"We need to survive, and for that to happen, enough humans have to survive. For this dungeon's existence to make sense, warriors and conquerors must be born from this."
"Not all of you need to live, but a few need to nonetheless."
"From the dozens of billions of you all, we expect at the very least a dozen million to survive, and at best, a few hundred million."
He sighed, the sound heavy. "It'll most likely be the former. And our job, the job of Sentinels chosen as guides, is to make sure we reach a middle ground."
"And we're doing a pretty good job. At least, I thought so, until a series of chaotic events put everything into question and set us on a path of no return."
"I am cruel, yes, but I am efficient. Carrying out all three trials as one big event is inefficient, and would promote death. Needless death."
"The reason I made the first trial the way it was…"
He hesitated, the pause lingering.
"…is because someone killed a guide. And I wanted to find them."
The words echoed like thunder in Uriel's mind, reverberating through him.
"W-what?!" he blurted out, unable to help himself.
He'd seen Thoryl create a city with the wave of a hand, explode heads with a thought, conjure entire platforms of clouds with a blink, and heal him with a snap. A human managed to kill an entity like that?
The fact that it happened before the first trial was even more horrifying, because it implied the person had done it with less than a day on their hands.
Uriel could immediately tell this had something to do with one of the regressors, most likely the one who injured Enoch on the first day, but even that made no sense.
What kind of spark would they need to have to be able to kill a guide on the first day?
With no evolution? An Iron spark? A newly awakened core?
Impossible.
Uriel couldn't believe it.
Thoryl's expression was bitter as it mirrored Uriel's shock. "We couldn't find him."
"For the simple reason that the person seemed to have predicted I'd conjure the cloud trial, and used it as cover to escape, out and away."
"During the cloud trial, other humans began to… hunt the shadow creatures, using them to somehow feed their sparks and grow."
"Then these same humans began to wage war against one another in the expanse of darkness."
"…"
"We chased after them for a week, which delayed all our plans and gave them time to kill another guide while we were distracted."
"During that period, agents of chaos traveled across the dungeon, entering foreign settlements and forcefully stirring chaos within them while us guides were away."
"The only reason we are intact is because your friend killed the one that tried to enter ours."
Thoryl shook his head, as if he himself couldn't believe the words he was about to utter.
"And then the duo responsible for it all gave themselves up."
He laughed, the sound hollow.
"Then things calmed down for a bit, and we imprisoned them for the moment. Then your stupid friend triggered a death quest trial, broadcasted to all settlements."
"Which encouraged all others to do so, causing chaos we guides had to resolve."
"If everyone died during their death trials, well, there's no point in the dungeon existing, is there? So we left to find a solution with our mother."
"And the moment I left, you were kidnapped, timed down to the millisecond."
Uriel was silent.
He had no words.
He stared into Thoryl's eyes, searching, trying to find a spark of malice, or even joy. Trying to determine whether the cruel inhuman before him was tormenting him, lying for the sake of it.
But all he saw was defeat.
All he could feel through his spark was… resignation.
And shame. A lot of it.
Suddenly, he had a bad feeling about the words Thoryl would utter next.
"So, we made a deal with the duo."
Uriel's jaw tightened, so hard he felt his teeth creak.
'There's no way.'
Thoryl looked away, his expression returning to something neutral and cold, yet the shame and rage oozing out of him were evident as day.
"I did my best, and I came up with a compromise."
"Us guides wanted to make sure no one died in the trials, but we also wanted them to gain the rewards of the quest without any danger, so that humanity's chances of survival would be higher."
"They… wanted you to die. And for Enoch to live."
"We signed a contract, the strictest Weave Binding Contract. On their side, they would stop interfering and sowing chaos, as well as help people survive. And on the other hand, we would…"
He finally turned his head, his light green eyes landing on the quiet Uriel.
"You have an hour."
Thoryl stood up, and the chair he'd summoned vanished as if it had never existed.
"In an hour, I'll send you to your death."
…
The dimensional space was empty and silent.
Uriel remained quiet.
He sat on the edge of the bed, staring into empty air.
His mind was empty, and his heart as calm as an undisturbed lake.
'I see.'
He waved a hand, and his abode mark flashed, a metallic cube appearing in his grasp.
[Arcane Disciple Initiate Pack.]
He hadn't gotten the opportunity to open it, or even truly peruse the mountains of rewards contained within his mark. Even now, Enoch had left his own rewards untouched in his space.
But he only took out the pack.
He injected a bit of aether into it, and the cube flew out of his hand, floating in front of him. It glowed, runes erupting across its surface as an upswell of aether surged outward.
Then it froze.
[{Peace and Quiet} Quest has been completed!]
[Reward {Pack Upgrade} has been applied!]
The cube, once dull bronze, turned silver, then gold, before settling into a radiant, reflective platinum that caught and reflected all light.
[Arcane Child of the Zenith Pack.]
He didn't react.
He simply injected his aether within it again and opened it.