The Heart of The Dungeon

A ripple of purple light spread across the floor like spilled paint forming a perfect circle and Arisu stepped through it.

He was smiling.

“Well…done guys,” he said slow-clapping. “Truly, I’m impressed. But playtime’s over. It’s time we had a little chat.”

Kryxx tightened his grip on his staff. “There’s nothing left to talk about.”

“How did you get here?” Keiji yelled.

“ He marked him with a Kesh-Tor,” Thomlin growled.

Arisu stood at the centre of the dungeon, hands clasped behind his back. His hair had turned silver and two red horns curled up from under it. His own orange eyes burned at us with an intense aura that felt oppressive. His long pristine white coat was lined with glowing five runes pulsing down the front. But the coup de grace of the ensemble was a set of enormous skeletal wings that bulged from his back. They almost seemed angelic, an irony given then man wearing them.

“I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to stop,” he said, his voice even, almost tired. “Because if you actually think this through, you’ll realize….I’m trying to save this world, not destroy it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thomlin smirked though his eyes burned with rage. “You’re the god of the new world, right? Listen you sadistic piece of shit. WE...are offering you a chance…to stop before we kill you.”

“Oh, Hareeth.” Arisu tilted his head. “I don't expect you to understand. You have always led a life of mediocrity..."

He stopped, glancing at Velma, Rhennmar and Kryxx.

"...but you are not like him. I know I bent the truth a bit but don't let a couple of small talks from these...failures stop you from thinking about all the good we did together. Regardless of the reasons, I have been the only one keeping this world together."

Velma clenched his hands, Rhennmar gritted her teeth, lightning flickering along her hands.

"The truth is only a god can save this world and I have become that god."

He stretched his arms wide.

"What do you say? Submit to me and together we'll save this world."

There was a lingering silence. Even I felt it — like maybe, just maybe the others might be considering it. And if that was the case, we would be screwed.

Then I felt a tug at my sleeve.

Sid.

I knelt beside, putting my ear close to his mouth.

“A…r.e yo..u..the one?” he rasped.

“The one? What do you mean?”

“My…ssshi…eld. Give…it…t..to me.”

“I’m sorry, it’s in the pack .... I lost it back there.”

“I…know whe…re.” His finger shook as he pointed toward the archway we had come from. “Ttt…akkke…take me…there.”

Before now, whenever the pack disappeared, it would always find itself to me, but was it possible that the pack was calling out to Sid?

Then, Arisu flapped his wings, lifting him in the air.

“It seems there aren’t any takers,” he said regretfully.

He extended a single hand, and the runes ignited on his coat. Then moved to the ground rippled outward.

“Do you know what separates a god from a man?” he asked, his voice suddenly dangerous.

Everyone took a fighting stance.

“A god…creates.”

From the runes, shadows began to rise like ink peeling off paper. At first formless, then they reshaped and molded into a solidified body.

The first shadow took from a woman with bronze skin, snow-white hair, tied in small curls and a sword. Shekha Izzah. Her shadowed body solidified until she looked almost alive.

Velma staggered back.
“No,” she whispered.

The second shadow coalesced into a tall man with a scar across his chin, chainmail clinking faintly. Yannick, Hero #17 —one who had previously held the longest-lived hero until Keiji.  He was a bit full, on the stomach area that is, but his expression was empty.

The third really shocked me. It was Cedric, a noble who couldn't make spells stick. He had on his elven wand.

“Arisu!” Velma shouted. “How dare you use her as one of your pawns?!”

Arisu didn’t answer.

Shekha had turned toward her former students but there was no recognition in her golden eyes. She twirled the sword once and planted it in the floor.

“Master,” Rhennmar said quietly, her usual snarl softening into pleading. “If you can hear me…”

“Don’t waste your breath,” Arisu said flatly. “What stands before you is not your Master but the host of lightning. A perfect shadow copy with no emotions, only hunger for battle.”

“Shut up!” Velma shouted.

She moved in a blur to attack her but she didn’t even move her sword. She just shifted to the left, then turned and landed an elbow, sending Velma flying in a gust.

“Master, forgive me,” Kryxx adjusted his grip on his staff and aimed. “Contain her.”

Vines sprouted with spokes restraining Shekha’s legs, arms and torso then immediately, Rhennmar shot a lightning strike with two fingers.

Shekha burned the vines then, using two fingers, absorbed Rhennmar’s golden lightning, spread it to her arms, redirecting it toward Rhennmar.

Shekha moved again, in a blink, she was whistling through the air. Lira shot her wind arrow but Shekha caught it, absorbed it, then slammed the ground, sending a shockwave of wind blasting everyone back.

Sid and I fell back but Keiji managed to catch us, stopping us from hitting the wall.

Kryxx countered, sending a barrage of flames but Shekha spun, evading them midair then clapped her hands, blowing him backwards.

He planted his staff across the ground, stopping. “She fights like she’s alive,” he said.

“She’s better than when she was alive,” Rhennmar gritted, her lightning crackling as Shekha drove her back step by step.

Verra and Ariyanna blended their attacks on Cedric but he drove them back with basic water spells.

On the other side, Thomlin took on Yannick smothering him with wave after wave of flames. Yannick was quick on his feet, despite his weight, grabbing Thomlin's ankle and hurling him like a ragdoll across the dungeon—but before he could break against the stone, Velma caught him in a cushioning burst of wind.

Sid and I were on the moved.

He staggered beside me, one hand clutching his ribs, the other giving us directions to the pack. Lira and Keiji flanked us as back-ups. We knew splitting the party was a gamble but it was a risk that was necessary. If Sid could use his shield, who knows he might even be the saviour we needed.

He gasped, his body getting paler. “This way,” he groaned.

We sprinted deeper, the battle behind us fading into echoes of fire, steel, and lightning.

I’d like to tell you it was a struggle—that we cut through endless hordes or nearly died three times before reaching it. But no. Lira knocked over it as we turned a corner, cursing.

I knelt down and tugged on the strings, opening it

I reached in and grabbed the shield, placing it in front of Sid. His fingers closed around the handle. In that instant, the air shifted.

A rune carved into the shield’s face flared awake, spinning in both directions at once before locking into place. Green light bled into Sid’s veins, replacing the dark purple. His muscles straightened.

He gasped—then exhaled, his pale face getting back its colour.

“Thank…you," he said.

Sid rose slowly, the weight of exhaustion gone, replaced by something else—something vast. Pebbles hovered around him, rising and orbiting like planets.

Keiji stumbled back. “Shield works okay?”

His eyes burned with a faint green glow. “It’s not just a shield,” he murmured, gripping the handle with new strength. “It’s the Heart of Terra. My anchor. It’s the only reason I’m alive; otherwise, I would have burned out like the others.”

The ground beneath us trembled, and stones shifted beneath our boots. 

Sid rolled his shoulders, the shield now strapped firmly to his arm. “Let’s go save everyone…”