1 Chapter 1 – Prologue – Heaven

"Where… Where am I?"

Bubbles danced in darkness around him. It was pitch black, yet he could see. Laying face up against the cold ground, he opened his eyes.

"What is this?" He questioned. He was underwater, yet he could breathe.

"Why am I here?" He sat up. It was as if the entire world was underwater. Trees of coral and seaweed shrubbery surrounded him.

"How is this possible?" He said out loud. At the bottom of an ocean, he awoke with the eerie hum of nature around him. Three gigantic mountain peaks could be seen in the distance, but besides that, he was in a forest, alone.

"How long have I been here?" He wondered. The eternal night at the bottom of the ocean gave him the chills, and he felt as if he was being watched.

"Is this the fifth floor?" The man took a look around, sitting up. His body was transparent, but he was alive. He heard his heartbeat, he could smell the forest, hear the animal noises in the distance, and see despite the darkness.

"Where is my party?" He panicked.

After 5 years of climbing, his party had cleared the fourth floor of Heaven. Of the Three Great Dungeons, Heaven was the only dungeon that hadn't been sealed off from entry, and hundreds of parties challenged the dungeon annually.

Although Heaven had only five floors, no one had ever conquered the dungeon before, and most people were forced to turn back around the end of the fourth floor. No matter what, his current situation made no sense. Heaven was a sky piercing mountain, and the only way to conquer it was to climb.

And yet, here he was at the bottom of an ocean.

"Am I… dead?" He asked himself. His sudden scenery change didn't fit the previous four floors of Heaven. The clothes on his body were the same as when he was climbing Heaven, but his equipment and party were nowhere to be seen.

According to legend, when a soul died, they would be randomly sent to one of the Three Great Dungeons until they were put to rest.

Heavenly Spirits freely climbed Heaven until they reached the peak, where they could move on.

Souls sent to Purgatory would wander forever or until they were at peace.

Demonic Spirits sent to Hell would be tortured until their spirit crumbled away.

His transparent appearance was not a good sign. Was purgatory like an ocean? Or was this, Hell?

Not much was known about the other two Great Dungeons, Purgatory and Hell, besides the talk of legend. Purgatory had never opened, but its appearance was mazelike and spanned the length of an entire continent.

More was known about Hell, however. Rumored to span 100 floors, Hell's interior constantly changed and was different depending on the generation. At the dawn of every millennia, Hell's brooding gates would open, and countries, powers, and parties would rush in to become the conquerors of Hell! Even though new information was gathered every time, it proved unreliable. People even claimed to have reincarnated from Hell, but the sheer inconsistencies in stories made the truth shrouded.

The man hyperventilated. His vision became blurry, and he panicked.

"Wait, what's my name?

Why was I climbing Heaven?

Who are my party mates?

How old even am I? What's happening?" He stumbled onto the ground in shock and dismay.

"Come on remember!" He tried to stand up but was not in his right mind and couldn't.

The last thing he could remember was challenging the boss of the fourth floor and clearing the floor. What happened next?

Suddenly, it all came back to him, and his eyes widened and then closed in sadness.

***

Party leader Alvaro was a veteran of the Adventurer's Guild. Amongst his peers, his leadership skills and magical aura were nearly unmatched. He was no powerhouse, but he was respected and well known. Alvaro knew the risks, but how could he resist challenging one of the Great Dungeons? Gathering six other veterans, he went to Heaven with the goal of reaching the fourth floor before retiring. Theseus was one the veterans of the party, the Librarian. His role was to use the knowledge of dungeon lore to be the navigator of the party.

Theseus was the weakest member of the party, but he was in a supporting role and still necessary. Parties needed diverse skills to overcome difficult situations. Not everyone could be the powerful mage. A party needed a tank to take damage, a healer to save lives, a scout to gather information, a leader, and whatever else suited their needs.

In the case of Heaven, a librarian was necessary for navigation. Unlike Hell and Purgatory, Heaven could be studied, and new strategies could be formulated to make the climb easier. Theseus and Alvaro were good friends but had opposite personalities. Alvaro charged headfirst into his problems while Theseus planned the most logical route of action.

According to historical records, the boss of the fourth floor of Heaven, Fayette, was a fairy. With misleading powers, she summoned illusions and fought with deception mixed with reality. To defeat a summoner with deception tactics, it would be impossible to win using brute force. Of the seven party members, their combat strength was nothing to write home about. Once they reached their goal of the third floor, Alvaro looked at Theseus,

"We can conquer the next floor, don't you think?" He grinned with confidence and excitement.

"It's possible, but we can't beat the boss of the fourth floor with our composition," Theseus replied.

"So you're saying it's possible? Alright tell me what needs to happen." Alvaro instantly responded.

"Our aura output needs to increase, and with our supplies, it is unlikely we can keep our aura at the level needed to beat the boss."

"Just cut to the chase already! What needs to happen?" Alvaro cut off Theseus.

"We need to use dangerous and life altering spells to beat the boss. It is unlikely we will all survive." Theseus explained. Alvaro turned to the rest of the party.

"Who is willing to take the risk?" He yelled with commanding force.

"You can count me in." The scout Berenger said firmly.

"If Theseus says it's possible but risky, I think we should return." The healer, Lydia countered.

"Hmm, let's take a vote... All in favor of taking the risk, say aye," Alvaro raised his hand.

"Nay." Theseus said looking at Alvaro.

"Nay." Lydia looked at Theseus.

"Aye," Berenger said and raised his hand.

"Aye."

"Nay."

"Ho ho, looks like it's up to you Astrid." Alvaro nudged the girl to his right. Astrid and Lydia were both love with Alvaro. However, she knew Theseus's analysis was the right call.

"I'll say yes on one condition." She whispered.

"Get on with it," Alvaro responded.

"You'll take me on a date when we return." She whispered in his ear.

"HA, I was planning on that anyways!" He winked and then turned to the party. "I guess it's decided, we'll continue the climb and fight the legendary Fayette!"

Theseus shook his head in anger but made the preparations as navigator. He had a feeling Alvaro would attempt further into the dungeon and actually had the plans already made. They had supplies for one year, and from then on, they would have to forage for food. Halfway through floor four, naturally growing fruits would stop growing, and only non-spirit beasts could be eaten.

Floor four began simple enough, but its difficulty grew exponentially. Beasts constantly ambushed the climbers. At the end of the second year, the constant onslaught by beasts grew tiring. They

"Should we turn around?" Alvaro asked Theseus late one night.

"Unless we clear the fourth floor, we will die. We can't turn around without Fayette's help. If you asked me this three months ago, it would've been possible. We are too high up now." Theseus put it bluntly.

"How long until we reach the boss?" Alvaro asked.

"At this rate, years." Theseus looked right into Alvaro's eyes.

"I'm sorry." Alvaro whimpered and walked away.

At the end of the third year in Heaven, the first person died. The tanker of the team, Ju Long, could no longer handle the pressure and was killed by a spirit beast.

At the end of the fourth year in Heaven, two more had fallen. The remaining four members Theseus, Alvaro, Berringer, and Lydia, struggled to make headway up the mountain.

At the end of the fifth year in Heaven, they reached Fayette.

In a large clearing, a meadow glistened. Fairies danced around the large tree. Sitting on a branch, the boss of floor four watched as the party stumbled sloppily into her domain. Fayette giggled at the remains of the party in front of her. It was miraculous a party this weak had made it this far.

"Welcome friends!" Fayette chimed and hopped down from the tree. Her golden hair swayed with the wind. Tiny like a pixie, Fayette flew towards the party with excitement and smugness.

"Today, you die!" She exclaimed happily! From the surrounding forest, armies of spirits, pixies, and fairies swarmed the party.

"Now!" Theseus yelled. As the horde engulfed them, every member of the party activated their last resort spell. Theseus had painstakingly crafted runic tattoos on every member of the party. By exploiting everyone's potential, their very lifespan, everyone was given a significant boost in aura.

Alvaro roared and blasted the swarm away with a ferocious aura. As planned, the party got into different positions to attack Fayette from different directions.

"Incredible. To think you would go to such lengths." Fayette shook her head in disapproval. By using potential seals with runes of this magnitude, the party would be throwing away their future growth if not their very lives. Despite their impressive boost in power, the group was still below the level of the normal parties that came her way.

Alvaro and Theseus took opposite positions. It was well known that Fayette took pity on the climbers and even sent some groups back to the base of the mountain after defeating her if they couldn't go on. Theseus was banking on this rumor to survive. Expertly dodging the illusionary spirits, Theseus was sneakily rigging the meadow full of explosives and traps with Berenger while the rest of the party took Fayette and her army head on. If they could lure her into their traps, they could defeat her.

"Sigh, I'm sorry. You all have been working so hard to get here, but the difference between us is too great." Fayette waved her hand and captured Theseus, who was hiding behind the outskirts of the garden. Theseus appeared next to Fayette but couldn't move.

"I wonder if any of you have ever met someone of the Deity Realm before." Fayette monologued.

"None of you come close. Even the leader is a whole realm below me despite using such dangerous runes." She looked down on Theseus with pity.

Theseus was not upset. He knew he would die the moment they climbed past the third floor. When they made it to Fayette, he knew she was far above them in every regard.

"Let him go!" Alvaro screamed and fought through the garden. Berringer attempted to save Theseus and jumped out from the shadows. Fayette pushed him away with aura without a thought.

"Enough." Fayette spoke shortly.

"This is the end for your party. Say your goodbyes. This I will grant you."

Alvaro looked at Lydia helplessly and fell to his knees. They couldn't defeat a Goddess like Fayette.

In their despair, Theseus was calm. His plan had worked perfectly. By allowing himself to be captured, he was close enough to Fayette to use his trump card: Runic Explosion.

Of course, this would kill him. Runic Explosion was like the Potential Seal and looked similar enough to fool Fayette, but the aura he was giving off was not his potential being burned, but the ticking down of his lifespan. After a certain amount of time, it would explode. It was enough to kill a Goddess, but it would also kill him.

According to the historical accounts, Fayette would not truly die because the Dungeon would bring her back to life from her ashes. Killing or defeating her was the key to conquering floor four, but she never truly died.

Lydia looked at Theseus and Alvaro and said, "It's all my fault. I should've voted no." Tears came down her cheeks. Alvaro held her, and Berringer was knocked out from being thrown into a tree by the Goddess. Theseus finally spoke,

"Make sure you live a great life after this. I was proud to be you party member. Be proud of clearing floor four of Heaven."

The Goddess Fayette snorted and shook her head, but then stopped. She could tell something was amiss with Theseus's aura. The runic timer hit zero, and before she could react, the explosion occurred.

***

Theseus opened his eyes. He was indeed dead. A wave of sadness and melancholy washed over him in the darkness. If only he had been stronger. If only he had stopped Alvaro and the party from continuing, people didn't have to die. Hopefully the rest of the party survived. It was the best he could do.

But none of that changed his current predicament.

"Now what?"