Mist surrounds me forming a dome that encloses the area I am in. I pat down my body, searching for the cuts I should have and the source of the pain that afflicted me before but… nothing. I look around the area for answers but only more questions form in return. The floor is not… natural. Odd sized square stones of various shapes have been placed, cut to fit together. Ten standing stones of varying height, equal distance apart, line the visible area to form a ring. In the centre, lies the prettiest crystal I've ever seen.

The triangular prism shines in a variety of blues and gives off sounds like the purest of wind chimes. it floats above a large circular well in the floor in which I cant see the bottom from where I sit.

Blue light envelopes one of the pillars, startling me. The light travelling along its surface as it carves complicated designs through the stone. I get up and walk over to get a closer look however the process finishes as quickly as it began. The light retreats, settling into a hole in the centre.

I place my hand against the stone without realising id even got so close. In return, Images and concepts I've never heard of imbedding themselves throughout my mind. It taught me how to pull on my mana, channel through the Standing Stone to summon… A skill! This shouldn’t be possible! You can’t be awakened without getting an Attunement Stone. Kalos told me as such. Yet… This my Soul Realm? I don’t care if this is a dream, ive got to test this out.

I focus on my mana and I draw it towards the stone the way it taught me. a blue liquid floats up from the well underneath the crystal. “Summon Spirit” I shout in my mind and I feel it. I… lose control of the spell. The mana having a mind of its own, eagerly dives for the standing stones central light. Swallowing it whole before obediently returning to the path I set.

The now shining Ball of mana writhes on the floor in front of me before dimming, taking on a form resembling the outline of a person. They push themselves up off the floor and kneel in front of me, head as low as possible.

Looking at the featureless body gives me the impression they are masculine though I can’t pinpoint why. They stay in that position, unmoving. The more I watch on the more anxious I get until I realise it's not my own nerves I can feel but his. I let go of the breath I was holding and clear my throat hoping to get their attention before calling out “…hello?”

“ I! I am yours to command mistress!!”

I jump as he shouts and it takes a moment for me to register what he said “….For starters none of the shouting and mistress stuff. Call me Elysia.”

“As… you wish.” they release a nervous titter and look up at me for the first time.

“I don't want to be rude but, What are you?” I say.

“I am your Guardian mist—Elysia. The first of many on your journey to becoming a fine Dungeon!”

Dungeon? “What do you mean?”

“…you are the core of this island Elysia.”

“I'm an elf, not a dungeon. I mean, look at me.”

They stop for a moment, confusion radiating over our bond “I feel this… might be quicker if you leave your soul realm…  Do… you know how?”

“I don’t.” 

“Close your eyes and think of leaving and it will be so. The same can be done to come back“

I do as he says. When I open my eyes the crystal from my soul realm is still in front of me however it no longer floats. It is now firmly attached to both ceiling and floor by tendrils of stone. its blue glow casts dancing shadows along caverns walls. I try to walk toward the crystal but panic when I notice I'm not walking but floating. Wait. I look over my body. I'm see-through? I quickly go over to the nearby wall and try to lay my hand on it only to push right through with no resistance. the feeling completely foreign.

Did I really die? Waking up as… well, myself gave me hope that just maybe, I survived. That Sandra would be there when I woke up, worrying that ive eaten the wrong mushroom again. That Kalos would come barging in calling me an idiot, to make sure I reflect on my mistake.

My thoughts are interrupted by one that wasn't my own. “Elysia! can you hear me?”

I try to project back through the bond “I… can. It's just a lot to take in”

“I know not what to say… Take your time.”

He leaves me alone after that, though, I can feel his concern at the back of my mind. I walk around the cavern taking in the sights of my new “home”. I died. I can no longer deny that. The question now is what do I do?

The community will survive we… they always have. I'm most certainly not the first to die while out of camp. Kalos on the other hand… I hope my death might spur Sandra to take him to the surface. At this point, self-pity and worrying is not going to get me anywhere. Kalos certainly wouldn’t have tolerated it, I smile to myself. I need to— I will move forward.

It might not be possible for me to find kalos and the community again. The world is vast and we always move location once our contract ends. Don't even get me started with the approaching rift season. From the stories I have been told dungeons aren’t exactly mobile. So instead of finding them, they need to find me. If I make myself known and be the best dungeon I can be maybe they will come. First of all, though, I need to scout the island. I need people for my plan to work.

I go to speak to my summon but then realise “…Guardian? Do you have a name?”

“Y-yes my name is Oberon, Elysia.”

“Oberon, where should I begin as a new dungeon?”

“I'm glad you asked!” I feel a small tug on my soul as Oberon appears in front of me seemly brimming with happiness. “First things first. This, is your heart. the core of this island.” He says as he gestures to the crystal.”If this is destroyed the dungeon will perish, including me and you. The first skill that any dungeon gets and which you are now acquainted with is Summon, which allows them to create their Guardians and Defenders. The soul realm functions exactly the same as a mortal's. As you rank up you will gain access to new skills of your choosing based on your affinity - which seems to be Mind and Force related judging from our bodies and the crystal.

I take a moment to digest what he said. I've never heard of these affinities but they aren't important right now. “I noticed your separating summons into Guardians and Defenders. What's the difference?”

“Guardians are your overseers. Generally, they are stronger than defenders and are Sapient. We also, just like your avatar, do not truly die so long as the heart survives. Defenders are on the other hand are a pseudo-life with sentience — they will listen to commands and can learn new tasks however must rely on external commands to find a greater purpose.”

"There has got to be a downside though right? Otherwise, no one would summon Defenders.”

“Precisely, mind fragments from those that die in your influence are required as a sacrifice. You also have a max limit based on your rank. The first guardian is special. We are... uh, ‘given’ to you as a form of guide. Now, I could answer your questions all day but it may be better to tackle problems as they arise rather than overload you now. …What is it you wish to do?”

“I want to reach the surface of this island. Hopefully, I will find my bearings there.”

“Right you are! Time to get started then.”

Oberon floats over to a nearby pile of rubble, taking a moment to inspect it before condensing into a ball — identical to the one that was part of the standing stone — above it. Stones begin to levitate, creating 2 floating arms and an imperfect shell around the core.

“This may not be as good a crafted body but it will do for now.”

His thoughts bring me out of my stupor “can I do that?!”

“of course you can.” He chuckles ”It will feel uncomfortable at first but once it has bathed in your mana it will feel natural. This is not a spell but an intrinsic part of your being. focus on your wish for a body and the rock.”

He floats out of the way as I go to the rubble. As he did before me, I move myself above and focus on the idea of making myself one with the rock. my sense of weightlessness disappears, replaced with the heaviness and rigidity of the stone.

Once it fully forms, I look at my body and I can tell it's weak, only being held together by my will and mana. The feeling of discomfort is there as Oberon said, however, it's not enough to dull my joy of not being stuck as a ghost for eternity!

I test my ‘hands’ against the cavern wall. First scraping then, full-on punching at the stone. My arms take the abuse as the wall crumbles, surprising me.

As if already expecting my question Oberon answers “the process of infusing the stone with your power makes it stronger. This might be due to the force affinity but I'm not certain. We should dig at the walls to get some stone so you can summon defenders. They can help with your expansion.”

Oberon joins in and we pulverise the wall. Eventually, enough rubble is created that I can finally summon a defender! Instinctively I knew that the defenders were fragile, so I draw on my mana as I did inside my soul realm. this time however I focus on the result of our efforts. A tiny mote of light darts into the stone pile. In a few moments, a body similar to mine and Oberon's is formed. The main difference being they are a quarter of the size.

I was almost expecting them to be similar to Oberon in mind but I now know what he meant by only calling them ‘sentient’. it's not language that travels across our bond. But simple concepts and emotion. I send over its task and it eagerly complies turning to the wall they were carved out of and proceeding to slam its fists against the surface. I look at what it's doing and only one thing springs to mind: We really need tools.

Evershadows

Thanks for reading!

as before let me know what you think in the comment section. any corrections and criticism welcome. I quickly made a cover so I wasn't stuck with the generic image. it's not the greatest but I made it with PowerPoint. hopefully next week ill be able to get more chapters out.