“Now that you are in a saferoom, the karmic curse inflicting you should diminish and you should regain your mind a bit,” Xin informed me.
“Ah… it wasn’t hurting me. I have a strong resistance to miasma, so I’m okay.”
“I see…” She responded, watching me carefully and keeping a bit of room between the pair of us.
“I had never heard that you were an Osterian princess,” I spoke up. “I only knew that you were Elaya’s follower, and her, ahem… friend.”
“I’m the last of my royal line. The name Greggar was one I abandoned a long time ago. I just hold their bloodline, nothing more.” She responded bitterly. “It wasn’t like I ever ruled. In the end, I wasn’t even strong enough to take back the throne on my own. I had to depend on the Maid Hero instead.
“They called me a Princess Hero, but I was a princess without a kingdom, and I only got that name through birthright. Elaya was the true hero, and she rose from the ground up. She earned her place as queen. As for him…” There was a flash of anger in her eyes, but then it drifted away. “I can’t blame him either. It’s been so long; I cannot live with a grudge any longer.
“I’m sorry, but I’m still filled with questions. What happened after you had Demon Lord Aberis? Did he toss you in here? What have you been doing in the last twenty years? Didn’t you go to the forming Ost Republic? Why did you set up those challenges?”
“Hmph… I’ll answer with a single question. Why should I tell you anything? I’m still looking for a reason to let you live!”
“B-but, Elaya, and I do know each other! And I’m close to her son! Eliana, his sister, is my fiancé! I’m the Hero of Chalm!” I cried out defensively.
“Chalm? Isn’t that Lord Karr’s city? That foolish man who fought against the slave trade and failed?”
“He’s dead, I’m the current lord of Chalm.”
She looked up with an ugly expression. “That means you’re a lord of new Aberis.”
“It was Elaya’s kingdom too! Those kids are Elaya’s kids!”
She bared her teeth, her hands tightening on her staff, but rather than respond, she turned around. “I came to this outer fort to rescue the commander. Recently, the dungeon’s cycle has grown disturbed. Events are not moving forward how they were supposed to.”
“That’s because Aberis shoved me and a bunch of gladiators into this dungeon for sport. We’re supposed to reach the end. The first one to reach the end wins. We’re probably the reason the dungeon has changed. The karmic infusion has caused us to take on the roles of people in the lore, and our actions differ from theirs.”
“Then, it’s your fault!” She snapped angrily. “Every cycle, I’ve been subtly altering the lore, manipulating it, and trying to drive it to a conclusion. I was nearly going to succeed too, and then you guys showed up.”
“What?” She sneered. “Did you think he just suddenly decided to toss a bunch of powerful gladiators into the dungeon on a whim? He must have realized this was what I was doing. I was nearing escape, so he tossed you in here as a wrench to my plans. You’ve doomed us to be trapped in this dungeon for all time!”