All I have known was darkness... All I have heard was silence... All I have felt was.. nothing... How long have I existed in this place? ___________________________________________________________________________________

The Forgotten Dungeon My life started the day the light appeared, and with it came a sound. Many sounds. I could see small cracks appearing in my surroundings as the noise got louder. Then, Bang! "Ha! I found it. That old dwarf was telling the truth!" It was the first words I ever heard.

I cannot say I saw what was going on. I somehow just knew everything around me, not that there was anything to see. The chamber is roughly twenty by twenty, with a shattered coffin in the center and two broken statues placed on each side. I guess I know what all the racket was now. As I distractedly took all of that in, I noticed strange diagrams covering every surface. (I wonder if that is some language.) Well, this is new… Sure beats the never-ending darkness or the silence. If I could shudder, I would. While still disoriented, the person grabbed me and ran. Straight out through the exit to the chamber, he never stopped moving like something was on his trail. Actually, it is probably better to say like a thief who got his prize.

While my strange new companion was running, a screen appears that seems to float directly in front of me.

{You have entered Asgard's lower levels. The previous owner is no longer present. Would you like to claim a dungeon?}

Strange, but let's see what happens. I said, "Yes. — Nothing?"

{Insufficient Mana, Required mana 100,000- current mana 0}

I will put that on pause for now. Nevertheless, on the plus side, I know where I am. So, where am I going?

First, let's look at my would-be rock napper. Yep, I checked. I am a rock, well, a crystal, a brown crystal, to be exact. I wonder how I can talk to this stranger? No, Focus Nalle, wait, where did that name come from? Distracted for a moment, I decided to leave those thoughts for now. At the same time, returning to my new friend. Another screen pops up.

{Scan complete.}

Name—?? (*) Race—Undead Human (*) Class—?? (*) Level—??

Well, that was informative… The strange man looked at me and let out a laugh. "That was rude; you could have asked." It would seem I will have to be more careful when scanning people. "Well, little Nalle, my name is Therlion Illiarth. I am an Undead Human. My class is Reaper, and my level is 99. That should fill in that box." Therlion looked down at the little rock with a grin.

Nalle? I suppose that is me considering the context. I could not believe he gave me all his information, although considering his level, I suppose he is not all that worried about me doing anything to him. Also, it is not like I Can tell anyone as I do not have a mouth. Anyhow, his screen now reads like this.

Name — Therlion Illiarth (*) Race — Undead Human (*) Class—Reaper, Level—99

While I was checking out his updated status, another prompt appeared, this one all red and flashy.

{23:49 hours until mana depletion, claim a territory to begin the extraction process.}

Since I cannot speak, how can I let Therlion know I am on a deadline? I try forcing my thoughts toward the man, but I notice nothing happening until a screen popped up.

{ would you like to share notification with Therlion Illiarth?}

Therlion Pauses for a split second when I say yes, then a smile spreads on his face. "Do not worry, little Nalle, when we get out of this annoying fellow's territory. I will find a nice hole in the ground for you."

"Okay," While you worry about that, I will analyze myself. I am bound to learn something useful. Also, "I am going to talk…. think, whatever, as if you can hear me. Is that okay with you? Great, here we go."

{Name, Nalle. Race, Dungeon core, (no rank) (all attributes locked)}

"So that is how you knew my name, and how can my core be unranked?" Maybe things will change when I build my dungeon.

Therlion ran for a good hour through the twisting tunnels. While I scanned everything I saw, not that I saw much, this guy runs fast. However, I memorized quite a few of the strange symbols carved all over the place. Well, I think I am memorizing them, but there is this strange sensation that I have seen them all before. Well, not that surprising as apparently I was entombed down here in the past. Although I am distracted, I cannot help but wonder how that crazy undead can remember all these turns.

Therlion stopped, his face twisted into an angry scowl. "Dammit! We should have been out of the lower levels by now." He looked around the many hallways and back from where he came. "Where is the exit? It should have been here!"

He looked at me, and almost instantly, that scowl on his face turned into a deranged grin and said. "When you get lost in a maze, just go in a straight line." Therlion let out manic laughter as he held out his hand. A glowing black and silver scythe materialized in his grasp.

I could feel something powerful focus its attention on us. Well, mostly Therlion. Since it did not seem interested in me, I kept my focus on the glowing scythe that had materialized out of thin air. "How did you do that?" The scythe was around eight feet long with a three-foot blade. Not exactly practical for fighting in a cramped tunnel, but cool, anyway. (cool, where did that come from, what does that have to do with the cold?) I tried to have the system scan it, but all I got was many question marks. With a mad laugh and a swing of his scythe, Therlion Illiarth destroyed the wall. Although I could not see far, we both noticed the walls were repairing at an alarming speed. I stared transfixed at the diagrams that seemed to pulse with power. It seemed the more energy that flowed into the designs, the faster the walls repaired themselves.

I am also beginning to see more patterns in the diagrams, like, for instance, on Therlion's right, there is a gap in the designs in the shape of a door. "Hey, what is behind that hidden door?" Oh yeah, he cannot hear me. Of course, there was no reply. I need a face so I Can scowl at my undead friend.

Therlion shot forward at his fastest speed, and when he reached the end, he shoulder checked the wall. It upset me at the sudden sprint; I wanted to watch the magic in the walls longer. "Be careful; what if you drop me? What if I get a scratch. It will ruin my flawless beauty." Well. Nearly flawless, I found a minuscule chip missing on my gem body. After a good fifteen more feet, we exploded out of the side of a cliff, or so I assume, since there is nothing below Therlion's feet. After my slight disorientation, to my surprise, Therlion just stopped. Yeah, he stopped in midair. He turned around and waved at something. Suddenly, a voice that sent vibrations through my crystal core came out of nowhere. Which, for me, did not mean much.

"THERLION! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY TERRITORY!?".

"Hey, stop shouting. You will shatter my core," I silently shout back. I really want a mouth.

Therlion just chuckled and responded with a wave of his hand, saying, "I just stopped by to grab a gift for my lovely daughter. I am sure my old friend Thorgan would not begrudge me that."

Thorgan replied, "DON'T TALK RUBBISH TO ME, THERLION! YOU DON'T HAVE A CHILD!"

"Well, maybe not, but I have descendants," huffed Therlion. Then looked at me, "Well, my little rock friend, it seems I am not getting out of here without a fight." After a pause, he thoughtfully added. "Perhaps I should have coughed up that five coppers for that old ratty map. However, the man selling it looked a tad too shifty to trust. Besides, how would he get a map? Last I heard, Aleana and Darnath are the only ones who bothered to search the entirety of Asgard." Therlion looked back at Thorgan. With another fit of giggles, he started humming with power.

"HA! THERLION, I HAVE NOT HAD A GOOD FIGHT SINCE YOU LEFT ME HERE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO; THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!". He hit Therlion in the face with a massive stone fist, and as he dropped me, I finally got a look at the loud person? Maybe Rock man would be more apt. I tried to analyze it, but unfortunately, I fell too fast.

I may not experience how the battle progressed, but I can guess as earth-shaking explosions were happening all around. However, the fight was always outside my line of sight. However, I did get closer to a few Diagrams that seem to permeate the entire place. It was amazing every time there was an explosion nearby. There would be an increase in the energy coursing through them.

According to the timer on that irritating notification, the battle lasted over twelve hours. These boys have way too much energy, if you ask me. I would think it was more serious if I could not hear them laughing and saying corny things like trying this one out, and I have been working on this one for a such-and-such time.

When the battle was over, I heard a familiar voice of Therlion and a much subdued Thorgan chuckling not too far away. "Did they forget about me?"

"Hey Therlion, how are the rest of the gang these days? This is the first time one of you came by since they bound me to this old ruin." Said Thorgan.

"Thorgan, you still have rocks for brains; you are bound here because you went berserk," Therlion stated as he crossed his arms. "This was the only way the damn adjudicators would allow you to continue living."

"Went Berserk, adjudicators. What happened? Give me details — or ignore me, that is fine too."

"Besides, we all have better things to do than babysit a rock head like you," Therlion said as he retrieved me from where I landed.

"Whatever, so what is the deal with the rock? I can sense it has a soul, but that is about it." Thorgan asked.

"It is a dungeon core. Did you forget how to read.." Therlion replied. "That crazy old dwarf, Darnath, sent me to get it. Although I have a feeling, there is something else going on. Why is a dungeon core entombed in Mathews's grave? also, how did Darnath know it was there?"

"Oh, how is he doing, still trying to clean that rot in the capital? — Now, there is a thankless job!" Remarked Thorgan.

Therlion shrugs and says. "It is not so bad there anymore. I can at least walk around and not get hit with a cleanse undead spell now. Well, so long as I stay clear of those twitchy light mages."

"How did Darnath manage that? Last I checked that Pope had a substantial amount of influence on the mainland." Asked Thorgan.

That was the simple part. He killed the pope, burned all their temples to the ground, and demanded the rest leave the mainland, never to return. I do not know where they ended up, as none of the nearby island nations would accept them after Darnath made his stance clear. Since none of the other religions were trying to control the world, he ignored them but gave them a strict warning by annihilating the church of light.

They entranced me with their conversation that went on for hours; I kept trying to ask for more detail on a few things, but neither could hear me. Unfortunately for me, there reminiscing took too long, and my timer hit zero. As my consciousness faded, a mysterious voice said, "My little Nalle, rest for a while longer. It is not yet time for you to begin your adventure."