"Hello, I'm Evren." Evren said as he stepped forward.
The low noise was heard again, and they heard in their heads, 'Evren is who it says it be. Has it come for a fighting spree?'
Evren shook his head, "We don't have to fight, we just want to pass through."
The voice continued, 'To get past me, the price isn't free. Talk you must, to deserve our trust.'
Evren nodded, "Ok, we can talk. That's fine."
The voice said, 'Past the land, across the sea, there dwells a place for all to see. The land is rich with strife and ire, many have died to spear and fire. Pawns of the goddess march in formation, souls and spirits bound for damnation. The one before us; who does he seek? Will he take up the sword to defend the week? Whichever side you decide to choose. The other will surely be bound to lose. Will it fight for those who are calling? Or defend those who are left enthralling?'
As the voice trailed off, Evren thought for a moment before say, "I seek to free those, like me, who were summoned to this world. I will stand against Grandia."
The head of the dragon tilted as it considered Evren's words. It lowered its head down as if to go back to sleep, 'Approved, it has been and must now seek another. Go forth and find this one's blue scaled brother.' It said as the voice faded away.
Shortly afterwards, the dragon began to dissolve before the party. What was left in its place was a purple mana gem and a sheet of parchment. Evren bent down and retrieved the parchment, reading it over intently. He looked back at Harley with a smile, then turned around and closed his eyes. After a breath or two, he opened them again, held one hand forward and chanted, 'Flame burst." A ball of fire flew out from his hand, striking the wall fifty meters away, and exploded, setting the wall and floor on fire for a few seconds before it eventually died out.
Harley saw the spell cast and opened her eyes wide with excitement. She then ran up to Evren and snatched the parchment out of his hand, reading it over. Her reading was slower than Evren's but no less effective as she followed up with her own 'flame burst' at the same spot that Evren had cast his. She cheered and threw the parchment in the air, doing a celebration dance. Evren picked up the parchment and put it into his back pack.
When Harley calmed down, they headed to the exit. When the exited, they noticed on the back of the door a glyph stating they could come back here at any time. They moved on to the next level and found another door. Before entering, Evren said, "I know we didn't fight last time, but that doesn't mean we won't this time. Stay on your toes."
Everyone nodded and he opened the door. On the other side of the door was a wintery landscape within the domed room. Snow covered the floor everywhere and was piled up deep in several places. The low sound they heard at the red dragon that was more felt than heard happened here as well, causing the snow to vibrate in waves. The center of the waves the largest mound of snow in the center of the cavern, that was now being exposed as the blue dragon.
A voice, a little higher than the previous one, and without the touch of madness said, 'Passed his brother's test I see, now it comes to answer me.'
Evren took a step forward and said, "My name is Evren."
The voice replied, 'Evren is a name I've heard before, now it must tell this one something more.' The dragon stared at Evren waiting for him to say something.
Evren thought of what to say, then turned around and introduced his companions, "Ah, right. This is Walter, Fletcher, Isobel and Harley."
The dragon looked at each of them in turn then looked back to Evren. 'Names this one heard of friends tried and true, yet the question remains still 'who are you?' Search deep within the depths of your soul. Tell this one what makes Evren whole.'
Evren takes a deep breath in though and clears his throat, "Uh… well, I'm a soldier. Or rather I was. I was a family man. I had a wife and kids. I had plenty of friends through my life… lives." Evren looked back to the others before turning back to the dragon. "I've always tried to do what's right, which isn't always the right thing to do. I don't like bullies. I hate people who try to take advantage of others and feel they've got the right to look down on them. That's why I think I want to set free the ones who've been summoned here like me. And also stop future summonings from happening again."
The dragon continued to stare at Evren without saying anything.
"When I was young, I got in trouble with some friends. When I spoke with my father about it, he told me that it didn't matter what others around me did, as long as I chose to do the right thing, he would stand by me. I shouldn't do something because others are doing it, and I shouldn't not do something because everyone else remains silent."
Evren got a faraway look and said, "He told me that's what heroes are. They're people who make sacrifices, make the tough decisions, take the hard choices. Not because they're not afraid, but because it's the right thing to do."
The voice spoke up, 'Choices of man make them who they are. Choices can be as ugly as a scar. The choices you've made, Evren of man, make you to be all that you can. Do not forget the man that you are. The choices you've made will take you far. One more brother remains to be seen. Go forth and find the brother of green.'
The dragon lowered its head back down to where it was, the snow no longer vibrating from the sound. Shortly afterwards the dragon dissolved and left a parchment and a gemstone in place. Harley cheered and rushed forward to pick up the parchment, reading through it as quickly as she could. When Evren got close, she held up one hand and chanted, 'icicle.' A spear made of ice appeared and flew across the room to the wall, shattering upon impact, but causing a scratch on the surface. Evren took the parchment and read through it as well before putting it in his backpack along with the mana gem.
When they got to the next floor Evren once again reminded them to stay on their toes. He opened the door and stepped inside, there was a green dragon pacing back and forth in the center of the room.
When the dragon saw them enter, the low noise happened, and a voice came to their minds. It was subtle yet demanding. 'Come human kneel before me now! Kneel before me and speak the most solemn vow!'
Evren looked to the others and stepped forward to the dragon, taking one knee. After waiting for a few minutes, Evren looked up to the dragon to see it staring at the other four still near the door. He looked back to them and waved them forward to kneel with him. As the rest of them came forward and took a knee, the dragon finally spoke.
'Speak after me, the words that I say. When you are lost, they will help find the way. I vow to the dragon who stands before me, I vow on my soul that I am worthy. I must head to the lands, the time overdue, to travel over oceans and trees to pass through.'
The five of them repeat the words the dragon spoke, and it continues on, 'Two will be found on the way to the sea, one will be hanging by his neck from a tree. Fight they will not, for courage is not their own. A way to the city from them will be shown.'
The five look at each other but repeat back to the dragon. When finished, the dragon continues, 'Over lands and seas the dolls must travel. To head to the place that I must unravel. Only there at the beginning can the curse be broken, the words that are written must then be spoken. Only then can I wipe the sweat from my brow, for having completed this most holy vow.'
When they finished saying the vow, both they and the dragon glowed with a golden light. When the light faded, the dragon was beginning to dissolve. Left in place was a purple mana gem and another parchment. After Evren read through it with Harley looking over his shoulder, they both shrugged, incapable of casting 'cure poison' at the moment.
They headed down to the 134th floor, to the next dragon's door. Standing outside the doors they checked their equipment and then opened the door. Inside the room there stood a majestic white dragon. Lightning crackled on the scales of the dragon and between its horns. The dragon stared at them; its head held high. The team stared at the dragon, which stared back at them. Neither side making a move.
Evren took a step forward and cleared his throat, "Hello, my na…"
A feminine voice pierced their minds as the low rumble was heard, 'I know who you are. We all do. We also know why you are here, and what you seek.'
Evren raised his eyebrows in surprise but said nothing. The dragon's eyes squinted as if waiting for something to be said. The dragon then turned its head to the side.
'I don't care about the humans. I don't care about your petty games. Save them? Destroy them? It doesn't matter to me. Why should it? I'm not even a real dragon. I should be a mindless monster. Why is it that I'm not?' The dragon lifted its claw up and looked at it as it opened and closed it. 'I don't have the cognitive powers the three you've already met have. I can't see the future, nor the past, nor can I see out of these walls. I can only hear the voices of the others.'
The dragon turned to them and put its front claw back down. 'They speak about you as being a savior. The one who will help the dungeon to grow again. It's alive, this dungeon. It feeds on magic and memories. But what memories has it had in the last 35 years? Only those of the people who live in it. Memories it already knows. Memories that won't feed it.
'It thought about killing them off, those humans that live on the field. If there was nobody left and the door was sealed, would it die? No. The nexus is too grand.' The dragon looked to the left as if there were something interesting there. 'The longer something lives in the dungeon, the smarter it gets. The smarter we get, the less we want to be here. I'm … we're an existence that dies but doesn't die. If we keep dying, we don't remember. Some of us say that's better. Some of us are tired of the loneliness.'
The dragon pointed to the door behind them with its chin, 'These floors used to be bigger. When we weren't as smart. Once we got smart, once we became different, we were separated and put into these … cells. And it's you human's fault. Your wars came here. Your wars killed each other. Your wars sealed the entrance.'
The dragon roared, lightning discharging in huge arcs of energy from it, 'IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!'
The dragon then lowered its head and turned away from them, lowering itself to the ground. 'End the war.' It said as it slowly faded away.
Nobody moved for a time. They finally realized how much the Holy State Grandia had not only affected the people of the world, but also its creatures, its monsters, and even its dungeons. Evren walked over to the purple mana gem and picked it up, staring at it. He said, "I'll stop the war." Before he put the mana gem into his back pack. He then picked up the parchment and read it for a while before shrugging and handing it to Harley.
After Harley read through it, she chanted 'image' and an illusion of her parents appeared before her. They didn't move at all and were just a three-dimensional projection. Harley said, "That's neat!" handing the parchment to Evren so he could put it away.
Without saying much else to each other, they headed to the next floor. The door was opened wordlessly, and everyone went inside. Evren cleared his throat to get everyone on their toes and looked inside the room. It was darker in this room than others. It was the same cavernous space as the other ones, but it appeared empty.
Something landed on the ground next to Fletcher and he looked down at it to see that the ground was dissolving with a hiss. He looked up and saw the face of a black dragon, "Holy shit!" he said as he fell backwards on to the ground. The dragon dropped from the wall and approached the retreating group. It circled around them and eyed each one of them.
There was no low rumbling heard with the voice, instead it was a bubbly hiss like steam rising. 'It knows why they approach. It sees their journey. Too much fun! Not enough fun! Work! Work! Work!' it said with a high-pitched voice bordering on insanity.
The dragon stopped and stared at Evren, 'Does it taste good?' It turned its head towards Walter and said, 'Is it crunchy? Chewy?'
It circled around them with incredible speed and stopped next to Isobel and sniffed her, Isobel taking a few steps back, but ultimately tripped by a tail that had appeared behind her without her noticing. 'It is clumsy. Would it fall into its mouth?' The dragon ran off towards the center of the room and spun in circles while saying 'Yes' repeatedly.
It suddenly stopped and stared at them. 'Beware the one who holds the key. He will assist but for a fee. When moons align to become new. And the darkest night will come to you. Unbolt the latch the man will do. Bringing dark tidings upon you.' With that said, the dragon vomited a pool of acid onto the floor and collapsed. As it dissolved, it repeated, 'Beware the one who holds the key.'
When all that was left was the pool of acid dissolving the floor, the mana gem and a parchment, the group headed towards the opposite door, keeping a wide berth around the pool of acid, and the smoke that came from it. Evren picked up the parchment and the mana gem and caught up to the rest before looking at the parchment and reading 'toxin' as the name of the new spell.
After reading the parchment, Evren looked at Harley. "Well, I guess we can check to see if 'cure poison' works now."