Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Blood splattered the side of cavern wall, slowly running down to meet the pool surrounding the creature from which the blood came. The dungeon guide was correct when he said the first floors of the dungeon were made up of creatures in the area surrounding the entrance. They had quickly reached the fifth floor and ran into simple goblins and wolves. If Rena were present, it would almost be a blast from the past.

That sudden thought brought a gentle smile to Lucius's face. He had once promised to adventure into the Demon's Stomach alongside his now wife. Yet, here he was doing it without her. Part of it felt like a betrayal of their childhood goals, but their young daughter was more important than such things now. It also didn't help that their reason for descending into the dungeon was to try and avoid conscription into the military.

Rena wanted nothing more than to keep him by her side. She wanted to keep him from the horrors of war, from senseless slaughter of humans and beastmen…

Lucius gently traced the scars along his neck before cleaving a pack of goblins in a single swing. So much for that. He spat on the sickly green corpses of the tribal creatures. The edges of their bodies slowly turned grey before flaking off like ash. Berk had explained that the dungeon recycles the dead. Instead of collecting materials from the corpses, it leaves behind crystals, rewards, and those same materials as it absorbs the kill. Even armor and weapons of fallen adventurers was taken by the dungeon.

The glint of something metallic caught his eye. Beside a nearby stone, buried under a handful of pebbles was something rectangular and glinting under the strange artificial light of the dungeon. The light itself was odd as it was sourceless. The dungeon had no torches or magical crystals like the elves. It was as though the very air emitted the light necessary to match the environment the dungeon wished to create.

Regardless of that, Lucius bent down to pick up the object. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was a guild card. "Berk, what is this?"

The guide stopped picking at the edge of his nails to look up. With their group nothing in the first ten floors was really a problem. Natali and Mar'Eeyen had requested they blow through the first few floors, but Berk insisted they learn how the dungeon itself worked first.

"Oh that's a guild card. Figured you would recognize it? You have one after all."

"Thanks for that." Lucius growled. "I mean what is it doing here. You said the place absorbs everything."

Berk flicked away a speck of dirt he had gathered from cleaning his nails. It vanished into dust before it even hit the wall. "Ah, yeah. About that… For some reason the dungeon doesn't eat those. No one knows why, but as I said before, this place is a beast of its own. It thinks. My guess is it is a way for us to find our fallen without a body."

"It is capable of these thoughts?"

Berk gave him an annoyed glance, "I told you about the scenarios, right? Why is this so surprising? Anyway, gather them when you see them. You can put them in the storage rings if you want. When the dungeon eats a storage ring, it expels the cards stored inside first. Quite the sight to see."

Lucius found himself more wary of his surroundings at those words. The feeling of being watched settled over him like a weighted blanket. Whatever beasts lie in wait within this place paled in comparison to the structure at large. As these feelings settled in on him, that watchful eye turned from a passing glance to a direct glare.

The pressure of a power far beyond anything Lucius had ever seen or felt pressed down on him. Whatever happened, he had gained the dungeon's attention. The pressure was worse than Lady Tenia, as even the ancient warrior would fall under this. Yet, Lucius remained standing; cautious, yet firm. A sense of amusement brushed at the edge of his senses before everything returned to normal.

"You alright there?" Mar'Eeyen asked with a raised brow. "You're as white as a sheet."

"As fine as you can be under the circumstances…" he mumbled quiet enough that only he could hear it. He then spoke louder, "I'll be fine. Let's go."

The group rounded a corner up ahead, revealing another set of stairs going deeper into the depths. The sounds of a number of adventurers approached from below. As they came into view two of them were limping. One was nearly unconscious. Her clothes soaked with an uncomfortable amount of blood.

"Please! Do you have any potions or something? My…our leader, she's bleeding out! My lord." a scrawny young man pleaded to them with their eyes. He had a pair of daggers strapped to his thigh and a shortsword hanging from his belt. The woman leaning on him and clearly dying, loosely held onto an axe by the handle. Its head scraping along the stone behind her.

The fact he could tell Lucius was a noble was interesting. He found himself wondering how he did that.

Lucius was about to tell them 'no' before his eyes settled on the young man's left hand. He was Marked. "Is she a Marked One?"

The scrawny one grimaced and looked away. "No. Only me."

Lucius looked closer before sniffing the air. "You smell like each other." He found himself almost looking at a mirror of his younger self.

"Please!" the young man continued. His eyes opened wider in panic. "Please, don't blame her. I pursued her… if it will save her life, I'll never touch her again, my lord, please… she's everything."

Lucius looked over at the woman. She was on the verge of losing consciousness, but her grip on her weapon tightened. "No, Beskir." Her eyes were fading, but defiant.

"I won't give you a potion." Lucius answered finally. His words seemed to break the party. All of their eyes fell. He continued, "Not yet. Move her to the side here. Remove her armor and let me see the wound."

They quickly did as they were told. Once the woman's armor was removed, Lucius saw the injury. She had taken a spear through her abdomen. It pierced her kidneys. She was lucky to still be alive, let alone awake. Still, the wound was far greater than a simple potion could help with. She was going to die.

"No potion can heal this. At least not any within your means." Lucius said with finality.

Beskir gripped the woman tighter. "No… Ellia, I'm sorry. I should have paid attention more. If I did you wouldn't have had to take that spear for me."

They pressed their heads together in a final goodbye to one another. Beskir turned to him. "My lord, I know I'm a Marked One, but may I please give her a final kiss goodbye? I only ask because I don't want to endanger the rest of my party. If need be, I can pay with my life. Please."

"Kiss her now if you like, I don't care about public displays of affection." Lucius pressed the palm of his left hand against the wound. Beskir's and the eyes of his parties widened. "[Celestia's Grace: Healing Light]"

A pale blue light filled the air. Ellia's injuries stitched themselves back together from the inside out. Her body quickly replaced the lost blood with the power provided by his mark. In seconds the color returned to her face. The fog in her eyes vanished. It was miraculous she had held on this long.

Once the moment was over, she settled her clear gaze on her savior. "Your eyes…" she whispered. "One silver, one gold. They shine like jewels on the battlefield, bringing the promise of death. I guess not all rumors are true."

Her lover and other party members bristled at her words. Each looking upon him in fear. "They are. You are just lucky. Return to the surface. Train more before you return." He commanded.

Beskir pulled Ellia into his arms. "Yes, Lord Kane. Anything you say. Thank you."