Dungeon (Part 2)

The golden room.

A golden room.

Axel stood in the golden room. He shut the door behind him.

The golden room was filled with treasure. Piles and piles of treasure. Hundreds of golden cups, golden coins, golden tools, golden trinkets. And on top of the treasure sat a man in golden silk robes, with golden silky hair, and golden eyes.

"Hi, Axel. We finally meet in the real world." (Gabriel)

"Oh... What?!" (Axel)

Axel looked with his usual puzzled face but this time it was ten times as puzzled. Gabriel sat up in his own luxurious style.

"You're probably wondering, how, when, where did I come from? Well... I'm technically still in that small head of yours. Actually, I'd describe it as being in both worlds at the same time. Look right there." (Gabriel)

He pointed to a small glowing purple orb in the middle of the room.

"It's a cursed item that turns dreams into reality." (Gabriel)

"Neat." (Axel)

Axel picked it up with his bare hands.

"Right now that cursed item is channeling the Harmony of the closest person to it at the moment. So keep it close ok, or I disappear." (Gabriel)

He jumped from the pile of golden trinkets. He floated across the air, landing right next to Axel with a short thump.

"But don't worry. This cursed item isn't harmful, it only affects one person at a time so if you just keep it close no one else will be affected. And only you can see me" (Gabriel)

"So what's your plan? Talk to me more? Or just stand watching me like in my head?" (Axel)

"No no. I just wanted to get a close and personal look at your adventures." (Gabriel)

Axel slammed through the golden door and out into the corridor of doors.

"How do I turn this thing off?" (Axel)

"I'm not telling you. How about a riddle?" (Gabriel)

"Enough of your riddles-" (Axel)

Doom stood in the hallway watching Axel talk to himself.

Axel stopped at stared at him. He stared at Axel. They stared at each other.

"Yikes. This is tense." (Gabriel)

"What do you have in your hand?" (Doom)

"Nothing." (Axel)

Axel strolled past, minding his own business while trying to hide the purple orb from Doom.

Doom looked closer.

"Is that a cursed object?" (Doom)

"Noooooo..." (Axel)

He kept walking. Doom grabbed his shoulder.

"You can't just take a cursed object? Thats-" (Doom)

Axel turned around.

"And what are you going to do about it?" (Axel)

They stared at each other harder. Gabriel stood in the back watching.

"Axel, I'm not going to fight you, but... I'm gonna have to call this in to the Guild-" (Doom)

He paused. He remembered that the Guild was over and that there was going to be a grace period for a month until the new Promotion Trials. He remembered all the procedures that went into submitting a cursed object for review by the council. He remembered all the trouble and time that would take. How long that would be now, how long that would take even after the Promotion Trials.

Axel squinted at Doom's thinking face.

"Are you ok?" (Axel)

"Actually? Well... Does that mean? No no no. " (Doom)

He mumbled to himself, thinking back and forth on the logistics and reasonable probabilities of getting a cursed object in for review.

"Are you sure you're ok man?" (Axel)

Gabriel leaned on Doom.

"Axel, this guy..." (Gabriel)

He looked closer into Doom's head.

"He's powerful. Maybe stronger than you. He's got an immense amount of Harmony. Too much for a regular human." (Gabriel)

Doom stopped thinking and stepped forward with confidence.

"We could fight but I don't think that would progress anything. So how about in return for allowing you to have that cursed object, you tell me all of your secrets." (Doom)

Axel silently slid the purple orb under his black cloak.

"No deal. I'm fine just fighting, I heard that you're strong." (Axel)

"No no no. We must have a compro-" (Doom)

Axel swung at Doom. Doom stepped back dodging the attack. Axel swung again. Doom deflected the attack slamming it into a wall.

"Woah woah woah. Ok, I got it. You want to fight but... How about instead. We play a game." (Doom)

Gabriel sighed.

"Another game. Just walk away Axel." (Gabriel)

Axel didn't listen.

"I'm down to play." (Axel)

---

Mel and Gen walked through the dark dimly lit dungeon alone.

"Mel Mel Mel!" (Gen)

She tugged on Mel's white priestess robes.

"Yes Genni!" (Mel)

Mel turned around ennoyed. She looked down at Gen's scared nervous face as they walked through the darkness.

"Ummmm. Where did Doom go?" (Gen)

Mel looked in all directions. She summoned five more whisps of light and flung them across the dungeon. Nothing but insects and small monsters.

"God damn it. Again! Gen, we should head back and regroup." (Mel)

Mel started walking in the other direction. She walked until she couldn't hear Gen's footsteps anymore.

Thump.

Mel looked down.

"Help! I've fallen! Help!" (Gen)

Mel looked down into a black pit of statues.

"I think I found the second level!" (Gen)

"Good going Genni but... How about you wait there and I'll be back with the boys. Make sure not to move ok." (Mel)

She walked away.

"But...! Mel...! Wait..." (Gen)

She was gone and Gen sat alone in the darkness.

---

Ten minutes later.

"Axel! Doom! Axel! Doom! Axel! Doom! Where are you guys!" (Mel)

Mel walked across the twisting hallways, the countless doors, the torches that littered the corridors. She passed back and forth, screaming for the two missing men.

"Axel! Doom! Axel! Doom! Axel! Doom!" (Mel)

No one answer back.

"Uhhhgggg... I'll just go back and complete the dungeon with Gen." (Mel)

---

Ten minutes earlier.

"It's a simple game." (Doom)

"It better be." (Axel)

"The first one to finish the dungeon wins. That's it." (Doom)

"That sounds too easy to be legit Axel. Be careful and ask questions before you-" (Gabriel)

He ignored Gabriel and turned around ready to start.

Doom held out his hand.

"But before we start I need you to shake hands with me." (Doom)

Axel turned back around.

"Fine." (Axel)

"No no no Axel don't do it! This is way too sketchy-" (Gabriel)

They shook hands.

Gabriel face palmed.

"Then let the game begin." (Doom)

Axel immediately bolted away.

---

He ran all throughout the dungeon. He ran through caves of dark stone, caves of glittery rock, he ran through walls, through door after door. He ran past monsters of varying sizes, loot of varying rarity. He ran and ran and ran and ran until he realized he had been running in circles.

He stopped to a sudden screech.

He pulled out the purple orb and held it high.

"Gabriel." (Axel)

Gabriel stood next to Axel with his hands on his hips and his face tired and annoyed.

"You really got lost." (Gabriel)

"Where do I go?" (Axel)

Gabriel sighed and pointed behind him.

"Take a left. Run for half a minute, take another left, then take a right. And you'll reach the second level, but before you-" (Gabriel)

Axel bolted forward. He took a left, ran for half a minute, took another left, then a right and eventually he reach-

He stopped again in a sudden screech.

"There you are?! Where were you this whole time?" (Mel)

Axel looked at Mel, he looked at the hole right in front of him.

"Is this the second level?" (Axel)

"Yes. But we should wait for Doom-" (Mel)

"Sorry no time to wait. I gotta run!" (Axel)

"What! Axel!" (Mel)

He jumped into the hole. He landed with a strong explosive crunch. He looked to his left and saw Gen sitting scared and afraid. She looked up.

"Axel!" (Gen)

He kept running.

"Axel..." (Gen)

He ran past twenty stone statues, past a massive stone gate that led to a gigantic room filled with more statues.

He ran over a trap.

The two doors at either end of the room closed shut and all the statues came alive with glowing red eyes of evil.

Gen screamed in fear. But Axel had no time to worry about casualties, he just kept running and running.

He ran past all the statues, past all the stone weapons swinging at him, past all the loot and creatures littering the ground. He just had one goal in mind, one mission in mind.

And you may be wondering? Is it to kill the Guild Master? No no, he was too narrowminded to stay on track with that. His new goal was... To beat Doom to a pulp.

So he opened up his silver eye and channeled his harmony into one point with his fist. He punched the stone door creating a blast of white light.

"Third Dimension. Forgotten World!" (Axel)

The door obliterated into nothingness.

He kept running.

---

Gen sat alone in the darkness as twenty stone statues slowly inched closer to her.

She curled up in a ball afraid for her life. She was afraid of death, afraid of losing everything, her rank, her family, her job, her new boyfriend. She closed her eyes and-

The statues blew to dust.

Mel fell from the ceiling with a thump.

"That idiot Axel. Just when I find him he goes off running. And now I gotta fight these statues." (Mel)

"Mel!" (Gen)

She jumped up hugging Mel to death.

"Woah woah!" (Mel)

Mel fell back with no strength left in her knees.

"Woah Gen stop! I can't-" (Mel)

Gen got off of Mel.

"Mel are you ok?" (Gen)

"Yeah just next time warn me. I'm just a bit tired, I used too much Harmony. I think I'll rest here." (Mel)

---

Axel ran into room after room, his speed never stopping, constantly increasing. He reached the third floor. He kept running.

"Axel maybe you should slow down... There's some loot back there that you should-" (Gabriel)

"Stopping will lose me time!" (Axel)

He reached the boss room on the third floor. He punched through the great doors that led to a grand stadium of sorts.

The stadium was surrounded by lava and floating skeletons. And in the center stage stood a massive Ogre thirty feet tall and filled with pores of flowing green goo.

"I smell human! I smell human!" (Ogre)

"Did I win?" (Axel)

"Nope. You gotta kill it first." (Gabriel)

"Uggghhh. Fine. I'll finish this in twenty seconds." (Axel)