"—and then I said, 'Your evil ways shall henceforth be stopped by—"

Elisa shoves me lightly with her shoulder, interrupting my flawless retelling of events just when we were getting to the good part. "He beat the dungeon without monologuing."

"Don't steal my thunder, Supreme Commander."

The elf produces a very real offended sound. "Do not call me that. Not even jokingly."

I fire off a crisp salute. "By your will, ma'am."

Erysis gives her teacher a sympathetic look, returned in kind. Nexen, on the other hand, is about to reach critical levels of smugness. A telepathic message, that is also a real message, asks the most pertinent question. Apparently.

"Yes. We're together. Can we go back to how awesome I am now?"

"You're what!" Erysis shouts in surprise. It's Nexen's turn to give her a sympathetic look. Then she circles back for a moment. "Your new spell conjured Knight drones, right?" I cautiously affirm. "Did they retain warp capabilities?" I somberly deny. "Pfft." Erysis starts to laugh. "So awesome," she sarcastically says between the bouts of glee. Called it...

"I would have preferred a private answer," Nexen ashamedly chimes in while she calms down, "but, uhh... Congratulations?"

Erysis adds, "Finally." I feel like the statement was directed at both of us. Elisa's unamused expression confirms that as correct. "Have you told Khi?"

"That we are a couple?"

The fire mage attempts to clarify, but then I practically see her eyes glaze over. "Is there another dungeon we can throw him in for a few more months?"

Nexen shakes his head. "Too soon, Ery, way too soon..."

Elisa chuckles. "No, you are the first. Except for the three at the gate."

"A long day awaits me," I say. "But enough about my awe-inspiring exploits and triumphant return eagerly anticipated by many. I see you've been busy while I was... away."

"Someone had to pick up your slack," Erysis replies, the smile on her face threatening to crack. I give her the corniest wink I can manage. Turbulent emotions settle down, leaving only mildly peeved on the forefront.

"Want to go delve one of the brand-new dungeons when I'm done? Just the four of us."

"Yes," Nexen immediately answers, his eyes filled with expectation.

"I'll have your armor ready, but I'm going to need a sword before that," I say.

"Don't overcommit," Erysis chastises. "I assume you've had time to study how the situation has developed since... Yeah, it's bad."

I hum in thought. "Don't worry about it."

Erysis sighs. "I really hope your confidence is earned, Lucius."

"After listening to my heroic tale, have I not become the embodiment of confidence for you?"

"You've certainly become the embodiment of something..."

Elisa finishes for her apprentice, "Of being a dummy."

I turn to Nexen for help. He sends me five paragraphs of formally written justifications as to why he can't look like he's defending me, no matter how weakly, ending with hasty, and quite secondary, tepid encouragements.

"At least I know Khi's going to be on my side."

***

"How could you do something so stupid, you idiot," Khi says while tightly hugging me. "I'm so glad you're safe, but for one of the smartest people ever, you are making me doubt the validity of that claim."

Rak'Na zaps in, her hasty spell discharging mana haphazardly, called by Khi herself. "Huh, he truly is here. I thought you turned cruel, Khi'Na." As the princess lets me go, shooting an annoyed look at her mother, the sovereign gives me an indecipherable one. "Did you enjoy your 'vacation'? Or was it as uneventful as the last? ...What are you all staring at me for? ...I'm not hugging him." After long seconds of silence stretch, she sighs out a tired exhale. The beastfolk comes close and wraps her arms around me, giving me a few pats on the back, which are a lot more tender than she wanted them to appear. The hug is quickly disengaged. "There. Everyone happy? Now, can you offer an explanation as to why your quantum communication was severed?"

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Someone's been hitting the books. "Mind games from the dungeon. The more important—"

"Mind games?" Erysis asks, interrupting my second opportunity to regale my friends with my adventure. "What kind of mind games?"

"Wouldn't you rather hear the conclusion? I did this cool move—"

"Lucius," Erysis says, "please show us what really happened."

My eyes inadvertently wander to Nexen's. He looks away, unable to meet my gaze. "I'd rather not. It is not a pleasant viewing experience."

Erysis frowns at me and looks at her teacher. "Did he show you?"

"Yes," Elisa answers. Then her tone turns serious and sharp. "Knowledge is a heavy burden. Be content with having him here, Erysis. Nexen, knowing what he has endured will not lessen your guilt. Guilt that is unearned." Her voice loses the edge, softening to a gentle whisper. "Just look at him. He doesn't even know how to hold a grudge."

"It's true," I say, looking the cutest I possibly can. "Don't have that word in my vocabulary."

Rak'Na chimes in, "I would like to see it. A good learning opportunity, from one fighter to another."

Elisa addresses the sovereign, a friend she has grown close to, "No. You don't."

"Then tell us," Khi says. "Let us decide then. But do not hide the truth again. That's exactly why we are having a reunion in the first place."

I study each one, seeing nothing but resolve. "Very well. The dungeon manipulated my mind. To think I had no way to escape, to think I was there to destroy it... and to think that other people could join me." Everyone connects the dots that are to come. Except one very important detail. "It also stretched my perception of time."

"How long?" Nexen asks.

"I perceive time differently, you know this."

He asks again, much more insistence in his tone, "How long?"

"Don't know. Many, many years. Thousands? Millions? Eternity? It all melded together eventually."

His trembling voice utters one final question, "How?"

I infer the underlying ask, 'How did you remain sane'. "I didn't. So, do you still want to see?" No one objects. "Alright, but you're getting the theatrical cut."

Erysis snaps out of a cycling thought to throw a quick jab at me, but there's no enthusiasm in the humorous remark about me not offering popcorn for the showing.

I knew that I couldn't avoid disclosing what transpired inside the Empty Maw, at least to Elisa. With her, I felt that she would never see my actions inside as something I am normally capable of, and I was right. But how would everyone else react? Because, even if I could never go through with what I tried, they will now know that I'll always have the capacity to. A thought away from an apocalypse.

Nope. I am not doing this again. No more moping around and lamenting about things out of my control.

A snap of my fingers darkens the room. Another snap shows me appear inside the dungeon.

I flick a thumb at the way too serious face I'm making in the projection. "This fella has no idea what's comin' for 'em." I receive a few incredulous glances. "The next six or seven nanoseconds are pretty boring, so we're going to skip them." Erysis is primed to throw a fireball in my direction. "Basic evaluation and all that standard stuff." The footage fast forwards and unpauses, showing me clash with a devourer. The seconds of fight passed, I add my commentary, "My mental magic started developing from this moment on, constantly tempered by the dungeon's absolute influence. Also, devourers—not that gross."

Erysis overpowers her rising dread. "Huh?"

"No talking during the feature, please."

"Try and stop me."

I turn to Elisa for help. No dice there. She's approving of her apprentice's assertiveness. Nexen's next. I get a few more paragraphs. Khi's glaring at me quite dangerously, so I'll skip her. That leaves only one other person.

"Have some dignity," Rak'Na says, "and don't look at me like you're my pup."

"Whatever..." The projection shows me warp to my short-lived flagship, engage my forces, and the fireworks. I present two static images. "The Beta and Gamma variants of the All-Consuming."

"How powerful are they compared to Alpha?" Khi asks.

"Beta is a little weaker. Gamma is a little stronger. But Alpha is still the most dangerous."

While they are still processing my answer, my only vessel's moniker comes true.

Khi lifts a brow. "A little stronger?"

"Monster smacking is not an exact science," I say. The princess fails to suppress a smile and turns back to the projection of me smacking around monsters.

Erysis seems to be distracted by something. "Why were you looking at your sword like that?"

"No comment."

Nexen finds his breaking point. He turns to me and gives a single nod of approval, earning himself an eye roll from Erysis.

We start skipping forward, my altered mental state starting to become evident. I try to employ angles that don't show my face while I'm tirelessly slaughtering the droves of pinnacle monsters, but a glimpse is inevitable.

"Seeing as my efforts were not producing any results, I adopted another approach," I say. The footage shows my failed attempts. "In the coming days, I'll be supplying enchanted drones for higher-grade delves, rather than the normal configuration. Probably up to B. Depending on match ups, of course."

As a Knight goes boom, Erysis asks, "Can they enter by themselves?" I affirm. "Huh..."

"Thinking of changing professions?"

Erysis watches another Knight destructively destabilize. "No." Her form shimmers for but a moment, bending from an unseen heat. "Can we take a break?" The projection freezes. She blinks away.

Nexen tries to stand, but I stop him. "I'll talk to her."

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