Chapter 50: The Previous Dungeon Master

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Previous Dungeon Master

The next morning Arin returned to the Elf Chief’s chamber.

Same party had followed.

Ayan walked silently behind Arin while Saira kept close to Mira and Adnan followed at distance

Zarl was last in line.

He had been eerily quiet since entering Elf Lands.

Even Garul, usually trying to keep master from doing silly things, seemed to have understood this was not the time to joke around.

Elves had not forgotten what Zarl had done.

Neither he had, apparently.

The Chief was already waiting for them when they arrived.

He stood by the large window at the end of the chamber, gazing out into the woods.

Morning sun filtered through the leaves and created green halos around the room.

Arin stopped several paces away when the Chief turned around.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Arin halted several paces away.

"You said yesterday that you would tell me about the final days of the previous Dungeon Master."

The Chief nodded.

"I did."

He started walking towards the center of the room.

"Before we begin I believe I should have told you yesterday something else."

Arin waited.

"My name is Eldran Vael."

The Chief pressed a hand to his chest.

"I am the current Chief of the Elven Lands."

Arin nodded.

"Arin Rahman."

Eldran smiled faintly.

"I already knew."

That was expected.

Elves had done their homework.

Eldran turned to the side and cast a glance at Ayan.

"And I know the names of everyone who has come with you."

Ayan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Eldran turned to Saira.

"Some of them are names we remember better than others."

Saira lowered her head.

Arin did not object.

He had already known Ayan and Saira had something to do with previous Dungeon Master. He had seen it with his own eyes, in the memories the previous Dungeon Master had left him with.

He had seen the dungeon. He had seen the family. He had seen what Zarl’s experiments had done. He had seen the final days of the previous Dungeon Master.

Elves were not hiding anything from him.

They were simply filling in the gaps he had already seen.

Eldran took a breath.

"Everything happened ten years ago."

Arin’s expression changed.

"Ten years?"

"Yes."

Eldran nodded.

Arin said nothing.

It was a strange weight to carry.

Ten years.

That meant the tragedy had already long passed before he had arrived.

Eldran continued.

"The previous Dungeon Master had been visiting the Elf Lands for several years. He worked closely with our scholars and maintained excellent relations between our people and his dungeon."

"He wasn’t just an ally," Arin said.

Eldran looked at him.

"He was a friend."

Arin nodded.

"I saw that in his memories."

Eldran’s expression softened.

"Then you already understand."

"Yes."

The Chief walked slowly across the chamber.

"He helped us studying our dungeon and understanding the strange changes occurring within it. He also helped settling the disputes between our people and the nearby human settlements."

"He was involved in diplomacy too."

"Yes."

Arin replayed the memories in his mind.

The previous Dungeon Master spending time with elves.

Talking with their scholars.

Walking around their forests.

Laughing with his family.

It was hard to imagine that this kind man had eventually become the broken figure he had seen in his memories.

"He had a family," Arin said.

Eldran’s smile vanished.

"Yes."

He turned to Zarl.

The room suddenly seemed colder.

"The family you saw in those memories was known to us."

Zarl stopped moving.

His head remained lowered.

Eldran continued.

"They visited the Elf Lands with him. His children played with elven children. His wife talked with our healers and scholars. They were welcome here."

Arin looked at Zarl.

For once he was not smiling.

Not making sarcastic remarks.

Not trying to stir trouble.

His fingers had slowly curled into fists.

The Chief’s voice became harder.

"Then Zarl Baghud took them."

Zarl’s shoulders tensed up.

He said nothing.

"He experimented on them."

The words seemed to cut deeper than any accusation.

Zarl stared at the floor.

Arin could see his breathing had changed.

Slow.

Controlled.

Forced.

It was strange.

This was the same man who had made fun of death.

This was the same man who had treated Chimera experiments like a scientific pursuit.

Yet, now he was unable to even look at the elves.

Eldran continued.

"He transformed them into Chimeras."

Ayan suddenly moved.

The air in the chamber seemed to vibrate.

His mana surged for a brief moment before several elves reached for their weapons.

"Ayan."

Arin’s voice stopped him.

Ayan’s eyes remained fixed on Zarl.

There was no ease in them.

No amusement.

Only rage.

His hands trembled slightly.

"I remember."

His voice was low.

"I remember every scream."

The room fell silent.

Ayan rarely talked about what had happened.

Usually he carried his memories like chains buried beneath layers of discipline.

But now they had been brought out into the light.

"He watched them transform," Ayan said.

His voice grew rougher.

"He stood there and watched them become monsters."

Zarl closed his eyes.

Ayan took a step forward.

"And then he killed them."

It almost sounded like a growl.

"He had to kill his own family."

Zarl’s fists tightened further.

Still he said nothing.

For the first time since Arin had met him, Zarl looked ashamed.

Not scared.

Not like he was defeated.

Ashamed.

Saira’s eyes became wet.

She quickly looked away.

Eldran watched Ayan for several seconds before speaking again.

"Afterward the previous Dungeon Master changed."

Arin already knew.

He had seen it.

The grief.

The anger.

The emptiness.

"He locked you and Saira inside the dungeon," Arin said.

Ayan’s head turned toward him.

"Yes."

Arin did not ask why.

He already knew that Ayan did not have an answer.

The memories had shown him enough.

The previous Dungeon Master had been broken.

He had feared what would happen to those around him.

He had sealed Ayan and Saira inside because, at that point, he no longer trusted himself to make the right choices.

But what happened after that remained unclear.

Eldran continued.

"That was the last time we received any reliable information about him."

Arin frowned.

"You never found him?"

"No."

"You never entered the dungeon?"

"We tried."

Eldran’s expression darkened.

"But the dungeon had changed. Its defenses had become unstable and extremely dangerous. We could not reach its deepest areas."

Ayan looked down.

His expression was filled with something Arin had never seen on him before.

Regret.

"I should have known."

Arin glanced at him.

Ayan’s voice was barely above a whisper.

"I should have realized something was wrong."

"You were imprisoned," Arin said.

"I was still his servant."

Ayan’s jaw tightened.

"I should have protected him."

Saira reached toward him.

"Ayan..."

He did not answer.

Eldran continued.

"We waited."

"Then what happened?"

The Chief looked directly at Arin.

"We learned that his Dungeon Master’s Authority had disappeared."

Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"So you knew he was dead."

"Yes."

Eldran nodded.

"A Dungeon Master’s Authority does not leave its master while he is alive. When it transferred, we knew he was gone."

Arin looked down at the Mark on his hand.

"I received it years later."

"Yes."

"And no one knows what happened between his disappearance and his death."

"No."

Eldran’s answer was firm.

"That is the truth."

Arin was quiet.

He had seen the man’s memories.

He had seen his soul.

He knew he had died.

But he still did not know how.

That was the one piece that bothered him.

Eldran walked toward him.

"We searched for answers for years."

"And found nothing?"

"Almost nothing."

Arin raised his eyes.

"Almost?"

Eldran’s expression became serious.

"There were signs."

"What kind of signs?"

The Chief hesitated.

"We don’t know what they mean yet."

Arin’s attention sharpened.

Eldran looked towards the forest outside.

"After his disappearance, strange events began occurring around several dungeons."

Ayan’s eyes lifted.

Eldran noticed.

"We initially believed they were unrelated."

"But you don’t anymore."

"No."

The Chief looked back at Arin.

"Because you appeared."

Arin frowned.

"How does my appearance change anything?"

"Because you are the first Dungeon Master to emerge since his death."

The room became silent.

Eldran’s gaze settled on the Mark.

"And because the moment your authority awakened, certain things began moving again."

Arin’s expression hardened.

"What things?"

Eldran did not answer right away.

Instead he looked towards the closed doors of the chamber.

Then back at Arin.

"That is the part of the story I need more time to explain."

Arin sighed.

"You elves really enjoy doing that."

Eldran almost smiled.

"Perhaps."

His expression quickly became serious again.

"But there is one thing I can tell you."

Arin waited.

"The previous Dungeon Master was not forgotten."

Eldran looked at him.

"Whatever happened to him ten years ago, we never stopped wondering why."

Arin glanced at Ayan.

The dragon was staring at the floor.

His fists were still clenched.

Saira stood beside him in silence.

Zarl had not moved.

For once, nobody had anything to say.

Arin looked down at the Dungeon Master’s Mark.

He had come to the Elf Lands looking for answers about the man whose authority he had inherited.

Now he had learned something important.

Ten years ago, a Dungeon Master had lost everything.

His family.

His purpose.

His dungeon.

And eventually, his life.

But the elves had never discovered how his story ended.

Arin slowly closed his hand.

Then he looked at Eldran.

"Then I’ll find out."

The Chief’s eyes narrowed.

"Find out what?"

"What happened to him."

Arin’s voice was calm.

"And why his story seems to be following me."