Cipiteca396

There's fire. It gives me headaches.

I moved over to my table to eat. Getting crumbs out of my bed would be simple with the clean spell, but I didn't want to fall unconscious again. Or get lazier than I already was. I pulled some cereal out of the Bank and started eating. While I was there, I dropped the generator on the floor next to me. It was about a half a meter on its longest side. A pair of chords led off it, and then turned into outlet strips. Enough for maybe twenty power chords? More than I needed at the moment.

With my little breakfast out of the way, I plugged in all the cables I needed to get my computer running. It started running with no problems once I pressed the power button on the generator. I did have to do some setup since I was in a different location though... After a bit, I was back on the internet.

According to the clock, I'd been sleeping for between twelve and sixteen hours. It was hard to tell since I didn't know when I woke up the first time. Either way, it was actually twenty-two hours since all of humanity had been turned into dungeons. And it was all of humanity. There wasn't a single confirmed case of a human being remaining anywhere on Earth. Maybe some poor castaway on a deserted island somewhere got away.

The governments were trying to do government things, but I couldn't take them seriously. Was it even possible to take a doll in a business suit seriously? No, my focus went into a string of forum threads. They were compiling information about the dungeon and the Interface. It was all fairly mild for the moment, but it was quick for how little time had already passed. It also looked like they were working really hard to combine the various threads that popped up in different languages. Something about translation spells. I opened the consolidated forum.

I glanced through the ones listed first. The navigation thing was literally just rules and helpful tips. Boring. The Avatar thread was for people panicking about being trapped and not thinking clearly. That and talking about how to repair any damage to the dolls. The Bank thread was similar, mentioning that you would need to properly trade for things you wanted. It also had a lot of business discussions going on, and some people were already doing trades. It seemed like something that should have its own thread, but there would be time for that later. The Party Up thread emphasized the advantages of working with a party, but it wasn't anything I hadn't thought of already.

I opened a couple of the more interesting threads in tabs, then started reading into the one that really caught my eye. 'Dungeon Layout'. Okay, no, the one that really caught my eye was the Evolution one for obvious reasons. But I had my priorities. The thread itself was very focused on strategic use of space. It seemed like a bunch of management video game fans were running the place. Understandable. For them, it must have been like the whole world just got turned into a toy store.

Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed. Apparently, a couple people had immediately started crafting rooms as soon as they woke up. Their reasoning varied. But not a single one had managed to raise their CP regeneration, even though in one case they'd managed to make ninety-two 5x5 rooms. That was a hell of a lot of floor space, to get nothing in return. A couple theories were floating around on why, but I knew what my next action was. Mostly because I was annoyed. If these guys could waste ninety-two CP on a bunch of useless rooms, then I could afford five or ten for a divination.

I dug through the magic tab and searched for 'Divination' again. The problem I kept bumping into was just how to ask my question. A random glimpse of the future wouldn't help me. Nor would a spell that only returned a yes or no answer. I'd just about given up on it, when I found an interesting spell.

It was similar to the Audience and Augury spells, but the differences were significant, or so I thought. When I thought of a named deity, Nyx came to mind immediately. The main problem was that I wasn't sure if the spell would work with Nyx as the target, and 'Failure may have unpredictable consequences'. However, if it did work, it would be the best option available to me.

Well, no use in stalling. Either it would work or it wouldn't. I tapped the cast button and spoke aloud. "Nyx."

A flood. But not of water. It poured through a hole in reality that should not have existed. There were things there, too. Monsters. People. Giants that could touch the ceiling without standing up straight.

A mighty warrior. A shield in one hand, three swords in three others. Alone against the tide. Swept away.

A world. Once green and gold, now lightless and hollow. Swarming with horrors and ruptures in reality.

"Ask."

I was too stunned to react. The images were simple, but immense. Too much for me to process all at once. But I had my priorities. "Umm... CP... How do I raise my CP regeneration?"

"Stone."
"It is not the source. An obstacle."

"Fill the world with life and joy. They are the power you seek."

"The dungeon is your body, growth will raise the rate of coalescence."

"The void; the air you breathe."

"But far faster to draw from your creatures. They are your ichor-"
"And the enemy; your sustenance."

"Ask."

The voices overlapped, whispering to me. It sent a shiver down my spine. But it wasn't unpleasant. "Uh. How do I raise my CP capacity?"

"Condense the power."
"Gather it together and crystallize it."

"Overfill the Crystal Core."

"Collect the shards of my Core."

"Defeat the enemy, and subsume their power."

"Ask."

I hadn't expected to get more than one question. I was starting to get flustered, especially since the whispers all answered in a moment, taking less time to answer than I took to question. "Why did this happen?" It slipped out unintentionally. Maybe that's natural. The reply was more uncertain than before. The voices even seemed to argue with each other at times.

"...There is no reason."
"Or perhaps it's the only reason."

"Chaos is the fuel that reality burns to create Order. But Chaos longs to return Order to Chaos."

"The reason is irrelevant."

"To exist, we struggle."

"Pity those who fail, as we failed."
"But know that nothing will change."

"All that once was will continue to exist forevermore."

"Do not fear."
"...But continue to struggle."

"Do not share the spell.
"I tire easily."

"But speak to me again."
"I like you."

"Continue onward..."
"-but do not walk alone."

With that, the spell faded, and I found myself laying with my head on my desk. Passed out again. "Fuck."

Cipiteca396

I said no more menus and then added forum boxes. *insane screeching*
At least I managed to finish the chapter before the smoke killed me too much.