Chapter 1: Tiles
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A day like any other. At least, I hoped so.
I walked through the city whistling a nameless melody that sprang spontaneously from my thoughts, letting the sound get lost in the damp, dense air. The pavement glistened in the rain, reflecting distorted lights like a mirage. Thick, cold drops slid down my hair, down my neck, sticking my clothes to my skin, but I didn't care.
I looked up. The sky was crying under heavy clouds that roared in the distance. I felt like a child watching. But beyond the storm, between the broken spaces of the clouds, the airships soared through the sky like mechanical birds, majestic even in the storm.
The huge high-tech transports glided up to the commercial hangars, their lights twinkling in the mist like artificial stars. I was still amazed at what we had accomplished in such a short time: less than a decade had been enough for these ships to displace the old means of transport.
"An impressive sight."
How would I look from the perspective of some passerby? Probably as a crazy albino, soaked to the bone, smiling for no apparent reason towards the sky charged with electricity.
But today I had no reason to worry about what others thought. I felt strangely happy, although I could not explain why. Maybe because, after a day of exhausting work, the only thing left was the relief of returning home and sinking into a sleep without regrets.
"My whole body hurts..." I sighed, rolling my shoulders to relieve the tension. "I worked like no one else today. I deserve a break of at least... twenty-eight hours, at least."
The monotony of the urban landscape did not make it easy for me to find my house. All the buildings were the same: gray and austere blocks, functional but without soul. The city had grown rapidly, devouring the prairies and replacing them with these housing complexes. All in the name of security.
There were exceptions, though. Like the mall, which had been turned into a Dungeon for some time. It now attracted crowds, both to the commercial and dangerous parts, where hunters sought fortune and glory among the shadows of the unknown.
I arrived home. My clothesline was crying with me: the rain had soaked all my clean clothes. I sighed from the bottom of my soul. Spilled milk was not worth lamenting. Or, in this case, wet clothes.
Once inside, I turned on the television without much interest. The news was talking about the "Dungeon Central", the largest one found so far. Its upper levels had been cleared by elite hunters, but the mystery continued: since the discovery of a shortcut on the 590th floor, they had managed to descend to the 600th. But the dungeon had no end.
click
I turned off the TV. I was tired of hearing the same thing.
More important was thinking about how to earn enough money to never have to work again. Unfortunately, my reality gave me no options.
Tomorrow would be another day, another routine.
Another reminder that, in the end, we are all replaceable.
That night, I tried to sleep. I really tried. But there was something in the air, a persistent sensation, an invisible murmur that brushed my skin with an imperceptible chill. The city had its own nocturnal pulse, but this was different. Like an ancient echo, a call that did not fade, but grew in the corners of my mind.
The dreams were fragmented, erratic. Long shadows stretched around me, whispering without a voice. A flash of moss-covered stone. Ruins under the moon. And a figure… a statue with empty eyes, watching me.
I woke up with my heart hammering in my chest. The feeling of having forgotten something important weighed on my head like a thick fog. I looked at the clock. It was barely three in the morning.
The air was thick. I got up, driven by a senseless urgency. I put on my shoes without thinking and went out into the street. The city was asleep, but my feet moved on their own, as if responding to a different rhythm, to a path that had already been laid out long before I was born.
I don't remember taking drugs.
Without realizing it, I was in the woods.
But something changed the next day.
There was something in the air, a subtle vibration on my skin, as if something was waiting for me somewhere. It wasn't a spontaneous idea. It was a nagging feeling, like a voice in the depths of my mind whispering insistently.
An ancient ruined temple, hidden in the far reaches of the forest. Only those who knew the old legends knew of its existence. It was not a place one would go willingly, and yet here I was.
The forest had claimed it long ago. Weathered columns lay scattered across the ground like the bones of a fallen giant, covered in moss and dust. Magic had tried to preserve it, but the battle against time cannot be won with simple incantations.
Only one effigy remained intact: that of a serene-faced goddess, covered in cracks but still standing. I once imagined that she spoke to me in my dreams.
A primitive instinct forced me to retreat, to flee. Something ancient, buried deep within me, recognized the danger. But my feet... did not respond. It was as if an invisible force had tied me to the ground.
"We meet again, goddess..." I muttered sarcastically.
And then, the earth trembled.
Crack.
The air distorted. Dark flashes danced around me, devouring the light until I was plunged into a suffocating gloom. But the effigy glowed with a spectral glow.
My breath caught. My instinct screamed for me to run, but my legs wouldn't respond. The effigy glowed with a cold, unnatural light. Something inside me knew, with a terrifying certainty, that there was no turning back now.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
The voice echoed in my mind like a whisper wrapped in echoes. A chill ran down my spine.
"Tell me... did you forget me?"
I shook my head. No, I hadn't. Because that voice, though buried deep in my memory, was always there.
"Don't be afraid... If you prefer, I can make this... interesting."
Each word was a sweet poison, dangerous but tempting. I had trouble thinking clearly.
"You're an angel... aren't you?" I asked, lamely.
The voice let out a low, seductive laugh.
"Oh, how lovely... No, dear. I'm something much greater."
I felt trapped in an invisible web. My instincts screamed to run, to flee, but my legs were pinned to the ground.
"Tell me, why are you here?"
"I… I don't know."
"Of course you know. You called me. Like you always do."
I opened my mouth to answer, but my throat went dry.
My breathing hitched a little. "I didn't call you."
No. I hadn't called her. I didn't want her here. But then… why did I feel like this had happened before?"
"Oh, but you did. You've done it over and over again, without even realizing it. Your desires, your longings… they all bring me back."
The dark miasma closed in on me, like invisible claws clinging to my skin. I felt unbearably cold.
"You're tired, aren't you? Day after day, wasted in a life without purpose. You don't need to admit it... I already know."
Images flashed through my mind. Riches. Glory. Freedom. A life without worries.
"I don't need to tell you what you want. You already know. You've known it since the day you saw your reflection and wondered if this was the life you deserved."
No. I shouldn't listen to her. But... what if she was right? What if this was all just a dream offering me something better?
"None of this is an accident. You've been waiting for something more for too long, dreaming of breaking the chains of mediocrity. I'm only offering you what you already crave. Or would you rather remain a disposable pawn?"
The effigy whispered promises to me, images of an unimaginable life.
"You don't have to say it. Just accept it."
A heavy silence.
My head screamed no. But my lips... my lips moved on their own.
"Y..."
I wanted to shut up. I tried. My lips moved before I could stop them. A whisper escaped my throat, barely audible, but enough to seal my fate.
"yes."
And then, everything fell apart.
Incomprehensible words danced in the air before darkness swallowed me whole.
Nothingness swallowed me. Cold. Pain. Voices. I didn't understand. I couldn't scream. I couldn't...
A violent tug ripped through my skin. No, it wasn't my skin. It was everything. My bones creaked under impossible pressure. Something was ripping me from myself, splitting me into pieces that couldn't exist apart.
I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. An invisible weight crushed my chest. Nothingness surrounded me, and for a moment, I was in a state of panic. For an instant, I thought I was dead. But then, the darkness tore through.
Tiles of light floated, screens suspended in the air, showing me a single message:
(Welcome to the Dungeon.)
...Huh?
I was trying to blink, believing it to be a mistake.
My brain refused to process what I was seeing.
(Dungeon Master 101)
The air grew thick, as if the void itself was suffocating me. My vision blurred, my mind refusing to accept what I was seeing. No. No. This wasn't happening. But the words were still there, mocking me with their cruel glow.
My blood ran cold.
I refuse to believe.
The words flickered in front of me, mocking me with their glare. Dungeon Master. Me. How...? A frozen void opened up in my stomach.
No. It wasn't possible.
But I was.
Without realizing it, I had become the enemy of the world.