The Grand Weave

We rushed through the passages and headed for the exit a few minutes out.

"Cyrus, what did you do?!" Sereza shouted.

"Nothing! Maybe I met god but this isn't my fault," I snapped.

"God? But there are multiple gods. Did you mean Cal?"

"Uh well no..."

"By the gods he met something beyond divinity. We're fucking dead," Isaac growled.

"Shut up," Teddy ordered. "Cyrus left or right?"

"Right."

We hopped over a cleverly concealed pitfall and dived under mesh of razor-thin thread. As we turned left, Celenae conjured a barrier and we crashed into the crystal while she peeled herself off Igas' back.

"Hey!" Isaac complained.

Another blade-like limb crashed into the barrier before Eodyne extended her hand and created a wall of air that crushed the golem into a crumpled ball.

Beyond the corpse, the skittering golems scrambled down the narrow passage in an attempt to dismember us.

"Years of delving this dungeon, Cyrus. The spiders don't attack like this!" Isaac grumbled.

Celenae lowered the barrier and Igas charged in. His sword bisected two golems in one swing then he stomped. Ice pillars smashed the rest into the ceiling before they crumbled with metal bits raining down and pinging off his armor.

We rushed through the tunnel and encountered another four groups, each bigger than the previous. By the fifth group Isaac roared and slipped into the shadows.

"Isaac! Get back here," Celenae shouted.

Teddy held out his arm and shook his head. "Let him clear the way. We should be near the exit."

"Why is he even mad? Like, I get being annoyed at Cyrus but he seems weirdly angry," Sereza said.

"Because this is his favorite floor. He practically lived in here for months when he was training."

"And that's angering, how?"

"He doesn't do well with change," Teddy said, deadpanned.

"Oh."

As we ran through the final section of the maze, it was littered with corpses, and more than a few stains on the floor.

"The stains. The slimes are invading the floor. Are all the dungeon monsters on the move?" Celenae asked.

"Possibly," I admitted. "Or at least that was what they screamed at me."

Celenae narrowed her eyes but Teddy pushed us into the final bend where Isaac was waiting. He tapped his foot and motioned with the dagger.

"Can we go now?" he said.

The exit portal looked nothing like I imagined. The mechanical gate was bright gold and lined with carved motifs filled with intricately carved depictions of each floor inside the Labyrinth.

A little gaudy for a shadow maze.

"I'm still getting that explanation after we're out, right?" Sereza asked.

I sighed and got in line. The portal itself was a curtain of dull blue that emitted faint light inside the shadowy corridor.

As Teddy stepped closer the edges of the portal crackled and a cold chill shot down my spine.

Danger!

I grabbed his collar and yanked him back. Before the blue flashed pink Celenae conjured a barrier and the hallway became a collage of iridescent light amidst the explosion that rocked the dungeon.

As the dust cleared, I stared at Celenae's shaking hands before she collapsed into Eodyne's grip.

"Four... Four barriers, and the fifth barely held. That... oww."

Teddy pulled out a mana potion and undid the lid so she could drink. His aura activated and her cheeks returned some of its color as she chugged.

Eodyne stood her up and as one they turned to stare.

I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I sensed it before it happened; no idea why it happened."

"In interest of not being turned into mush, can you do that dungeon communication trick?" Teddy said.

This time I summoned Galarion and watched the blob of glowing lights congeal into Galarion's new form. He was bigger, more like a tiny pumpkin than an apple. And his head shape had a more refined point than it did before.

None of his physical changes stuck, because just as soon as he appeared, so did a set of gnawing teeth along his tentacles and confetti streamers attached as extra limbs.

I recognized the monstrosity from one of the memories we helped cleanse and I slapped him flat. Before the others could comment, I slid the spirit pancake into my head and resisted the urge to cough as his tentacles wrapped around my mind.

Celenae cocked her head. "Was that Galarion?"

I pushed my hand to the wall and braced myself.

"Cyrus?"

"Busy," I responded.

Celenae grumbled something under her breath but I closed my eyes and pushed mana through the dungeon's channels.

As soon as it connected, so did a stream of information that was hungrily devoured.

Sluuuuurp!

"Galarion... Did you just slurp the memories?"

"Memory noodles! Need's more macaronni!"

Another time, Cyrus. Another time.

As I pushed deeper I sensed the screaming like physical wails before it translated into sound in my thoughts.

"We're dead! We're dead! We're dead! No control! No control! No control!" Gimbal screamed.

"Gimbal! Calm down, return to the throne! We can't let the energy spread," Neolenn said.

"No control! Oh we're screwed! Massive failure! Failure! Aaaaaaaagghhh!"

The screaming snapped the connection and I rocked back, landing in Teddy's arms.

"Oww."

"You're bleeding again," he said, wiping my nose before I could stand.

"Yeah we need to get out. Pronto. Need to find Cal after."

"Pronto?"

I groaned and started pushing the man down the hallway. The portal's collapse had created a minefield of debris and jagged metal but Teddy served as a battering ram and pushed it away with his shield.

Isaac stuck with the group this time and we cleared any monsters that attempted to bullrush us the moment they spotted our group.

"If the exit portals are exploding, that'll leave a lot of trapped adventurers," Teddy said.

"We'll help with rescues after we dump Cyrus outside the guild," Celenae added.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"No excusing. You're to get as far away from the dungeon as you can."

Eodyne unleashed a hail of arrows into a charging crowd of spiders and lowered her bow. "He should flee the city. Sereza, think you could get a carriage and head to Emberion?"

"Sure," Sereza replied.

"Hold on-"

Sereza tapped me with her tail and shook her head. "You'll like the place. Has a big spa culture thanks to the hot springs."

"Guy's. I'm not leaving the city. I'll stay inside the manor, but I made a commitment to help in the healer's guild."

"You're being stubborn," Isaac scowled. "Don't cause any more problems."

The gremlin dug furrows into its cage but I reined it in and snapped my attention forward. Conversation died as we continued to run, occasionally stopping as Isaac scouted ahead.

Eventually we rounded a bend and found a suspicious line in the wall. Broken Tower got into formation and Teddy rammed into the wall, revealing a hidden room.

Monsters dropped from above. Six spider golems, with a seventh that was smaller and made of clear material that blended into the shadows.

I readied my spear but Teddy flooded the room with light as Celenae conjured barriers. Within seconds they dismantled the golems, and a wall slid open revealing a small closet with a metal chest inside.

Isaac smashed the lock open and sliced apart the dart that launched at his neck. Before I could blink he tossed the bag of treasure into his dimensional storage and started examining the wall.

"What are we looking for?" Sereza asked.

"Loot rooms tend to have hidden exits. Just gotta find the correct indent," Isaac explained.

I pushed past the others and slammed my hand where I sensed the hidden enchantments. The stone drank my mana and the walls dropped away, revealing a hole in the floor barely wide enough for Arturous to fit.

"Cheater," he muttered.

"Not the time to complain," I countered.

One by one we hopped inside and the sliding feeling of diving through folded space grasped my skin. Strangely enough, it felt good, almost welcoming.

Reality returned and I rolled to my feet, finding the ground crystalline.

The others were up and they looked as perplexed as I was.

"We skipped a floor?" I asked.

"Looks like it. Everyone here?"

Arturous roared and I patted his snout. "Exit the portal before it explodes and then rush out. Right?"

"Yes. Let's go."

Unlike the Wailing Caverns, the sixth floor was well lit and lined with fancy decorations and bright crystal scones. The gilded walls were plain but they extended throughout the entire dungeon as we passed through several archways.

"Know where we are?" I shouted.

Teddy shook his head. "Not a clue. If we're lucky, we'll find one of the statues. Those parts of the dungeon remain unchanged."

"There's a distinct lack of golems. That can't be good."

"We'll deal with it when it-" Teddy stopped and held up his shield.

As he flooded the area with his auras the others got into battle position and I was able to see beyond the man's broad shoulders.

It was an expanded room the size of a noble's ballroom. And packing it tight, with barely inches apart, were the dozens of golems.

The crystal behemoths were everywhere, from the ceiling, half-formed atop the dangling chandeliers, and even the walls where they gripped with sharpened spikes.

They turned and released a sonic screech before the first in line charged with flaming fists.

Oh fuck.

Sereza started to back away but Teddy slapped his shield and extended his mace.

He cracked his neck and the metal along his weapon glowed gold as the giant spectral copy appeared above the golem's head.

"Broken Tower. Annihilate the enemy."

Crunch!

The shards of crystal showered the walls, but Celenae blocked the hail from passing through the tunnel's entrance.

Ohhh. Oh shit.

***

"You know. I sometimes forget that they’re Broken Tower," Sereza said.

I turned to the felkin and pointed at Isaac who was happily stabbing a golem's core like it owed him money.

"How?"

"You know what I mean. This should have killed us."

"I don't think so. They've always been pretty strong."

A bit of understatement.

Teddy taunted the crowd, and Celenae sectioned them off. Igas severed appendages, leaving the golems to crawl or be frozen to the ground. Eodyne launched bolt after bolt. Each attack finding the monster's core and creating cracks that Isaac exploited.

And Arturous? He was a living tank that battered around the golems as if they were toys.

What was over dozens of dangerous tier-two golems, were reduced to half their number within moments. Sereza wasn't even allowed to step inside the room until Celenae gave the go ahead.

We approached and stopped to stare at Teddy who slammed his shield through one of the golem's neck.

Celenae snapped her fingers and a barrier appeared to intercept the lazer that tried to reduce him to ash. The golem got two seconds of firetime before Igas shoved his sword through its chest, and popped off its head with a pillar that carried it into the last golem standing.

Eodyne hit its center, and the core exploded. In the aftermath, Isaac stepped out of the shadow and slammed the pommel of his blades into its face.

Crystal cracked, and the golem powered down.

He dusted himself off. "That was cathartic."

"Let's just hope there's no more surprises." Teddy said.

"Aaand that's how you curse us."

We stepped past the broken bodies and into an empty room. I sensed mana on the other side and signed a warning.

We got back into formation with Teddy leading the way. The mana intensified into swirling lines just behind the wall.

Teddy tapped the stone with his mace and it produced a hollow ping.

"Secret room?" he asked.

I placed my palm and traced the mana channels into the hidden enchantment just under our feet.

"I can try opening it."

"Do it then. But Igas, grab him," Teddy ordered.

"Understood," Igas responded.

I counted to three and sent mana through, the stone drank deep, bottoming me out before it finally opened. As it did, energy crackled and latched onto my chest even as Igas struggled to pull me away.

"Cyrus!"

I slipped free but Teddy grasped my wrist. His eyes widened as the force continued to suck me into the pink portal, dragging him along.

"Let go," I yelled.

"No."

I groaned as I dragged Teddy and the others who formed a chain behind him. Reality existed long enough to see them stretch before they were whisked away, deeper into the dungeon.