Chapter 304: A Quiet Dawn
The woman reaches the edge of the forest.
Standing atop a tall tree, she scans the land ahead.
A slow, excited smile spreads across her face when she spots a nearby village.
"Finally."
She drops down and dashes toward it.
As she gets closer, the sounds reach her first.
Voices.
Laughter.
Casual chatter.
Even though the sun has only just risen in the east.
The village is simple.
Its buildings blend seamlessly with nature. Wood, green, grass, trees. As if they have grown from the earth rather than been built.
Some villagers feed chickens. Others milk cows. A few clean pig pens. Some lead horses out to the meadows while their stalls are being cleaned.
It is dawn.
But the village is already alive.
There is no sign of modern technology.
Yet, on closer inspection, she notices small details.
Electricity.
Subtle.
Blended in.
Street lights wrapped in vines. Poles shaped and colored like living wood. The lights themselves glow softly, almost like fireflies rather than bulbs.
The woman slows as she enters the village, cautious.
Her eyes keep moving.
Scanning.
Searching for her pursuers.
Nothing.
They must have retreated. Good.
A louder noise draws her attention.
It comes from one of the buildings.
Above the door, a simple sign reads:
Your Kitchen
Her stomach growls.
She presses a hand over it and stares at the sign.
She tries to ignore it and keeps walking.
It growls louder.
She exhales. "Alright, alright. We will find something to eat."
She turns and heads toward Your Kitchen.
She pushes the door.
It is unlocked.
She steps inside.
And is immediately hit by the rich aroma of broth.
Warm.
Savory.
Inviting.
Her stomach growls even louder.
A bell rings as the door opens.
A woman in her early thirties greets her with a bright smile. "Good morning! Welcome to Your Kitchen! Come in!"
"Are you open?" the woman asks.
"Why yes, we are! We never close, my dear! Come, come. Alone? Sit here!" she gestures to a table. "Iris!"
A girl, about fourteen, wearing an apron, appears. "Yes, Mom?"
"We have a new patron. Go get her today’s stew."
"Yes, Mom." The girl hurries into the kitchen.
"But I have not ordered," the woman says.
"Oh, don’t you worry. The soup is complimentary. What would you like to order, dear? Our best is boar ribs. Fire-roasted. You cannot go wrong," the woman says warmly.
The woman swallows and nods.
The older woman laughs, clearly amused by her eagerness.
"I will set up your table. Just wait." She disappears into the kitchen.
The woman looks around.
This place is a tavern.
But it does not smell of alcohol or stale air.
It smells like home.
Warm.
Clean.
Comforting.
She smiles.
She removes her green robe and hood, revealing long, platinum-blonde hair braided down her back, almost white in color.
She wears a short, cream-colored tunic dress that falls mid-thigh, fitted at the waist with a moss-green belt. The hem and neckline are adorned with intricate, flowing embroidery, giving it a refined, almost ceremonial feel.
Beneath it, dark green fitted leggings allow ease of movement.
Ankle boots complete the look.
She looks striking.
She takes her seat, waiting, impatient.
Iris returns with a bowl of stew and fresh bread.
The aroma alone is enough to make her breath catch.
"Thank you," the woman says.
She does not wait.
The spoon goes straight to her mouth.
Her eyes close.
Warmth.
Flavor.
Herbs.
It spreads through her, settling deep in her stomach.
Comfort.
She dips the bread into the stew and takes a bite.
Her eyes open slightly.
Oh.
This is good.
Very good.
She eats quickly.
Too quickly.
The bowl is empty before she realizes it.
She swallows, eyes drifting toward the kitchen, waiting for the boar ribs.
Then she smells it.
Smoky.
Rich.
Her mouth waters.
"I’m sorry it took a while. It’s still early in the morning!" Iris’s mother returns, carrying a large plate.
She sets it down.
The woman stares at the boar ribs.
Unblinking.
Iris’s mother laughs again.
"Enjoy, dear."
She leaves her to it.
"Oi, Briony!" a man at a nearby table calls out.
Briony looks over. "What is it, Peter?"
"Would you be so kind as to turn on the telly? The news channel. I’d like my daily dose of world news, please," Peter says, sounding overly polite.
"Iris!" Briony calls. "Turn on the world news!"
"Yes, Mom!"
The woman enjoys the ribs, ignoring everything else. The meat is far too good to be eaten with divided attention.
"Breaking news from Solarys, the capital city of Concordia. A rogue mutated level six dungeon has appeared in the middle of one of its busiest business districts, Jade Lantern District."
"It appeared at approximately four p.m., local time. At first, the gate behaved as they usually do. Sudden. Unpredictable. It caused minimal destruction upon arrival, but many civilians were pulled into the dungeon."
"Solarys DEU responded quickly, led by their interim Chief, Arthur Montrose."
"Arthur Montrose was appointed following the dungeon incident in St. Lucas ten days ago. Chief Alicia Lutherford and most of the Solarys DEU officers were gravely injured, leaving DEU with severely reduced manpower."
"Our field correspondents have just arrived on scene and are now setting up a live feed."
"Oh, there. We have visuals. Let’s wait... Oh my God. What is happening?!"
The news anchor’s voice breaks as the live feed appears.
That catches the woman’s attention.
She pauses.
Slowly, she sets her unfinished ribs back onto the plate and turns toward the screen.
The dungeon site is chaos.
It looks like an explosion.
But it is not.
There is no fire.
No smoke.
The camera shakes violently.
Then it drops.
The image tilts sideways, showing fragments of the ground.
The cameraman is down, his voice can be heard. He’s in pain.
He’s unable to get up.
The feed continues.
Screams.
Wails.
Impacts.
Confusion.
The chaos is heard, even if not fully seen.
Every few moments, the camera trembles again.
It trembles because of...
That sound.
A roar.
Deep.
Violent.
It spills out from the dungeon.
"Whoa. Is that even possible?" Peter speaks with his mouth still half full.
"I thought whatever is inside a dungeon stays inside. If the sound can spill into Altheon, what if the haelions can too?"
Silence falls over Your Kitchen.
The thought hangs heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Unwelcome.
"Shut up, Peter. Don’t jinx it," Briony snaps, her eyes still fixed on the screen. "I hope they clear it soon."
"They will, Mom," Iris says, certain.
Peter glances at her. "And how are you so sure?"
"Because Arthur Montrose is there," Iris replies with a confident grin.
Briony and Peter exchange a look.
"Arthur Montrose?" Briony repeats.
Iris nods eagerly.
Then she launches into a quick explanation, talking about Arthur and Rhaenas, recounting what she knows with clear admiration.
When she finishes, Peter leans back slightly.
"How do you know so much about him?"
Iris rolls her eyes. "Uncle Peter, just because we live in a village does not mean the internet cannot reach us."
On the screen, the news anchor calls out frantically, repeating the cameraman’s and the reporter’s names.
No answer.
He tries again.
Still nothing.
After the third roar, the live feed cuts off.
The camera is broken.
Static fills the screen.
"This... this isn’t happening. Can someone find out what happened to our field correspondents?" the anchor says, trying to stay composed.
He fails.
His voice trembles.
The footage he just witnessed was devastating.
The destruction caused by the roars is undeniable.
Every person on site was affected.
The video made that clear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for what just happened. We are still trying to determine the situation. We will return with updates as soon as possible. Thank you for staying with us."
The broadcast cuts to a standby screen.
Briony reaches over and turns the television off.
"Those poor people," she says softly.
She exhales. "Dungeons and the monsters inside them should be left alone. We are powerless against them."
Iris frowns, clearly offended.
"We can’t, Mom. We rely on them. If we don’t mine heartstones, we can’t continue living like this."
"We were fine without heartstones, Iris. We don’t need them. Some places still live without them," Peter says, sounding proud.
Iris scoffs. "Uncle Peter, please. Open your eyes. Even right now, we are using energy from heartstones."
Peter blinks. "What do you mean, child?"
Iris takes a deep breath before explaining.
"How do you think they generate electricity for the entire world? How do you think they broadcast news across continents?" she asks.
"We used to rely on oil and coal. But those are almost gone. Some countries might still have small reserves, but the major oil rigs and coal mines are empty."
"Nothing is left."
"Heartstones replaced them as the primary power source. Then they developed ways to replace batteries with heartstones as well. Everything now runs on heartstones."
She pauses, making sure he is following.
"So if dungeons are not cleared, heartstones cannot be mined. And if that happens, we lose our power source. The world would fall back to a time before electricity."
Iris finishes with a long sigh.
Peter scratches his head. "Huh. I didn’t realize that."
The three of them continue their conversation.
But the woman has stopped listening.
She turns back to her ribs, but her mind is no longer on the food.
The roar can be heard in the real world. I’ve never heard of that before.
Is this the first time? Or has it happened before?
I need to find out.
Her gaze shifts to the television.
I need to go to Solarys.