[Tuberculus’ point of view]

 

Exhausted mentally and physically, upon returning to her Inner Mind, we both went to bed and allowed ourselves a much needed and undisturbed rest. There was enough time to clear up any and all misunderstandings between us. For now, she knew I was not going anywhere unless she sent me away by force.

Our heated discussion pulled out all sorts of mixed emotions from me... I managed to surprise myself with how much I cared about Yandrea... maybe even more than I did about Nanya? Ah... right, she’s now nothing more than a fragment of my distant past, a memory I cherish, a first love that never came to be... nothing more and nothing less. Someone I could finally let go of.

As for Yandrea, I was only starting to discover her...

Was she a beautiful woman with pink hair that appeared cute in my arms and like a terrifying overlord when in front of others? Was she a glass sculpture of a goddess resting upon a broken past? Was she a warm soul who cared for both the strong and the weak? Was she a woman I desired or simply someone I could get along?

Was I even at the age where I could afford to ask myself such questions? Time had no mercy on me, and while she rejuvenated my body, my heart and mind were still those of an old man. Could I still regain the energy that I once had? From when I was eagerly exploring dungeons in the hope of finding treasures and fame?

Whenever I thought about my past... I could not help but see my years flying by as I desperately tried to learn more about these beings called Dungeons in the hope of understanding Nanya, whom I wished would glance back at me... just like I did at her. No poem could soothe her heart, no play could put a smile on her lips, everything about her was a mystery and none of my courting attempts ever worked. It always felt as though there was this unbreakable, insurmountable wall that kept us at a distance from one another.

I was the fool who devoted his heart to a woman who always looked far into the horizon, far away from me and everyone around her. Like a fly burning in the flame of a candle, so did I burn my life along with my dreams and any prospects of my dignity. The question that was now plaguing my heart, the one true fear that was circling my soul... was it going to be the same with Yandrea but instead of me longing for her, was it going be her longing for me? Would she end up devoting her heart to a man who stared far off into the horizon?

In the silent night, I fell asleep with these questions on my mind. My dreams were anything but sweet... a vision of a burning city with a giant tree in the background. Stars and worlds were hanging on its branches... and there, on top of the highest standing building, an academy of sorts... a single black kitten was looking back at me with eyes like abyssal marbles that trapped the entire sky within them. Between me and that place, there was a market of burning corpses, slowly approaching what appeared to be a pink crystal in the middle. Unlike Yandrea’s body, this one was small and frightened.

I blinked once and a little elf girl with pink hair appeared in front of the crystal. She was crying and trembling in fear, looking back at me with hope still gleaming in her eyes. I blinked again, and I saw Yandrea’s body... broken, shattered, with a shadow-like creatures surrounding her, smiling, laughing. Yandrea was there, looking back me, her tears now made of the blood she spilled. Her gaze was hollow, but her expression was one of an insurmountable pain. I shuddered, and my heart was gripped with regret.

In the dream, I was slowly being pulled away... and when I tried to reach out... I saw a chain clasped to my arm with a rusty iron shackle. Looking down, I followed the chain and saw to whom it was connected.

The other shackle was pristine, the chain turned from rusty to brand new and shiny. The one it was bound to... was Nanya. The woman was in her true form, a demoness with long black hair and sharp eyes, tall, well built, with the curves that could turn the head of many men. Her tail was motionless, hanging low like that of a saddened cat. The horns on her head were gleaming in the night, but the gaze in her eyes was empty... and her beauty ephemeral.

I felt like my heart was being ripped in half. The failures of my past were haunting me even now. Showing me in a sick fashion that I could never be with Yandrea because I was bound to be with the ephemeral vision I had of Nanya.

In the dream, I made a single step towards Nanya but then I stopped. I looked back at Yandrea. The shadows were getting closer to her.

Was it really so difficult to make a choice? I wondered.

On one side, there was the love of my life and on the other side, a passing beauty.

It should not have been hard to choose. It was not meant to be. It felt like right now, right here, in this dream or broken real world, I was going to make the choice that would forever change my life.

Old age did not matter. Her origin did not matter. The way we met did not matter. The way we spent our time so far did not matter. I had to make... a simple choice. It was simple...

I grabbed the rusty chains and then pulled as hard as I could, screaming my lungs out. The shackle shattered and then I ran... I ran as far as I could... holding my hand towards her... My vision turned blurry because of my tears... My heart was beating fast because I knew that if I hesitated even for a fraction of a second, if I allowed a single indecision, a single doubt to disturb my mind, it could destroy the fragile... us.

The dream ended... I was the Master of Flames. No more shadows... no more horizon just one woman in my arms.

When I woke up, I opened my eyes slowly and was met with the endless white space of Yandrea’s Inner Mind. She was already awake, far from me, talking with someone outside. Although I could not hear her, I could tell just by the looks of it that she was serious. Not wanting to disturb her, I closed my eyes and tried to remember as much as I could of that dream. A huge tree with worlds hanging on its branches, a cat, a flaming city... and Yandrea... together with Nanya... the chain and my decision.

After I was sure that I would not forget my dream, I opened my eyes and began to stretch. Not long afterwards, Yandrea flew over and greeted me with a smile.

“Good morning, Tuby!” she hugged me, and I hugged her back.

“Good morning. So, what’s in plan for today?” I asked.

“I’m done hiding, Tuby...” she started “I sent out a call to all the major representatives of the various forces present in my dungeon. We’ll meet up in two days, here. I want to tell them the truth... about us, the world, the future... and let them decide. I don’t know how we are going to face the forces of Ritual of Suppression, but in the coming years, I know we can find a way... we have to.” she held me tight as her voice quivered towards the end.

“We will... and if not, we’ll just have to somehow make a run for it.”

“Yes... we will... or at least you should...” her last words, she spoke to them in a tiny barely audible whisper, which I was not supposed to hear.

The following two days, while we waited for the major representatives to gather, I was brought up to date with everyone that I was supposed to meet during this meeting so that they would not take me by surprise. There were quite a few interesting characters among them. Queen Skara was seen as the ruler of monsters while Yandrea was not present to give them direct orders or a Slave for that matter. I was told she was a gigantic snake monster with an impressive level of wisdom and intelligence. P.A.L was the ruler of all the automatons present in the dungeon. He was the only one who had a bigger body designed specifically for multi-tasking and attack. Then there were the rulers of the villagers and this was where the surprise came. Apparently there were leaders for both the rebellion forces and the officially recognized leaders. As such, there was Mystera Orogaki, a powerful Ellyarian, unmatched in combat. She was the official leader while her husband was Samraus Orogaki, the rebel leader. On the ornak side, there was Mizu’kra Eyo, the shaman and spiritual leader of the ornaks, while her grandson, Pezmo’Va Eyo, was the infamous Azur’Kar. The Lion Emperors were the only ones who did not have a rebel leader. They were led by the Guizbia Shakar, a powerful empress from one of the most powerful prides, the Shakar. Apparently, they were among the first to become recognized and accepted as a guard for Yandrea.

All of these impressive individuals were going to meet together like this for the first time ever since they first drew breath in this dungeon. Queen Skara was never invited to this floor out of fear of being noticed by the Slaves and taken under their control. The rebels and official leaders were supposed to be individuals with no connection to one another but they were just very good actors playing on a grand play of life meant to fool everyone for the sake of a petty royal who wanted a Hero’s story.

Yandrea was used to create false heroes which then received the undeniable loyalty of the people on the top surface. However, the way I saw it; the moment my wife decided to go against them, their entire society, their castle of lies would come falling down. Their reputation, their fame, even their strength would be put into question. This was the reason why they took this entire process so seriously, why a decade of preparation was needed for it to go perfect. The lie had to be fabricated in such a way that even those involved would be fooled by it. As such, the ones who would descend for the Ritual of Suppression would be some of the most powerful figures on this continent.

On the morning of the great meeting, while Yandrea was setting up the place by adding a big table, some chairs and transforming parts of the structure itself to help the bigger guests feel welcome, I took the liberty of taking a small stride outside. The exercise was going to help my blood flow and set my head straight for what was to come.

Going down and then up these colossal stairs would take me at least an hour at normal pace, and it was boring, so I pushed myself off the top of the pyramid with the help of a wind spell and then safely landed near the base. When I did so, the Lion Guards posted here perked their ears up and looked over at me. I smiled back at them and gave them a friendly wave. They replied with a nod.

I decided it was best to start with a light jog from here all the way to the river that surrounded this patch of land. Past that river were the Pringin Plains. There, I was going to stop for a moment to take in the view and then jog around the river until I reached one of the hidden bridges. Instead of crossing it, I would instead head back to the pyramid.

My plan was perfect, except for the fact that as soon as I reached the river, I was met with a rather strange scene...

“Excussse me~! Can you~ help me~ out?” the one who spoke with a song like voice that elongated every ‘s’ sound in her words was a gigantic snake with some sort of dayuk-like water creature that was biting on her tail.

“Erm...” I blinked surprised and looked at the creature that was akin to a little pest trying to annoy a big dragon.

“GRRR! GRRR!” the monster was growling while dangling helpless from the tip of her tail.

It had a body covered with fish scales and a horn in the shape of a lightning bolt sticking out of its forehead. The creature had a canine head fully covered with fur, a fish tail, and webbed feet.

“Thisss thing~ belongsss to the Great One~ I can’t kill it~” she cried.

“Ah... yes... Erm. You there, the monster biting on her tail!” I called out.

“Gnyu?” the creature looked at me.

“Let go of her.” I ordered it hoping that it would listen to me.

The creature released its locked jaw and dropped back into the river with a splash.

“Thisss Queen SSSkara thanksss you~ little one~!” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome!” I smiled back and then realized. “Wait! Queen Skara? The leader of the monsters?” I asked.

“The one and only~!” she nodded her big head.

Now that I took a better look at her, she was exactly like Yandrea described her to be. A gigantic snake body covered mostly with pink scales. Sharp lines made with black scales formed wave patterns that added to her beauty. Rather than considering her to be an imposing and terrifying monster she reminded me more of the cute critters in the Hidden Grove, especially when I heard her complaining about the sea creature biting on her tail. However, her fangs were as big as a human and as sharp as a sword. She could easily cut a knight in half with them, armored up or not. Her eyes were like a pair of dark pink pearls that pierced into your soul, hypnotizing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Queen Skara. My name is Tuberculus. If you are here for the meeting, the gathering is at the top of the pyramid, that way.” I pointed back the way I came.

“Ah! Thank you~!” she said with a snake smile and then slithered away.

“You’re welcome!” I shouted and then turned around to continue my jog.

Of all things, I definitely did not expect that I would get to meet one of those powerful leaders this way. It was a rather hilarious situation but at the same time it was commendable that she did not wish to kill the monster that was just doing its job of protecting this land of any possible intruders. Queen Skara would definitely have no problem wiping out all the monsters in this river if she wanted to.

While running alongside the river, I noticed how calm the waters were. There was nothing to make me even suspect the dangers lurking beneath the surface, on the contrary, it looked inviting, perfect for a cool summer swim. Maybe this was exactly why they were so dangerous in the first place.

Upon reaching the hidden bridge, I noticed someone crossing without a guard or any other entourage following them. It was an automaton with a large body, three heads and six arms. Although imposing, this one had quite a terrifying aspect as well. The black and red armored parts gave it the presence of a powerful warrior golem. If the soldiers were to see this construct on the battlefield, they would immediately be terrified of it. The three heads that displayed different emotions and all of their six arms moving independently as if they had a mind of their own only amplified this imposing image.

Upon noticing me, the middle head turned its stiff expression into a smile and one of its arms waved at me. I waved back and approached him.

“Greetings. I am P.A.L. the currently designated leader of the Automatons. You must be Tuberculus, the current husband of our Great Creator Yandrea.” he spoke with a male’s voice that while it sounded organic it felt different, artificial.

“Yes, I’m Tuberculus. It’s a pleasure to meet you P.A.L.” I replied in a polite tone of voice.

“May I ask why you are here and not at the meeting location?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow on all of its three faces.

“I was just out on a walk, to stretch my legs and getting my blood flowing before the meeting. I’m going to be heading back right now, so I guess I will be accompanying you.” I replied.

“It will be my pleasure.” he bowed his head.

As we walked, he talked about the automatons who were under his leadership. Rather than saying he was a leader, he was just the designated individual to act as one. All the automatons in this place obeyed only Yandrea and considered her to be their absolute leader. The concept was apparently a bit difficult to understand for both the creatures in this dungeon and those who came from above, thus, it was decided that P.A.L. was going to become an intermediary for them.

From what he told me, the labyrinth of the automatons was more like a gathering place where their bodies could be stored or repaired. It did not have the composition of a settlement despite being presented to the world as such. P.A.L considered his kind to be more similar to fine-tuned machines than to the typical golems created with magic. Despite both types requiring a magic crystal to generate the power they needed to function; they were fundamentally different technologies.

Personally, I found my conversation with P.A.L. to be absolutely fascinating, so much so that I did not even realize when we arrived at our destination, the top of the pyramid. As soon as she saw me, Yandrea flew over and told me that it would not be long before the meeting would start.

In this relatively short time, the entire upper floor of the pyramid where her Crystal Body could be found was redesigned into a meeting room fit to welcome all the leaders in this dungeon. To the far right there was a giant archway with rounded edges through which Queen Skara’s giant body could fit in. Only her head and a small part of her body could enter. More than a quarter of this room was dedicated only to her, with fluffy pillows meant to offer her the greatest comfort spread all around. In the other corner of the room was placed the table with the chairs for our guests. It was not the type of furniture that I could use, the table’s height alone reached all the way to my chest level. I felt like a dwarf in the land of giants.

Yandrea’s Crystal Body was surrounded by four obsidian twisted pillars that bent and met in a single point above her. The stairs leading up to her were now gone and replaced with a fence made with twisted metal painted black. They acted only as decoration because right behind them was a thick glass wall with a one-meter thickness enchanted with all sorts of spells meant to ensure her protection. Although not easily visible, there were four air ducts leading to the top of the pyramid, which allowed breathable air to flow inside. The fact that Dungeons still needed to breathe, eat, and drink had always been the one true proof that they were alive for many generations of scholars.

We had no idea how long this meeting would take, so Yandrea turned the other side of the room into an area for recreation and relaxation where she placed a table filled with all sorts of snacks and drinks. There were some specific delicacies of the various tribes that could be found in the settlements here. To be honest, not everything that I laid my eyes on looked appetizing to me. I think that some of that ‘food’ even moved...

When it was time for the meeting to start, everyone took a seat at the table. Queen Skara was on the opposite side, taking up most of the place. I sat down on the other end, right in front of her. To my right were the ornaks and the Lion Emperor or rather Empress. To my right were the ellyarians and P.A.L. The one thing that caught my attention was that the women present here were by far not the lady-like type I was familiar with back on three continents. They had muscular bodies, imposing attitudes, scars to show from their various adventures, and equipment that would make any adventurer salivate. As for the men, they were just as buffed and imposing. All of them demanded the respect and authority that they rightfully deserved. Although, in front of Yandrea, they were all her children... which she wanted to save and help prosper.

Escaping by ourselves... it was easy. Escaping with everyone else or ensuring that they would continue on to prosper if they remained... that was the challenge.