Pain was his first sensation. A raw, throbbing ache that pulsed behind Elias's eyes with each heartbeat. The second was pressure, tons of stone and debris pinning him in absolute darkness.
He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe properly. Each shallow gasp brought the taste of dust and blood.
I'm going to die here, he realized with strange calm. Buried alive in an unmarked grave.
"Gareth?" he called weakly. "Dalia? Anyone?"
Only silence answered.
How long had he been unconscious? Minutes? Hours? The air was growing stale, which meant he had limited time before suffocation claimed him.
Focus, Elias.
He tried moving his right arm. Pain lanced through his shoulder, but the limb responded, finding a small pocket of space. His fingers brushed against something smooth and cool amid the rubble.
A faint blue glow began to emanate from the object, illuminating his tiny prison of collapsed stone. The dungeon core fragment, no larger than his fist now pulsed with dying light.
"Help..." he whispered, desperation finally breaking through his professional detachment. "Please, someone..."
The core pulsed again, brighter this time. Then, impossibly, words appeared before him, floating blue text suspended in the air:
[Critical condition detected]
[Suitable vessel located]
[Initiating emergency binding protocol]
[Compatibility: 89%]
[Warning: Binding is permanent and irreversible]
[Proceed? Y/N]
Elias blinked, certain he was hallucinating from oxygen deprivation. The text remained, hovering in his narrow field of vision.
"What is this?" he gasped.
[Response unclear. Verbal confirmation required]
[Time remaining before terminal system failure: 00:02:47]
[Proceed with binding? Y/N]
The core's light was already dimming. Whatever choice this was, it was his only chance.
"Yes," he whispered.
The fragment pulsed once, blindingly bright, then dissolved into motes of blue light that swirled around his outstretched hand. They sank into his skin like liquid, leaving faint luminescent patterns that faded almost immediately.
Pain shot through his entire body, not the dull ache of injuries but something deeper, as if his very essence was being rewritten. Elias would have screamed if he had enough air. Instead, he convulsed silently in his stone prison as foreign energy coursed through him.
New text appeared:
[Binding initiated]
[Vessel stabilization in progress]
[Core essence transfer: 12%...]
The percentage climbed rapidly as Elias felt strength returning to his battered body. His vision sharpened, even in near-darkness. His hearing grew acute enough to detect the subtle shifting of stones above him.
[Mapping surroundings...]
Suddenly, he could sense the structure of the collapsed dungeon around him, weaknesses in the debris, paths of least resistance, the most stable sections. It wasn't sight exactly, more like an intuitive understanding of the space.
[Core essence transfer complete]
[Basic functions restored]
[Full integration pending]
[Escape route identified]
A glowing blue line appeared, showing a path through the rubble. With newfound strength, Elias began to push aside stones that should have been immovable. His body moved with uncanny precision, avoiding further collapse as he twisted through impossibly narrow gaps.
How long he crawled, he couldn't say. Time seemed fluid, measured only by the steady pulse of blue energy beneath his skin. Eventually, he sensed open space ahead. With one final push, he emerged into a partially collapsed tunnel dimly lit by emergency crystals.
He collapsed onto his hands and knees, gulping fresh air. When his vision cleared, he looked back at the impenetrable wall of rubble he'd somehow navigated.
Impossible. No one could have survived that, let alone escaped.
"Gareth? Dalia?" he called again, louder this time. "Meris? Tarrow?"
Nothing but the settling of distant stone answered him.
Elias closed his eyes, concentrating. That strange spatial awareness expanded outward, searching for signs of life. Nothing registered except a faint pulse from far above the surface, perhaps.
They were gone. All of them.
He was alone.
The reality of it hit him like a physical blow. His party, his friends, were entombed behind countless tons of stone. No rescue party could reach them, even if anyone knew to look.
"Why me?" he whispered, voice breaking. "Why am I the only one?"
[Query registered]
[Response: Only compatible vessel within binding range]
[Previous vessel degradation: 97.3%]
[Emergency protocol: Self-preservation]
The text hovered before him, its clinical tone a stark contrast to the grief tearing through his chest.
"You saved me to save yourself," Elias realized, speaking to the presence he now felt inside him. "What are you?"
[Identity: Dungeon Core Fragment A-7]
[Primary function: Spatial manipulation]
[Current status: Bound to human vessel]
[Integration: 22% complete]
Elias stared at the floating text, memories of guild warnings flashing through his mind. Dungeon cores were never to be touched. They contained ancient magic from before the Cataclysm, dangerous and unpredictable.
And now one was inside him.
A distant rumbling jolted him back to immediate concerns. The dungeon was still collapsing, and he needed to reach the surface.
[Exit route calculated]
[Follow highlighted path]
[Warning: Host stability critical]
[Emergency ascension recommended]
A blue line appeared again, leading down the least damaged corridor. Elias forced himself to his feet, swaying as dizziness washed over him. Whatever strength the binding had given him was fading as adrenaline ebbed.
He followed the guiding line, moving as quickly as his injuries allowed. Twice more the ceiling came down behind him, as if the dungeon itself was trying to claim him. Each time, he'd already passed the danger zone, guided by his inexplicable new awareness.
After what felt like hours, he saw natural light ahead—a jagged opening where part of the dungeon had breached the surface. Elias stumbled toward it, hope and exhaustion warring within him.
As he reached the gap, voices became audible, a rescue team from the sound of it. Guild members calling out for survivors.
The blue text appeared one final time:
[Warning: Integration incomplete]
[Entering dormant state for vessel recovery]
[External detection risk high]
[Masking essence signature]
The strange awareness faded, along with the blue glow beneath his skin. Elias felt abruptly, terribly human again, broken, exhausted, and alone.
He pulled himself through the opening, squinting against harsh sunlight. Figures in guild armour rushed toward him, voices raised in surprise.
"We've got a survivor!"
"Impossible, that section completely collapsed!"
"It's one of the Crimson Vanguard scouts!"
As hands reached to pull him to safety, Elias had one last coherent thought before unconsciousness claimed him:
What have I become?