I was starting to understand now why the dungeon would only be open for three days. It might not be some arbitrary time that Lord Aberis set up. It might be simply that whatever scenario was playing out in this world, it would conclude at the end of three months. That left another question. How did the scenario end? If this was a curse, then it came from uncompleted lore. Whose lore, the demons? Or humans? Which side died in the end, and was the world plunged into darkness?
I’d like to assume the humans won, but if they had, would we still be dealing with the demon lands in the north? Supposedly, there were demon lords, a demon king, and a demon country. It was all blighted land, ruled by a pair of, particularly powerful dungeons that collectively were known as Hell’s Dungeon and the Demon King’s Castle. To finally stop the demon threat for good, both dungeons would need to be defeated.
This is something that has been considered an impossibility for our current civilization. Shie Gescar and the Imperial Cloud Meadow had been fighting a war against them for as long as time remembered. Comparatively, Aberis was just a speck on the map when confronted with the Imperial Cloud Meadow, and even that mighty nation could only just keep them from spreading across their borders.
This dungeon might have been a relic from the time when the humans and demons were at war. It might have some greater meaning up north. I felt like if I knew who Lord Aberon was, that would explain a lot of this.
“We need the princess to rally the troops.” The commander said after some thought, breaking me from my considerations. “She was supposed to arrive last night.”
I blinked. “I was attacked on the way here. It is possible that her caravan was also attacked by demons.”
“Damn it!” He cursed, punching the table and causing several pieces to fall over.
In a way, this whole thing was kind of fun. It felt a bit like LARPING. I had reminded myself that this was all too real, I could die in an instant if I wasn’t careful. This wasn’t home, but a dungeon. If I died here, there was no one to resurrect me or take my soul out. I would truly be consumed by the dungeon and just become another soldier in this endlessly repeating story without an end.
Wait… that’s right, that’s what this dungeon was truly needing. It needed an end. All curses desired to be finished, and once they were finished and their lingering ties were severed, they became a blessing instead. If ending this war was what would satisfy those conditions, then that was the best way to fix things.
“This princess… do you know the route she took to get here?”
“It would be this route.” He explained, guiding his finger down a certain path. “If her convoy was ransacked, then they’d bring her to this fort. It’s the closest.”
“How heavily guarded is that fort?” I asked, looking as he pointed to a fort that seemed to be nearby.
“Why? What do you have in mind?” the commander asked suspiciously.
“If the princess is needed to rally the troops, then don’t I need to rescue the princess?” I asked.
“You’re mad, do you think you can just march into the enemy keep and take our princess back?”
“That depends,” I responded. “Do you believe in karma?”