She raised her staff. With it, she rose into the air, lifting the Cursed with her. Suspended upright, they flew across the hall, then along a dark tunnel. Beyond it, a grated hatch opened, revealing another tunnel. They flew as dark figures, sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of an unknown, dreadful underground world.
"Favourite, listen. Only to you will I reveal the secrets of my underground realm. This staff creates new spaces and tunnels. Through it, I also communicate with all manner of subterranean creatures and spawn, and compel them to serve me."
As if to confirm her words, she pointed her staff at the dungeon wall, and a tunnel began to form directly in front of her, through which they flew onward. All the while, she moved ahead through the air, like a dreadful guide into a land of nightmares. The tunnel, carving its way through the mass of earth, led them into a vast chamber. At its center hung a sphere, emitting a bright light and sharp, constantly shifting prominences. It was about 300 feet in diameter.
The Dungeon Mistress came to a halt before it. Her dark eyes gazed at the glowing source, spellbound.
"This is my magic, my life." For a moment, she seemed completely sincere and defenseless. "It feeds the power of the staff and shapes the structures of the dungeon around it. It grants me the ability to communicate with the creatures that inhabit them. And it is the source of my existence."
At that moment, she fell silent, as if realizing that in a surge of mystical passion she had said too much.
She raised her staff, and the energy of the source filled the hall with white light. Absolute power surged into the Cursed, restoring every part of his body. His senses sharpened, and his mind began to see unknown realms. He felt the same happening to the Dungeon Mistress as well. For a brief moment, a strange vision appeared to him—one that had no explanation yet. Double doors at the end of the tunnel that led halfway along it to the Dungeon Mistress's throne room. On their surface were carvings of two staffs, very similar to the one the Mistress held in her hand.
When they returned, she sat down upon the black throne. The Cursed remained at its base, along with the squad of lizard servants, now joined by several new ones to restore their numbers after the battle with the Black Executioner.
When everyone had fallen asleep, the Cursed rose and left the throne room. He moved further through the tunnel into the darkness. At its end, he discovered double doors marked with images of staffs. Exactly as in his vision. Which meant it was no coincidence, but something inevitable—leading toward a grim conclusion already set in motion.
He pushed the doors lightly, and they opened as if they had been waiting for him all along. In the dark chamber, a faint blue light broke through the darkness. It came from a staff suspended in the center of the room. It was an exact copy of the Dungeon Mistress's staff, but at its tip was a crystal burning with blue light. The crystal pulsed steadily, as if it were alive.
The Cursed stepped forward and took the staff into his hand. Ancient forces ran through his body. He felt new horizons, previously unseen, had opened before him. He pointed the staff at the wall, and a shaft formed in it, rising upward. The Cursed lifted into the air and flew into it. Passing through the tunnel, he burst outside and found himself in the dark forest. A strange force caught him and carried him onward. He did not resist, fully trusting it and sensing the approaching resolution.