The surfaceless dungeon

Prologue

At that precise moment, the lich exhaled her very last breath.

She had suffered, immensely so. All her life force had gradually left her. Every drop of blood escaping from her body burned more than the breath of any dragon, the next more painful than the last. The only positive point was that her suffering hadn't lasted long, but she was still terrified by her agony. Having no faith, she thought that death would be an endless void and that there would be nothing after losing life. So, she wanted to cling to it, even if it meant sinking into despair. She wanted to survive.

When her heart stopped beating, she cried. She was scared, she was in pain, she needed help.

"――hear me?"

As everything turned black, she heard a voice. Although frightened, she was also surprised to hear this voice because it was hers. She opened her eyes and directed her gaze toward the origin of the sound.

"I guess that answers my question."

The lich struggled to orient herself; the place where she was was brighter than a phoenix. She needed to adapt, she who hadn't seen the sun for half a century, and hearing her own voice addressing her didn't help at all.

When she saw the person who wanted to talk to her, she became afraid, realizing that it was her own reflection, immaculate. Dozens of questions arose in her mind, but it was her reflection who spoke first.

"Tell me, young lady, how about fulfilling a request in exchange for a resurrection?"

The lich was perplexed by these words. She had no idea what was happening. She absolutely didn't know what to answer. She was lost, not knowing where she was, nor the identity of the person in front of her.

"Pfff, ha ha ha, hey, did you see a ghost or something? You really should see your face there."

The lich was amazed to see that she could be even more confused. Seeing her reflection talk about resurrection so casually seemed unbelievably grotesque to her.

"I'm not making fun of you, okay, it's just that I haven't talked to anyone in ages. I felt like putting on airs."

The lich was increasingly lost, and it showed. Seeing her own reflection speaking with a conscience and intentions diametrically opposed to hers was more than strange.

"Well, you look confused, so I'll introduce myself."

The lich prepared to listen carefully to what the person sharing her features was going to say. After all, a few answers or a semblance of understanding of her situation couldn't hurt.

"Well, I'm Lomon, and I'm a watcher. To put it simply... I'm the deity of this world. And you?"

The lich wanted to reply something, but she knew she had nothing to say. She had forgotten everything: her name, her age, those she loved... Everything, except her story. So she simply replied:

"I... I'm just a lich... Where am I?"

Lomon smiled at her.

"Just a lich, huh?"

Lomon looked at the lich with a surprisingly satisfied look, as if she understood everything that was going on in the lich's head.

"So?"

Lomon asked, looking at the lich with interest.

"Uh... I beg your pardon?"

The lich didn't know how to address this person. She wondered if what she had in front of her was really a deity, and especially if that was the case, why would she talk to her, who had shown no faith for half a century.

"I'm talking about my proposal, have you thought about it?"

Lomon clearly awaited a response, but she didn't seem impatient. As strange as it may seem, it reassured the lich, but she was still intrigued.

"Are you talking about bringing me back to life in exchange for a request?"

The lich was starting to feel more and more like she was in a dream, and after what had happened, she hoped it was with all her heart.

Lomon: "Exactly! So, are you in?"

The lich: "So... I'm really... dead?"

Lomon: "Yeah, and it was pretty morbid, I think even your worst enemy wouldn't wish for you to be eaten by a white widow."

When the lich heard Lomon mention the name of that creature, memories of the fear and pain she had endured resurfaced within her. This thought chilled her blood; she couldn't think straight or even just think.

Lomon: "Uh, you okay? I need you to have your wits about you for my proposal to still stand, you know?"

"All my wits?"

The more the lich talked with Lomon, the more she realized that she was a rather unique person. Lomon used expressions that the lich had never heard before and didn't necessarily seem very wise for someone claiming to be the deity of this world. Plus, her way of talking about death or mental health, without necessarily being impolite, lacked tact. All these strange, unexplained, and surreal things intrigued the lich a lot, and it allowed her to regain some clarity in her thoughts.

The lich: "Excuse me, uh... Lomon?"

Lomon: "The one and only! What can I do for you, distressed soul? I've always wanted to say that, heh heh... Anyway, have you thought about my proposal?"

The lich: "Just about that... If I am truly dead as you say, and if I trust the memories of my former life. No divine resurrection has ever occurred so-"

Lomon: "You've spent half a century locked in a dungeon, that's quite the assumption you're making there, but indeed, no divine resurrection has occurred in this world so far... So?"

The lich: "So, I was just wondering... Why me? Why choose to bring back to life a person without faith or identity like me?"

The lich looked at Lomon with incomprehension, wondering what she could have that was so special to receive a divine favor.

Lomon: "...You're probably the one with the best chance of fulfilling my request, and I don't think I'll have the opportunity to help a sane lich stuck at the bottom of a dungeon again, to be honest."

The lich: "So... Am I the only one who can fulfill your request?"

Lomon: "...Probably..."

Lomon began to avoid the lich's gaze for a reason that escaped her.

The lich: "If you allow me, before accepting this resurrection proposal, could I know what this request is?"

Lomon still didn't look at the lich, but one could see a smile forming on her face when the lich asked the question.

Lomon: "Ah yes, of course, the request... Don't worry, it's nothing too complicated, it will just require a lot of luck and it will be very difficult but I assure you that even a monkey could understand."

The lich: "I don't understand, what's a 'monkey,' Lomon?"

Lomon: "It doesn't matter, you'll never see one anyway. It was just a way of saying that you're smart enough to understand."

The more the lich talked with Lomon, the less she saw anything divine in her. However, she clearly felt the power emanating from this being, so she thought she should silence her spiteful thoughts despite what she had observed.

Lomon: "Anyway, to put it simply... I want you to claim the crown."