"Maaaaan, the devs for this place really didn't want you getting to the bottom." Akagi laughed as she slashed a half dozen massive monsters to pieces as the group traveled along a long corridor. They'd quickly made it to floor 99 and were approaching the end of the Dungeon, all while being assaulted by nonstop attacks from creatures that were powerful enough to be bosses in their own right. "Did QA fall asleep at the wheel? At this rate, I'm expecting to see wire frames, unfinished polygons, and missing textures! Maybe they'll patch it when the DLC comes out!"

"If Hishya was here, I suspect she'd agree with you, but I'd ask that you stop making references and saying words the others present don't totally understand." Yumi sighed, not wanting to encourage Akagi's use of game terms and ramblings. "But you are correct in that it seems this place is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us. It's likely the Dungeon itself is panicking since you've been annihilating monsters that have the power to destroy nations."

"Meh." Akagi shrugged as she flicked her blade and slit a giant skeleton monster into a million pieces. "I'll just imagine that its just the devs having a fucking tantrum when someone cheeses their way past their happy little project. They probably thought they'd made something cute with that big scary Dragon, and now they're stomping their feet like a toddler since I broke their toy." She snicked while Butterfly followed closely behind, terrified, confused, and partial broken.

"Yooooo bro... What is all this, Jacob?!?" Herman whispered into the party leader's ear. "Were we supposed to fight all this? And why is she not even breaking a sweat? This stuff would tear us to pieces but strolling through without a care in the world!"

{This shit aint right!} (Herman)

"Is she an Arch Devil?" Munts asked the Wizard, figuring that the only kind of Demon that could do something like this would be one of the most powerful, and dangerous. “There's no way she's just a normal Demon to tear things apart this easily.”

"I have no idea, but an Arch Devil coming to the mortal plain..." Merkal said, his voice quivering as he shuddered at the thought. "What is going on on the surface? How could the Gods allow such a thing?"

"I doubt anything good..." Jacob sighed as they continued to follow Akagi down the marble corridor, eventually arriving at a massive golden door that screamed do not enter under penalty of death.

"Looks like the ride is over." Akagi said as they stopped in front of it. "I really should ask for a refund of my ticket. This place was boring."

"If you want it back you'll have to go complain to management." Yumi commented. “Though I hear they don't take complaints very seriously.”

“Don't worry I'll change my hair cut to a bob to really drive home the point that I'm an unreasonable asshole." Akagi snickered as she slowly pushed the massive doors apart. "Now, let's see what's behind door number 1!"

{And she made that stupid joke again...} (Yumi)

*WOOSH*

As soon as Akagi opened the door, a massive red laser slammed into her, blinding Butterfly and catching them off guard as the blast enveloped the Demon.

"What the hell was that?!?" Herman yelled as he shielded his eyes from the beam. “Some kind of security measure?”

"Yep! It looks like the Dungeon had one last trick up its sleeve!" Jacob said while trying to see what happened to Akagi.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Akagi chided the Dungeon for its cheap tricks, holding back the beam with a single hand, unaffected by the intense heat. "It's no good to be a sore loser!" The Demon yelled as she backhanded the beam away, deflecting into the ceiling above.

*BOOM*

"Says the sorest of sore losers." Yumi said, poking fun at her.

"Hey now, I can't be a sore loser if I just don't lose." Akagi snickered as she inspected the final room. It was a single chamber with a massive floating crystal at its center. The entire room seemed like something straight out of a sci-fi novel and was covered in metal panels that seemed more akin to a spaceship than a fantasy Dungeon. While at the far back wall behind the large crystal was a cracked glass tank that appeared large enough to hold a whale. "Alright... My bingo card didn't have a this on it." Akagi sighed as she and Yumi slowly entered, followed by an absolutely done Butterfly. “Oh well, I'll get the next one.”

"What in the Hells is all this?" Jacob asked, seemingly hitting his breaking point and finally getting overwhelmed.

"Eridal technology." Merkel replied quietly. "I've seen some of their artifacts and ruins over the years but never this intact! It's as if nothing has changed in the thousands of years since it was created!" The old man's eyes started to sparkle like a child who was just given a new toy. "To think that the Dwarves were hiding something this incredible!"

"I remember Halifax mentioning that their civilization was pretty advanced, but this seems really out of place." Akagi hummed as she walked up to what looked like some kind of computer console just below the massive crystal. "If swear if this thing boots up in Win-"

"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Akagi's comment was interrupted by a robotic voice that seemed to come from all around the room. "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! LEAVE NOW AND NEVER RETURN!"

"I'm not welcome in most places, and yet still go there so hush." Akagi laughed off the voice's words as she continued to inspect the crystal and the technology in front of her. "Plus, as we've seen, you aren't capable of stopping me. Unless you've got something packing more firepower than those weaklings you sent before?"

"LEAVE THIS PLACE IMMEDIATELY! ONLY THOSE AUTHORIZED MAY ENTER!" The robotic voice warned again.

"Do I have to break out the permit again?" Akagi sighed as she started flicking the various mechanical switches on the device to see what they did. "Hmmm, it's entirely analog. A primitive type of computer, but a computer nonetheless. Interesting." She hummed as the voice continued to yell.

"THIS PLACE MUST NOT BE DISTURBED! LEAVE NOW!" The voice yelled.

“Does it ever say anything else?” Yumi rolled her eyes.

"Oh be quiet. I'm not here to break things..." Akagi sighed as she placed Yumi in her shadow before floating up to the crystal. "All I want is answers, and then I'll leave." She said, the voice growing quiet before speaking again.

{Maybe.} (Akagi)

"ASK YOUR QUESTIONS! I WILL ANSWER WHAT I CAN! BUT YOU MUST THEN LEAVE!" The voice replied, unhappy but seemingly understanding that there was nothing it could do.

"Good, then first off. What are you?" Akagi asked as she inspected the crystal, a look of surprise washing over her face for a moment before returning to normal.

"I AM A GUARDIAN! I WAS CREATED TO PROTECT THIS PLACE AND MY MASTER'S RELIC!" The voice replied.

"Are you in control of the Dungeon?" Akagi asked as she continued to float around the crystal.

"I CREATED IT TO PROTECT THE RELIC! FOR ITS MISUSE COULD CAUSE CALAMITY!" The voice answered.

"And your creators were the Eridals?" Akagi asked.

"THAT IS WHAT YOU WOULD CALL THEM IN YOUR TOUNGE, YES!" The voice answered, hoping that Akagi would wrap things up soon and leave.

"You said that only authorized people may enter, yet you allow the Dwarves to use this thing's power for their city." Akagi said as she continued to analyze the crystal.

"THE DWARVES HAVE THE BLESSING OF THE GODS! ENTRY WAS GRANTED BASED ON THE AGREED PACT!" The voice replied.

"Interesting." Akagi hummed in thought. "Did the Dwarves and Gods use the crystal to create Halifax?"

"UNKNOWN NAME. WHO IS HALIFAX?" The voice asked.

"Stupid fucking... Was this crystal used to create a Divine Artifact at the Gods' behest?" Akagi sighed before asking the question differently. "Specifically, a sword?"

"..." The voice paused for a moment, not answering straight away. "WHY DO YOU WISH TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION?"

"Many reasons, but the primary one is because I want to help my friend." Akagi replied as she glared at the ceiling. "Now, answer my question."

"A WEAPON WAS FORGED IN THIS LOCATION. A BLADE DESIGNED TO SLAY THE DEMON LORD WAS CREATED USING THE GODS POWER AND THE FRAGMENT OF THE GREATER WHOLE THAT THEY PROVIDED!" The voice answered.

"A blade to slay the Demon Lord?!?" Merkel yelped in surprise as he broke from examining some of the technology in the room. "You mean the Divine Blade Halifax was forged here?!?"

“Divine Blade, what?” Herman whispered to his teammates.

“You... Its only the single most legendary blade in the whole world!” Jacob face palmed at his friend not knowing.

"CORRECT!" The voice answered. "THE BLADE WAS FORGED IN THIS LOCATION!”

“Using this crystal? But that doesn't seem possible given the timeline of events I know.” Akagi replied.

“THE CRYSTAL YOU SEE BEFORE YOU WAS NOT CRAFTED UNTIL CENTURIES LATER FROM A SEPARATE FRAGMENT OF THE GREATER WHOLE!” The voice answered. “THE GODS MIXED TWO ASPECTS TOGETHER WITH THE HELP OF THE ANCESTORS OF MY CREATORS AND MADE THE BLADE OF WHICH YOU SPEAK!"

“And the Eridals later used that fragment to create this crystal?” Akagi asked.

“YES!” The voice affirmed.

“But you said your masters were the Eridals? How could you know of the creation of Halifax if it happened before the Eridals created you?” Akagi asked for clarification.

“I AM THE SECOND ITIRATION OF THE GUARDIAN. THE GODS FIRST CREATED ME AND MY MASTERS IMPROVED UPON THEIR WORK.” The voice answered.

“I see.” Akagi nodded as she looked up at the crystal.

{Yup, I'm 99% sure I know what Elariel didn't want to tell me. What a fucking mess. Halifax may well fall apart when she finds out... Fucking Gods... You're playing with power beyond your understanding! I understand the temptation to turn a Demon Lord's power against it, but this... This was an absolutely ridiculous gamble! To forge a blade using part of Vikes' power was already a dangerous idea, but it seems you went a step further!} (Akagi)

{So Halifax was made from Vikes' power?} (Yumi)

{It seems so. That lines up with the power I felt from her during the battle, and it makes sense why Elariel didn't want me to know about her origins. She probably feared I'd do something to Halifax with that knowledge.} (Akagi)

{Will you?} (Yumi)

{No. I will not. I do not harm my friends, especially ones like her. If she truly is born from Vikes, then I have a responsibility to take care of her.} (Akagi)

"But speculation will get us nowhere." Akagi sighed, deciding to shelve that issue for the moment. "The only ones who know the truth are the Gods, and Elariel isn't exactly chatty on the matter."

"ARE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED? IF SO, LEAVE!" The voice yelled.

"Now just hold your digital horses. I've got one more question." Akagi said as she floated up to the crystal. "Is what's powering you related to me?" She asked as she put her hand on it.

"NO!" The voice yelled in an attempt to stop her, but it was too late.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"It looks like I was right." Akagi said as she slowly opened her eyes, finding herself just outside a small farming village. "This crystal... The Eridal's were using fragments of Vikes to power their Empire." She said as the wind swept across the fields, blowing her hair around.

"Vikal! Alec! Dinner is nearly ready!" A woman's voice sounded from the nearby farmhouse, followed shortly by the silhouettes of two young children running toward it from the forest.

"Coming Mom!" (Children)