What was I to do?

My head swam with the evening’s revelations, and Miranavisr’s question still echoed within. A pertinent question — with all the new information, it made sense that I could stop floundering through the dark for once and finally think of the steps in front of me. So far, I’d been chasing this vague goal of getting revenge on the gods, but I hadn’t made any concrete steps towards it. I was beginning to realize that I’d never actually had any plan from the start — merely an excuse. And instead of acting, I’d largely just let myself be pushed around by those forces outside of my control.

My thoughts went back to the destruction in Ravenrock. And look what your indecisiveness led you, I scolded myself. So many dead, and I was no closer to by nebulous goal than the day I’d met Sarah. So far, I could have claimed I didn’t have the knowledge needed to act — a flimsy excuse, but one that held, if just barely.

But I didn’t have that anymore.

Miranavisr waited patiently for my answer — if she was annoyed by the looming silence, she gave no sign. The kids, though, I could feel shifting in the background, soft murmurs echoing through the room. I supposed that the revelation that the dragons, like them, came from another world must have shocked them as much as the truth about Villains did me.

What did I want to do, then?

The ultimate goal hadn’t changed. Despite the larger context, the gods still needed to be stopped, if not punished. They couldn’t be allowed to continue kidnapping children and controlling their minds.

But why were they doing it, and was there a chance their actions could be justified?

There was still a mystery here, and it needed to be untangled before any big decisions could be made.

Except for me, all Villains were people who had been granted access to the System. A question mark remained here — how did they gain this access? Or perhaps, who granted it to them?

The gods wanted these people dead — for what reason? Were they worried about the balance of power among mortals? Despite their followers claims’, it didn’t look as if the gods truly cared what happened in the mortal world.

Fear, perhaps? Given the way power scaled with levels, it was plausible that a sufficiently high-leveled individual might pose a threat to a god, if Miranavisr’s aura was any indication. Even now I could feel the gulf between us, and I was certain it had nothing to do with her being a dragon. Al’vathazen had held not a sliver of her power.

That explained the thorough control they kept the Heroes under — they’d gain power the same way a Villain would, but there was no chance of them rebelling with the chains binding them.

This avenue was still unsatisfying. As powerful as a System-enhanced individual might have been, it was still only one person. However high a Villain’s levels went, the gods’ levels would have been higher still. They held an absolute advantage.

There was something missing there, still.

I looked up to Miranavisr, who was studying me intently. “What level are you?”

Her eyes widened just a smidge. “Answering my question with another question? Well, I cannot say I blame you — though, I believe it’s quite rude to ask an old lady her level.”

“I believe it’s considered rude to ask someone’s age, not their level,” Cam said.

“Absurd! Age is something to wear proudly,” the dragoness said, craning her neck to look at Cam. “A level, though, tells people much about you. Just one little number that can give your enemies everything they need to know about you. It’s not something to reveal lightly.”

“We’re not your enemies, though,” Sarah said.

“That is very true, young one. Very well, then — I am level 100.”

“Only?” Shiro blurted out.

Miranavisr smiled. “Why, did you expect I’d be much higher? 1000, perhaps?”

Shiro shuffled on his feet. “Well, pretty much, yeah. Like, I’m just shy of 60 and it’s been, what, half a year?”

“There are… circumstances,” the dragoness said. “A leveling speed like yours is not something normal — or even natural. Except for Heroes, that is. 100 is as high as levels go, around here, and it would take most people years or decades to reach it.”

“So, we’re total badasses?” Shiro asked with a grin.

Sarah elbowed him. “She’s saying we got boosted.”

Shiro’s grin fell. “Oh.”

Miranavisr turned to me. “Has your curiosity been sated yet?”

Her words jolted me awake from my reverie. “Just one more. That level 100 — what happens then?”

The Queen of Dragons smiled sadly. “A very good question, but not one that I am allowed to answer.”

“I see,” I said, nodding my head in thanks. “That in itself speaks as loudly as a proper answer. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” she said with a toothy grin. “Does that mean you’ve made your decision?”

“Almost. I didn’t come here alone, after all.” I turned to the kids. “What do you guys think?”

“I think I’m very lost,” Shiro said.

“Ditto,” David said.

Alexis shrugged. “I don’t know, it seems pretty clear to me. The bad guys are still bad, so I just wanna stop them from doing to others what they did to us.”

“And punish them a little,” Sarah added.

Alexis grimaced. “Eh, I don’t think they’re worth that effort. Punishing them won’t take back what happened, so…”

“But how are you going to do that? Punishing them or stopping them — they’re still gods. It’s not like you can walk up to their door and punch them in the face,” Cam said.

Behind us, a venerable dragon snorted.

Sarah shrugged. “Figured we’d make it up as we went along. There’s gotta be a way, at least, right? Where there’s a will, there’s a way — or so the saying goes.”

“Well, we don’t have a way, and we’ve been going along for a while now,” David retorted.

“I believe we might have one, actually,” I said. “I doubt Miranavisr would be as interested in our answer if she didn’t know the way forward,” I said, looking over my shoulder to see the dragoness smile.

“Perhaps,” she said.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Okay, then. Say we take whatever she’s got for us. We’re face to face with the gods — what then?” David asked, crossing his arms.

Alexis blinked. “Dunno. I figured if we asked nicely…”

“They’ve been essentially enslaving people for thousands of years,” Shiro said. “I think they’re well past asking nicely.”

“You never know,” she shot back. “Plus, we don’t know why they’re doing this. Maybe if we figure that out, we can find some alternative solution. And then everyone’s happy.”

“I’m not happy,” Sarah said, her gauntlets creaking as she clenched her fists. “I want them dead. Or hurting. I want them to pay.”

“That… doesn’t really seem feasible,” Cam said. “Stopping them is already a stretch.”

“I know,” Sarah sighed. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Alexis put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “I don’t like it either. But sometimes, the bad guys get away with it.”

“We’ll see. If a chance pops up…”

“I’ll back you up,” Shiro said quietly.

Sarah pressed her lips into a tight smile. “Thanks.”

I waited a moment to make sure they’d all said their piece. “What about you two? Etin? Winnie?”

I follow, the skeleton replied.

Winnie merely snorted derisively and lumbered to stand behind Sarah.

“Everyone’s in agreement, then?,” I asked. “That we follow this path to its conclusion wherever it may take us? To stop the gods, and punish them if circumstances allow?”

“Yup.”

“Agreed.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Mhm.”

“Yes.”

Yes.

I turned back to Miranavisr. “You have your answer.”

Her eyes sparkled. “That I do. Not that I expected anything else.”

“What, can you tell the future, too?” Sarah asked, squinting at the Matriarch.

The dragon puffed out a laugh. “Hah! Not at all — you wouldn’t have come all the way into the heart of dragon territory if you weren’t already set on your course of action.” She smiled again. “But that’s alright. It was something you needed to discover for yourselves.”

“What now, then?”

“Now… well, now—”

She didn’t get to finish her question as her head snapped to the side. For a moment, her features became hostile, her eyes intent — and as quickly as it had arrived, the hostility melted away, replaced with warmth. And amusement?

My eyes followed her gaze, spotting the small silhouette in the distance growing larger at an alarming pace. A majestic azure dragon, nearly invisible against the sky if not for the wild floundering of his wings as he raced at full speed towards the caldera.

“Is that—”

Seconds later, Al’vathazen landed with a heavy crash, skidding to a halt just in time to avoid hitting Miranavisr. With a push of his wings, he hopped back to his feet, his head swiveling as he took in his surroundings.

He looked at the Heroes and then at me. “You didn’t wait for me,” he said with dismay.

Alexis stepped up to pat him on the tail. “There, there. It’s okay, you didn’t miss anything big.”

“Really? Oh, thank Mother!” He blinked, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh. Hello, Mother.”

Miranavisr’s eyes were full of mirth as she said, “Vathaz.”

“Um, I’ll just sit back here and watch. Don’t mind me.” The azure dragon turned back to Alexis and whispered much too loudly. “Tell me what I missed, after, alright? Please.”

Miranavisr cleared her throat, futilely struggling to bring back the solemnity of the moment. “As I was saying — you’ve made your choice. You’ll be challenging the gods, no matter how ill-advised the endeavor seems. What you lack is a clear path, but this is something I can provide, if at least partially.”

I nodded, spying Al’vathazen at the edge of my vision as he gaped in shock.

“There are many things I know that could help you — but, as you’ve seen, a powerful geas compels me to silence. It doesn’t, however, stop me from telling you what you should do — and that is something that you should have become quite familiar with, recently.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

“A dungeon. You can find what you need — and the key to reaching the gods — in a dungeon. One specific dungeon that’s been around since the beginning of… time, and holds records you won’t find anywhere else.”

Sarah sighed. “Great. More sailing. At least Winnie’s out of the hold, now.”

Miranavisr laughed. “Not so fast, little one. The dungeon I speak of is right here,” she said as she tapped the ground with a claw.

My eyebrows shot up. “I hadn’t realized there even was a dungeon on this island.”

“None know of it, except for the dragons. And even among my kind, only few are allowed to step foot inside the Dragon’s Eye Dungeon.”

“Is it dangerous?” David asked. “Like, more than usual?”

Miranavisr nodded. “Very. More of my kin have died in this dungeon than of any other cause. Truthfully, the reason I have made my lair here is not to protect the dungeon from intruders, but rather to stop any misguided youth from entering.” She pinned Al’vathazen with her gaze. “And no, you can’t go.”

Al’vathazen’s wings drooped. “I didn’t ask!”

“You were going to.”

“No! I—” he turned to see Alexis shaking head at him. “—okay, I was. But I can take them to the entrance, at least? Please?”

“Uh, did we decide we’re going?” David asked. “Sounds like it’s certain death.”

“Were you not determined just a few minutes ago?”

“To kick some gods’ asses, yeah. Not to commit suicide.”

“Arguably, those are the same thing,” Shiro countered.

“Seriously, though.”

“I assume you believe we would fare better than your kin?” I asked the dragoness.

She nodded. “Mm. My kind’s youth, they are an impulsive sort. They go in alone, unprepared, as their whims take them.”

Alexis looked around worriedly. “Yeah, I don’t think we have them beat in that department, really.”

Miranavisr smiled wryly. “Perhaps not, but there are 7 of you. Having people to watch your back is invaluable.”

Winnie snorted.

“My apologies,” the dragon queen said as she inclined her head. “There are 8 of you.”

“It sounds like that’s settled, then. Where can we find this dungeon?”

“Follow me. I’ll show you to the dungeon’s border.”