¡¯s eyes widened as she stared down at the sword.


    ¡°Qualified physique,¡± the Architect said as she managed to push Lisa¡¯s attack away from her.


    Lisa fell back to the ground, her sword still in her hand, and a look on her face that was a mixture of anger and surprise. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t think this is a drone.¡±


    My rifle was aimed at the forehead of the Architect, but I hadn¡¯t fired yet. ¡°Clearly. With that strength she¡¯s not an executive, she¡¯s close to manager or coordinator.¡±


    The Architect rose from her seated position, standing on top of the portal as though it was commonplace to do so. She glanced at Mika and Lisa, before her eyes focused on me. What she said next almost caused me to drop my rifle in surprise.


    ¡°I appeal for a deliberation.¡±


    Aside from the drones, I¡¯d encountered hundreds of thousands of Architects during my personal crusade, and during that entire time there was one thing they¡¯d never used. ¡°Did you just say I?¡±


    My daughters, who¡¯d been quite ready to fight the Architect, both glanced at me with lifted eyebrows. The Architect on the other hand let out a small laugh as she hopped down from the portal. ¡°Practiced usage of determiners, prepositions, and conjunctions is common for me.¡±


    I didn¡¯t lower the rifle that I had aimed at her head, and since the shell was mechanical I didn¡¯t have to worry about fatigue buildup that¡¯d normally happen. ¡°Since when do you use the word I?¡±


    ¡°When I affiliated with Samara,¡± the Architect answered as she remained perfectly still.


    ¡°Father, why isn¡¯t she attacking?¡± Mika asked from my left.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know as well.¡±


    The Architect lifted her left hand up very slowly, in what could only be called the least threatening movement possible, and placed her fingers against her chest. ¡°I am Manager Rosalind. I desire assistance.¡±


    From my past experiences I knew that Architects tended to not lie, and at her words I shouldered my rifle. ¡°Fine, but we need to leave before Babus recovers. We¡¯ll move to the next floor first, you join us after sixty seconds. If you try anything funny we will kill you on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Satisfactory,¡± Rosalind said as she stood rigid in front of the portal.


    My daughters and I carefully walked around her and went to the other side of the portal, and once again we prepared to move on to the next floor. ¡°Mika, go first,¡± I told her as I gripped Lisa¡¯s hand, ¡°that way if we get disrupted mid-transfer there¡¯ll be two of us here.¡±


    Mika nodded her head and put one hand against the portal. ¡°Be careful,¡± she said right before she vanished.


    Rosalind on the other side of the portal made no move, nor had even turned in our direction. Instead she remained stock still to the point that one might mistake her for a statue. Lisa put her hand against the portal, and as we both watched the Architect for any sign of attack the transfer was initiated.


    <hr>


    Floor 54


    Into The Depths


    <hr>


    The sand beneath my feet sank, and I had a hard time keeping my balance due to the sudden change. All around us was what amounted to a small island in the middle of a vast ocean, with no life on the island itself. The sun was gone, and a curtain of stars glittered along the horizon.


    ¡°Mika, Lisa, stick close to the water in case this turns into a fight,¡± I told my daughters, ¡°but don¡¯t attack unless the Architect does.¡±


    ¡°We should just punch her when she appears,¡± Lisa said, though she did as I said and walked to the edge of the island.


    ¡°No.¡± I turned that idea down as fast as I could. ¡°We need to know what¡¯s going on. If we walk into an ambush or an army on the next floor we won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    Precisely one minute after we¡¯d arrived the female Architect showed up. She appeared where we¡¯d been standing, but after appearing she made no move to do anything. Instead she looked at the three of us and waited.


    ¡°Alright, Rosalind, why are you asking for help?¡± I asked as I crossed my arms.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Rosalind frowned at my question. ¡°Certainly assisting me would be a long-term profitable investment?¡±


    If I hadn¡¯t been in my shell I would¡¯ve rubbed my eyes. ¡°People don¡¯t just help strangers, let alone Architects, due to some sort of favor they can get later on. Explain why you¡¯d beg us lower beings for help.¡±


    ¡°Lower beings?¡± Rosalind couldn¡¯t hide the surprise on her face. ¡°Why use words of supremacists? Is that how you know us?¡±


    ¡°Supremacists?¡± I murmured to myself within the control room, and then I spoke into the microphone, ¡°I know of you from my ancestors. They warned us of your kind and how you will spread and enslave everything.¡±


    Rosalind hurriedly shook her head. ¡°No! Samara followers not supremacists! We do not follow teachings of the restructurer!¡±


    ¡°Restructurer?¡±


    Rosalind flinched at the one word question. ¡°Restructurer Helim. Millenia past led Architect society and enforced supremacist mentality.¡±


    Alerts started to appear on my end of the system, warning signs about how my blood pressure and heart rate had spiked. I ignored them all and focused on maintaining a neutral tone. ¡°What happened to him?¡±


    ¡°The Destroyer,¡± Rosalind said as her voice went quiet, ¡°Helim claimed him lesser, but it appeared and killed almost everyone.¡±


    As she spoke her words the impact they had on Rosalind herself were obvious, as she wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. My daughters glanced at me, though they wisely chose not to comment on how I was viewed historically.


    I uncrossed my arms and motioned with one hand at Rosalind. ¡°So this Samara leads a group of you Architects that go against Helim¡¯s teachings, because you fear this Destroyer might show up again?¡±


    Rosalind shook her head. ¡°One inferior being destroyed entire society of alleged supreme beings, how are we supreme?¡±


    I choked back my laugh, as it reminded me of what Markov had told me long ago. He¡¯d come to the same conclusion as these Samara followers after meeting me, and that was before I¡¯d even started killing Architects. ¡°So why are we being attacked by drones then?¡±


    ¡°Reparations possible,¡± Rosalind said as she offered her hand in my direction, ¡°we Samaran¡¯s don¡¯t control central relay station fifty-five.¡±


    I dismissed her offered hand with a wave of my own. ¡°If you don¡¯t control the relay station why are the Architects not attacking us anymore?¡±


    ¡°Eon controls communications station at fifty-five. Intercepted and disabled alarm from fifty. Coordinator Dalton oblivious.¡±


    ¡°Fine, so exactly what do you want our help for?¡±


    ¡°Executive Samara imprisoned on sixty-two.¡±


    That was all I needed to hear to know what she¡¯d expect from us. ¡°So you want us to drag your friend out of the prison. I¡¯m going to take that to mean you don¡¯t have a lot of people in your group?¡±


    ¡°Samaran¡¯s roughly twenty percent of operating forces,¡± Rosalind told me, apparently not afraid to share what I¡¯d consider confidential level knowledge, ¡°spread across dozens of floors. Coordinated maneuvers would expose us.¡±


    ¡°Operating forces?¡± Mika inquired from the side.


    ¡°She¡¯s talking about the Architects that do all their military work, the others are just like regular people,¡± I told her, before I talked to Rosalind again, ¡°basically you can¡¯t move your men to help because you¡¯d be caught. So you saw us show up, saw what we could do, and now you¡¯re asking for our help?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Negative? Why!¡± Rosalind asked, unable to hide on her face how much my answer had upset her.


    ¡°The only way I¡¯m willing to risk our lives helping you is if you can promise a partnership between our groups.¡±


    Rosalind¡¯s face crunched at that. ¡°Only Executive Samara can do that.¡±


    I shook my head. I stood and thought for a few moments, and then finally spoke again ¡°How about you help us take the relay on fifty-five, get us past any security on sixty and sixty-one, and we¡¯ll help you rescue Samara on sixty-two.¡±


    ¡°Dad, come on, we don¡¯t need her,¡± Lisa said as she glared at the Architect.


    I glanced at her, but I didn¡¯t bother to respond. Soon enough she¡¯d start to realize that her body had limits. ¡°What do you think, Architect?¡±


    ¡°Contract acceptable. Verbal agreement should be sufficient?¡±


    ¡°Not like I¡¯m carrying around any paper,¡± I said, and then I waved at my daughters, ¡°stand down. We¡¯re on the same side now.¡±


    Mika relaxed as soon as I said that, though her eyes lingered on the Architect. Lisa on the other hand started to grumble as she turned and looked at the ocean. She¡¯d have to get over it, since I didn¡¯t want to risk fighting millions of Architects.


    I also expected that Rosalind truly did want our help, and that this wasn¡¯t an elaborate trap. The Architects would¡¯ve known next to nothing about us, so they wouldn¡¯t know who I actually was. On top of that if they¡¯d wanted to ambush us they could¡¯ve done so already.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± I muttered to myself in the control room. I directed the shell to turn and move into the ocean, as I focused on where the compass pointed. Worrying about Rosalind betraying us could come later, otherwise we¡¯d be stuck forever on the fifty-fourth floor.


    My daughters followed along after me, having pulled out small objects from their packs. They were rebreathers, or rather mouthpieces that¡¯d allow them to breathe underwater.


    We descended into the ocean at a slow rate. The water was clear, even deep beneath it¡¯d remain flawless to see through. Large towers of rock raised up from a distant floor, a floor so deep that all any could see was darkness. Fish of various colors flitted about in the ocean, and with our arrival they scattered and swam away as fast as they could.


    As we swam near one of the pillars it seemed to quiver, and then it flexed and twisted around to try and slam against Mika. She could only burble in surprise as her rebreather came free, and Mika raised her hands to ward off the eel¡¯s attack.


    Once again I pulled out the rifle and aimed for the giant eel, pulling the trigger as soon as I could. The beam pierced into the center of the monster and passed through, dark blood that seemed similar to ink pooling out into the nearby waters.


    Nearby Mika swam and grabbed her rebreather, putting it back into her mouth. Lisa hurried over to join her, her sword at the ready while she held out one arm in front of Mika. The wires that Mika had enjoyed creating would prove significantly difficult to use in the ocean.


    Above us Rosalind had started to descend and upon seeing the giant eel she began to swim toward it. I continued to fire my rifle, but each shot was like a pinprick against the titan we faced. However even if the injuries were small each shot produced blood. Soon enough the waters between the eel and I had turned into a sea of red, obscuring my view of the monster.


    It burst out of the cloud of blood a few seconds later, a mouth far larger than my shell opened and ready to devour. Before it could eat me Rosalind came from above, her fist driving down into the top of its head. Her blow seemed solid enough, but with our fight being underwater the impact was only enough to temporarily stop the eel.


    ¡°Get clear of it!¡± I shouted, using the shell¡¯s mechanical nature in order to make my voice discernible.


    When I aimed my rifle at the eel Rosalind¡¯s eyes widened, and she gave a nod even while swimming away from the monster. I gripped the bottom of the rifle and pulled it back, an audible hum happening in response.


    Before the eel could recover from its surprise at Rosalind¡¯s attack I¡¯d already fired my next shot. While the bullet wasn¡¯t as fast as the beam it was instead a large ball, and when it connected with the eel the energy rapidly expanded.


    There was a flash of light as the ball fully exploded, and chunks of the eel were sent in all directions. The vast body of the monster began a slow fall toward the bottom of the ocean, vanishing into the shadows below.


    I watched to make certain that the eel didn¡¯t revive in some fashion, as I¡¯d seen a similar thing on other floors before. Once I felt that it was safe to continue, I returned to swimming to the portal.


    We remained eel free for the rest of our swim, and the portal loomed ahead of us after twenty minutes of swimming. In one of the pillars of stone that rose up from the ocean floor the portal could be seen. The hole in the rock was barely large enough to hold the sphere, and so we went in and touched it one at a time.


    Lisa went first, and then we had Rosalind go next, before Mika held my hand and touched the portal. The ocean vanished around us as she initiated the transfer, and then the next floor¡¯s information appeared in our minds.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 5 - Coordination Is Key

    <hr>


    Floor 55


    The Dragon Ruins


    <hr>


    ¡°Dragons! Are there actually dragons, dad?¡±


    It was the first thing I heard when we arrived on the next floor. Lisa almost clung to me in excitement as she asked the question. She¡¯d seemed to have given up on watching over Rosalind and instead was far more interested in a fairy tale.


    ¡°Not on this floor,¡± I told her, my gaze looking past her and at the Architect, ¡°where¡¯s the relay station at?¡±


    Rosalind responded to my question by pointing off to the east. A plain stretched out in that direction, and a forest comprised of oaks was in the middle.


    ¡°Lisa, Mika, listen to me. Your job is to take control of the portal and wait for news from me.¡±


    Lisa immediately argued with me, ¡°You need us to beat up all the Architects!¡±


    I put my mechanical hand on top of her head and rubbed it. ¡°If the shell is destroyed I¡¯ll make sure you know it, and then you two need to retreat back home,¡± I told her, and then I looked at Rosalind again, ¡°is Eon your only ally on this floor?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Rosalind replied, ¡°expectations of other assistance should be negated.¡±


    ¡°You and I should be more than enough so long as it¡¯s still¡­¡± I trailed off a bit there, and then figured out how to word it the way I wanted to, ¡°if it¡¯s how I was taught while growing up.¡±


    Rosalind¡¯s eyes narrowed at how I¡¯d paused, but she chose not to ask any questions. Instead she headed off to the forest, her pace slow enough that I could easily catch up.


    ¡°Father,¡± Mika suddenly said, ¡°be careful. She might be leading you into a trap.¡±


    I tapped the chest of the shell at that comment. ¡°She¡¯ll regret it if that¡¯s true. Now get going, and make sure Lisa doesn¡¯t do anything dumb.¡±


    Lisa glared at me, but she chose not to voice her displeasure. Instead she pulled out a small device from her pack and looked at it.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Lisa said as she put the object back into her pack, and then she started to head off to the south.


    Mika gave a little smile, and then she ran off after her sister. They headed off into a somewhat rocky looking area, and I figured that the portal had appeared in the canyon that ran through the south.


    It didn¡¯t matter to me, though, as I had something else to deal with. I turned to the east and ran to catch up to Rosalind. When I was next to her she quickened her pace, and soon we were running quickly across the plain.


    ¡°Why¡¯d they choose the forest?¡± I asked her as we ran.


    ¡°What is disagreeable?¡±


    I sighed inside the control room at her words. The Architects were always tedious to talk to. ¡°The forest isn¡¯t very thick or large, and there are a lot of mountains on this floor that¡¯d be better spots.¡±


    ¡°Built on dragon catacombs.¡±


    That bit of information caused me to slide to a stop. Rosalind almost tripped as she also decelerated, her eyes a little wider than before from surprise.


    ¡°They¡¯re digging up the dragons?¡± I asked, my tone a bit aggressive.


    Rosalind nodded in response to my question as she took a step back. ¡°This is significant?¡±


    My hands clenched into fists. While I¡¯d teased Lisa before I knew that there were no more dragons. I¡¯d made certain of that.


    ¡°We need to make sure no dragon bones have been sent to the higher floors,¡± I told Rosalind as I resumed walking, ¡°otherwise your little rebellion won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Explain,¡± Rosalind said as she matched my pace.


    I shook my head at her request for more information. ¡°Only after Samara has agreed to our partnership.¡±


    The rest of our run to the forest was one of silence, as though Rosalind kept probing for more I refused to explain. If someone had followed in Helim¡¯s footsteps, it would only lead to a situation nobody wanted.


    Once we reached the treeline our pace slowed, and we slipped amongst the trees as stealthily as we could. After we¡¯d gone in a dozen feet or so Rosalind held up one hand.


    ¡°Detection systems,¡± she said, and with a flourish of her left hand a small round object appeared in her grasp.


    I¡¯d seen the Architects form objects from nanites before, but it always amazed me how quickly they could do it. ¡°What¡¯s that for? Some sort of jammer?¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Rosalind actually rolled her eyes at my question, and then she lifted the object to her mouth. ¡°Eon, darken sensors.¡±


    I didn¡¯t notice any difference, but Rosalind deconstructed her small radio and walked confidently through the forest. I followed after her, my left hand near my hip in case I needed to draw my sword.


    Ahead of us a wall with a dark matte came into view, and when we got closer to it I saw that it spread to the left and right a total of twenty feet. Dead center on the wall was a metal shutter, and next to that was a type of scanning device.


    Rosalind walked over to the scanner and put her fingers against it. A small light glowed as the system scanned her fingers, and then the shutter opened.


    ¡°I thought you had him turn off the sensors?¡± I asked as I crept up to the door.


    ¡°Detection network outside, but automated access system is separate,¡± Rosalind explained as she peered in the door.


    I placed my left side against the wall near the door, and peeked inside the opened shutter. A ramp descended down with a gentle slope, and above off-white lights illuminated the entryway.


    I darted inside the building and positioned myself as close to the left wall as I could. The rod that was in my hip was drawn out, and I grasped the handle in my right hand.


    Rosalind stepped inside and the shutter closed behind her. She didn¡¯t create any type of weapon, but her confident walk down the ramp meant one of two things. Either it actually was a trap, or she wasn¡¯t afraid of who we might inside.


    At the end of the ramp there were three doors, and Rosalind picked the one that faced north. Much like with the shutter she used her fingers on a scanner, and the system recognized and allowed her inside.


    While I wanted her to go in first I knew that the door would close automatically behind her, and so I once again went through first. The room that I walked into was almost three times the width of the surface, and the walls were about twenty feet high.


    Rather than any type of monitors or even input devices there were instead cords that hung off of the walls. Each cord ended in a metal square with a couple of prongs on them.


    Inside the room there were three Architects. One sat in the center of the room, the chair he sat on connected to his arms and legs with tubing. The second was near the western wall, and had connected himself to one of the metal squares.


    The third Architect was the troublesome one, as he was facing us when we entered the room. Much like the second he had a cord connected to him, but upon seeing us that was promptly torn off and cast aside.


    ¡°Unqualified reprobate,¡± the Architect said, his hands lifting up to aim at me.


    Crude looking cylinders formed on top of the Architect¡¯s hands, and a light within them started to grow. I¡¯d already figured out what the attack was, and so as I swayed to the right the beams of energy flew past me.


    The Architect¡¯s eyes widened, and then he attempted to recover by aiming his guns at me again. Before his weapons could fire again I¡¯d already closed the gap, and I swung the magic blade at his legs.


    In the middle of the swing a blade of fire erupted into existence, cutting easily into the knees of the Architect. He opened his mouth, as though words at this point would matter, and I drove the fire blade into the center of his face.


    By that point the other two Architects had noticed my presence. The one furthest from me, attached to the wall, detached himself but made no move to attack. The Architect in the middle stood up out of his chair, the tubing releasing with audible hisses.


    The coordinator turned his head to look at me, his red eyes narrowed. He lifted up one hand and snapped his fingers, an act that caused two vertical slits to open in the walls. From each of the slits stepped out a familiar face, as a pair of drones emerged.


    ¡°Rosalind, you and Eon handle the drones!¡± I yelled at her, as I was far more concerned with the ruler of the outpost.


    Rather than the magic blade I instead opted for the rifle, pulling it off of my shoulder with one hand. I pointed it at the coordinator and pulled the trigger, a thin and quick energy beam shooting from the muzzle.


    The coordinator lifted up one finger, and out of the ground emerged a slim sheet of metal that blocked the beam. A second later he pointed that lifted finger in my direction.


    I¡¯d ducked down quick enough to avoid the sliver of metal that flew at my head. I rapidly pulled the trigger to chain off three shots of energy at the coordinator.


    This time the coordinator lifted up all of his fingers and a wide sheet of metal extended from the floor, catching every single beam I¡¯d fired. Though I couldn¡¯t see the coordinator I knew that he could see me, one of the many advantages he had inside this room.


    I didn¡¯t even realize that my left foot had been ensnared before he started to squeeze it, as tendrils of metal had crept up from the ground and begun to wrap around me. An alert went off informing me of substantial internal damage to the foot, and so I purged it and roughly dove to the left.


    The foot that¡¯d been left behind was crushed into a tiny ball by the metal tendrils, the crunching sound sending a chill down my spine. Though I was using a fake body it was a noise that¡¯d reminded me of some bad memories.


    I cycled through the options of my left arm, the magic system, and then I aimed my palm at the metal wall. A white hot lance shot from my palm and the bolt of fire pierced into the metal, melting through and going all the way through to the other side.


    Through that hole I could see that I¡¯d clipped the coordinator in the side, as a chunk of his torso was now burnt away. On the other side of his makeshift wall I heard him cry out in pain, and then suddenly the metal wall flew at me.


    My brain almost burned as I forced the system to try and keep up with my thoughts, the crystals in my left arm rotating inside as I changed the configuration. A moment before the metal wall slammed into me it instead dropped to the ground, and the floor around me almost cracked as it became indented by about a foot.


    ¡°Magical abilities?¡± the coordinator asked, as he stared in what I could only hope was confusion.


    I cancelled the increased gravity field around me, not wanting to burn all of the shell¡¯s energy. Instead I gripped the bottom of the rifle and primed the grenade system. Once more when I fired it wasn¡¯t a beam, but rather an orb of energy, and it flew at the coordinator slow enough that he should be able to dodge it.


    As I expected he moved to the left in order to dodge the ball, and when he did that I threw the rod at the energy grenade. The contact with the rod caused the powerful explosion to happen right next to the coordinator.


    He was thrown clear across the room and into the southern wall. The force of the impact was enough to leave a small dent, but the coordinator continued to stand even after that.


    When I went to aim the rifle at him again he lifted up both his hands, his fingers outstretched in my direction. Ten thin strips of metal surged up out of the ground in front of me, each end ending in sharp tips.


    I leapt up to the ceiling while doing a roll in mid-air. Halfway through the roll I shifted my localized gravity, reversing it, and my feet made contact with the ceiling. The ten metal spears hurtled through where I¡¯d been standing a moment before.


    Without warning one of the drones, missing a head, was thrown across the room at the coordinator. He turned and batted aside the corpse, and while he looked at who¡¯d thrown the body I shot four beams at him.


    Thanks to the distraction from either Rosalind or Eon two of the beams hit him, piercing through his shoulder. The other two were stopped by a metal sheet that¡¯d extended from the wall.


    Before I could do anything else my reversed gravity stopped, and my left arm went limp as the alarms started blaring in my ears. I ungracefully collapsed to the ground head first, but since the shell was a machine I didn¡¯t need to worry about concussions.


    My collapse caused the coordinator to pause in his attacks, but when I lifted my rifle and fired again he barely stopped the beam from hitting his forehead. While the metal he¡¯d used to block the shot retracted he grinned at me.


    That was when Rosalind came running in from his right, her hands covered in spiked metal gauntlets. She punched at the coordinator¡¯s side, her blows striking barriers that the coordinator hastily threw up. Each blow dented the metal sheet it connected with, but none managed to get all the way through.


    While she had the coordinator distracted I thumbed through the control systems on the rifle, and then settled on a different firing pattern. Once more I lifted the weapon up, making certain to aim so I wouldn¡¯t hit Rosalind, and pulled the trigger.


    A beam shot out much like before, but the coordinator barely even cared about it as he waved one hand at it. Another thin slice of metal lifted up from the ground to block the shot, but unlike the last time the beam didn¡¯t cease. Instead the beam continued to be shot from the rifle, and slowly the metal it was hitting began to glow and turn red.


    By the time the coordinator realized that I¡¯d set the beam to continual fire it was too late, as it punched through the barrier and into his lower jaw. Unable to focus any longer all of the metal barriers he¡¯d created vanished, and Rosalind unleashed punch after punch directly at his chest.


    The coordinator collapsed under the pummeling, and the lights in the room went dim. Even then Rosalind didn¡¯t stop as she crushed the coordinator¡¯s skull with her hands.


    ¡°Looks like we won,¡± I said to her as I tried to stand up, though now that I was missing a foot that proved difficult.


    Rosalind¡¯s gauntlets vanished as she retracted her nanites, and she turned to look at me. Her red eyes stared at me, studying my missing foot and limp arm. For a moment I mentally hovered over the self-destruct system, waiting for the betrayal.


    ¡°Grandiose achievement,¡± Rosalind finally said, as she walked over to me and offered one hand, ¡°you have my gratitude.¡±

 Vol. 3 - Intermission: Mikas Nightmare

    This chapter details the trial of Mika on the fifty-second floor.


    <hr>


    Floor 52


    Her First Trial


    <hr>


    When they appeared on the next floor Mika had already put her hands to her hips. A sense of foreboding hung about the group, as across their vision a rolling ocean of white fog moved. If there were any dangers inside it they wouldn¡¯t know until it was too late.


    Next to her Lisa let go of the shell¡¯s hand. ¡°So what do we do here, you¡¯ve never explained that one,¡± Lisa asked of their father.


    There was an awkward moment of silence, one that caused Mika to worriedly look at the shell. In their tests on the lower floors they¡¯d had no issues crossing through the portal, but if the black drone had stopped working they¡¯d need to retreat.


    The head of the shell turned to look at the two of them, and then her father''s voice came from the machine, ¡°You¡¯re going to have to find that out yourselves. Good luck.¡±


    It was a response that brought about a moment of panic for Mika, yet when she tried to speak the world around her swirled. The white fog that¡¯d so calmly lingered below her waist flowed skyward. Mika closed her eyes and raised her arms up defensively, while crying out in surprise.


    ¡°Jan, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked a deep masculine voice from next to her.


    With the new voice right next to her Mika jerked away, at which point she realized she was now seated. She lowered her arms down, her one hand straying to her waist for the wire sphere.


    Gone was the field of white fog, instead Mika was inside some type of rectangular box. The box contained five chairs, one of which she was on. A strap of some type ran from behind her right shoulder across the front of her shirt, and all the way down to her left hip.


    ¡°Jan?¡± came that voice again, and as Mika turned her head she realized it was a man she¡¯d never seen before.


    He wore a black shirt with long sleeves, and he had black gloves on his hands. His pants were also black, held up by a black belt with no visible buckle, and combat boots completed his ensemble. On top of his head a black cap of some type obscured most of his light brown hair.


    Mika was about to ask who he was when she realized the holder for her wires was gone. Inside the darkened interior of the box she pawed at her waist and looked down, only to realize that her clothing had also changed.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Mika muttered to herself.


    ¡°Jan,¡± the man next to her said again as he put his left hand on Mika¡¯s shoulder, ¡°are you going to be okay for this?¡±


    A hint of understanding began to dawn, and as Mika turned to look more closely at the man she realized another fact. Behind him was a window, and the world outside of it flowed. The box she was in was moving.


    ¡°Alex, I think there¡¯s something wrong with Janet,¡± the man next to Mika said.


    Ahead of where she was seated a woman on the right turned to glance back. ¡°I don¡¯t care. We¡¯re going through with this.¡±


    ¡°But what about Jan?¡±


    ¡°Look, we¡¯ve only got one shot at this before they turn it on,¡± Alex said, ¡°so push comes to shove she can stay in the sled.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s Janet!¡±


    Alex turned to glare back at the man. ¡°How many did we just lose? Everyone? Stop worrying about your wife and focus on the mission.¡±


    Mika glanced back and forth between the two as she tried to calm her nerves. It was obvious she was supposed to be this Janet person, but she had no clue where she was. Her father and sister were gone, her body had changed, all of this was beyond anything she¡¯d heard about before.


    That was when she turned her head to the left and realized there was a window next to her. Outside the world was unlike any she¡¯d encountered so far. Cylinders rose up to the sky, lights streaming along their length and casting illumination over the nighttime landscape. A white moon was half-obscured by vast objects that hung freely in the sky.


    ¡°What floor is this?¡± she wondered aloud, and then reached up to touch her own lips. The voice that¡¯d emerged hadn¡¯t been the one she¡¯d expected.


    The box around Mika shuddered, and when she glanced at the window the landscape no longer whisked by. ¡°We¡¯re stopping?¡± she asked of the man next to her.


    The man gave her an odd look, but then he reached down and touched a button near his window. The side of the box he was on slid open and he slipped out. At the front of the box Alex did the same thing.


    Mika reached down to her own side of the box and found the button they¡¯d used. Once she pressed it the wall slid open and she climbed out, her feet touching cold ground. She looked at the ground as she realized it wasn¡¯t merely dirt or rocks, but something else that was smooth.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Shichi killed everything after he disabled the backup,¡± Alex said as she went to the back of the box and opened it, ¡°we have about ten minutes before the military moves in.¡±


    Mika followed her to the back and saw an assortment of rifles, pistols, and other types of items she couldn¡¯t recognize. Alex picked a sleek rifle out of the pile and tossed it to Mika, and then pulled one out for herself.


    Mika caught the rifle, her eyes tracing the weapon as she tried to figure out how it worked. It seemed similar to many of the types that her father used, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any type of crystals embedded in it.


    ¡°Oz, just like we said no mercy,¡± Alex said to the man who was with them.


    The man named Oz picked out two pistols and tucked a third into his belt. ¡°I know, because they¡¯re just going to try and talk us to death.¡±


    Alex gave a nod to him. ¡°And if they turn it on with how they programmed it, Shichi¡¯s said it¡¯ll be too late.¡±


    ¡°Turn what on?¡± Mika asked, as she continued to struggle with this odd setting the labyrinth had thrown at her.


    Her two companions looked at her like she was insane, and Alex half-raised her rifle in Mika¡¯s direction. There was a moment as the two glanced at each other, and then Alex let out a sigh and walked away.


    ¡°Come on, Janet,¡± Oz said to her as he motioned with one pistol in the direction that Alex had gone, ¡°I know you¡¯re nervous and all but don¡¯t fall apart on us. I need you.¡±


    Mika looked to where Alex was heading and saw a large black silhouette. It was some type of building, but it was taller than any building she¡¯d ever seen in her life.


    She snapped out of her state of awe when she realized Oz had followed Alex. Mika ran after the two, trying to keep her rifle aimed at the ground in case it went off accidentally.


    When they reached the building she paused outside of it, even as Alex and Oz darted through the black hole which was the front entrance. On the right side of the doorway was a big sign with letters she could easily read.


    ¡°Laboratory Upsilon?¡±


    For some reason when Mika spoke those words she felt a chill run down her spine. She shook her head, trying to discard the sensation, and ran into the building after Janet¡¯s friends.


    The interior she entered was at least forty feet tall, with visible balconies that overhung the spacious entryway. To her right was a table and to her left were numerous chairs of an unknown material.


    ¡°Alex get back!¡± yelled Oz from somewhere ahead of Mika, and with those words she tried to find him.


    The pair had found a door offset from where the table was, though only Oz stood next to it. A few seconds later Alex ran back through the door, an explosion bursting to life in her wake.


    Oz leaned into the doorway and fired his pistols into the dark, an action that Alex followed soon after with her rifle. ¡°How many tin cans do they have guarding this place!¡± Oz hollered.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work,¡± Alex said as she slipped a magazine out of her rifle and put a new one in.


    Mika approached the pair, though she stayed clear of the open doorway. Though she didn¡¯t know what or who was beyond bullets had started to fly through it, and she had no idea how durable her new body was.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there another way to get where you want to?¡± Mika finally asked the two.


    Her question caused the two to stare at in her, and then Alex let out a loud laugh. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t think of that,¡± she admitted as she raised her right hand to her jaw, and then her fingers dug into her jaw, ¡°Shichi turn the lobby elevator on.¡±


    A few seconds later the wall beneath the balconies lit up, and Mika saw a door slide open. She needed no urging from the other two to run for it, and by the time she reached it Alex had just stepped inside.


    It was after the elevator doors closed that Mika realized something was odd. She¡¯d ran into it without hesitation, along with two people she didn¡¯t even know. Mika looked down at her body, and began to wonder if it was Janet that¡¯d controlled her in that moment.


    There was a slight lurch as the elevator began to ascend. Alex and Oz reloaded their guns, their focus not on Mika but rather what was next to come.


    The tension became almost palpable within the elevator as it continued to climb, and when the machinery stopped Mika¡¯s two companions glanced nervously at each other. Even Mika couldn¡¯t help but raise her rifle and aim at the door, as a shiver of anticipation tickled her.


    That was why when the door opened and revealed a mysterious white figure Mika shot before she even though. The bullet the gun discharged pierced the center of the humanoid shape, and it staggered back due to the impact.


    A flat face lifted to look at Mika, and a type of camera embedded on the front whirred audibly as it focused on her. Only then did two hands lift up, each one holding some type of pistol that she couldn¡¯t recognize.


    Oz¡¯s pistols roared to life as he unloaded every bullet he had into the robot. The machine staggered time and again with each hit, and then finally collapsed to the floor.


    ¡°Can¡¯t just do it once, Jan,¡± Oz said as he snapped a fresh magazine into each of his pistols, ¡°the secroids will just shrug it off otherwise.¡±


    Alex peeked out the elevator doors, and then she slipped out into the t-section of two hallways. She knelt down next to the immobile robot, beckoning with one hand to the others.


    When Mika and Oz joined her in the hallway the lights above them flickered on. The once darkened area turned a brilliant white, the spotless condition of the walls and floors only marred by the oil that leaked from the robot.


    ¡°What! That was too soon,¡± Alex growled, and then she gripped her jaw, ¡°Shichi what¡¯s going on?¡±


    A few seconds passed and Alex¡¯s face started to turn red with rage, and then she stood up. ¡°He didn¡¯t respond,¡± she informed Mika and Oz.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, the machine should be on this floor,¡± Oz said as he glanced at the three directions to choose from, ¡°but where?¡±


    Mika raised her free hand at that question, which drew the pairs attention. ¡°If I was going to store something important I¡¯d put it in the center of the floor.¡±


    The two looked at each other, and Oz gave a shrug. ¡°It¡¯s as good an idea as any. You two go first, I¡¯ll hold the elevator.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to do that?¡± Mika asked, but Alex grabbed her hand and started to drag her away.


    As they walked down the hallway they passed what looked like doors, each of which were completely transparent and had no latches or hinges. Every door they went near gained a red tinge, but Alex paid no attention to it.


    Ahead of them a single door remained, one that wasn¡¯t transparent but instead made of metal. From out of the wall next to it two robots similar to the one near the elevator appeared. They slowly turned their heads in the pair''s direction, mechanical hands lifting to point at them.


    From a pouch at her hip Alex pulled out a cylinder, and with a quick flick of her arm she threw it at the robots. Before the cylinder reached them she turned and leapt at Mika, dragging her to the floor.


    An explosion filled the hallway when the grenade hit one of the robots, and chunks of metal were scattered everywhere. Mika felt Alex wince, and when she looked over her shoulder a large piece was visibly stuck in her.


    Alex coughed, a bit of blood dripping from her mouth, and she struggled to stand back up. Mika rose from the floor, and then helped Alex even as she surveyed the damage done.


    The robots were completely gone, as well as parts of the white walls on both sides. The metal door had been thrown into the room beyond.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Alex said as she tried to walk forward, but without Mika to support her she struggled.


    Mika shook her head, trying to figure out exactly how hurt Alex was. ¡°You need to rest, you need help right now.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get it!¡± Alex roared at Mika as she pulled her in close with one hand, ¡°Janet, they made a weapon without limits or controls! We need to get in there now!¡±


    Any further discussion was disrupted by the sound of metal being crushed, and both of them turned to look at the now open doorway. A single slim leg had extended into view, and the bare foot attached to it had crunched down on the metal.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Alex said as tears started to form in her eyes, ¡°everyone died for no reason!¡±


    Mika looked at her, and then at the person who¡¯d slowly emerged into the hallway. There was something familiar about the face, and behind the slim body extended out multiple pairs of white wings. A golden object hung in the air above the person¡¯s head, one that Mika knew all too well.


    Mika¡¯s rifle dropped to the ground as her hands lifted in the direction of the woman before her. It was when their gaze fell upon Mika that her hands retracted, and for a brief moment she doubted what she was seeing.


    Before she could ask a question the world in front of her turned to fire. The flames surged down the hall, devouring her body, and for a brief moment all she felt was the heat of it. Then the fire was gone and instead it was replaced by fog, a cool mist that lathered her body and seemed to almost cradle her.


    A second later she was near the portal, and on the fifty-second floor again.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 6 - One Step Forward

    When Rosalind offered her hand to me I accepted it and shook. I smiled at her, and she smiled back, though I expected neither smile was honest. Behind her Eon had started to work on removing the corpses.


    ¡°Since we have control of this place you can send us to floor sixty, right?¡± I checked with her.


    ¡°Indubitably,¡± she replied as she motioned at the middle of the room, ¡°Eon will interface and establish dominance of the outpost.¡±


    I manipulated the systems of the shell to connect to Mika, and made certain to not transmit my next words to Rosalind. ¡°Mika, can you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Father? Did you succeed with your plan?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the Architects and I have control of the relay station so bring your sister,¡± I told her, ¡°but be careful and avoid any contact. Oh, and Mika?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down,¡± I said, and then I cut the connection. I didn¡¯t need to hear her complaining about how she knew what she was doing.


    I glanced at the info from the shell to check that Rosalind hadn¡¯t done anything, and once I felt certain of that I began a diagnostic. I¡¯d taken a fair amount of punishment in the last fight, and even without the scan I knew repairs were needed.


    By the time I¡¯d accumulated a proper report on all the damage my daughters had shown up outside. Rosalind led them into the base, and all four of us gathered in a wide and deep room.


    Lisa was kind enough to lend me a hand in moving around, as the battle had made it impossible for me to walk. When we had to climb up onto a platform in the transit room she hefted me up, my weight not a problem for her innate strength.


    Once we¡¯d all gathered near the center of the platform Rosalind looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Eon, transfer us to floor sixty.¡±


    Similar to my own base whenever we slid, the room grew dim as energy was rerouted to the transfer system. The platform we stood on began to vibrate, and a hum of power filled the surroundings. After a few seconds the noise built, and then the world turned white.


    <hr>


    Floor 60


    The Eternal Beach


    Checkpoint Six


    <hr>


    When we arrived on the floor we didn¡¯t appear out in the open, but instead inside a room that looked identical to the one we¡¯d just been in. If not for the fact that the labyrinth had alerted us on our arrival we might¡¯ve failed to notice the transfer.


    Before any of us could move Rosalind lifted up one hand. ¡°Let me handle conversations.¡±


    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t we in another Architect base?¡± Lisa asked as she looked around, ¡°is this a trap?¡±


    Rosalind blinked, and then shook her head slowly. ¡°If I wished to entrap you wouldn¡¯t I have already done so? I must converse with the operator to clear our point of egress.¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright I guess,¡± Lisa replied as she glanced at me. When I didn¡¯t respond she opted to remain quiet, something I was thankful for.


    Rosalind studied the three of us, and then she turned and hopped off of the platform. She walked over to the door and slid one hand near it, a light illuminating temporarily as her fingers passed over it.


    When we followed her out of the chamber we emerged into an antechamber with three doors, and a ramp that ran up toward the west. If there was one thing the Architects excelled at it was making the same thing over and over again, to a scary degree.


    Outside of the transit room there was a single Architect, who stood flanked by a pair of drones. He watched us exit the room and lifted up one hand, his gaze lingering for a long time on my daughters.


    ¡°Declare intention,¡± he said with a monotonous voice.


    At those words we all went still. ¡°Laborer transportation,¡± Rosalind said.


    The Architect pointed at the shell I was using. ¡°Automaton purpose?¡±


    ¡°Executive Aug experimental prototype.¡±


    At the mention of Aug the Architect took a step back, and then did a quick swing of his hand toward the ramp. No more words were passed between the two Architects, and instead Rosalind started to walk up to the exit.


    My daughters were quick on the uptake and almost ran after her. Lisa was kind enough to lift me up and carry me, so as she followed Rosalind I was able to keep an eye on the other Architect.


    At the top of the ramp we were faced with a door much like all the others. Once more Rosalind slid her hand over the wall near it, and the doorway opened up.


    From outside warm air flowed in, and my daughters both smiled as they breathed in deeply. Though I was able to get a false smell via the system, I knew from firsthand experience that the shell had failed to properly capture the scent of floor sixty.


    Outside of the Architect outpost was a beach, one of white sands and a brilliant sun. The sun was about a third of the way up into the sky, and beneath it stretched an ocean of sparkling crystal clear water.


    I¡¯d explored that ocean and all one would find were fish. The island we were on, one that was perfectly circular, was wide enough for a small town. However there were no land creatures on the sixtieth floor, and the invasive Architects had built the only structures.


    ¡°Oh wow!¡± Lisa exclaimed as she walked across the beach, approaching the water, ¡°this is so pretty!¡±


    ¡°But dangerous,¡± I reminded her as I pointed over her shoulder.


    When she turned she could easily see the Architect drones, each one atop a single metal pillar that were spaced out every fifty feet. All in all the floor had at least thirty drones, and that wasn¡¯t counting the coordinator within the transfer building.


    The sight of the drones caused both of my daughters to go completely still. I reached up with one hand and lightly knocked my mechanical knuckles on Lisa¡¯s head.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re fine so long as we don¡¯t try to do anything illegal,¡± I told her, ¡°isn¡¯t that right, Rosalind?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. The portal is centered on the island, and observed by drones,¡± she said, and then motioned in the direction she¡¯d mentioned.


    It was easy enough for the four of us to walk over to the portal, and along the way we encountered no other Architects. Their absence bugged me, but what bothered me more was the fact that the floor was still predominantly untouched.


    In the past when the Architects had spread they¡¯d had a habit of overwriting the floors. They would lay down metal everywhere and pave out new cities, resulting in every floor becoming identical to the next.


    Yet on all the floors I¡¯d encountered signs of the Architects there¡¯d been nothing like that. Something was stunting their spread, and I could only hope that it was the alleged rebels in their society.


    The portal itself was out in the open, ringed by a makeshift metal wall that was far wider than it needed to be. Along the top of the wall stood numerous drones, their red eyes watching our every move, but none acted to interfere with us.


    Rosalind was the first to reach the portal, and she placed one hand against the white sphere. She then paused, glancing back at us with one upraised eyebrow. ¡°I will meet you on floor sixty-one?¡±


    I nodded my head, but I chose not to speak any words. With the drones about it was difficult to tell who exactly might be listening in.


    Rosalind vanished from in front of us a second later, and then my daughters approached the portal. Before they touched it I held up one hand to get their attention, and then extended all five fingers. I had no intention to move on to the next floor just yet.


    It was time to regroup.


    <hr>


    Floor 50


    The Strays


    Checkpoint 5


    <hr>


    When we returned to the fiftieth floor we were immediately greeted by our companions. Lance and Lucas were on guard duty, and were aware enough to not attack us as soon as we appeared.


    Once we¡¯d safely arrived on the fiftieth floor I let my daughters know I was disconnecting, and then I turned off the shell. I once more regained awareness of my actual surroundings, and when I glanced to my right Kuzu was asleep in her own chair.


    ¡°Kuzu, wake up,¡± I gently said, but I gained no reaction from her.


    I spent a small amount of time looking at her as she sleep in the chair. She¡¯d chosen to wear a loose red dress, a modest design, and her hair had been carefully pulled back into a ponytail. Next to the chair she was seated in a book had fallen, most likely the one she¡¯d been reading while waiting for news.


    I shook my head, though, and tried to focus on the task at hand. ¡°Kuzu, wake up!¡±


    She snapped awake instantly, her body springing from the chair. In her hands two daggers crafted of pure ice had been manifested, and her eyes darted left and right rapidly. It was a reaction that gave me a bit of pride, but it was also unnecessary at the moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m back,¡± I told her as I offered my hand in her direction, ¡°do you mind?¡±


    Once Kuzu realized that everything was fine she threw aside her ice daggers, and they cracked lightly upon hitting the floor. She stepped over to me and helped me up, while also making certain all of the parts of the shell system were detached.


    ¡°Is everything going good?¡± Kuzu asked me, as she brought over my cane.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not,¡± I told her as I limped to the door. I needed to warn Alexia of the damaged machine my daughters were bringing back.


    While I walked I also explained to Kuzu what had happened. Though it had felt like so much to me, in the overall scheme of things it was a quick conversation. When I finished she¡¯d gone silent, a silence that I echoed.


    Alexia was a bit more than annoyed by the news I gave her. When Lisa showed up with the shell in her arms, Alexia¡¯s anger only increased and I ended up retreating from her makeshift workshop.


    A few hours later and I was in my room, seated at the table with Kuzu. She¡¯d prepared a type of quail for dinner, along with some milk that the nyanko had given her.


    My daughters hadn¡¯t joined us, though since they didn¡¯t need to eat I hadn¡¯t been too shocked. Mika¡¯d turned down the offer with a bit of a distant look in her eyes, and Lisa was far too interested in following her sister.


    As we ate I didn¡¯t feel the urge to talk, so it was Kuzu who broke the silence. ¡°What¡¯s bothering you?¡±


    I looked up from the food at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been together for years now, do you really think I can¡¯t notice when you¡¯re thinking too hard?¡± Kuzu asked as she pointed her fork at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s the whole situation,¡± I said, ¡°this whole Architect thing. I knew they¡¯d spread to this floor, but nothing is turning out how I expect with them.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯d you expect?¡±


    I had to resist the urge to slam my hand against the table in frustration. ¡°Something more, like an army waiting for us. Anything besides this whole hidden resistance thing!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good, though?¡± Kuzu asked as she popped a piece of quail into her mouth.


    ¡°No, because I don¡¯t trust her at all,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯s all too coincidental to me.¡±


    Kuzu laughed a little at my comment. ¡°This coming from you? You showed up right when I needed you to, otherwise I never would¡¯ve made it off of that goblin infested floor.¡±


    I waved my hand at her in an attempt to dismiss that event. ¡°You would¡¯ve survived, and someone would¡¯ve shown up eventually. No, it¡¯s just a bit odd that someone who could help us sneak through so many floors popped up right when we needed it.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a trick?¡±


    ¡°A trap. They¡¯re just failing to realize who they¡¯re attempting to snare,¡± I declared, ¡°once the snare is sprung Lisa and Mika will destroy it. Once powered up I doubt anything the Architects have could handle them.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    I waved my hand again at Kuzu. ¡°It¡¯s the shell, I don¡¯t mind if that gets broken again.¡±


    ¡°Lexy will,¡± Kuzu said, and then she started to giggle.


    The rest of our dinner went smoothly, as Kuzu talked about the nyanko. She¡¯d apparently managed to befriend them, and with the help of Ivan they¡¯d planned out ways to recover the withered park in their city.


    In the end we never touched on the subject of the Architects again, and after eating dinner we cleaned up and went to bed. Though I was worried, it wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d gone to bed full of anxiety, and so sleep came readily enough.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    I crouched down as low as I could get behind the waist-high rock. Sweat poured from every part of my body, as the waves of heat continued to pound away at me. I could barely breathe because of the ferocity of the flames.


    ¡°Over here you damned bastard!¡± Pierre yelled, his voice distant.


    With a loud snarl the dragon whipped its head away from me, and instead turned to look back at Pierre. The serpentine creature reached out with one clawed hand to grip the ground and drag itself, slowly moving after my friend. The scaled hide slid easily enough across the rocky terrain, and the way its color shifted to match the surroundings made it hard to track.


    As it moved blood squirted from numerous cuts that littered the body of the dragon. We¡¯d managed to get in a few lucky hits, but when it started spitting flames I¡¯d taken the initiative to draw it away from the other three.


    I peeked over the rock I¡¯d used for shelter, noticing that the ground in front of it had mostly melted from the dragonflame. I slowly moved away from the hazardous area, trying to get close to the cliff wall.


    A rope snaked down the length of the cliff, a sight that made me want to run for it. I fought that urge, glancing nervously at the dragon that continued to chase after Pierre, and tried to move as quietly as I could.


    My climb up the cliff was easy enough, though it was slow as I tried to avoid dislodging any stones. The sound of the dragon thankfully grew dimmer, and then vanished from my ears. By the time I reached the top of the cliff it was far gone, though we had if Pierre had gotten away or not.


    A thin arm reached out and gripped my hand, helping to pull me up onto the top of the cliff. ¡°Easy Theo, I¡¯ve got you,¡± Eclair said with a grin, a smile ruined by the scars that ran across her mouth.


    ¡°And thank Luticia for that,¡± I commented, as I looked one more time down at where the dragon had been, ¡°do you think he¡¯s okay?¡±


    ¡°Pierre?¡± Eclair patted me on the shoulder, ¡°I doubt anything can catch him once he puts his mind to running. But we gots something else to deal with.¡±


    That was when I noticed someone else was missing. ¡°Where¡¯s Mirk?¡±


    Eclair pointed over to a withered tree, one that had a dark blob next to it. ¡°There.¡±


    I gave her a questioning look, but she only shook her head. It was with hesitant steps that I started to walk over to the tree, and as I got close rI realized what the blob actually was.


    An almost leathery looking misshapen blob had formed next to the tree, one that had the look of an egg if it¡¯d been stretched out. I¡¯d seen plenty of eggs in my time, but this was one that I couldn¡¯t recognize.


    I started to reach out to touch the surface of it when Eclair caught my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she warned me, and then she pointed at a bundle on the ground near the egg.


    I could feel my heart stop, as I recognized Mirk¡¯s clothing. It¡¯d been torn to shreds, but it was his, and that could only mean one thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Eclair said, ¡°while the dragon and Pierre chased after you he collapsed. He kept screaming, saying something about the blood burning, and then he started tearing his clothes off.¡±


    It was the word blood that made me glance once more at the rags on the ground. The blood of the dragon that¡¯d splashed on Mirk were still there, and though it looked like any other kind of blood I started to wonder.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± I murmured, and then I looked sharply at Eclair, ¡°throw your sword away!¡±


    She tilted her head in confusion at me, but then her eyes widened as she caught on. With a bit of a yell she tossed her bloodied sword as far as she could, the scarlet blade clattering loudly as it landed amongst the rocks.


    ¡°We need to warn Pierre!¡± Eclair cried, and she started to run away, before suddenly stopping and looking back at Mirk, ¡°but...what about him?¡±


    I stood up and backed away from the dragon egg. I aimed one palm in the direction of Mirk, and then I closed my eyes and did a mental prayer. A second later I brought the full power of gravity down upon Mirk, and the egg flattened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell Sasha when we get back,¡± I told Eclair, as I turned and walked past her, ¡°but come on. Pierre¡¯s still alive.¡±


    She tried to talk to me as we headed out after Pierre, but my mind was preoccupied. I¡¯d thought the shifters had been scary, but a creature that transforms your allies? The mere thought of what that could mean brought a shiver down my spine.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 7 - A Puzzling Event

    <hr>


    Floor 60


    The Eternal Beach


    Checkpoint Six


    <hr>


    We didn¡¯t return to floor sixty until a few days had gone by, as the shell had taken a while longer than expected to repair. Alexia had upgraded the durability a little, but for the most part it was still the same machine as before.


    Our arrival point was not within the Architect base, but outside on the beach. We appeared knee deep in water, on the southern edge of the island.


    I let go of Mika¡¯s hand and studied the beach. There were no Architects, nor even drones, visible along it. The metal pillars further inland had the recognizable and identical figures still on them, but aside from that we saw no sign of any danger.


    Lisa was the first to move, as she waded out of the water and onto the beach. Once there she stretched and looked back at us expectantly.


    Mika had a sort of distant look on her face, and so I reached over and touched her on the shoulder. ¡°Mika?¡±


    She jumped at my touch, but her tension relaxed when she realized that it was me. ¡°Sorry, I was thinking about something,¡± she said, and then went to join her sister on the beach.


    My eyes followed Mika as she walked through the water, my own thoughts growing distracted. Ever since the fifty-second floor she¡¯d grown a bit more distant from us, as though what she¡¯d seen there still haunted her.


    Though that was the purpose of the floor, it was meant to force one to change in some fashion. To grow, by showing a Truth. Whatever that was depended on the person, as well as how impacting it would be.


    As I joined my daughters I glanced at Lisa. She had one arm wrapped around her sister, while she peered out at the ocean with eyes glistening with excitement. Whatever Truth she¡¯d been shown had done little to change her, a testament perhaps to how hardheaded she could be.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Lisa suddenly called out to me, ¡°why¡¯d we appear out here and not in the base? I thought we¡¯d get a chance to smack some Architects.¡±


    ¡°Because we used the portal, and your checkpoint crystals, instead of their transit system,¡± I explained to her, ¡°any other questions before we go to the next floor?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m good,¡± Lisa said with a shake of her head.


    A look at Mika gained me another shake, and I decided to push on. We headed in toward the center of the island, and after a while we reached the same path we¡¯d used before.


    As we retraced our steps from the previous visit to the floor, I kept a close eye on whatever drone was closest to us. Though they all watched us, it was only their eyes that moved. There was a certain tension in the air every time we got close to a pillar, but in the end it was all for naught.


    The portal was, as before, unguarded. It was an easy situation that only made me all the more concerned, but even as my daughters touched it none of the nearby drones stirred. Even as we disappeared I couldn¡¯t shake that feeling that something was wrong.


    <hr>


    Floor 61


    Enigma


    <hr>


    Where we arrived at next was a simple white room, shaped like a cube. Off to the side of it were two beds, and in the middle of the room was a table. There were no decorations, and a single light was centered above.


    On the table were four square blocks, each one a different color. One was red, another blue, the third green, and the final one yellow. Impaled into the middle of the table was a long dagger, one made of a metal that shone white in the light.


    ¡°I hate this floor,¡± I grumbled as I walked over to the table, joined by my daughters a few moments later.


    Lisa leaned over the table and studied it, and then she noticed that words were engraved into the wood, ¡°Cut that which it draws?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± Mika asked.


    ¡°I have no clue, and it¡¯s exactly why I hate this floor,¡± I admitted to them, ¡°do you have any ideas?¡±


    Lisa reached out and pulled the dagger from the table. The table shook a little from her movement, but nothing else changed. She poked the edge of the blade with one finger, her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°When one thinks of draw one expects art,¡± Mika mused as she walked around the table, ¡°but I don¡¯t see anything.¡±


    I crossed my arms, and attempted to ignore Lisa as she sliced and stabbed at the air with the dagger. ¡°It has to do with these blocks, I¡¯m expecting we need to use the dagger on one of them.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just stab one then!¡± Lisa exclaimed as she took a step toward the table, the dagger lifted up high.


    I stepped in front of her, having expected she might opt for that strategy. ¡°If you make a mistake on these puzzles you can lose a limb...or a life.¡±


    My words caused Lisa to pause, and then she lowered the dagger and stepped back. ¡°Let me know when you figure something out,¡± she mumbled.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    I glanced at the dagger she held, studying it for any sign of symbols or lettering. Instead it was merely a regular blade, except perhaps for the metal that had been used to create it. Though I¡¯d gone through all of the floors of the labyrinth I couldn¡¯t recognize the type.


    ¡°Father, this is water,¡± Mika said, as she poked at the blue block, ¡°I thought it was wood?¡±


    ¡°Water?¡± I stepped over and put one finger against the block, and the feedback from the shell made it obvious that she was right. It rippled beneath my touch, and yet somehow still maintained an overall cubed shape.


    Mika touched the other three. As she pushed her finger against the green one it bent inward, and for a moment I thought I could see blades of grass. The red one reacted similar to the blue, even leaving behind a wet mark on her fingertip.


    The yellow square was the weirdest of them all. When she touched it her finger seemed to pass through, as though it was intangible, and she could only frown in reaction.


    ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be?¡± Mika asked.


    I pressed my own finger against the yellow block, and was surprised by how easily it passed through. Yet thanks to the sensors of the shell I was able to tell exactly what it was.


    ¡°Raw energy.¡±


    Mika put one finger to her chin as she studied the blocks. ¡°Cut that which it draws?¡± she murmured.


    ¡°Clearly has nothing to do with drawing, like art, but I know you can draw from a well,¡± I said as I tried to vocalize my thought process, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of daggers and energy interacting at all, so I think that¡¯s out. Was that green one grass?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Mika replied, as her eyes moved to the red block, ¡°I think it¡¯s that one or the blue one.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I agreed with her, as I tried to figure out why the red block looked so familiar to me. It was only when Mika touched it again, the red stain marking her fingertip, that it dawned on me.


    I motioned with one hand to get Lisa¡¯s attention. ¡°Stab the red one.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Lisa exclaimed as she eagerly leapt at the table, and brought the dagger down onto the red cube without hesitation.


    Mika lifted her hand up as though to stop her, but her unspoken disagreement was too late for her sister. The dagger slid through the red square without resistance, and then the table dissolved into particles.


    There were no alarms that went off, and the room remained still. Mika looked at me and lifted one eyebrow inquisitively.


    ¡°The red block was blood,¡± I explained to her, ¡°and you can draw blood from someone by stabbing them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, why didn¡¯t you say that?¡± Mika asked with a frown.


    I paused for a moment, as I opted to not say my first thought. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I apologized.


    Before she could either accept or deny that the room shook, and then a new table lifted up out of the floor in front of us. On it was a single goblet, crafted from the finest gold that I¡¯d ever seen.


    Next to the goblet was a single bottle of wine, which was still sealed. A single card, folded closed, sat next to the wine bottles.


    Lisa picked up the card and opened it, and then tossed it lightly to Mika. ¡°Who¡¯s Wye?¡±


    Mika caught the card and read the contents, before she looked at me. ¡°Let¡¯s just say she¡¯s like Rinth,¡± I told her, ¡°why, what¡¯s the card say?¡±


    ¡°Happy birthday. What¡¯s she talking about?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help smiling at that. ¡°I almost forgot, today¡¯s the anniversary of my rebirth,¡± I told her, and then gestured at the bottle of wine, ¡°do you mind storing that for me?¡±


    Mika picked it up and slid it into her sack, though it barely fit given all of the gear she¡¯d shoved in already. ¡°But exactly who is Wye? Is she like Rinth, and locked to this floor?¡±


    I lifted up one finger and put it against Mika¡¯s lips. ¡°It would be best if we didn¡¯t talk about this subject any further,¡± I told her, ¡°otherwise you¡¯ll get a repeat of the fifty-second floor.¡±


    There were the few seconds of confusion, and then an understanding dawned on her face. She reached up with one hand and lightly touched at her own neck, as though remembering how she¡¯d been choked by something unknown.


    Before either of my daughters could ask another question the room shook again, and the table in front of us vanished once more. A silhouette of a person appeared near the far end of the room, and there was a sort of visual jerk to the world around us.


    Rosalind stood next to the portal, her arms crossed and her head tilted forward. She looked almost as though she was asleep, and even as we entered the same reality as her she didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Hi!¡± Lisa called out as she waved at Rosalind.


    The Architect snapped to attention, looking up at us. ¡°Greetings,¡± she said, with a slight nod of her head, ¡°was the puzzle too difficult for you?¡±


    Lisa went to talk but I put one hand on her shoulder. ¡°Yes, we had to even take a rest break because of how long it took,¡± I said, as I had no interest in telling her we¡¯d retreated temporarily, ¡°I¡¯m sorry it took so long.¡±


    ¡°This is why arrival together was preferable,¡± Rosalind said before she pointed at the portal, ¡°shall we progress further?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied, though I wondered if she¡¯d even noticed how the shell had been repaired.


    ¡°Caution is recommended,¡± Rosalind told us, and then she put her hand against the portal and vanished.


    Lisa poked me in the side. ¡°Why¡¯d you lie to her?¡±


    ¡°As Pierre would¡¯ve said, you want to keep your cards hidden until the hand is over.¡±


    Lisa mulled on my words for a bit, but in the end shrugged her shoulders. She approached the portal along with her sister, and then offered her hand to me. ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s get going!¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 62


    The Alloy Mountain


    <hr>


    When we appeared our feet contacted with a sheet of platinum. Beneath us, and stretching out in all directions, was nothing more than metal. Every type imaginable covered the ground in patches, creating a strange look that was drastically different from the norm.


    Off to our east a mountain rose up, one that shone in the midday sunlight. I knew from past experiences that it was the greatest source of ores in the labyrinth, and it even had some only found on this floor.


    From our spot we could barely make out what looked like buildings near the base of the mountain. Small figures that I assumed were Architects, though most likely drones, could be seen moving around.


    ¡°Over here,¡± Rosalind called out from a little off to the south.


    When I looked at her I noticed the once desolate and empty plains had changed, and now there was a large structure, one that was about fifty feet tall. The true size of it was in the length, however, as it stretched on for what seemed to be miles.


    ¡°That¡¯s the prison?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Affirmative,¡± Rosalind said, and then she started to head toward it without further words.


    The lack of strategizing annoyed me, but since standing around would get us nowhere I followed her. My daughters shadowed my steps, silent and focused.


    As we got closer to the prison I could make out more details. The exterior was smooth, with no lettering or symbols anywhere. There were no windows, and instead it merely had the look of a rectangular block of metal.


    On the north side of the building was a single door, one that had two Architects standing outside of it. Even from our distance I could tell that they weren¡¯t drones.


    When we got closer to the door one of them stepped forward and lifted up one hand. ¡°Terminate momentum,¡± the guard said as he studied us, ¡°explain purpose.¡±


    The four of us stopped, and Rosalind was the first to speak. ¡°Manager Rosalind,¡± she said as she put one hand on her chest, ¡°escorting prisoners.¡±


    The guard sneered at her. ¡°Scheduled transference?¡±


    ¡°Negative. Spontaneous development.¡±


    Without warning a blade emerged from the chest of the guard, one that came from behind him. The other guard had silently stepped forward and constructed a basic sword, and then had used it to murder his fellow guard.


    As blood gushed from the half-opened mouth, the dying guard tried to glance back over his shoulder. ¡°What?¡±


    Rosalind stepped forward and delivered a powerful slash, severing the guards head from the rest of his body. By the time the head hit the ground she¡¯d already deconstructed her own weapon, and turned to glance back at us.


    ¡°Individuals, allow me to introduce Arim,¡± she said, ¡°a Samara follower.¡±


    Arim had the same overall look as the other Architects, with his white hair and red eyes. He was a bit shorter than most, almost the same height as my daughters, but he made up for it by having thick arms and legs.


    ¡°Trustworthy individuals?¡± Arim asked as he eyed Rosalind.


    She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. ¡°Enemies of the supremacists.¡±


    Arim¡¯s wariness didn¡¯t seem to grow any less, but he made no move to attack or leave. ¡°Complication has arisen.¡±


    Rosalind¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Explain.¡±


    Arim half-turned away to look at the prison behind him. ¡°Executive Toma arrived.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 8 - The Metal Prison

    ¡°An executive? Dad, isn¡¯t that one of those guys you said we should be careful of?¡± Lisa asked me.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d rather not fight those unless we need to,¡± I said, glancing at the prison. Though my daughters could beat an executive, I had no interest in bandying about the information.


    Rosalind looked between us, and then turned to Arim. ¡°When did he arrive?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday,¡± Arim replied, ¡°solitary, and displeased.¡±


    ¡°Displeased? Why?¡±


    ¡°The President sent him to download Samara.¡±


    Rosalind¡¯s eyes widened at that, and then she almost started to run for the door. ¡°Hold on!¡± I called out to get her to stop, ¡°what¡¯s he talking about?¡±


    There was a moment where Rosalind looked like she was going to ignore me, and instead run into the prison. Then she turned and hurriedly walked back. ¡°Samara is getting downloaded.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s that mean?¡±


    Rosalind paused at my question, and then inclined her head slightly. ¡°I apologize, I failed to realize your limited knowledge of our society. Downloading is forced memory acquisition, followed by elimination.¡±


    ¡°And without her your group falls apart, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Negative,¡± Rosalind said with a shake of her head, ¡°but her memory contains critical information on our organization.¡±


    If I was to make use of them as a tool, it was obvious how this would be bad for me. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll help you get her out before they kill her. Do you guys know where she¡¯s at in there?¡±


    Rosalind glanced at Arim. He gave a very slow nod of his head, but then frowned. ¡°I never saw her personally, but she was in the south-western corner of the second floor.¡±


    I studied the prison again. The hard metal exterior had a nigh impossible smoothness to it, but aside from that I saw nothing else. No sign of weapons, no slits or traps, and that gave me an idea.


    ¡°Follow me then,¡± I said, as I walked away from the front of the prison, instead moving over to the right.


    ¡°Where are you going? The entrance isn¡¯t that way!¡± Rosalind called out after me, but I ignored her and continued on.


    The unnatural smoothness of the wall continued even as I walked the full extent of the prison wall. I continued to keep an eye out for any sign of something different, like perhaps a window, but by the time I neared the south-western corner I¡¯d found nothing.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯re doing it the hard way then,¡± I commented to myself.


    I stepped up to the wall and put my left hand a few inches away from it, with my fingers fully extended. The crystal system in the forearm hummed as I activated it, and thin beams of light shot from each of my fingertips into the wall.


    ¡°What are you up to?¡± Lisa asked as she, and the others, followed after me.


    ¡°If we go in the front door we¡¯ll have to deal with whatever defenses this place has,¡± I said, ¡°but if we go in from the side it should be a lot easier.¡±


    ¡°Arim could¡¯ve gotten us past the first security checks though!¡± Rosalind shouted, ¡°if we go in this way they¡¯ll know as soon as you open the hole!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll be close enough to your friend that it won¡¯t matter.¡±


    With my disagreement of her Rosalind took a few steps away, but she didn¡¯t run off. Instead she crossed her arms and glared at the prison.


    Since I¡¯d been left alone my progress went smooth, and as I continued to cut away at the metal exterior I adjusted the aim of my fingertips. After almost an hour of work I¡¯d cut a rough rectangular frame into the wall.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t pierce all the way to the interior,¡± Rosalind commented.


    ¡°Like you said, once we breach the wall the alarms will probably start,¡± I told her, and then I motioned toward Lisa, ¡°if you would be so kind as to knock?¡±


    ¡°Aw, thanks daddy,¡± Lisa said as she almost skipped over to the wall. She lifted up one hand, clenching it tightly into a fist, and then punched the center of my makeshift door.


    Even without her halo the strength she had was excessive for the task, and the chunk of metal slammed into the wall opposite of the exterior.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I went in first, making certain to stop Lisa from charging in, as I didn¡¯t want my daughters to potentially step into a deadly trap. The interior of the room we¡¯d opened into was dim, but it was flawlessly clean of any type of dust. The walls were lined with numerous tools, most of which I couldn¡¯t recognize, and a single body was forcefully hung via straps on the southern wall.


    Rosalind was the next one through the hole I¡¯d made, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of the person stuck to the wall. When Arim came through the hole she whispered a few words to him, and then turned her attention to the only door in the room.


    When Lisa started to come through the gap in the wall I held up one hand. ¡°Hold your position here, you two will protect our exit,¡± I told her, ¡°and don¡¯t pout. If I need your help I¡¯ll call you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair, you keep leaving us out of these fights,¡± Lisa protested, though she didn¡¯t come any further into the prison.


    ¡°With Toma here I believe it is unwise to leave them outside,¡± Rosalind said.


    I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯re not here to fight him, this is a rescue mission. Trust me.¡±


    I studied the door, noticing that it wasn¡¯t a thick and heavy armored one. Instead it seemed to be a very mundane type, though why a prison would have such a simple door for a cell was beyond me.


    When I glanced back over at the person who¡¯d been hung up, I saw that Arim had taken them off of the wall and laid them on the ground. He was in the midst of sliding his fingers all over the body, his eyes half-closed as though he was meditating.


    ¡°How are we going to find your leader?¡± I asked Rosalind.


    ¡°Uncertain,¡± she replied.


    I resisted the urge to knock her upside the head, and instead reached out and slid my hand along the side of the doorframe. Though I moved my hand over the control system it didn¡¯t respond to the shell¡¯s fingers.


    ¡°Allow me to unlock it,¡± Rosalind said as she started to take a step forward.


    Yet when she waved her hand in front of the scanner it didn¡¯t respond. I gently put one hand on her shoulder, and then said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just stand aside.¡±


    Once she¡¯d stepped to the side I imitated Lisa, as I punched the door as hard as I could. I set limits to the shell, so that it wouldn¡¯t break anything in the process, but it was still enough force to break the door open.


    The hallway that was revealed was wide, though on the opposite side was another closed cell. I strode out into the hallway, the red light that coated me one that seemed to pulse at a slow rate. It took me a few seconds to realize that the lights of the hallway were all pulsating, and that the pattern of it seemed to lead to where I was.


    ¡°Some sort of guidance lighting?¡± I wondered aloud as I studied the lights.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Rosalind said as she followed me out into the hallway, ¡°this helps the security locate the intruders.¡±


    As if in response to her comment three identical figures approached us from the north. Each of the Architect drones carried no visible weapons, but given their nanite tech I knew that was only temporary.


    I unslung the rifle that I¡¯d carried on my back, the new sleeker design fitting comfortably in my hands. I pumped the grip that ran along the bottom of the gun, and then before the drones got closer I fired off the energy grenade.


    The tactic they opted for surprised me, as the closest drone was pushed even closer by the other two. The ensuing explosion destroyed the drone on contact, and during the bright flash I lost sight of the other two drones.


    Which didn¡¯t matter to me, as I calmly aimed the rifle at where their heads had last been and fired off two quick shots. By the time I could see past where the grenade had exploded, the two remaining drones had collapsed with precise holes through their heads.


    ¡°Efficient,¡± Rosalind complimented me.


    I slung the rifle back over my shoulder. ¡°Only because they¡¯re weak. Where do we go?¡±


    Rosalind motioned in the direction of the dead drones. ¡°There should be an elevator near the center.¡±


    With that information I moved on ahead, ignoring the fact that Arim had yet to join us in the hall. There was little he could do at the time which would worry me.


    As we walked past door after door I started to wonder about the prison itself. ¡°Exactly what metal is this?¡± I asked Rosalind, my curiosity finally winning out.


    ¡°A customized type of titanium. There¡¯s an excessive quantity in the mountain.¡±


    I nodded my head, as I¡¯d thought it might be something along those lines. Though it also explained why the prison was here, as it¡¯d require less transportation of materials.


    It was that thought which made me pause in my walking, as I started to wonder something. The almost insidious metallic spread of the Architects had barely even touched the previous floors, but could it be for so simple a reason?


    ¡°No,¡± I whispered with a shake of my head, there was no way that was possible.


    Rosalind had continued on without me, and she¡¯d also reached the entry point to the central area. When I caught up to her I stepped into an open area that stretched from one side of the prison to the other.


    In the center of the room was a single pillar that stretched all the way up to the ceiling, along with walkways for each of the floors above that stretched past the pillar.


    Our arrival into the chamber was met with an attack from above, as two more drones jumped down from one of the higher floors. The rifle on my back swung forward again, and the one closest to me took a grenade straight to the chest.


    Rosalind dealt with the other Architect before I got to it. She took one step toward it, her left hand stretching out in front of her, and her fingertips extended all the way into the chest of the drone.


    She jerked her hand to the right, causing the drone to be sliced near in half, and then her fingernails retracted. ¡°I would recommend against elevator,¡± she said as she looked up at the walkways, ¡°the coordinator will control it.¡±


    While I studied the vast open central chamber I could only ponder as to why. It seemed utterly pointless for the prison to have such emptiness to it. It was only after I noticed scaffolding near the outer walls that I realized the prison itself was still under construction.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t finished yet?¡± I asked, just to make sure, and even pointed at the distant skeletal metal framework.


    ¡°Negative,¡± Rosalind replied, her attention far more focused on the walkways above us, ¡°resources and manpower are scarce, main cells were prioritized.¡±


    ¡°What a shame. Can you jump up to the second floor?¡±


    Rosalind scoffed at my question. ¡°Easily.¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother with any more words, and instead bent my knees and then leapt up. The shell easily cleared the height to reach the next floor, and I reached out and caught the railing that ran across the walkway.


    As I dragged myself onto the walkway I heard a loud clang, a noise brought on by Rosalind¡¯s own jump. Unlike me she¡¯d precisely leapt onto the middle, and crossed her arms while she waited for me.


    I didn¡¯t waste my time talking to her, and instead I headed south along the walkway. No more drones popped up to get in our way, a nuisance I was glad to be rid of.


    The thought of them brought back memories of my first encounter with them as an Elf, an encounter that had left me permanently crippled. The thought of my body caused me to instinctively clench my one hand.


    The lights near me continued to pulsate red, a somewhat eerie effect that might¡¯ve distracted me during my earlier years. Now it was tedious, since at the very least they could throw in some other colors.


    Ahead of us, along the right side, one of the doors opened and a figure emerged. He was about six and a half feet tall, with short hair that¡¯d been combed back. When he turned his red eyes peered past small reading glasses, and he reached up with one hand to tug at his black vest.


    ¡°Executive Toma,¡± Rosalind said, as her steps faltered and she seemed almost ready to bolt at any moment.


    Toma studied the two of us, his eyes disinterested by what he saw. With a sigh he turned and started to walk back into the cell, the one that I could only assume held Samara.


    ¡°Rosalind!¡± I yelled in an attempt to snap her back to reality, ¡°I¡¯ll slow him down, you grab your friend and get out of this place.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait for her confirmation, and instead I began to activate one of the crystals inside the shell¡¯s arm. There were a total of three that it could be embedded with, and I already knew that two would be mostly useless against the executive.


    The first was the gravity crystal, and due to the inherent physique of Toma he could shrug it off. The second was the tried and true energy crystal. There was no way I could catch him with that, unless I was willing to sacrifice the shell¡¯s body.


    So instead I activated the third crystal, and then I took one heavy step forward and slammed my foot down as hard as I could.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 9 - An Escape Into Danger

    When my foot connected with the floor it sank in, a move that caused the executive¡¯s eyes to widen. What came next only surprised him even more, as a long chunk of metal shot out of the ground and flew at his chest.


    Before Toma could respond the short pillar had already smashed into him, forcing the Architect down the hallway and away from the cell door. ¡°Get in there, get out, call when you¡¯re done!¡± I shouted over my shoulder at Rosalind, and then chased after the executive.


    Toma had come to a stop some twenty feet further down the hall. I knew that there was no way that the impact could have thrown him that far, which meant he¡¯d leapt back. Was it to lessen the impact, or out of some form of amusement?


    ¡°Come on now, there¡¯s no way you couldn¡¯t dodge that attack,¡± I said, in an attempt to probe for information.


    The Architect smirked at me, but made no move to attack. I clenched my hands into fists, and then punched the wall next to me.


    A ripple spread from the point of impact, as though the metal itself had turned into a liquid. As the ripple moved further down the hall it grew larger, and by the time it reached the Architect it looked almost ready to crash into him.


    Instead the ripple stretched across the entire hall and solidified. In a matter of seconds I¡¯d created a wall of titanium between the Architect and myself.


    As if that would last long against an executive. I pulled forth my rifle, and my hand gripped the grip under the barrel. Like earlier I pumped it, and then a second time.


    The rifle started to grow warm as energy gathered, and then a far larger orb from the regular grenade of before was produced. It flew at an absurdly slow speed at the titanium wall that I¡¯d created.


    Two hands pierced through the wall, and then as though the titanium was naught but paper the hands tore it open. Toma slowly started to step through the awkward hole he¡¯d created, the metal bending as he shoved through.


    Whether he hadn¡¯t noticed, or chosen not to, but by the time the energy sphere reached him there¡¯d been no reaction. The ball made contact with his left shoulder and exploded, casting a searing light down the entire hall.


    It was bright enough that I had to shield my eyes. When the light finally subsided I was able to finally look at what damage my attack had wrought.


    The walls and even the floor near Toma had been erased, but the executive himself was still there. Now no longer hindered by the metal wall I¡¯d created he was in the midst of brushing his vest, as though it had been sullied.


    The only injury that I could see on him was a bit of a dark mark on his shoulder, but aside from that he seemed altogether untouched. Once he seemed to find his vest properly cleaned he looked at me, his eyes narrowing.


    From behind me I suddenly heard Rosalind¡¯s voice, as she called out, ¡°Samara acquired!¡±


    Those were the words I¡¯d been waiting for, and after hearing them I began to put a charge into the rifle. My previous use of the hyper grenade, as Alexia had called it, had spent all of its charge.


    Yet if I could blow the shell up, I could do the same with something else that I held. I lifted my right foot up and lightly tapped it against the ground in front of me.


    Toma had started to walk at me. When flecks of titanium shot up from the ground in between us, and even around him, the Architect paused with a confused look.


    I could almost hear the crystals in the rifle cracking, from the excess energy that I¡¯d put into the already strained gems. I casually tossed it onto the ground next to the cloud of metal.


    ¡°Explain intentions,¡± Toma demanded of me with an uplifted eyebrow.


    ¡°What, you¡¯ve never heard of a dust cloud before?¡± I asked, and then immediately jumped back.


    Perhaps I¡¯d cut it a bit too close with my cocky attitude, as the explosion went off before I¡¯d reached a safe distance. I was thrown backward, even as I lifted my arms in an attempt to guard my head and chest.


    From the momentum of the explosion I rolled even further down the hall, and only when I came to a stop did I retract my arms and look at where Toma had been. All I could see was a wall of smoke.


    I didn¡¯t waste any more time, as I stood up and took off running down the hall. I might¡¯ve hurt the executive, but there was no way something as minor as that would kill him.


    Once I reached the central chamber I paused for one second, turning back to check if Toma had chased after me. All I could see was an empty length of hall, and at the far end the cloud of smoke.


    I slapped the wall next to the entryway into the hall, discharging more of the magical energy. The titanium slid across like a door and created a new blockage, one that I hoped could delay Toma the necessary time for our escape.


    A second later I¡¯d already jumped over the railing of the second floor walkway, and so I was able to catch a glimpse of Rosalind as she carried someone into the first floor hall. I ran after her, pausing only for a few moments to create another wall of metal.Stolen story; please report.


    When we reached the cell we¡¯d used to get into the prison, Arim had already gone outside. ¡°Time to go!¡± I shouted to my daughters.


    Neither of them argued, and instead followed Rosalind and Arim as they both ran off to the north. I slipped out of the prison, casting one last glance behind me, and then headed for the portal as well.


    It didn¡¯t take us long to reach the base of the metal mountain, though we skirted around the town in order to avoid attracting any attention. Whether they were drones or not, any Architects working on this floor were probably slaved to Toma.


    A single drone seemed to serve as a guard at the portal, but Lisa made quick work of it. Her sword didn¡¯t even seem to have a hint of blood on it after she sliced the drone¡¯s head off.


    As we hurriedly gathered around the portal, Rosalind managed to wake up Samara. The woman was groggy, but she seemed to catch on to what we were doing as Rosalind put her hand against the portal.


    Mika and I were the last ones to go through the portal. I paused to look out at the flat plains between us and the prison. Off in the distance a single figure could be seen, one that was slowly heading in our direction.


    <hr>


    Floor 63


    Heads In The Clouds


    <hr>


    When Mika and I appeared on the next floor I hurriedly waved at everyone else. ¡°He¡¯s still coming, get to the next portal!¡±


    ¡°What? We can just ambush him and kill him here,¡± Lisa argued.


    I resisted the urge to sigh. ¡°And if you or your sister get hurt? We can get away nice and clean now.¡±


    Before Lisa said anything else Mika walked over and started to drag her away, shooting an apologetic look to me. ¡°Do not mind my sister, she is merely excited,¡± Mika told Rosalind.


    I could only thank her in my mind, as she¡¯d caught on to the fact that I didn¡¯t want their halos demonstrated yet. If Samara proved to be an enemy we would want the surprise of that on our side.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any more time, we need to go now,¡± I said.


    Rosalind nodded in response, and turned to follow after Mika. She walked into what could only be called a forest of excessively thick trees, with Arim shadowing her.


    The glade we¡¯d appeared in was encircled by the giant forest. The trees stretched up high, far higher than any tree normally reached.


    I manipulated the controls of the shell and activated one of the magic crystals embedded in the forearm. I opted for the energy crystal, and created a sphere of energy that sat in the palm of my hand.


    I threw it as hard as I could up into the air, and then I chased after the others. Behind me when the sphere reached a good distance, it exploded harmlessly but instead created a massive burst of light.


    That was my cue to hasten my pace even more. Off in the distance I heard the sound of wood as it snapped, and the ground began to tremble with a consistent pattern.


    The forest ahead of me began to thin out, and as I caught up to Rosalind and the others we¡¯d arrived at the edge of a desert. The dark red sand stretched out in all directions, with dips and rises that¡¯d happened due to the wind that blew over it.


    Far off in the distance the portal was visible, suspended in the air near some fallen monuments. Aside from a few cacti nothing else seemed to be between us and the next floor.


    From behind came a sudden crack, and then a giant shadow fell over us momentarily. An object flew over our small group and crashed into the desert, a cloud of sand thrown up.


    Long limbs stretched out from the cloud of sand, and then a creature as tall as one of the trees behind us stood up. A central sphere, one that had a mouth with jagged teeth on the bottom, sucked in the air as the six legs lifted it up high.


    For a moment I expected a fight, but then the giant staggered off to the side. Once it¡¯d gone a bit of a distance it merged back into the forest, the long legs blending in flawlessly with the tree trunks.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it attack us?¡± Lisa asked.


    As if to answer her question there came another crack from far behind us, and the ground rumbled as though something massive had slammed into it. It was those noises that caused the others to run into the desert, and nobody looked behind.


    By the time we¡¯d reached the portal all of the sounds of fighting had stopped. It was a silence that, in the past, would¡¯ve filled me with dread. Now it only hinted at a future annoyance.


    We gathered near the portal and started to progress to the next floor. There were no conversations, instead everyone understood the urgency of moving further away from where Toma was.


    <hr>


    Floor 64


    The Endless Sands


    <hr>


    Our luck was a bit on the foul side, as when we appeared on the next floor the sun was at its apex. Through the sensors of the shell I could tell that the heat was unbearable, and that there was no moisture in the air.


    We¡¯d appeared in the middle of a desert, and that was the extent of all we could see. Dunes rose and fell at random, but there were no plants or animals.


    It was a bleakness that could drive a man mad, but it was one that I¡¯d endured before. I felt that my daughters could handle it, though I couldn¡¯t resist looking at Mika with a bit of concern.


    ¡°Are we running for the portal again?¡± Lisa asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can get through this desert in the daytime. We need to find shelter first.¡±


    Rosalind gazed at the horizon, and then turned to me. ¡°Wherever can we find refuge?¡±


    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. The fact that she didn¡¯t know was either a lie, or proof the Architects hadn¡¯t properly scouted the desert.


    I used the built in systems of the shell in order to orient myself, and then gestured off to the west. All one could see in that direction was sand, but I knew better.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move, and keep an eye out for any steel jaws.¡±


    Lisa bounded over to me, with one hand lifted up to shield her eyes from the sun. ¡°What¡¯s a steel jaw?¡±


    ¡°A giant lizard,¡± I told her, ¡°that burrows into the ground and leaves its tail exposed. The tail looks like a cactus.¡±


    Lisa laughed a little as she said, ¡°And when someone pokes it out comes the steel jaw?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    We started out trek to the west, with my daughters hovering close to me. Arim and Rosalind kept a good distance, one that I found preferable, and neither of our groups interacted.


    The reason I¡¯d called for a retreat to shelter became obvious half an hour into our walk. Mika stumbled a bit, as her foot dug deeper into the sand than she might¡¯ve expected.


    When I caught her arm to help support her I got a good glimpse of her face, and it was as pale as snow. There was a sort of glazed over look to her eyes, and it was that which prompted me to scoop her up and carry her in my arms.


    ¡°What? I can walk,¡± she said in protest, though she didn¡¯t struggle.


    I sighed at that. ¡°You¡¯re poisoned,¡± I told her, ¡°so no you can¡¯t.¡±


    My words caused Rosalind to look at me with wide eyes. ¡°Poisoned?¡±


    I jerked my head off to the south, where what looked to be a few rocks could be seen amongst the sand. ¡°Puffball poisoning. It blooms in the sunlight.¡±


    Arim lifted one hand up to his mouth, as though to try and shield himself from the poison powder on the winds. ¡°Antidote required?¡±


    ¡°No, your bodies should be able to fight it off,¡± I said, though I looked at Lisa to make sure she was alright.


    My daughter didn¡¯t seem to show any of the symptoms yet, which I could only hope was due to her not having breathed in enough of the powder. If she was suffering, but was attempting to act strong, it could cause a problem.


    ¡°Shelter location?¡± Rosalind asked as she adjusted her hold on Samara.


    ¡°Straight ahead, we should be there soon.¡±


    She didn¡¯t speak again, though the look on her face showed how unhappy she was. The fact that the western horizon was for the most part flat, with only sand present, probably disenchanted her.


    With every step I had sent out a thrum of magic, though one that was weak. When I finally felt what I had sought I called for a stop, and then handed Mika over to her sister.


    I walked a few yards away from them, and then I dropped to my knees and put my hands into the sand. I sent out another pulse of magic, and then I tried my best to grip onto what I found.


    The sand began to part in front of me like water, as a rocky formation rose up out of the ground. Once it had fully revealed itself, all of the others could see that I had revealed a dark cave.


    It was for this reason I¡¯d brought the earth crystal in the shell. Only through magic could one access the hidden labyrinth beneath the desert, a fact that I¡¯d never been able to capitalize on in the past.


    ¡°We need to get in before it closes,¡± I told the others, and then I promptly walked into the unknown.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 10 - The Moistened Sands

    I lifted one hand, as though to ward off the darkness of the cave, and produced a thrum of energy from the fingers. A dull light was created, one that was enough for the shell¡¯s eyes to function.


    The others filed into the cave, one at a time due to the narrowness of the opening. They spread out, and Lisa who was carrying Mika walked slowly toward the deepest part.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± I yelled to get her to stop.


    She stumbled a bit, and twisted around to glare at me. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I literally have no idea what¡¯s down here, don¡¯t go anywhere,¡± I warned her.


    ¡°So what, I can handle it,¡± Lisa replied.


    ¡°Lisa,¡± I said with a sigh, ¡°just listen to me please.¡±


    She looked at me, and then at her sister in her arms, before she finally gave a small nod of the head. She glanced at the depths of the cave with an almost longing look, and then walked away from it and slumped against a wall.


    With my impulsive daughter dealt with I turned my attention to the cave entrance. Once more I spread out the magical power of the crystal, and channeled it into the mechanism that controlled the cave.


    There was a slight shudder, and then the door vanished as the entire room we were in descended. Sand spilled in through the opening, but only enough to block the entrance.


    ¡°That should hide us from Toma,¡± I said, and then turned to look at the Architects.


    Arim and Rosalind had put Samara on the ground, and Arim was slowly moving his hands over her body. He was so focused on it that when the doorway was blocked he didn¡¯t even seem to notice it.


    I walked over to the trio, though I stopped just short of arms reach. ¡°How is she?¡±


    Rosalind didn¡¯t turn away from her ally. ¡°Fatigued, but conscious.¡±


    My eyes tracked Arim¡¯s hands as he continued to slide them over Samara¡¯s body. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡±


    ¡°Organ check.¡±


    ¡°Uh...what?¡±


    Rosalind turned her head a little to look at me with one eye. ¡°Arim discovered they were removing organs from the incarcerated.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± I argued, ¡°can¡¯t you just grow those yourselves?¡±


    Rosalind¡¯s eyebrow lifted up as she turned to look even more at me. ¡°Correct. That is why it is an enigma.¡±


    ¡°Samara untouched,¡± Arim suddenly said.


    Rosalind let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Wonderful.¡± She motioned at me with one hand. ¡°Recuperation period acceptable?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I think we could use a break as well,¡± I said.


    Though I didn¡¯t need to sleep, I could at the very least take a quick break to check on Kuzu. I walked away from the Architects and joined my daughters, settling down next to them.


    Both of them had fallen asleep, most likely due to the poisoning from before. Lisa still held her sister in her arms, even as she¡¯d nestled up against the cave wall. If I¡¯d had a blanket I probably would¡¯ve put it on them.


    I cast a look at the Architects one last time, and then turned the shell off.


    ? ? ? ? ?


    I couldn¡¯t figure out what caused more of an ache, the bruise on my cheek or the fact that I was helpless. I struggled to stand up, as a bit of blood oozed out from the corner of my lip, but I didn¡¯t glare at Him.


    That would only get me hit again.


    ¡°Worthless, why are you so worthless?¡±


    I felt His fingers grip my hair, and then He dragged me out of the house. The dry ground beneath me was studded with rocks, and by the time He finally came to a stop I¡¯d picked up more than a few cuts.


    There were a few murmurs from the people around us, but He didn¡¯t care. Instead He threw me at a white sphere.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    When my hands touched it I felt warmth, thought it wasn¡¯t the same as the feel of the sun. Instead it was a type of warmth I couldn¡¯t comprehend, and I pressed my non-bruised cheek against it.


    ¡°Hey, you need to stop!¡± yelled some man I didn¡¯t know.


    Yet all He did in response was lift one hand, and the man crumpled to the ground. He ignored the stranger, and focused on me as he spoke, ¡°Use your rotten little brain, open the door in your head. If you come back without some fur I¡¯ll beat you to death.¡±


    I started to protest, as I didn¡¯t understand, but he lifted a hand and I immediately closed my mouth. Instead I tried to do what he said, and I imagined a door inside my mind. I gripped the door knob, and then opened it.


    The scent of something new, something strange, filled my nose. I opened my eyes and looked around, cringing instinctively as I expected to be smacked for doing so.


    What I saw was a vast and green field, with green strands that rose up out of the ground. My body was half-buried amongst them, and I realized that the smell had come from them.


    There was the sound of something stirring, and then a low growl came from my rear. I turned in time to see a white object leap up into the open, aiming to land on my face.


    I raised my left hand to ward off that thing, and a mouth opened on the front and bit into my exposed fingers. I let out a scream of shock and pain, and tried to shake the white ball of fur off of my hand.


    The monster dug in deeper with its teeth in response. I started to punch at it as hard as I could, my thin hand barely able to do much damage. As the teeth continued to grind into my fingers, I started to smash the bundle of fur against the ground itself.


    A single eye glared defiantly up at me, and the creature growled. I grimaced as the pain in my hand only worsened, and reached down at the monster with my free hand.


    If it wanted to stare at me, I would make it regret that choice. I thrust my thumb into the exposed eye with all of my strength.


    When it started to release its grip on my fingers, I only thrust even harder and pinned the beast to the ground. I leaned into it, using my weight to hold it down, and never let up even after it stopped squirming.


    A few minutes later I pulled my finger out of the eye socket, and started to stomp the thing in front of me. My battered, bare foot crushed into the ball of fur, but I didn¡¯t stop until a few more stomps.


    I heaved in air as I tried to recover from my exertion. I looked at that pile of blood and fur, and a wave of nausea swept over me. I didn¡¯t even turn away, instead I threw up all over the corpse.


    A cold hand clasped on my shoulder, and I jumped.


    ¡°Fenix,¡± Kuzu said, as she gave me a little shake, ¡°wake up.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, my mind a bit hazy, and as I looked around everything slowly clicked back into place.


    I was in the shell room, in the chair I used to control it. ¡°You told me to wake you up after a few hours,¡± Kuzu said, as she leaned in closer, ¡°are you alright?¡±


    I rubbed my face, sighing, and grumbled out, ¡°Just a bad dream. No alarms went off?¡±


    Kuzu shook her head in response.


    ¡°Good. Help me get set up, I need to connect and see what¡¯s happened while I was gone.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take us long to get all of the wires hooked up, and then I put the headgear on and relaxed. I felt that weird switch, as my mind became more focused on the shell.


    What I saw first was that Lisa and Arim were off in one corner of the cave, talking to each other. A glance to my side and I noticed that Mika stood next to me, and that Samara was no longer laying on the ground.


    Instead she¡¯d opted to sit up, with her hands on her lap. When she noticed the movement of my head she looked at me and smiled.


    For an Architect her face was about normal, she had no distinct facial features. Her straight hair was long, easily reaching her waist while standing. The fact that her body was also thinner than most Architects was the only real oddity about her.


    ¡°Salutations,¡± she said.


    ¡°Hi.¡± I stood up and looked around the cave, to make sure nothing had changed. ¡°I¡¯m Fenix, and I believe you¡¯re Samara?¡±


    She gave what seemed to be an excessively graceful nod of her head. ¡°That is my identification. Rosalind informed me we have a temporary pact?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°do you have a problem with that?¡±


    ¡°It would be disrespectful of me to renege on the agreement you made with Rosalind, given you rescued me.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not about to argue. Though all I¡¯m looking for is help getting to floor ninety-nine.¡±


    All three of the Architects looked at me with shocked expressions. ¡°Mentally unwell?¡± Samara asked, her voice trembling.


    ¡°I¡¯m sane. We need to get to the emerald portal.¡±


    ¡°Nobody has access to that!¡±


    I dismissed her complaint with a wave of my hand. ¡°But you have access to a major transit node, right?¡±


    Before she could think about what I¡¯d asked, Samara instinctively nodded her head. ¡°Wait, you want to foray against the node on seventy-five?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. While you hold it, we¡¯ll go through.¡±


    Samara looked at her two friends, and then smiled once more. ¡°It would appear I am required to exercise what little strength I have,¡± she said, ¡°I accept your request.¡±


    Yet it was a request that gave her no benefits. I narrowed my eyes, but I didn¡¯t voice my curiosity as to why she¡¯d said yes.


    ¡°Are we heading out now, father?¡± Mika asked from my side.


    ¡°Only if they¡¯re up for it,¡± I replied, and then looked meaningfully at Samara.


    The Architect caught on to my unspoken question, and stood up. As she rose there was a bit of an unsteadiness to her, though she managed to not fall over.


    ¡°Do not allow me to restrict your journey,¡± Samara said.


    I studied her for a moment, and then turned back to where the entrance of the cave was. I put all of my focus onto the crystal in the shell, and once more enacted the mechanism with which to raise the cave.


    When the cave reached the surface moonlight filtered in past the mound of sand. I didn¡¯t bother with moving the sand, instead I climbed over it and out.


    The desert had changed with the passage of time. Night had come, and an almost full moon hung in the clear sky. All across the desert plants had grown up out of the sand, most of which resembled bowls.


    When my daughters came out of the cave I helped them through. Lisa looked about and, visibly shaking from the effort, refrained from running off to investigate all of the new plants.


    Mika cast a glance around and then looked at me. ¡°What happened?¡±


    I chuckled at her. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed how it got cooler. When night happens all the moisture in the air starts to condense, so the plants sprout and try to collect as much as they can.¡±


    ¡°But...they¡¯re plants,¡± Mika said with a frown.


    ¡°And? Did you forget who created all of this?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Mika murmured, and then for some reason her frown worsened.


    When the Architects came out of the cave we started to move out, with me in the lead. I took them southward to where the puffball field was, and then through it. With the sun down the plants were harmless.


    We traveled in silence across the desert, a request that I¡¯d insisted on. With the water being pooled it wouldn¡¯t be long before the creatures also stirred, and most of those relied on sound for hunting.


    Our arrival at the portal was one absent of conflict, and so we gathered around it and figured out our next course of action.


    ¡°Vanguard responsibility,¡± Arim said, as he put one hand to his chest.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that,¡± I said in response, even as I held up one hand to stop Lisa from arguing.


    Nobody else complained, and so Arim went through the portal first. Lisa, Mika, and I went next, and I held onto Mika¡¯s hand while we transferred.


    <hr>


    Floor 65


    The Sand Tribe


    <hr>


    We appeared in yet another desert, though this one had sand that was pale with a hint of yellow. The sun was near the end of its path, the sky cast in a brilliant combination of red and orange.


    As I turned to check the surroundings I saw a big splash of red across the desert floor, and Arim¡¯s head rolling slowly toward us.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 11 - Dance On The Sands

    I moved instinctively, shoving Mika away, as a spear aimed to impale her in the chest. The tip of the weapon pierced my left arm instead, and then lifted me into the air. With a flick of the spear my body was dislodged.


    When I hit the ground I tried to control the tumble, and so was able to get back up onto my feet quickly. I instinctively lifted my right arm up to defend my head, while my left arm hung limp at my side.


    What I saw were two Architects, Toma and someone else, standing near the beheaded corpse of Arim. The new one held a long spear, made of black metal, and I assumed it¡¯d been made from nanites.


    I heard the sound of Samara and Rosalind, as their feet touched down on the sand upon their arrival. Yet I didn¡¯t look away from the Architects in front of me.


    ¡°What is occuring?¡± Samara asked, with a hint of panic in her voice.


    ¡°Pretty obvious it¡¯s an ambush,¡± Lisa replied as she pulled out her sword from the back scabbard.


    The two Architects who¡¯d attacked us remained calm, almost too relaxed, as they stood and waited. Though they¡¯d killed Arim, and attacked Mika, for some odd reason they¡¯d stopped.


    Instead they both stared at us, as though expecting something, as they sneered at us.


    I turned and lifted my right hand, to try and get the attention of my daughters and Samara. ¡°Get away from her!¡±


    My warning came too late, as Samara was thrown to the ground, and had one foot put against her neck. Two hands swung forth, each aimed at one of my daughters, and metal chains shot out as the nanites crafted them hurriedly.


    Mika ducked away from the chains, falling into a roll that moved her further away. Lisa didn¡¯t even waste time avoiding it, instead her sword flicked at the chain and cut it apart.


    ¡°Disappointing,¡± Rosalind said, as she ground her foot harder into Samara¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Superior reaction speed,¡± called out Toma, as he clapped, ¡°exceeded expectations.¡±


    ¡°So what, she was tricking us all along?¡± Lisa asked as she rested the flat of the blade against her shoulder.


    It did explain a few of the things that¡¯d bugged me. One of which had been those exaggerated emotional acts she¡¯d done. The other had been how devoid of hostility the floors had been, and how few Architects had been in the transit buildings.


    ¡°It is a bit obvious now, is it not?¡± Mika asked in reply, as she reached down to the spheres at her waist, ¡°so what is this then, one executive and two managers?¡±


    The three enemies all started to laugh at that. ¡°Three,¡± was all Toma said.


    Yet it was enough for me to catch on to the meaning. ¡°Lisa, Mika,¡± I called out to my daughters, ¡°they¡¯re all executives. Don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°Wait, are you saying what I think you are, father?¡± Mika asked, as she hesitated to follow through on my permission.


    Lisa¡¯s reaction on the other hand was opposite. She let out a loud shout of joy, and then pointed her sword at Toma. ¡°Oh yes! This is going to be fun.¡±


    It was a reaction that none of the Architects had expected, and Toma even took a cautious step away from her. ¡°Pointless bluff,¡± Rosalind said, as she retracted her chains, ¡°she could barely handle my pretend strength.¡±


    Lisa didn¡¯t waste her breath with refuting that, instead she summoned her halo. As the golden band appeared over her head a pair of wings unfurled behind her.


    There was a burst of sand behind her as she leapt at Toma. The movement was fast, faster than anything the shell could do, and all I caught was a blur as the sword was swung at the Architect¡¯s head.


    Toma managed to get an arm up to block the sword, his forearm surrounded by a layer of black material. From the side the so far unnamed Architect thrust his spear at Lisa¡¯s exposed left.


    Lisa caught the spearhead with her left hand, her fingers bleeding on contact with the blade. Yet she didn¡¯t show any concern for that, and instead flapped her wings while turning to the right.


    The thrust of her wings shoved her backfirst along the length of the spear, and as she got closer to the Architect she continued to turn. The sword in her right hand was slashed at the Architect, while her left hand released the spearhead.


    Unlike Toma this new one was a bit slower, and so her sword cleaved right into the exposed neck of the Architect. With a bit of a visible arm flex, Lisa severed all the way through to the other side, and then casually kicked the now dead man away.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    It was such a casual and quick dispatching that the other executives merely stared at her, their eyes wide. Even Samara, pinned under the threatening foot of Rosalind, looked at my daughter with surprise.


    Lisa flicked her sword at the ground, splattering the blood across the sand, and lifted one hand to beckon to Toma. It was an act that made the Architect take a step back, as he nervously glanced at Rosalind.


    There was a brief moment where Rosalind was distracted, perhaps terrified, by what she¡¯d seen. In that second Samara struck, as she punched the ankle connected to the foot on her throat. Her punch hit with enough force that everyone heard the snap of the bone.


    The thin looking Architect stood up after the foot was removed, and her first action was to shove Rosalind away. It was something I¡¯d have expected out of a child, but it was enough to give Samara some breathing room.


    What came next surprised even me, as a black film spread across Samara¡¯s body and fully enveloped her. Her hands curled into fists, and as she pulled back her left arm to prepare for a punch there was an audible hum.


    It wasn¡¯t like the shell blinked, yet I still lost track of the movement of her fist. From one moment she was preparing to punch, and yet in the next her fist had already pierced Rosalind¡¯s chest.


    Rosalind stared down at the arm sticking out of her chest, and then reached for it. Before she could grab it Samara retracted her arm, then did a roundhouse kick to Rosalind¡¯s head.


    ¡°Was this the full extent of your planned ambush?¡± Samara asked, as she backed away from the dying Rosalind, ¡°three executives?¡±


    Rosalind coughed up some blood, falling to her knees. ¡°You are supposed to be weakling,¡± she said, as she tried to gather nanites to fill up the hole in her chest, ¡°you are all weaklings!¡±


    The black armor that had spread across Samara slowly withdrew, seeming to almost be absorbed back into her body. She didn¡¯t bother with responding to Rosalind, and instead lifted up one hand.


    Within her hand the nanites regathered and formed what looked to be a basic cannon. There was an audible sound of machinery whirring, and then a thin object shot out from the muzzle and pierced Rosalind¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Nanite ammunition!¡± Toma shouted in surprise, ¡°nanites unrecoverable!¡±


    ¡°If it means victory, why would I care about sacrificing my strength?¡± Samara asked, as she aimed her gun at Toma.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± Lisa yelled, as she flew across the sands at Toma.


    When Lisa struck at Toma her sword was met with another, one that he¡¯d created hastily out of nanites. She retracted her sword, and then swung it in again. Every strike lacked finesse, and instead relied on her overpowering strength.


    Beneath the flurry of blows Toma grimaced, his hand shaking visibly with every hit. Eventually with a loud snap his sword broke in half, and Lisa¡¯s own drove into the side of his shoulder.


    Yet similar to her own actions, Toma reached up and grabbed the blade of the sword. While she paused, most likely in surprise, he attempted to punch her with his free hand.


    The punch landed, the force of which was enough to send Lisa up and away five feet. When her feet touched down on the sand she was busily rubbing her stomach, her sword no longer held. Instead Toma had managed to keep hold of it after he¡¯d punched her.


    Lisa swung her hand out to the side, and a flicker of light started to gather around it. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare use that!¡± I yelled at her.


    Lisa half-turned to look at me, a bit of a pout on her face. ¡°Thought you said we didn¡¯t need to hold back,¡± she muttered, but the light around her hand vanished.


    I didn¡¯t respond to that unspoken question. Though I¡¯d told them to go at it, I still wanted them to try and hold their trump card in reserve. Whether we were being observed, or another ambush was set up, in either case it would be bad to show everything we could do.


    Lisa¡¯s shoulders flexed, and then she swung both of her hands together as quickly as she could. The clap was aimed low, at the ground between the two combatants. The resulting shockwave of her clap was enough to kick up a cloud of sand, one that obscured both herself and the Architect.


    She fully vanished into the depths of the cloud. Within that obscured spot there came the sound of a cry, and heavy sounds similar to punching metal, and then finally silence.


    When the sand finally settled back down it revealed a defeated Toma, his head twisted around to face his back. Lisa stood over him, one hand held against her side, and smiled at us.


    ¡°Nothing to it!¡± she exclaimed, though she winced while she said it.


    Samara studied the scene, and then lowered her arm and reabsorbed her nanites. She glanced at me, and then walked over to Toma. Samara knelt down and inspected him, and then with a nod of her head she stood up.


    ¡°Congratulations are in order,¡± she said, ¡°my expectations of defeat were high given the scenario.¡±


    ¡°My daughters are quite capable at handling executives,¡± I told her, ¡°though I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t tell anybody.¡±


    Samara didn¡¯t even think on the request, ¡°Of course. Your deception of Rosalind proved fortuitous.¡±


    ¡°Lying has saved my life more than once.¡±


    ¡°Father, while I¡¯m happy we handled that so well,¡± Mika said as she stepped over near me, ¡°perhaps we should move to somewhere less...dead?¡±


    I took a quick look at the three corpses, and then nodded my head. ¡°I¡¯ll be the first to admit that I¡¯m not quite sure where to go on this floor, though.¡±


    ¡°Troublesome, for we must reach floor sixty-eight,¡± Samara informed us.


    I studied the compass readings, the temperature, wind pressure, and everything else the shell was giving me. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°Our headquarters. Reinforcements, secure rest, no transit though.¡±


    I waved at Lisa. ¡°Can you fly up and get a look of the area, see if there¡¯s anything around?¡± I asked of her, and without waiting for a response turned back to Samara, ¡°we can get to seventy and use the transit there to get to seventy-five.¡±


    Lisa rubbed her side, though there was no blood visible, and gave a nod of her head. With an upward leap she began to flap her wings, and her ascent was smooth and absurdly quick.


    ¡°Astounding,¡± Samara said as she watched Lisa.


    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s amazing, but I need your help with something.¡± I motioned at my limp arm. ¡°Can you use your nanites to repair the machinery in this?¡±


    ¡°Father! Are you sure you should let an Architect touch...that system?¡± Mika asked, her gaze bouncing back and forth between us.


    ¡°If she was our enemy she would¡¯ve helped those others,¡± I replied.


    Samara stepped over to me, her eyes filled with worry as she watched Mika for some type of retaliation. Her left hand lifted and pressed against the damaged part of my left arm, and then the black nanites spread from out of her skin and poured into the shell.


    There were a few alerts that sounded at the intrusion, but I silenced them and patiently waited. Above us Lisa flitted about in a circle, so high up she was a mere speck.


    Samara pulled her hand away after a few minutes, her nanites returned back to her body. ¡°The basic mechanical parts should be restored, though I can not comprehend that crystalline structure you utilize.¡±


    I tested the left arm, and the hand that¡¯d gone as limp as the arm itself, and found that most of the mobility had returned. I lifted up my hand and formed a fist, and then released each finger one at a time.


    ¡°It¡¯s good enough. I should probably take it to get repaired once we hit floor seventy.¡±


    A shadow flitted over us, and then Lisa landed on the dunes nearby. She stood up straight and dismissed her halo, the wings returning back to nothingness in the process.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to believe it!¡± she cried out in excitement, as she ran over to us, ¡°there¡¯s something like a big train of wagons opposite of where the sun is!¡±


    ¡°You mean the west?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I think they were humans too!¡±


    That was a bit of information that made me look sharply at Samara. ¡°The slaves still exist?¡±


    Samara turned away at my question. ¡°They are not slaves, but neither have they gained freedom.¡±


    Mika half-lifted her one hand. ¡°That does not make sense.¡±


    ¡°They sell their elders to the supremacists, in exchange for allowance to remain on this floor unmolested.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 12 - Frog In A Well

    Given the dead bodies, and the heat of the sun, we started to head in the direction of the wagons. Lisa moved on ahead of us, eager to see the people who lived on the floor, while Mika and I walked alongside Samara.


    Her last words had lingered in my thoughts, as it didn¡¯t make much sense that they¡¯d want the old humans. By the time the wagons came into view I still hadn¡¯t figured out the new puzzle she¡¯d given me.


    Shouts rose up from the wood wagons, and a couple of men wearing wide hats emerged. They approached us, with spears in hand, but stopped a couple dozen feet from the nearest wagon.


    There was curiosity in their looks as they studied my daughters, along with a certain degree of interest that I found unnecessary. It was when they noticed Samara that their attitudes changed, all of them kneeling and looking downward. For a moment I¡¯d seen a flicker of disgust, or hatred, but then their faces had moved out of my sight.


    ¡°We offer our humblest greetings,¡± the man in the center said, ¡°but we have no elders to grant to you at this time.¡±


    ¡°Negative,¡± Samara said, ¡°I and my companions merely seek a reprieve from the sun. We shall depart soon after sunset.¡±


    The men all stood up at her words, and the one who¡¯d spoken put one hand to his chest. ¡°I am known as Grieva, and we will happily let you rest with us. We are already waiting for the heat to die, so that our ceres can take us to the oasis.¡±


    The nomads showed us to their wagons, and as we got closer I was able to confirm that they were made of wood. Each of them had a canvas covering, held up by wooden frames that gave the interior a large amount of room.


    The amount of people wasn¡¯t very high, but as I talked with Grieva I learned that there were dozens of families. There was a mutual degree of friendship between the groups, and once a year they would all gather at the largest of the oasis.


    The nomads were mostly asleep, as with the heat of the desert the humans had developed a habit of avoiding the daytime. Their nocturnal nature had, from what I could tell, created no real change in their bodies.


    So we settled down and waited for the time to pass. Grieva talked constantly about the tribes, as though he wanted to impress us with how many people there were.


    Through it all Samara had a somewhat uncomfortable look. Whenever Grieva tried to offer her anything she turned him down, often with a frown.


    I chose not to talk with her in front of the other humans. Though they didn¡¯t wear slave collars, there was a chance they still worked as spies for the other Architects.


    When the sun set everyone started to clamber out of the wagons, and soon dozens of people were loosely gathered. While my daughters talked with the humans, perhaps a bit too much with the men for my own preference, I studied the compass to figure out where the portal was.


    That was when large beetles burst out of the sands near the wagons. I immediately went into a defensive stance, lifting both of my arms up in front of me, while my daughters reached for their weapons.


    The nonchalant response from the nomads stood out in stark contrast to our battle ready stances. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Grieva asked, as some of his family chuckled at us.


    ¡°They¡¯re not monsters?¡± I asked, as I eyed the giant beetles. Each was easily the size of a bear.


    Grieva doubled over with laughter. ¡°Monsters? The ceres are our friends!¡±


    I relaxed, feeling a bit embarrassed, but as I couldn¡¯t recall ever seeing the monsters before I felt a certain justification to my attitude. ¡°Thank you for letting us stay here,¡± I said, ¡°but we need to move on.¡±


    Grieva nodded his head with a big grin, though the smile didn¡¯t quite seem to reach his eyes. Instead he kept glancing at Samara, his contempt barely hidden. ¡°My family and I hope you find what you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    I didn¡¯t waste any more time with the nomad after that. My daughters, Samra, and I didn¡¯t even waste time discussing our next course of action. Instead we all set out for the portal, heading across the darkened sands.


    Though I could¡¯ve had Lisa or Mika fly up to check our surroundings again, I chose not to. While we¡¯d managed to kill the executives I had no interest in showcasing my daughters abilities any more than I had to.


    Our journey across the desert went without any event, and soon we reached the portal. We went through the ritualistic gathering around, and as Mika gripped my hand she activated the device.


    <hr>


    Floor 66


    Death In Sight


    <hr>


    All around us was absolute darkness, though it was a darkness caused by a veil of dark mist. Nobody could see beyond the boundary of that wall, and nobody present would want to.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    There were no need for words, I¡¯d warned my daughters about this floor and hammered it into them already. We all started to pull out blindfolds, and Samara even tore a strip out of her loose clothing to serve as one for herself.


    ¡°Remember, don¡¯t take your blindfolds off no matter what,¡± I reminded them as I tied one around my own eyes. Though I was piloting a drone from another floor I still didn¡¯t want to risk it.


    Once we were ready we pushed on through the veil. It had a somewhat viscous feel to it, and even through the shell I could smell something rotten.


    On the other side was an unknown world. It was flat, thankfully, but as we walked we moved hand in hand without guidance.


    All around us whispers started to emerge, soft at first but escalating in volume as we went further into the floor. The voices ranged from male to female, and covered all the types of languages you could find in the labyrinth.


    Promises were made, threats were issued, and honeyed words that offered anything you could ever want emerged. We walked through that sea of voices for what seemed an eternity.


    ¡°We¡¯re clear, you can take off the blindfolds,¡± I heard my own voice say, though I knew it wasn¡¯t me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen!¡± I shouted instantly, as I¡¯d felt Lisa¡¯s grip in my right hand loosen a little.


    Her hand tightened around mine in response, and we kept moving on. Gone were the voices of strangers, and now we were swamped with familiar ones that begged us to remove our blindfolds.


    Then there was utter silence, a drastic shift in noise that caused all of us to pause. I took an experimental step forward and came into contact with more of that viscous material.


    ¡°Finally,¡± I muttered, and then walked through the new veil we¡¯d come across.


    Once we were on the other side I released my daughters hands, and then started to reach around for the portal. My hands touched upon it, and only then did I finally take off my blindfold.


    ¡°We¡¯re safe now,¡± I told everyone.


    There was that hesitation in my daughters, but Samara was already in the process of removing her blindfold. She tied the torn piece of cloth around her wrist, and looked at the portal.


    ¡°I rather find this locale distasteful,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°How is anyone supposed to even know how to get through there safely?¡± Mika asked.


    It was a question I couldn¡¯t quite answer, and so I shrugged. ¡°How is anyone supposed to deal with the sphinx on forty-nine? The labyrinth isn¡¯t exactly fair.¡±


    ¡°But..how¡¯d you get through the first time?¡±


    ¡°Your mother warned me,¡± I told her, though I didn¡¯t mention how it was one of the few times she¡¯d ever given me direct advice.


    She had a bit of an odd smile at my reply, but then she offered one hand to me. ¡°I believe we have no need to stay on this floor?¡±


    I took her hand and nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go see how fast you can climb.¡±


    There was a moment of puzzlement on her face, but then she smiled and put her free hand to the portal. A few moments later we left the hall of voices behind.


    <hr>


    Floor 67


    Trial of Ascension


    <hr>


    We appeared in a hole in the ground. Around us were straight vertical walls, made out of a type of crystal that was harder than most metals. The surfaces of the walls were smooth, with no means by which to climb via handholds or anything else.


    When Lisa appeared she looked around, and then up. The full height of the hole we were in was hundreds of feet, and at the very top only the night sky was visible.


    ¡°Wow, and regular people can climb this?¡± she asked.


    ¡°By this point in the labyrinth regular is a bit different,¡± I commented with a chuckle, ¡°but don¡¯t worry. Mika is going to handle climbing.¡±


    Lisa looked at me like I was insane. ¡°What? I can just fly up there, carrying you.¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t,¡± I told her as I pointed at the crystal wall, or rather about halfway up.


    She looked at where I was pointing and noticed what looked like statues, each of them crafted of the same crystal as the wall. The various statues were in kneeling positions, staring down at us. None of them moved, and yet there was a presence to them nonetheless.


    ¡°Oh those are pretty!¡± Lisa said with a clap.


    ¡°And very deadly. If you don¡¯t climb they attack, and Luticia made them to be deadlier than an Architect.¡±


    ¡°We lost many people learning that fact,¡± Samara said, though there was no regret or sadness in her tone. If anything the small upward turn of her lips made it seem like she enjoyed their deaths.


    ¡°Okay, but why can¡¯t I climb it instead of Mika?¡±


    I sighed, and motioned at the crystal wall. ¡°Because you don¡¯t have anything to use to climb. Mika has her wires and anchors. She can climb up there, and then lower a rope down to us.¡±


    Mika held up one finger. ¡°There is one problem with that plan. I lack a rope of that length.¡±


    ¡°Allow me to offer assistance in that regard,¡± Samara said, ¡°I can craft an extremely long string capable of handling one person¡¯s weight out of my nanites.¡±


    ¡°That...is a lot of nanites,¡± I said.


    Samara smiled at me. ¡°It is my specialty. I am weaker than most executives, but I make up for it with superior nanite count.¡±


    With our course of action set we went about it in quick order. Mika tied the nanite string around her arm, and then used her wires to climb the wall. She flung one anchor up, then used her gloved hands to pull herself up, while throwing the second one out. It was a slow yet steady ascent, one that would take quite a while.


    As my daughter climbed Lisa found herself with nothing to do, so she pulled out her sword and practiced fighting an invisible enemy. I, on the other hand, turned to Samara.


    ¡°How¡¯d they catch you?¡±


    ¡°Personal ineptitude. Observing floor seventy-two when they gassed the entire facility. Woke up in the prison.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, did they manage to download anything?¡±


    ¡°Download?¡±


    I paused for a moment at her response. ¡°We were told they could download your memories?¡±


    Samara started to laugh. ¡°Download memories? Fanciful thinking! If the supremacists could download memories they would¡¯ve already located our hideout.¡±


    ¡°The one on the next floor? How¡¯d they not find it via their little spy?¡±


    ¡°Trust was not given to that one.¡± Samara scoffed. ¡°Inconsistent behavior.¡±


    It was an answer I should¡¯ve expected, given what I¡¯d seen from Rosalind. After that bit of conversation we grew quiet, and instead turned our attention back to Mika.


    Her climb continued on for a while, and yet she showed no signs of fatigue. So long as my daughters didn¡¯t use their halos, we¡¯d discovered they had a fairly long pool of stamina. An advantage due to the crystal that powered them.


    At the thought of the crystals I looked down at my left arm. The shell¡¯s arm had a magical array built into it, but as I tried to focus on that array nothing registered. It was a bit of a handicap that I¡¯d need to be wary of until the shell was repaired.


    We remained in silence, with Lisa continuing her sword practice. After a long time Mika called down to us, her voice barely noticeable due to the vast distance.


    We ascended one at a time, with Samara waiting to go last so she could reabsorb her nanites on the way up. When I reached the top of the crystal wall I took in my surroundings.


    Very little had changed from a thousand years ago. There was a flat lands near the edge of the hole, and then it dropped off into infinity. Aside from that the only other feature on the floor was the portal.


    When Samara neared the top I reached down and helped to pull her up, unafraid of any betrayal. Even if she chose to turn on us my daughters would find her laughable.


    ¡°Once we arrive on the next floor allow me to triangulate my position,¡± Samara told us as we approached the portal, ¡°I have a few special devices set up that allows me to find the base.¡±


    It was a bit of odd information, but I knew that the unusual aspect of it would be answered by us witnessing what she meant. So instead we all passed through the portal, with Samara once more being the last to go through.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 13 - Islands Of Life

    <hr>


    Floor 68


    The Shifting Skies


    <hr>


    Far below us was an ocean, one that had no life within it and instead merely served as a place of death. We were miles above the water, on floating islands made out of stone and dirt. The surface of each island was covered in grass, but aside from that there was almost nothing else.


    Amongst the spiderweb of islands numerous bridges criss-crossed, allowing access to each of the floating isles. Further out sat a few more islands, but unlike the rest they had black obelisks centered on them.


    By the time I arrived on the floor Lisa had already gotten into a fight, as a couple of drones had launched an ambush as soon as they saw her. Whether that meant they¡¯d figured out about the executives dying, or were merely hostile toward any new entrants, it didn¡¯t matter as she had already butchered the pair.


    She used the clothing of the Architect to wipe her sword clean, her expression relaxed. I studied the corpses, making note of how she¡¯d slashed them far more than was needed, but I opted to not criticize her until later. I didn¡¯t need to undermine her in front of Samara.


    ¡°You mentioned you had a place on this floor?¡± I asked the Architect, as I kept a lookout for any more aggressors.


    Samara gave a slow nod of her head, as she pointed at a distant island. ¡°Acquisition of obelisk required.¡±


    ¡°I figured as much. Your little safe place is a sailing island isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    We started to cross over the mostly plain islands, heading to the nearest one on the fringe. ¡°How¡¯d you get around the automatic return they do?¡±


    ¡°Nanite modification. Trium volunteered all of his for process.¡±


    I came to a sudden stop at her words. ¡°All of them? I thought your kind used those for everything!¡±


    Samara didn¡¯t respond, and instead continued to walk across the grassy plain. As we walked to one of the obelisk islands I noticed there were no metal domes visible, nor other signs of the Architects.


    When we stepped onto the moveable isle I motioned at Samara to get her attention. ¡°Where¡¯s the outpost on this floor?¡±


    ¡°They located a mineable mountain, and converted it into a small factory. Somewhere west-south-west.¡±


    We approached the obelisk itself, and when we neared it a part of the exterior slid open. Inside was a chair, and Lisa was the first to run inside to investigate it. A glance at Mika was all it took for my daughter to stick outside, while Samara and I followed my other child.


    The interior of the obelisk was small, with a single chair. Along the walls were numerous runes engraved into the dark stone. It was a type of language I didn¡¯t know, and one that Luticia had opted to not tell me about.


    The chair in the middle was in a permanently reclined state, coated in a green light cast from above. There were no buttons, levers, or other means of interaction on the chair.


    Lisa put her hand into the light and giggled. ¡°It tickles,¡± she told me, spreading her fingers, ¡°what¡¯s it do?¡±


    ¡°If you sit on the chair you can move the island with it. There¡¯s a camera on the top of the obelisk that lets you see the surroundings, and it connects to your mind via the light.¡±


    She looked at me with a big smile on her face. ¡°Can I fly it?¡±


    ¡°No. Samara knows where her place is, we don¡¯t.¡±


    The Architect lifted up one finger. ¡°Moment, please,¡± she requested of us, ¡°locator construction required.¡±


    A black film spread over her fingers, and then gathered into a lump in her grip. As we watched the nanites formed into an odd looking device, one that had an antenna.


    Samara stood there in silence for a short while, as she stared at the device. It didn¡¯t seem to have any type of lighting on it, nor did it make any noises, yet I could only hope that she had some other way of using it.


    That or it was a ruse, that she¡¯d made an item to let the hostile Architects know we were around. The only reason I didn¡¯t believe that was because of how she¡¯d killed the other executives.


    She suddenly crushed the object, and it disintegrated into nanites. The black film vanished as she absorbed it back into her body, and Samara strode over to the chair and settled into it.


    ¡°Come on, Lisa,¡± I told my daughter as I left the interior of the obelisk. We¡¯d serve no use within, and I wanted to see how the rest of the floor had changed.


    Lisa started to follow me, and then paused for a second as she instead stared at Samara. Then she ran after me, the door closing behind her.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I¡¯d never cared much for the floating islands, or rather the basic ones that Lute had made. They were nothing more than flat plains, with grass on top and a stone undercarriage. Out in that vast sky were other islands, and they were the real treasures of the floor.


    There was a small lurch as the island we were on began to move. The isle flew off to the north, though with a slightly eastward trend. Our progress was slow at first, but with the increasing distance we¡¯d gone so too did our little spot of land accelerate.


    Before long we were moving quick enough that Lisa and Mika¡¯s hair billowed out behind them. They watched the horizon, their eyes nearly sparkling with excitement, as new islands began to appear.


    The first few we came across had a few trees on them, as though a forest had been split over five different islands. Even from our place on the moving isle we could still see birds darting about the trees.


    A few minutes later and the forest islands were behind, and our own continued on at the same speed. It didn¡¯t take long before new ones appeared in front of us, and as we grew closer to them the small dots rapidly turned into vast expanses.


    It was on these larger chunks of land that the majority of the animal life could be found. Animals similar to deer, rabbits, and numerous birds ran amongst plains and hills, with small copses of trees here and there.


    Yet on none of them were any predators. While some of the small birds dined on insects, there were no wolves or cats, or even lizards of any type.


    The reason for that became clear, as from beneath one of the islands long serpentine forms emerged. With wingspans that easily stretched out beyond the normal height of a grown man, the wyverns rose up on the air currents and approached our island.


    I braced for the fight, but as the first wyvern of the group dove in Mika killed it instantly. Her wires made quick work of the serpent, slicing through their soft bodies like butter. With the death of the first most of the other wyverns backed off, intelligent enough to know better than to attack us.


    A couple of the younger ones, at least that¡¯s all I could assume based on how they were smaller, tried anyways. Once again Mika¡¯s hands flicked upward, the wires thrown into the air, and bloody chunks of wyverns covered the grass near her.


    It was after their deaths the over wyverns left, instead going back to the larger islands. I relaxed at their departure. While they weren¡¯t dangerous, they were quite content with picking up and dropping their prey into the distant waters.


    I had never seen anything survive a fall of that distance before, and it was why the ocean was nothing more than a graveyard. I¡¯d never felt the urge to explore the water, in part due to the fact that I feared the millions of corpses I might find deep below.


    It was a thought I opted to not dwell on, and instead I once more watched the horizon. As we continued to head north-east there were no more floating lands to see, and instead merely clouds that stretched on seemingly forever. The sun, behind us, had already begun to settle and darkness started to cover the world around us.


    Before night had fully set in an island appeared in front of us. It had an obelisk in the middle, and was identical to the one we were on in basic design. What set it apart were the buildings that were around the obelisk, metal constructs that shone in the dim light of the sunset.


    When our island neared the other there was a gathering of figures near the fringe. Most of them had white hair, but a few had brown and even blond hair. They watched us warily, as our islands gently touched, and a couple of the Architects approached with weapons in hand.


    ¡°Greetings,¡± the one in the lead said, though with narrowed eyes, ¡°identification?¡±


    In response to the question the obelisk opened, revealing Samara. The Architect walked out of the tower and strode to her friends, her presence enough to send a ripple of relief and joy amongst the gathered.


    The Architect in the front hugged her, an act that I¡¯d rarely seen from any before in my lives. My daughters moved in close to me, probably unsure on what to do next.


    ¡°Everyone,¡± Samara said as she raised her hands, ¡°these are allies. Victorious against executives!¡±


    The response was a bit more muted than I might have hoped, but everyone who was present showed at least some type of cordial smile to us. I didn¡¯t bother with wasting my time on them, and instead approached Samara.


    ¡°About getting us to floor ninety-nine?¡±


    She frowned, but gave a small nod of her head. With one hand she motioned for everyone to step aside, and began to walk in the direction of the center of her makeshift city.


    We followed her, but as we entered the city I whispered to my daughters, ¡°Go look around. Make sure this place isn¡¯t just a trick.¡±


    Mika didn¡¯t argue and moved to leave, but when Lisa paused she grabbed her hand pulled her away. ¡°We will be careful. Contact us when you are ready to move on.¡±


    They vanished down one of the streets of the town, vanishing into the crowd of Architects and humans. I knew that Mika would keep her sister out of trouble, and if there was anything suspicious about the place she would find it.


    Samara led me to the obelisk in the center of her city. When we reached it the door opened, and revealed a much different interior than I¡¯d expected.


    While there was a chair in the middle, and the light from above, there was more furniture. A bed was tucked to one side of the room, and a table with a regular chair weren¡¯t far away from it. A dresser was on the other side of the chamber.


    A single Architect was seated at the table, a small crystal in his hand. He seemed intent on studying it, and when we walked in there was no response.


    ¡°Trium,¡± Samara called out to the other Architect, who looked up in surprise, ¡°I have to request your assistance with a task.¡±


    Trium smiled at her as he stood up. The crystal that¡¯d been his focus was left on the table. ¡°How can I help?¡±


    Samara motioned at me with her hand. ¡°You will help guide¡­¡± she started to say, then realized a fact that¡¯d eluded her, ¡°designation?¡±


    ¡°Call me Fenix.¡±


    As though he was only seeing me at that point, Trium stared with wide eyes at my face. It took me a few seconds to realize what¡¯d drawn his attention were my pointed ears.


    ¡°Not human?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m an Elf. From the first floor.¡±


    That bit of information caused even Samara to look at at me with widened eyes, but she shook her surprise off. ¡°Trium, escort Fenix and his two daughters to floor seventy-five.¡±


    Trium balked at the request, about to argue with her, but a strong glare from Samara was enough to quiet any dissent before it was spoken. ¡°Confirmed.¡±


    Samara turned to look at me. ¡°Once you arrive at the designated floor wait before commencing assault. I will contact operatives and have them assist.¡±


    ¡°But how are they going to know when to attack?¡± I asked, ¡°I¡¯m going to use the portal on seventy to skip back down for repairs, and I¡¯m not sure how long that¡¯s going to take.¡±


    In response Samara formed a new object in her hand, a small one, and she handed it to Trium. ¡°Communication device, return when mission is completed.¡±


    Trium grasped it with two hands, so gently that it seemed like the most fragile object in the labyrinth. He nodded to Samara and brushed past me, heading out of the obelisk.


    I turned to follow him, but I paused to say one thing to Samara, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    When I left the obelisk I sent a quick message to my daughters, to have them meet back up with me. Trium and I walked in silence as we worked our way through the city, though we weren¡¯t heading back to the island I¡¯d rode on to get here.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± I finally asked in an attempt to break the silence.


    ¡°Your daughters will require false collars,¡± Trium said, ¡°modified collars when scanned present as proper.¡±


    I stopped walking at those words. ¡°You¡¯re going to put collars on my daughters?¡±


    Perhaps a bit of my anger at the thought had transmitted through the shell, because Trium flinched at my words. He half-turned to hesitatingly look at me, his voice much quieter, ¡°They will be attacked on sight if they don¡¯t have collars.¡±


    There was a logic to it, but at the same time asking my daughters to wear slave collars didn¡¯t sit well with me. ¡°Fine,¡± I muttered, ¡°but if anything happens to them because of the collars¡­¡±


    The unspoken threat was more than enough to cause a shudder in Trium. He hastily turned forward and continued to walk through the city, every so often peeking over his shoulder at me.


    My daughters met up with us before we reached the place Trium was taking us, and I quickly explained what was happening to them. Neither seemed to care much, but I could only assume that was because they¡¯d never seen what the Architects had done to their slaves.


    We picked up the two collars for them, and then headed back to the obelisk island that we¡¯d used to reach Samara¡¯s base. Trium took the initiative to control the island, and we were well on our way in no time at all.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 14 - The Infection

    Trium took our island westward, skirting around the wyvern islands a bit more than I¡¯d have expected. As we traveled we encountered one of the most difficult challenges of the floor.


    Boredom.


    We were so far north that there were almost no islands for us to watch pass by, let alone interact with, and so we spent long periods of time with nothing to do. My daughters talked amongst themselves, but I spent my time watching the compass. If there was any deviation from our course, one that made no sense to me, I planned to politely ask Trium what he was up to.


    In the end that never happened, as soon a single island that was quite small floated into our view. It had a waterfall that ran off of it, pouring a never ending stream of water into the ocean below. Aside from a few rocks, and the pool of water that fed the waterfall, there was only the portal on it.


    As our island floated in closer I looked over every part of the isle in front of us that I could see. I looked for any signs of an ambush, or even anything that¡¯d mark recent activity, but all I saw was untouched wilderness.


    Once the two islands were in contact with each other I crossed first, leaving my daughters to make certain Trium didn¡¯t strand us. Though the portal looked to be there, it was a possible hologram or other type of trick.


    I only felt secure in calling them over when I touched the sphere. They gathered around me quickly enough, while the Architect took his time.


    ¡°Make certain you are wearing your collars,¡± Trium told my daughters, ¡°allow me to handle identification requests.¡±


    ¡°Identification requests?¡± Lisa asked, though she made certain to put the collar on her neck. When it was on she helped Mika put her¡¯s on as well.


    Trium looked at me, as though expecting me to answer the question, but when I remained silent he replied, ¡°Surveillance on next floors, no identification will result in triggering alarms.¡±


    Lisa tilted her head at his words, the confusion obvious on her face. ¡°He means they¡¯re watching for intruders and checking everyone,¡± I explained to her, ¡°so don¡¯t punch people unless I tell you to.¡±


    Trium looked us from head to toe, and then pointed at my daughters. ¡°Not disheveled enough.¡±


    Even I struggled for a moment to figure out what he meant, but then I realized a very simple fact. My daughters were very pristine, they¡¯d managed to avoid soiling their clothing during our venture through the labyrinth.


    ¡°He¡¯s right, go rub some dirt on your clothes and faces,¡± I told them, ¡°you don¡¯t look like slaves at all.¡±


    Out of the two it was Lisa who was most hesitant to soil herself. Whether that was because her outfits were consistently white, or something equally light, she seemed to almost grimace as mud was smeared onto her dress.


    Mika showed no hesitation, as instead she picked up the mud and put it all over her clothing. She worked grime into her black hair, and tried her best to make it as unkempt as possible.


    ¡°Presence of a weapon not tolerated,¡± Trium commented as he eyed Lisa¡¯s back.


    This time Lisa didn¡¯t need any help in translating what he meant, and she handed her sheathed sword over to the Architect. The fact that she didn¡¯t bat an eye at doing it showed either extreme confidence in herself, or an utter lack of fear in Trium.


    He slung the weapon onto his back, much like Lisa had, though he didn¡¯t seem all too comfortable with it being there. ¡°Forward progression,¡± he said, as he walked over to the sphere, ¡°avoid instigating.¡±


    Trium was the first to go through, a move that made me marginally concerned. ¡°Be on your guard when we get through, in case it¡¯s another ambush,¡± I warned my daughters.


    ¡°Be kind of nice if it was, I don¡¯t like all this skulking around,¡± Lisa muttered as she used the portal.


    Mika didn¡¯t say anything, as she approached the sphere, and instead offered her hand to me. I took it with my own, the mud on her fingers squishing against the shell¡¯s fingers. Then we were gone.


    <hr>


    Floor 69


    The Broken Web


    <hr>


    It was a unique floor, that was one way to describe it. We appeared on what looked like a massive branch, one that was connected to a tree so gargantuan that it dwarfed any we¡¯d encountered before.


    Far above us was a grand canopy of leaves and branches, the leaves themselves easily bigger than any of us. I knew from personal experience that the rain drops were absurd as well, but we¡¯d managed to come onto the floor when there was no rainfall.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    We were not attacked when we appeared, and instead Trium stood quietly to the side waiting for us. All around us we could only see wilderness, a welcome respite from what I had thought might be an infestation of metal.


    There were only four ways to get through the floor. The first was to cross the branches, going through the labyrinthine layout until you found the portal. The second was to jump, risking a fall that would surely kill anyone. The third was to fly, if one could do that.


    The final mode of crossing the floor was the one that I preferred. Without a word to the others I walked out onto what seemed to be thin air.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Lisa yelled as she reached for me, though by that point it would¡¯ve already been too late.


    Yet I hadn¡¯t fallen, and instead I seemed to them to be floating. Instead I¡¯d stepped on one of the many near invisible threads that covered the forest. ¡°If you look hard enough you¡¯ll see the strings, let¡¯s get moving,¡± I told them, as I continued to walk across the gap between trees.


    When I felt the vibrations through the strings I was already using, I knew that my daughters were following after me. We progressed through the floor, going from tree to tree via the pathways of threads which were spun across the entire locale.


    Yet one thing bugged me after a few hours of walking, and that was we hadn¡¯t encountered any trouble yet. This floor had once been infested with spiders, as large as one would expect given the webs they had spun. Their threads had remained, but the monsters were gone.


    The answer to that question came soon enough as we neared one of the final trees, and even from a distance we could see it wasn¡¯t normal. Gone was the regular tree, and in its place was some strange monstrosity of metal and wood. A platform had been built around the tree and Architect drones could be seen walking about.


    When I reached the end of the thread and stepped onto the platform every single drone turned to stare at me. I didn¡¯t walk any further, and instead waited for my daughters and Trium. If one of the drones tried to cut the string to kill them I wanted to be able to stop it.


    None of them made a move, and when Trium stepped onto the platform every drone once more started to ignore us. Trium didn¡¯t say anything, but instead motioned for us to keep moving, and so we circled around the trunk of the tree.


    On the other side were no more strings, instead a walkway had been constructed between the final two trees of the floor. From our spot we could see the portal, as it floated near one of the branches of the last tree.


    When we went to cross the bridge a single Architect stepped forward, blocking us. He was clearly not a drone, but with his combination of pants and dress shirt he was just as generic.


    ¡°Identity?¡± the Architect asked Trium, as he looked past both my daughters and I.


    ¡°Manager Trium, reconnoiter duty.¡±


    The Architect formed a small item out of nanites and studied it, before reabsorbing the nanites. ¡°Permitted,¡± was all he said, and then stepped aside.


    None of us talked as Trium took the lead, and we crossed the bridge. When we reached the other side there were only two drones standing guard. They glanced at us, but made no move to interact with us at all.


    Once more we gathered around the portal, with Mika taking my hand. A few seconds later we were gone, and heading for the first time into the realm of the Architects.


    <hr>


    Floor 70


    The City of Metal


    Checkpoint 7


    <hr>


    We appeared in a room of titanium, with a criss-cross pattern of girders overhead. Along the bottoms of the girders were numerous spherical objects. I knew from past experience that they were a defense system.


    There was no need for any guards to be present in the arrival chamber. Aside from an executive, most Architects wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the lasers.


    Trium was the first to move, as he walked off of the arrival platform. He stepped up to a door, and with a wave of a hand opened the way to the next area of the floor.


    He waited for us to follow him, and only when we¡¯d gathered near the door did he step through. I went next, preferring to be the first one stricken if there was an ambush on the other side.


    Instead I stepped out onto a curiously empty street in the middle of a city. All around us half-constructed spires stretched up into the sky, the open sections giving the place a forboding feel.


    Trium had already started to move down the street, heading in the direction which the compass pointed in. My daughters, on the other hand, were a bit too shocked as they stared at the unfinished metropolis around us.


    I nudged the both of them before I followed Trium. As we walked I studied the place. I noticed how even though it was more than capable of housing millions, there were at best a few dozen Architects.


    The vast difference between people and housing only furthered the mystery that¡¯d been developing. Without the Architects they couldn¡¯t even finish building the city, and if they couldn¡¯t finish that how could they spread to the lower floors.


    Between that and the organ theft at their prison, I began to feel like there¡¯d been some drastic change in the leadership of the Architects. Yet no matter what it was, I doubted they could handle my daughters.


    The further we went through the floor the worse it became, in regard to an absence of people or even noise. I hadn¡¯t seen another Architect for a while by the time we reached our destination.


    The building that contained the portal was as skeletal as some of the nearby spires. It was large, with a front section that was completely open. I looked around for any guard, but all I saw were more security spheres embedded in exposed support beams.


    Trium confidentiality strode through the entrance and over to the visible portal. ¡°You said you needed to stop by another floor first?¡± he whispered when we gathered near him.


    I nodded my head, as I wished to avoid saying anything that might trigger a security alert. My daughters touched the portal, Lisa vanishing first, while Mika waited with an extended hand to me.


    ¡°I will wait at the arrival point for you,¡± Trium said.


    I studied his face, looking for any sign of deception, and eventually gave up and grasped Mika¡¯s hand. A few seconds later we were gone.


    <hr>


    Floor 50


    The Strays


    Checkpoint 5


    <hr>


    The fist thing I saw was a sword coming at my face, and so all I could do was respond by stumbling away from it. The blade cut through the air near my face, barely missing, but no second attack came.


    ¡°Sorry about that!¡± Lucas apologized as he shoved his sword into a scabbard on his hip, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming back.¡±


    ¡°I forgot to disconnect and warn you,¡± I admitted, as I looked around.


    The area was nothing short of a disaster zone. The ground smoked in numerous spots, with craters here and there, and bodies were strewn. Every body was familiar, as they were all the Architect drones.


    Lucas was the only person present, wearing his combat suit that I¡¯d given him. I scanned the rest of the area, but couldn¡¯t see anyone else.


    ¡°So they started to invade?¡±


    ¡°Yup, every so often a couple come through. We¡¯ve been killing them on sight since you didn¡¯t say otherwise.¡±


    Behind me my daughters picked their way across the corpse-laden field. Neither looked altogether happy, though given they were still coated in dirt and collared I wasn¡¯t shocked.


    ¡°Take those off,¡± I told them, ¡°until we go back.¡±


    They didn¡¯t require much encouragement, as they hastily took off the collars. ¡°I am going to shower,¡± Mika said as she started to pick her way across the corpse-laden battlefield.


    Lisa ran after her sister, not even bothering to say what she was going to do. I followed after them, and while they thought on the upcoming showers I instead wondered on something else.


    Why was their city a ghost town?

 Vol. 3 Chapter 15 - Into The Lair

    <hr>


    Floor 70


    The City of Metal


    Checkpoint 7


    <hr>


    We spent only a few days at our little forward base, the entire time spent waiting for the drone to be repaired.  Alexia yelled at me for a few hours straight, mostly because the mechanism in the arm was the hardest part of it to fix.


    Yet she put her back into it and had the drone repaired quick enough.  So once more I had my daughters dirty themselves up, and then I asked them to put their detestable collars back on.


    When we returned to the seventieth floor Trium was still there, waiting for us in the arrival chamber.  The defense grid made no move to attack, and as the Architect led us outside I started to wonder if it even functioned in the first place.


    The city was as when we first went through it.   Desolate, for the most part devoid of any activity, and the structures around us were unfinished.  As we walked the streets I made a mental note of how there were even less Architects or humans, as though someone had plucked them from the city.


    When we reached the portal building Trium called a halt, and looked at me with a worried expression.  ¡°I am uncertain if the floors between here and seventy-five are as I recall,¡± he said.


    It was a thought I had anticipated, and overall didn¡¯t fear.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I told him, ¡°if we have to fight our way through the next few floors we can handle it.¡±


    He looked at me, a look of disbelief on his face, but he wisely chose to not argue.  Instead he led us into the building and once more to the portal.


    Once we arrived at it Trium went first, and then Lisa followed him after that.  Mika reached out and grabbed my hand, but leaned in close.


    ¡°Can we trust him?¡±


    I tried my best to not laugh.  ¡°No. But we won¡¯t do anything to him until he betrays us.¡±


    <hr>


    Floor 71


    The City of Metal - Smelting Zone Gamma


    <hr>


    The shift to the next floor had come with no warning, and I had to hastily adjust my balance when we appeared.  Mika let go of my hand and turned to look around, an act that I already knew was pointless.


    That was because the imagination of the Architects was consistently dull.  We were in the midst of another city much like the prior, though it had more fully constructed buildings.


    The only drastic change from the previous floor were the plumes of smoke on the horizon, a sign that the factories were still active.  Unless something had changed since my last venture into the heart of the city, I knew that those factories were fully automated.


    ¡°Smelting zone?¡± Lisa asked, as she forced her hand away from where her sword normally was.  It was a habit I¡¯d ingrained into her over the last few years, and one I was proud to see she had retained so well.


    ¡°They take scrap and anything else from the other floors and bring it here,¡± I told her as I glanced at Trium, waiting for him to either interrupt or otherwise do something, ¡°then they process it into useful material.¡±


    Trium seemed far too distracted to care about our small conversation, and instead he was looking around with that same worried look from before.  ¡°Where are they?¡± he muttered, though the shell was more than capable of picking up those quiet words.


    That question put me on edge, as I thought he meant there was supposed to be an ambush.  It as only when I looked around that I realized what had caused his concern.


    There was nobody.


    I had spent a somewhat disheartening length of time murdering the Architects in the past.  In that time I¡¯d gone through their city floor by floor, and all that I¡¯d left behind were ruins and corpses.  Even then I knew that some of them had survived, as I didn¡¯t feel the urge to hunt down the more innocent of their kind.


    But somehow the feeling that we were alone was far stronger.  There were no sounds of the city, no hum of machinery nor pitter-patter of footfalls.  There were no signs of movement, nor did we even see a single drone standing guard. Even all of the human slaves were gone, the people who were kept merely to do the most disgusting and servile of work.


    Yet the city still ran itself.  The lights along the streets were lit, the signals that marked where transports were supposed to carry things flashed, and I could even hear the sound of music in some far off place.


    ¡°I am tempted to investigate the transit facility to see if a coordinator is still deployed here,¡± Trium admitted to us, ¡°but I believe such an interaction could prove negative in the long run.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any nanites,¡± I said, ¡°or so we¡¯ve been told.  Which means a transit is useless unless you have an ally on this floor?¡±


    Trium¡¯s brow furrowed as he looked around the empty city plaza.  ¡°Perhaps one or two, normally, but given the current scenario I am somewhat doubtful of that.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the portal.¡±


    Trium nodded his head, as he started to walk through the plaza.  His footfalls echoed, bringing a bit more noise to the hushed city, and soon we were moving through the streets.  No machines moved to stop us, nor did any drones emerge.


    Lisa and Mika hovered near me, clearly on edge due to the lack of any other living beings.  Though they were arguably the two strongest entities in the entire labyrinth, aside from their siblings, even they knew that we were in a situation far beyond the norm.


    We walked past buildings that were designed to hold scrap, as well as a few buildings which were clearly dormitories of some sort.  We passed near one of the furnaces, the heat of it still warm enough to remind one of the desert.


    With the floor being one of the regular ones, and not a checkpoint, we didn¡¯t find the portal inside a building.  Instead it was out in the open, nearby what I could only call a junkyard.


    As we walked over to the portal some of the machines continued to work, sifting through the pile of scrap for anything usable.  It was a task that would prove pointless, as the sorted out material would never leave if an Architect showed up.


    Nothing appeared to stop us from using the portal, and so our group of four continued on to the seventy-second floor.  It was another part of what the labyrinth called the city of metal, a hydroponics facility.


    If their alteration of the previous two floors had seemed interesting, it was on the seventy-second floor where it proved awe inspiring.  At some point they had converted the once flat world into an entire building, one in which row after row of plants grew within protective bubbles.


    Yet even on this floor we saw no other Architects, and the plantlife had started to wilt.  Without a guiding hand the system could only work as normal, and so it could not handle the constant change that came with any living creature.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The plants that were worse off had even begun to rot, a sign that the place had been abandoned for quite a while.  Within the bubble there should have been minimal interaction with any decomposing bacteria.


    We hastened our pace in order to get out of the floor.  Unlike the previous two floors since it was fully enclosed we were under constant watch, and if there were any hostile Architects observing they could utilize the defense network against us.


    Yet we arrived on the seventy-third floor unmolested, and I had started to grow as worried as Trium.  There was no reason that I could think of for what was happening, but I had started to also realize a fact.


    Wye had told me to watch the state of the floors, and this was indeed something worth paying attention to.  If it was in any way linked to a new assault on the lower floors, perhaps even some way to get them past the sphinx, it would make for a threat worth stopping.


    The seventy-third floor was a bit different from what my daughters might¡¯ve expected.  Though it was labelled a farm by the labyrinth that was perhaps the worst term, a fact that Mika made note of as we walked slowly past various glass tubes.


    Within each of them grew an Architect, or more precisely a drone, and they were as always identical to one another.  I knew from past experience that further into the city we might find the more unique Architects, the ones grown to flesh out their society


    I also knew that somewhere on the floor should be tubes that held humans, as outside of the tribe we¡¯d met in the desert all slaves were grown.  No humans lived naturally on the floor, and the Architects had no interest in allowing them to self-propagate. It could cause what they considered minor annoyances, such as wasting resources on babies.


    Unlike on the previous floors there weren¡¯t even machines moving, as the growth chambers required constant supervision in order to properly function.  Though the Architects had the knowledge to create an intelligent machine, one that could do such a task, they had balked at the idea of birthing such a thing.


    We, once more, reached the portal in short order and moved on.


    Yet floor seventy-four was all the more unsettling.  It was an extensive dormitory, one designed to house all of the drones when they were not active.  The floor was also able to serve as a place to house their normal slaves, but in the tens of thousands of rooms we could detect no life.


    There was no noise on that floor aside from what we made, and even the power systems had started to fail.  Whatever had plucked the people on seventy-four had done so long before we arrived.


    We found no sign that they¡¯d been killed, nor any damage to the dormitory itself, and so I could only guess they¡¯d been escorted away.  That or perhaps some form of magic had been used, but the idea of the Architects with magic was one I preferred to not have.


    That was what brought us finally to the portal leading on to the next floor, and so we progressed to seventy-five even more confused than before.


    <hr>


    Floor 75


    The City of Metal - Station Gamma


    <hr>


    The random spawn deposited on a rocky crag, one that overlooked a silver spire.  Around it sprawled a small complex of rectangles, squares, and domes which housed either Architects or hardware.


    The darkened sky, one covered in black clouds, blotted out any potential sunlight.  Instead the only source of light on the floor was found at the spire itself. Flickering lights, as though the power could barely hold on, cast unreliable illumination everywhere.


    ¡°There should be an executive on guard duty,¡± Trium said as he peered down at the facility.


    I barely glanced at the place, as my interest was more on Trium himself.  ¡°Maybe you should use that device?¡±


    Trium looked at me as his eyes widened, and then he pulled out what Samara had given him.  He held it carefully, as though afraid it might break, and started to manipulate the device with quick presses of his fingers.


    He put it away, yet I couldn¡¯t tell if anything had happened.  ¡°Did you get a response?¡± I asked, as I studied his face for any telltale signs of anything.


    ¡°Uncertain,¡± Trium replied, and returned to studying the spire, ¡°I recommend awaiting potential reinforcements for at least a portion of time.¡±


    The idea of waiting even longer when our way to the ninety-ninth floor was right in front of us bothered me, but I kept silent in that regard.  If we could shed some light on the oddities we¡¯d witnessed I could wait.


    So we settled down for a few hours, not moving away from the arrival point.  If anything hostile arrived my daughters could kill it instantly, and if any allies arrived it¡¯d prove beneficial to wait for them there.


    Trium returned Lisa¡¯s sword to her during the wait, but for the most part spent his time studying the spire.  I didn¡¯t try to engage in a conversation with him, far more interested in thinking about what could have removed all the Architects.


    A short while after two hours there was a flicker in the air nearby us, and then two people appeared.  At a glance we could tell they were Architects, but none of us made a move to attack until they proved hostile.


    One of them, a woman with short cut hair, looked at us and then noticed Trium.  She lifted one hand up slowly in greeting, though she didn¡¯t step closer.


    ¡°Unbelievable personage present,¡± she said, ¡°I am incapable of believing it.¡±


    Trium walked over and did something quite unlike an Architect, as he hugged the woman.  ¡°Rubi, I have missed you,¡± he said before turning to the other Architect, ¡°Boros!¡±


    The one named Boros was a tall Architect, far taller than most I¡¯d run across before, and he had a few scars on his face.  It was a bit of an oddity, since I knew that Architects had the technology to remove them, but I supposed he preferred to keep them.


    ¡°Your request for assistance is fortuitous,¡± Boros said, with a glance at my daughters and I, ¡°the executives have abducted or otherwise escorted everyone.¡±


    ¡°Everyone?  The humans as well?¡± I interjected, my curiosity in what was going on winning out over caution.


    Rubi looked at me as she put her hands on her hips.  ¡°Battlesuit?¡± she wondered, but shook her head and continued to talk, ¡°humans included.  Most drones were also taken. Everyone was transported to one of the stations.¡±


    One of which was near us, yet from what we¡¯d seen there were no signs of movement.  The building itself looked to be falling apart, as though the daily maintenance had been given up on.


    ¡°What about the rest of you Samara followers?¡±


    ¡°Forcefully kidnapped.¡± Rubi glared at the nearby spire.  ¡°Rescue operation commencing?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.  Trium, is this everyone?  Or are you going to make us wait longer?¡±


    Trium sighed at my question, but gave a nod of his head.  ¡°We shall proceed. Strategy?¡±


    ¡°Strategy?  You¡¯re only coming along because I thought there¡¯d be more defenses,¡± I replied honestly, ¡°just try to stay out of our way.  Maybe look around inside to see if some of your friends are there.¡±


    It was a bit of a rough way to handle him, but it was the truth.  I walked away from the trio of Architects, picking my way along a path that curved down to the nearby complex.  My daughters followed after me without questions, accustomed perhaps to my brusque personality.


    As we approached the sprawling maze of buildings I made note of the absence of security.  There were no visible turrets, nor even cameras, and it made me wonder how lax the Architects had become over the last millennia.


    We walked past storehouses that were left wide open, each of them devoid of anything inside, and eventually arrived at the base of the spire.  A gateway stood in front of us, one made of platinum and covered with a shield of light.


    I frowned at that, as it looked to be some type of blockade meant to ward off intruders.  I turned to check if Trium had followed, and when I saw that he and his friends had I jerked a thumb at the door.


    ¡°How do we get past that?¡±


    Trium looked past me, and then shook his head.  ¡°Energy field requires executive privilege to revoke.¡±


    ¡°You want me to punch it?¡± Lisa asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly for my preference.


    ¡°Kinetic force will only be absorbed and redistributed,¡± Trium told us, ¡°power generation is located within the spire as well.¡±


    The light of the shield flickered, and then vanished.  With almost no noise the gateway itself split open and revealed the interior, within which a golden portal hung.  The portal looked entirely mechanical, with visible cogs and wheels turning inside.


    None of us went for it.


    ¡°That is the most obvious trap I have ever seen,¡± Mika said.


    Trium¡¯s face showed only shock, as did the other two Architects, and I could only guess they weren¡¯t part of what had happened.  Either that or the three of them were amazing actors.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any choice.¡± I strode through the open gateway.  ¡°Come on, we should use the portal now.¡±


    My daughters hesitated, but when nothing happened to the shell they followed me.  Mika and Lisa both put their hands on the portal, and Mika offered her other hand to me.  I took it, but glanced at the trio of Architects.


    ¡°Coming?  We¡¯re going to floor ninety-nine.¡±


    ¡°Insane, certifiably insane,¡± Boros said, a claim that Rubi echoed.


    Trium didn¡¯t, though, and instead walked through the gateway.  He put his hand on the Architect-designed portal. ¡°Samara trusted you, so I will too.¡±


    The other two came in after him, though they didn¡¯t seem altogether happy with his choice.  Meanwhile Mika looked at the sphere, and then looked at me with one upraised eyebrow.


    ¡°Father, does this work like a regular portal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just think of going to the ninety-ninth floor and it should do the rest,¡± I told her.


    With my reassurance she focused on the portal, and there was a slight flicker of a light within it.  The machine pulsed and began to churn, the interior shifting even while the spire around us seemed to shut down.


    <hr>


    Floor 99


    The Stronghold Of Death


    <hr>


    Unlike with the regular portal there was far more of a jarring effect, and so when we arrived on the ninety-ninth floor all of us fell to our knees.  Lisa started to retch, a common side effect for new users of the Architect portal.


    I stood up, and helped Mika stand up as well, while I studied our surroundings.  We had arrived in a wide open space, yet the ground beneath us was a smooth stone.


    The area we stood in was easily five hundred feet wide, if not more, and walls made of the same stone as the floor stretched up a hundred feet.  The area was encircled by the walls, within which numerous alcoves were spaced every five feet.


    Far above us a dull red light served as the only illumination, barely allowing for visibility if one couldn¡¯t see in the dark.  I concentrated on the crystals in the shell and produced balls of energy, which I then threw up into the air.


    Each of the balls burst and created a curtain of light.  The particles floated in the stagnant air, allowing all of us to see everything.  That was when I noticed what was within the alcoves.


    Somewhat misshapen blobs that were covered in some type of leather pulsed inside each recess.  As I looked at them a few seemed to even move, as though in response to my sight.


    ¡°Mika, Lisa, don¡¯t hold back at all!¡± I shouted at my daughters, as I started to focus on the magic system of the shell.


    That was when I heard a whisper in my ear rather than the audio system of the shell.  ¡°I see you.¡±


    The sensation of being ripped through the air over came me, and when I fell to my knees I could feel the cold stone beneath.  I braced myself against the ground, my body screaming in protest at the use of frayed muscles, and coughed up blood.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 16 - One Last Gasp

    The first thing I noticed, as I slipped the headgear off, was that I didn¡¯t recognize the room. I dropped the headgear onto the ground and studied my surroundings, trying to wrestle with the seeming impossibility of what¡¯d happened.


    I was not in the room for controlling the shell, nor any other room that was part of the base. Instead I was in a chamber which was about thirty feet wide, fifty feet deep and at least twenty feet tall.


    A dull green light was produced by strips along the floors, each one parallel to the other. The lines ran from behind me all the way to the deepest part of the chamber, calling attention to an over-exaggerated throne.


    The seat was crafted of metal, a combination of I believed titanium, gold, and a few others. The back of it stretched up high, and was designed to resemble two men stretching up for a sphere.


    Along the walls sat numerous monitors, some of which showed scenes from various places within the Architect metropolis. A few even seemed to show a first person perspective. The remainder of the monitors were dead, with either static or nothing shown.


    There was a bit of movement amongst the shadows on the throne, and I realized that someone was seated on it. Their body was obscured by darkness, the light strips on the floor barely showing their silhouette.


    ¡°Finally.¡±


    The voice was the same I¡¯d heard before my surprise transference, a whisper that felt like it scraped across my eardrums. There was a tinge of familiarity to it, but also a strange distortion that made it unique.


    I choked on a bit of blood, retching it and my stomach''s contents onto the floor. ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked once I could breathe again.


    ¡°Cathedra Coda.¡±


    ¡°Sure, that answers everything,¡± I muttered, ¡°why am I here?¡±


    I tried to stand up, the mere attempt enough to send immense pain through my body. Without my cane I could barely manage to stand, and though I had a way to support myself I wanted to hold that in reserve.


    ¡°Feculent blemish.¡±


    Those two words sent a chill down my spine, and a thought into my mind that was impossible. I threw aside my thoughts of reserving my abilities, and instead gathered a ball of energy in my left hand. With as much strength as I could muster without harming myself I threw it, and the ball floated through the air toward the stranger.


    As it floated the ball cast a light around it, and the darkness that coated the poorly illuminated chamber was beaten back. When it reached the throne the light revealed a man, one who looked unlike any I¡¯d seen before.


    Rather than clothing the man was instead covered in a light transparent film, one that I couldn¡¯t even guess as to the purpose. All that did was reveal the fact his skin was mismatched, as irregular patterns of different skin hues ran across his body.


    Up and down the body the mismatched skin could be seen, and it wasn¡¯t only that which proved wrong. The legs weren¡¯t equal in size, nor the feet, and even the arms and hands seemed to be asymmetrical.


    As my gaze slid up the body I also realized something else, the long hair that spread down and half-obscured some of the man¡¯s chest didn¡¯t match. Most of it was white, but there were some red, brown, and black strands mixed in.


    When I looked at the face I at first only noticed the eyes, with how one was red and the other green, yet a fact began to dawn. It was familiar, or at last half of it was, even though it was heavily scarred.


    ¡°Helim,¡± I whispered, and then winced as I realized the mistake that had been made.


    He shifted on his silly throne, standing up almost as slowly as I had. Tubes that were connected to his back via the chair came into view as he walked away from the seat. With unsteady steps he approached me.


    ¡°Finally, your meager existence is here,¡± Helim said as he leaned in to stare at my face, ¡°Theodore.¡±


    I started to lean back, but my muscles spasmed and I instead had to struggle to not collapse on the spot. Through gritted teeth I managed to ask, ¡°How are you still alive?¡±


    A visible quiver ran down his body as he studied me, and one gaunt hand reached up to grip my face. ¡°Your arrogance granted opportunity. Fractured body and napalm insufficient.¡±


    He lifted me up as though I weighed nothing, and carried me over to one of the walls of the room. Helim shoved my face at one of the blackened screens which flickered to life as we neared it.


    The image was of a group of people caught in the middle of an encirclement. The circle consisted of odd half-man and half-lizard looking monstrosities, while the ones in the center were easy enough to recognize.


    Lisa, Mika, Trium, and Boros were fighting off the monsters, even as a new egg had formed on the ground near them. All around them there were corpses and blood, yet none was on my daughters or the two remaining Architects.


    ¡°Her descendents?¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    That was a question which I didn¡¯t feel the need to answer, as even if he found out who my daughters were it¡¯d prove useless to him. ¡°Is that why you think I¡¯m Theodore?¡± I asked him, in an attempt to disrupt his accurate theory, ¡°because some girls look like somebody you knew?¡±


    The image on the screen flickered, and then shifted to one that showed a point of view of a drone. It was the one that I¡¯d fought on floor fifty, prior to having to rely on the shell. A skeletal overlay was placed on top of my figure, and a line traced how my body moved as I attacked the drone.


    Then a screen to the right of the first flickered on and showed an image of Theodore. Of me, from over a thousand years ago, as I fought some type of Architect. The movement of the skeletal overlay on that was a flawless match, albeit it with a change in height and reach.


    Before I could say anything Helim rammed my face into the nearest monitor. ¡°Deception will not work. Who are they?¡±


    The screen crunched against my face, the shards of it embedding into my flesh. Helim grinded my face against the shattered chunks for a few seconds, and then pulled me out.


    ¡°Clarify their identification,¡± Helim said, ¡°and explain how you rejuvenated and transformed.¡±


    His demands only made me laugh, as blood oozed out of my lacerations. ¡°Why would I tell you anything when you aren¡¯t even saying how you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    Helim tossed me against the nearby wall so hard that my one shoulder was embedded into a screen. A wave of pain and dizziness swept through me, but I tried to lift my head and look to see what he was doing.


    He had turned and started to walk away from me, moving perhaps back to sit on his throne. Yet he only made it a few feet before he whipped about and glared at me. Half of his jaw clenched, as though in rage, as he stomped back over.


    ¡°Adaptation and donation.¡±


    The first part I could understand, but the second only made me frown. ¡°Donation? I¡¯m certain it was more like forced acquisition, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I asked, ¡°and you also abducted everyone to turn into those things!¡±


    It was almost as though Helim attempted to sneer, but only a few parts of his face could manage it. ¡°The purpose of the lesser.¡± He lifted one leg and used his foot to shove me against the wall, one of my bones cracking audibly. ¡°Explain yourself.¡±


    Yet I didn¡¯t need to say anything, as the building we were in began to shudder. As though some explosions were happening somewhere within, the floor beneath violently shook. It was enough of a vibration that Helim looked away from me, and instead glared at one of the monitors.


    ¡°Insufferable aggravations!¡±


    Another unknown thing shook the floor, and it was severe enough that Helim staggered for a moment. In that moment I struck, as magic was summoned in the form of a sword. As I enhanced my frayed muscles I also swung the sword, aiming to slice Helim in half at the waist.


    The magically formed weapon barely bit into his flesh before it came to a stop. Helim let out a hiss of either anger or pain. He smashed his left hand down at the flat of the blade, and it snapped in half like a twig.


    His retaliation was a punch, one directed at my face. I managed to lift my arms up in defense, a small bubble of energy formed in front of them.


    The punch cracked the bubble I¡¯d made, and then shattered as Helim brought all his strength against it. Helim¡¯s fist shoved all the way through to my arms, and I found myself once more pushed against the wall.


    It was painfully obvious to me that Helim was superior in strength, and I had no reason to doubt that he was any slower. With my body still ruined from my fight on the fiftieth floor, I had to utilize my magic merely to move. Even when I attacked him in a moment of distraction I¡¯d dealt what amounted to nothing.


    Two hands gripped my thin neck and lifted me up, as Helim started to squeeze my throat. ¡°Perhaps dissection will prove informative,¡± he said through gritted teeth, as a wicked grin half-contorted his face.


    I could only choke, my hands grasping at his arms, while I felt the life being squeezed out of me. In a few seconds I knew that he¡¯d either snap my neck, or I¡¯d fall unconscious due to a lack of blood flow. Once that happened he would be free to use his army of mutated dragons against the rest of the labyrinth, and possibly even kill my daughters.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell,¡± I barely managed to croak out, as a bit of spittle oozed out of the corner of my mouth.


    That was all I needed to say to get Helim to relax his grip a little. He grinned, this time with his entire mouth, and stepped in closer. ¡°Explain everything!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± I said, my voice hoarse, ¡°Lute was dying so she put her hand on my cheek, and whispered the secret.¡±


    As I said that I also lifted my own hand up, resting it on Helim¡¯s cheek. The skin was old, almost mummified, but still somehow pulsed with warmth. He glanced down at my hand, for a moment leaning away, but when he realized that my arm barely had the strength left to hold it up Helim relaxed.


    ¡°See, the magic, it-¡± I started to say, but then grimaced as I tried to swallow. My breath was uneven, and I already knew that most of my strength was gone. In my right arm I could feel a warmth building, one that I focused on containing as much as I could.


    ¡°Continue,¡± Helim ordered me.


    I looked at him and tried to look as tired and scared as I could. ¡°Promise not to hurt the two girls,¡± I said in an attempt to buy a little more time.


    It was as though Helim couldn¡¯t resist sneering at my request. ¡°Mercy guaranteed.¡±


    A promise that I knew was as useful as a goblin¡¯s. I closed my eyes, as I focused inward and gathered all of my concentration on my right arm. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll tell you then,¡± I said.


    Even with my eyes closed I could feel his presence inch a little closer. There was an eagerness about that, as I could only surmise he wished to free himself from the salvaged body parts he relied on. It was also probable he was soon to reach the limits, and was perhaps the reason he¡¯d opted to sacrifice most of the Architects to create his dragon army.


    I slowly opened my eyes and stared at him, once more seeing the face of the man who¡¯d murdered Pierre in cold blood. A millenia ago he¡¯d told me about his plans for cleansing the labyrinth, and it had served as the catalyst for everything that followed. It was also the reason why I¡¯d pushed myself to the brink of humanity, and why Lute¡¯s program had kicked in.


    About all I could manage to do was smile at the madman, and then my right arm exploded. It was a burst of blinding light and energy, one that far exceeded any I¡¯d ever created before in the past.


    My body was driven back by the force of the explosion, the rigid wall giving way against my frail body due to the sheer power of what I¡¯d done. I could feel the bones in my body, already damaged to begin with, cracking from the trauma.


    It was a few moments before I could even look, as though I might have wished to close my eyes I hadn¡¯t wanted to show any warning to Helim. Even the smallest of defensive moves to shield myself would have ruined the surprise.


    When my eyesight returned I first saw the aftermath on my own body. My right hand was gone, along with most of my arm. The injury had been cauterized by the heat of the explosion, and the remnants of the upper arm that remained hung loose and refused to respond.


    I clenched my teeth, the sight of the stump enough to remind my brain of the pain, but I had other things to worry about. I scanned the room, as I studied the damage that I had wrought with my burst of raw magic.


    I had focused as much of the damage in Helim¡¯s direction, and the aftermath of my magical spell showcased that. The stone floor was burnt, with a hole crudely blown into it which was at least half a foot deep. On the distant side of the room the throne was gone, and part of the wall that¡¯d been behind it had been vaporized.


    A few feet in front of me, in the crater that my magic had created, was a smoldering pile. As I approached it the fact that it was Helim¡¯s remains became obvious, as his legs and lower torso were still there. The rest of him was gone.


    I started to laugh at it, wincing as the pain caused me to stop. ¡°I should¡¯ve done this in the first place,¡± I admitted to the corpse.


    In our last encounter over a thousand years ago I¡¯d allowed my emotions to control me, and in the end I¡¯d merely shattered every bone in his body. While he coughed up blood and cursed me I¡¯d chucked him into a pit of fire, leaving him to burn to death.


    To me it¡¯d been a fitting punishment, yet somehow the monster had dragged himself out. A mistake that I could only regret, one that could¡¯ve cost everyone in the labyrinth if I hadn¡¯t reincarnated.


    I shook my head and lifted my left hand. Energy gathered, what little remained within my body, and I faced my palm at the remnants of Helim. ¡°You always did let your arrogance get the better of you,¡± I told him, and perhaps myself.


    I unleashed the energy and destroyed the corpse. I stood there and stared at the mark on the ground where he¡¯d been, and only once I felt certain he couldn¡¯t revive himself did I allow my consciousness to slip.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 17 - The Grave

    It was when my body was shaken that I started to awaken. My eyes opened, and through a blurred vision I thought I saw three figures.


    ¡°What?¡± I muttered, my voice hoarse. I licked my lips in an attempt to moisten them.


    ¡°Dad! Don¡¯t die on us!¡±


    I tried my best to smile in response, but winced at the new surge of pain. The fact that Lisa had opted to shake me awake hadn¡¯t helped much with my broken bones.


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I promised, though I felt dirty lying to them.


    One of the figures knelt down next to me. She placed one hand on my forehead, and I felt a tickle of energy.


    I focused on that energy, grasping at it within my mind as a dying man clung to a piece of driftwood. The power flowed into my body, spreading out through all of my tissues, and soon I was able to move my shattered limbs.


    ¡°Help me up,¡± I said, as I blinked rapidly to try and clear my vision.


    Both of my daughters helped me up, and Mika stepped in close and lent me her shoulder. I leaned on her as much as I could, as I wanted to avoid relying too much on the energy she¡¯d shared with me.


    When I reopened my eyes I saw that the room hadn¡¯t changed much during my nap. A new hold had appeared in the middle of the room, one that I could only assume my daughters had created to get in.


    I studied the rest of the room, noting that only my daughters were present, and one question immediately came to mind. ¡°The Architects?¡±


    Lisa shook her head. ¡°They didn¡¯t make it. They all got splashed with blood by those things and turned into balls.¡±


    ¡°Eggs,¡± Mika corrected her.


    ¡°Yup. Eggs. We were kicking their butts anyways but things were getting tight, so Mika and I decided to wing up and just start destroying everything in sight.¡±


    ¡°I noticed that,¡± I said.


    Lisa nodded. ¡°Then there was some big explosion and all the things stopped moving.¡±


    ¡°Like puppets with their strings cut,¡± Mika commented, ¡°I assumed it was something you had done.¡±


    ¡°Then we punched our way up here and found you. How¡¯d you get here?¡±


    ¡°Helim,¡± I said, and quickly realized it was a poor explanation, ¡°a really old Architect. He used some sort of technology to drag me here via the shell¡¯s connection.¡±


    Mika raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°And your arm, and this room? And where is Helim now?¡±


    ¡°Helim had me cornered, and he was too fast and strong for me to fight. So I converted the marrow in my right arm into a bomb.¡±


    ¡°You can do that?¡± Mika and Lisa both asked.


    ¡°Well, less converting and more stored. I compressed and stored all the energy I could inside the bone, so Helim wouldn¡¯t see any glowing or anything.¡±


    My daughters shared a glance, and perhaps a thought, but neither opted to speak. Instead they started to walk to the giant hole in the floor. I was carried, or half-dragged, by Mika as she walked.


    ¡°We should get to the portal and go home,¡± Lisa said as she peered into the hole she¡¯d made.


    ¡°No.¡±


    They both paused at that. ¡°The bad guy is dead and you need medical assistance, father,¡± Mika told me.


    I tried to shake my head, but the motion was enough to make me groan in pain. ¡°Find the green door.¡±


    It was a bit obscure, but Lisa seemed to catch on to what I wanted as she pointed at the hole. ¡°I remember on our way up seeing one of those in a vast hallway. But why not the portal?¡±


    ¡°Please, just take me there,¡± I almost pleaded with them. Though Mika had shared energy with me I could barely stay awake.


    Thankfully my daughters didn¡¯t argue with me, and instead spread their wings and took flight. Mika tried her best to carry me, though no matter what she did I still moaned in pain at every touch.


    When they landed we had arrived in a hallway that stretched at least three hundred feet in length. At one end was a doorway that led somewhere else within the fort, but it was what was on the other end that I cared about.


    A significantly large door stood, about twenty feet in height. On both sides of the door sat pillars crafted out of emerald, and vines made from jade curled and spread up the pillars. There was no handle on the door itself, and a sensation of power emanated from it.


    ¡°Take me to it,¡± I said, ¡°I need to touch it.¡±


    Mika hesitated at my request, once more a glance shared between the two. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A promise. Please, Mika.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lisa exclaimed, ¡°this is stupid. We need to take you home.¡±


    I looked at her, and with a small shake of my head I said, ¡°This is what I need. Trust me.¡±


    There was a moment where they both looked ready to ignore me, to drag me back to the portal and all the way to floor fifty. Then Mika stepped forward and half-carried me to the emerald door.


    ¡°You are coming back, right?¡± Mika asked me once we were close to it.


    I tried my best to give a reassuring smile, but in a small corner of my mind I knew I was lying. ¡°Of course.¡±


    And then I placed my remaining hand against the door and vanished.


    <hr>


    Floor 100


    The Gateway To Eternity


    Checkpoint ¡Þ


    <hr>


    I appeared in a world of white, as a cloud of fog swirled around me. I collapsed to my knees on arrival, as I¡¯d barely had the strength to lift my hand moments before. There was a pinch in my left hand, as a new checkpoint crystal was embedded in it, but that mattered little to me.


    I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Every breath I took caused a sharp pain in my chest, on the right side. Even if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that one of my ribs was embedded in it, the trauma from my magical blast had rattled the already bruised lungs.


    ¡°You took longer than I expected.¡±


    When I opened my eyes the fog had vanished, or perhaps solidified, and instead I was in a circular white room. A single chair was placed in the center, upon which a woman in a long red dress sat.


    ¡°Wye,¡± I whispered.


    She tilted her head to one side. ¡°You have managed to put me into a bit of a difficult position, Theodore. I am supposed to maintain a neutral stance, after all.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond to her, and I barely even heard what she said. Instead I collapsed face first against the ground. The cool surface crafted out of solidified mist, or what was supposed to be mist, felt therapeutic against my cheek.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    What was more of a hiss than a voice spoke, ¡°I vote we let him die.¡±


    ¡°Brother, such a choice would make little sense given why mother made us,¡± replied a familiar voice.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Wye said, ¡°I would rather not wait another millennia again.¡±


    There was a pause in the conversation, and then a long hiss that one could perhaps consider a sigh. A thin line of cold, like a string, slowly slipped up my leg and started to twine around my entire body.


    The strand turned into a mesh, one that wrapped snug about my broken body. The strands of it seemed to meld into my flesh, and then into the rest of my body. With the melding came a rush of energy and a relief from the unending pain.


    I blinked, and then slowly pushed myself up using two hands. It was only after I¡¯d stood up I realized my right hand was back. That thought caused me to look at it, and the rest of my body.


    My hand was there, though it was entirely black. It wasn¡¯t a type of tanned skin but simply black. I wiggled the fingers, my gaze unable to move away from the hypnotic absence of light that I somehow could manipulate.


    Wye cleared her throat, drawing my attention to her. ¡°If you are quite finished admiring Shadow, I believe we have much to talk about.¡±


    Wye was still seated in her chair, her legs crossed, but she was no longer alone. On her left was a silhouette, a darkness identical to the new hand that had attached itself to my stump. A dark line went from the base of the silhouette to my own shadow.


    To her right was a woman adorned in a dark purple robe, one that was a bit too long for her. Bells hung from her ears, while thin glasses framed her lilac eyes.


    My jaw dropped open as I stared at her. ¡°Rinth? How¡¯d you get here?¡±


    The Oracle of the Labyrinth smiled at me, unable to resist giving a small bow in greeting. ¡°I am where I am meant to be, when I am meant to be.¡±


    The identity of one of the pair made the other obvious, as only one entity I knew of looked like that and was closely tied to Rinth. ¡°And your brother is supposed to be here too?¡± I asked, as I eyed Shadow.


    ¡°Tss, I am where I want, Theodore,¡± the shadow commented, ¡°and relish in my allowance to share my life with you.¡±


    It was a comment that made me glance at the shadow-based hand I now had. I knew, or rather felt, my entire body had been infused with his power. My heart continued to beat and I could only assume due to the energy he supplied.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, but before I tried to get more clarification I realized something else, ¡°I¡¯m surprised my daughters didn¡¯t come through the door yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Rinth said as she sat down on her own chair, one similar to the chairs found on her floor.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because they haven¡¯t gone through every floor.¡± Wye sighed. ¡°I thought that was obvious.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I, I skipped a lot with the Architect transits.¡±


    There was a moment where all three stared at me, and then Shadow started to laugh with that odd hissing voice. ¡°Such an idiot!¡±


    ¡°You may be Fenix in form,¡± Wye said, ¡°but you are Theodore in soul and mind.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t argue with that logic. ¡°So how long is Shadow going to...help me?¡±


    ¡°Until you make and enact your decision.¡±


    ¡°Decision? For the love of...stop being cryptic and just say what you¡¯re up to Wye.¡±


    What I received in response was a glare. ¡°You truly do not know the meaning of patience, I swear I don¡¯t understand why mother found you so enjoyable.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I,¡± I said with a shrug.


    ¡°What Wye is dancing around deals with the purpose of the labyrinth,¡± Rinth said, ¡°did Luticia ever explain about the first floor?¡±


    ¡°Only that it was the only floor she didn¡¯t create, but where she¡¯s from.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. She also told you about the control system in her?¡±


    It was a question that made me think of my fight with her, or rather with the idiotic thing in her mind. Whoever had opted to create such a manipulative device had deserved a slow death, one that I doubted they received. ¡°Yes.¡±


    As we talked the mist around us shifted, and the room that Wye was often in began to warp. It was steadily replaced by a bleak one, created of metal and concrete. The walls were covered with screens, reminiscent of Helim¡¯s throne room, except rather than being limited to the Architect systems it showed images from every floor.


    Gone was Wye, instead in her place was a pillar made of wires, metal and glass. ¡°Mother tried reviving her world, but once it achieved a certain level of knowledge the control system kicked in,¡± Wye said, her voice emerging from speakers attached to the pillar.


    Rinth adjusted on her seat, the more regal chair she¡¯d been on before replaced with a simple one made of wood. ¡°That is when she decided to make the labyrinth.¡±


    ¡°A training place,¡± I said, ¡°it isn¡¯t that hard to figure out when you look at how everything is set up.¡±


    Rinth nodded. ¡°That was one of the reasons behind it, though in truth she had three.¡±


    ¡°Three? I thought there were maybe only two?¡±


    ¡°To train and prepare a weapon that could kill her,¡± Rinth said,¡± that was the start to the whole labyrinth.¡±


    Wye spoke up, ¡°But Luticia realized as she created it that her body was dangerous, even dead it might revive or allow others to replicate her.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at their words, as it was easy to see where they were heading. ¡°Is that why the labyrinth pulled her to the garden automatically?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Wye said, ¡°it was the first part of a restraining system to evade the complete destruction of the labyrinth.¡±


    Rinth smiled, but her eyes looked at the ground and a dark cloud seemed to hover over her. ¡°It also worked to weaken the program, granting her enough self-control to deny the system access to her full potential.¡±


    ¡°Denied it access? Wait, are you saying she wasn¡¯t fighting at her full power?¡±


    ¡°You fool,¡± Shadow hissed, ¡°she crafted fake stars and you thought you were her equal?¡±


    It was something I¡¯d never thought on, but when I put my mind to it I realized how much sense Shadow was making. During my final fight with Lute there¡¯d been moments where she¡¯d seemed to almost hesitate, little pauses in her actions, and it was those that¡¯d given me the chance to win against her.


    ¡°So the labyrinth is meant to train someone to kill her.¡± I frowned at the idea of how I¡¯d been weaponized to murder my own wife. ¡°It also serves as a prison for her?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Rinth said with a shake of her head, ¡°a grave. The garden will not allow anything physical to escape it, and once the final program is activated a singularity will automatically generate at the core of the miniature planet.¡±


    I felt sick to my stomach at the first part. ¡°If I go bury her I won¡¯t be able to leave?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Wye said, ¡°the only reason you were able to reincarnate was due to an emergency backup system. The only way out of the garden is via soul transference, as they are able to bypass the walls between realities.¡±


    ¡°And another thousand years before I¡¯d revive.¡±


    ¡°Correct. Which means your daughters will have perished of old age, and the labyrinth will have changed again.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that to them again,¡± I muttered, my hands clenched into fists so hard that blood dripped from my left one.


    ¡°I will take that to mean you are not going to personally enter into the Garden of Eternity again.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Good. We can commence with the final stage then. Rinth, Shadow, do you agree that Theodore has achieved what is required?¡±


    Rinth nodded her head. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Shadow glanced at his sister, and the other which was merely a pillar of machinery, and let out a long hiss. ¡°He has,¡± he muttered.


    There was a groan of machinery, as though gears were fighting against a millennia of rust and dust, before a section of the floor off to my left parted. Out of it rose a small cylinder three feet in height and equal width. The top of it was smooth in the center, but had numerous bulges along the edge.


    When the cylinder stopped rising a hum emerged, and then numerous lights shot from the bulges. A sphere appeared in the air above the cylinder, one that was for the most part brown with a few patches of blue.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I asked as I walked over, my footsteps unsteady even with Shadow¡¯s help.


    Rinth stepped up next to me, offering her shoulder. ¡°That is the first floor. If you focus on it you can zoom in the picture to see Grantis and all the people in it.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hide the shock on my face, so instead did what she¡¯d suggested. Soon a section of the world was highlighted, and then that section zoomed in. The city steadily became more and more visible as it continued to focus. In a matter of seconds I could make out the individual people, though from a bird¡¯s-eye view.


    ¡°That¡¯s neat, but what¡¯s the point of it?¡± I asked, my focus relaxing. The image returned to previous, one where Grantis was a mere speck on a brown ball.


    Rinth didn¡¯t look at me, and instead stared at the sphere. ¡°Mother knew the world needed to be rebuilt, but that sooner or later she would trigger and ruin it all over again. So she decided to leave it up to whoever killed her to handle that.¡±


    Shadow slithered over next to us and pointed at the ball. ¡°You are alloted ten floors, and they shall be integrated onto her old home. You must decide which floors.¡±


    ¡°Once you have chosen,¡± Wye said from behind us, ¡°you will be given enough time to prepare the inhabitants for the merge. As the new administrator you have access to all the floors and no automated systems will impede you.¡±


    I turned around, looking at her with wide eyes. ¡°Administrator? And what do you mean merge?¡±


    Rinth put one hand on my shoulder as though to try and calm me down. ¡°You will use this device to place the chosen floors. After that you will set how long until the merge happens.¡±


    ¡°Tss, I don¡¯t recommend picking any of the places with monsters.¡±


    I reached up to put my own hand on Rinth¡¯s. ¡°What about you three?¡±


    They all replied instantly, ¡°No.¡±


    Wye explained further, ¡°We are tired. We merely want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I moved my hand off of Rinth¡¯s, ¡°what about the rest of the labyrinth?¡±


    Rinth stepped away from me and returned to her chair. ¡°Every portal will deactivate. All travel will become impossible.¡±


    ¡°Which means whoever you do not merge will be forced into solitude,¡± Wye commented, ¡°so what floors will you choose?¡±


    I turned back to the holographic display and thought on the question. There were a few floors I wouldn¡¯t mind bringing along, but most of the labyrinth would prove too dangerous to integrate. What I needed were intelligent species, farmable land, and enough water and food to keep everyone alive.


    ¡°Only ten floors?¡±


    ¡°Correct. Any more than that and it could cause irreparable harm to the atmosphere of the planet.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s bring along the kitsune, orcs, humans, gnomes, shifters, avians, ratkin, and nyanko¡± I said, ¡°so ten, eleven, sixteen, twenty, twenty-nine, thirty-nine, forty, and fifty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only eight floors, stupid, pick two more,¡± Shadow hissed next to me.


    ¡°Perhaps the Architects or the human desert tribe?¡± Rinth offered.


    ¡°No. The Architects had their chance, I¡¯m not letting them ruin anything more. And that desert tribe just wants to be free, so they can have their whole floor to themselves.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised you included the shifters on that list,¡± Wye said.


    I smiled. ¡°The Doppelganger tribe has proven helpful. We can have them gather on floor twenty-nine with the gnomes and human guards before the merge.¡±


    Rinth tilted her head. ¡°Then what floors will you pick?¡±


    ¡°We need more water, there¡¯s barely any on the first or the other floors I picked, so fifty-four will work well. There are no Architects on that, and I¡¯ll have my daughters check it before the merge to make sure.¡±


    ¡°That is salt water, though,¡± Rinth pointed out.


    ¡°With plenty of fish,¡± I replied, ¡°it should help revitalize the barren wasteland on the first floor even if it¡¯s salt based.¡±


    ¡°Correct. My estimates are that with the presence of the moon it¡¯ll generate waves, producing wind, which in turn will help in creating a better flow of weather. After a few decades patterns of rainfall should emerge.¡±


    ¡°Good, and I already know a great floor for freshwater,¡± I said, though I made certain to not look at any of the three when I spoke my next word, ¡°seven.¡±


    None of the trio commented on that choice. While they waited in silence I lifted my hands and manipulated the hologram, placing markers for where the ten floors would be put into it. The system even helpfully recommended a spot for fifty-four, so that the ocean wouldn¡¯t be at a heightened elevation compared to the rest.


    ¡°I will need to make sure the goblins are purged from it first,¡± I admitted as I turned to face them, ¡°but that¡¯ll be easy for my team to handle.¡±


    On the other side of the metal room a wide door slid down into the ground. Beyond it were two portals, one white and the other black and imposing. It seemed to almost pulse as it floated there, a temptation to any who didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°Make sure you get patched up before anything else,¡± Shadow hissed at me, ¡°I tire of serving as your crutch.¡±


    That made me pause, as I looked at Wye. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have a vial of nanites I can use, would you?¡±


    ¡°I can only offer the location of one of Markov¡¯s old factories that wasn¡¯t salvaged yet,¡± Wye said, ¡°it contains enough to alleviate some of your muscle and bone deterioration.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, and then I walked unsteadily across the room.


    I paused once more, looking over my shoulder at the three who remained behind. I couldn¡¯t even fathom how long they¡¯d lived for, or how long they¡¯d waited, but even to me it¡¯d been an eternity. ¡°I hope you rest well.¡±


    I walked over to the white sphere and put my left hand against it, the new checkpoint crystal I¡¯d gained upon arriving on the floor shining. Within my mind I could feel every place within the labyrinth open in front of me, all save for one.


    I glanced at the black portal next to me, my eyes lingering on it a few seconds longer than I might have wanted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I muttered.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 18 - Epilogue

    <hr>


    Floor 1


    Terra


    Five Years Later


    <hr>


    The land beneath Lisa was barren, the presence of even weeds sparse. As she coasted through the sky there were spots where a hint of green could be seen, but for the most part the world still hadn¡¯t recovered.


    It was when she neared Heron that the landscape changed, the brown replaced by a vibrant green. The carpet of grass and flowers below became a joy to see after the hours Lisa had spent over dead land.


    Yet she frowned at the change, as it seemed far too short. During their survey of the new world they¡¯d noticed one fact, a lot of the empty space of the floors hadn¡¯t merged with the original one.


    Lisa flitted over a black obelisk, one that sat on the outskirts of Heron. It was the forward base they¡¯d used in the past, now abandoned as it could no longer transfer anywhere. Instead it was more of a historic landmark, though perhaps only to the people who¡¯d fought against the Architects.


    When she reached the city there were cries of excitement below, and she rolled in the air while waving. It was hard not to smile as some of the children pointed up at her, but she wanted to deliver her package so didn¡¯t stop to greet anyone.


    So Lisa headed further into Heron, sticking to the air. When she neared one of the taller buildings she folded her wings, an act that cast her to the ground like a rock. Yet when she hit the ground right foot first she barely felt the impact, though the nearby cobblestone shuddered.


    The people closest to her on the street wisely took a few steps back, while most began to whisper to one another. Lisa retracted her wings into her back and walked past everyone.


    She hurried along, knowing that a few of her admirers might pop up with her arrival. Though Lisa was flattered by the attention, neither she nor Mika liked the almost fanatic adoration some people in Heron had developed for them.


    The place she¡¯d arrived at was in no way as tall as any of the nearby ones, instead it had a large overhang of a second floor. They had built it almost like a mushroom, with a fat top that allowed for a lot of room while giving the street plenty of room for itself.


    Lisa paused as she glanced at the nearby spire, a building made after the merge had occurred. She knew that it served as a commune for the nyanko, who thoroughly loved their vertical lifestyle. Outside of it a few even lounged in the sun, their eyes half-closed as they barely watched the pedestrians pass by.


    When she walked into the command post there was only noise. Lisa flinched at the cacophony of dozens of people yelling, as they dashed about the main room. Papers were lugged about, and some even floated away from their holders without permission.


    A tall man adorned in red leather armor stood near the center of it all. With a scowl on his face and arms crossed, he watched the crowd closely.


    ¡°Lance!¡± Lisa called out as she started to wave.


    For a brief moment a smile appeared on his face, but then Lance scowled as the entire room went quiet. Everybody had turned at Lisa¡¯s shout, and a few of the younger seemed far too interested in staring at her.


    ¡°Get working!¡± Lance shouted as he stomped the ground.


    The distraction that was Lisa was forgotten as the room returned to chaos. Lance shoved his way through the crowd, crossing over to in front of the young girl.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t you supposed to be out scouting with your darker half?¡± Lance asked when he finally got next to her, his scowl once more replaced with a smile.


    Lisa hugged the big man. ¡°Something came up, I need to talk to dad about it. Is he upstairs again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s been staring at the film you kids keep bringing back.¡±


    The kid comment irritated Lisa, but she ignored it since Lance didn¡¯t mean it to be insultive. She patted him on the arm and walked away. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Lisa picked her way hurriedly across the room, trying her best to not disrupt the runners in their tasks. The information they were sorting was important, and a delay at the worst time could possibly cause some innocents to die.


    So she managed to keep her temper under control, even when a wall of bodies temporarily blocked her passage at one point. When the runners dashed away, apologizing as quickly as they walked, Lisa flashed a smile to try and reassure them.


    After she¡¯d crossed the room a set of stairs awaited her, which she nearly leapt up in a hurry. When Lisa reached the top of the stairs she ran to the first visible door, and without knocking threw it open.


    The hard wood slammed against the interior wall, a noise that made Lisa wince. ¡°Sorry!¡± she called out as she entered, mentally chastising herself. Quite often she forgot her own strength.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The room was wide, but rather than being laden with people instead large tables covered in maps filled the place. A small sphere sat above each table, a projector that presented the most up to date information on the maps.


    At one of those tables stood a man with long white hair, pulled into a ponytail so that his pointed ears were revealed. He sent a glance in Lisa¡¯s direction on her entry, but aside from that showed no interest. Instead the man was focused on the map in front of him, one that was an overhead image of Grantis.


    Next to him on a small chair was seated a young boy. The kid leapt from his seat when Lisa arrived and ran over to her, his white fox tail flicking energetically behind him.


    ¡°Lisa!¡± the boy shouted as he reached for her with his little hands.


    She scooped him up without question and squeezed him in a hug, laughing as one of his furry ears tickled her cheek. ¡°Dorian, how are you?¡±


    ¡°Great!¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s your mom doing?¡± Lisa asked as she managed to resist lifting him up and spinning. The last time she¡¯d done that the boy had thrown up.


    Dorian frowned as best he could, though even with his frown Lisa found the kitsune unbearably cute. ¡°She keeps getting sick, so she¡¯s home.¡±


    With that comment Lisa looked past her half-brother and raised an eyebrow at her father. He managed to ignore her, and her probing look, and instead seemed to focus harder on the map.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, just let her rest up and it¡¯ll be alright,¡± Lisa reassured Dorian as she walked over to her dad.


    Theodore, or Fenix to almost everyone on the planet, finally turned and put his full attention on his daughter. ¡°You¡¯re earlier than I expected.¡±


    Lisa absent-mindedly toyed with one of Dorian¡¯s fox ears. ¡°We were taking aerial shots of Grantis when Mika noticed a convoy heading off to the salt plains.¡±


    ¡°A convoy? Not another try by the Guild to raid the gnomes?¡±


    ¡°It was a group of refugees, everybody was an elf.¡± Lisa paused at that, as something felt slightly off but she couldn¡¯t quite place it. ¡°Mika went to guide them to the nearest green zone.¡±


    Fenix rubbed his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re just falling apart aren¡¯t they. I¡¯ll request Viva send a truthseeker, that way we can make sure there are no spies.¡±


    Lisa reached for the waist pouch at her hip and fished out a small black box. ¡°This is all the footage we took during the last scan. Most of the world is still dead.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps not as dead as we thought.¡± Fenix accepted the box and slipped it into a slot on the table. ¡°I had an envoy from the orcs, they¡¯ve run into subterranean things that are popping up near their city.¡±


    ¡°The Maw?¡± Lisa asked, afraid that they¡¯d somehow managed to get out of the labyrinth before the shutdown.


    Fenix shook his head, and reached out for Dorian. ¡°No, worms that eat everything they can.¡± He accepted his son into his own arms, the young boy having grown quiet during their discussion. ¡°I¡¯m thinking your mother might have forgotten to warn us about a few things.¡±


    ¡°Maybe Kuzu¡¯s friend can make us some sort of...dewormer?¡±


    ¡°Alexia is already busy working on a satellite system, so that we can do a proper global scan. The avians have actually started to help with scouring the planet, but they don¡¯t like to go far from their roost.¡±


    Lisa went to sit down in a seat, but paused as her father lifted up his hand. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I know you just got back but I need you to check something for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still coated in dust and grime, and you¡¯re about to ask me to fly through a few more storms aren¡¯t you?¡± Lisa asked with a notable edge to her voice.


    ¡°The caskmasters left a note with Lance that there were some goblins at the rivers,¡± Fenix said, ¡°I¡¯ve tried to have a few others send someone to check it out but nobody has replied yet.¡±


    Lisa sighed, but couldn¡¯t disagree about why he was sending her back out. ¡°And if there¡¯s even one, and it multiplies, we might have another annoyance on our hands.¡±


    Fenix nodded his head. ¡°Just do a quick aerial survey, if there are goblins you should notice their burrows from the air.¡±


    She really didn¡¯t want to head out, especially since it was close to midday, but Lisa knew that this would be partially her fault. Both Mika and her had taken on the task of cleansing floor seven prior to the merge.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go now, say hi to Kuzu for me!¡± Lisa said as she turned and walked to the door.


    ¡°Bye!¡± Dorian called out behind her, to which she responded with a quick wave back.


    A few minutes later and Lisa was back outside with her wings unfurled once more. The crowd on the street cleared out enough room for her, a couple of them applauding her for some reason.


    Seconds later she was airborne and ascended to a height that made Heron look like a smudge on the ground. That high up the air started to thin out, but she had grown accustomed over the past couple of years to it.


    When she started out to the north Lisa thought on the last few years. The floors had merged successfully with the first floor, and then the labyrinth had closed off. There was still a portal in Grantis but it no longer responded to anyone.


    That combined with the arrival of all the other major cities on the first floor had shaken up the entire city of Grantis. The Guild that had held a stranglehold on their economy and governance lost significant influence, and soon people began to flee the city for Heron.


    Now the Guild was serving as an active annoyance, one that her dad had shown interest in squishing. Lisa wasn¡¯t quite certain why he didn¡¯t ask her or Mika to destroy them all, as that¡¯d easily solve their issues.


    Lisa¡¯s line of thought was disrupted as, while coasting through the air, she ran afoul of a dust storm. It swept in from the west and hammered her, turning the sky as brown as the barren landscape below.


    All Lisa could do was grab her goggles from the pouch and don them. Thankfully even though Lisa couldn¡¯t see anything except for dust, she knew instinctively what direction was north. So with renewed eagerness she flapped her wings and pushed onward, hoping to clear the dust storm soon.


    If the Guild was one of the major problems of the first floor, the dust storm was easily the next largest. They had grown a bit more severe for some reason since the merge, a fact that Alexia had once told her stemmed from a shifting in the atmospheric activity.


    Mika had understood it, and even started some sort of talk about climates and tides, but Lisa had tuned out. How her sister could find enjoyment with such trivial things was beyond her.


    Lisa emerged from the dust storm, bursting out into sunlight which sparkled off of various rivers and streams ahead. The entire seventh floor was laid out in front of her, one of the larger chunks of integrated land which was merely grass, stone, and water.


    With an adjustment of her wings Lisa descended, and then glided silently over the southern fringe of the water plains. She kept her eyes open, looking for any sign of a goblin. Even the sign of some sort of tunnel dug into the ground would be enough to warrant her attention.


    About ten minutes later she hadn¡¯t found anything, though with a cough she realized that her body was still coated in dust and filth. The fact that she hadn¡¯t had a chance to relax in a while tugged at a corner of her mind, so when she saw a waterfall flowing down into a pool a thought came to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like anything can hurt me,¡± she commented to herself, and promptly swooped down to the ground and landed.


    Lisa checked her surroundings before she did anything else, but saw nothing that might be a trap. So she checked the water itself, the pool warm to her touch. Perhaps because of the sunlight striking it.


    With that fact established she disrobed, though her wings were kept out. The normally pure white feathers had browned considerably, no thanks to the dust storm.


    Lisa waded into the pool, the water only about waist high, and sat down in it. The warmth of the water gave the feeling of a massage, and she closed her eyes with a smile.


    As though encouraged by how good it felt to have a bath, Lisa fully submerged herself for a moment. She stared up out of the water at the sun and for a moment gave into the temptation of fully relaxing, her mind wandering for quite a while.


    When Lisa finally stood up her whole body had been for the most part cleansed. The dust was gone and her wings seemed to almost glow in the sun. Lisa couldn¡¯t resist the giggle that bubbled out as she spun in the pool, revelling in the moment.


    ¡°Uh...hello?¡± asked someone from nearby.


    With a start, Lisa turned to the masculine voice, her wings instinctively folding around her torso.