The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Vitmori POV

I find myself sitting at the entrance to my chamber, watching the horizon, and just thinking about my thoughts and feelings. It was already midday, and I haven't done much to be productive today. Though after the night I had, I'm having trouble really bringing myself to do much of anything.

Beyond having to relive the worst day of my life, a new question has been pestering me ever since I woke up from the dream walking. Just how long have I been being watched? Two times, I heard a feminine voice that sounded awfully similar to that goddess or administrator or whatever they were called, yet I have no memory of those conversations when they supposedly happened. I brought it up to Reyvyre again when we woke up, but she had no clue what it could have been as she couldn't remember me having those conversations during her time viewing my memories.

I have yet to see any one of those weird screens or windows pop up since I discovered these memories, so it's very likely that whoever has been watching over me either doesn't care that I know she's spoken to me before I came here or hasn't noticed that I now know that we had conversations during my last life. I wonder how well I knew her or what they think of me. Obviously, I poured my heart out to this being, sharing my deepest and truest intimate thoughts and feelings at their apparent request. They must know of the atrocities I inflicted on other human beings and the lack of remorse or even the satisfaction I felt immediately after committing those acts, yet despite that, I was chosen by them to be their candidate, whatever that means.

Maybe I'll have to ask someone about the gods and goddesses of this world. It's clear to me that they at least appear to have a more active role in this world. At least if what I've learned from Tori is anything to go by. But then again, her opinions and information come from the perspective of another candidate who was placed in this world by a higher power. So, her experiences might be rather biased and unique. Maybe I'll have to talk with Zasutir or even Dread about it. They came from a Theocracy after all and have their own Saints according to Reyvyre. Not to mention the fact that people with aspects are historically known to be granted powers directly from the gods, which means I can probably safely assume that at least one or more gods have their eyes on me.

Regardless, there's not much for me to actually do about it right now with how isolated I am from the rest of the world.

I finally focus on the moment, figuring I've done enough contemplation for one day. Making my way down my mountain, I crossed through the spitter wolf den and continued to descend until I found myself in Lichtdren's core chamber. Standing before the throne that stood in front of the absolutely massive core, I looked over the serene skeletal remains of Lichtdren. Out of sheer curiosity, I reached out and attempted to try and find her soul, to pull it back through the veil like the others I've done before and... I couldn't do it. It was an odd sensation, to say the least, as if I'd stuck my arm through murky, muddy water and was blindly reaching around. There wasn't any particular resistance, but it felt like I was just pouring my mana into a bottomless hole.

Pulling away both physically and mentally, I look over Lichtdren before releasing a pointless sigh. "So much for that... I hope you're able to enjoy your rest, I have a feeling you more than earned it after so long." With that idle curiosity resolved, I decide to make my way back up the mountain. Perhaps I'll pay a visit to the Haven and see how I can make myself useful.

Ferodias POV

His claws tap against his desk in a slow one-two pattern as he leans back in his seat, eyes closed in deep contemplation. There's a lot on his plate right now, and he's not sure what to start acting on.

First of all, he's still got the peace banquet to manage and plan for, though at least for that, Tori and her ladies have been doing an admirable job of handling most of the planning and work for that.

Secondly, the Drakewardens are currently planning to leave en masse to settle in Vitmori's lands; while this is not a problem in of itself, this does mean that his own imperial drake riders are gonna be short-handed for quite some time until more of them can be trained up. Ethically sourced drake eggs are rare at the best of times, even with breeding of domesticated drakes, and wild-sourced eggs are especially rare and expensive. He could probably make do with consolidating the drake riders with the other branches of his air force, but he has no doubts that egos will be bruised and that there will surely be squabbles among his men and women over hierarchy among other things.

While it is not necessarily a problem, he also needs to figure out how to publicly deal with the fact that Tori is now a mage of sorts. Her having power is not an issue at all. The issue is how quickly she developed to this point. Before she left, she didn't even have a mana heart; but after her trip to Vitmori, she not only had a mana heart but also a mana circle. That level and speed of growth are... Well, it's unheard of.

Poor Regan ended up getting an upset stomach from the stress of it all; especially after performing an examination on Tori and discovering that her newly formed mana heart and ring are perfectly stable. Her body seemed to handle the drastic change in mana with no complications whatsoever, and he could see no signs of any of the adverse effects of mana doping that are common in those trying to unhealthily increase their strength with usually short-term methods.

Ferodias is happy for her and is glad to see she is taking it all in stride despite her rather unique situation. But they have yet to come up with the official story for her sudden development, and it is only a matter of time before the rumors get out about her. Regardless, Tori has taken to her newfound stamina and vitality with gusto much to the dismay of her ladies-in-waiting who try to keep pace with her; with only the daughter of one of the knight captain's managing to do just that. Nowadays Tori has been keeping pace with Ferodias while doing the bureaucratic paperwork, diving deep into her magic studies with Regan, and ransacking the imperial library for all sorts of different books on a wide variety of topics and even different languages.

Beyond that, the real problem is the report he got from Senior Drakewarden Tobias. According to him, Vitmori supposedly received a revelation from the gods that there would be some kind of calamity in four years. Though with no real clue as to what the calamity is supposed to be, all that information has done is set him on edge, making him feel as if there were a sword hanging by a thread over his head as he has to consider how to best protect the empire he's worked so hard to forge.

His mind wanders to the report Regan told him about a couple of weeks ago now, how the Saintess of Gaia had received a revelation which was the apparent cause of an uptick in activity in the last year with the escalation of beastkin disappearing from the streets in the last year or so. Did they hear from the goddess herself about the same calamity Vitmori was told about? Or is it something else... Now that he's thinking about it, Tori told him how the slavers from the Hegemony were transporting a strange chest that was magically locked and shielded from scrying. Did that also have something to do with whatever the Theocracy is planning regarding the revelation the Saintess received?

Having lost himself to his thoughts, he had been caught by surprise when he heard the door to his office opening. He didn't even hear them walking up, nor did they knock. He was annoyed at first by the intrusion, but upon seeing Tori, he couldn't help but smile as he sat a little straighter, fixing his posture. "Hey there, Tori, did you need something?" He asked though he was soon taking a slow, deep inhale through his nose as he caught the scent of some delightfully savory smells from the tray that was in her hands.

The other-worldly empress flashed a charming smile as she used her hip to push the door open a little more before shutting it with a nudge of her foot. "Yes and no." She said simply before bringing the covered tray over and carefully setting it down on his desk. "I could definitely use some help in trying my latest creation. But beyond that, I just wanted to spend some time with you, is all." She explained cheerfully, taking the lid off the tray and revealing a plate of what appeared to be fried and breaded sticks of something, accompanied by a red sauce that smelled of matiloes and other things.

His nose twitched with curiosity as he looked over the plate curiously, though as she began running her fingers through his head fur, he couldn't help but smile a little more and lean into her touch. "I see. Well, you'll have no complaints from me. What have you made today?"

She flashed a smile as she pulled away, walking over to a cabinet in his office before grabbing a bottle of red wine along with a pair of glasses. "What I have for you is fried cheese sticks with a marinara sauce. Or, at the very least, the closest approximation to it that I could make. This particular dish took some time since I needed to figure out what ingredients were the closest approximation to those of my world."

With his curiosity piqued, he took up one of the cheese sticks and bit into it, his eyes widening with surprise at the stretchiness of the cheese when he pulled it away, having to bring up his other hand to not make a mess of himself while he chewed. Tori started to chuckle softly as she watched, pouring them both a glass of red wine before going back to running her fingers through his head fur. It took another moment for him to swallow before he looked up at her with a delighted smile. "That was quite good. What sort of cheese is that? I don't believe I recognize it."

"It's called mozzarella, at least that's the way I prepared it." She explained before gesturing to the dish with the sauce. "Try dipping them into the sauce."

Ferodias did so, his ears waggling at the extra flavor before looking over at her curiously. "Did you say you made this? I was under the impression that cheese took quite a lot of time to prepare. When did you start?"

Tori could only smile as she watched him enjoy the food before speaking up once more. "This morning, it took some trial and error to get it right, though I'm satisfied with the final product."

Ferodias nodded in silence, his mouth full with a second stick of cheese and sauce before chasing it down with a sip of red wine. His ears waggled more at the complimenting flavors. "I would like to know more about this... er... Mosserela, and see how it's made later." He enthused, struggling a little with the foreign word. "Though I must ask, when did you get so good at cooking? It's not an exaggeration to say that each of your creations is as wonderful as the one before."

Tori's cheeks flushed at the compliment, though she simply leaned in and lovingly kissed the side of his head before taking up a cheese stick for herself. "Both of my parents were amazing at cooking. It wasn't their job or anything. They just came from families with strong cultural roots, and they both taught me and my siblings everything I know. We would often eat at all sorts of restaurants too and try food from all over the world. When I got older, and my parents got busier with their jobs, I would take over the cooking with my brother and got even more practice that way until I moved out for college."

Ferodias listened intently, soon realizing she was not talking about her family as he knew it. "Is... Is this about your family from your old world?" He asked curiously, having, of course, met Count Blackstone and her mother at this point. The way she spoke of them, there was so much more warmth and adoration in her voice than when she spoke of the Count or any of her siblings. He wondered how much of herself she was holding back before now, though ever since she revealed that she came from another world and reincarnated into this world, she's been much more confident and even more open than before.

Tori smiled warmly at that as she nodded. "Yeah... I'm just so happy I can talk about them now... I feel like there's a weight that's been taken off my shoulders now that you and Regan know more about me. I can finally just talk openly to you and be even more straightforward and honest instead of having to make things up or talk in circles." She leaned in, kissing the side of his head again before draping an arm around him, pulling him close to her as she sat on the arm of his chair. "You're so good to me, Fero."

Ferodias leaned into her willingly, happily accepting her embrace. "Your happiness makes everything I do worth it, my darling." He said softly to her.

Afterward, the duo ate quietly for a little while longer, just enjoying each other's company when Tori suddenly snapped her fingers, looking as if she just remembered something. "I nearly forgot to bring this up since we've been so busy... But I was having a talk with Vitmori the other day when he mentioned that he has some people going to infiltrate the Gaian Church in their capital, as well as a slaver household in the Hegemony. We should probably inform our spies in both countries so we can work around them."

Ferodias' ears perked with surprise at that, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he did his very best to find his words. After another moment, he looked up to her curiously. "Is that wise? I don't mean to be rude, but how are some mana beasts going to accurately gather some information?" He knew there were prowlers, a serpent, a rat, and numerous mana-mutated birds along with a few representatives, but none of them sounded like they could properly infiltrate or gather information.

Tori tilted her head side to side in thought. "Well, I'm not sure how to exactly explain it... But essentially, he's got eight people from the theocracy who decided to turn on the church and work for him. So they're double agents essentially. Oh! But for that slaver household, his prowler, Basti, is able to shape-shift and is replacing someone who was already there. That part I was there for, she was able to perfectly replicate this woman by the name of Dhalia, a beastkin who worked for the lady of the slaver household. Vitmori used some kind of memory magic to transfer Dhalia's memories into Basti so she could assume Dhalia's place more accurately. He also plans on making his way to the Hegemony himself, using the avatar Reyvyre built for him." She readily explained before taking a sip from her glass of wine.

Ferodias could sense she was omitting something, but he knew better than to doubt her or mistrust anything she said. He's had the feeling for years for the most innocuous of things, which was most likely due to her secret of being from another world. If there was another secret she wanted to keep, he had no qualms about it. Regardless, everything else she said rang true, which had some heavy implications for the future. He leaned back in his seat before tapping his fingertips against his desk thoughtfully. "I see... Well, that will certainly be useful to work with. I'll be sure to get this information to our people. Are we able to get some names or physical descriptions, perhaps?" He asked her curiously.

Tori flashed a small smile as she bobbed her head. "Sure, I got to see all of them, so I'll get with one of our artists and have them draw them up." She offered readily, though she then hesitated as she brought her hand back up to his head and ran her fingers through his head fur some more. "Actually, we should probably wait before we act... These are not our own spies we're dealing with here. We don't want to compromise them before they're able to do anything."

Ferodias nodded intently, leaning into her touch. She made reasonable points, and as Vitmori is now their ally and equal, they need to be mindful of how they act around his forces; especially if they're both working towards the same goal. He reached up, taking her hand by the wrist before bringing it down and affectionately kissing the back of her hand. "Very well, my beloved. Then I shall rely on you to coordinate with Vitmori if he's willing. Could you please update me on his decision when he makes one?"

Her cheeks flushed lightly as she smiled and brought her hand around to cradle his jawline, her thumb brushing his bottom lip. "Of course, Fero, you can count on me." She said in a soft, almost husky voice while gazing deeply into his eyes before flashing an amused smile and pulling away. "Make sure to go for a walk. It isn't healthy to stay cooped up in your office all day." With that, she took up the tray with the now empty plate and bowl, leaving Ferodias on his own once more.

He couldn't help but smile a bit, bringing his hand up to touch his lip, the warmth of her touch still lingering as his tail curled and flicked behind him. He sat there for a few more minutes until he decided to stand up and take her advice. Perhaps a walk through the gardens would help settle his mind.