Zenith's Perspective
The blinding light had burned everything away. When my mind finally managed to claw its way back to consciousness, the first thing I registered was the terrible, absolute silence. My ears were ringing, a high-pitched, insistent drone.
I was lying on a cold, damp, uneven stone floor. The air was heavy, smelling of mildew, dust, and something deeply metallic—a scent I immediately recognized as mana saturation.
I sat up, my head throbbing fiercely. My beautiful, sunny home was gone. The rough stone walls rose around me, disappearing into an impossibly high, dark ceiling. The space was cavernous, lit only by a faint, eerie blue glow emanating from the moss on the walls.
Where am I? The panicked question choked me. The Teleportation Incident. The white light. I remembered embracing Kaelen, falling backward as the energy hit us.
My eyes snapped down to my lap. Lying across my thighs, still wrapped tightly in the apron I wore, was Kaelen. He was frighteningly still, his red hair dusted with fine gray powder. His small body was lax, and when I reached out, my fingers trembling, I felt the terrifying slackness of deep unconsciousness.
I tried to shake him gently. "Kaelen? Baby, wake up!"
He didn't stir. His breathing was shallow but steady. He was alive, but clearly in a coma—a deep, protective state brought on by the immense magical trauma.
I frantically looked around. Where was Paul? Lilia? Aisha? Norn? Where was everyone? Only silence answered. I was alone with Kaelen in this terrifying, subterranean place.
A sudden, chilling realization hit me: I was in a dungeon. Not just any cave, but a dangerous, structured labyrinth. The highly concentrated mana and the architecture made it clear.
I carefully lifted Kaelen into my arms. His head slumped against my shoulder, a dead weight. I checked my own state. My body ached, but I felt strangely energized by the surrounding mana. My hands felt twitchy, ready to cast. Good. I needed to be ready.
I began to walk in one direction, stumbling occasionally over the loose flagstones. The fear was a cold stone in my stomach, but the maternal instinct to protect my child was a burning fire. I had to find a way out.
The tunnel opened into a large circular chamber. My gaze immediately fell to the floor. Engraved deep into the stone was a massive, weathered symbol. Below it, on the wall, was a faint inscription in the language that I barely could read. I couldn't read the script, but I knew the sign: Floor No. 2.
I'm on the second level of a dungeon, I thought, the absurdity of the situation almost making me laugh hysterically. I went from cooking breakfast to navigating an underground prison.
I found a relatively dry spot on the floor near a junction, away from the eerie blue light, and lowered Kaelen. I needed to conserve my strength and rest.
The first half day was spent in agonizing, panicked waiting. I sat beside Kaelen, gently rubbing his back, whispering prayers and incantations of healing magic I hoped would seep into him. I forced myself to be alert, using small spells to create light and scan the walls for threats. Nothing came. The dungeon was strangely quiet.
As the hours dragged on, the cold seeped into my bones, and my mind started to churn. I remembered Lilia's panicked whisper, Kaelen's demanding instructions to keep the money on her, his warning to prioritize her children. It was a horrible, selfish thought, but it provided a strange comfort: Kaelen had known this was coming. He had been preparing us, teaching them, warning them.
Shaking Dark thought out of mind ,
I looked at the limp child in my arms.
As the internal darkness grew, I vowed silently: I don't know where the others are, but I will get Kaelen out. I will get him out, and then I will find my family.
I forced myself to get up. I needed to find the path up, back to Floor No. 1. I couldn't stay here, wasting time and risking a monster encounter while Kaelen was vulnerable.
I placed a simple, rudimentary Earth Barrier around Kaelen—a small circle of raised stone for protection—and began to methodically explore the chamber for the upward passage. I took my first solo step into the darkness, determined to use every ounce of my will and magic to survive.
I knew, with the cold certainty of a adventure instict, that it would take days of constant, focused travel and searching to find the exit of this dungeon floor and carry Kaelen to safety. I had to move. The real world was waiting.