Dungeon Core: Bugged Ascension

Chapter 3: Rise and Shine. ~DNA.

It’s peaceful here. In this nothing place. My memories are… seemingly untampered with and I dance through them forward and back a few times even as I do my best to just relax in this liminal space.

Another difference from the last time I was here -!!... Hmm. Okay, so yeah, suddenly lesser news, but I can see my body again. Or at least a facsimile of one. Two arms, articulable hands, shoulders, and an impressive-to-me set of pecks and abs. Feels like those two aren’t something I had before. Oh! I also have a back; I can twist enough to see that too. No ass or legs though. Hmm, I can feel a face, or the idea of one, but nothing distinct just yet. No hair either, which is complicated for lost reasons that feel even more convoluted.

Physical descriptions aside, “Why do I think in the first person here, but was stuck in third person as a dungeon?”

The area takes on another layer of complexity. There is now weight, the idea of light, a breeze with vague scents that seem to invoke peace, “#Hardware limitations I’m afraid. Here, all you are is your Soul and Experience with no ties beyond the conceptual binding you to physicality. Out there, in the world? You’re a beating heart made of Mana Crystal.#”

The other presence with me shifts its attention in this strange void. I feel them no longer looking beyond, but looking intently at me directly, from everywhere and nowhere, “#You are an unusual case, DNA. Mana Crystal has been rather uncooperative in the past with regards to organics or imitations thereof. That the entirety of your physical self is a living, beating, bleeding Mana Crystal is Fascinating.#”

I allow that reverberation to fade as the scenery begins to subtly shift into an open prairie with us at the top of a gentle hill, so the sea of grasses unfolds before us. I see a second shadow join mine when I think of Authority being with me and just spend a time enjoying breathing and scenting the delicious air of this place.

…

We stand there in silence for a long while. Authority’s attention diverted from me during their embodiment beside me. Eventually though, this Timeless Perspective needs to shift and between one moment and the next, I turn around and step to my Template Library. “So. I can understand why I’m here. That massive influx of power is likely to have either killed me again or is forcing an evolution on me. But why are you here, Authority?”

Their amusement feels like a gentle sun at my back, “#Do you think yourself so uninteresting as to be unworthy of me showing up?#”

I take an even breath, slowly blink my eyes and allow a smile to shift on my not-face, “Thank you for the company. Thank you for all your help as well. But I’m not the one projecting anticipation into this place. It’s you.”

As I turn to look at them for the first time, they remain a shadow, though now in three dimensions- no wait… more than thre-

I feel a gentle touch on my cheek turning my head away, “#Not yet young DNA. There will be time enough for that Exploration later so long as you keep advancing. And you’re right of course. Me being here is for more than just meeting you.#”

The tableau shifts once more. No longer among the smell of old books, dust and aged wood of the library, we’ve come to a lighthouse. With the beacon behind us twirling around and throwing out a devastatingly blinding light that takes me a while to adjust to. Eventually I am able to make out the raging waves below us, as well as the fact that this pillar we’re standing on is the only thing aside from the waters below.

“#We’re looking at your High Tide at the moment. In case you were wondering, no, the waters are not supposed to be that stormy. By the nature of its meaning, it’s supposed to be less static than your other Perks, but what’s happening here is chaos in its extreme state.#”

I brace myself on the railing and look over the edge. I watch how the waves crash into the lighthouse, but rather than be dispersed by the impact, seem to amplify and grow. Even in a few moments of watching I can see where the dry blocks that make up the tower showcase a continuously encroaching waterline, “I did this. I don’t understand the how or the why, but this started happening when I conceptualized my Domain, right?”

I feel a gentle hand placed on my shoulder, a glance at it shows the richest and most wonderfully textured darkness I never imagined, “#Yep. You see, ordinarily a dungeon will take a long while to get to the development of their own mind. Most will experience and grow into feeling their domain as part of them, much like your human childhoods, it doesn’t seem strange that you can walk or run or climb or throw. It’s just something you learn and then stop thinking about.#”

Careful not to look at them, I’m nonetheless aware of their sweeping gesture as they point out the roiling waves spread out before us, “#But you, well, you were a person before you were a dungeon. More poignant in this case though is how you have already chosen to view your Scions. You made them part of your self-image, a reflection and actualization of your Soul’s form. And then, after being given inspiration from your Patron, what did you do with the influx of no longer subconscious information from your Domain?#”

I feel a dawning realization as they speak, “#Did you imagine this new influx of sensation as sight, or hearing, or smell, or even try and shift it into something instinctive again, like a gut feeling? No. You imagined it as your skin. You chose for the entirety of your Domain to act as the largest and most significant organ beyond those directly related to life itself.#”

I feel Authority’s smile and incredulity as they look through the back of my head, their eyes staring into my own as I am ever thankful that I cannot see theirs like this, “#Not all of your Scions have {Names}. Not yet. And considering the scale of this one, it would likely break even your resilient Soul to make the attempt. So, once their meeting begins and the System grants you another {Boon}, I, shall {Name} your skin.#”

Beyond the weight of their declaration and assistance, there is a teasing temptation in that final sentence. More than that though, it feels like it could be a test… “Everything is a test, isn’t it? Not so much with right or wrong answers, but a test nonetheless,” I take another quick moment to close my eyes and breathe, “So, once I’ve met my new child, I will make sure they know to send their gratitude for the name.”

I turn to face where they would be once the light makes its next pass beyond our silhouettes and then we’re in an open-air theatre in the dead of night. Authority once again behind me, at my other side this time, as the projectors and lights turn on. Much like the sweeping beam from High Tide’s Lighthouse, the intensity of the display is blinding at first, even as the complexity and intensity increases substantially as more and more of Guided Evolution activates around us.

I squint my eyes and ball my fists as the droning and deafening hum from the multitude of projectors begins to fade as I lean against an old grandfather clock and hear its rhythmic tick-tock. I make sure to keep my eyes at least partially open to the constellations on display and I focus on the touch of the cool wooden frame. The smell of the old lacquer and polish. The thrum that each tick of the clock subtly vibrates through the whole structure.

More time passes and my eyes are able to see more and clearer as well. But I just stay there for as long as it takes to not be in pain when my eyes are open in this place.

“#Very good, DNA. Considering how new you are to the system; you’re adapting rather well. Most don’t manage to use two Perks at the same time in their first year. Though most don’t earn two perks that quickly either. I’d say you’re just about ready for me to present you the choice.#”

My mouth, such as it is in this place, has gone dry. As if all my moisture were being pulled elsewhere, and considering what we saw earlier, and my memories before entering this place, that’s likely to be true, “Choice?”

For a single moment, Authority’s mirth shines through this space like a soothing balm, before withdrawing back into a smile I can feel behind me, “#Yep. Just the two options this time. The system really wants to give you another seven, and if you truly want to, I can just give you those options. Or… you can pick between mine.#”

I chuckle, “Let me guess. This is one of those dilemmas where I don’t get more information beforehand, and I’m bound to whichever I pick?”

“#Yep.#”

I sigh out as I roam my eyes through the pulsing network of the nigh-innumerable patterns and diseases I am beginning to parse above me. Authority doesn’t seem to be in any particular hurry, though when I close my eyes and imagine that lighthouse again, I can see that the waters continue to rise. There’s a time limit already, whether its relative minutes, hours, or even years in this place, I will have to make a decision, one way or the ot-

“Just spit balling here, but I’m guessing that the system’s choices might include things tailored to my Experience but are primarily going to be relatively generic paths to choose from. Like my mob selection or affinity. Diverse to be sure, but known things,” I tilt my head forward and raise my brow, calling their gaze while specifically not looking at them myself, “But you are going to offer an actual fix. As well as something: New.”

I can’t feel it, but I just know if I had the courage and capacity to see their face, there would be a smile on it as we sit in the silence of the buzzing holograms.

We stand there for long enough that I finally take a huge breath, “So. We both know what I’m going to pick, but this time, I have to actually say it. No more mind-reading, Yes or Yes prompt, eh?”

“#Not this time, kiddo. This is Bigger than that. You know your choice and I know your choice, but you still have to actually choose it. No shortcuts. No handouts.#”

I try to settle my breathing but find my anxiety spiking despite my best efforts. It’s only the tick-tocking of my Mental Resistance that keeps me steady as the weight of my words decides my future, “Somehow, when I look back at my affinity selection, a part of me is surprised that Faith was so high on the list. But then I get to something like this and it makes sense to that lost part of me.”

I turn to face their form, eyes open but effectively unseeing, so caught up in the chaos of Guided Evolution, “I choose you, Authority.”

I see and feel them step forward and then my eyes are closed, and their gentle hand is against my face, their thumb pressing upon my forehead and then I feel their form slip away. I feel my constructs fade away as well until all that is left is the prompt.