As the heavy iron door separating Copperhill from Copperhold opened, a dozen glowing yellow eyes narrowed at us. Then, a dozen squeaks echoed throughout the mine as words appeared in my mind:

You have entered the dungeon [Copperhold].

Do you wish to accept the quest [Slay the Skitterslink Boss]?

I knew I didn't have to respond out loud, but it made it much, much easier to interact with the system when I did. It didn't come naturally to me at all, despite what Lady Varga had told me a hundred times. "Yes."

You have accepted the quest [Slay the Skitterslink Boss]

"You get that, Tris?"

"Yeah, I did. We've got this." She sounded confident.

I went to respond to her, but before I could, more words appeared in my head:

[Cøpp҉erh◌ld], l⌖vel 1͠5 d⧫ng⟟on, h⋆s b̷een ta⟡nted by [D∑von, Am⟟ri҉can H⟊man W⟡rm⧫ge ⟟f th͟e Fl⟊me X҉⧫]

[C⍜pp⟟rhol͠d], l◔v⟡l 15 d⋆ng⧫on, h⧫s b͠een upgra͢ded t◌ [Copp⟟rh⋆ld], l⧫v⟡l X̵͜⟟⋆ d͢ng⟊on.

Do y͠◔u w⟊sh t⟟ acce⧫pt th⍜ q⋆e͢st [T⧫ppl⟊ th͟e N◌ L⟊fe K⟟ng]?

"Tris, you get that, too?" I reread the entry three times. Devon again. And she was American? At least, that's what it looked like. Even my ability to deny the things I didn't want to think was wearing thin.

How?

How could it be her?

And why?

"Get what?" Tristan's voice wavered. "Did you get another quest?"

"I didn't see anything." Ro stepped behind me and drew his sword. "But I've already cleared this dungeon. I expected as much."

"Me, too."

[Brilliant Light]

Na-Ya's holy light washed over us, bathing the tunnel in warm light. "But what do you see?" She sniffed. "I can smell the undead, even though it's been a year since we cleared them out. I don't like that."

What? "So no one saw the glitchy text? And undead?" I sniffed. There was definitely a rotten watermelon smell in the air.

"Yeah, I can smell it." Na-Ya shook her head. "Nasty things. Wonder why they're back. I thought we cleared this place."

"We did." Ro's jaw set. "I know we did. But I smell it, too."

"Great." I loved fighting dead people. It was exactly what I wanted to be doing on my time off. And still... "But no one else saw that weird quest?"

"They can't see it." Faye's voice echoed off the carved stone walls of the dungeon. "Only us. As chosen, that's our privilege, too." She sounded tired.

"Privilege?" Vral asked. "That's not fair."

"What privilege? What does that mean?" Tristan asked, her voice heavy.

"It's nothing to be envious of, Vral," Faye said. "And that's our burden, Tristan. We see the deeper things more clearly than most. It's our job to resolve them. Ours and ours alone."

Vral hooked an arm around my leg. "Yeah, well, even if it's only your job, you're not doing it without me."

Tristan's sapphire eyes fixed on mine. "I agree. We're here for you." She pressed her hand to my arm. "Always."

I looked at both women. Feeling a wave of gratitude, I said, "Thank you," before looking at Faye. "What am I seeing, then? And why am I seeing it?"

Faye stepped up to my side and placed a hand on my shoulder. "This is another 'gift' of ours. We can see where the taint has spread, and we can see, when needed, who spread it. It's our job to remove it." Her eyes met mine. "Are you ready for that responsibility?"

"I think I am..." I didn't sound sure.

"You need to know." Her jaw set. "Find your resolve, Alex. It's time."

"I am. But..." I took a deep breath. I needed answers. "How could it be..." I didn't want to say her name out loud. "That person?"

"I don't know." Her eyes unfocused. I could tell that she was focused on the words in her head. "I don't know him, but based on his heritage, it's a shame we couldn't save him. If only I could have found him before he was tainted." She sighed. "For every traveler who arrives in Reial, another dies. And the ones who don't? Power corrupts."

"Her." I knew it was her. I couldn't deny it anymore. "It's a her."

"Hmm." Faye's eyes searched mine. "You knew her?"

Memories of our final night flashed through my mind. My promise to meet her family. The heavy rain. Her hand on mine. Our time in the food truck. My lips on hers... "I did."

The Hero's face softened. "Greta said you weren't meant to come here. That you were an extra. If that's true, maybe she was—"

"It doesn't matter." I took a breath and steeled myself. "She's hurt too many people. I'll take care of her when the time comes."

Tristan squeezed my arm. "Is she the... the woman you talked about all those times? D..." Her brows knitted. "Deva?"

"Devon."

"Yeah, her."

"I think so, yeah. She was the same one who attacked us in the Pit. The one who killed all those people. The same woman we saw sacrifice a guy in the forest near Goodfield."

"That bitch?!" Vral hissed. "Fuck that bitch."

"You know her?" I asked.

"Yeah." Vral's teeth were bared. "She was the one who came and asked my crew to kidnap all those peasants. I told her no, but you saw how that turned out..." She growled. "Then, I saw her again in the Pit, right before..." She squeezed my leg. "She almost killed me, and she nearly killed you." Her eyes, which were glowing in the dim light, met mine. "I'll never forgive her for what she did to us. Next time we see her, I'll kill her just like I killed Aerell."

"Vral..." Tristan's voice was soft. "Is there any room for compassio—"

"Nope. Not even a little, elfie." The goblin's red eyes focused on Tristan. "I'm not as soft-hearted as you are. That bitch is as bad as they come."

After everything I'd seen, I believed it. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." If she'd gone bad, I'd do what I had to do. Nodding to Faye, I said, "I'm ready, Hero."

"Good." She grinned. "Because a wave of monsters is coming for you right now."

Looking up the mineshaft, I saw a dozen glowing eyes glaring at me in the darkness. "Na-Ya, can you shine your light brighter?"

[Light]

Another source of warm light appeared beside me, banishing more of the shadows into the darkness.

"I've got it." Tristan held her mace in front of her, the light cascading from her mace.

As her light fell on the tunnel, I could see dozens of furry forms charging at us. "You all ready?"

Ro drew his sword and shield and pressed himself to my side. "Ready, brother."

"You'll have to hold me back," Vral laughed behind me. "I see red."

"We'll support you," Tristan added.

"Hell yeah." I drew my weapon and shield. As one, Ro and I locked shields and began marching up the hallway. "Girls, cast some magic!"

[Holy Light]

[Holy Light]

Twin beams of white light sparkled over our heads and slammed into the wave of rats. A dozen shrieks sounded from the spells' impacts, and the remaining rats backed off, screeching.

"Vral, I need you to—"

"Kill them all, got it!"

I felt the goblin kick off my shoulder. Then, she soared through the air, her blades aimed at the closest monster's throat.

Before it could react, its head separated from its shoulders. With a final, pitiful squeak, its body crumbled to ash.

"I got first blood," Vral grinned at me as a dozen rat monsters rippled toward her. "You owe me a drink when we get back to Galden." With a wink, she vanished again, and at least two rats screamed farther into the darkness.

"Okay, new plan." I looked at the rest of my party. "We team up. Vral does what she wants."

Faye sniffed.

"What?"

"Nothing." She pointed a finger up the tunnel. "Next wave."

I immediately saw what she was pointing at. "Ro. Sunfire Path?" That was the Temple's offensive, linear form.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"They're too short. Rising Dawn."

I lowered myself into a squat horse stance, shield forward. His shield locked into mine. There was no room for the skitterslinks to sneak under our shields. "I get it."

"Good. Because here they come."

As his last word escaped his lips, the skitterslinks slammed into our shields. At least two dozen of the monsters clawed at our defenses, doing their best to push their way through, but we held firm. If anything, it felt easier than I'd expected.

Na-Ya and Tristan both whispered words of power behind us.

[Holy Light]

[Holy Light]

Twin waves of scintillating divine light roared past our ears and streaked up the mineshaft, carving a hole through the wave of monsters.

"Nice job, girls!" I nodded to Ro and, together, we began marching up the hallway, pushing the monsters back step by step.

"When you do your chants, hold your chest up and speak more clearly. That'll boost your spellpower."

"Okay!" Tristan's voice was bright.

A rat monster went to leap over my shield. Lifting my sword, I prepared to cut it down, but before I could, Vral appeared and cut off its head.

"Too slow!" The goblin cackled as she vanished again.

"That one's wild." Ro chuckled beside me. "Strong and wild."

"I'm working on it."

He chuckled. "I can tell."

I sighed. Damn it, Vral."

"That's fourteen!" Her voice chirped down the tunnel.

"If you get hit by magic, it's on you!" I shouted down the tunnel.

"I welcome the challenge!" She cackled, and two more monsters screamed.

"You'll have to get your party under control if you want to tackle harder dungeons, chosen buddy."

I glared at Faye. "I'm working on it."

"I can tell." She winked at me.

"Vral, push them toward us," Ro shouted.

"Gladly!" Vral's laughter echoed through the tunnel as a dozen monsters shrieked.

Immediately after, a massive wave of Skitterslinks slammed into our shields. This time, they got so close that I could see their beady eyes. These ones were taller. "Are those..." I looked the nearest monster up and down. It was definitely wearing a tophat.

"Tophats, yeah." Ro laughed as he cut one down. "They say it's made out of the skin of their enemies."

"Gross."

"Don't worry. If they don't leave the dungeon, it's usually the skin of other skitterslinks."

"They don't dissolve when they fight one another?"

"Nope." He slashed at a monster who leapt over us, cutting it from neck to tail. "Monster-on-monster battles always end in gore."

Seeing something flash in front of me, I reared my sword back and struck with as much force as I could, carving through the nearest monster's body. Behind it, I saw at least twenty more inching forward. "Still, not much, are they?"

"Not really, but their bites hurt like hell." He cut one out of the air, spraying black blood over both of us. "Best not to get bit."

"Okay."

As he spoke, a rat monster jumped over his shield.

[Holy Light]

From my left, Tristan's light struck the monster directly in the chest. It dissolved into a thousand motes of light.

"Throttle your magic, cousin. You're being too aggressive." Na-Ya's voice sounded to my right.

"But—"

"A mage or priest with no mana is useless. Be more selective with your spells."

[Barrier]

A wall of light appeared in front of us. An instant later, at least a dozen rats slammed into the wall of light and snarled.

"Fighters like Alex and Ro can handle the strong ones." Na-Ya stepped forward. "It's on us to take down the rest."

[Barrier]

Another wall of light appeared behind the skitterslinks. As a group, they turned, screamed, and tried to escape, but the two barriers had them trapped.

"Our magic lets us find creative solutions. It's on us to figure out what to do when we need to do it."

"What do two barriers let you do?" Tristan was as confused as I was. "I don't understand."

"Excellent," Faye said behind us. "That's exactly the correct method for this situation."

"Thank you, Hero." Na-Ya's voice was filled with pride.

Looking over my shoulder, I watched as Na-Ya pulled her hands together. Then, turning, I watched as the barriers pressed together faster, smashing the rat monsters between the two barriers.

The monsters screamed as they were pressed into one another. The screams turned to infighting, which turned to a frenzy, which turned into a bloodbath. Before the barriers even crushed them, half of the monsters were dead. Then, they were all dead.

"I had no idea..." Tristan murmured.

"You learn a lot on the road." Na-Ya sounded proud.

"Oof!" Vral's small green body was thrown backward, onto the pile of skitterslinks.

"Vral!" Tristan shouted.

"I'm alright." She shook her head and stood, daggers bared. "Fucker got me good, though."

Out of the darkness walked a rat monster that was twice as tall as the others. Coming up above Vral's head, the monster held a long staff topped with what looked like a human skull. With a wicked gleam in its black eyes, its lips parted, revealing rows of yellow teeth.

"All at once, huh?" Ro laughed. "I guess the dungeon learned from last time."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dungeons grow and learn like we do." He pointed at the monster. "Last time, most of the monsters and undead were stationed on the bottom floor. This time, they were waiting for us at the top."

"What is that?"

"That's a skitterslink shaman." He looked over his shoulder at Na-Ya. "You know what to do."

"Of course I do." She grinned. "Just do your job."

Nodding, Ro said, "Of course." He looked to me. "Charge with me."

"Okay."

With a grin, he lifted his sword high, raised his shield and front of his body, and roared.

Doing the same, together, we charged at the monster in front of us.

Wide-eyed, the rat monster lifted its staff, squeaked in what sounded like some kind of rat language, and black energy appeared around the head of its staff. With the closest thing to a grin a rat could make, it lifted its staff and pointed it straight at me.

"Tristan, du—"

[Dispel Magic]

The black energy turned into soft white light, which faded into the shadows.

"Now!" Ro's sword cut through the darkness, aimed straight for the rat monster's neck.

"Yeah!" I cut at the opposite angle.

Not knowing where to go, it did the only thing it could: It leapt backward.

"Got you!"

The monster shrieked as twin blades erupted from its chest. Ro's sword carved it from collarbone to hip. Mine cut across its neck. With a final wet gurgle, the monster fell limp, then dissolved into a thousand black motes.

"Nice job!" There was clapping behind us.

Turning, I saw that Faye was cheering us on. Before I could speak, though, a blur of movement caught my eye. Out of a small alcove in the jagged stone wall, a final skitterslink launched itself from the shadows, fangs bared, straight at the Hero.

"Faye!" I shouted, stepping forward. I couldn't get there in time, but with [Intercept]—

"Don't worry about it." She didn't move as she spoke. Didn't even flinch.

The rat monster's teeth sank into her forearm. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the creature shrieked a sound of pure agony and exploded into brilliant motes of scintillating light that danced through the air before fading into nothing.

Faye lowered her arm, completely unharmed, and brushed a speck of ash from her sleeve.

I stared, mouth open. "That was..."

"Impressive?" She smiled. "When you reach a certain level, the monsters stop being threats. They become annoyances." She looked at me. "You'll get there. Eventually." She looked me over. "You're a [Paragon] already, right?"

I thought back to the talents I'd gained. "Yeah. I got that when I was in the Pit."

"Then the process has already started." She smiled. "Keep it up, and you'll be the same as me."

The casual display of power left me speechless. The monster hadn't just died... it had been unmade by simply touching her.

"Wow..." I heard the disbelief in my own voice.

"Twenty-seven!" Vral's voice echoed from deeper in the tunnel.

A moment later, the goblin emerged from the darkness, walking up the mineshaft with a swagger that she'd certainly earned. She was absolutely coated in blood, the black fluid dripping from her black hair, her curved daggers, her leather armor. Outside of her glowing red eyes, only her grin was visible through the gore. With a flourish, she spun both daggers and sheathed them. "Even after that stupid spell, I'm winning so far, just so everyone knows."

"Vral!" Tristan rushed forward, her light still glowing from her mace. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, elfie. It's not my bloo—"

"Hold still." Tristan grabbed her arm, turning it gently.

"I see it, too." Na-Ya pressed forward, the light pressing with her.

As she approached, I could see that, there, on Vral's tricep, was a small but deep bite mark. Blood seeped from the wound.

"You're not fine. You're bleeding." Tristan dropped to her knees. "Don't move."

[Healing Light]

Soft white light erupted from Tristan's fingers.

"That won't be enough." Na-Ya dropped next to Tristan, her face stern.

I noticed that Vral's face was pale.

"It's just a scratch—"

She placed both hands over the wound, and soft white light gathered between her palms.

[Cleanse Wound]

As both healers' magics did their work, the blood stopped flowing

After a moment of healing, Na-Ya stood up and glared down at the goblin, her hands on her hips. "You reckless little fool. Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

Vral rolled her eyes. "I was cleaning up while you idiots—"

"Skitterslink bites are venomous!" Na-Ya slapped Vral across the face.

"How dare y—"

Tristan took Vral's hands in hers. "Don't go off on your own, Vral. We'll worry about you if you do."

Vral's red eyes glared at Na-Ya before focusing on Tristan. "You'd worry?"

"Yeah." Tristan's voice was laced with emotion.

Eyes darting between both healers, Vral huffed and said, "Fine. For you."

"She's right, you know." Faye's voice echoed beside me.

"I don't want to hear—"

"Your job is to work with your party, fool!" Na-Ya's voice rose. "You could have—"

Tristan held up her hand. "But she didn't. Not only that, but she did very well. Right, Alex?" She turned and looked at me, her eyes twinkling.

"Right." I could see what she was doing and knew what to do. "She was amazing. All of us were."

"We were, weren't we?" Ro grinned beside me. "Good job."

"Thanks, brother." I fist bumped him.

"My man."

"I sure was." Vral crossed her arms. "And I'm fine. I killed more than anyone else, and I'm still standing, right?"

Faye gave a soft nod. "Just be careful, little one. The Goddess doesn't want you to be hurt. She wants you to live a life of happiness, fullness, and joy."

"The Goddess doesn't give a shit about me. She never has. Not about me. Not about any of us." She glared at Faye. "And don't pretend like you do, either."

"You'd be surprised what I care about, Vral." Faye stepped forward, her face solemn.

Vral turned, her eyes on fire, but something in Faye's expression held her tongue back.

The Hero stepped forward, her eyes locked on Vral. "If you want to get stronger, if you want to fulfill your dream, you need to work with your tribe."

Vral's eyes flashed red. "What tribe? It's all me, all the time. There's no one left."

Faye didn't hesitate. "What about them?" She pointed at us.

"They're..." Vral looked us over. "They're... the people I picked up on the way. Toys. For fun."

"Is that so?" Faye walked until she was a mere step in front of Vral. "Are you certain about that? Or are you afraid?"

"Shove off." Vral stepped back. "You don't know me."

The Hero continued forward. "I've lived seven or eight lifetimes now, Vral." Faye's eyes grew heavy. In that moment, she looked her age. "There are few people older than I am, and only a handful have seen as much me. Do you really think I haven't spent time with people as wounded as you are?"

"I..."

The Hero held out her hand, cupping Vral's cheek. "It's okay."

To my surprise, Vral didn't budge.

"I've watched as basically everyone I've ever loved has lost everything." Faye smiled brightly. "You are blessed, even if you don't know it yet. And your blessings will continue, if you only believe you're worthy of them." She crouched low. "So, believe. Just believe. Even if it's hard. Even if it feels impossible. Believe that you're worthy. And trust me: in time, this will be a memory."

"But..." Vral pressed her hand to Faye's, realized what she was doing, and jumped backward. "But—"

Now that you have found love—" Faye glanced at me, then at Tristan, then back to Vral, "—all you want is glory. Recognition. Acceptance. But you already have it."

Vral opened her mouth to argue, but Faye continued.

"You simply need to realize something important." The Hero's voice softened. "You can't shine to everyone, all the time, Vral. And you don't need to. You already shine to the people who matter." She gestured to our group. "To them. Isn't that enough?"

"You're great," Ro said. "Incredible, really. I can't wait to spar with you."

"Just don't get too cut up," Na-Ya added. "She's a feisty one. But I like her."

"I love her..." Tristan said beside me."

"You know how I feel, Vral." I found her eyes. "You know I'm ready to give it all for you."

Vral's mouth worked silently. Her red eyes glistened in the magical light, and for a moment, I thought she might cry. Instead, she looked at me, then at Tristan, then back to the ground.

"I just..." Her voice was small. "I just want to be worth something."

"You already are," I said. "You don't have to prove it. It's not about what you do. It's about who you are."

She looked up at me, the vulnerability clear on her face. Then she nodded once, sharply, and wiped her eyes.

Just then, a wave of chittering echoed from deeper in the mine. Dozens of squeaks and scratches filled the air.

"Second wave incoming," Ro said, already moving forward. He pointed to the left, where the tunnel branched. "That's where the second floor is. We'll have more room to fight down there." Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Come on, Alex. Let's protect our people."

Tristan and I both kissed Vral's cheeks.

"Stop it..." The goblin giggled.

"Never," Tristan kissed Vral again, this time on her cheeks. "I know exactly what it's like to feel helpless. I'm here, love."

"Me, too." I squeezed Vral's shoulder before moving down the tunnel.

Moments later, together, our party was marching up the left passage, toward the second floor of Copperhold, toward whatever was waiting for us.

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