Asa clutched her burnt hand, sinking to her knees as the world rumbled. Was this an earthquake? Cracks appeared along the walls, and she squinted through the debris raining down as the bats rushed by her. Their wingbeats furious and thundering, they vanished through the dark exit.

Her right hand was badly burnt, the skin of her palm dark red and glistening. The blade she’d dropped was buried to the hilt in the black tiled floor. How sharp was that thing? When the rumbling finally stopped, she saw a red status on the bottom left of her vision.

BURN

“Great,” she said, gritting her teeth as she summoned a Slime Jelly on her burnt hand. She crushed it with her other and shut her eyes as the warm goo dribbled down her arm. The pain faded to a gentle murmur, but the status wouldn’t disappear. Her hand was still red and swollen.

The Slime restored her hearts, but maybe there was something else for burns. Asa took a deep breath and curled her burnt fingers into a fist. Pain shot through her arm, and she fell to her knees again, crying out.

She’d just have to fight lefthanded. But what to do about the dagger?

It didn’t burn her when she picked it up before. It didn’t burn her when the screen came up to describe it. Was it when she squeezed the hilt? When everything started shaking?

She didn’t want to touch it again, but then she had a thought. Wasn’t it hers now that she’d held it? Asa willed it into her inventory, just as she did with the drops she gotten from the Slimes and the Cursed Bones, and to her delight, the weapon vanished.

There it was in her inventory screen. The damage count still two question marks. Another tremor rocked the ground. This one lasted a brief moment. But what had scared the bats so much?

She stood, her legs still shaking, her throat dry. She almost fell when the world shuddered again, but she stamped her foot firmly and remained standing, clutching her throbbing hand.

Then it shook again, and this time Asa knew what it was. Footsteps. Heavy ones caused by something large and monstrous. Whatever it was, it was headed for her. She knew that with every fiber of her being.

She ran out of the exit, the quakes more frequent and closer together now. It was speeding up, its steps sounding like war drums. Asa found herself at the foot of a stairwell, spiraling upward. “Of course,” she said, gritting her teeth. She clutched the rail with her good hand and hurried, hopping up the steps as fast as she could.

The rumbling was consistent, a bit slower than her own steps. Before long, her legs were burning, sweat made her shirt heavy, and the pain in her hand was unbearable.

Another crashing sound made her stumble, bruising her knee against a step. She cried out, steadying herself with her burnt palm against the wall, biting her lip to hold back tears. Chunks of the stairwell fell apart ahead, and underneath was nothing but the dark void.

She saw a vine-swinging amidst the debris, and she leaped towards that, grabbing it with her good hand. It gave away in her grip, hissing as it lunged for her, and Asa realized it was a snake.

“Oh god, no,” she shouted, letting go of the vine and falling. A screen flickered for a moment, but the snake dropped out of view. Her foot struck the wall, and it was enough of a push for her to grab the next step and pull her body up. Breathing hard, she looked down into the void but could see no sign of the snake.

She was caked in dust and sweat, but she had to keep running. Things crawled on the steps and the walls. Little screens hovered over them momentarily, but she didn’t need to pause and read their names to know they were spiders and other creepy things squirming and running in the dark. Fuck spiders.

At the top was an opening that led into a corridor. Distinct drawings were etched into the dark tiles, swirling lines that depicted women dancing around something. It looked like the sun, emanating energy. Asa paused for a second to study it, clutching her chest and breathing hard, when something shot out of the wall and struck her in the belly.

Asa doubled over in pain, reaching for the thing. “What the hell?”

It was a rock. A rock with a tongue that was licking the sweat off her shirt. The blue screen trembled over it.

Living Stone - 25 HP

“Get off me,” she said, gripping it like a baseball and hurling it at the wall. The torches here were brighter, and with every rumble of the dungeon, dust fell from the ceiling. Drops glimmered where she’d killed the stone, but she didn’t care enough to check.

Just as she got up to run, another stone struck her in the back of her head. “Fuck,” she said, nearly falling forward. It was tangled in her hair, licking her scalp. She tried to pull it off, but it was caught deep in her bun, and the rumbling felt even closer now. The vibrations went into her core; she had to keep running.

Leaving the stone to lick her head, Asa hopped over a snake. Something brushed her feet, something furry and mooselike, but it ran ahead too quickly for her to glimpse the screen. The rocks sprung off the wall and hit her repeatedly, latching onto her skin. Two found her back. One on her hip. One more hit her in the center of her ass and lodged itself between her cheeks.

Despite that strange sensation, Asa couldn’t stop. The thing chasing her was so close, she could almost picture its monstrously giant form. Its crashes were so loud now that she swore her brain rattled inside her skull with each step. A little rock licking her ass was nothing compared to whatever was destroying the dungeon to come after her.

The licking felt good at least, and she checked her wrist to see her hearts were still three. The stones did very little damage. Or maybe her shirt provided enough armor. Would the damage add up over time? If she’d had some pants, then these stones might not be a bother at all.

A larger crash made Asa lose her footing, and she tripped forward as two more stones struck her in the back. More cracks ran through the walls, and she looked up to see the ceiling crumble. She rolled when a large rock dropped towards her, and sat up against the wall, breathing hard. That would have crushed her.

A different sensation throbbed between her thighs, something other than the rocks licking her. It was a Slime, glistening between her legs, wriggling from the vibrations as it slid into her. She was about to summoning a bone to strike it, but she spotted a familiar creature wriggling on top of the rock, wings flapping in desperation. It was one of the bats. Ignoring the Slime, she put away the bone and approached the rock.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, reaching out to touch the bat. It paused to stare at her with its dark beady eyes, one of its wings clearly broken. The floor still rumbled, the Slime wriggled inside her, and the stones licked her all over, but Asa reached out and placed her hand lightly on the bat’s head.

It hissed for a moment, but then nudged her with its nose.

“That’s it,” she said. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She held out her hand, and it sniffed her fingers before climbing on. She moved it to her injured arm, and held the bat against her chest, letting it snuggle against her. It licked her burnt palm, and Asa shuddered as the Slime slipped deeper inside her.

She looked up to see where the rock had fallen from. Then she looked back down the corridor. The walls were falling apart, the floor shook with each rumbling sound. If she kept running like this, she’d never make it, not while carrying the bat. She bit her lip, climbed onto the large rock, and decided to take a shortcut.

Squatting down, Asa tried to ignore the living stones licking her and the Slime squirming as it wrapped around her waist. The bat purred gently. She counted to three, then she sprung up with a cry and made it through the hole.

Asa landed on her feet with a thud and almost fell backward when another tremor ran through the ground. She clutched the bat closely as she stepped away from the hole. They were in a large hall with pillars and stained glass all around. The ceiling here was high up, and she felt like she was in a temple or a church. There were more drawings here of women bowing around a stained-glass hole at the center. Sunlight shone through, drenching everything in pink and blue hues, and Asa felt hope again. She must be close to the exit now.

The rumbling had stopped. Had she lost her assailant? Or was it trying to figure out how to get to her now? Cluttering sounds made her turn. She saw several Bursed Bones creeping towards her. They sauntered out from behind the pillars, arms outstretched.

“Shit,” she whispered, looking from one grinning skull to the other as they closed in from every side. A bone materialized in her free hand, but she couldn’t fight them all like this. The Slime was dripping down her thighs now, restricting her movement.

She slid the bone into its jiggling body, and it plopped off with a shudder. Just when she thought she’d have to place the bat down and deal with the skeletons, the wall behind her erupted, and the entire world shuddered violently.

The Cursed Bones collapsed into piles of dust. Countless bats flew out of the darkness, and then Asa saw what had been chasing her. The blue screen flickered over its head.

Corrupted Goddess - ?? HP

It was the statue from before, she realized. But it was much larger now, its head reaching the ceiling. Then its lips parted, and it screamed.

Voices flooded her head, her entire body vibrating, as she covered one ear and nearly collapsed. The bat struggled against her breasts, but she didn’t let it go. Willing her legs to work, Asa turned and broke into a sprint despite the aching in her muscles.

The statue screamed again, and now the footsteps felt even heavier. The entire structure rumbled with its steps, but Asa didn’t dare look back. The whispering was back in her head in multitudes. There were so many voices, she thought her head would burst.

Asa….

Come to me…

Join me…

Be whole with me…

Give in…

She found more steps, but she bounded down them several at a time. The statue stomped after her. At that size, it had to be heavy and slow, but why did she feel like it was gaining? Why were the voices getting louder and louder in her head?

She slipped once but managed to stay upright. There were more statues here, smaller ones of women in several positions and holding items. Asa wanted to study them and the paintings, but she ran without stopping, hoping they wouldn’t come alive and chase her.

More bats screeched overhead, promoting the one in her arms to cry out as well. She was almost at the exit. The statue had to be right behind her; the tremors were so close.

Her foot stepped into something that gushed, and for a horrifying second, she thought the Slime would trap her. She threw the bat with all her might at the exit. It fluttered for a second halfheartedly before vanishing into the blinding sunlight.

Asa slid on her ass, her momentum propelling her forward on the Slime against the black stone tiles, and she tumbled into the sunlight, rolled on the grass, and came to a stop against a rock. She’d made it out!

Wheezing and squinting from the sudden brightness, she saw that the place actually was a temple. It was a large and looming structure with great pillars on each side of the entrance. The statue stood in the shadows, towering over the world. Asa looked up at its angry face, its hair wild as if every strand had come alive. Its breasts were larger, and moss and vines snaked around its grayish body. She realized it couldn’t leave the temple.

QUEST COMPLETE: The Living

The statue turned and stepped back into the dark temple and vanished. Asa collapsed on the grass, staring up at the blue sky, breathing hard as the Slime that had saved her life wriggled up her belly.

She almost felt bad about slitting it open with a bone, but she crawled towards the bat, holding the Slime Jelly in her hand.

“It’s alright,” she whispered, sitting up and pulling the struggling creature onto her lap. Her head was spinning, and she was exhausted, but she knew the bat was in pain too. She pressed the jelly to its dark wing, and it went still, staring up at her with those dark eyes.

Then once the jelly had evaporated, it hopped off and stretched both wings. It glanced at her for a moment, as if in gratitude, then leaped off and flew towards the trees.

Asa checked her hearts. Still three, but why was her head splitting? Her breathing was still out of control. Was it the burn status? Adrenaline?

No. She clutched her head. Too many sensations. She could feel the warmth from the sun on her sweaty skin. The heat all over her body. The Living Stones still licking her all over. The voices were gone though, they’d disappeared with the statue.

She grabbed the Stone she sat on and flung it away. She pulled at the others, but even as she removed them, her insides only felt worse. Asa clutched her tummy and threw up violently.

“Fuck,” she gasped, her heart beating so fast that her entire body trembled. She felt upside down, but as she blinked and looked around, she could see every detail vividly, as if her senses had been dialed up to the max. Every leaf on every branch, she could count their veins and smell their aroma. Every crack on the temple’s entrance. Every bug crawling on the grass. Little blue screens flickered over everything, but too quickly for her to focus. Her heartbeat was so loud that all she could hear was endless thunder.

She crawled away from where she’d been sick and collapsed on the grass. Her insides felt too hot, and she was horny now. Asa reached underneath with her good hand and touched herself, remembering the Slime, the rocks that had licked her. She shut her eyes, but just the sensation of her fingertips was enough to make her cry out. She could feel every bead of sweat on her skin, every speck of dust clinging to her. She squeezed her burnt palm into a fist just to distract herself.

Then she felt something different. Something furry against her face.

“Are you back?” she whispered. But it wasn’t the bat. She opened her eyes to see a little blue creature with big blue eyes. Almost like a puppy. A screen fizzed over its head, but the words might as well have been in another language. Her eyes wouldn’t focus on the letters.

Then she heard footsteps. Asa looked up to see an old man. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt and pants and carrying a staff, but she could see everything. The many wrinkles on his face, his freckles, every single strand of his beard. She could see through his robe. His muscular form. His cock. She imagined it growing. She could taste his scent with every shaking breath, and she blushed.

She pulled her shirt down to cover her ass, but she couldn’t get herself off the ground “Who are you?” she asked, croaking out the words, trying to ignore the information flooding her mind. The old man’s sweat. The birds singing overhead. The insects buzzing. The breeze running through the leaves. The sweat dripping down her back. How hot and wet she was between her thighs. She felt she might be sick again, but she didn’t want to raise her head.

The man said something, but she couldn’t understand. For a moment, she thought she was lying face down on a hospital bed. Doctors stabbed her spine with needles. She could see a woman’s face and a guy’s face through a viewing window, both tear-stricken and exhausted.

She felt the old man fling her over his shoulder, a rough hand against her ass to keep her steady.

Where are you taking me? she wanted to ask, but the words wouldn’t form on her heavy tongue. She saw the blue creature tilt its head to study her, then it climbed up the man’s leg, onto her back, before perching happily on her buttocks.

Asa blinked a few times, but then surrendered, her arms swinging with the man’s every step. Sweat dripped off her face and hair. Wherever the man would take her, it would be better than the temple. She felt darkness cloud her mind, clouding all her senses, and she shut her eyes.