Worthy Core

DAY 834

"I can't believe you said no! I mean...I can. But I can't!" Xenia shakes her head as she sits at her apartment's dining room table, laughing at the warrior sitting across from her. In some ways, the other woman is unrecognizable. No armor, for one, but the burn scars that had defined her features for years are almost absent. False Mortal shapings just don't allow for that level of fine detail during monster creation, and it would have taken careful time with an illusionist to properly recreate the old wounds.

The smile on her face is one Xenia could never forget, though.

Beatrice shrugs. "It's not like I was ever doing any of this for them, right? Hells, I never even heard of any of them until a couple of years ago. Not like they ever did me any favors, either. Maybe if Kahlia had stopped by...but uh, guess I don't really fit her qualifications."

The reincarnator purses her lips in thought. "...No, can't see you raising a little horde of monster slayers. Adopting a teenage sidekick maybe, but I dunno if she even counts that sort of thing."

"Speaking as a former teenager, count me out. I like dealing with professional adults, thank you very much." Beatrice chuckles as she sips from a magically-generated mug.

The laughter lasts for a moment longer, but soon fades into an awkward silence. Eventually Xenia asks the question that's really on her mind. "You aren't staying, are you?"

The slayer smiles, but shakes her head in a no. "I surrendered my soul to you just for this...the chance to say goodbye. I figured you were busy with that dungeon realm thing still, or didn't have any avatar time available, or...whatever. And I figured it'd be kind of rude of me not to at least do that much. But I'm not interested in being a dungeon guardian." She frowns in thought. "Fighting and killing adventurers? Even if they volunteered for the risks...that's not why I learned to fight."

"You wouldn't have to!" Xenia makes her best arguments, even as she knows they're unlikely to work. "Deylia doesn't fight! Sincere barely ever does. You could just...retire? For a couple of years, at least. Spin tales in the inn, take the occasional hike around the mountains..."

"I won't say it's not entirely appealing. But all I wanted was this - a bit of closure. I did want to ask - even before I finished bleeding out, I was sort of, you know...indisposed. You said it's been a day? How have things shaken out?"

The dungeon master accepts the shift in conversation. "For now, we've got a ton more prisoners to handle. Combined with the ones we had before, we've got well over a hundred prisoners of war in here. We're making plans to try and retake Grassbrook, or that is, the Challengers and soldiers are, but everyone still needs a little more time to heal up. We're also working out the best ways to get messages off to the Rainlands and Valleylands, let them know the Dragonlord is dead."

Beatrice sucks in a breath. "Right, almost forgot about the larger war. Any idea how that's gonna shake out?"

Xenia lifts her palms. "Your guess is as good as mine, I'm not exactly in the loop on military deployments and army sizes. My best guess would be that the Domain offensive is gonna come to a screeching halt, but I don't know if the Rainlands have the forces for a counterattack. For all I know, this little patch of territory might end up staying in Domain hands when everything's said and done."

"...Unless you carve out a little piece for yourself."

Xenia laughs, then pauses. "...Huh. Might...be something to that. Gilda Highbranch might not appreciate losing her lands, but that doesn't mean much if the Domain still hold the region long-term."

"I think you should give it a try." Beatrice narrows her eyes at her old friend before continuing. "...Xen, just to check, when I died..."

"...I got all that power you'd absorbed, yeah."

"On top of what you already got yourself. Gods." Beatrice leans her head back and laughs. "Hells, if you don't try and stake a claim or something, I might just haunt this place and kick your ass!"

"That...is an option." Xenia licks her lips. "Haunting me, I mean. I could put in a good word for you with Kahlia. Get you into her afterlife, even if you're not a Paragon candidate. And then, maybe..."

"Beatrice finishes the thought. "...Take Bill's place as your Divine Champion defender? That...that might not be such a bad idea, actually. I suppose I wouldn't mind checking in on you once in a while, or stepping in if things get really out of hand."

"And in the meanwhile, you get to chill in heaven with the best lovers of history?"

"...Fuck. Alright, I'm sold. Before that though, how's everyone else doing? Did we...lose anyone else?"

"Your teammates are fine, Tassa and Janey? Janey spent the whole thing healing people in the clinic, and Tassa came through her fights alright. Nalina's sticking around for a few goodbyes like you, before having me send her off. One of the dwarven gods will take her, I assume. Dungeon staff is all fine, obviously. The local Rainlander army commander bit it, but otherwise I think the VIPs all came through." She smirks. "Want me to give you time for a final farewell with Sincere while I check things with Kahlia?"

Even undead, Beatrice still manages to blush. "Well...if you'd be so kind."

"Hey, it's no problem, Beat. Anything for a friend."

DAY 835

Xenia sits in the open doorway to Floor One, and for once there's nothing blocking her view. The dungeon's defenders still aren't ready yet to try and reclaim Grassbrook, but they had managed enough of a show of force to slowly push the remaining Domain soldiers out of the floors they'd taken, and then off of the mountaintop entirely.

With all of the new powers and skills many of the survivors had claimed from the Great Dungeon, it had almost been too easy. Not to mention that Xenia's collection of prisoners of war had grown once again.

For now though she sits and admires the view. Autumn is starting to pick up with the changing of the leaves, and from here everything seems...peaceful. Grassbrook looks much the same as it ever did, and any traces of war are currently far past the horizon, even at this elevation.

Still, Xenia can't quite seem to find the calm that she's looking for.

"Do you think this is actually going to work?"

Doorman gives her a wide smile, looking down as much as he's able to. "Absolutely! There's not a single doubt in my mind! Won't even be an inconvenience. ...Just to be clear, what were we talking about, exactly?"

Guy scoffs as they hover between the two. "I believe what Xenia was referring to was the idea of actually claiming a little piece of the world for herself. To which I say - well, why the hells wouldn't it?"

Xenia raises an eyebrow at the confidence. "Really? I thought you'd say it's not, I dunno, 'proper dungeon behavior' or some shit. You're down for the plan?"

"Well I must admit that my horizons have been broadened a bit after finding out that the Great Dungeon was ruling an entire third of a continent - and all without a single SGA guide to advise them! And you have much more than me, ma'am. With your guardians and friends at your side, I would say that ruling a rather large rock and a rather tiny town should be well within your capabilities. Especially once you finish expanding. I mean, I shudder to even imagine what we might do with all we currently have access to."

The watching door furrows his brows. "Adding more floors, are we?"

"Oh, right, you missed that meeting." Xenia grins, although it's a little lopsided. "So...yeah. You know how the Great Dungeon was still holding on to some control over their old floors? Not enough to use them, apparently, but enough that I had to go on spirit quests or whatever to claim em?"

Doorman's eyes grow wide. "You don't mean..."

"A-yup. Got all of em in one fell swoop. Don't go spreading that around, though. I mean, I wouldn't even know what to put in all of them right now. We'll do the public rollout...slowly. We'll need more guardians, and...ugh, I don't really wanna mess with that while the war's still going on. One thing at a time."

"My lips are sealed! Not that I expect us to have much Challenger traffic for a while yet, still."

"There is that." Xenia sighs before climbing to her feet, sensing the approach of a few more guests. Sure enough, Nix and Nox make their way through the nearby hallway a moment later, eager to get her attention.

"Mom! We were trying to talk to you and you weren't answering!"

"Back to the in-sync talk again, are we?" The reincarnator crosses her arms, although she can't keep the slight smile off of her lips.

"We both agree that you should let us help you design the new floors!" The synchronization comes to a halt as Nix makes the next statement.

"Although we don't agree on where to start. I think the layout of Floor Nineteen has a very interesting spiral pattern that we could make use of, particularly with some water features..."

Nox nudges his sister aside before adding his own input. "Everybody hates water floors! You need to get specialized breathing gear or spells, tons of magic doesn't work, you can't swing a sword..."

"Exactly! That's what makes water so great!"

"Not if you want return visitors, it's not!"

In order to keep her smile from turning into a laugh, Xenia interrupts the pair. "Hey, I told you we're not doing anything with the new floors for a good while! Haven't even touched Eleven or Twelve yet, let alone the new shit." The twins give her equally sad looks, and the dungeon master settles for a compromise. "...But I don't mind hearing about designs, I suppose. Can't hurt to plan ahead, right?"

"Right!"

"Right, then." Xenia gives them a nod, then a shooing motion. "Alright, head back to the conference room and we can start talking some details there, okay?"

"Okay! Love you, mom!"

The pair run off, seeking out the nearest shortcut portal, but Xenia remains, standing with her arms crossed. Eventually, Guy decides to prod her with a question.

"Worries on your mind, ma'am?"

Xenia shakes her head, and this time when she looks at her guide, her expression shows that perhaps she's found some calm after all.

"Nope, not at all. In fact...I think everything might just work out just fine. I think I know just where to start..."

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