After a thorough search of the second level, which turned up a few piles of crystals and nothing else, we made our way back to the room with the shimmermoss to find Vral just finishing up. Unlike our haul, her pile of harvested moss was truly impressive—it was nearly three feet high.

"Damn," I said as I walked into the room. "That's a lot of moss. Vral. Great job."

Vral beamed with pride, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "I know, I know. I'm pretty great. We'll be half-rich once we get back to the surface!"

"How's it getting back up there?" I knew she wanted me to carry it, but with all the sass she always gave me, I couldn't help but take my shots where I could.

"The fuck you say to me?" Her red eyes fixed on me. "You're carrying it."

"I don't think I want to." I put my hands behind my neck. "I'm all loaded up. Almost overburdened, really. You'll have to carry it."

She rolled her eyes. "If it weren't for all those muscles, why do you think I'd keep you around?" Her words were spoken with a shitty smirk on her face. The uplight from the shimmermoss accentuated the expression. "Get on it."

"Make me." I postured up.

"You think you're stronger than me?!" She placed her fists on her hips and glared up at me.

"We both know I am."

"Tch!" She clicked her black thumbnail on her canine. "You got lucky last time..." She huffed, then stomped her foot. "And, even if you were stronger than me, which you aren't, you'll still end up carrying all of this shit out of here."

"Why do you think that?"

"We need the money! And because I say so."

"So? What if I don't want to?"

"You'll do it." She pointed at Faye, then back at me. "Like Flat Chest said, you might look scary, but you're a big teddy bear."

I snorted. "Yeah, no. I'm not that easy." I was no teddy bear. I was a fucking grizzly. No one pushed me around. "You do it."

"Excuse me for intruding on... whatever this is... but..." Faye glared at Vral. "Flat chest?"

"You heard me. You've got an ass on you, but damn..." She pointed at Tristan. "Elfie's and elfette's twins are small, but you're a board."

Na-Ya looked down at her chest. "Babe, am I small?"

"You're perfect," Ro-Saleh answered with perfect diplomacy. "I wouldn't change a thing."

She sighed. "Thanks..."

"Alex..." Tristan was looking at her chest, too. "Do you think—"

Taking a page from Ro, I answered, "They're perfect. Anything more than a handful is a waste."

"G-good!" My quarter-elven lover perked up.

Faye crossed her arms over her chest. "Vral, who the hell do you think you are?"

Stepping up to the Hero, the little goblin grinned and said, "I'm Vral the Slasher, bitch." Vral puffed her admittedly far more ample chest toward the Hero. "And his woman." She pointed at me. "So don't you forget it!"

For a couple of seconds, Faye looked down at Vral, completely stunned. Then, slowly, a smile cracked her face, and she began giggling. Her giggling turned to laughing, which turned to cackling. Then, through her cackles, she said, "I've missed this so much."

"What?" I asked.

"People treating me like I'm a person." Faye was grinning ear to ear. "Thank you. All of you."

"Y-you're w-welc..." Vral blushed and shuffled. "Well... cause... y-you ain't shit!"

Faye giggled. "Compared to you, I believe it." Faye fell onto a knee and took Vral's hand in hers. "But still, thank you, Vral. You've made me feel like I still exist."

Vral looked simultaneously uncomfortable with and pleased by Faye's words. After a few false starts, she whispered, "You mean it?"

"I do. And, if you'll allow me to say so, I think you're beautiful, even if you don't always see it."

Vral's face turned bright red. "D-damn right, I am!" She puffed her chest out further, nearly toppling herself over, and pointed at Tristan. "Besides me, she's the only woman around who puts me to shame!"

Tristan laughed. "I don't know about all of that, Vr—"

"You're perfect!" Vral snapped, cutting Tristan off, then pointed at me. "Now, pick this shit up, veshkul'tha!" Her long black fingernail was pointing at my throat. "It's time to go!"

"I didn't realize you two were so committed..." Faye murmured.

"You're both my veshkul'tha..." Tristan whispered.

I looked at Tristan. How the hell did she know what that meant?

"Veshkul'tha?" Na-Ya asked. "What's that mean, Tris?"

"I'll let Vral answer that."

"What's that mean, Vral?" I asked.

"M-m-my..." Vral's ears turned red. "My treasure... but it basically means boy toy! Don't get a big head!" Her head snapped away, and she marched toward the secret door. "Ro! Open this thing!"

"Yes, ma'am." Ro walked to the stone wall and pressed the lever. Half of the wall ground inward and disappeared.

"T-thanks!" Vral disappeared into the opening and sighed, the sound echoing out of the tunnel. "... not ready... tell you... much I..."

That was all I could make out, but it was enough.

Chuckling, I walked up to the pile of shimmermoss and piled it into my inventory. The stuff was heavy, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. When I finished, I turned and asked, "You all ready?"

Three nods and a huff answered.

"Let's go."

***

The passage was dark, steep, and narrow. After fifty paces, there wasn't a single glowstone in sight, and the staircase became cramped, making it impossible to walk more than single file. It was more claustrophobic than my old cell in the Pit, and that was saying something.

Taking point, I bumbled my way down the steps, struggling to see more than a few steps in front of my feet. Despite Tristan and Na-Ya both lighting their [Light] spells, the glimmering light barely reached more than five feet in front of me before it ended in a wall of gloom. I'd never seen anything so dark.

What was worse, the further we went, the colder it became. Within a half hour of our descent, my breath started pluming in front of my face. The air was thick with the smell of damp stone and something else, something metallic. Copper? Iron? I couldn't tell. But the smell was everywhere.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Ugh..."

Looking back, I saw that Na-Ya had her hand to her head.

"I'm okay..." She shook her head. "It's just... it's heavy down here."

Ro took her hand in his. "I have you."

Nodding, we continued until the tunnel shifted. "Careful," I warned the others as I navigated a particularly treacherous section of the stairs. After another seven steps, one of the walls had disappeared, replaced with what very much felt like an endless chasm of nothingness to our left.

"How far do you think it goes?" Tristan asked beside me.

"No idea." Looking around, I found a loose stone. "Let's see." Remembering an old lesson my dad taught me, I picked up the stone and threw it over the edge. "Count the seconds until it reaches the bottom."

"Huh?" Vral asked.

"Count." Keeping my hand up, I started counting in my head.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Twenty.

A minute.

Two.

"What's supposed to happen?" Vral asked, her head peering over the edge.

"It's supposed to hit the bottom," I answered. "Did you hear anything?"

"Nope." Vral shook her head. "And I'd hear it if it did."

This isn't Earth, my friend. Faye whispered in my head. Don't make assumptions.

Waiting for at least another minute, when I didn't hear the stone hit anything, I said, "Alright. Let's move on." I couldn't help but shudder. None of this was natural.

We're at the edge of the Depths. Faye's voice echoed in my mind.

What does that mean?

It means let go of your assumptions.

"This doesn't make sense." Ro's voice echoed throughout the chasm.

Turning, I saw that he was frowning. "Why do you say that?"

"The last time we were here, Copperhold had four levels. Even if a dungeon shift happened since we were here last, I've never heard of a dungeon losing multiple levels."

"It doesn't feel right..." Na-Ya looked around. "Something's off." She whispered a couple of words under her breath.

[Detect Life]

Her eyes flashed purple, and she looked around. "There's... nothing." She looked over the ledge. "Nothing at all. Not even the basics of life."

"What's that mean?"

She looked around at the air. "On the surface, there's always at least a little bit of something alive. But down here..." She shuddered. "There's nothing at all. The only things I see are us." She visibly shivered. "I've never been in the Depths before." She looked at Faye. "Are we in them, now?"

Faye nodded. "We're currently at the Veil."

Na-Ya's eyes widened. "I... I knew I'd come here eventually... but..."

"I've only been once, and not very deeply." Ro rubbed his shoulder. "It's feels different from last time."

"That's because you're different."

Ro shuddered. "Will we be safe?"

"You'll be okay." Faye smiled. "I'm here. Just be cautious, and don't venture off. Oh, and follow your leader."

He nodded. "Okay."

Looking back at my party, I saw that Tristan's face was pale. Vral's ears were pulled back, nearly pressed against her head. Ro and Na-Ya were clinging to one another. I knew then what I needed to do. It was time to be a leader."Whatever happens, I'll protect you. I promise."

Tristan squeezed my shoulder. "I know you will."

"You sure about that?" Vral's ears twitched.

"Positive." I gave her a thumbs-up.

"I-uh... I know you will," Vral's hand found my thigh. "You always do."

"And we have your back." Ro was holding his thumb up, too.

Na-Ya nodded beside him. "Never doubt it."

"I know you do." My heart filled with love, I turned back toward the staircase. "Let's go."

***

We continued our descent. The passage wound back and forth, hugging the edge of the chasm as it descended into the earth.

We continued descending into the earth for another half hour. As we did, the walls slowly shifted from rough-hewn stone to smooth, almost glass-like obsidian, and the stairs turned into a flat surface. All the while, the air grew colder and thicker, and the metallic smell intensified. After another hundred paces, the tunnel flattened out, and we were on solid ground.

That's when things got weird.

When the tunnel leveled out again, it opened up wide enough that we had some breathing room. Shortly after that, for the first time in more than an hour, we were able to walk side by side... but that wasn't all. The walls were made of stone... and they were so, so familiar... It looked just like the east wing of Light's Hope.

"Alex..." Tristan walked up to my side and took my hand. "Do you see it?"

"I see it..." I squeezed her hand back.

"What is it?" Vral looked up at us. "I don't get it."

Turning back, I asked Vral, "What do you see?"

"Nothing." Vral was frowning. "Black walls."

That didn't make sense. "Faye," I turned back to the Hero. "What is this place?"

"The Depths." She looked around at the walls and shrugged. "What dream is it that you see?"

"What dream?" I looked at the stone hallway. "This is just Light's Hope Temple. I wouldn't call it a dream."

"I see," She answered solemnly.

"This hallway... It's... It's a hallway from back at Light's Hope Temple..." I ran my fingers along the walls, stopping as I walked past a familiar misplaced stone. Back home, that stone was set into the wall four rooms up from my own. "

"It's just a stone hallway, though, right?" Vral's eyes got wide. "It's just a coincidence, right?!" There was an edge to her voice I rarely heard. She was afraid.

"I... I don't know..." Our group continued forward another twenty paces. That's when the doors appeared. On either side of the tunnel, there were doors. Wooden doors. I'd walked these halls before. Many, many times, in fact. And while many of the doors were closed... I knew them... And some were open... the open ones...

"Alex..." Tristan's hand squeezed mine. "Are you seeing this?" She looked into one of the rooms.

Following her eyes, every hair on my body stood on end. "Yeah..."

Inside every doorway, there was a room.

My room.

"Are you all seeing this?" Na-Ya peered into one of the closed. She reached out, hesitated, then opened it. As it swung open, she shouted, "It's our room!" Crossing the threshold, she added, "Honey, it's our room!"

"Looks just like it." Ro-Saleh peered into a room over her shoulder. "It's the same."

"Exactly the same."Na-Ya stepped back. "Isn't it odd that—"

I watched as Ro leaned forward, and a smile spread across his face.

"It's been so long... I've been wanting to go home." Ro stepped forward, entering the doorway completely. "Let's check it out."

"Wait—"

Hey, it's our—" As he entered the room, his voice cut off.

"My Love!" She reached for him. "Saleh!" and stepped forward, disappearing into the room too.

The door slammed shut behind her.

"Ya! Saleh!" Tristan screamed and rushed to the door. Pounding her fists on the wood, she cried, "Don't go!"

"The hell just happened?!" Vral ran to the door and began prying at the cracks. "Get the fuck back here, assholes!!" She pulled until the wood creaked.

As the girls pried at the door, Faye sighed and said, "And then, there were three."

Turning to the Hero, I asked, "What just happened? Where'd they go?!" I took a step toward her. "Help them!"

Faye sighed again. "I can't. Sorry."

Heedless of her words, I ran to the door they'd entered and pulled at the handle. It rattled, creaked, then bent. "Ro! Na-Ya!" Pulling hard, I felt something crack, and the handle tore from the wall. "Wait!" I watched as the door shrank, and the wall collapsed inward until there was nothing but pure stone. Whipping my head around, I screamed, "Why didn't you help them?!!"

Faye shook her head. "I couldn't."

"Where are they?!" I shouted.

"Please!" Tristan rushed to Faye and took the Hero's hands in hers. "You have to help them!"

Faye wrapped her hands over Tristan's. "Don't worry. Those two lovers are as simple as they come. I'm sure they only wanted to go home."

Tristan sobbed. "Are you sure?"

"What the hell does that mean?" Every muscle in my body was vibrating with anxiety. "How could they possibly go home?"

She smiled a sad smile. "Exactly how you just witnessed it. They walked into their room."

"We're hundreds of feet in the ground! How the fuck could they go home?" I felt my blood boil. She was fucking with us. No! She wanted this to happen...

The tunnel grew darker...

The walls closed in...

"You're lying..." My voice was little more than a growl. "Why did you bring us here?"

"The fuck are you accusing her of, dummy?" Vral's voice was sharp. "Why would she lie to us now?"

She... she... what did she have to gain? She could have killed us at any point before now. She wouldn't have chosen to do it now.

Holding up her hands, Faye said, "The Depths are a place of wishes, dreams, and nightmares, all made manifest. I didn't do anything. It's all you. Don't underestimate this place."

"I..." I took a deep breath. I was overreacting. "I see..." I shivered as I took a step away from the door. "And you think they'll be safe?"

"No one could be certain, but I'm as certain as I can be. All that's left is to have faith."

I wasn't a faithful person. Not even a little. But when the Hero said you should be one... "Okay..." I took another reluctant step backward, then turned up the hall. "Let's go, team."

Tristan let out a sob. "But—"

Turning back, I said, "You heard Faye. All we can do is press forward and have faith."

Vral growled. "You're leaving them behind..."

"I..." I didn't know what to do. "I don't know what else to do..."

Faye stepped up beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "They made their choice. The Depths showed them what they wanted most, and they took it." Her green eyes met mine. "You can't save people from their own desires." Looking toward the girls, she added, "Just make sure you dream together. The bonds you hold will see you through."

"Their desires?" I looked back at the smooth stone wall where the door had been. "They didn't choose anything. They just walked through a door."

"Exactly." Faye's grip tightened. "That's all life is. A series of doors." She pointed up the tunnel. "So now, we need to keep moving. The longer we stand still, the more the Depths will try to show you more and more doorways."

"What they? These doors?"

"Some are the path forward. Some lead to places you want to be. Others are dead ends." She gestured at the hallway stretching before us. "All I know is keep walking. Don't stop. And whatever you do, don't open any closed doors."

"What happens if we do?"

"Don't know. I've never opened one." She started walking, not waiting for us to follow. "Now come on. The Depths and the lower floors of this Dungeon have merged. If we want to move on, we'll have to keep going. We're burning daylight, so to speak." She looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and if you choose a path, keep going down it. Never look back."

"Got it." With a deep breath, I waved my hand and continued on, my heart filled with more faith than I'd ever had.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.