As the particles rushed inside of me, I felt the strength of the vines that were still trying to trap me weakening. They were still not completely limp, meaning that this plant was still somehow alive, but the monster itself seemed to have been killed. With a couple of big pushes, I freed myself from the trap before looking around and seeing the rest of my companions doing the same. Even Riley, who had both legs completely covered by the vines, was able to break free without too much trouble.

The plants were still alive, but they didn't seem to be attached to each other anymore. Maybe this was why some of the plants were not as fast as others. The monster wasn't simply using its own body but controlling the nearby vegetation to attack us.

"Is everybody okay?" I asked.

Rex had a big smile on his face, and Michael let out a groan.

"See. This place was haunted. There was a fucking plant trying to kill us. A skeleton plant," he said after glancing at the skeleton that was now freed from the grasp of that creature. It had collapsed to the ground in a pile, and its mouth was finally closed as there was no longer a flower forcing it open.

"This was a monster, not a Skeleton Plant. I don't even know if plants have skeletons," I replied.

"Dead plants," Riley chimed in.

"What?" I asked.

"That's the skeleton of a plant. Dead plants are the skeletons. It's not really its corpse since when it dries, everything inside it is just gone. What is left, is the closest thing to their skeletons," the witch explained.

"So it's kind of like an exoskeleton?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the concept.

"No, it's not exactly it, but it's a close enough approximation. The leaves are generally the things that would be equivalent to the meat. But the trunks, the vines and all that stuff, that's the skeleton of a plant. It's what sustains them, and I don't mean that in a food kind of way."

"Well then, one way or another we killed that thing and we're finished with the dungeon, right?" Michael asked.

But our Systems all replied at once.

[Incorrect. User is still inside the dungeon.]

"Oh, come on," Michael let out a groan.

"But Rex killed monster!" the rodenti protested.

"This doesn't mean that there are more monsters here," I tried to calm him down a little bit. We were past the stage where his freakout was funny. Now, it could actually be a problem. Especially since we were dealing with creatures like this one.

"Okay then, but I don't see anything else on this side," Riley said, grabbing the torch from the ground, which thankfully was still ignited.

We were at the very end of the greenhouse. And there was nothing else beyond it. Just a wall. There wasn't even a door. The only things that seemed out of place were the cracks on the ceiling. One of them, which was previously hidden by the Forgotten Garden, even had some sunlight coming through. Meaning that it went all the way up to the mansion.

"Let's go check the other side, then," I suggested.

"Are we really going through that creepy hallway with the creepy stairs?" Michael asked.

"Yes," I replied. He grumbled a bit, but he knew there wasn't much to say. However, before we started moving, we heard the noise of something being ripped out. Quickly turning towards the sound, we noticed that Astrid was grabbing some of the vegetables that were attached to the creature. The ones that had fallen to the ground once the creature was destroyed. She put a few of them in her hands before turning around and saying.

"Good food."

Now that they were not connected to that strange amalgamation of plants, I had to agree, the vegetables did look good. There was a massive potato and even what seemed to be a small watermelon. All of them looked very tasty despite their origin. With a shrug, I stepped towards Astrid and started helping her gather some of the vegetables. And the fruits, as I realized that there were some apples and even a few bananas alongside them.

It was a bit strange to think that if it weren't for the System, I would be worried about eating those things. After all, there would be a part of me questioning if this plant was truly dead or if it was just a way for the creature to attach itself to more prey. But since we received the particles, I was confident that the creature was truly gone.

And a quick ask to the System confirmed that I was not looking at a living monster or something. Besides, I had no intention of eating this now. I was going to put them over the fire first. Even the bananas, just to be safe. I remembered a couple of banana bread recipes that we might be able to make considering the amount of flour that was in the previous room. And since we were inside the house, maybe we could even use the kitchen here to make that kind of stuff before leaving.

We left the area where the fight happened, making sure to take the bones out of the greenhouse. It felt strange to just leave them there. The person who fell prey to the Forgotten Garden was stuck here for who knows how long. Leaving them behind, stuck in that place, felt plain wrong. We had decided to bring this body upstairs and maybe bury it in the yard. Riley also mentioned that there was a specific spell in their book that would stop random creatures from trying to desecrate the grave.

And while doing that wasn't specifically something that they felt the urge to do, the idea of using a spell like that was something that they were very interested in. Not because of the spell itself, but because of the possible ramifications that such a spell could have.

If they were able to protect a grave, what was stopping them from being able to protect something bigger? Being able to replicate a version of Rex's skills. It would take a lot of trial and error, of course, but it was the type of thing that deserved some experimentation. More than that, it was a way for them to practice those spells. Which was something that everybody agreed they should be doing.

We gathered together with the bones of the child trapped by the Forgotten Garden and walked back up the stairs, this time going one at a time just to be sure that the entire thing wasn't going to collapse, and then crossed to the other side of the bunker. Astrid, who was carrying the bones, placed them on top of a table near the exit as we continued to explore the rest of this area.

The second staircase heading down was made out of wood that was long rotten, and there were various paintings lining the circular passage. Some of the paintings were completely destroyed, leaving only the frame behind, while others were still somewhat there. The paint had long faded, making it almost impossible to truly understand what we were seeing, but there were a few pieces here and there. Strangely enough, all the eyes were still there. Even though we were not able to recognize if they belonged to a man, a woman, or even an animal. But the very light shadow in those eyes stared back at us as we slowly climbed down the staircase.

Everybody was half expecting another fight. Me included. But that wasn't what we found. Instead, we entered a wide area, still looking much more comfortable than the staircase on the other side, with no mold, as ostentatious as before. There were a couple of bookshelves with the dust of old books, two bedrooms with just the frames of beds. The actual mattresses had also been destroyed a long time ago. One of them was even overtaken by vegetation, but unlike the Forgotten Garden, this was not a monster. Just a natural formation that managed to grow here.

More specifically, they were taken over by fungi that thrived in the darkness with a few pieces of grass here and there. Which was something that was always present no matter where we went. Mold and mushrooms growing everywhere on this side of the bunker.

At the end of this hallway was a metal door that was open. Inside was what looked like an office. There was an old desk that was now half crumbling, a safe on the back that was open and its contents mostly gone, with one exception. A glass case with two things inside. A pair of double A batteries and a cassette player. I only knew about this because Pops had shared some of the old movies from the old world, from the time before cell phones. There was already a tape inside it and a pair of batteries inside that glass case. And the entire content was seemingly in perfect condition. There was not even a speck of dust inside. Meaning that this case should be vacuum sealed or something close to that in order to survive for this long.

It made sense. The only reason why it did survive was that nature wouldn't care about something like this. It was too artificial for it to be used for growing, and the batteries could only actually create energy if they were connected to the cassette player itself. Otherwise, they were just paperweights.

"Does anyone know what this is?" Riley asked.

I quickly gave them an explanation.

"Can you use it?" Michael turned to me with a frown.

"Maybe, let me see. I'm going to have to break the glass. Is everybody okay with it?"

They all nodded, and I forced the top half of this case open. Shattering it in the process. As the noise echoed through the bunker, we all stopped and waited to see if any other creature was going to be revealing itself. But there was nothing. Looking back at the device, I put the batteries in the player and pressed the button. And nothing happened.

With a frown, I looked over and tried to remove the batteries, remembering how it was the type of thing that usually worked in movies, only to notice a couple of engravings on the inside part of the tape player. There were a plus and a minus sign. And there were also there in the batteries. I tried to match them, and this time, once I turned it on, the device came to life and a voice started to speak.

"Hey kids. It's Dad. If you are listening to this, then I probably wasn't able to get in the bunker with the two of you. John, Mary know that I love you two very, very much. And I'm sure the two of you will be here without any problems. I made sure to pack all of your favorite foods. We have everything you need to bake some bread and even make pizza. Remember how your mother taught you?"

We all glanced at each other, but no one felt the urge to say anything. We were listening to words said in the old world. Maybe the very last of them.

"All you need to do is follow the recipe. The recipe is in the kitchen. Don't worry, everything is going to be okay. If Mom and Dad are not with you down there, don't try to look for us. I know it's hard, I know you're scared and you're going to want us to be around, but we would never send the two of you down there alone if we could go with you. We are doing this so the two of you are safe and so the two of you can survive until help comes."

There was a pause, and I could hear a soft sob in the background, "There are a lot of bad things going on lately, but don't worry. Everything will be okay. John, I know you're a bit skeptical and always think that we are lying, but remember what you told me the first time we heard about the Eaters? How if monsters are real, so were superheroes? All we need to do is wait for that hero to come by. And I'm sure they will. I'm sure they'll find you, and they will rescue you as quickly as they can. You won't even notice the time go by."

Astrid took a step forward, trying to get closer to the voice.

"And Mary. My princess, I love you so much. You and John are the best things that ever happened to me, to your mom, and that's why I'm doing all this. So the two of you can live and stay together. There's a greenhouse downstairs if food starts to run out. Remember to follow the instructions in the farming book. There are things you need to do. Your mother is the one who prepared all that for you, and she made sure to make it very easy, so all you have to do is follow what she's saying and you will be fine even after all the food that we prepared is gone. Don't worry. Mommy and Daddy love you very, very much, and we'll try our best to survive until you are rescued."

Another voice came from the recording. That of a woman, but she was weeping, and we were barely able to understand her as the woman told the children that she loved them.

"You know that once the two of you are in there and the door is closed, you're not supposed to open it to anyone. Just stay there, and stay safe, and we'll see you soon. I promise."

With that, the recording stopped, and all of us were just sitting there, staring at each other, understanding what happened. This family created this bunker to protect themselves from something. Maybe the Eaters, maybe something else. But despite their best efforts, it didn't work. The mother and the father weren't able to reach the bunker. Sending the kids to be here alone.

Maybe they were able to last awhile. Maybe it happened quickly. It was hard to tell. But there was a good likelihood that John and Mary didn't grow all that much while in here. After all, the bones we found were so small.

But they were killed by the Forgotten Garden. Or a version of them when it was much younger and slowly started to grow. Eventually, it killed the children and took over the place. How that happened, I had no idea. Maybe it has something to do with the cracks I saw on the ceiling of the greenhouse. I could see a world where an Eater bleed near those cracks, and the blood dripped down, increasing the speed the plants grew. Or maybe things were already that bad when they got down here.

Without saying anything, everybody just stepped away from the recording device while I placed it back into the case. Even if it was shattered and couldn't hold the tape player properly anymore. We walked away from this office feeling sad about the fate of the family that lived here.

We were about to reach the wooden staircase when Astrid gestured to a room that we hadn't really noticed before. The door was smaller, and it had a metal engraving saying "Supply closet." When opening it, we saw a large round object inside.

Our Systems confirmed that this really was the dungeon core, and we all approached it. We touched it, hoping to get something out of it, but the System wasn't able to give us any skills right away. So instead, while still touching it, Michael, Riley, Rex, and I all attacked it at the same time in order to break it. We felt another rush of particles surge into our bodies before it all stopped and the System confirmed that we were no longer inside the dungeon. It also confirmed that we had leveled up a couple of times, but no one cared about that at the moment.

With the core destroyed, we walked back up the stairs, took the two pairs of skeletons out of their respective locations, and brought them outside of the bunker. Burying the two of them side by side in the garden of the mansion. Before we ourselves decided to spend the rest of the night there.

We had already uncovered everything that this place had to show us, and there was no need for any of us to be scared of it anymore. Even Michael accepted that this wasn't really a haunted place. Not in the sense of there being some sort of ghost. The only thing that still lingered was the memory of those people who tried their best to survive only to fail. The parents who tried to save their children only to trap them with a fate more horrible than what they expected. A brother and a sister who, we could only imagine, tried to be there for each other only to be killed by nature itself.

For this was the world that we lived in.

A ruthless place where even the best intentions were twisted and shattered. Even acts made of love resulted in unimaginable suffering. All that because the Eaters had arrived.

Because those monsters had destroyed everything. Even when they themselves were not the ones responsible for it. I knew deep in my heart that if it weren't for them, this family's fate was going to be very different. All I could do right now was make sure that this wasn't going to happen to anyone else.

Ever again.