In my younger days as an adventurer, there was a time when I felt like I had the whole world at my fingertips. Drunk with power, I began to think that I was on the path of glory and that the feeble washed-up sparks I could conjure up were some amazing and incredible flames the like of which the world had never seen. I was delusional... and because of this, one day I made a big mistake.

Six years had passed... There was only one year left before the appointed time for the Ritual of Suppression. Just one more year until we would have to face the anger of the surface kingdoms.

There were countless changes that were made to the World Core and the Hidden Floor below it. From the way the people who lived there interacted with each other to the layout and details that made it so unique. One of them became the grand theater of the battle that was to come, while the other was turned into a new home for those who had been forced to live apart for so long.

Our emotional explosion was unexpected, a miracle that made me realize the horrible truth that I was hiding in my heart.

Who knew that I would need to be reborn in a different body and allow myself to ponder such deep matters time and time again in order to finally see what my foolishness had been trying to hide? Now, free of it, I felt like there was no more burden on my heart and that I could finally look forward towards a different future.

My curiosity soared, this time in a better and a healthier direction.

Old age was something that caught up to me unexpectedly. By the time my beard grew long and glorious, wrinkles and white hair already started to adorn my face.

I can remember even now how one day, I was looking at my reflection in the calm waters of Lake Noknuwn perplexed by the old man looking back at me. When I realized that it was my own reflection, sadness and powerlessness overwhelmed me. I was old and wrinkly; my youth had faded away.

The moment we sat back down at the conference table, I looked up at Yandrea as various thoughts and questions took form in my old mind.

This entire dungeon, this mega structure she built with her own energy, which she spent decade after decade building up brick by brick... could she abandon it? Could she leave it if needed be to flee from those above? Moving her Crystal Body was not as difficult as it seemed, there were countless Dungeons who upon feeling threatened by adventurers would often hide in some hole they made for themselves like a turtle pulling their head into their shell. As long as another group din not find their air hole on the surface or the attackers inside did not smash through the wall protecting them, it was impossible to destroy the Dungeon.

History has told many stories. Some turned from a simple tale of success into a legend or myth, while others vanished without a trace. Within the annals of history, there were many moments which could be considered as major turning points, when the victor turned into the loser and a kingdom seemingly about to vanish without a trace, through a twist of fate, become the strongest force known at that time. Whether the death of a tyrant was actually the fall of the hero or the other way around was something that only future historians could argue about. When you lived in that time, the side you chose was that of the hero and the other one that of the tyrant.

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.

My gaze, filled with fear and regret, followed the Watchers from afar as they left this floor. Their joyous laughter and carefree attitudes… how I both hated and envied them.

A single mistake, a wrong step, an accidental trap discharge was all that would take to end them. The pain in my Crystal Body was enough reason for me to pursue this action. It stung and hurt as ripples of pain were sent throughout it.

Yandrea brought me in a hurry to a place that was hidden deep beneath the big pyramid in the middle of her lowest most dungeon floor. There was no exit from this place, no corridor that connected it to the upper floors. It was completely disconnected from Yandrea’s Dungeon Territory, which meant that it functioned on its own Magic Energy reserves.

The Godlike Dungeon who rules over this vast dungeon was in a way three different individuals... There was the Yandrea that those who lived on the surface knew about, the tamed pet of the royals. There was the Yandrea that Tuby knew, the domineering and powerful Dungeon Lord who held everyone at her fingertips. And lastly, there was the Yandrea who only a few knew off and out of them... none had lived to tell the tale.

Where I sent Tuby right now, that was the place where this third one could be found... the one who was locked up behind lock and key deep inside my heart.

The conversation of those three kept repeating in my head as I made my way back home. Instead of heading up, I took a moment to rest and calm down. I sat down next to the golden stairs of the pyramid and got lost in the scenery.

From time to time, there were the guards who passed by, whom I greeted with a weak smile. Looking at them, I could not help but wonder if they were there to protect my wife or if they were there to keep her in check? Various thoughts and ideas were forming rapidly in my mind; many of which were doubting absolutely everything that she had told me so far.

One would think that there was not much to do on a single dungeon floor and that in a couple of days, at best, they would be able to learn it by heart, however, this was only the case for a regular one that was almost mathematically calculated to end up like this. In case of this place, however, you would be forgiven if you believed that it was the result of a natural formation.

A relationship built on lies was one that would often find itself crumbling down faster than a tower of cards during an earthquake. The truth always had the uncanny ability to poke its head out of even the most forgotten sealed tombs. Even if thousands of years would pass, in the end, some way or another, it would reveal itself.

In a similar manner, my old age and wisdom was also once revealed and expressed towards the world by my magnanimous beard that was lost to the ages, forgotten like a majestic hero that once ruled the battlefields... ah, my poor beard!

Two weeks had passed since I discovered those suspicious ornaks and heard of the name Azur’Kar. I have had plenty of chances to explore around the ornak settlement, and as Yandrea’s husband, as long as these monsters were bound to her through a summon or a spell, I had nothing to worry about. According to my knowledge as a former teacher and expert on Dungeons, I knew that there was a definite difference between a spouse contract and a slave one. The latter was limited to both the area of action and interaction with the Dungeon’s traps and monsters, while the first was the equivalent of having the actual Dungeon Core there. A spouse could move with unlimited freedom and no trap or monster would act out against them unless the Dungeon himself or herself wanted to.