Alezy led Finn and Darwin along the edges of the coliseum seats, then down some stairs that led to the arena where they fought. The passageway was lit by several torches.
"This is the passageway that leads to the other paths leading to the other areas" Alezy explained, leading the way until they reached a large room that divided into four different paths, each with a sign.
The passageway they had just crossed had a sign with the name "Coliseum" on it, and the others had the names "Lake, Park, and City" with the passageway leading to the city they would choose.
"There's no getting around it; all the levels are that simple" Alezy stated, then pointed to some spiral stairs leading down. "And that one right there is the path to the next level. If I'm not mistaken, it leaves you right in an area like this."
"If all the levels are like this, isn't it easier to go straight to the final boss and defeat him?" Finn asked, following Alezy toward the city passageway.
"That's the problem. Not all levels are like this. All levels have four zones that connect to each other, but they don't have an area like this between them that leads to the next area. Only levels one and two have this room" Alezy revealed.
"So how do you get to the next level, then?" Darwin asked.
"Each zone has a hidden passageway that leads to the next level, but these ones inevitably drops you right in the middle of the zone, basically forcing you to face the dangers there" Alezy said.
"I get it…" Darwin said. "They should remodel here; it looks pretty dark and eerie…"
"It used to be very well-maintained, with stone paths with lights that were always on, illuminating the paths completely. We even had a small bar in the room that guided people to all the areas for those who wanted a drink" Alezy said, earning Finn and Darwin's curiosity. "But with time and the new dungeon, the adventurers and civilians stopped coming, and everything went to hell. There was no reason for us to maintain all this."
"It must have been tough. One day it was full of visitors and the next, monsters" Finn said, and Alezy nodded.
"You can't even imagine. Everything was so sudden. First there was an earthquake, followed by a light dazzling, and then... monsters. Thousands of civilians and adventurers died in the blink of an eye: the elderly, women... children. The monsters wiped out everyone" Alezy revealed. His tone was no longer the cheerful one it usually had, but rather a colder and sadder one. "This was supposed to be a place for eternal coexistence, a place where future generations could meet their ancestors and live with them, not eternal suffer."
The group remained silent for a while. Finn and Darwin didn't want to say anything. This was clearly a very sensitive topic for Alezy, and perhaps for every undead person here. The three continued walking until they reached the exit.
"And here we are, Evercity!" Alezy exclaimed, stepping aside and allowing Finn and Darwin to fully contemplate the city.
This area was almost 4 times larger than the coliseum, there were no castles or buildings higher than 5 stories, just a bunch of houses, taverns and inns that were connected by stone paths that made it look more medieval with a certain fantasy style if you looked at the large sphere of light floating in the sky.
"It's simple, but beautiful" Alezy said proudly. "Come on, let's go to Lady Sugey's house before everyone starts waking up. They tend to be very noisy when there are visitors" he said, hurrying into the city.
The three of them walked through the long streets of the city. Finn couldn't help but notice that everything was well-maintained here, and there was no sign of neglect or even trash in the city.
Walking for a few more minutes, the three of them arrived at a large inn about three stories high. It had a statue of a half-naked woman with a large feathered crown, sitting on a throne of bones. The three of them walked past the statue and entered the inn, seeing a group of already-awake undead, drinking and eating at the tables in front of the inn's reception.
"Zombies?!" Darwin exclaimed, seeing that not all of them were skeletons, but that there were zombies as well. "I thought they were all skeletons…"
"Of course not!" Azley replied. "No one dies and turns into a skeleton right away."
"I see you have new friends, Alezy" a voice called from the stairs leading to the second floor.
A woman came down from the stairs. She had platinum blonde hair and was wearing a large poncho that covered only the front and back of her body. At first glance, she seemed normal, and she might even be mistaken for a living creature if it weren't for her black sclera, which made her purple eyes stand out.
"New dead, oh my goddess… but they're so young, it's a real shame" the woman said, hugging Finn and Darwin.
"Look closely, Izel. They're not dead… yet" Alezy said.
The woman, now known as Izel, grabbed Finn and Darwin by their faces, looking directly into their eyes.
"Oh, so you're adventurers, coming to clear the dungeon?" Izel asked with a smile.
"Yeah, that's the idea" Finn replied.
"I don't know how to feel right now. Is she human or not?" Darwin wondered, confused, seeing Izel's eyes, which were clearly not human.
"HEY, of course… no, I'm not human anymore, I'm undead" Izel assured.
"But you look so…" Finn couldn't finish because Izel interrupted him.
"Complete? Preserved? In good condition?" Izel asked, and the two nodded. "That's normal, silly. That's thanks to Lady Micte's blessing. Didn't you tell them, Alezy?" Izel asked, looking at Alezy.
"It's just… I don't remember how the blessing works…" Alezy admitted embarrassedly.
"Oh, what am I going to do with you… Come on, we'll talk in a quieter room" Izel said, leading the three of them to the second floor.
"Are we allowed to go upstairs?" Finn asked, looking at Alezy.
"As long as we're with her, we can even enter Lady Sugey's room" Alezy replied.
"Is she someone important?" Darwin asked.
"She's the last descendant of Lady Sugey, of course she's important" Alezy said.
The three of them followed Izel down a hallway decorated with various skulls of different monsters and beasts to a room with large wooden doors. This was the main room of Izel's family.
"Take a seat wherever you want, precious ones!" Izel said as she went to a shelf, taking out cookies and tea. "We don't usually have many guests around here, you know."
"I thought so" Finn said.
"So you want to know about us, huh?" Izel said with a smile, sitting in front of Finn and Darwin.
"More like, how come you look like that and you don't smell rotten" Darwin said curiously.
"That's very simple. First, let's clarify one thing: the undead here aren't like the other undead in the other dungeons. Everland was blessed with the love of the goddess Micte, who created a place where the dead could remain for eternity to accompany their families. She created the first dungeon over 3,000 years ago" Izel revealed. "That's why it's called Everland. Because no one really dies here. We just… enter another stage of our lives."
"I understand… but how come some of you look more whole than others? You seem as alive as we do" Finn stated, confused.
"Because I am!" Izel said, quickly passing over the small table that was right in the middle of the armchairs and taking Finn's hand and putting it under her poncho, placing it right on her chest.
Finn was upset by Izel's sudden movement, but then calmed down when he felt Izel's heart beating rapidly.
"Like I said, we're not like the other undead. We're special. The goddess Micte blessed us so that once we die, our bodies are rebuilt in what we consider our prime, allowing us to have the warmth we had in life..." Izel said, clearly excited to explain this to Finn and Darwin.
"So what about your appearances? You and Alezy are so different" Darwin said.
"That's because of Alezy's own idiocy and that of the other idiots!" Izel responded angrily, "The goddess blessed us with the ability to keep our bodies young forever, but of course, if you don't take proper care of them, they'll end up dying again, leaving you with nothing but bones. I mean, how hard is it to take care of your body? You just have to do the same things you did in life: eat, drink, take proper care of yourself, and that's it!"
"I'm sorry…" Alezy said, embarrassed.
"So you practically have a second life that's eternal?" Darwin asked.
"Yes and no. As I said before, we retain almost all the qualities of a living being. We can reason, eat, drink, get tired, feel pain, anger, love, lust, and pleasure. But we are still not fully alive. When someone dies and reemerges here, they lose a little piece of themselves, something that lets nature know that you are no longer part of the living. We can no longer use magic, nor can we give birth or impregnate a living woman. The dead cannot grant life" Izel said, and at that moment, the doors slammed open.
A mature woman stood in the doorway, looking between 35 and 40 years old. She had a tanned complexion, platinum-blonde hair like Izel's, and purple eyes that were brighter than Izel's. The woman wore a necklace of black and gold feathers that only covered her shoulders and a long piece of cloth that only covered the front, hanging between her legs.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Izel!" The woman exclaimed with a huge smile.
"Grandma!" Izel greeted happily.
"Lady Sugey!" Alezy exclaimed, sitting up in his seat and looking nervous.
'Is that Sugey? I thought she looked older' Finn thought.
'They're huge!' Darwin thought, looking at Sugey's breasts. 'My goodness, I'm so confused. If they were ever human, are they still human now, or are they something else?'
Sugey sat down next to Izel, putting his bare feet up on the small table.
"So you're the adventurers who came to clear the dungeon…" Sugey said, still smiling. "You should know by now that it's practically impossible, and if you came here for some advice, I'm sorry, but even we haven't made it that far in the dungeon" Sugey admitted.
"No, Lady Sugey, they just wanted to know more about us" Alezy quickly clarified.
"Oh, so what's that? You should have said it before. Tell me what you want to know?" Sugey said, and Darwin raised his hand.
"This is more of a question... do you still consider yourselves human?" Darwin asked curiously.
"Of course not. Before we died, we were human, but once we died, we became what we like to call ichcatl, which means sheep. We chose this name because we serve the goddess Micte" Sugey said. "And because we are no longer human, the moment we die, the essence of the goddess enters us, changing our appearance. That's why we can live for thousands of years without our bodies wearing out."
"Phew, thank goodness…" Darwin said, relieved, causing the undead to become curious.
"I have another question. It's about what happens on the 15th of every month" Finn said, making Sugey sigh wearily.
"Sigh, I'd also like to know what happens on those days. I've been investigating for months, but I haven't been able to find anything" Sugey said tiredly.
"It's the goat-fucker's fault!" Alezy exclaimed, only to receive a pillow from Sugey.
"You see, kid, we don't know what causes this either. Every time the 15th comes around, right around 3 a.m., a strange feeling of losing control suddenly invades us, and little by little, we begin to lose ourselves in a fog that reaches our minds. Every time we try to act or do something, it's as if we're simply fighting against the air. It's simply impossible," Sugey assured. "The worst thing is that when we wake up the next day, we find ourselves on the lower levels, further and further away."
"Are you being guided?" Finn asked, and Sugey nodded.
"I'm afraid so, and we don't know where," Sugey replied.
"We've already talked to the civilians about blocking our way to the second level, but every time they try, we end up attacking them" Izel said.
"We've tried everything, but nothing works… I just hope we never get to where this thing is leading us" Sugey said regretfully. "Anyway, let's stop talking about it. That's our problem, not yours. Yours is taking care of this dungeon!" she said, trying to cheer them up.
"Sure, are you planning on staying, or are you leaving soon?" Izel asked. "You can stay for a few more hours. We haven't had many of people alive recently" she said, looking at Finn and winking.
"Is that so?" Darwin asked, fixing his hair and seeing Sugey moving his eyebrows, who simply snorted in amusement.
"I think we'll go now…" Finn said, looking at Darwin.
"Go ahead. If I don't catch up with you in an hour, wait for me at the entrance to the city" Darwin said.
"Wait, are you flirting with my grandmother?!" Ize asked, realizing Darwin's intentions.
"HAHAHA! The adventurers are still as energetic as ever!" Sugey laughed before standing up and walking behind Darwin, rubbing his shoulders. "It's okay. There's plenty to do in town. I'm sure Finn can wait for him without any problems…"
"Grandma!!" Ize exclame
"What? Adventurers need to express them self if not they could be in great trouble... right Alezy?" Sugey ask rubbing darwin's cheeks and alezy nodded "I'm just gonna help this young man a little..."
—
Just as Sugey had said, Finn spent his time in the city, looking at all kinds of objects they had with Ize, who kept insistently hitting on Finn. Finn didn't feel any disgust for Ize's appearance or anything like that, but he still wasn't convinced by the idea of doing something like that with a stranger, much less with someone who in many terms could be considered dead.
An hour later, Finn stood in the doorway next to Ize and Alezy, who couldn't stop laughing at Ize for rejecting her. Ize stood behind Finn, butting her head against Finn's back.
"Why? Is it because I'm an ichcatl?" Ize asked, confused, knowing full well that she was a very beautiful and youthful-looking woman, as she had the body of her 25-year-old self. When Finn didn't answer, she opened her mouth in surprise. "Is that why? But why?!"
"I don't know... I'm not keen on the idea of doing it with a dead person... it must feel, you know, cold..." Finn said, leaving Ize stunned.
"Is that why? I already told you, we're not just any undead, we're special... Besides, my insides aren't cold; our bodies are alive and retain heat like any other living being!" Ize pleaded. "Please! Let yourself be loved, I know how to give love very well!" Ize said.
"…" Finn didn't respond.
"At least a little suck!" Ize said, seeing Darwin approaching in the distance with a big smile. "Look at your friend, he's very happy. I promise to make you even happier or I'll give you your money back!"
"you even going to charge me?" Finn asked, astonished.
"No, that's just an expression!" Ize said again, but by then Darwin had already arrived.
"Okay, Finn, it's time to go!" Darwin said.
"NOOO!" Ize exclaimed, holding Finn.
Darwin, seeing Ize's reaction, also raised a curious eyebrow and then looked at Finn before asking, "Didn't you do it?"
"Obviously... no" Finn replied, causing Darwin to shake his head in disappointment.
"Anyway, let's go..." Darwin said, saying goodbye to Alezy, who had decided to stay in the city, and to Ize.
Finn also said goodbye to the two of them, leaving Ize angry and yelling at him that they would sleep together someday.
As they walked down the hallway, Finn touched his chest, adjusting his shirt to hide the pain he felt. The sting had reappeared these past few days, and the mark, which had shrunk, had grown back and was bigger than before.
"You know, if you really wanted to do it, you shouldn't have refused. Merlin already explained that if you keep repressing your true emotions and desires, you'll end up very badly..." Darwin said, reminding Finn of what Merlin had said.
"Calm down, I'm fine..." Finn replied.