Chapter 35: 35. Dungeon Core

Like two grinning fools, we walk out of the building. As we make our way towards Gene, we pass dilapidated buildings beaten down by time. Behind Gene, where I entered the lair, a blot of darkness somehow fills the already dark space. Tentatively we continue toward Gene and the new mystery. As we get closer, the mystery becomes more apparent. A massive dragon has joined us. Judging by Gene's friendly demeanor towards the dragon, this is a welcomed guest.

Covered in dark scales, the dragon looks about twenty feet in length with a wingspan that doubles its size. Sharp facial features matched with reasonable horns and ears sticking out give the dark dragon a regal look. Along the back of the dragon are dual spines that stretch all the way to the tail. Each spine looks segmented along the back, and the tail has an equally cool-looking wing. It is majestic! 

Upon seeing the fantastic beast, Bones and I instinctively step back, allowing space for Gene and her supposed totem. "That is so cool. Look at that, T'am," Bones' energetic mouth never closes. "A real-life dragon here in the flesh? Did you know the ghost is friends with a dragon?"

Knowing nothing about totems, I am convinced I need one myself. "Obviously," I respond back to Bones.

"You sure didn't. Look at you. You are gob struck like the world's prettiest sword just asked you to dance."

"Wait, why would I want to dance with a pretty sword? That's not even my type. Also, this is a minor nitpick, I don't think swords dance." 

"Obviously, you haven't seen yourself when you are holding a sword. Take my word for it." Without pausing, Bones keeps talking. "I didn't know you had a type Cap. I figured you were attracted to all things sharp and pointy, and being pretty probably only enhances those features. Hey, look at that. I guess you do have a type. This pilgrimage is doing wonders for us. Gaining skills and learning truths. That's what we do!" The last part, Bones says a little more emphatically. 

Just then, Gene gives us a wave, signaling we are good to come over. Each step closer, the dragon becomes more stunning. "I want one," Bones whispers. I nod my head in agreement.  

"Bones and T'am meet Fury." Gene introduces us to her totem in a reverent manner.

I am cursing Bones for convincing me to pick such a lame name. Majestic dragons don't care one wit about apostrophes and such. Why would they care? They can fly and probably blow stuff up with their mouths. I replaced a vowel in my name with a small mark… My first meeting with a dragon, and I'm blowing it. 

Fury lowers his head with a bow, and we both do the same. Just seemed like the right thing to do. At least, we hope so. 

"Hello, Fury. This is T'am," Bones rests his hand on my shoulder as he introduces me. Not in a demeaning way. More of a respectful gesture. "And I am his boss, Bones," Bones finishes his introduction. So maybe the shoulder rest was sort of demeaning. Well played, minion. Well played. 

"Fury," Gene is quick to speak up before Bones can get another word in, her reverent tone still present, "is my totem. He is a loyal dragon of the night family. One of the rarest of its kind. He has requested to be a part of the dungeon. I believe he will be a strong addition and would make for a strong sub-boss." 

"Deal! Done!" Bones agrees enthusiastically. Energy seems to be beaming off of him at this point.  

Gene smiles and says, "Then let us begin."

First things first, we secure the cave. Fury takes me to the cave entrance, which I seal off with as much bone as possible. Security in place, we make our way back to the lair. The ritual can now begin. 

Fury presents the dungeon core to Bones. Like a polished gemstone, the black core is eight-sided, with two large flat surfaces opposing each other. Mana radiates throughout the core, causing it to shine with a lustrous brightness. Bones grasps the core that is roughly the size of his hand carefully. Energy pulses from the core, causing Bones' hand to slightly move with each beat.

"First, hold the core tight and focus all your thoughts and mana on the center of the core," Gene instructs Bones, trepidation evident in her tone. Though Bones doesn't have any mana of his own, we are hoping that since he is a creation of mana, he can use that energy to complete his part of the ritual. 

"Once you are in tune with the core, begin cycling your energy to the same rhythm. As part of Bones' personal training, he has practiced cycling the mana that holds him together many times. His time spent cycling wasn't for nothing, and he competently follows Gene's instructions.

"As my people have done before, Fury will now bind his life to the core." Fury uses one of his sharp claws to slice his paw. Rich, thick blood begins to flow, which he directs into the core. Even with Gene's explanation, the process is questionable. Fury, a majestic dark dragon, is literally bleeding into a pretty stone. Magic and stuff. 

The process becomes even more questionable as Gene walks me through my part of the ritual. "T'am, since neither Bones nor I have blood to give, you will need to complete this next task. Symbols are integral to rituals. They are the instructions that make rituals work." The same expression on Gene's face when she was summing up her people's history so briefly is present now. Bitterly Gene briskly describes a vital component of something precious to her.

"The great mystery of rituals is not the complexity. Rather it is its simplicity. It is difficult to transcribe one's entire intent into a symbol that will instruct the ritual in creating magic and miracles. After no less than five years of study, we discovered the symbol we needed for our dungeon creation ritual was a simple circle.

"The circle can have many meanings. For our case, it has two, constant and oneness. All you will have to do, T'am, is draw the symbol encircling Bones and Fury twice—a symbol for each intent." Gene's casual conveyance of my task has me slightly questioning her expertise. Not that I don't believe her. I'm convinced she is a ritual master. It is more that the simple symbol of two large circles will take a lot of blood. A lot of my blood.

I don't think I am squeamish regarding blood and stuff. In my many recent lives, I've been covered in blood, ichor, and other unpleasant things. Sometimes trying to survive gets a little messy. That said, using my blood to transcribe the symbols onto the seemingly thirsty cave grounds has got me feeling squeamish.

As proud as I am of the two near-perfect circles I draw, I don't feel right taking the credit. More astounding than me bleeding out circles is the contortion skills of the dragon. For as big as he is, Fury is tucked into a third of his size. The dragon has some impressive tucking skills, for which me and my blood are incredibly grateful. 

After the circles are finished, Gene instructs me to join Bones and Fury. The last part I will play in the ritual is feeding it my mana. I place my hand on Bones and Fury, and Bones also puts a hand on the dragon that is still tucked in tight. Together we are creating a circle of our own. Then I cycle my mana into the core. After trial and error and extra instruction from Gene, I finally get the cycle technique down.  

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The ritual is in full force at this point. I continue to cycle mana into the core. First, it is dark mana. Once that is empty, I cycle my death mana into it. The core begins to crack under the pressure of mana filling it. When it breaks open, Bones quickly absorbs all the mana with his cycling. As he absorbs the power, we can see the mana flowing within him. It is about to settle when all the mana bursts out from him and rushes back to the core. 

There is residual mana left in the air. My guess is it is the mana I pushed into the core. I absorb it all and notice that my dark core and death core are emptier than they were before. 

I look at Bones expecting disappointment. All I see is determination. "Again." Is all he says, and we start cycling again. 

"Again," He says after the second failure. And again after the third, fourth, and fifth time. I do not have enough mana on the sixth attempt to crack the core. 

"This is going to work," Bones says, never wavering in his determination. Bones takes a moment deep in thought. After a minute, he looks up, "Gene, when I cycle the dungeon core, I feel like it needs more." He further clarifies, "For some reason, it isn't satisfied with just me and Fury."

Looking frailer than ever, Gene processes the knowledge she is given. Watching her think, she is clearly accessing a massive wealth of knowledge. A minute or two passes. Then she grabs the core and inspects it further. "Interesting! When we first underwent the ritual, we only had the intention of one boss. From all my research, that should be all it takes. 

"I suppose it could be that the core has grown through the years. I wouldn't be surprised. Especially considering the cleansing of the horde. Fury could also explain why you have been significantly slowed in your progression. Our dungeon core was absorbing the mana and becoming stronger. 

"I don't suppose you have another minion or person you would like to be a part of the dungeon?" Gene asks, looking at me. 

"I don't think I can summon another minion like Bones or even something much less. Especially considering I won't have enough spare mana to break the core if I spend more mana on another minion. 

"I do have a candidate. It's risky, and I don't know if she will want to be a part of this or if we can trust her. She is the only option I can think of, though."

As if reading my thoughts, Gene says, "This is a bad idea. Annette has already killed you once, and I fear what she will do if we fall under her spell." 

"True. True. Netty did try to kill T'am," Bones interjects. "Technically, I was the one that killed him in the end, and I'm far too involved now to be cut out from this." 

Shocked, Gene looks at me, "You let your minion kill you? And you still summon him and call him boss! This is absurd! I've never heard of such a thing. Do you not fear insubordination." As if realizing the two she is talking to, she puts her hands up, "Never mind. You two have a weird thing going on here." 

"You can't insubordinate the willing." Bones pipes in with a smirk. 

Unanimously, Bones and I agree to not mention the other four times he killed me in the desert. "She is desperate," I say, getting us back on track. "And she is willing to swear allegiance with an oath pact."

"Very well. Let us bring the spider queen herself into the mess. Fury, take the dungeon core and T'am and bring Netty to us." As she says the name, she gives us the same creepy smile when we first met. 

Upon seeing the smile, Bones, as subtle as he can, takes a couple steps back. 

"Fury, keep the core safe."

Feeling his power being usurped, Bones gives one last order. "Alright, everyone, put your hands in the middle." 

No one follows Bones' order, possibly due to a lack of understanding. Not giving up, he puts two extra arms on top of his solo arm. For the heck of it, I put mine on top of his. 

"Team dungeon on three. One. Two. thr—"

"Team dungeon!" I let out as I raise my arm to a fist into the air. 

"Son of a—you couldn't wait one more moment? It's after three. Always after three. Nobody actually cheers on three. Next time remember. One. Two. Three. And then we yell. Get it right."

I can't help but smile. Sometimes all a person needs to feel back on top is the chance to talk down to someone. Gene is just shaking her head now. I'm sure she has lots of regrets regarding us at this point. 

Pumped and ready, Fury and I take off.

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