The group arrived in a dimly lit room with the faint torches they’d seen before. The oppressive heat long since past as this area chilled the sweat dripping off them. As they left the portal was destroyed. Now they need only destroy this side. Jenora set to doing so immediately as they did not notice any other creatures. Within a moment the circle was destroyed. “Where are we?” Serena looked around and curiously inspected the area. Strangely the area seemed almost identical to the necropolis but icy cold.

  “Did we just go to another place in the necropolis?” Victor asked.

  Jenora put up her shield. “No. The temperature is too different. We’re in a necropolis just not the Hurava necropolis in Peria. This is another bastion of undead.”

  Emilie scowled looking at the 4 exits. “I can just feel it in my gut. There are undead everywhere in every direction. It’s been an honor knowing all of you. I love you Jenora.”

  “I love you too Emilie.” Jenora backed up to her.

  “Are we really that screwed? I don’t see anything.” Victor said.

  “Oh hell.” Swordie commented incredibly disappointed.

  “My mage, a huge number of undead are approaching us.” Cawthorn whispered.

  Moments later the marching of undead approached them from all directions. Every single skeleton had a spear and a shield. “Barrier shield.” Emilie took a deep breath. They stopped before entering the room. The skeletons begin to tap their spears. After a moment the first line from each edge stopped tapping lowering their spears. So it began 40 skeletons approached them.

  “Brice can you thin out one direction? We need to get into a hallway to deal with this many skeletons.” Victor looked at him desperately.

  “I can but it’ll take both of my fully buffed fireballs to clear a path. I’ll be useless after that.” Brice cautiously breathed.

  “We’ll protect you. Pick a direction and start blasting.” Victor insisted.

  Brice extended his hand and focused carefully. “Fireball!” The first blast completely erased at least 30 skeletons revealing most of a hallway with far fewer skeletons. The group began to move toward the weak point. “Fireball!” a massive explosion completely erased all but one skeleton ahead of them which Serena instantly obliterated it as they ran. Behind them a legion of undead began clattering after them. The scratching and clattering clearly couldn’t keep up with them except for Brice who began falling behind. Jenora grabbed him and carried him under her arm.

  They reached a staircase going up and one going down. Emilie immediately called out. “Up! Up!”

  The group reached the top of the staircase seeing a skeletal mage with a cape carrying a book. He was startled enough to drop his book. “Living creatures!? Here?!”

  Serena darted toward him knocking out his knees before the book could hit the ground. “Victor!”

  “Jolt!” Victor nearly hit the creatures head.

  “Barrier wall!” The skeletal mage extended his hand desperately trying to remain alive as he clattered to the ground.

  The group continued running. Victor shouted “Don’t stop!” The group ran past the mage as it tried to gather its legs.

  “Wait! You’ll never escape! Just surrender!” The skeletal mage insisted not firing any spells at them.

  “Yeah right!” Emilie mocked him.

  The group barreled forward toward a door. Jenora recklessly kicked the door straight off its hinges. They charged forward a few more steps skidding to a stop in the middle of a massive circular arena with thousands of undead mages, assassins, and normal skeletons in the stands. Massive skeletons 5 times the size of normal skeletons cheered as 4 armed skeletons dotted the arena. A few skeletal minotaur’s and a skeletal snake stood behind them. “I guess this is where we die.” Brice grimaced.

  At the top of a gilded throne sat a lich nearly decayed flesh pulled away from his skull. Golden rings and jewelry decorated his face and hands. He stood up with a large golden staff in hands decorated with the slave symbol and jewels. “Well, well, well. You’re early for the entertainment and a bit weak to be an assault force. Who might you be?”

  The skeletal mage that they knocked down was carried on the shoulders of the legion of undead approaching them forcing them closer to the center of the arena. “I’m so sorry master! They ran past me and I-”

  “Silence Wes Alvin I will deal with you later.” He scowled at the mage. “For those of you who foolishly entered this place know that death is a mercy I am unwilling to grant. You will live out your lives here as my toys, then when your incredibly stupid lives end I will raise your bodies and you’ll serve in death.”

  “So those secret plans. Is now a time you can use one of them?” Brice asked.

  Serena nodded yes as Victor reached into his pocket. “Oh do tell! Let me see this secret plan!” the skeletal audience laughed.

  “Hey Swordie? Am I going to lose my title for this?” Victor asked.

  “Only if your intent or the outcome you reasonably believe will happen are not good, or I decide to strip it from you. I understand the situation and do not judge you for taking drastic measures.” Swordie noted to Victor valiantly.

  Victor gripped one of the stones in his pocket. “I’m going to need a bit of help here.” As he poured mana into it instead of stretching the world around him nothing happened. The stone lit up and glowed brightly but the world didn’t warp around him as it had before.

  “What is that stone?” Hurava tilted his head looking down on them. “You there minotaur grab it and bring it to me.” A minotaur skeleton jumped from the stands and charged toward Victor. It barreled toward him fury in its glowing green eyes horns down ready to splatter the group into a thousand tiny bits. An explosion. The fragments of bone flew past them as the cheering from the undead silenced. Hurava stood dumbfounded. “Impossible… This cannot be.”

  Before the group with a cape made of stars and an empty face twinkling with starlight with the iconic single sun for an eye Luzuzal stood in front of all of them. Physically there with a slightly devious smile on his face. “Ordinarily I both wouldn’t and couldn’t come to your aid but here?” He smiled morphing his face to that of a beautiful mortal with a star studded blade to match his drifting robes. He pointed his blade at Hurava. “Hurava, l do you acknowledge me?”

  “I do.” He answered grimly.

  “Then if you know who I am you must know why I am here.” Luzuzal smiled as his star filled cape drifted and fluttered despite there being no wind.

  “I see. I will permit this provided you do not interfere with our other ongoing operations.” Hurava scowled.

  Wes Alvin spoke up. “Sir! The foot soldiers carrying me informed me that the portal was destroyed from both sides!”

  Hurava audibly gripped his staff. A single fly fluttered around his chair. He swatted it with such force it sent the entire throne flying away to the wall. “They did WHAT ?” His voice reverberated through the entire area. He ran his bony fingers down his skull. “Do you have any idea how hard it will be to fix this?”

  Luzuzal answered. “I have some idea.”

  Emilie and Jenora wondered at the man in front of them seemingly standing between them and sure death. Brice looked on in amazement as he could feel his mana recharging merely from standing near him. Hurava glared at him. “I demand compensation or else I too shall activate mine.” He held out another stone of the same shape and size Victor held. Victor squirreled it away as discretely as possible waiting for Luzuzal’s reply.

  “What would you like as compensation?” Luzuzal asked lowering his blade to the ground and resting one hand on it.

  “I want the Waxing Moon of Vale .” Hurava looked down on him smugly.

  “A large demand.” Luzuzal noted with a scowl.

  “From the one who holds all the cards here.” Hurava glared at him. Luzuzal reached into his cape as though reaching into water and plucked a moon from it. The moon floated toward Hurava. Hurava smiled an evil smile. “A pleasure dealing with you, Wes Alvin will show them out to the larger labyrinth.”

  “Sir?” Wes Alvin asked questioningly. “We’re going to let them leave?” Hurava glared at him saying nothing before going back to admiring the moon orbiting him now. “Yes sir! I’m going! Follow me please!” The skeleton reattached his legs and began scampering outside of the arena. “Come! You don’t want to be here when the entertainment arrives.”

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  Luzuzal turned and followed behind them with a beaming warm smile. Emilie turned to Victor. “This guy is amazing! He looks so cool! What’s your name sir?”

  Serena glared at Luzuzal cracking the hilt of one of her daggers in her hand. “My name is long lost to history.”

  “A barely true statement.” Swordie scoffed.

  “Does the fragment have the answer to that question?” Luzuzal asked.

  “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” Swordie’s acidic tone could have melted through the walls if only he could manifest it into physical form.

  Jenora looked to Swordie shocked. “Why wouldn’t you help this man? He looks like a god and saved us!”

  Brice asked him. “I feel mana radiating off you sir. You’ve got to be the most powerful mage I’ve ever had the pleasure of standing before.”

  Cawthorn gulped saying nothing with his eyes darting back and forth. Serena stared at Cawthorn as if to say ‘Don’t you dare.’ Luzuzal smiled. “I’m unable to protect you the entire time you are in this realm. There are rules for those as powerful as I am. This is technically breaking those rules so don’t tell anyone.” He winked at the 3 praising him.

  Serena cracked her knuckles audibly. “How are you physically here?”

  “Virtually all beings can be here in the abyssal labyrinth, excluding Deox himself.” Luzuzal noted.

  The others froze stopping. Emilie could feel her heart fall out of her chest. “Deox the Destroyer?”

  “A bit arrogant that one. He deserves his confidence but he’s not going to cast that spell ever again. He’s a bit overconfident in his rules.” Luzuzal noted.

  Jenora blinked. “Who could possibly feel that way about Deox?”

  “An old friend of his.” Luzuzal smiled.

  Wes Alvin spoke up interrupting them. “Um friends, if I don’t get you all to the exit immediately Hurava will separate all of my bones and hang me on a wall for a month. Please follow me.”

  The group scurried up staircase after staircase with Luzuzal following behind them as they passed closed door after closed door. Luzuzal spoke up once more. “Serena you’ve nothing to say to me?”

  She growled. “What do you want from me?”

  “A thank you would be sufficient. It isn’t every day a hero shows up to save the day right?” He smiled at her deviously.

  Her blood pressure would have caused her to reach the ceiling if only Victor hadn’t placed his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for your assistance. I’m sorry about last time we spoke.”

  Jenora asked. “Why are you helping us? Who is Victor to you?”

  Luzuzal smiled practically beaming and filled with a pride even Victor didn’t think was possible from the Void Lord. “An equal.” Cawthorn glared at Victor and then at Luzuzal.

  Brice’s jaw might have fallen off if not for the overwhelming desire to know the answer to his question. “How could anyone be an equal to someone like you? Aren’t you a god?”

  Luzuzal threw his head back laughing. “After a fashion. Most mortals believe any being above level 100 could be qualified as a god. From my point of view there is only one worthy of the title left alive.”

  Emilie wagged her finger. “And the Golden Goddess of course!”

  Luzuzal went quiet. Swordie stopped him. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Brice inquired. “What about the Green Goddess, the Boisterous Blue God, or the Bearded God?”

  Luzuzal fondly smiled. “Beings as weak as the Green Goddess or the Boisterous Blue God I wouldn’t consider deities. They may be overwhelmingly powerful to you but to us they aren’t comparable to someone like me.”

  Victor asked confused. “Wait is the Bearded God actually stronger than you?”

  Luzuzal grimaced annoyed by the question. “Sometimes yes, sometimes no. He’s stronger proportional to the number of dwarves cheering him on.” Luzuzal smiled recounting a story. “Once upon a time he told Deox to and I quote ‘Sit down ya small sod of a slowwitted spellcaster. I’ma teach ya the power of a dwarf.’ He then personally kicked Deox out of Verdan and chased him into the abyssal labyrinth. It was on that day the abyssal labyrinth was created and the level breaker rules were established.”

  Emilie immediately insisted. “But the Golden Goddess is the strongest goddess right? We’ve always been told that.”

  “Don’t you dare.” Swordie angrily insisted.

  Luzuzal smiled deviously hatefully looking to Swordie before turning back to Emilie. “Livia Vale died 10024 years ago in year 0, slain by Conquest before he was cast out of heaven and slain himself.”

  Emilie and Jenora turned to him stone cold with wide eyes and an empty single word. “What?”

  The entire group stopped aside from Wes. “Um good mortals I have to take you to the surface.”

  “How dare you.” Swordie angrily demanded. “One day I will personally slay you for this.”

  “He’s telling the truth?” Jenora turned to Swordie.

  “No… NO! The Golden Goddess cannot be dead.” Emilie shook her head. “He’s got to be wrong. How do I even get my magic? Clerics have to worship! All clerics must worship a deity. If they don’t they won’t have magic. We can prove that with followers of the Green Goddess who fall from her grace.”

  He turned to her. “Livia Vale had a skill Fragmentation . It passed to each of her fragments who became what mortals call angels. She is long past. Your spellcasting comes from the very few remaining angels. That is where your cleric powers come from.”

  Emilie grabbed her own head and started squeezing. “There’s no way this is all true. There’s no way. How could everyone not know? This is impossible. Who are you and how can you possibly know this? Why should I ever believe you!?”

  He waited a moment as she caught her breath. “I was there the day she died. I was trying to defend her, but Conquest managed to use his innate skill on me. He conquered my soul. I was under his command along with 3 other members of my party. One man, nay one spell, defeated us all but not before conquest finished his job slaughtering Livia Vale. The skill conquest used left a lasting curse on all 4 of us has forever altered the course of history. That is the truth.” He turned to Serena. “I swear it.”

  Emilie broke into tears as Jenora grabbed her and picked her up holding her tight. “He’s telling the truth isn’t he! We’ve wasted our lives in service of a dead Goddess!” She buried her head in her hands.

  Swordie protested. “You’ve not wasted your life. We angels are fragments of the Goddess herself. Every soul you’ve helped, every person you’ve saved, and every monster you’ve slain has contributed to the good of the Goddess and her message. We angels hope that one day we will be able to return her to life. Have faith.”

  Emilie slowly paused her sobbing breathing rapidly as the others walked. “You can bring her back?”

  Swordie cautiously agreed. “In theory. Hope is the one who proposed this possibility.”

  Luzuzal shook his head. “I doubt that theory. Angels are not Marten the Many.”

  Cawthorn proclaimed. “I SUPPORT THE DREAMS OF OUR CLERICS!”

  Luzuzal’s eyes opened wide in shock as his face contorted confused as if to say ‘the hell?’. Victor spoke up. “So do I Emilie. If we can reform the Goddess we will.”

  Emilie wiped her pathetic runny face nodding. She stood up. “I’m sorry I… This is a lot…”

  The group continued on following Wes. Luzuzal continued callously. “Once you are out of here you’ll need to search for three green portals. Here in the abyssal labyrinth there are 3 different portal colors. Blue will change the realm you are in. Red will take you down a level, typically in the same realm. Green will take you up a level and change your realm. Ascend 3 levels from anywhere within the labyrinth and you’ll immediately be shunted back to your realm in a random location a semi random distance from your original circle. There is a blue portal at the exit of this area which takes you to the green realm. From there a green portal will be available. I do not know where it will take you but I can’t help you beyond that.”

  Victor turned to him. “Thank you. I’m sorry about our last encounter. Just try and back off unless I explicitly ask you for help.”

  Brice raised an eyebrow confused. “Why wouldn’t you want his help?”

  Luzuzal smugly turned to the mage. “I’m cursed. Merely being here I have… inclinations to plan and plot against him despite my dreams for him. The touch of Conquest can be fought against but eventually everyone eventually loses control.”

  Serena seemed to soften. “Curses can be removed.”

  “Mine cannot. No remove curse spell has ever been cast at a level able to dispel it. Even if one would be cast capable of doing so it would return. The curse is etched deep in my soul.” Luzuzal smiled at her. “There is a future where we are friends.”

  “Is that the future you want the most?” Serena looked at him with disdain.

  He remained silent as the group approached the entrance to the cave. The exterior looked exactly the same with even their camp setup but the world itself seemed to completely end at the tree line drifting into an endless black void. In front of them in the center of the clearing a blue circle hovered above the ground. “Stand in the circle for 15 seconds. It will then transfer you. This is as far as I go.”

  Wes waved. “Farewell flesh bags I hope you return to your realm!”

  Emilie sniffled “Why is the skeleton wishing us well?”

  Wes scratched at his skull. “Oh I’m just a slave here. I don’t wish you any harm. Good luck!” He went back down the cave.

  The group stepped into the circle looking at Luzuzal smile back at them. It began to glow. “Farewell Stars of Verdan, and the best of luck to you, you’ll need it.” The hum of the circle as it lit up blinded them as the land before them disappeared.