Chapter 127

AN: To celebrate my 27th birthday, here's chapter 127!

To a new year of DWAS!

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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Instinct's body was ready, lying inside it's rotunda beside the dungeon soul's monster core.

I was going over last minute checks as Huea rode Wave on her way to the Core Island. The body still had it's soul, but without any mental expansion or development it was a small, simple thing. It had enough brainpower to run it's body, but not much else. Even without input from me, it was in a coma-like state. As soon as Instincts was in there, I'd bring that up to it's proper size.

As a precaution, Instinct's body was young, barely a juvenile. I wanted it to have some kind of childhood, rather than throwing it immediately into adulthood.

Wave and Taura arrived, landing gently on the edge of the island. They approached instinct's rotunda cautiously, eyes skyward as they examined the whirling accretion disk above them. I wasn't stupid, of course the amphitheatre my core resided within was higher than the rest of the island. Instinct's rotunda was actually on the lowest part, and it was only a little stifling to stand there, from what Wave could feel.

As the only living being to push through my disk to reach my core... I think his sense of what was stifling and oppressive was a little warped, given how both Taura and Huea hunched their shoulders. I stood from where I knelt by the body, and my Avatar turned to greet them as they arrived.

"Welcome to Core Island, my Children. Thank you for agreeing to aid me, Huea." Wave and Taura nodded their large heads in my direction, but remained at a distance as Huea approached further

"Of course, Creator," Huea answered with a respectful nod, though her eyes were still fixed on the body. "This is...?"

"The body. Alive, it's existing soul is weak, and should be easily displaced for Instincts'," I answered, waving at the stand at the center of the rotunda.

"Instincts... this is the 'child' Paragon told us of?" Huea asked, approaching but not touching the core. Her eyes glimmered with stars as she activated her manavision to observe the soul within.

"Ah. Yes, this is that soul," I answered, uncomfortable. Huea obviously picked up on his, raising an eyebrow in my direction. "It's... not actually my child. As far as I can tell, this soul and my own came into being together, and it was only when it disagreed with my decisions did we come into conflict. All my focus was necessary to keep the stalemate. That was actually why i became... unresponsive, and why it was necessary for Wave to deliver this core to me. It was obvious we could no longer coexist within the same core, though i suspect If we'd remained of the same mind, we could have existed in that state indefinitely."

"Twin souls, then. Fascinating," Huea answered, circling the core. "Two souls within one core, in a stable state. I have tried such a thing in my experiments, and the subjects always kills themselves within minutes. The conflict between them is too great. In an effort to 'attack' the other, they take control of parts of the body and strike parts under the other's control. I stopped when I could make no progress, but perhaps... with more compatible souls... or one simpler and one more complex..."

"Remember your limits," I reminded her, referencing how she was only allowed to perform only so much Death magic at a time, to minimise any mental corruption. She nodded, distracted.

"Of course, Creator. I advise we introduce 'Instincts' into the body's core first, and then it can expel the other soul into this core. Do you mind If i keep it afterward? Having a simple soul like this to experiment with would be most useful."

"Sure. It's a better idea than mine, at least," I answered. With my original plan being killing the body, then introducing the instincts... I hadn't exactly planned for a spare soul in the equation. "And less likely to have... complications."

"With this method, I shouldn't even need to bind the soul to the body," Huea theorised, claw running along the body's golden scales. "Instincts will be able to take over the existing connections, rather than needed to have new ones made for it."

"Even so, be ready in case it become necessary," I replied, my Avatar taking an unnecessary breath. "Let me tell Instincts of the plan, and we can begin." I moved to the pedestal, the light within brightening as I drew closer.

My bony fingers held Instinct's core and lifted as the obsidian fingers that held it in place relinquished it. I pushed a mana tendril down the arm and into the core, connecting to it.

We're ready. Soon, I will place this core against your new body's core. You must move into the body's core, usurp control of the body, the push the body's soul into this core.

Yes yes. Ready. I want my body!

I chuckled. I know, buddy. Here we go. I pulled the tendril away, and turned to face the body. As my Avatar knelt next to Huea, I warped the body's flesh, pulling it back to open the chest cavity and expose the body's heart and core.

I gently reached in, and touched the two cores together. The core in my hand dimmed as Instinct surged into the body. For a minute there was no change but for there now being two lights within the body's core. Then the core in my hand brightened again. A questioning tendril confirmed.

This was the simple soul of the body, not Instincts.

I stood back, knitting flesh back together and performing the finishing touches as I handed the core to Huea. It certainly looked stable. A glance confirmed Instincts was still within the body's core and, crucially, it was alive despite losing it's original soul.

I expanded the body's brain to the size and capacity it should've had to begin with, giving instinct's new body one final look-over.

The scales gleamed in the afternoon sun, a bronzed gold with lighter scales on the belly and inner parts of the legs. Two wings sat nestled at it's sides, with it's four legs curled up beneath it. It's feet had five long, clawed toes each, and all were fully capable of acting like a hand. The tail was long, and unlike Wave and Taura was bare of any fins. At it's end rested a sharp bladed head, modeled after a spiny, irritable dragon I remembered from my previous life.

Yes, with the definition and shape of it's face, horns, teeth and all... this was no Wyvern. This was the first True Dragon. Honestly, once Instinct's got the idea I couldn't convince it otherwise.

And yes, It was still an it. It had no genitalia. It was genderless. if Instincts developed masculine or feminine traits, I'd ask if they wanted their body altered to reflect that. Until then though, I thought it best not to flood a formerly-bodiless being with hormones and urges entirely alien to it's previous existence.

Instinct's stirred, blinking languidly as it roused to consiousness for the first time. It worked it's jaw, spread it's wings and streteched every part of it that could stretch, then stood, unsteadily on it's legs. Thankfully, there were still some, hah, instincts in the body it could lean on to move about. Instincts looked around with wide eyes, taking in everything in and outside of the rotunda. When it's gaze rested on my Avatar I saw them freeze.

"H... Hello?" Instincts said, a hesitance in their voice it had lacked as merely a soul. As intended, their voice was androgenous, and could be mistaken for male, or female.

"Hello, little one," I answered, stepping forward. I stopped when I stood before them, our eyes locking, resting at the same height. "Is the body to your liking?"

"I..," Instincts was still hesitant. "You know me... I feel like I know you.. But I... can't... remember?"

I cottoned on to what they meant immediately. "Ah.. I understand. Yes, we do know each other. We existed together as souls, and you asked me to make you a body, and it seems we didn't account for... software issues. Your soul remembers me, but your mind is a clean slate."

"Made me?" Instincts muttered. Hmm. I'd need to ask them if they wanted a new name. "Are you... my... Mother?"

I blinked, nonplussed. "Technically, I suppose. I shaped your body, and by introducing your soul to it gave you life. I didn't birth you, and didn't create your soul as far as i know, but then again most mother's don't form their children's souls. For the record, I consider myself male, even if I'm a genderless gemstone."

Instincts blinked at me, shifting slightly. Then they nodded. "Mother."

I sighed. Huea giggled. We both turned to look at her and she covered her mouth. I could see the smile she was hiding, her snout was far too large to hide it behind a single claw.

"Oh, shut up."

"Yes, Mother."

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The Minotaur Village, The Tenth Floor, The Dungeon

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Ossydus took in the view of the village. He'd seen Towers-Over-Others at the Scorpan village yesterday, and The Scorpan had apologised profusely for leaving him behind. Ossydus had assured him there was no blame to be had. If anyone was responsible for him being left behind, it was Ossydus himself.

That morning he'd entered the Scorpan Citadel, and paid respect to the Scorpan King, Strikes-The-Air. After that, he'd passed through the First Temple, and was soon on the path through the Tenth. The road was a good one, the stones recessed and gaps filled in enough he felt no discomfort. Unlike Blackwater bay. That place had been hell on his hooves. He'd heard that hooved beasts called Horses wore metal 'shoes' to protect their hooves in cities.

Ossydus didn't really like the idea of a metal boot like the humans wore though, and didn't understand how it'd even work, so he'd refrained from asking further.

At the end of the short path, two smaller dirt paths wound their way through the plains. To the left, between wheat and corn, the path led to the village. He ached at seeing the familiar gleaming grey walls. He'd missed his home, even with the wanderlust that'd gripped him the moment he heard Aston was leaving The Creator's lands entirely, and not just the dungeon. What wonders would he find out there? He'd wondered. He smiled remembering the humans he'd made friends with. Those four young ones, especially, and not just because they were the most recent.

He owed them a debt, one he'd be certain to repay in the future. He thought on them and their oddities for a moment. On the ship, when he was pretending to sleep, he'd heard three of them talk in another language, while the fourth responded in Phenocian. And not just that, but the language was Runic. A language he was as familiar with as Minos, the language of the Minotaurs. He had no idea how those three had known it, but they seemed to have some kind of blessing like the one The Creator blessed His children with; to understand each other without problems.

Inevitably, his eyes turned to the right path, the one that led to the Eleventh. He'd never been there, but decided he'd like to go. There was a ocean littered with islands there, ripe for exploration. All without having to leave The Creator's lands again. He imagined himself building a home with Penne there, suddenly wistful. Ithca, He'd name their home. He wasn't sure where the name came from, but liked it very much.

He took another deep breath, and took the first step off the cobbled path.

Time to go find the girl of his dreams.

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Outside the Dungeon, Obsidian Beach, Atlantis

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Tamesou Akio stood one the black-sand beach nervously, shifting in his armour as he spotted a group of adults approaching, two of which he recognised. The Guildmistress, and her assistant -Felin, he'd learned was the man's name- along with two tough looking men.

The group of four had decided to stand by the black obelisk on the beach as the sun rose, hiding in it's shade from the bright sunlight. Elize was with them, but not in armor. She was dressed in fine clothes that reminded Akio of what they'd found her in. Noble clothes, made of silk and entirely unsuited to fight in. She was talking lowly with Sophie while Bruce idly played with a water sphere in his hand.

He was... "Is that a Rasengan?" Akio asked, recognising the spinning motion Bruce was doing with the water.

"Yeah," Bruce answered, looking sheepish. "I had the thought last night. It was theoretically possible to do with all the elements, not just wind, but I don't think it was ever explored in that universe. That I know of. I might be wrong."

"I have no idea If it'll work or not," Akio answered. "I wasn't an otaku by any sense of the word. Too busy with Student Council work. Good idea, though." He briefly created a star of light on the end of a finger. "Who knows what kind of inspiration fiction holds." He cut off the spell. "Anyway. Look alive, guys. Guildmistress is on her way over here."

Akio pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. There was a feminine-sounding clearing of a throat behind him.

"I think you mean, already here, " a familiar woman's voice said.

He turned slowly. Yup. She was right there. Black dress, blindfold, white skin... holding a parasol she tilted to protect the exposed skin of her neck and face from the sunlight.

"Ah, good morning!" Akio greeted, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Good morning," she said, waving at the two strange men. "With me are Bertram and Haythem." The men waved when the Guildmistress said their names. "They'll be delving with you today. They're among the strongest guilders on the island, and have reached the Eighth floor of the dungeon. When I heard they were looking for a few more members, I asked if they'd be willing to do some shallow delves for a while. They agreed for one delve, to see how well they work with you."

"The Eighth? What's it like down there?" Sophie asked, stepping forward to stand beside Akio. "I know the guidebook said there were only eleven floors, but are they really that dangerous?

"Unlike anything you've probably seen before," Bertram answered. He was heavily armored, with a mace at his hip and shield on his back. "Each floor is a world unto itself on the lower floors, getting larger and more complicated the further down you go."

"You've obviously got some experience with dungeons if you managed to make Gold at your ages," The other man, Haythem, continued. "Throw anything you think you know about dungeons away. All that junk is useless. If you want to survive delving this dungeon, you need to be aware at all times. Not just of your surroundings, but of openings, your footing, changes in air pressure, and most of all your own limits. We'll be purchasing a couple of Teleport Crystals from the Dungeon Vendor for you when we get in there. Given we're only going down to the second floor, you shouldn't need them, but don't hesitate if you feel like your life is in danger."

He looked at them all, and Akio wondered what he'd gone through. The look in his eyes...

"Well? What are you standing around for?" The Guildmistress asked, "I've had you slotted in as the third party to enter. Off you trot."

With that, the albino woman and her assistant left. Akio turned to Haythem and Bertram when he judged the woman far enough away.

"So, any rumours about what she is? Vampire of some kind, right?"

Haythem smirked, shaking his head. "Vampires don't exist, kid. That's just an old folk tale people told their kids to get them to behave. No, Layla Losat has a certain image she maintains. That's all. Either way, we've been told your names, but i don't know who's who."

"I'm Akio," Akio answered. "Light mage, trained with the sword and shield."

"Bruce, Mater mage." Bruce said, showing off the ball of water he was still messing with.

"Sophie, Darkness mage, trained with daggers and shortswords," Sophie continued, making her shadow wave without moving her own hand.

"Elize, Untrained and not delving today," Elize finished, curtseying.

"Ah, it's good to meet a fellow light mage," Bertram stated, his eyes flaring briefly with light. "Not many of us around.

"We'll be in your care," Akio answered with a bow. A bell rang, and Akio turned to the dungeon as the line shortened.

"We should get a move on." Haythem said, already moving towards the dungeon. "That's the second group. We're third. C'mon kids, keep up." Akio waved at Elize as the three teen heroes followed the men. Elize waved back, and Akio caught the look of sadness that crossed her face.

They'd have to make it up to her somehow.

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