The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Luna and Lavender were surprisingly quiet during our meeting with the Novas and Terion. Instead, the two focused almost exclusively on Elisabeth, Raphael, and Pyonta. The young couple was a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, while Pyonta pretended to be mostly unbothered. The young Rabbitkin was reporting on implementing the laws of Arcadia, while Elisabeth and Raphael focused on summarising the overall state of matter. While Count Nova and his wife told us the story of how they met and how he ended up trying to save all Rabbitkins, it was obvious they were nervous. While their story seemed happy, it was just a coating on the surface of frustration, tragedies, and a constant struggle to keep a dangerous secret hidden. It was so easy to understand why the Count had bet everything on Elisabeth. The arrival of Ertu and, later on, Akh'ila was unexpected, but it also helped those people fully realise Berna's complete and irreversible fall. They also showed themselves to the public, openly pledging their fealty and undying loyalty to me.

That single act was full of long-standing consequences, which I couldn't fully grasp at the moment. For some people, it was a display of the incomprehensible power and might that forced even Gods to bow before me. It inadvertently made everyone realise how futile resistance to my rule would be, probably terrifying any spy in observance. We were sure that many eyes were watching us, and some of them belonged to the monsters. Rather than trying to catch them, we prepared a show for them that would trouble their masters, whoever or whatever they were. I was sure that most, if not all, of the observers were certain that Berna would be victorious or the war would devolve into local skirmishes, with Berna taking some lands from the new country. But Arcadia wasn't defeated, and the scale of our victory was unprecedented in Aderon's history. Even the Heroes of old needed years to conquer a country. I conquered two in less than one year...

"What do you think about them?" Amber asked me with a thoughtful expression painted on her face.

"They are good people..." I sighed. "Terion is going to love meeting with Ian. They are cut from the same cloth. As for Nova and his wife, they are good people who managed to survive hell. They will support Elisabeth and Arcadia for the rest of their lives. But there is a deep fear inside their souls which I can't fully grasp."

"I noticed that as well," Irene admitted and yawned. "I don't know what they are so afraid of..."

"Maybe the fact that I am a Dungeon?" I suggested the obvious fact brought up by Terion previously.

"I don't think that is it." Hestia shook her head. "It was something bothering Terion but no one else."

"Maybe they were just tired?" Luna tapped her lips and twitched her ears. "They were stressed by the summons and everything surrounding them in Everlight. It's a shadow of Avalon and still developing into a proper Dungeon City, but it is still a sight to behold, built inside the fully cooperative Dungeon. I know you all tend to forget it, but Dungeons kill people."

"Maybe?" I replied but without a shred of conviction.

"Other than that, I could only suggest the overwhelming display of might." Amber pointed at the sharp shapes of the battleship's gun emplacements outside the window. "We seemingly arrived on Dauntless and were welcomed by the entirety of the Fifth Legion, all the Guardsmen present in Everlight, and the Denizens of Xariinta. We left aboard the biggest and most heavily armed battleship those people ever saw, followed by the battalion of Praetorians and air escort of the Dragon Riders. Then, just like that, those people saw the Gods they feared all their lives bend their knees in front of us and beg them for forgiveness. Seriously, Theon, in their eyes, you are a person who could order the sky to change its colour, and it would obey. Are you seriously asking what they were afraid of?"

"Well..." I blushed nervously and scratched the back of my head. "I admit it might be the case..."

Luna and Irene blushed a bit, but not a moment later, the Kitsune cleared her throat. "I guess that Terion has passed your test, Theon?"

"Yes." I waved my hand, and a stack of papers materialised on the table. "I want him to start building Hercules-class ships before his trip to Avalon."

Aoi picked up the papers and inspected them with a frown that slowly turned to a smile. "I see that you have considered the crews' comments that I passed on to you."

"I did, or more precisely, I passed them to Ian, who updated the Hercules-class blueprint."

"Theon, I need to talk with Xariinta. He seemed to have some trouble establishing the farms." Lavender rubbed her eyelids with a tired sigh. "I want to be over with that sooner rather than later, so I will take the Praetorian company and go to his core chamber now."

"Want me to go with you?" I offered, seeing that Hestia and Irene were starting to fall asleep.

"If you want to..." the Dryad smiled at me.

"Amber, Luna, Aoi...?" I looked at them, but they shook their heads or gave me a sorry look.

"I'll pass..." Amber yawned and rubbed her cheeks. "Before I go to sleep, I want to take a bath. Surprisingly, the change of air has quickly made me drowsy."

"All right." I smiled softly. "We will return soon."

•••

The core of Xariinta was hidden in a room filled with thick, dark fog. It was the spawner of the Shadow Demons, and I had to admit it was quite a good idea. The purple flickers of light were like sparks in the dark, illuminating the tiny spots over the room for mere moments before they died. This also helped to hide the exact location of the core, a beautiful, purple gemstone that sat in the hands of the gargoyle statue. At first, I thought it was an actual Gargoyle, which somehow would fit into a city-themed Dungeon like Xariinta. Sensing our arrival, the fog parted around us, allowing Lavender to take a better look.

"My King, my Queen," a calm and relatively average voice greeted us.

"Hello, Xariinta," Lavender smiled while I simply waved my hand.

Now that the fog was almost gone, I noticed the walls were covered in masterfully done paintings, most likely depicting the ancient history of the old Dungeon.

"I'm happy to see you, my Lady, and a bit embarrassed about my inability to follow your instructions."

"It's all right, Xariinta. It's always better to ask than stay ignorant. What is the problem?"

I paid no attention to their conversations, during which my Vassal summoned a comfortable chair for my wife. She patiently explained everything about the farmlands and setting up the farms necessary to provide food for the city's growing population. I was, however, absorbed by the history told by the paintings. One in particular depicted people and beasts fighting a writhing mass of tentacles descending from the stormy sky. I could have been wrong, but the sight was eerily familiar, and I called one of the Praetorians to look at it—the Shield Captain who stayed with Re'kari to the death of the young Hero. The Elite Death Lord stayed silent for a while, but I felt his anger growing. His voice was cold when he finally looked at me and spoke up.

"Yes, my Lord. Without a single doubt, the thing depicted in this mural was a godling of Chaos or Void."

"I thought so..." I turned my head towards the purple gemstone near Lavender, who looked very tired. "I would like to have a chat about those paintings, Xariinta. But before that..."

I effortlessly lifted the Dryad in my arms, and she gave me a thankful smile.

"I think we have most things explained..." She yawned and rested her head on my chest. "Thank you, my Love..."

After a moment needed to place Lavender on our bed, I returned to the Core Room.

"I reckon that you met the Enemies from beyond our world."

"Yes." It was a brief but firm confirmation. "During the Age of the Heroes, I aided the Hero of Ra, Ariel Luminaris, who bravely fought them."

"Hmmm..." I pointed toward the army of monsters.

"During that time, the Dungeons assembled a massive army to repel the deities of Chaos and Void. However, without the help of the Mortals, we would fail. The war was long and exhausting for us all... After waging many battles and sacrificing countless lives of the People of the World, Gods, and Dungeons, we were victorious. But that victory seemed so shallow, and the friendships made that day fragile and unstable..."

"So you remember that time?"

"Yes, my Lord. I was there three thousand years ago. Ummm..." The Core's voice hung in the air, and he asked somewhat angrily, "What's so funny, my Lord?"

"Oh, nothing, Elrond... I mean Xariinta." I desperately tried to suppress my laughter. He couldn't possibly know about that meme... "It was a thing from my past... Please, continue."

"As I said, I was there, my Lord. I was a young Dungeon, barely a few dozen years old, but I contributed everything I had to hold the enemy until the help arrived." His tone became more neutral. "I held for two days. I was sure that no one was coming, but almost at the last moment, Ariel arrived, and using her heroic powers, she was able to kill the lesser God of Chaos. After that, we regained the initiative and began killing the Voidlings."

"Your scion fought my Praetorian. How would you compare them?" I asked after nodding in acknowledgement.

"If all of them are so powerful, then they are formidable opponents for anyone; even a lesser God of Chaos or Void would find it difficult to fight their full company. However, an adult form would hardly be entertained by your warriors."

"I see." I was expecting such an answer.

"But I guess you know that already... You were fighting the Dark Empire on the south or incursion from the Void back then?" Xariinta asked with curiosity.

"No... Believe it or not, I'm not even one year in this world."

The awkward silence fell between us, and I could see the glows of the gemstone, indicating that Xariinta wanted to say something but changed his mind. I gave him a moment to digest the news while I admired the rest of the paintings.

"I can imagine what you are thinking, but please, remember that I am a Champion of Eriar," I said softly. "The Heroes of all other races were always incomparably stronger than their compatriots. For all functions and purposes, I am a Hero Dungeon, but please refrain from calling me that. That's stupid."

"There is some wisdom in your words," he admitted with a sigh. "Without a doubt, your power is real. I can't deny you have beaten me fair and square. Even now, you are pumping unimaginable amounts of mana for me. Just seeing that is enough for me to admit your superiority, my King."

"Thank you." I nodded happily and smiled with relief. "I'm glad you are reasonable."

"I can't argue with evidence..."

"There is one thing bothering me, Xariinta. You had contact with Mortals for your entire life?"

"Indeed." If he was a Human, I could imagine him nodding curiously.

"Tell me, why did most of the Dungeons go berserk? What happened to them, to turn them so murderous?" I asked, crossing my hands behind me and taking a few steps towards the new painting. "You spoke highly of the Heroes, and if I understood correctly, you maintained some relationships with Mortals... Yet, even you chose to kill the vast majority of people who entered your domain. Why?"

"I... I don't know," he confessed with shame in his voice. "Just one day, the people who entered were different... More violent, having less regard for their lives… They put themselves at unnecessary risk and simply died in traps or were killed by my denizens."

"So?"

"I..." he stuttered and lowered his voice. "Those people were similar to the lowly creatures of Void and Chaos..."

"So?" I asked once more in a neutral tone while I finally began slowly understanding what had happened.

"I see now that I stopped paying attention to the Mortals who entered my grounds and treated everyone the same. My encounters were far deadlier than before and more frequent. The people couldn't keep up with my denizens, and they were killed..."

"Hmmm..." I sighed. "Boiling frog syndrome..."

"Excuse me, my Lord? I don't understand..."

"It's just a metaphor used to describe the failure to act against a problematic situation which will increase in severity until reaching catastrophic proportions." I shrugged. "I'm afraid we are all prone to this..."

There was a fairly long silence. I thought about the decades, maybe even centuries, during which the old Dungeons fell to the clever deceit of Void and Chaos. The cultists who sold their souls to the ruinous powers were the perfect tool to erode the will of otherwise mighty creatures. They were too powerful to break, to be conquered by anyone other than someone of their own kind. Even the deities of the ruinous powers could only kill them but couldn't ever hope to dominate them. But to corrupt them? That was doable...

"My Lord..." Xariinta's voice was full of anger when he finally spoke. "It's not only us Dungeons who fell victim to the Enemy's machinations. The Mortal Kingdoms established by the Heroes fell as well. The laws they established were changed and twisted, and if such a country stayed true to the principles of its founder, it was brought to ruin by its neighbours."

"I figured out the last part..." I sighed and stopped in front of the purple gemstone. "That's why I decided to ruthlessly eradicate everything touched by the hands of the ruinous powers of Void and Chaos. Their servants will die everywhere my servants can reach them. No unsanctioned religion or cult shall exist in the lands of Arcadia. There will be no power other than mine that can decide on the laws and politics of my Kingdom; everyone opposing me will be guilty of treason."

"I'm ashamed of my weakness and that they managed to corrupt me so much..."

"But you are awakened once more, Xariinta." I smiled and lifted my gaze towards the ceiling. "We are at war with them, and their cultists can't expect any mercy other than quick death. I expect all of you to help me protect this world from the Enemy."