I lay on the stone platform, stunned. This was my first time interacting with the system since I was collared. Once I came out of shock, I immediately tried to pull up my character sheet.

  "Error system interface running on minimal settings."

  "Damn, still not working."

  Just then, a system prompt popped up.

  "System message: a dungeon spirit would like to open communications."

  "Y/N"

  I had nothing to lose; I was gonna die in this dark cave. I had no food or water, and I had lost too much blood.

  "Yes"

  "Hello, fragile human, my name is Khronos. I am the spirit of the dungeon and the personification of time. I have a request for you." The dungeon spirit's voice boomed in my head.

  "The spirit's nature is to bond with a monster and supplement their affinities. Unfortunately, the fate of any space and time spirit is not to create that bond; no monster has such an affinity. It is too late for me. However, my offspring is still young. Will you meet with them and see if they can form a bond with you? "the ancient-sounding spirit said.

  "I don't know what does the bond do for me?" I questioned.

  "You would fuse with the spirit, becoming one. However, in your case, I am not sure what would happen. Spirits do not bond with those of the ascended races. I am sure you would have some benefits. Meet with my child before you make a decision. A bond should be formed on compatibility, not benefits. Diastima, please come out where the human can see you."

  A majestic ball of spectral purple light arose from the floor. I half expected this tiny ball of light to start saying, "Hey, listen." It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. As I lay on the floor, the light came closer to my face, touching my forehead. When the light touched me, I saw a vision of a beautiful woman dressed in a flowing silk gown, her face and body pitch black with orange and blue nebulas in them, she was in an evergreen forest.

  "What's up, dude? Do you got a name?" the beautiful woman said with a dumb valley girl accent. The only thing missing was the smacking of chewing gum.

  "Yeah, it's Dane," I said hesitantly, still shaken by the dramatic entrance.

  "Where's the rest of you?" The woman gestured to my hand and legs.

  "I lost my hand in a duel. And I had to cut my legs off in the dungeon cave-in," I said, gritting my teeth at the painful memories.

  "That sucks, do you mind if I rewind them, as much as I want to bond with a cripple, your not my type unless I don't have to bend over to look you in the eye." She said in that ditsy tone.

  "Um, what are you even talki..." I couldn't even finish before the crazy woman waved her hand. I felt excruciating pain in both my legs as her magic had made both of them pop back into existence. I watched them as they went from mashed-up ground beef, snapping and popping as the bones reformed into their original shape before the fall.

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  "Hmmm, that's weird. Why didn't your hand grow back? When did you lose it? Never mind; I'll rewind you until it comes back, " she said, truly confused.

  The feeling was strange. Unlike my legs, my body felt better when she began to do her spell. I looked at my arms and legs; they grew fuller, and I felt stronger. I was able to stand up again on my own. It wasn't until the end, when my hand came back into existence, that I felt the familiar pain snapping and popping as it reformed and healed from the fight with Skeleman.

  "There you go all better, but I had to go so far back, I feel like a pedophile. Can we stay friends?" Dia said

  "What is your name?" I asked with a single tear of joy trickling down my face.

  "I am Diastima. But my friends call me Dia. It's nice to meet you, Dane." She said in genuine kindness that Dane had not known for a long time.

  "What are you?" I asked

  "Me? I am a dungeon spirit; Dad says we are just mana deposits that gain sentience." She pointed at the crystals that Dane was familiar with, as he had been mining them for two years.

  "Is he even your dad if you are just collected energy?" I questioned, genuinely curious, how they formed their dynamic.

  "Well... Usually, I would have formed by myself, but my dad collected all of the mana that created me. He even put it in some of his stores to give me the time affinity. In a way, we aren't related, but he taught me everything he knew about the world and some of his magic. If he isn't my dad, then at the very least he is my uncle, " the spirit said with an answer that sounded like she was explaining something she had never questioned once.

  "How will we know if we should create a bond?" He felt like a fish out of water with all the spirit stuff that had never been taught in his primary school.

  "We can't. Or, um, I should say couldn't. To form a bond, you have to match affinities perfectly. You don't have much affinity for time magic, but are exceptionally strong in space. But with me dumping most of my time affinity in that rewind. I say that we are a perfect match. I have one question: What will you do with your life? There is no way I will be tied to a loser," she explained, waiting silently for my reply.

  I wanted to tell the spirit I wanted to leave the dungeon and return home. I wanted to live a peaceful life, caring for my little sister. But the rage and fire inside of me would not let me lie.

  "I am going to get stronger. I will kill everybody who had a part in throwing me into this dungeon. And when I am done, I am going to kill the emperor and free my world from their tyranny." I said more as a vow than a statement.

  "I'm in," Dia said

  With both of us in, I returned to the platform where I had the conversation with Khronos, now back in the cavern and out of Dia's mind space. Going from a tranquil forest back to the caverns that I despised was jarring, reminding me of only bad memories. I watched the purple bubble draw a magic circle with plenty of rune magic made entirely of the ethereal mana. Dane watched as the circle began to pulse, the faint lines becoming solid with each beat.

  "Dane, stand in the circle," Dia said

  I proceeded to stand in the circle in the spot that felt right. I began to feel warm for the first time since I was brought to this dungeon. Dia floated across from me, and after the pulsing of the magic circle stopped. I felt a tug that pulled me towards the spirit; She floated closer to me, eventually touching my head. I was oddly calm all my years overthinking each worst-case scenario, quailed by the spirit's embrace. The raging storm in my heart was finally at peace.

  System notification: Slave collar must be upgraded to resume suppression effect.

  Title earned: First of my kind

  Description: You are the first of the ascended races to bond with a spirit. Spirit magic is unlocked; other magic pathways are now closed off

  +50% amplifier to all stats

  +25% boost to space and time magic casted by the user

  Race: Human (Modified)

  Rank: F

  Name: Dane McAllister

  Exp: 0/100

  Level: 1

  Strength: 9

  Dexterity: 8

  Constitution: 8

  Charisma: 3

  Stamina: 9

  Intelligence: 9

  Willpower: 15

  Unassigned Points: 0

  Skills

  (Common)

  Unarmed Combat LVL 5/25

  Axe Proficiency LVL 24/25

  Small weapons LVL 3/25

  Identify LVL 1/10

  (Uncommon)

  Haste LVL 3/5

  (Rare)

  Danger sense 1/1

  LVL 1/100

  HP 10/10

  MP 100/100

  Stamina 10/10