The Tower in the Shadows

Surprisingly, death is more like life sometimes.

Boring.

I mean, it isn't very interesting.

I was thinking this as I found myself in darkness.

As far as my senses are telling me, I'm looking but surrounded by darkness.

I had the unfortunate experience of dying, which was surprising at the time. Admittedly, I felt slightly unwell during the day, but I didn't expect this. I should have paid more attention to my body's warning signs.

It happened coming out of the shower while not having a great time in my none-too-exciting life; suddenly, bang, a heart attack kicked in and then I dropped to the floor dead. It was damn painful. I remember my soul? Yeah, better call it that. There is nothing else I can call it, leaving my body as I died. No. I was dead on the floor. I have to stop thinking that I am alive.

I remember seeing my body from behind while my point of view floated away into this darkness. My former body was lying on the floor with my bare ass in the air. A damp towel under me where I had collapsed, with a shocked and pained expression on my face, admittedly, not the best, I think, in the end.

A lifetime of junk food and gaming had taken its toll on me. Physically, I was in terrible shape. Okay, let's be honest: I was a fat bastard. So, today was the day that it all caught up with me.

I knew it would be days before I was found. I was not pleasant to be around, so I had few friends. Being known to be a troll and a total bastard in the online forums and games I played, the majority would not miss me. They may even have a party for my demise.

Back to the story, I floated away through my ceiling to this place while thinking about my life and the afterlife. Whatever this is. Now, I'm surrounded by this blackness.

Blackness. That is all I can perceive at this time. I exist here, but I wonder where I am. Also, why am I telling this like a story in my head?

There is no way to tell time, so how do I know how long I have been here? It is impossible to mark the time, as there is just blackness.

Maybe time is passing. I'm not sure, as I am just here with my thoughts.

Does that mark the passage of time?

Okay, let's think this through. Let's see if there is something here.

I have nothing else to do, to be honest.

I started by "looking" left and right—nothing but blackness.

Then I tried up and down, but I was still unsure if I was moving.

I continued trying to move, but again, I felt nothing; I could see and hear nothing.

All things considered, it's boring.

Suddenly, a thought came to me. Why was I not freaking out?

This was a bit of a revelation to me. I should, by every metric, be freaking out right now. I died, for God's sake! And now, maybe I was floating in this blackness, with no body and no visible way to get out of here. I should have been completely losing it.

Yet there I was, surprisingly calm and collected. Hang on! My memories are much more vivid than usual. We all have faded memories, especially when we're not paying attention. Somehow, I can remember everything I did on the day right up to death when I focused on the memory. Strange all the mundane things that just get forgotten, I remember.

You know, eating, cleaning my teeth, that sort of thing. All in full detail.

So, with little else to do, I float here in this place. Remembering.

Maybe time passed and eventually, I saw something. In the distance, I could make out a point of light. Is it approaching? Or am I heading towards it?

Finally!

Something is happening. Whatever it is, it makes me very happy. Something is happening!

The light source approaches and grows within my vision until it consumes all.

The black around me is now replaced with white.

"Hello." A voice spoke to me from all around. Suddenly, I felt awake and fully aware after dozing.

"Err… Hello." I answer, not sure even if I am speaking.

"I greet you, travelling soul. I am Oda. I am a god of balance from another pantheon not known to your world." The voice was that of a man. It was rich and warm, with a great sense of wisdom in it. You could listen to this voice all day, reading the weather or some other boring information.

"Nice to meet you, Oda." What was I supposed to say? Something claiming to be a God has shown up. How am I supposed to react? Why am I saying "I" often in my head and private thoughts? Who am I talking to?

"I have intercepted you as you travel to the next stage of existence. The next stage would not have been a pleasant time for you. You were not a believer or a kind and gentle soul. Nor were you a terrible person, just not a good one, for you were not a positive person in your last life to many. Your actions have consequences."

"I have stepped in, however. It is a rare event for any travelling soul and I will offer you something unique. You have the skills and mind I require to aid me in a great project on the world my pantheon and I oversee—a choice."

"It will not be easy, but if you succeed, I will grant you entry into one of the heavens until your soul forgets why it is there and returns to the life cycle."

"What is it you require of me?"

"At the moment, I cannot say you must accept my offer or move on."

Okay, this is suspect! I can sense Oda around me, watching and waiting for my response.

"Is there anything you can tell me?" More information is required here. Mama raised no fool here. When she was around, that was.

"You will be granted a new life and body with a great task to fulfil. I can say no more until you have accepted my offer."

"This is not a true choice but a blind one. How am I supposed to choose if I do not know the consequences of the choice?" I demanded to the light around me.

"You are correct. It is not a fair choice, but it is a choice." Oda was annoyingly calm in his response.

Dammit, all. How was I supposed to choose this? But the choice had to be made; I knew he would not lie about my destination if I said no. So, I made it.

"Okay, I agree." I never took chances like this in life, but now that I'm dead, why not now?

"You are now Soul Bound by your choice." Oda said. Shit, that did not sound ominous as hell. There was also something in the way he said it. It resonated in me somehow on a level that I cannot explain.

"Thank you for your choice. If you are successful, you will save countless billions of lives. Even if you do not, you can influence the world positively. Unlike the one that you have just left."

"So, what have I agreed to do." It was time to find out what devil's bargain I had made.

"The world I oversee has become corrupted by a terrible and dark force called void essence. It is slowly corrupting and twisting the world and those who live upon it, though they nor the gods have realised it yet."

"It was the foolishness of the other gods in my pantheon that caused this disaster to happen. Their arrogance and lust for power disrupted the balance of the world and those who live upon it."

"As the God of Balance, I am the only truly neutral God standing at the pantheon's head. I must keep the balance between the two courts. I failed in my duty in this.

To that end, I sought a way to restore balance once more. Through many years of study and learning, I realised there was a way to remove the void essence corrupting the world."

"You will be reincarnated as a very special dungeon core. Your core has been specially created to absorb and process void essence, making it safe. However, this will place limitations on you as a dungeon core. You will gain several unique advantages to balance this out." Oda intoned.

Okay, this is a lot. Like any geek, I had heard of the dungeon core genre. Hell, I had read quite a few books and electronic novels. Dungeon management games were also games that I enjoyed playing when I was alive. So, I was not going into this blind, it seems. I could make this work.

"Okay, so I'm to create a dungeon. Challenge adventures and create monsters, all that stuff you mean." I needed to confirm. I wanted to use more creative language but was playing it safe for now.

"Fundamentally, yes. But as I said, to process void essence, you will have several restrictions placed upon you and balanced out by several advantages. I have created an enhanced system to help you in your new existence as a dungeon core. I have based on the computer games that you have played and books you have read." Oda confirmed this to me.

"Okay, lay it out for me, Oda. Can you start with the disadvantages and then hit me with the advantages?" Time to find out if I'm screwed and how badly. The term "Faustian pact" came to mind.

"Very well. The first thing you are not allowed to do is to become allied with any gods. No shrines, temples, celestial or infernal beings are to exist within your dungeon. This goes for contact with other dungeons as well. You must stand alone."

Okay, I can work with that one. I have always preferred playing games alone. Except, of course, when I was trolling people online. Oh, the good times!

"To process void essence, you will not be able to take a mana affinity if offered by the system. This will restrict you long-term as creating more powerful monsters and traps will be next to impossible."

I was still trying to figure out this one. I needed more information on the system I would be working with or how mana affected the world. What was it anyway? It sounded like some form of magic. The restriction on powerful monsters would be a big issue I already knew. But I am committed now and will have to improvise.

"Due to the risk of void essence exposure, you cannot have a companion like all other dungeons have. You must be alone in your task. Only those you create will be protected from void essence corruption."

This might be a problem. The dungeon companion is meant to keep the dungeon core sane in the literature. I'm used to long periods of being alone, but I always had some level of human interaction. That was going to be complicated.

"I will not wipe your memories, but you cannot use the knowledge of your world. Everything created must be within the system and rules of the world you reside in."

Okay, no Earth knowledge cheating. I could understand that. I wonder if I could work that some way. I will have to get creative to game the system to my advantage.

"Finally, if you absorb too much void essence too fast, it will cause your dungeon core crystal to shatter, condemning your soul to be destroyed."

Fuck! Way to bury the lead. That was a big thing, to be sure. He did not allow me to say anything. He just continued.

"To the advantages that I will offer you. First, I will bless you with a good location in the world to expand."

Okay, a good starting location is always a plus; I can never deny that. But I was still dealing with the soul destruction part.

"You will not be limited by the creatures or traps you can create. Anything that you kill or create will be yours to command. Any unique creations will also be fully under your control."

Flexibility in monsters and traps is always a plus. What was that about unique creations?

"Mana affinities are restricted from you, but you can use any type of mana in your dungeon that you can hold on to."

I still need to know more about this mana stuff. It was going to be critical. I had already gathered this from my past reading/gaming. I just did not understand the context of it where I was going.

"You shall be on your own, but you will have what your world calls a "wiki" to give you some information about your abilities as a dungeon core and the world. The rest you must learn on your own."

Okay, that will help me. Even a little information is better than nothing.

"Finally, your last advantage is that you keep your intellect and will as you exist in your dungeon core body. This will be a gem and grow as a dungeon. As your powers develop, so too will this gem change. You will be immune to the physical ravages of time and entropy. You will be effectively immortal, but be warned. This is also a curse."

Immortal. Okay? I don't know how to take that last part. Curse?

"So that is what is now before you. It is time to go young dungeon core and fulfil the destiny before you. Good luck to you and may you live a better life than the one you had."

Before I could say anything, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sensation of my soul being twisted and compressed. It seemed I was now contained in something. I couldn't say how I knew. I just knew this now.

The next thing I knew, I was falling through the stars and space. Before me, there was a planet and I was rapidly heading toward it. The world had four moons. I could see dozens of continents and even more small islands not covered in clouds.

These information dumps were getting annoying. As I approached, I realised that this world was more extensive than Earth, the world I had left—a lot bigger. Again, I did not understand how I knew this. I just did.

My new form quickly passed the moons and reached the upper atmosphere. I fell surrounded by fire onto the world. As I fell, a few details could be made out through the flame surrounding me as a mountain range approached. I was heading towards a valley with a river and a thick forest running through it.

As I came hurtling in, I saw I was aimed at a tower on a low hill in that forest. Before I could think of anything else, I hit the building, crashed through the roof and landed on the floor.

To say I was stunned would be an understatement!

Thus began my new life.