DUNGEON SLAVE
CHAPTER 8: BETROTHAL
The morning light crept through the crystalline towers of Narvana, refracting into fragments of blue and gold across Axcel's room. The echoes of last night's cheers still haunted the city outside the festival hadn't truly ended, not when the news of the High Guardian's betrothal decree was still on every tongue.
Axcel sat on the edge of his bed, hands buried in his hair. His reflection in the mana mirror looked like someone caught between a dream and a nightmare.
"Marriage," he muttered. "To Hebana. The High Guardian. The woman who could erase me with a thought."
A knock came at his door. Soft, but steady. He didn't need to ask who it was.
"Come in," he sighed.
Helena stepped inside, the morning light outlining her black hair.Her expression was calm too calm.
"So," she said quietly, closing the door behind her. "You've heard the decree, then."
Axcel gave a dry laugh. "decree? Try every street vendor shouting 'The Hero's Wedding' like it's the end of the world."
She walked closer until she stood across from him, her arms crossed. "It might be the beginning of one instead."
He looked up at her. "You agree with it?"
Helena hesitated, her eyes flickering. "I don't have to like it, Axcel. But… it might be necessary."
"Necessary?" His voice rose a little. "For what, political peace?"
"For survival," she said, tone sharp but sincere. "Hebana's announcement may seem sudden, but it's strategic. The system's instability hasn't ended the serpent event was proof. Narvana needs an anchor. A bond between realms. You're that bridge."
He stared at her, trying to read her calm. "You sound like you rehearsed that."
"I did," she admitted softly. "Because if I didn't say it now, I might not be able to later."
The air thickened. For a moment, neither spoke.
Finally, she sighed and stepped closer, kneeling in front of him so their eyes met. "Listen… I'm not telling you this because I want you gone. I'm saying it because I want Narvana to survive. And because..." she paused, voice trembling just slightly, "if you refuse her, the balance of the system could collapse. The dungeons, the gates… everything."
He looked at her, really looked at her and saw something behind her composure: fear. Not of Hebana. Not of the system. But of losing him.
"So, you think I should marry her."
"I think…" She took a slow breath. "It's the right decision for the realm."
Axcel leaned back, staring at the glowing ceiling. "You're really bad at lying, Helena."
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
He smiled faintly. "You're saying it's the right decision for the realm, but your eyes keep saying it's the wrong one for you."
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She stood abruptly. "It doesn't matter what I feel. It's not my place."
Before he could respond, a faint chime echoed through the crystal halls. Hebana's summons.
Axcel rubbed the back of his neck. "Speak of the queen herself."
Helena turned toward the door. "Then go. Face her."
He muttered under his breath, "Not like I have a choice…" and started down the corridor.
The High Guardian's chamber gleamed like a cathedral carved from light itself. Mana runes spiraled up the pillars, each pulse echoing like a heartbeat. Hebana stood in the center, wearing flowing robes that shimmered like molten gold, her long hair cascading down her back.
"Axcel," she said, smiling faintly as he approached. "You came."
He crossed his arms. "You did call for me, didn't you?"
Her eyes glimmered with amusement. "Yes, but I wasn't sure you'd come willingly after my… announcement."
Axcel's lips tightened. "You could have asked first."
"I could have," she said, stepping closer, "but I didn't want to give you the chance to say no."
Before he could react, she reached up, placed a hand on his cheek pulling him closer and kissed him, lips connected.
The chamber's hum spiked. The nearby mages froze, eyes wide, whispers spreading like wildfire.
Axcel's mind blanked out. For a second, all he could think was how impossibly soft her lips were warm, perfumed with some strange, sweet mana scent.
When she finally pulled away, her smile deepened. "There. The first step has already been made."
Axcel blinked, still dazed. "You you really don't waste time, do you?"
Hebana chuckled lightly. "Time is precious, and Narvana's heart beats faster every day. The sooner we align our destinies, the stronger the system becomes."
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to collect himself. "You're really sure this'll fix everything?"
Her gaze softened, yet remained unreadable. "It will fix enough."
He exhaled slowly. "Then… fine. I'll go through with it."
"Because Helena told you to?" she teased.
"No," he said quietly. "Because maybe… it's not such a bad idea after all."
Hebana's smile turned satisfied, but behind her eyes something flickered something calculating.
The next day, the city buzzed with more activity than ever. Preparations for the wedding filled the air with excitement, but Axcel wasn't among the decorations or festivities. He stood before the gates of the Fourth Dungeon a monolithic structure of black stone and faint blue fire.
The inscription above the entrance read:
[FOURTH DUNGEON – DOMAIN OF THE STONE GIANTS]
He cracked his knuckles, feeling the familiar surge of mana flow through him. HisDUNGEO gleaming with serpent-scale plates hummed with red light. The Apophis Sword rested at his back, its edge pulsing faintly, eager.
"Let's see what you've got for me," he said, stepping into the abyss.
The air inside was thick and heavy, filled with echoes of grinding stone. The first enemy appeared almost instantly a colossal golem carved from obsidian, glowing eyes burning like suns.
Axcel grinned. "Perfect warm-up."
The golem raised a boulder-sized fist. Axcel activated Full Count, red eruption mana swirling around him like an afterimage. The fist slammed down and he vanished, reappearing behind it with a fiery trail.
"Eruption Mode: Red Flame," he muttered. His gauntlet flared crimson, and he launched his fist forward. The explosion shook the cavern, reducing the golem's torso to molten shards.
Another rose from the shadows, then three more, towering higher than the dungeon walls.
Axcel drew the Apophis Sword. The blade sang a deep, serpentine hiss and its edge ignited in burning crimson mana. He dashed forward, carving through the first with a clean, blazing strike, then used Absolute Counter, redirecting the shockwave of the next golem's punch into its own chest.
Stone shattered like glass. Lava spilled across the floor.
He moved through the dungeon like a storm incarnate every swing, every blast refined, efficient. The days of desperate survival were over. Now, he commanded power.
By the time he reached the final chamber, a mountain-sized golem waited, its hammer as large as a castle gate.
Axcel smiled faintly. "Big, slow, and loud. Just my type."
The golem roared and brought its hammer down. Axcel leapt, charging every ounce of mana he had left into his blade.
"ERUPTION INFERNAL BURST!"
The explosion consumed the chamber, fire swirling into a vortex that shook the dungeon's core. When the smoke cleared, the giant lay in molten ruin, its hammer half-buried beside it.
A notification appeared in his vision:
[DUNGEON CLEAR]
Level Up: 69
Reward Acquired: Titanbreaker (Mythic Stone Hammer)
He laughed, shoulders relaxing. "A hammer now, huh? Guess it's telling me to hit harder next time."
As he walked toward the exit, his armor cooling from red to black, his mind drifted.
"Marriage, huh…" he murmured. "A High really hot Guardian, a new realm, and a human with a hammer. What could possibly go wrong?"
The world outside the dungeon shimmered in the sunlight. He stepped out, breathing the open air again, relief washing over him.
Then something cracked behind him.
Before he could turn, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his skull like a meteor hitting his head.
The world tilted. Darkness swallowed his vision.
His last thought before everything went black was a whisper that wasn't his own something cold, ancient, and hungry.
"Found you…"
TO BE CONTINUED...