Chapter 63: A Reunion?

The Huntress seemed to be already somewhat used to Matilda's reactions, intentionally no longer stopping for long periods of time, and instead being smug about it as if she was the one who created the wonders of the Dungeon.Nevertheless, the woman didn't seem to mind the big cat's antics, absentmindedly continuing to follow her all while continuing to admire and examine her surroundings. She wasn't completely oblivious to possible dangers though.Vegetation around the two rustled, signaling a foreign presence nearby. Matilda, hearing the disturbance, snapped out of her reverie and subconsciously began preparing for battle once again.But as she glanced at The Huntress, who remained completely relaxed, Matilda reconsidered the need for caution, as the feline would have surely detected any threat even earlier than her. Following the obvious line of thinking, the Mage followed the feline's example. Right now Matilda was a guest, after all.Still, she couldn't help but tense a little bit as the source of the disturbance revealed itself. A pack of wolves emerged from hiding, their leader being a wolf with uniquely colored eyes. The rest of the pack had rather normal appearances, though Matilda swore some of them resembled the pair of wolves on the First Floor.As the dozen wolves emerged, they didn't attack, remaining at a certain distance from the duo of Beast and human. As for The Huntress, she was even less perturbed, continuing to lead Matilda between the various ferns and trees that cast cooling shadows from above. As if sensing the woman's unease, the feline spoke yet again."You need not worry, no Beast would attack the Master's guest. And certainly not him."Though she made no extra moves, it was obvious that she was talking about the pack's leader. The... person in question followed them along with his kin, like the bodyguard of a pre-Awakening celebrity.Matilda glanced back at the Beast, and couldn't help but notice the intelligent glint in his eyes."Does he also have a name?"To her surprise, the answer was not what she was expecting."No, he does not.""Why so?"The Huntress merely narrowed her eyes slightly."He has not earned one yet."Yet another silence soon found itself between the two, and Matilda continued to follow her guide, resorting to just looking around without speaking. But this did not go on for long, as she soon yet again sensed something that she did not expect to encounter, though maybe she should have gotten used to expecting the unexpected by now."...Is there a river up ahead?"Although she did not receive an answer, soon enough she didn't need it anymore as yet another beautiful sight unfolded beyond the parting vegetation.Her hearing did not deceive her earlier, as now she was standing at the shore of a lazily flowing river. It was remarkably clear, the riverbed being visible. It curved and twisted like a watery snake as far as Matilda could see, flowing from somewhere beyond the bend up ahead and down the lake that she could see far in the opposite direction.This time the Huntress stopped, though she soon revealed her purpose was not to let Matilda look around. As the feline came closer to the river, Matilda thought the Huntress would drink the flowing water, but the woman's expectations were once again betrayed, as the cat dipped herself into the river briefly, before returning, earning herself a look of confusion from the Mage.The Huntress explained herself briefly after shaking off the water."...What? Can't you feel that the heat over here is somewhat unbearable?"Matilda remained silent on that one.Having refreshed herself, The Huntress continued her role as a guide, leading the woman along the riverbank. Matilda noted this detail to herself, adding the river as a major point of navigation for future expeditions. Though the former Tower Master was here right now as a guest, the other delvers would have to fight tooth and nail to get here in the future. Numerous lives would no doubt be lost in the exploration, so she did her best to prevent future casualties.Amidst her musings, she also noted many strange-looking birds being perched on the trees and tall ferns along the entire Floor. Their eyes followed the group of a woman and many Beasts, tracking their every move. Such a sight sent shudders down Matilda's spine.'Yet another probably deadly creature to remember...'"We're here."The Huntress's voice rang out in her ears once again, calling her attention back to what was in front of her rather than above her. The duo had reached what seemed like the edge of the rainforest, A cavernous mouth being right in front of them. The river that the two had followed was flowing out of it, the origin point probably being within the cave ahead.The Huntress continued to move forward after saying her words, and though Matilda thought she was about to dive and swim through the water near her, she instead seemed to disappear after crossing the corner of the cavern. The Mage came closer and understood that there was a narrow path just at the edge of the entrance to the cavern, feeling relieved that she didn't need to swim.She walked onto the path, steeping rather cautiously while looking at the flowing water beyond the edge that was less than a meter from her, and yet another pleasant surprise revealed itself in the form of the path thickening as one went further into the cavern. She then looked back, curious about whether the wolf pack continued following her as they did along the entire floor.She soon saw, or rather noted the absence of the Beasts. Matilda wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Nevertheless, as she walked on the thickening path, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she finally saw the entirety of the cavernous space."Woah..."Despite having seen many impossible sights and wonders in the last two hours, she couldn't help but gasp in admiration once more.A pillar of water flowed downwards like a waterfall was falling from the ceiling, crashing down and creating the starting point of the river. And the watery mist that was floating around as a result of it resonated with her mana senses. The whole thing contained large amounts of mana, the kind of which she hadn't felt before, though it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Water Mana."Are you ever going to be done gawking at everything you see? Hurry up... I beg of you."A rather annoyed voice could then be heard by Matilda, and she saw The Huntress looking at her with a rather annoyed glare while sitting on a stone platform that protruded out of the wall opposite the cavern's entrance. A second glance revealed that an empty space, an alcove of sorts, lay beyond it, creating a natural lair for the cougar.Matilda heeded the Huntress's plea, speeding up her pace, soon arriving near that platform, her next destination being signified by the familiar wall of fog.And yet, to her surprise, the feline didn't go down to continue guiding her, instead seemingly getting more comfortable in her spot above Matilda, laying down and closing her eyes. At such a sight Matilda blinked as she waited for a dozen seconds. As if seeing the sheer refusal of the cat to move forward, she asked."Uhh... Huntress? Have we arrived already? There seems to be a way forward though..."She received an annoyed grumble in response."That's as far as I go, I don't really like the parts ahead.""But... Who is going to guide me then?"To this question, the feline opened a single eye before speaking out two words."Remy will."Matilda furrowed her brows in confusion."But who is-"Just as she was about to ask, Matilda felt a tugging on her robe from below. When she looked down she saw what she at first thought was a child dressed in rags. But a closer look revealed that it wasn't a child at all, claws and fur adorning the tiny hands, beady black eyes meeting her gaze.'A rat!'Matilda barely held back her urge to scream, as she was caught off guard by the creature that appeared out of nowhere. She gulped audibly, before asking in a rather quiet voice."...I uh- Is this Remy?"The one who answered was not the Huntress, the creature she had identified as a mouse, not a rat, nodded its head in response to her question. It then quickly began moving in the direction of the fog wall in a remarkable pace on all fours, before stopping to look back at Matilda, as if beckoning her to follow. She reluctantly did as she was asked. She then followed the mouse beyond the fog that it disappeared into, soon finding herself on the other side.As soon as she did so, she heard someone breathe out heavily, followed by rather quiet chatter."Finally got away... The claw-huntress didn't touch me this time. Why must I be subject to her pain-torment almost every time?"At first, Matilda thought that by some miracle another human found their way down here, but the weird speech patterns and the fact that she heard Beasts speak made her aware of another possibility."You... You can talk too?!"Sure enough, the speaker was right in front of her, muttering as he cleaned his face with his paws, which seemed to have ill-fitted human gloves on them. The mouse, whose name was Remy, turned to Matilda after her exclamation."Why of course, guest-visitor. If that vile br-, uh, honored huntress can, then why wouldn't I?""...Then why didn't you speak back there?"Matilda then saw Remy visibly shudder, as if recalling some horrific event."There are... time-places where silence-quiet is better."His nervousness seemed to be reflected in his speech, as it became slightly less clear. But the mouse then shook his head before he looked up at Matilda once again."Let us forget this. I am now your guide-protector, respected visitor. Please walk-follow behind me."As he said so, his tiny form turned around once again, facing the dark environment ahead of them. Matilda, familiar with the descending tunnels that lay beyond the walls of fog, followed without hesitation.This time, however, the walk seemed remarkably short before light once again found its way to her sight. But, contrary to her previous experiences, it was rather dim, like an old lamp on the verge of burning out. And when she reached the tunnel's end, the expected grand view did not appear yet again."Are we... In the right place?"She found herself in a relatively small chamber, with nothing of note present in it except for five different openings that lead into a passage, including the one she came from, being present in it. A small, semicircular sphere of dimly glowing crystal was embedded in the ceiling, providing what little light was illuminating the chamber.As for her guide, as if to add to the unexpected situation, was not in front of any openings, instead being in front of one of the walls, tapping and scratching on it, before moving on to another section. It didn't take him long to settle on a particular segment of it, as he then began tapping and seemingly examining the floor near that wall as well, only making Matilda even more confused."May I ask... What are you doing, exactly."The mouse sniffed the location a couple more times before he turned to Matilda once again."The Creator-Master grows impatient. And the normal path is twisted-long and winded. I am preparing to make a... shortcut, I believe Creator calls it."This statement caused Matilda's curiosity to perk up once more."Wait, is he talking to you right now? Can I ask him something?"In response Remy looked at the woman thoughtfully for a moment, remaining silent for a while. He then spoke."Creator-Master wants to talk to you personally. It is a great honor-reward and it would be disrespectful for me to serve as his voice."Matilda could only nod at that, being rather disappointed. Nevertheless, she calmed herself down.'Let's be patient for just a little longer, soon I will get all the answers I want...'The Mage suddenly felt mana twist in a rather familiar manner, and she soon found herself watching a rather interesting scene.Mana burst out of Remy's hands, seeping into the ground of the spot he had chosen. And where the dirt and stone were touched, they crumbled and retreated like sand, a new, rather cramped path gradually beginning to appear. The reason this scene was interesting to Matilda was not because the mouse-beast was wielding mana, as she knew it was probably capable of it, but because the control of the mana was quite refined, being only a tiny bit worse than her own. Were Remy a human, Matilda would have called him a genius, probably designating him as one of the top Mages.As for the mouse Mage himself, he was wholly concentrated on his task, a tunnel soon being created. When Matilda came near it though, it became apparent that even though he deliberately made it larger, he was not very used to constructing with human proportions in mind, making the new passage rather cramped. But Matilda did not let it deter her as she followed him down the path he was paving. She couldn't help but ask another question along the way."...I am sure your master knows that we humans know how to wield mana too, right? Then why won't he make this ground impervious to manipulation? I'm sure he can do that somehow."Remy did not respond for a moment, only turning to her after momentarily stopping his mana channeling."If you do not know the way-path, the thing I am doing would only bring you final doom."Having said the part, he continued digging forward, leaving Matilda to her thoughts once again. She glanced back towards the other end of the tunnel, the way they came from. To her surprise and slight shock, the faint light was no longer visible, as if the entrance to the tunnel was sealed up sometime after they went in."...I can see why that would be the case."The only reason the duo wasn't trudging through this tunnel in pitch darkness was because of the slight glow that Remy's patterns that were engraved on his fur gave off. They were like yellow glowing tattoos, though the ones on his arms glowed brightly compared to the rest that lined his body. If it was an unprepared party digging, they would be disoriented, lacking direction, and gradually running out of oxygen after being sealed off. This morbid thought also gave rise to a concern in Matilda's mind.'Surely we are not going to suffocate in here. The Creator would not kill his guest in such a way, right? Right?'Matilda's breathing sped up slightly at the thought, but she then tried breathing in deeply as a way to calm herself down. But just then she seemed to have heard a weird echo.'...meet...say..?'This startled her, as she quickly turned around, searching for the source of the noise. But there was nothing except for Remy and her in the tunnel. In the end, she decided to dismiss it as a figment of her nervous imagination. Still, she asked Remy just to be sure."Did you hear anything?""No. Did you?""Nevermind..."The minutes continued to pass as the mouse guide worked hard on his task, leaving Matilda in wonder at his Mana capacity. The woman was also rather tired of walking with her head bent, but there was no other option. Just as she was floating amidst her thoughts, she felt something ripple through her, a rather distinct voice of unclear gender echoing in her hearing.'She... soon. What... I...'Matilda was sure this was not just her imagination, yet the undisturbed stature of Remy was saying otherwise. She asked just to make sure whether she was going crazy."I heard something again... Are you sure you can't hear it? This... voice."At the mention of a voice, Remy turned around once again, and looked at her with what seemed like respect."Your skill-might is truly great. To hear the Creator's Whispers already, your abilities are greater than mine."The enigmatic answer did not answer much to Matilda, so she continued her query."Creator's... whispers? Are you talking about this echo?""Yes, the Great Burrow was made by him, and sometimes his thought-whispers remain and echo amidst the rock-stone. I hear them very rarely, only when the Creator-Master creates something new near me."At such an explanation, Matilda didn't really know what to say. She didn't expect such a thing that's for sure. No other questions came to her mind, so she remained silent. Minutes continued to pass, she was sure of it, but the absence of means to discern time made it quite hard to know how long of a time exactly passed.All of a sudden though, Remy stopped of his own accord and turned to face her before he spoke out, reverence being audible in his voice."You will soon stand before Creator-Master! Prepare yourself, for this is a great honor! Even I, who was name-ascended never saw Creator's form."His words caused Matilda's eyes to refocus, and now that she focused on her senses, she felt that the mana around her was incomparable to when Remy had just started digging his tunnel. And she doubted the increase could be attributed only to an increase in depth or something. She knew that the master of this Dungeon, the great creator was right beyond the layer of rock and stone that separated the duo from... him.The Mage took a deep breath and spoke."Alright. I'm ready."Remy nodded in response, before he twisted the mana in his arms, causing the dirt to once again move away. But this time what lay beyond was not more stone, but an opening, which revealed a corridor filled with light below it. Matilda shielded her eyes briefly as she adjusted to the sudden brightness, and when she opened her eyes once again she saw Remy standing near it, probably waiting for her to go first."...Let's meet the hand behind the scenes then."Matilda murmured as she moved towards the opening and jumped down. She landed successfully on a paved floor, her knees in pain from being strained for so long. Nevertheless, she ignored the pain to examine her surroundings.First, the opening above her quickly sealed up as if it was never there. Remy didn't come down in the end.She then looked around the corridor she was in. On one end of it there was a wall of fog, looking far denser than the ones she saw before. It was probably the exit.Finally, she turned to the opposite direction of the exit, teal light shining over her. She felt mana as if she was swimming in it, and it flowed beyond her, to the exit behind her. Because of the glow, she couldn't quite make out the details of what she was seeing, so she did the logical thing to do: she moved forward.Step after step, the mana around her intensified, and she was feeling a foreign... presence ever clearer as she moved closer. The corridor was quite short though, and she soon came out of it, finally understanding what was in front of her eyes.She stood on a platform that hung over a deep gap, and in front of her hovered a large... Crystal, suspended by an unseen force. It spun slowly as a deep hum of mana resonated from within.Just staring at it hurt her, and not because it was bright. When she looked at it, she felt as if her mind grew heavy, static, and countless overlapping words ringing within her head. She frowned in pain and grabbed her head, wanting to speak something. But just as she wanted to do so, silence fell just abruptly as the voices came.The mana itself seemed to grow still, falling silent as well.Just as Matilda was wondering whether or not to speak though, a clear word was spoken by the voice she had heard in her head before."...MOTHER..."And when the androgynous voice had spoken, Matilda's mind grew hazy, and she fell to her knees and slumped on the floor, unconscious. The crystal in front of her seemed to spin slower than it did before.