Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Belissar awoke with a start, sitting upright. He blinked for a moment, then gasped and reached for his back. He didn’t feel anything there. No arrow shaft, no wounds, no pain, not even blood. He blinked again.

Had it all been a dream?

Just then, vivid memories passed through his mind. He could smell the smoke of flames just outside his window...and the scent of blood. He heard the screams of the villagers, the roar of burning houses, and the angry shouts of soldiers. He could see sunlight reflecting off metal blades before they plunged into his neighbors. He could remember the sharp pain stabbing into his back.

He turned pale and began to sweat. No, he didn’t think all that was a dream after all. Not to mention the fact that he apparently hadn’t awoken in his bed...or on the ground where he had fallen.

He finally thought to look at his surroundings. He was...well, he didn’t know where. All around him was empty white space with only a single feature. A glowing sphere hovered in the air a bit in front of him.

He couldn’t think of any other explanation for his current surroundings, and the sudden lack of mortal wounds on his back. But at the same time...this did not match anything he had been told. Where was the Hall of Judgement? Where was the God of Death?

Just then, he heard a buzzing noise. He began glancing around until he saw it. A single bee, buzzing around the glowing sphere. She flew up to him and he held up his hand by reflex. His eyes widened as she landed right on his finger. She was missing an antenna, just like the one from the spider web.

“Don’t tell me you died too?”

In any case, if he had to be killed or tormented or whatever this was, he would prefer it be done by his long-time companions.

Monster Bee Queen selected.

Please select a starting room:

- Flower Meadow (Rarity: Common, Unlocked by starting defender)

- Forest (Rarity: Common, Unlocked by local environment)

- Stone Labyrinth (Rarity: Common, Default Option)

- Enchanter’s Laboratory (Rarity: Uncommon, Random Option)

Belissar tilted his head. Ok, now he was getting really confused. Pick...a room? Was the God of Death was letting him choose where he would be punished? Why would he be allowed to choose that? Was it a consolation prize for good behavior?

Well, if that was the case, the choice was pretty obvious here too. Of all the places he could be punished, a flower meadow sounded the least bad.

Flower Meadow selected.

The heat from the sphere grew even hotter and began to change. Before his entire body had been filled with the same amount of heat all over. Now...it felt like the heat was concentrating down, focusing on his hand.

And then it vanished all at once, leaving only a now dull warmth in his body. Belissar stumbled back as his hand was suddenly freed. He turned his palm toward him and blinked.

There was now a glowing pattern on his hand, in the shape of a bee landing on a flower.

And then...more words passed before his mind.

Constructing Dungeon.

Belissar stumbled as the ground began to tremble. He felt as though he was rising into the air. The sphere began to change as well. Colors began to swirl inside of it, and the warmth now inside his body grew hot once more.

Eventually, the rumbling stopped. Belissar glanced around...but he was still in the pure white space. And he was not, in fact, being eaten or tormented by monster bees. In fact, nothing had changed at all, save for the sphere. He stepped forward and peered inside of it...and blinked.

Inside the sphere, he could see a large meadow full of flowers, a field of color broken up only by an occasional tree. The sphere was blinking towards the top, which drew Belissar’s attention. As he did, additional words appeared before his mind.

Please place Monster Bee Queen Spawner(s). Upkeep: 20 Mana per active spawner.

Belissar blinked again.

“Um...just what is going on here?”

As he spoke the words, the view in the sphere shifted, displaying a small, circular building. It was a single story tall, and made of some kind of white stone, with perfectly smooth walls. All around it was a sea of an amorphous black substance with faint rainbow undertones, constantly shifting and twisting like a stormy sea. Words again appeared before his eyes.

Rooms: 1*/1 (*Pending Completion)

Available Monster Types: Monster Queen Bee

Available Room Types: Flower Meadow

Dungeon Master: Belissar