We ascended up the stairs but it seemed to be going on forever. Eventually, fatigue started to settle in so I sat on a staircase and meditated to invigorate my body and to increase my ability to use Imagination Amplification. It passively drained the more I stayed in this world. I was truly beginning to reach my limit.
I breathed in and out and calmed my mind.
'Focus on your breathing, Thomas.'
'Feel the air entering your lungs.'
'Feel the energy of the world around you, the energy of life.'
'Feel the energy of the world entering your lungs.'
'Now focus that energy into your body.'
I repeated this mantra for a while and after a while I felt a small rush of energy coursing through my veins. I was feeling much better now. Alright! Time to advance. I got up with renewed energy and advanced up the staircase. My legs felt a little bit stronger and I had a bit more energy, so the journey was much more pleasant than it would have been.
After what felt like a few minutes, I still hadn't reached the top of the stairs. I had the strangest feeling that the Great Tree wanted me to use my power to drain me until I had nothing left. It would make a lot of sense if that was truly the case.
'Man, how much longer do I have to climb these damn stairs!' I yelled in my head. Will seemed to sense my irritation and began to glow in a rainbow of colors, trying to cheer me up. "Thanks, buddy," I said to the light orb. Will's efforts were very effective as the annoyance of climbing the stairs slowly dissipated and I was filled with determination.
The staircase was getting narrower and narrower as we ascended until it was almost impossible to walk up. I had to crouch down, and I was barely able to fit through. It was a tight squeeze, but I managed to get up a few more steps. The walls of the staircase were closing in on me, but I felt very little claustrophobia. I always found solace in tight spaces as I felt a sense of safety and security.
This isn't so bad! I think I've got this but I hope it doesn't get any tighter.
I was starting to get a little nervous, and I could feel my heart beating faster. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I had to keep going. I couldn't give up now.
I continued up the staircase, but it was getting even tighter. I was barely able to move, and the walls were starting to scrape against my sides.
This is starting to make me feel sick. I might just have to use Imagination Amplification to make me smaller.
As I kept climbing, I noticed a crack on the wall to my right. I poked at it with my finger and scratched at it slightly until a small hole appeared. I turned my hand into a fist and punched at it as much as I could in this tight space until I was able to poke my head through it.
Unlike a few of the rooms I had gone through so far, this one was well-lit. The room was a large, open space, with a ceiling that was made of roots and dirt. There were a few small plants and trees growing in the room, and there was a small pool of water in the center.
The floor was covered in a thick layer of moss, and the walls were lined with tree roots. I punched at the wall until I had finally gotten through. I fell from a few feet but I was relatively unscathed.
What in the world? Is that a unicorn?
At the edge of the pool of water, a horse with a single horn protruding through its head was drinking the water from the pool. It was majestic and looked like it belonged in a fairy tale. I wanted to approach it, but I knew that I had to be careful. It was a demon, and I didn't want to provoke it. I slowly approached it and I didn't sense any hostility from it. In fact, it was quite friendly.
"Well met, Author of Life. How do you do?"
Another talking demon? This one had a deep, male voice that seemed to betray its majestic appearance What is the Great Tree planning by creating dangerous, intelligent beings? I readied my sword and got into an offensive stance.
"Wait, I mean you no harm. Let's sit and talk." It said.
I reluctantly lowered my sword and sat on the ground. "Okay, what is it that you want to talk about?" I asked. I was suspicious. The demon didn't seem to be hostile, but I knew that looks could be deceiving.
"You are the author of this world, aren't you? Why have you come to this dungeon? Surely you know that it is dangerous. You could lose your life."
He really didn't know? But the spider demon knew.
"You don't know? One of your allies knew," I said with a glare.
"I don't like to mettle into political affairs with the Great Tree and its demons. I am but a lowly unicorn," He said. "I am just a mere dungeon monster. The Great Tree's will is not my will. I am but a creation of its power. I serve no other purpose but to defend the Great Tree's dungeon core. but I recognize that you are the Author of Life. Your will is greater than the Great Tree's."
I sheathed my sword and looked at the unicorn stunned. No demon had shown this much reason so far. I wondered what the Great Tree was up to with this one. I began to feel a sense of empathy for this unicorn. I felt sorry for him, and I wanted to help him. I didn't know how, but I would try. "What's your name?" I asked. " As you know I'm Thomas, and this here is Will."
Will bobbed up and down.
"My name is Erol. I'm pleased to meet you Thomas and Will. I'm a unicorn." The unicorn introduced itself. I felt a sense of relief knowing that this unicorn wasn't a mindless, blood-thirsty demon like the rest of them. "I'm not like those mindless demons," he said. "I am a being of intelligence, and I can think for myself. I don't need the Great Tree to tell me what to do. I can make my own decisions. I will help you in your fight against the Great Tree if you wish it."
"Really?" I asked. "Would you help me fight against the Great Tree?" I thought that this was an interesting development. "Won't the Great Tree get suspicious?"
"The Great Tree doesn't care about me. I'm not important. I'm not even a real demon. I'm just a unicorn." Erol replied. I didn't understand why the Great Tree would go to such lengths to create a sentient, thinking being, and then just leave it alone like that.
I wonder what's up with this situation. I am talking to a unicorn who claims not to be a demon but my instincts tell me it is a demon.
"I am sorry, but I don't believe that you aren't a demon. What are you planning by lying?" I slowly pulled my sword from its sheath.
"Wait! I never said I wasn't a demon. I am simply not a "real" demon. I am one of the Great Tree's first prototypes in its creations. I turned out to be a failure and the Great Tree banished me to this room. You were never supposed to enter this room in the first place to my knowledge." Erol explained. "I will gladly help you defeat the Great Tree if you take me outside of this place and help me escape from the Great Tree's grasp."
"Very well," I said. "But I am not sure if I can trust you yet. I don't want to take you back with me only to find that you're a traitor." I still didn't trust the unicorn but I needed its help to escape from the Great Tree's clutches. "Do you have a core?" I asked.
"I do. It's in my chest," Erol replied.
"Can you give it to me?" I asked. I didn't want to take any chances with him. I needed to have some sort of control over him in case he did turn on me.
Erol looked at me for a moment before nodding his head. "I understand your concerns, and I am willing to help you but I cannot give you my core. It's the only thing keeping me alive but if it comes down to it, I am willing to sacrifice my core for the Great Tree's destruction."
I nodded. I didn't exactly want to take a gamble as the fear that it would stab me from the back was still there.
"I understand your concerns. But I assure you that I am not a danger to you," Erol said. I sighed and nodded, and I decided to take the chance. "Alright, let's go," I said. I turned around and started walking. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew that I had to keep moving.
"Lord Thomas, if you'd like you can hop on my back. I have some knowledge on how the dungeon operates."