You have entered: Floor 6 – Grief.
Debuff Applied: "Emotional Whiplash." -10 to humor, +50 to staring blankly at walls.
Status Warning: Crying may now be weaponized against you.
The descent into Floor 6 was quieter than usual. No dramatic flames. No screaming. Just the soft drip drip drip of water and the ambiance of an abandoned therapy office at 3 a.m.
I stepped in first. Everything was gray. Like the color gray got sad and called its therapist, but the therapist ghosted it.
There were no monsters. No traps. Just… rooms.
Each room had a name carved above the door.
"Lost Opportunities."
"People You Couldn't Save."
And, most disturbing of all:
"Your Childhood Pet (Reimagined with Sad Music)."
Lilith looked around. "This… actually sucks."
Sir Galrik knelt solemnly. "It is as I feared. This floor confronts us with sorrow too deep for steel."
Mister Fog just whispered, "I used to be a sock."
I blinked. "What?"
"Nothing."
We picked the least traumatizing door: "Mild Disappointments."
Inside, illusions played like a theater reel.
There I was, age seven, excited for a birthday party that never happened.
Me again, age fifteen, auditioning for the academy choir. Forgot the lyrics. Sang the opening to a soup commercial instead.
Then my first real dungeon raid. I tripped on the entrance and got concussed before the fight even started.
Lilith looked over. "Wait… you sang the soup song?"
"It's catchy, okay?!"
Galrik put a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Do not let your sorrows define you."
I swatted his hand off. "I'm fine! I've compartmentalized all of this into a tiny emotional pit I only visit when I'm drunk and alone, thank you very much."
Suddenly, a giant ghostly therapist appeared. It wore wire-rimmed glasses and radiated disapproval.
"Hello, Cecil," it said, adjusting its glasses. "I'm you. But more emotionally stable."
Boss Fight: Inner Therapist
Attack Pattern: Monologues, Passive Aggression, and Weaponized Empathy
Lilith unsheathed her scythe.
"No!" I yelled. "This is my fight."
I stepped forward, trembling.
"You think you're better than me?" I snapped. "You think just because you have coping mechanisms you can lecture me?"
"I think," it said gently, "you're scared of moving on."
"Oh yeah? Well you—" I pointed— "you're wearing a sweater vest made of smugness!"
New Spell Learned: Deflection Punch. Delivers 10 damage per layer of emotional repression.
I hit it. It winced.
"You never visited your grandfather before he died," it said, lashing back with guilt damage.
"Ow!" I clutched my heart. "That was below the belt, you emotionally sentient tax form!"
Galrik and Lilith joined in anyway. Mister Fog summoned a physical manifestation of denial. We named it Kevin. Kevin screamed in Morse code.
Together, we took it down.
Boss Defeated: Inner Therapist
Reward: "Cry Now, Heal Later" Bandana. +20 Emotional Cooldown RateWe exited the grief room exhausted.
Sir Galrik wiped a single tear and then punched a wall. "I will never speak of this again."
Lilith lit a cigarette made of regrets. "I need a hug and a bottle of wine. In that order."
Mister Fog just laid down on the floor and whispered, "Don't step on me. I'm becoming moss now."
Me? I just sat there. Quiet.
I wasn't sad. I wasn't happy either. I was processing. And weirdly enough… it helped.
That's when the wall cracked.
You have unlocked: Secret Room – Suppressed Joy.
We stepped inside. It was bright. Sunny. A warm park. Children laughing. Kites flying.
It felt like someone bottled the exact moment you finally fart in a silent classroom and nobody hears it.
In the middle stood a treasure chest.
New Item Acquired: "Laughter in Darkness" — Casts 'Giggle Aura' in a 10m radius when HP is low.
We took it. No boss. No trap. Just… a small reminder that maybe, just maybe, there was good shit too.
As we left the floor, the staircase to Floor 7 revealed itself.
Next Floor: Delusion.
Lilith groaned. "Oh no. That one's going to be weird, isn't it?"
Galrik sheathed his sword. "I have trained my mind to resist fantasy."
Mister Fog screamed, "I AM THE MOON!"
And me? I smiled. For real, this time.
Because no matter how dumb this dungeon got…
We were still somehow surviving it.
To be continued...