Nightmare Realm Summoner

Chapter 87: Zeal

Alex and Claire stood before the twisting disk of fluorescent green energy, staring into its depths as they tried to make sense of what they were seeing. There was no doubt about it. This was definitely a dungeon portal.

A dungeon in the Mirrorlands.

"I didn't realize that was possible," Claire muttered. "What would a dungeon be doing here?"

"I wasn't really expecting it… but why wouldn't there be a dungeon here?" Alex asked. He tapped the black bracelet on his wrist. "I mean, it's not like anyone ever said the Mirrorlands were completely barren. There are monsters here. Items too. Why wouldn't there be dungeons?"

"Does that mean a dungeon somehow fell into the Mirrorlands? Is it reflected from some dungeon in the real world? Or can they somehow take form here entirely on their own?"

Alex opened his mouth to respond, then hesitated. That was actually a really good question. He didn't actually know how dungeons worked. There had to be some rhyme or reason to them. Either the System just plopped them down or something caused them to form.

He found it somewhat unlikely that the System would be intentionally forming dungeons in the Mirrorlands. Unless Meiderly had lied to him, this was where everything that fell between the planes and off the worlds within the Infinium ended up landing.

But this portal didn't look like it had just popped up randomly. It wasn't like it was just floating in a random pile of trash or in the middle of the air. This portal was nestled in the trunk of a massive, hollowed out root.

Could this somehow be reflected over from the Valley Ford? Other parts of the city definitely got here somehow, even if they're warped and twisted.

But if that's the case… doesn't this mean there's a dungeon somewhere within Valley Ford?

"You know, there's only one way to find out what this is," Alex said. "I've never found a dungeon that I haven't tried going inside."

"How many dungeons have you seen again?"

"I'm going to go ahead and pass on that one," Alex said with a chuckle. "Are you coming in with me or not? We can always make a run for it if the dungeon is impossible."

"You already know that I am," Claire said. "I'm not letting you harvest all the rewards for yourself while I sit around outside with my thumb up my bleedin' ass."

"That sounds like it could be a problem. You should get that checked out," Alex said.

Claire glared at him. "Just get a move on, will you?"

He chuckled and grabbed her by the wrist, keeping a connection between them as they stepped into the portal as one.

Rivers of chilly, electrified liquid seemed to slither across his skin and envelop him as he plunged into the green energy. His ears filled like water was rushing into them, and his insides flip-flopped.

The world inverted and folded in on itself. It shrunk down into a single point of dull energy in a sea of black, and there it remained for a heartbeat as Alex plummeted through nothingness.

Then an explosion of color clawed its way back to life, ripping away the veil of darkness. Solid ground materialized beneath his feet; a craggy, uneven platform. It was like someone had put the world into a trash compactor to form it into a platform.

Pieces of masonry jutted up from the ground like jagged teeth. They melded together with fragments of metal that might have come from a car, a paved road, and dozens of other pieces that seemed to have been ripped up from the planet and squashed together.

And all around the platform crackled an ocean of burgundy, arcs of violet lightning splitting through the air. The distant roar of a thunderstorm echoed in Alex's ears, joined by the occasional, earsplitting crack as a bolt passed close to the platform he stood on.

The platform was suspended in the turbulent void of the Mirrorlands, held in place only by massive white roots that wove through its entire being, occasionally breaking through the crust of compacted trash. They ran up to another platform in the distance and stretched onward, twisting and winding their way to a maze of platforms.

Pink and purple portals split open and snapped shut all around them like the clacking beaks of hungry birds seeking a meal.

Shimmering letters formed in the air before Alex as he finished taking in their surroundings.

The Cracked Steps [Ygg Entrance]

"Whoa," Claire breathed, craning her neck as she looked around. The platform around them was devoid of any life beyond their own. The only thing on the platform other than them was the portal at their backs. "What is this place?"

"I take it the dungeon you went through back on Ayrin wasn't anything like this?" Alex asked, watching the glowing words dissipate before peering up at the nearest platform above to see if he could make anything out.

"Nothing," Claire said. "This is beautiful. Just… in a terrifying way."

"It is," Alex agreed. A small frown flickered across his lips. "Did you notice that it doesn't have a difficulty anywhere? It just said Ygg Entrance. The difficulty information wasn't there."

"I saw," Claire confirmed. She edged closer to the root leading up to the next platform, and Alex followed after her.

Wind howled through his hair the closer he grew to the edge of the craggy ground. Alex had never been particularly scared of heights, but it seemed the Mirrorlands were doing their absolute best to challenge that. His stomach clenched, even as adrenaline prickled in his veins.

Alex glanced over the edge and into the sea of churning energy below.

His eyes widened.

"Holy shit," Alex breathed. "Look at that."

Platforms were scattered everywhere. There must have been thousands of them, all connected by the roots — but not from the same tree. Some of the roots were as thick as an entire building, while others were barely wide enough to walk across. The platforms had been arranged in networks — or perhaps each set of platforms were connected to their own tree.

But, unlike the one that Alex and Claire stood on, the platforms beneath them were not empty.

One of the platforms about fifty feet away from them bore a massive statue of a warrior holding a huge, diamond halberd. The statue stood over a black iron chest, guarding it silently.

Other platforms didn't bear the same scene, but they all bore something. Chests, riches, and more than a few monsters that Alex was too far away to identify despite his best efforts. Evidently, the System had limits to how far it would let him learn the name of something.

He wasn't even entirely sure he was looking at monsters, but there was definitely motion, and Alex doubted that anything other than monsters would be sitting around in the Mirrorlands. Some were fighting each other, while others just sat and waited.

"Look over there," Claire said. Alex stepped back from the edge of the platform and followed Claire's gaze up to the sky above them.

A purple portal hummed in the air, near the third platform in the system of roots that their platform was connected to.

"What about it?" Alex asked.

"I swear I just saw a flicker of the Disruptor through it," Claire replied. "The one outside."

Alex blinked. "An exit?"

"It could be, but the portal was in the middle of the air above the Disruptor. I don't think we'd want to jump out over there," Claire said.

"Weird," Alex said. He approached the root running through the platform and gingerly put a hand on its surface. There were no faces on this one, and it didn't respond to his touch. He glanced back to Claire. "Guess we can take a look when we get up there, huh?"

Claire nodded.

The root at Alex's hands was fortunately rough enough that it had more than enough spots to hold onto as he ascended it, climbing toward the second platform. The tips of his fingers tingled as wind howled around him, a constant reminder that losing his grip would spell his end.

Claire watched him climb for several seconds, waiting until he was nearly at the top to approach another root connecting the two platforms. She clambered up it like a spider, barely even slowing from her normal walking speed, and the two of them ascended to the next platform at the same time.

Alex shot to his feet and summoned his monsters all around him, preparing to fling himself out of the way of an attack — but no such thing came.

Instead, he and Claire both froze.

Standing before them on the platform was not a monster.

It was an elderly man.

A long, white beard ran down from his wrinkled face, tanned from years in the sun. His hair was well combed and his eyes were two glimmering emerald pools that sparkled with intelligence. The man's clothes were aged to the point that any color had long since left, but Alex could make out flowing patterns and intricate stitching that had managed to hold up through what must have been years.

The man sat cross-legged on an old carpet, his palms turned up to the sky. A paintbrush rested at his side, but there was no sign of a canvas or paper.

What the hell? I don't see a special item on him… so where's his name and information? Does he have a ring concealing it or something?

"Another person?" Claire asked, her eyes going wide in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" the man asked in a soft voice. Decades of experience clung to every single one of his words, as if every single one of them carried physical weight. "I am waiting."

"For what?" Alex asked.

"For you, of course." The man let out a quiet laugh. He stretched his arms over his head and let out a long yawn, then slowly rose to his feet. "I am waiting for those who walk the Cracked Steps. It has been some time since I have last seen a challenger."

"A challenger?" Alex sent a mental command to his monsters, readying them. "We kind of just stumbled through a dungeon portal. Is… this not a dungeon?"

The old man's laughter echoed across the platform like crashing waves. "I will be willing to answer questions should you take this step. I have waited far too long to dally on words when our might can do the talking. Let me witness your resolve."

"Is this a one at a time thing?" Claire asked.

"Oh, there's no need for that," the elderly man replied. "And against two of you, I can have a little more fun. Are you prepared?"

Alex and Claire exchanged a glance. This wasn't exactly what Alex had been expecting, but a fight was a fight — and answers were worth more than gold when he had no idea what the hell was going on.

"We're ready," Claire said.

"Delightful. Then allow me to introduce myself," the man said, flicking the brush in his hands. A shimmer of black ink trailed through the air in its wake. "I am Zeal, Disciple of the Empty Court. It will be my honor to enlighten you today."

Alex blinked.

Wait. The Empty Court? Isn't that —

"Soul Manifestation," Zeal intoned. He clasped his hands together around his brush and its tip shimmered. All the color on the platform twisted in on itself, collapsing until nothing but black and white remained. "A Dream of Light."