"Everyone ready?" Kur asked.

They had gathered by the table, all of them wearing the tight, yet concealing black combat gear in its inert form. Had it not been for the fact that they were about to head into their first ever dungeon, the bobbing collection of heads seemingly floating in the air would've gotten a few smiles and chuckles out of them, as it usually did. But as it were, not even Tuk mentioned it, and he instead fidgeted with one of his rings in nervous anticipation.

"Everyone's gone to the toilet, yes?" Kur asked.

"For the last time, we have," Gad replied for them all. "Just because you keep asking us to go, it doesn't mean that anything's going to come out. And there will be toilets on the ship. As for in the dungeon… Well, we'll do what we have to do."

Nar made a face at that, thinking of the portable toilet stashed in their backpack, but it was what it was. Plus, they were delvers, and they couldn't be getting used to the luxuries of the ship when they were meant to be spending increasingly longer periods of time within dungeons and domains.

"Alright, alright," Kur said with a sigh. "If everyone's ready then, let's get going."

"What, no big speech?" Mul asked, arching an eyebrow, his neon red stare just as penetrating as always. "This is our first dungeon."

Kur paused for a moment, then smiled. "Do you need a big speech? You've all worked hard. We've all prepared, and we're ready for this… So, let's just go and get it done, the first dungeon of many to follow."

Mul pursed his lips thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Yeah, that works. Let's go."

Nar chuckled as he fell into place behind the rest of them. Kur was right in that this was just the first of many dungeons to come for them. He had no doubt that their party would be invited to stay aboard, and so, who knew how many more dungeons they would face throughout their long two year delve into the Labyrinth?

That said, and despite himself, Nar couldn't deny the excitement in his sped-up heartbeat. A dungeon at last!

Time to see what the hype is all about, he thought, as the door to the room closed behind them. And I really hope it's a good surprise.

*********

The fat aethership towered over them, easily five decks tall, and his glowing lift orbs hummed from under its heavy, squat wings.

"We finally get to ride one of these," Tuk marveled, staring at the mat gray bulk of the of the beetle aethership.

"Form lines, stand with your party," a crew man in full gear, including helmet, shouted as he waved them forward. "Come on, keep going inside."

Nar's heart drummed in anticipation. Despite his worries, despite his apprehension, now that he was here, now that he was about to enter his first dungeon, it all was pushed aside, his curiosity and excitement rekindled from the dying flames that the den and confluence had left him with.

Despite whatever mess the priestess had wrecked inside his head, he had to admit that reliving all of that had reminded him of why he had wanted to Climb, and it had been for more than just his dad… He had risen from the depths of the deepest darkness to find the light, color and the freedom of life on the surface of the Nexus. He had Climbed with the beckoning of Endless Labyrinth, and the mystery of what awaited him across its endless vastness…

Yes, the den and the confluence had shocked him. They had both been a rude wake up call to show him that the Nexus and the Labyrinth were not perfect places of pure peace and bliss, but when faced with his memories of the cubeplant, even facing the psaelis was a better alternative. Even dangling from the ship in the middle of a storm of deadly aether, assailed by flying snakes and big-headed fish was better. And it was better because he wasn't powerless here. He wasn't trapped in the endless routine of work, discrimination and slow death from which he could not escape… Here, he had a chance to build his own path, and to make his own destiny, and so what if it was dangerous? He was alive like never before, and he was ready to see, and do, whatever it took to become a delver.

"Come on, keep going!" the crewmember shouted again.

Nar looked up at the tall ship curving upwards above him with raised eyebrows. It was a marvel that such a hunk of metal could fly… Or that it currently already was flying, but inside an even greater chunk of metal and Crystal knew what else with it.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Nar looked down and to his left, and his eyes briefly met Rel's, before she looked away, a clouded expression upon her face.

"It is," Nar said, after a brief moment of hesitation.

The two of them followed after the others, slowly creeping towards the metal ramp that would take them into the bowels of the ship. They had spoken briefly of what had happened back in the chapel, and while they had tried to clear out the air, the fault lying with neither of them for what had happened, thinks were still a little awkward, and given their packed schedules, they had ended up leaving it at that.

But we can't bring this into the dungeon, Nar decided.

"Rel?" Nar he called.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Let's uh… Sit together?" he said, feeling a flush of heat across his cheeks, neck and basically everywhere else. "That way we… We can talk about stuff. So, that everything's okay, again, you know?"

He cringed. He cringed hard. That had sounded so lame for Crystal's sake! What were they? Two younglings taken by the flames of their first true passion and doing the slow, chaotic dance of courtship?

"Yes!" she said, loud enough to startle the guy walking besides her. "I-I would like that… I would like that a lot."

"Hmm," Nar said, nodding.

And with that settled, and with his heart pounding and a growing annoyance spreading across his mind, he focused on the ship and their boarding.

"Grab a blanket and a pillow," a crew member said as they waved them through and into the innards of the ship.

Nar did as told, briefly marveling at the softness and lightness of both the gray pillow and blanket, but he was mostly surprised at their presence as he stored them both into his ring.

Well, did say we're supposed to sleep through the flight, he thought, as he looked around him.

He found a big storage area abuzz with activity inside the ground floor of the aethership, and he recognized the healer's uniforms mixed in with others of the crew.

"Healers!" he whispered, elbowing Rel.

"Yes, thank the Radiants!" she whispered back, as the two of them passed by a healer who was something on his screen against something on another crew member's screen.

"Guess no matter how hurt we are, as long as we make it out of the dungeon alive, we'll be okay…" he whispered.

Past the storage area in the belly of the beetle, they were led up a set of narrow, metallic stairs, and Nar found himself in a much different deck of the beetle ship. Before him, stretched row after row of padded black seats, arrayed in lines separated by narrow corridors in between them. Unlike the Scimitar, everything on that deck was painted black or dark gray, and tiny, ovalish shaped holes dotted the walls.

"Are those windows?" Tuk asked, bending to check. "Holy Crystal, they are! Can we sit by the windows?"

"We'll sit wherever they sit us," Kur replied.

"Booo!"

Nar shook his head at the trugger's antics, though it was nice to see that he had relaxed, and continued following after his party as they climbed up two more flights of stairs.

"Keep going, just take the next seat available to you," a helmeted woman of unknown race told them as they left the stairs.

"Yay! Windows!" Tuk shouted.

"Why do you even care?" Mul grumbled. "It's not like you can see anything."

"You can see a lot of things at night!" Tuk threw at him indignantly.

"You're supposed to be asleep," Mul said, his tone getting suppressed mid-sentence.

Nar smiled behind the two bickering delvers. Despite his grumpiness, Mul had stood aside to let the ring tosser through first, so that he could sit by his beloved window.

"What?" Mul asked, noticing Nar staring.

"Uh? Nothing, go on," Nar said.

Mul frowned at him, but followed after his sister without another word.

"You saw right?" Rel whispered at him.

Nar nodded, hiding his grin. "He's so sweet, isn't he?"

"Shhh!" she elbowed him, before the brawler heard them.

Nar sat down next to Mul, and his eyebrows rose as the padded seating enveloped him, hugging his spine and supporting his weight in such a perfect completeness the likes of which he hadn't expected.

Damn… Alright, I can see myself sleeping in this, he thought, passing his fingers across the soft material,

Rel took a seat at his side, and Jul, Gad, Kur and Viy sat in front of them, sharing a row with a lone apprentice who had been separated from his party.

Oof, that's got to suck… Nar thought. Alone in that long night flight, without even your party to distract and comfort you from your thoughts, fears and the incoming challenge was not how Nar would've wanted to spend that crucial night.

"Kin!" Kur suddenly shouted.

"Hey, Kur!" the lone apprentice replied.

Oh. They know each other? Nar realized, as Kur swapped out with Jul to sit next to Kin. Ah, he must be a party leader! Very noble of him to sit alone instead of someone else in the party… And it looks like Kur will keep him company at least… Another chance to improve his [Reputation Amongst the People], I guess.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"These seats are so comfortable… Wish he could have them around the ship," Rel said, her tone conveying her awe.

"Right?" Nar said, smiling at her. "Oh…"

He had just been reminded that they needed to get that talk out of the way once and for all, and as he tapped the armrest of his seat while he pondered how best to approach it, he glimpsed from the corner of his eye that Rel was similarly fidgeting with her fingers along her seatbelt.

He sighed. Why are we so nervous about this? We both know neither of us is to blame for this, and we're friends for fuck's sakes! We've been together through a lot worse than this Pile of nonsense!

"Look, Rel, we don't need to make a big deal out of this," he said, turning to her and lowering his voice. "We both know it wasn't either of our faults… So, it's alright, you know?"

Rel whipped her face towards him.

"It is a big deal, Nar!" she hissed. "Aedina attacked you! She tortured you!"

Nar grimaced and looked away.

"Tell me I'm wrong!" she urged him, gripping his arm.

"You're not… But it's fine, Rel," Nar said. "Just forget about it, okay? Crystal knows I barely remember it myself, and I got a really nice bonus to my [Ego] too, eh?"

"No! I won't!" she said, her grip on his arm tightening. "I need to see this person every day, and frankly, after what she did to you, I don't want to! She can go fuck herself!"

"No! No, wait!" Nar stammered.

Inside, he felt mollified, and he appreciated the sentiment. He truly did. However…

"Look, she's important for your path, alright?" Nar said.

"Ugh…"

"No, listen to me," Nar said, pulling on her arm. "Your path is already… Crazy as it is, and you need guidance from someone who actually knows what's going on! And she knows what's going on, doesn't she?"

Rel nodded reluctantly and drew a line down from her left collarbone to her chest. "Her doctrinareus… That's the name of the lines of color on her robe, and they represent the doctrines she has mastered within the Church. Or, well, some of the many sub-doctrines within the main doctrines… Sorry, anyways, golden is the basic one that all priests start with, the Doctrines of Holiness. Then you can have either a gray or pearlescent rainbow, for the Doctrines of Auramancy or Aethermancy. Then she also has pink, for the Doctrines of the Mind…

"Fair enough there," Nar muttered, frowning. So the priestess was actually some kind of mind specialist? He shook his head at that.

"Yeah... And then there's the last one…"

"The red?" Nar remembered seeing, as Rel hesitated again.

"Yes. Red is for Sin, Punishment and Repentance," Rel whispered. "She too, is a penitent like me, Nar. She too did something that warranted her a path of penance…"

Nar gaped at her.

"Yup. She's a sinner too," Rel whispered. "I don't know what she did, but she's hinted that it happened years ago, and that it almost turned her from the Church entirely…"

"Well… Damn," Nar said, leaning back against the comfortable black seat. "And I guess that means she actually knows how to help you, then."

"She does. Very much so, yes," Rel said, turning her eyes to her lap. "She knows exactly what I'm going through."

"Then you need to let this go," Nar said, his tone leaving no room for challenge. "No, Rel, listen to me. Let this go! You need to learn from this woman, you hear me? I won't have your path falling apart because of this… This tiny little thing."

"It's not a…"

"Rel! Please, I beg you," Nar said, facing her. "If you can't forgive her, then just forget about it. Whatever happens in this dungeon, I doubt it's going to be a fail for us, and you can't spend the next two years stunting your progress by avoiding her. Or risking your own search for… For forgiveness."

The archer's fingers laced so tightly across her lap that they had gone white, and Nar was reminded of how she used to torture her index and thumb fingers back in the Climb, when her Yearning threatened to take control over her.

"Just like that?" Rel whispered. "What she did was unforgivable."

Nar snorted.

"Was it? Apparently she was just doing her job… And we both know that I have some questionable thoughts, eh? So it is what it is, and it doesn't matter compared to you and your future," Nar said, patting her arm. "So, please, let it go, okay? And just learn from her. Do it for me!"

"Ugh… Fine," Rel said, looking away from him, her arms folding. "But if she does it again, I'm never speaking to her ever again!"

Nar chuckled. "Don't worry. If I ever see her again, I'll just run for it."

It was Rel's turn to snort at him. "Good luck! The back of her doctrinareus is black, and that means she's a combat priest."

"Well, isn't that just fantastic…" Nar muttered.

Guess that explains how she just appeared out of nowhere… he thought, pursing his lips. So many damned strong people just aboard one ship!

He shook his head. Strength apart, first in the den, and now with a combat priest, mental and psychic based attacks were starting to really annoy him.

Aren't those things just unfair? he wondered. I know [Ego] helps, and that aethermancers have their [Steadfastness] too... But just the fact that you need a whole ass attribute just to better resist two specific kinds of attacks feels insane!

However, what was he supposed to do? Not like he could train his mind to…

Or can I? He suddenly realized, frowning at the possibility. You can train everything else… So why not train your mind too?

The possibility was more than just a little tantalizing, it felt crucial for their success. And if he could make himself more resistant to mind attacks, he needed to know how, and he needed to learn it.

I'll ask the master about it when I get back… But then again, didn't I just gain 15 points in [Ego]?

He grimaced. He didn't fancy going through that living nightmare again, even in the name of training… But, the pink mental booster in his inventory represented a very heavy responsibility.

Maybe I shouldn't avoid that priestess after all…

A soft chimed pinged above their heads.

"Good evening apprentices, this is the ship's captain speaking," a female voice said. "We'll be departing shortly. Our flight to the cluster of dungeons will take the whole night, and we expect to arrive tomorrow morning, just shy of 8AM. Toilets are at the back and front of each deck, and the ground floor deck is limited for crew only. In case of emergency, doors will open on each deck, with ladders and slides deploying to bring you out of the ship."

Nar considered the tightly packed gathering of heads that spread all around him, maybe fifty or so in total, and his stomach clenched as he imagined being trapped in that metal casing as it went down… And with everyone panicking and trying to get out at the same time. It was not a pleasant thought.

Though maybe we could just break through the walls… he thought.

"For now, just try and sleep. The lights will be turned off soon, and tomorrow morning you'll be given breakfast before we land," the captain continued. "Any issues you might have, just flag one of the crew at either the front or the back of each deck. We'll be flying through some aetheric turbulence later on, but nothing of concern. So relax and sleep. That will be all."

"What does she mean by turbulence?" Mul said, an edge to his voice.

"She said it's fine, so don't worry about it," Cen said.

"Fine my ass…"

From underneath the wing at their side, the ship's engines' gentle hum rose to a louder, angrier buzz.

"Here we go!" Tuk whispered, his eyes glowed to the window.

"It's going to be okay," Cen told her brother.

Mul grunted something unintelligible in reply and Nar snuck a glance to his side. Cen held Mul's hand in hers, and the brawler had his eyes tightly shut. The caster caught him staring and smiled at him, shaking her head, and Nar nodded discreetly, and pretended he hadn't seen anything.

A few moments later, another voice echoed above them. "We're departing."

And with that, the ship lifted off the hangar, and slowly slid forward. Nar peered over Mul's bald head, with Rel leaning forward and under his, and the both of them looked outside the window.

"Damn…" Tuk whispered, and looked back at Cen, Nar and Rel. "This is a lot better than that wasp!"

"Yeah!" Rel said, nodding with her eyes going wide.

The ship slowly hovered out of the Scimitar, and the hangar bay outside was replaced by the hull of the ship. Then, they accelerated out, and pulled up to curve over the Scimitar. Nar's stomach pushed gently down and backwards as they executed the maneuver, and his jaw half dropped at the sight of the Scimitar extending below them through their tiny window.

"Wow," Rel and Tuk breathed.

"Mul…" Cen said, squeezing his hand.

"I don't want to see it," Mul muttered, his tone rising and quickly going flat.

The Scimitar faded away into empty twilight behind them, and Nar sat back in his seat.

Well, better try and sleep, I guess.

*********

A low rumble and a bright flash of searing white startled him awake.

"What…"

A hand gripped his.

"Relax. It's just the storm," Rel whispered to him, from the darkness.

"The storm?" he asked, his heart pounding and his mind struggling to come fully awake.

"Yeah, the pilot said it will last for a few hours, but it's all good," Rel said, giving his hand a final squeeze and letting go. "Just try to go back to sleep, okay?"

Nar nodded, closing his eyes.

"Wait…" he realized, looking at her. "Did the storm wake you up too?"

Rel shook her head.

"You haven't slept?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I got a good dose of Source before leaving, and it always leaves me filled with energy," she explained. "It will be hard for me to sleep tonight."

"You could've just woken me up!" Nar said.

"No need," she said, raising her screen, who shone with a very, very dim light in the darkness of the deck. "I've got entertainment."

"But…"

"Shhh," she said. "I won't be tired even if I don't sleep for the next two days, but you will, so just go back to sleep. This book is more interesting than you are anyways."

"Whatever…" Nar grumbled, closing his eyes.

Light flashed beyond his eyelids once more, and distant thunder rumbled, shaking the ship. Nar opened his eyes again and tried to peer through the window.

At his side, Mul was sleeping, his bald head angled oddly against his pillow, while Cen slept with her head half on her pillow and half on her brother's shoulder. Nar reached over to adjust her blanket, which had half fallen to the floor, and the caster mumbled something as she snuggled under the blanket now back to fully covering her. As for Tuk, he slept with his head tilted back, a gentle snore dimly reaching Nar's ears through the sound of the engines and the storm outside.

Light flashed again, searing his retinas with white and leaving a burning after image behind it.

Wow… Nar thought, as the ship shook once again, stronger this time. Lightning and thunder…

Two separate but somewhat related affinities or elements, or aspects, as they were collectively and more commonly referred to.

Speed and power, versus sound and force. They were both incredibly amazing affinities to unlock… At least in his mind. Everyone might say that it didn't matter what affinities you unlocked, and that it was all about how you used them rather than what they were, but he still didn't want to unlock either a water-based affinity or a mud one. It just didn't feel right to him, nor powerful enough if he was being honest…

Gentle fingers brushed against his shoulder.

"You okay?" Rel asked him. "Scared?"

Nar shook his head and gestured towards the window. "Just thinking of affinities."

"Lightning and thunder?" Rel asked, peering outside just as another flash turned the deck into day for a split-second. "They do feel powerful… Not sure we'll find them in that swamp though."

"No, I don't think we will," Nar said with a sigh. "And there was plenty of it during that confluence and they didn't trigger anything."

Rel chuckled at his side, and lowered her screen. "Not very excited about water or mud, are we?"

Nar shook his head.

"It doesn't really matter what affinity you get though, does it?" she said.

"I know, I know… It's just," he waved at the window again. "That feels exciting, you know?"

"I guess… Fire, ice and lightning," Rel listed. "That's what we always used to talk about, when we thought about aether and magic."

"Guess so," Nar said. "And wind too…"

"Wind? Ah, yes. The Named Few that had your name," Rel said.

"Has," Nar said with a slight smile. "Apparently, she's still alive. And she used to be Tsurmirel as well!"

"What? No way!"

"Right? I was so surprised too!" Nar said.

"You should go talk to her then!"

"I-what-why?"

"Why not? You've been looking up to her this whole time! She's like your role model!"

Nar scoffed in embarrassment. "I barely know anything about her, other than that she has a wind affinity and uses a very long blade… Besides, you don't just walk up to and talk to a Named Few!"

She lightly elbowed him. "Maybe not now, but as a Named Few to another though…"

"Yeah, right…" Nar said, turning his stare back to the window, just in time to catch the tail end of a massive web of light that crisscrossed the sky in the distance.

"Don't worry too much about it," Rel said, following his gaze. "Whatever affinity you get, I'm sure you'll make it amazing."

"Hmm…" Nar said.

"Besides, if I'm being honest," Rel said, her voice dropping further. "I'm kinda jealous of you all. It's so exciting looking for these affinities, with no idea what they could be. Ice, fire, lightning, and even things like time and space! And me? I'm stuck with this… Repentance, for what I did."

She sighed. "I wish it could be something else… Anything else. That I hadn't done something so evil I deserved to dedicate my entire soul to the search for forgiveness… Of course, I deserve it, and ironically, it's a very strong affinity. And it somehow doesn't feel as heavy as… Hmm."

Nar glanced in the direction of Viy's seat, directly in front of Rel's.

Which one is less worse? Nar wondered. The weight of guilt or the acceptance of it, and the search for repentance?

He didn't know how Rel dealt with her memories and guilt, but from the outside looking in, she seemed to be doing far better than Viy was, and it wasn't even close. One could almost make the argument that by accepting her past and working towards cleansing herself of her sins, Rel was capable of standing tall, almost proud, in her acceptance of what she had done and her dedication to making amends for it. While Viy, on the other hand, was probably the complete opposite… Hiding, fearing, and maybe even running away from whatever it was that she had done back at the cubeplant.

But, well… What do I know? Nar thought, shaking his head. Afterall, guilt was not something he was familiar with.

"Come on," Rel said, nudging him. "You should really try to sleep. It's going to be a long two days."

"Yeah…" Nar said, following another peal of lightning as it traced across the dark clouds outside.

And if Viy, Rel, Jul and Mul couldn't do anything about the affinities they had gotten, he wouldn't be able to either. He would get whatever it was and that was it, so what was the point in worrying?

Whatever comes, comes, he thought, closing his eyes. I'll just have to make it work. As always.

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