What Lies Between

Not only do I believe the ancients to be real, but I believe they have gotten stronger, not weaker, over time as some have suggested. I understand the thinking behind the so-called 'cascading mana deprivation' theory, but I consider it optimistic at best, and hopelessly naive at worst. I can almost believe that the great thinkers of the last age were simply never taught the concept of entropy. I suppose it isn't a comforting thought, that one's society and indeed world, are in a state of decay rather than growth, but the stubborn refusal to even consider this meta state of our existence is more than a little baffling to me.

If one accepts that monsters so powerful as to be near to gods exist, then a set of assumptions logically follows. More powerful monsters require more mana to sustain themselves. This much is self-evident and there are none who refute this fact of the Dungeon. The ancients therefore live in the area of the planet with the highest concentration of mana. This also follows logically. It is possible, though dreadful to contemplate, that more powerful monsters exist, sleeping on some deeper level beyond our experience, but we have no evidence that such may be the case. In the absence of such evidence, we must move forward with what we have.

It is here that the denialists stake their reputations. They believe that since the ancients have not been able to rise from that place a second time, locked inside their own realm since the Rending, that mana levels globally have fallen to a point that does not allow them to do so. They argue that the peak concentration of mana on Pangera occurred during that dreadful event and has since fallen to the 'normal' or 'ideal' levels. In essence, they argue that the ancients peaked too early in life, and now they lie in a weakened state in the heart of the Dungeon without the strength to move.

It is true that, according to the records we have, that mana levels appear to have fallen before stabilising in the time since the cataclysm, but I believe that there is a different cause. I believe that the ancients, the most powerful creatures on Pangera, evolved. During the cataclysm they rose to the surface and destroyed, between them, millions of beings, pushing them past the threshold to evolve to a new stage of existence. This necessitated their retreat to the centre of the Dungeon and explains the lower level of mana that we have experienced since.

There is not less mana being produced in the centre of Pangera. Those nineteen individuals are soaking up so much that it has affected the concentration of energy on a global scale.

Excerpt from 'The world is stupid' by Elric the Wild Mage.

I decide to take the lead in our descent to the crack before us and creep forward with reasonable caution. This is an unknown environment and I don't want to go too crazy before we get a clear picture of what we might run into down here. Sure, I could ask Al all about it, but that would do two things. One, suck all the fun out of Dungeon exploration, and two, require that I answer a bunch of his questions and frankly I'm getting tired of explaining basic concepts of my pre-ant existence. The last time I needed to tell him something I ended up going through half the plot of the Lord of the Rings before he would tell me what I needed to know!

Ain't nobody got time for that!

The tunnels are much like I've gotten used to during my time in the Dungeon with a few major differences. The mana veins here look like molten lava, but not the cooling stuff. None of that pansy dark red lava, oh no, the veins are white hot, almost literally. The mana inside is so thick that it almost seems to flow like lava as well, oozing through the veins before seeping into the air. The rock itself is different, mainly in that its pitch black and steaming hot. I can see the heat waves in the air every time the tunnel stretches any sort of distance. Then of course, there's the lava. The stuff seems to flow like water down here. The further we go, the more of it I find.

Tiny walks behind me, also struggling a little with the heat, but Crinis is the one who is having the hardest time. She's in her usual spot, stuck to my abdomen, but every now and again bits of her slip around the edges, as if her shadow flesh were melting.

[You going to be alright, Crinis?] I ask, concerned.

[I'm alright!] she gasps, [but I'll be thankful when we make it to the fourth stratum. This place doesn't agree with my kind.]

[Already talking about the fourth?] I say wryly, [we have to make it through this one first.]

[Of course, it is only natural that we will conquer these filthy demons, Master! Before long we will make our way down, just as we did before.]

I can only shrug at that. I wish I had her level of confidence.

[Master! I sense food! I mean, monsters!]

Oho! Naturally Crinis' keen senses are the first to detect our prey! It's a little frustrating, but my heat sensing antennae are almost useless down here. Everywhere is hot! They tell me nothing!

[What have we got Crinis?]

[Feels like… something strange. Tier six?]

Delicious experience… let's get it!

[I'll take the lead. Tiny, be careful with the hatchling.]

"Don't do anything stupid," I warn Brilliant, "if you feel an overpowering urge to run off and 'investigate' something, I want you to approach Invidia and throw yourself into his mouth."

"Throw myself in there?!"

"You heard me!"

With the nuisance dealt with, we creep forward, following the curve of the tunnel as it descends and widens until our prey comes into sight. It's… ghastly.

[What the hell is that?!] I cry to Al.

Around the corner I see what I can only describe as a horror. It's seems like a demon, the normal demon type of aesthetic is present, at any rate. Some sort of Wrath demon, judging by the bladed arms on the thing, but that's where the similarities end. Instead of normal, healthy demon flesh, what I see is practically an apparition, immaterial and ghostly. The harder I stare at the edges of the creature, the more they seem to fade in and out of reality and it drifts around, its legs almost completely invisible.

[It looks sort of like a ghost…]

I mentally whisper, despite the fact I'm not making any noise.

[Ah, a ghast. Annoying. Physical damage will have little effect on the creature, make sure to use magical attacks.]

[So, wait. Are you saying it's an actual ghost?]

[No. A ghast is a monster that is created when a demon perishes. Some demons experience their obsession so powerfully that death will not contain it. Their desire fuses with the ambient mana to create a ghast which will mindlessly act in pursuit of its desire. During a wave, many will be born due to the higher mana level.]

[So… a ghost.]

I hate this stratum.