Death: Genesis

Zeke watched the dragon flee into the skies, its wings, huge as they were, seemingly incapable of holding it aloft. Not helping that perception was the fact that its flight path was erratic, its flapping wings stuttering every so often. Clearly, it would take quite some time for it to heal after being so thoroughly injured. After the encounter with its mother, the thing had climbed free of the mountainous landslide, eager to get away as quickly as possible.

For his part, Zeke wanted nothing more than to simply finish the job. Fighting such a powerful creature – and even though it was only a juvenile, it was incredibly strong – without getting the kill energy that came from victory was extraordinarily frustrating. It was like waving a big, juicy steak in front of a starving man, and Zeke had to admit that he didn’t like it one little bit.

However, he also was no idiot. Killing the creature would have been satisfying in the short run, but despite his posturing, he knew that making such a powerful enemy as the creature’s mother would be counterproductive. Immediately upon ascension to the next realm would be Zeke’s weakest point, and the last thing he needed was to have a strong enemy with a grudge eager to make his life that much more difficult. So, as much as he wanted to chase the wounded creature down and finish it off, his better judgement kept him in place.

Once dragon had disappeared over the horizon, Zeke set off in search of Adara. He found her only a few minutes later, hunkered down on the other side of a mountain and surrounded by a shimmering white shield of pure mana. It was her emergency protection, created by the Tower’s tradeskillers, and it harnessed the power of runecrafting to provide much stronger defenses than she could muster on her own.

Of course, Zeke could have shattered it with a thought, but he could admit that that fact didn’t make it weak. He was uniquely suited to breaking enchantments, and if he’d had to guess, he would have said that the shield, which was tied to a large, silver plate upon which the runes had been carved, was strong enough to have resisted most attacks from anyone level seventy-five and under. That made it a very useful item that, against more powerful foes, could make the difference between life and death.

“You killed it?” asked Adara, her body glowing with a defensive skill. She was level eighty-three – a remarkable degree of power given her level when they’d first met – so those skills were no joke. Would it have made a difference against a creature as strong as the dragon? No, not against a direct attack. But those skills, with the added defenses associated with the enchanted plate, might have kept her from becoming collateral damage.

Zeke shook his head. “No. We came to an arrangement,” he admitted. Then, as she deactivated the shield as well as her skills, he explained what had happened.

“It’s never dull with you, is it?” she remarked. “Do you know how often most people see projections of the gods? Never. In all my life, I’ve never heard of anyone seeing one. And it seems like a weekly occurrence for you.”

Zeke responded, “I’ve been meeting gods from the very beginning. I had a conversation with Oberon before I was even reborn, and I met a tree goddess and her demonic brother during my time in the Mortal Realm. Seems like every time I turn around, one of them is trying to interfere with my life.”

“That’s the spark of divinity at work,” said Eveline, suddenly appearing beside him. Her form was almost entirely transparent, making her look like a stereotypical ghost. Not helping that impression was the fact that she was floating almost a foot above the ground.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” Zeke asked.

“What?”

“Floating so you look like a spirit.”

“Uh…the spark of divinity marks you within the Framework,” she said, ignoring Zeke’s question. “Thought it’s close to a flame of divinity at this point. If it weren’t for your weak body and soul, it would have already reached that point. Which reminds me – you really need to upgrade your race at some point before you descend into the Pit. Otherwise, you won’t get as much out of the journey.”

Zeke knew good and well that if Eveline wanted to avoid a subject, she would, so he left his question about her theatrics aside. Instead, he asked, “And how am I supposed to do that? I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, in case you didn’t remember.”

Indeed, between gathering the final natural treasures meant to empower the tower via his quest, he still had Micayne to hunt down, a war to prosecute against the Imperium, and a couple of levels to gain.

“You know a talented alchemist, right? Maybe start angling for a reunion. A potion won’t be enough, but combined with the Hall of Affinities, you should be able to push for a racial evolution.”

Zeke hadn’t really thought about Tucker for quite some time. [Mark of Companionship] was still active, which meant that he could point in the general direction of the alchemist. However, that didn’t mean a reunion would be easy, and not just because of the distance between them. On top of that, Tucker rarely sat still for more than a few days, meaning that, even with [Mark of Companionship], tracking the alchemist down would require quite a lot of effort.

Still, it was one more item to add to his list. He was less worried about Tucker than he had been about Pudge or Talia, largely because he knew the big alchemist could more than take care of himself. Indeed, Zeke wouldn’t have been surprised to find that Tucker’s time in the Eternal Realm was even more successful than his own. Even so, he very much wanted to arrange a reunion before descending into the Pit. Not only were Tucker’s skills incredibly valuable, but Zeke didn’t want to leave the man behind.

“Just one more thing to add to the list,” he remarked. “But you didn’t really explain the divinity thing. How does that relate to my repeated meeting with beings from the Ethereal Realm?”

“Being marked by divinity is effectively the Framework acknowledging your potential. It’s more than that, but in this context, that’s what matters,” she said. “So, when the Framework sees you as a person with potential, it creates an opportunity for those more powerful to contact you. Most people theorize that it’s meant to help those touched by the divine find patrons who will help them get the most out of their potential, but that’s mostly conjecture. Either way, that feature works regardless of the gods’ intent, implying that it may be meant to test as much as nurture. It’s a fascinating field of study, and one that hasn’t seen nearly as much research as it deserves. Those with divine sparks are rare, and those so touched are generally not amenable to being poked and prodded by their lessers.”

It made some sense to Zeke, but he had to admit that he didn’t have enough information to make a proper judgement. Besides, for better or worse, he wasn’t really suited to deep thoughts. He just didn’t have the capacity for looking at things from multiple perspectives. Instead, he liked things to be straightforward, and preferably involving a fight. That was his comfort zone.

“I guess,” he said, running his hand through his hair. Of late, he’d become quite cognizant of how much time he spent in his titanic form, and while he didn’t necessarily think it was an issue, he felt that it was important to devote some of his time to remaining a cambion. Otherwise, he thought that he might begin to lose touch with himself.

After assuring Adara that he was okay, the trio – Zeke, the half-orc knight, and Eveline – set off through the ruined forest. Despite the encounter with the dragon, their destination hadn’t changed. The dungeon still beckoned, after all.

Traveling among the masses of fallen trees was an exercise in frustration, and more than once, Zeke found himself wishing he could fly. Yet, he’d discarded that notion due to unsuitability, so he had no choice but to traverse the ruined landscape on foot. Climbing trees, going around massive piles of overturned earth, and crossing raging streams of acidic water made the entire journey one of constant annoyance.

“It’s like that movie,” he said, kneeling beside one such stream.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eveline said.

Adara added, “Movies are like plays, right?”

Zeke still found it odd that the Eternal Realm had never developed better entertainment options. Some of the larger cities featured mages that could create three-dimensional displays of light that, to Zeke, sounded a lot like holograms, but they were highly sought-after and expensive to hire. So, most people never saw anything like that, instead relying on in-person plays, concerts, and even puppet shows for entertainment.

“Pretty much,” Zeke said. “But when I was a kid, I saw this movie about a volcanic eruption. In it, one of the lakes became so acidic that it killed an old lady.” He dipped his hand into the stream, and he felt a sting of pain as the water immediately started to corrode his fingers. “This is like that. I think we’re getting close.”

Most dungeons were incapable of affecting their environments. Instead, they were self-contained spaces whose only representation in the normal world were the gates leading within. However, there were a scarce few that exerted some influence on the natural world. From what Zeke understood, there was some debate about whether the dungeons changed the world or if they simply manifested in locations that matched their natures. To him, it felt like a meaningless chicken-or-the-egg sort of debate, and one which he had no interest in contemplating.

Regardless, the dungeon they sought, which was supposed to be devoted to fire, was located in an area of volcanic activity. The acidity of the stream supported the notion that they were getting close to the entrance.

For the next few hours, Zeke and Adara – with Eveline making an appearance every now and then – traversed the landscape, and in that time, it grew progressively more hellish. Eventually, even the fallen trees grew sparser until there was nothing but volcanic rock. In places, fire spewed from the ground, and the smell of sulfur pervaded the atmosphere.

It got to the point that Adara grew obviously uncomfortable. She was a creature of immense durability – that had always been her focus – but she didn’t have the advantage of Zeke’s incredible resistance to fire. The lack showed in the sweat pouring down her pallid face. Yet, she didn’t complain.

“She’s desperate to prove she can keep up,” Eveline suggested in Zeke’s mind.

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “I think she just can’t stomach giving in. She’s too stubborn.”

“Like someone else I know,” the mind spirit remarked. Zeke ignored that statement. He was secure in his nature, and while he wasn’t averse to adapting, he knew there was a fine line between growth and abandoning his defining characteristics. Sure, he was stubborn. He didn’t know when to give up. But he believed that characteristic was an advantage as much as a flaw in his personality.

Eventually, they found themselves looking up at an enormous volcano. It was at least the size of Mount Everest back on Earth, and the way it towered over them was at least as intimidating as it was intriguing.

More importantly, their information claimed that the dungeon’s entrance lay at the very peak of that volcano. So, they didn’t hesitate to start the climb. Along the way, they experienced more of the same, though now they had to contend with the issues that came with climbing an active volcano. The slow-moving lava flows were terribly dangerous, but they did represent obstacles that forced Zeke and Adara to reroute. So, the climb that shouldn’t have taken more than a day or two ended up taking almost a week. But eventually, they reached the peak, and, predictably, they found themselves facing a stone arch.

It was made of porous black rock, and the center of the arch shimmered with indistinct shapes that looked like shadowy wraiths.

“Are you ready?” Zeke asked.

Adara nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Then, without further discussion, they stepped forward and entered the dungeon.