A palace of gold. That’s the only way to describe the seventeenth floor. As soon as the staircase below fades away, I see glittering gold walls on either side. Behind me is a massive stone-wrought door, although I suspect it’s more for decoration. I can’t peer behind it in the slightest with my [Archangel’s Gaze], meaning there are no cracks whatsoever. It’s not quite confirmation of my suspicion, but it’s not far off either.

There are some doors on either side, and I waste no time in surveying them. Most of them are locked, as expected. Though, troublingly, the glyph of [Unlock] doesn’t seem to deactivate whatever mechanism is keeping them sealed. I could try to push forward anyway, attempting to overpower the mechanism with more power, but I decide against it. There’s no reason to believe that I could succeed, and it’s not like we have infinite time or resources for me to make such crude attempts.

Instead, after about a minute, we head up the staircase out of the immediate entryway and into a grand, expansive foyer. It rings of every modern palace in its opulence, the decorations of gold and marble and crystal pushing past elegance and squarely into the realm of gaucheness.

And then there’s the chandelier, easily sixty feet in diameter, with any number of gemstones that would be worth a good fortune, and even more still were Zackary to work his magic upon them. If nothing else, burning its support column overhead and sending it crashing to the ground would be a good way of disposing of a powerful enemy. But we’d only have one chance to make that work.

Before we move on, however, I do fly up to take a closer look. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some sort of hidden treasure lurking about up there. Though, after thirty seconds of perusing, I realize two things. First, none of the gemstones are really as they appear. Just some sort of fiberglass, perhaps, considering they have virtually no Ether storage capacity. And secondly, I’m more than a little disappointed that I actually didn’t find anything of value this time around.

“So, where do we go?” Alana asks. “If it’s anything like the fourth floor, the staircase to the next floor is straight ahead, but the door’s locked and a lot heavier than it looks.”

Considering it looks pretty heavy already, and Alana has by far the highest [Strength] of us four, it must be extremely heavy indeed. I could try blasting it with an ad hoc spell for this purpose, but I think exploring and going through this floor in the ‘intended’ manner is potentially more lucrative.

“Well, our choices are the left hallway or the right,” I say. “My guess? We’ll have to reach the end of each to get to our destination.”

“Makes sense,” Jasmine remarks. “Why have a puzzle where there’s a fifty percent chance of guessing correctly instead of a labyrinth where you have to go through both passageways either way? Anyway, I vote for going left first.”

No one objects, and within ten seconds, we’re on our way. Despite being a hallway, it’s absolutely cavernous. The ceiling of the main chamber is probably a good two hundred feet up, and even these halls stretch up for maybe thirty feet, with a similar width to boot. More doors on either side, none of which open. And I’m starting to get a terrible idea in the back of my mind.

“Something wrong, Sera?” Chloe asks.

Even after all this time, it’s still a little odd knowing that Chloe knows how I’m feeling whenever we’re within a thousand miles of each other. Sometimes even before I do.

“Wondering what’s behind all these locked doors. I was hoping for treasure, but now I’m worried it’s monsters.”

“If it is, we’ll overcome them. Together.” She pauses for what feels like several seconds, even though it’s only the blink of an eye for our mental communication. “Jasmine and Alana will help out, of course.”

I smile. “Yeah. With you by my side, I know we will.”

It’s quiet. I hadn’t noticed until just now, but it’s deafeningly quiet. The muffled breaths we take, the quiet footsteps we make. The subtle flows of air passing through my wings— the only set that is physical and permanent, not made of [Ether]. And my own heart beating far too loudly in my chest. Other than that, it’s absolutely silent. No breeze, no rattling doors or the sounds of monsters or any critters scurrying about. It’s the absolute silence of one of those scientifically-devised anti-noise chambers, and it’s a lot more disconcerting now that I notice it.

I want to hum some old tune or another, do something to fill in this dead air. But I don’t, of course. Most monsters might not generally be intelligent, but even those that aren’t have basic sensory capabilities and are capable of rudimentary ambush tactics. And making a lot of conspicuous noise is just asking to be sneaked up upon.

Which is why it’s surprising that there’s nothing whatsoever to try to attack us. The quantity of enemies has always varied. Sometimes it’s mobs of weaklings— those sentry robots on floor two, for instance. And sometimes, like the floor with the Thunderbird, it’s just a boss monster. But there’s always some sort of monster to fight, Experience to be gained. The only question is: when does the shoe drop?

Not as we reach the end of the first left hallway. There’s a simple switch, like that of a circuit breaker, the only thing in the entire manor that isn’t colored in this ostentatious gaudy gold. I flip it down.

Immediately, the flow of Ether throughout the entire floor shifts. It’s subtle, but I can sense without a doubt that something has changed. No, something has awakened. No sounds yet, but I know that when we get to the other end of the hallway, we’re going to be neck deep in it.

“Absolutely nothing,” Jasmine says. “This is starting to get really irritating, and I hate it.”

“Let’s be grateful for that,” Alana responds. “Every boring second is one where we’re still alive.”

“Suit yourself, Laney. The tension is just too much.”

We make our way back to the main hall. Again, stillness. Opulence, the shimmer of wealth that seems… if it’s anything like that chandelier, it’s all shine and veneer. Pyrite, or maybe something even baser and uglier underneath. I can’t help but wonder if this is like the Sky Island Dungeon, or the Temple of Greed as it called itself.

As we cleared the temple back then, it issued a final warning. A warning that cybernetics and gear and trinkets and accessories could all be taken or cursed or destroyed, and only true power of the self was inviolable. I can’t help but feel there’s a similar subliminal message with the trappings of this dungeon as well, one aimed directly and suspiciously at me.

I disagree with the assessment, and am most displeased with how the System almost seems to be goading me. Even if we take as given the notion that we should be concerned with physical prowess at the expense of all other things, that prowess takes many forms. Including access to resources, the gear and logistical capabilities of the forces, and the allies one can call on when battles commence. I believe many a famous general has remarked about how it is tactics which win battles, but logistics which wins wars.

It has been that way since time immemorial, and the System’s presence or absence doesn’t change that one bit.

We make our way back to the main hallway, and from there, over to the right wing of the manor. Along the way, I check the doors once more. As expected, they continue to hold tight, resisting my attempts to [Unlock] them. But not as strongly as before— again, in agreement with my hypothesis. Once we find the second switch, these doors are going to open. With any luck, it’ll be a lucrative experience. But, considering the System’s proclivities and the false decorations already present on the floor, I’m expecting nothing but fights.

But with what? Rock monsters? Soldiers in golden armor? A facsimile of King Midas himself? Ultimately, there’s too many options to adequately prepare countermeasures, especially in so short a time.

“How are we all doing on [Health] and [Ether]?” I ask as we get close to the other switch. “I think it’s time to make sure we’re topped off.”

I check both of mine. Just under 5,900 [Health], and right at 4,150 [Ether]. Not quite at maximum, but considering the minor headache I woke up to this morning, I’m unlikely to regenerate any higher; our stats represent theoretical maximums in both, and we typically don’t regenerate beyond ninety-five to ninety-seven percent of our maximum.

“I could use a quick heal,” Alana says. “I think I must’ve gotten a small burn or something in the last fight and didn’t even realize it until just now.”

Chloe gives me The Look as she taps Alana’s shoulder, filling her with the light of her basic [Heal] spell. “And you, Sera? Now’s not the time to act cool.”

“I’m sitting at ninety-eight percent. I’m ready when you are.”

“You think they’re going to attack straight away?” Chloe asks.

“Something is going to come out of these doors. I don’t know what, but I can sense the restlessness in the air and the taint of hostility in the Ether around us.”

“Should I begin casting my [Sanctuary]?”

“Not here,” Alana says. “I don’t disagree with Seraphina’s assessment, but I do expect the main fight to take place back in the main hallway. And from what I understand of your spell, you’re not exactly mobile while casting it.”

“If I need to cast it later, I’ll need you three to keep the enemies off me for probably half a minute.”

Jasmine snorts. “You think we’re going to have trouble keeping some trash away from you for thirty seconds?”

I don’t like her overconfidence, especially since I’ve found that to be the quickest path to the grave. But if she needs her bit of braggadocio to mentally psyche herself up for the battle to come, then it’s something I won’t try to take from her. Once we flip the switch, something is going to happen. Something big, and almost certainly something unpleasant. In the end, I just give a noncommittal shrug, neither wanting to call her out or boost her ego further.

I walk up to the switch and cautiously, hesitatingly reach out and put my hand on it. I turn to everyone. Alana looks resolute, Chloe looks worried, and Jasmine is rolling her eyes with a look that absolutely screams ‘just pull the damned thing already before I come up there and do it myself.’

One deep breath and I deactivate the switch. The entire room darkens for a split second, the supernatural lights throughout the chamber flickering briefly. And the flow of Ether abruptly changes, far more than it did before, a seismic wave where the first change was but a tiny ripple.

Chloe winces— not sure if because of the switch or because she can see the flow of Ether around us as well. Alana’s hand subtly moves toward the sword sheathed at her hip. And Jasmine has a look of indignance, hands on her hips, a raised eyebrow and an expression that says ‘Really, Seraphina?’

The silence of the floor is broken with the creaking sound of a door swinging from its hinges. This is echoed time and time again, followed by the creak of metal joints and the clap of footsteps on the ceramic tiles.

It turns out that my earlier musing about gold soldiers wasn’t too far off. Hundreds of suits of animated golden armor, each carrying a golden pike, emerge into the hallway through each of the dozens of side rooms scattered throughout. Annoyingly, they’re each only about four feet tall, meaning we’re going to struggle to hit them, while they’re going to be perfectly positioned to land painful blows to our squishier bits.

But my complaining won’t change anything. I activate the blasting mode of my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] and launch a bullet directly into the helmet of the first construct. It’s time to get to work.