Nether Dungeon Present Day

Entrance has been carved out successfully. Congratulations on announcing yourself to the world. Create monstrosities, breed deceit, grow, expand, evolve, but always remember to HAVE FUN!!

Woo-hoo! We finally have a path to the surface. So now the waiting game begins.

“So, Umbra, how long before someone shows up to check out the dungeon?” Alaric asked, anxiousness creeping into his voice.

Umbra took her sweet time before answering. She flew around him in small figure eights, before landing on top of him.

“Don’t worry so much. For most planets it takes around a week, sometimes years before anyone notices a new dungeon. Although the breach storm may have given away our location, if there are no cities nearby then we may be in for quite a wait. But let's forget about when or where some adventures might come from for a moment, because I just got a notice and it's a good one! See, look!” Umbra beamed from the top of Alaric’s core.

Congratulations little dungeon fairy. Your bonded dungeon has breached the surface and is now capable of hosting adventure. As for you, your job will be getting more exciting. Since you are bonded to a Blessed Dungeon you are now able to go on expeditions in order to acquire new patterns and items for the core of the dungeon.

“Umbra this is amazing, I was wondering how we could get more stuff around here.” Alaric responded to the much welcomed message from Umbra. Unfortunately, Umbra on the other hand did not seem as pleased as her eternal partner. She slowly lifted herself into the air hovered in front of the general direction he was currently focusing on and pouted.

“Oh of course you would be all the happier about this. You don’t have to go out and risk yourself, just stay here safe and sound protected by a small army of goblins, while little old me has to brave the dangers of this world. Oh, woe is me.”

Alaric almost answered Umbra with a half-assed apology and words of encouragement, but he somehow managed to pick up on the sarcasm in her voice.

“Sarcasm is not very becoming of you.” Alaric said.

“Yeah, but it was pretty fun to watch your reaction. Anyway, the expeditions let you assign me some monster to go along and help. So, I won’t exactly be alone, plus I don’t know if you noticed but I’m pretty strong for a dungeon fairy.” Umbra beamed back at Alaric. “Now let's check out the entrance before we get distracted again.

After waiting five minutes for Umbra to fly back up to the first floor. A fact I rubbed in her face, we finally laid eyes on the entrance, and it was disappointing, just a massive cave on the wall on the first floor. I expect more.

“I can feel you grumbling through our bond Alaric. Take a deep breath or something, we have to pass through the cave to reach the real entrance.”

I knew that I was just testing her. Naw I don’t even believe this lie. I really had thought this was the whole entrance to my dungeon. Going in the cave or watching Umbra fly through was creepy, it didn’t so much as open up to the outside as it sort of swallowed up all light around and beyond it.

When we arrived on the other side I drew in a deep metaphorical gasp of surprise. A decently sized room awaited on the other side. The far end had a set of stairs leading up to the outside world while in the center of the room there was an image that I knew all too well, my core, in all its seven colored glory.

As I gathered myself, Umbra caught my attention. She was just floating in the air looking back the way we came. So as any sensible core would do, I changed my vision perspective to get a look at what held her attention.

When it came into view again, I was curious as to why an open door frame would have caught her attention. It wasn’t the door frame that caught her attention. Above the frame was a mural, it was then that I noticed that the rest of this room wasn’t empty. Scattered around were six other doors each with a mural above it. The only outright difference besides the murals was that the other doors were closed tight. Once I finished taking this sight in my attention was drawn back to the mural above the door we came from.

The all-consuming figure of a violent warrior clad in blood-red armor, highlighted in black stood out against a backdrop of conflict; there were smaller creatures around it killing and destroying the lands it stood on, yet none dared to get too close to the central figure. Its piercing red eyes shone from a scarred helmet and hair of molten magma flowed down stopping at the shoulders. Great gauntlets possessing serrated spikes on each knuckle gripped a massive ax in one hand while a tornado whirled in the other. It had an eerie curve here and there as if someone tried to make one hyper sexualized set that you would normally see in an mmo. I mean seriously it even had breasts. Yet that was not as strange as the fur that covered certain parts, kind of like it was wearing an extra set of clothes. I could have sworn the figure was glaring back at me but that can’t be right?

“Alaric, whatever you thought to get this reaction from her please stop!” Umbra screamed at me.

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“I know you don’t think you did anything, but she doesn't care about that. Apologize and stop looking at the mural!”

“Apologize to who?”

“Havoc Matron of Devastation”

Oh, so this is Havoc. “Um so uh great and mighty Havoc please forgive me for what I have done.”

I don’t think my apology worked as the red glare of Havoc’s eyes intensified and I could actually feel the air in my dungeon start to heat up. Umbra crumpled to the floor sweating and panting, and parts of the entrance were actually starting to melt. How is it I manage to piss off beings infinitely stronger than myself? I thought I would have better luck in my second life.

“Luck has nothing to do with it. Havoc is just a bitch sometimes. Anyway, don't worry about her, you have business with me now!”

Great another voice, like I don’t have enough to worry about.

“For someone who has had actual contact with Gods you forget we can hear your thoughts just as easily as we can hear your voice. You should really work on that habit, it might save your life one day. Either way head back to your core room. I have a gift for you, and I’m sure your fairy could use a break from all this.”

Not having a choice in the matter, I wait for Umbra to gather herself and together we head back to my core room. All the while I wondered which of the Nether Gods this voice belonged to. I held back on asking Umbra because she still looked a little out of it from the heat earlier. So, in silence I followed her as she floated along.

When we arrived, Umbra froze and paled once again. I hadn’t seen her do this since Ruin spoke to us. I get that this is one of the Nether Gods, but he looks pretty plain to me: old beat up sneakers, black jeans, a long black hoodie, and a white mask. Not the terrible image I was expecting.

“Ok so who are you and why is it every time one of you speaks or appears Umbra gets scared?” I screamed no longer caring if I died or not.

“Brave and caring, I knew I made the right choice with you. To answer your question, one all fairies are afraid of me and two they are more sensitive to our presence than you. Happy, good on important business. This is for you HAVE FUN.” With those words he dropped an egg in front of me and disappeared.

All that for an egg, a huge egg but still an egg. At least Umbra seems to be getting better.

“So, Umbra, feeling better now?” I asked with care.

“I’m getting better, so what did the Fiend leave us anyway?”

“An egg.”

“Really, so there's nothing special about it?”

“I didn’t check, let me see.”

Leviathan Egg

Sex: ???

Species: Core Guardian, ??? Leviathan

Time to Hatch: 3 days

“Says it's a core guardian, leviathan egg. Any clue what that is? Not that I’m dumb Umbra I know what a leviathan is but not what the importance of a core guardian is.”

“Oh, right you definitely wouldn’t have heard about this concept before, sometimes I forget you used to be human, it's essentially a specialized monster made for the sole purpose of keeping your core safe from harm. A core guardian is the most powerful monster that will live in your dungeon.”

That sounds nice. So, from my perspective this core guardian is a designated protector. I wonder if it can move through the rest of the dungeon or is it stuck in the core room with me. Something I’ll have to figure out at a later date.

With a tentative plan for the future, time to see what these fairy expeditions are all about. “Umbra, how do you feel about trying out an expedition right now?”

My question immediately got a reaction from her, and an outfit change that I didn’t expect. She twirled around and her usual outfit was replaced by armor that seemed to be made of living shadow. It covered her entire body except for around her arms, legs, and head where it swirled and coiled like a snake ready to strike.

“Oh, you know I am, let's get this started.”

If she's excited I’m excited to see what this is all about.

Attention Intruders Have Entered The Dungeon

Well, that's surprising, it looks like we’ll have to postpone the expedition. I hope Umbra isn’t to upset about this. She wasn’t, in fact Umbra had changed back and was eagerly waiting on me with a bucket of popcorn.

“What are you waiting for, pull them up. This will be good.” Umbra laughed around a mouthful of popcorn.

“I thought you were looking forward to the expedition?” I questioned her.

“I can go on an expedition for you anytime, but I’m not missing the first challengers.”

Tyrannis Plains

Outside the entrance of the brand new dungeon a carriage pulled by two massive red centipedes stopped, and out stepped Martyr Roslyn and Confessor Owen. From around the front of the carriage Ferros dropped down and approached them.

“Inquisitors we have arrived, shall I stay with the carriage and await your return?” Ferros asked his seniors.

“Not this time little Ferros, I slacked off with your training enough. Now it's time to make up for my lack of judgment these past years and treat you the same way that I treated Vassil and Opium when they trained under me.”

Ferros gulped and shrank in on himself. He knew how much Vassil and Opium hated Martyr Roslyn because of her harsh training regime. He had hoped that she had changed, it was quite apparent now that she had not.

“No need to look so down, Ferros this will be good practice for you and the Confessor, and I will be here to help if things get too dangerous.” Roslyn said, trying to reassure the young paladin.

I didn’t help Ferros calm down at all, but it did raise questions for him. Why was the Inquisition here going into a dungeon in the first place, and why did the Martyr stress that anything they discovered about the dungeon would stay between them. Too many questions and not enough answers but it was not his place to question those who had been around far longer than him. He just hoped to make it back to the surface in one piece after this. As they descended the stairs a message greeted him.

You have now entered a dungeon.