Sera - A Dungeon Revival LitRPG

Haziel floated through a boundless void, her mind adrift as if untethered from the weight of her body. The crushing pressure of the stone and debris that had buried her was now a distant memory, lost in the endless darkness that surrounded her. The void was cold, its silence suffocating, pressing in on her from all sides, yet she felt neither fear nor pain. Only a stillness, vast and empty, stretching on forever. Is this how it ends?

Unease stirred within her, as if buried beneath layers of apathy. But then, through the thick silence, whispers threaded into her consciousness, soft and almost indistinct. The voices called to her, their urgency growing with each passing moment, cutting through the oppressive stillness.

Fight, they urged, their tone relentless. You are stronger than this. Do not yield.

The words struck a chord deep within her, igniting a spark in the depths of her mind. The void trembled, rippling with energy, as if responding to her stirring will. Haziel’s mind sharpened, her senses awakening to the voices’ call, pulling her back from the precipice of oblivion.

Keep fighting. You cannot fall here.

The darkness shifted as a faint light flickered in the distance. It wavered like a dying flame, casting dim shadows into the void. Haziel's awareness surged toward it, her body pushing against the weightless nothingness that had held her in place. Her limbs felt heavy, sluggish, but the light was a beacon, its presence drawing her forward.

As she swam through the dark, the light grew, its intensity feeding her with renewed strength. The whispers grew louder, more distinct, filling her with a rising fury. That small spark of defiance in her chest flared into a wildfire, burning away the numbness that had clung to her.

I will not be defeated.

With a final, forceful surge of will, Haziel broke through the last remnants of the void, her body crashing back into awareness. Her eyes snapped open, blazing with red lightning, her vision immediately filled with the sight of stone and rubble pressing in around her. The suffocating weight bore down on her, yet the pain that should have come with it was drowned beneath the power surging through her veins.

Red lightning crackled at her fingertips, tendrils of energy snaking through the debris, lighting up the dark chamber in violent flashes. She could feel the power building inside her, growing stronger with every pulse of energy that coursed through her body.

The rubble shifted as the cracks splintered through the surrounding stone. Haziel clenched her fists, her body trembling as she drew on the full force of her power. With a guttural roar that echoed through the ruins, she unleashed it all in a violent explosion. Red lightning erupted from her in a wave of destructive energy, shattering the debris and sending dust and stone flying in every direction.

The air was thick with smoke and dust, but Haziel was already soaring through it, her body propelled into the night sky by the sheer force of her ascent. Below her, the ground smoldered, a crater smoking in her wake. The cool night air whipped against her face, refreshing but unable to quell the heat that raged inside her. They will pay for this.

Her mind reached out, stretching across the vast landscape, seeking the two demons who had dared to challenge her. The world below blurred as she focused, honing in on the faint traces of their presence.

Haziel's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, she angled her flight toward the source of the disturbance. The red lightning crackling around her intensified, propelling her forward at breakneck speed. The ground blurred beneath her as she cut through the night sky like a vengeful comet.

Before long, she descended, landing with the force of a thunderclap, the impact sending shockwaves rippling through the earth. The ground beneath her feet cracked, splintering as she stood before the entrance of a large cavern, its mouth obscured by thick, interwoven roots.

Haziel’s gaze locked onto the entrance, her breath coming in steady, controlled bursts. The voices that had called her back from the abyss whispered at the edge of her consciousness, urging her forward, spurring her anger. They thought they could escape me.

Haziel's eyes burned with fury as she approached the entrance of the cavern, the gnarled roots barely slowing her as red lightning surged from her fingertips, disintegrating the natural barrier into dust. She stepped inside, her aura crackling with violent energy.

The air in the dungeon was thick with dampness, and the walls were lined with bioluminescent fungi, casting an eerie glow. Haziel's senses stayed sharp, her mind already calculating the trap she expected to find. Yet, no resistance came, no immediate ambush awaited. She pressed deeper into the dungeon, her lightning casting long, menacing shadows on the walls as she moved swiftly through the twisting corridors.

It wasn’t long before she came across the first line of defense: a group of towering myconid guardians, their massive fungal forms rising from the earth like sentinels. Their spore-filled breaths hissed in the air as they moved to block her path, but Haziel barely spared them a glance Pathetic.

With a flick of her wrist, a bolt of red lightning arced through the chamber and struck the myconids with deadly precision. Their bodies convulsed as they collapsed to the ground in heaps of smoldering ash. The angel soon stepped over their lifeless remains without a second thought.

Finally, after dispatching another wave of lesser creatures, Haziel reached the heart of the dungeon. Before her stood a large magic circle inscribed into the floor. The air thrummed with energy, and a soft voice echoed in her mind.

Would you like to descend to the lowest floor?

Haziel paused at the message. She had expected a final ambush or a more elaborate trap, but this? An invitation? She clenched her fists, her lips curling in a sneer. A trap, surely. But no matter. Whatever awaits me below will fall like everything else.

The angel stepped into the circle. The runes flared to life, and in an instant, the world around her dissolved into shimmering light. She felt a brief sensation of weightlessness before solid ground materialized beneath her feet.

The atmosphere was different here. Colder, darker, the energy sharper, more deliberate. Haziel’s red lightning flickered around her as she raised her head, her eyes immediately locking onto the figure standing before her. This one looks… familiar.

Haziel knew that the one standing in front of her had to be an elder dryad, standing tall and serene, her white hair flowing like a river of silver, with calm yet sharp eyes. She was dressed in a black dress that belied the immense power Haziel could sense radiating from her core.

The elder dryad tilted her head slightly, studying the angel with a neutral expression. "I was expecting you,"

Haziel’s surprise faded quickly, replaced by a hard, cold stare. "You remind me of someone I hate."

The elder dryad didn’t flinch. "Yes, I’m aware. But before we settle this, would you at least be willing to talk? There’s much to explore in this dungeon, and I’d prefer not to rush into senseless violence."

Haziel’s eyes narrowed, suspicion clouding her mind. Talk? What game is she playing? She had no desire for idle conversation, yet something about the elder dryad's demeanor gave her pause. The dryad stood unarmed, no signs of deceit in her posture, her words almost... sincere.

For the first time since entering the dungeon, Haziel hesitated.

After a long, tense silence, she let out a low, dangerous hum. "Fine, but no games."

The elder dryad's lips curved into a faint smile, though there was no malice in it. "Understood. Shall we?"

Haziel, her red lightning still flickering warily at her fingertips, nodded stiffly. "Lead the way."

The elder dryad lead Haziel deeper into the dungeon’s labyrinthine corridors, the glow of bioluminescent fungi casting soft blue light on the walls. The silence between them was tense, but it wasn’t hostile, more a fragile equilibrium as each gauged the other.

"You can call me Sera." The elder dryad said plainly as she walked. "But you must hate me, considering what I am and what I stand for."

Haziel’s eyes narrowed, though she didn’t stop walking. "You'd be correct."

Sera didn’t react to the venom in Haziel’s words. Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back, her tone thoughtful. "I am nature incarnate. The Spirit Tree is the essence of life, but life requires balance. For centuries, mortals have tipped that balance in their favor, spreading unchecked across the world, harvesting, conquering, and multiplying with no regard for the natural order."

Her eyes flickered with a dangerous light as she spoke. "My purpose is to restore that balance, no matter the cost."

Haziel’s jaw clenched, her fingers tightening around the hilt of her sword. She hated everything about Sera’s words, the cold logic of it, the detachment. It twisted her insides, filling her with disgust. "And you think that justifies murdering innocents?"

Sera’s gaze slid over to Haziel, her expression unreadable. "Mortals have forgotten their place, that's all."

Haziel’s red lightning flared brighter, the air around her crackling with pent-up fury. "Your arrogance is revolting. Who are you to decide when there are too many? Who gave you the right to pass judgment on entire civilizations?"

Sera shrugged, the movement graceful, almost dismissive. "No one gave me the right. I am the right. I exist to fulfill this purpose, just as you exist to wield your power. I am not here to ask for permission, angel. I am nature’s hand."

Haziel's curled into a sneer. "You think yourself some kind of deity, above the suffering of those you condemn. You speak of balance, but all I hear is a monster rationalizing genocide. That is what you are."

Sera’s expression remained serene, though her eyes glittered with something sharper, darker. "I do not revel in destruction, I merely accept it as part of life’s cycle. Birth, growth, death, it's all connected. I serve the Spirit Tree, and through it, I guide the world back to equilibrium."

"You make it sound so... clean. As if wiping out entire communities is just a matter of balance, as if the lives you extinguish mean nothing."

"It is not that their lives mean nothing. It is that they are part of a greater whole, a whole that has been neglected. I am here to preserve the balance of the world, even if it means making difficult choices."

Haziel’s fists tightened, her red lightning coiling around her like a living serpent. "Your ‘balance’ is a lie."

Sera opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, Haziel moved with blinding speed. In a flash of red lightning, her blade pierced Sera’s chest, the tip of the sword bursting through her back with a spray of black sap.

Sera’s breath caught, her eyes wide with shock as the searing pain spread through her body. She glanced down at the sword embedded in her chest, her mind struggling to register what had just happened.

Haziel’s face was inches from hers. "I don’t need your philosophy, this all ends here."

Sera's body trembled under the force of Haziel’s blade, the red lightning crackling around the sword sending shockwaves of pain through her. But instead of crying out or showing fear, a slow, wicked smile curled on her lips.

"You're not the only one with tricks," Sera whispered.

With a flick of her wrist, the ground beneath them erupted. Sharp thorned vines shot up from the earth like serpents, wrapping around Haziel’s legs in an instant. The angel's eyes flashed with surprise, but it lasted only a moment.

Her wings flared open, and with a burst of red lightning, she launched herself into the air, tearing free from the vines as they crumbled to ash beneath her power. She hovered above Sera, her form glowing with crimson energy.

Meanwhile, Sera gripped the hilt of Haziel’s sword and yanked it free with a sharp gasp. Black sap poured from the wound, staining the ground beneath her, but her body quickly began to heal. The wound knitted itself together, the damage already vanishing.

While Sera tossed the rapier aside, the angel raised her hand, and a bolt of red lightning shot toward Sera with terrifying speed. Sera’s instincts screamed at her to move, and she threw herself behind a nearby tree just as the blast struck the ground where she had stood, incinerating the spot in a fiery explosion.

The tree offered no true shelter. Haziel could feel the flicker of Sera’s energy as the dryad attempted to gather herself. Pathetic. The air was thick with the scent of ozone, her power rippling outwards, crackling like thunder about to strike. She knew Sera felt it, the urgency in the dryad’s movements betrayed her.

Haziel hovered midair, watching as Sera’s eyes narrowed in concentration. She didn’t have to see it to know what came next. The ground rumbled, and with a thundering crash, massive roots—thick, twisted erupted from the earth and surged toward her.

Predictable.

Haziel’s wings snapped open, catching the air with effortless grace as she twisted her body. The roots swiped through empty space, their sharp tips barely grazing her. With one powerful beat of her wings, she propelled herself higher, just out of reach, as the roots crashed back into the earth, sending tremors through the dungeon.

Her eyes locked onto Sera below. The dryad’s face was tight with frustration, her breath ragged. She's desperate.

Then, Haziel raised her hand, red lightning crackling around her fingertips. She allowed herself a moment before unleashing another torrent of lightning. The bolt ripped through the air, a crack of pure energy aimed straight for her enemy.

This time, the elder dryad wasn’t fast enough. The lightning struck Sera square in the chest, the force of the blast lifting her off the ground as her body convulsed violently. Haziel watched as the electricity danced across the dryad’s form, searing flesh and turning everything in its path to ash.

For a moment, the world stood still, the air thick with the smell of charred wood and burning life. The heat of the blast rippled outward, but Haziel remained unmoved, watching with cold satisfaction. The force of her power had torn through Sera’s body, reducing it to nothing but cinders.

As the smoke cleared, only Sera’s head remained, resting pathetically on the scorched earth, her body entirely obliterated.

Haziel descended slowly, her wings folding back as her feet touched the cracked ground. The earth beneath her gave way slightly, trembling under the weight of her power. Her sword still crackled with residual energy, the red lightning flickering along the blade like a living thing.

She strode forward, her eyes glowing with a mixture of power and vengeance, each step deliberate, unhurried. The dryad was clinging to life, her magic desperately working to regenerate what had been destroyed. Haziel could feel the flicker of it, weak and faltering.

It doesn’t matter.

"You’re finished," Haziel said, her voice cold as ice. She raised her hand, red lightning sparking once more at her fingertips. This time, she wouldn’t leave anything behind.

***

Sera blinked, her vision swimming for a heartbeat, and when her eyes focused again, the world around her had changed. The air was thick with the smell of decay, sharp and cold, biting at her skin like tiny needles.

Her breath misted in front of her as she looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. They were whole again, her body unscathed, the damage Haziel had inflicted completely erased. She clenched and unclenched her fists, feeling the familiar pulse of energy coursing through her veins.

She stood in the Long Death once more, the frozen swamp stretching out before her. The ground beneath her feet was solid ice, smooth and treacherous, reflecting the pale light of the sunless sky.

How? Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the disorienting shift. Moments ago, she had been in her dungeon, on the brink of death. Now, her body was restored, but nothing about this felt right. What just happened?

Her confusion deepened as she scanned the horizon. And then she saw movement in the distance. A figure, emerging from the thick mists of the swamp, stepping toward her with a slow, deliberate gait. Her breath caught in her throat as the figure drew closer, the details sharpening with each step. The figure was an exact mirror image of Sera herself, down to the smallest detail.

The copy’s skin was pale, almost luminescent in the cold light, her hair cascading in a silvery waterfall, just like Sera’s own. But there was something different about her eyes: dark, ancient, filled with a depth of fury and power that made Sera’s stomach twist.

Sera’s voice was barely more than a whisper when she spoke, "who are you?"

The mirror image didn’t stop her approach. When she spoke, her voice thundered through the silence, vibrating the very air. "I am the origin of the Spirit Tree. The Vengeful Goddess, Progenitor of disasters and plagues."

Sera staggered back, her breath catching in her throat, the cold biting even deeper as her mind raced to grasp the impossible. There was only one being who fit that description. No… it can’t be.

She forced herself to speak, though the word came out in a choked gasp. "Yssara."

The image of her, the goddess, nodded slowly. "Did you truly think that I wouldn’t notice your little rebellious ideas?"

Dread clawed at Sera's insides, wrapping around her spine like icy tendrils. But she fought to keep the fear from showing on her face. She couldn’t afford to let it control her. I have to stand my ground. She still needs me.

Swallowing the rising panic, Sera straightened. "You still need me."

Yssara’s lips curved into a slow, cruel smile. "Indeed," she chuckled, her voice like a distant rumble of thunder. "Which makes things all the more interesting."

Sera’s chest tightened under the weight of Yssara’s gaze, but she forced herself to maintain her composure. The cold of the Long Death crept deeper into her bones, but it was the presence of the goddess before her that sent chills rippling across her skin. Yssara stood tall and unyielding, a monument of divine fury barely restrained behind an almost playful expression.

I need to be careful. Sera knew that one misstep could seal her fate. But Yssara’s amusement, while dangerous, might also be her opportunity.

"Where is Amaryllis?" Sera asked.

Yssara’s expression barely flickered. She waved a hand dismissively, as though swatting away an inconsequential thought. "Unimportant. Amaryllis has served her purpose. What happens to her now is irrelevant to me, and it should be to you"

Sera swallowed her frustration. Of course she wouldn’t care. "Very well, then let’s talk about Haziel."

Yssara’s amusement vanished, replaced by something more predatory. Her smile widened, but this time it was laced with interest. "Haziel is an angel disgraced, but still powerful indeed."

"She’s stronger than I anticipated. If I’m to deal with her, I’ll need more than what I have now. More power. More control."

"You speak as though you expect me to hand you the strength you seek."

"I’m not asking for charity," Sera said, holding Yssara’s gaze. "I’m offering you what you already want—your balance restored. If Haziel kills me, there’s no one left to carry out the Spirit Tree’s will."

For a moment, Yssara said nothing. The silence stretched between them, heavy with the weight of unspoken truths. Then the goddess chuckled again, the sound low and rumbling, like distant thunder. "Power always comes at a cost. If I give you what you seek, you won’t be the same. A fraction of my strength will twist you, reshape you into something else entirely. Are you willing to sacrifice what you are for that?"

Sera’s heart pounded in her chest. The very thought of becoming something other than herself filled her with dread. But she wouldn’t show it. She stood her ground. "I’d rather die than be your puppet."

Yssara's smile twisted, sharp and cold like a blade. "You misunderstand," she hissed, her voice laced with cruel amusement. "This isn’t your choice to make."

Sera’s breath caught in her throat, a protest forming on her lips, but before she could speak, the world around her erupted. An overwhelming surge of energy slammed into her body, crashing through her like a tidal wave of raw, unbridled power. It struck her with such force that her knees buckled instantly.

Every fiber of her being forced to absorb the torrent of strength Yssara was pouring into her. The power twisted through her veins like wildfire, searing and burning as it surged deeper, faster, consuming her from the inside out. Sera’s vision blurred, the edges of her sight going dark as the intensity of it overwhelmed her senses. No… what is this?

Her lungs strained for air, each breath ragged and shallow. She gasped, her chest heaving as she fought to stay conscious, but the energy was relentless. It ripped through her like a storm, untamed and merciless, pulling her deeper into its grasp. Sera’s thoughts splintered, the sharp edge of pain dragging her mind to the brink of oblivion.

Yssara’s laughter rang in her ears, low and mocking. "Let’s see what you’ll become."