"Now then, everyone... I hope you enjoyed the show."
Damien smiled at the recruits. "This is it for today. You may take the day off. Get to know each other and the others of our Familia. Get to know Hestia. And perhaps have some rest. Tomorrow, I will pair each of you with new weapons and items designed to help you improve."
The recruits nodded and turned to leave. Alcy held her sword to leave as well, but Damien spoke.
"Not you. You wait."
She nodded and stayed. The others filed out of the arena, their voices fading into the distance. When they were finally alone, Damien turned to her.
"You did pretty well. I hope you were not disheartened."
Alcy shook her head. "I am not. But I do not know about 'did well.' You did not even go into that dark form of yours. And you still have hundreds of shadows left." She paused. "But hey, now that I am here, I am guaranteed to become stronger."
Damien studied her for a moment. "So... honestly, the reason why I told everyone to leave and had you wait... why are you back? It has been years, and you have never shown up in Orario. Why now?"
Alcy exhaled. "Ah. I was expecting that question."
She reached into a pouch at her belt and pulled out a rock. It looked ordinary—about the size of her hand, grey and unremarkable. But it had engravings on it. Ancient symbols carved deep into the stone, and they were glowing. Purple. Pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat.
"When my father was kicked out of Orario, he passed through where I lived. He handed me this rock." She held it up. "He said I am to visit Orario when something changes with the rock. That I am to find the strongest of Orario and challenge them to battle." She paused. "He also said that if I lose... then I will have been wrong about the strongest. But if I win... then I am to serve that strongest."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "And?"
"At first, I refused." Alcy's voice hardened. "My father and I do not get along. He abandoned me when I was four. But what he said after... that is what changed my mind. What made me come here and find you."
Damien leaned forward. "And what was that?"
Alcy looked at the rock in her hand. The purple glow reflected in her eyes.
"He said that I have brothers and sisters. That most of them are inside the dungeon." She looked up at Damien. "And that only the man I am meant to serve can help me find them."
She closed her fingers around the rock.
"So that is why I came here. To finally explore the dungeon. To find my brothers and sisters."
Damien was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"I see." His voice was calm, measured. "I appreciate your honesty." He met her eyes. "And I promise to help you find those brothers and sisters of yours."
Alcy's expression softened. "Thank you."
She turned to leave.
Damien watched her go, his mind already moving to the next piece of the puzzle. Alcy's story explained one thing. But there was still the woman who had followed him from the arena. The one who claimed to be his servant. The one who had held the head of a dragon like it was nothing.
One loophole closed.
Now onto the next.
Vritra.
...
"You and I finally get to talk one on one," said Damien.
Vritra bowed her head. "I am glad to be speaking with you, my lord."
"Can you drop the lord bullshit?" Damien's voice was sharp. "I do not like it. I see no reason why you should call me lord when I have not done anything to earn it yet." He crossed his arms. "What I want to know is information. And by information, I mean everything you can tell me. I am in the dark here. Just last night, my enemy was the dungeon and the One-Eyed Black Dragon. Today, I have two more dragons who want me dead for some reason."
"Five," said Vritra. "There are five of them."
Damien stared at her. "Seriously? Five?"
"Yes. And the ones you faced were merely avatars. They sacrifice a soul to project a part of their power. It was not really them. They are far stronger than that."
"More good news." Damien rubbed his temples. "But that bitch already said that. Now then... why do they want me dead? And who are they?"
Vritra's golden eyes were steady. "They are the Five Pillars of Light. Tiamat. Qinglong. Yinglong. Albion." She paused. "Each of them is a dangerous and evil dragon that serves the Lord of Light—a being entrapped in the dungeon, awaiting his return. They want you dead because you are the one getting closest to conquering the dungeon."
Damien held up a hand. "Wait, wait... there is so much to unpack here. What do you mean their lord is inside the dungeon? What is his relationship to the gods? And how am I getting close to conquering it? Would not that free him?" He counted on his fingers. "And you mentioned five... but only named four. What the hell? Explain."
Vritra's expression did not change. "Four because the fifth one is me. I used to be one of them. However, the Shadow Monarch freed me from his control. My brothers and sister are mind-controlled by him. It has been more than a thousand years. We simply cannot escape it. I did because Ashborn helped me. I do not know how he did it, but he saved me."
She paused.
"And they replaced me with another dragon. One you are familiar with. You call him the One-Eyed Black Dragon. We call him Azi Dahaka. The Demon Dragon." Her voice hardened. "He is despicable. Not even a real dragon."
Damien processed this. "So the One-Eyed Black Dragon is one of them? A replacement?"
"Yes."
He shook his head. "Fine. Continue."
Vritra took a breath. "Now, for the Lord of Light. Let me explain. The Lord of Light was entrapped in the dungeon by the gods. Betrayed, or so he says. But the gods I speak of are not the ones you know. Rather... outer gods."
Damien's eyes narrowed.
"One was the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn. Another was the Lord of Sky and Heaven, Ouranos. There were others. But they all died except one—the Dragon King. Known as the Dragon Monarch. He died, but the title was inherited by another, just as you inherited the Shadow Monarch."
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.
"The Dragon Monarch is the one who created the dungeon's current form. He made it into a feeding ground. The Lord of Light uses the dungeon's kills to absorb power to revive himself, and the Dragon Monarch protects it. However..." She looked directly at Damien. "If someone destroys the dungeon, the Lord of Light never revives. That is why they fear you."
Damien was silent.
"Not only are you the inheritor of the Shadow Monarch—which we have not seen in ages—but you are someone who truly can conquer the dungeon. It was not designed to face someone like you. It was designed to face the armies of the gods."
Damien ran a hand through his hair. "I am so lost. Gods... outer gods... Lord of Light... Ouranos is involved... Dragon Monarch... the One-Eyed Black Dragon has a name..." He let out a long breath. "Everything is a fucking mess."
Vritra bowed her head. "I expected things to be hard to understand at first. But I will do my best to help you."
Damien looked at her. His expression was unreadable.
"Yeah." His voice was tired. "You better."
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