AN: Someone raised an interesting question that I should've made clear during the last chapter. The ember by itself can last indefinitely by itself. The power it held will only start to disperse when Cinder uses it. Other characters that managed to survive to the present day will slowly be revealed as time passes. They might already be integrated in the society already.

Warning: Bad grammar and wrong use of tenses. You have been warned.

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Chapter 2: Firekeeper In The Dungeon

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Babel- Ground Floor

"And there he goes." Cinder murmured between pants as he watched the Rabbit boy, still soaked in blood, ran out of the door and into the streets from the building they were in. Cinder had just finish climbing up the spiral stairs that leads into the Dungeon just in time to catch a glimpse of the white haired boy vanishing into the busy street. His blood soaked figure was drawing a lot of stares but Cinder supposed that in his panicked state, he wouldn't have noticed.

Oh well, they're safely out of the Dungeon now so he suppose that there's not much of a need to keep him close by to keep him safe. Sure, the streets by themselves could be dangerous in their own right but it's not like anyone would try and mug a kid that's completely covered in blood now is there?

Is there?

'Urgh. Damn. I'm not as young as I used to be. I used to be able to run for days without feeling any kind strain but now all it took to knock the wind out of me was climbing up the freaking stairs. Granted that it's a long set of stairs but the kid managed to run through it just fine.' Cinder kept a hand on one the rails so he wouldn't collapse from the exhaustion, hoping that Rabbit Boy wouldn't get himself into trouble now that he can't look after him anymore. He can't let the only promising entertainment he had found so far kick the bucket before him now can he?

Then again, maybe the reason why he got tired to easily was because he's human again."Bloody human body and it's bloody weaknesses." Cinder grumbled in annoyance.

Once Cinder got his breathing under control, he stepped away from the stairs so he wouldn't block other people's access to the Dungeon and started surveying his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that there were a lot of people. Like, really a lot. There's so many kind of people here that it's almost staggering for the Soul of Cinder. They were also armed to the teeth with interesting weapons but not interesting enough that he'd want to collect them though. The last time he had seen so many gathered in one place and so full of life was before the last Age of fire ran out. They were unarmed of course, since the Undead isn't clawing out of their graves yet.

There were a lot of races from what he could see, each with their own unique characteristics. There's also a lot of people with animal parts on their bodies. Just how and why are there animal parts on their body is a mystery. It's almost like Seath decided that he's bored again and tried mixing humans and animals together just to see what would happen.

….it's not like he would do something like that wouldn't he?

After thinking about the old dragon's personality, Cinder concluded that yes, Seath definitely would do something like that. He'd probably forced the human and animal to have sexual intercourse while giggling like a mad scientist. He would probably be furiously wanking off at the side while he's at it too. Who knows just what the creepy old dragon had been doing in his fap cave after he left him there after freeing the women.

Maybe he shouldn't have spared that dragon in the first place. Definitely regretting that decision now but he did do a huge favor back then so he really can't complain about it now.

Anyway, from what Cinder could see so far, there are midgets; cat poeple, scantily cladded dark skinned women, dog people, rabbit people, tiger poeple, wolf people and most importantly, scantily cladded dark skinned women. Did he repeated that part twice? Then, it's because it's important to make note of. Those women aren't really doing anything to hide their modesty for fucks sake! From what they're wearing, it's no different than just having pieces of paper plastered over their private parts.

Why do they need to wear so little while heading into the Dungeon!? Shouldn't they be wearing armor to protect themselves from the monsters inside? Why is everyone treating what they're wearing like it's normal. Are they that arrogant or is simply challenging themselves like the deprives would? If it's the latter then he'd probably understand since he did the same thing himself. But the oversize weapons on their hands kinda debunked that notion.

With weapons like those, you'd probably be able breeze through hordes of newly arisen Undead before finally being overwhelmed by their numbers.

'Urgh, the questions are killing my brain and I just had it back for like an hour.' Cinder massaged his temples as he felt part of his brain just died upon witnessing something so bizarre. Feeling the need for a change of scenery that isn't just tits and ass, Cinder tore his eyes away from the people and focused on the building instead.

From what he could tell, he's in an extremely large circular room that had multiple columns at equal intervals holding up the ceiling. The ceiling also had a beautiful azure painting of the sky right above him that. Cinder just stared at the painting above him while lost in thought. It's beautifully done and a lot of effort was put into it that much he could tell. He don't know why but just looking at it made him feel nostalgic. Maybe it's because it reminds him his daughter's work.

It didn't take long for Cinder to notice that by standing still and looking upwards, he had drew quite a few curious stares himself. 'Uh oh. Guess I've been staring at the painting for too long.' Cinder quickly stopped looking and walked away. 'Tis' a shame that I can't stay and admire the painting longer. Ah well, I'm sure that there's plenty more for me to see as I explore this place so there's no need to feel sad.'

While he was moving, Cinder decided to check how his body was doing since it hasn't really been long since he was knocked off his feet and shot through the air like a ragdoll. He's human now so and he's pretty sure he's not as durable as he used to be when he was an Undead. He wanted to make sure if his body is still working as intended or if he needed to heal with some minor healing miracle before moving on.

Oddly enough, he doesn't feeling any pain at all when he pressed a hand against his chest. It felt like some of his ribs cracked when he was hit but now, nothing. Cinder had a look of concern on his face as he rolled up his sleeve to check the scrap on his arm only to find smooth skin at where he was suppose to be injured.

Hmm, odd. It's almost like he was never injured at all. He almost couldn't tell if it wasn't for the blood stained sleeve.

Do humans usually heal so quickly? And most importantly, does this mean he need to clean the blood off his clothes on his own now since there isn't any bonfires around to do it for him anymore? He doesn't even know the first thing of doing laundry. How is he suppose to clean blood and muck off his clothing if that's the case.

He didn't spent a lot of time thinking about those question because he was nearing the exit. Cinder's eyes locked onto what's beyond the opened doors and grinned.

He could see buildings neatly lined up together, streets filled with plenty of activity and the real, limitless sky with some clouds hanging in the air. Cinder noted that he's either in a very populated town or a very large city. Either way, it's a bright and beautiful day outside for anyone; and for Cinder, any day without the sun being blacken out into a Dark sign is always a beautiful one. And in days like these, what else could a man do but enjoy every minute of it to the fullest.

Cinder's going to tour the place without a single care in the world, soak in the sights and met with plenty of new people. Okay, maybe not the last one since his social skills are extremely rusty after not really having anyone to talk to besides the other Lords inside his soul. And they don't really talk at all, they just need to think it and the other guy would get what you were thinking. They're also are not really good conversationalists to be honest.

"Alright then. New world, here I come." Cinder spoke softly to himself with an excited chuckle and took a confident step out into the unknown city that he found himself in. This is going to be a great adventure, he just knows it. Nothing is going to rain on his parade. Nothing!

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Dungeon- Tenth Floor

Aiz and Bete was making her way back towards the lower floor to meet with the rest of her party. The Minotaur horde that they had encountered along the way was unexpected, even more so when they started running away. Thankfully, they managed to hunt all of them down and she was rather relieved that none of the lower level adventures got hurt or killed during the incident. Still, even after everything was over, she couldn't get her mind off the blood soaked boy from before.

She didn't know why he ran away from her right after he saw her when she was just offering to help him up….she's not that scary is she?

"Aiz, Bete. You're the last ones back. I assume that there's no trouble with the ones that got away?" Aiz' contemplation on whether or not she looked terrifying to others was interrupted and she turn her attention solely on the one that called her.

Standing not far from the expedition group was a tall, beautiful elf with sparkling emerald coloured hair that was tied into a tail. And like all elves, she has a pair of sharp pointy ears. She greeted the two as they returned from the fifth floor to exterminate the last Minotaur. The elf wore a white cloak on top of a green and yellow military coat with a black belt around her waist. She also wears dark colored stockings below long black boots. Her entire person gave off a very serious persona and her mostly stern face further reinforce that impression as a pair of clear jade coloured eyes gaze over them to see if they were unharmed.

It was completely unnecessary of course, but that's just how Riveria is. Always the mother hen of Loki's Familia.

Riveria nodded to herself once she was done and her features soften a bit, clearly pleased that they were fine.

"Of course not. Who do you think you're talking to." Bete huffed in annoyance as he strode pass the elf and head back to join the rest of the group.

Riveria ignored his attitude with ease, already used to the way Bete talks and turn her attention to Aiz. "Well Aiz, since everyone's back already I suppose that it's time to proceed to the surface. Gods knows that it's been quite some time since we've seen the sun." Riveria said with a small smile gracing her lips, gesturing for Aiz to come over and join them.

Aiz stood and watched as Riveria went and join the others. Amidst the rowdy group of adventurers, a few stood out to her.

There was Bete, arguing with the Amazoness Tiona like usual. Finn, a blond haired Pallum trying to avoid Tiona's sister Tione's affection. Gareth Landlock, a Dwarf that's laughing heartily at Finn's misfortune and Lefiya, a hard working blond elf and the apprentice of Riveria who's training to succeed her, was shuttering quite a bit when talking to her Mentor.

Aiz watched as the group interact with each other, feeling rather content with how things were as a whole as they all started moving heading towards the exit.

This is her Familia, her family. She wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with them.

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Orario- North Main Street

"Aaaaaaand I'm lost." Cinder announced to no one in particular as he looked around. He appears to be in some sort of market place if the stalls by the street is anything to go by. "Not really surprising at all to be honest." He continued before sudden thought came to mind. Can he really be considered lost if he never knew where he was heading in the first place?

'What am I suppose to do now? I've only thought about reaching the surface but not what comes after.' Cinder groaned in irritation as he felt his earlier cheer dissipate into nothingness and annoyance took it's place. He really should learn to start planning ahead, he had told himself that many times but it just keeps slipping his mind. Even the other Lords had tried reminding him but they all gave up eventually as they saw how pointless it was.

'Right. Think clearly. This isn't the first time I went exploring a new age. The first thing I need and is sorely lacking is information.' Cinder thought as he rubbed his chin, adopting a thinking posture as his feet kept moving on their own along the busy street. As Cinder went deep into thought, he usually stopped paying attention to his surroundings. But there's no fear of him running into people or things as one of the other Lords, usually the one that was nicknamed Justice by Cinder, would temperately take control of the body's motor function to steer him away as Cinder tries to process things in his mind.

Being so easily lost in thought is a bad habit that Cinder has developed over the centuries. For a fighter to loose focus of his surroundings in the battlefield as it usually meant mistakes would soon follow and quickly accompanied by death itself.

But after being the epitome of overwhelming power for so long, one couldn't help but feel disinterest in the fight itself when their opponents are flimsily weak. He really needed something interesting to do when wholloping those idiots asses, especially since they just keep coming. Just what's with power that keeps attracting those idiots anyway? It's like they can't get the message that they just don't stand a chance.

'Oh? What's this?'' Cinder was knocked out of his musing as he noticed something very particular in the distance. While he was busy thinking, he did not neglect to employ his ability to sense other souls. The ability could also give him some semblance the surrounding area. If he wanted to explain what it's like, the best he could describe the experience is that a colorless painting of the area he's in will appear in his head, with colorful dots representing the souls of others.

That way, he would at least know when he's about to step into a pool of boiling hot lava. Thanks to the constant nagging of the other Lords, the need to keep the skill on has more or less been ingrained into him so he could keep it on even while he's distracted.

They really didn't like it when he walked into that pool of lava that one time.

Cinder fully focused on what he the soul that caught his interest and started analyzing it. There was someone not far from where he's at and their soul felt quite particular. It's almost like a large part of it is missing or rather, sealed away. There's also a sense of familiarity emitting from it that he can't quite place a finger on. He really wondered just who it was over there that could have a soul like that.

Feeling that it's quite pointless to think about when the answer is just a minute's walk away, Cinder quickly made way towards the person in question all while humming a tune from from the good old days.

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Dungeon- First Floor

Annalotte find out the hard way that she couldn't rely on her ability to sense souls in the Dungeon as she pat the dirt and dust away from her skirt. She winched slightly as her hand accidentally touched her knees as they still stung a little from her fall earlier.

It had been only a minute or two after she had been transported away from the Kiln. And right after she was transported, she was disorientated due to the sudden shift in location. It was a mistake for her to move while she still haven't regain her bearings and she tripped with the grace of a drunken peacock.

Embarrassment was all she could feel at that time but her embarrassment soon turned into confusion as she couldn't get a clear grasp of her surroundings with her ability to sense souls.

All she could sense was the presence of a humongous being surrounding her, alive and breathing. It's soul was pulsating with abundance of energy and generating some sort of smaller live forms inside of itself with each pulse. It almost felt like she's inside the bowels of a large beast.

Annalotte started to worry because she's literally blind without her ability to aid her. She tried to move around again even though it was not the best idea and it lead to her tripping the second time because she was still instinctively relying on her ability to grasp her surroundings.

Now that she had learned that particular lesson, Annalotte decided on the wait and see approach. She didn't quite feel like falling every time she took a step after all.

With nothing much left to do for the moment besides worrying that she may never get out or what kind of messes that her wayward Lord would get into without her having the front row seats to it all, she started experimenting with her ability. She was trying to see if she could get the image of the ground instead of the whole area so she could walk without fear of kissing the ground. Trying to see outside the Dungeon is ultimately fruitless as the Dungeon would prevent her senses from leaving it's interior.

It took a few adjustments but she eventually worked out the kinks so that she could see the ground underneath her, just barely though. Now she could at least move without fear of tripping over anything but other than that, she still couldn't tell where she was.

''Tis quite worrisome this is.' Annalotte though with a small sigh. If only she could find a way out of the Dungeon then finding her friend would be a lot easier.

She could tell that there are many souls in the floor that she's in, most of it were the creatures born from the Dungeon and the few others are human souls in a large group… and some of it were had a mixture of animal characteristics in them? They are most likely the inhabitants of the new world the Lord of Cinder created.

Annalotte wondered if her friend did something when he was recreating the world. How else would there be souls like that if it weren't for the middling of a very childish individual. Either that or Seath managed to survive this long and decided to experiment again.

She could tell that they are strong, very strong. Perhaps strong enough to defeat a Ringed Knight if they ever encountered one. But Ringed Knights were trained to fight as an army, fighting as a group is where their skills truly shine. It will be no surprise if the people here could defeat one of them when they're alone.

They were an interesting group of people. One of them is particularly prideful but still cares about his companions even though he would deny it. Souls do not lie, and she could peer into them and unveil all of their hidden emotions but she rarely do so in respect of a person's privacy. Just glancing at the surface is enough for her and she could tell that the particular group of people are trustworthy.

And they just so happen to be heading her way too. Hmm...she wondered if she could ask for their aid in leaving this place. It's certainly better than being stuck in the cold, drafty Dungeon. Oh well, 'tis not like she has anything that she could use to escape the Dungeon. And as her friend would've said it: 'Do it first, deal with consequences later'.

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Orario- North Main Street

There's a child, working at a stall in the busy street.

Yet the child cannot be called a child at all as her figure is a complete contrast to the previous statement.

Those voluptuous bosoms of hers clearly proves it and those who had seen it could only call her a woman. But her structure is so small that at first glance you'd see nothing but a child... at least until she turned around and showed those weapons of mass destruction that could easily smother a man to death in their sleep.

'It's a child….yet not a child at the same time. What kind of paradox is this!? I demand an explanation!' Cinder's eye twitched when he tried to process what he saw. The raven haired girl just continue to work with a happy smile on her face, selling some sort of brown looking food to her patrons and getting pats on her head. He wanted to pet her head too and couldn't help but notice how much her chest is bouncing whenever she moves. It should also be noted that her entire breast is being supported by one very, very durable string.

Cinder now had every more questions than before. Just what is that string made of? Why hasn't it snapped from the abuse yet!? And most importantly, where can he find one?

It's only been an hour and a half and he was beginning to wish he had never crawled out of the Dungeon. First there women who wears too little clothing or clothing that completely emphases on certain areas of their body, most likely designed to draw the eyes of lecherous males and now there's children with ridiculous proportioned body parts. What's next? A race of women who kidnap men to have their babies?

Good Gods, it's like the world was specifically tailored for perverts. He didn't remember making the world this way. Then again, all he did was reset everything but replaced the Gods. Could it be? Had he accidentally left a lot of perverted Gods behind due to his carelessness and they molded the world this way just so they could stare at tits and asses all day?

That's actually quite a possibility to be honest.

Cinder could barely remembered what he was doing when he was reforming the world. He was also making things in a hurry so he never really did pay any attention for the little stuffs. A lot of things might have been left undone and mother nature had to work it out on her own.

He do know that the God's were blanks when they were made, only their traits and abilities were set in place. Their gender were randomized and they were left to grow their own personalities on their own while what they would look like were all up chances.

Could it be his shitty luck that caused most of the Gods to have perverted personalities?

….he's really not going to enjoy meeting with them if that's the case. He's not sure if he could hold back on spanking them if they started sprouting about how wonderful a women's body is because that's all they could think of. Oh Gods, he hoped the ones he had made in memories of his friends didn't ended up being perverts too. He couldn't bare to have a perverted Sunbro lookalike roaming around in the world.

It's settled, if he ever heard of a God out there that shouts 'Praise the tits', he's hunting him down without mercy to spare Solaire the embarrassment.

But first things first, he needed to focus with the problem at hand. He needed to find out just why he felt like he should know that child… or woman, whichever works. Maybe he could get some information on what city he's at while he's at it.

"Hello there." Cinder greeted the child as he approach the stall.

"Ah, hello. Are you here to buy some potato croquettes?" She turn around from the other customer and asked him with a face full of smile. Ignoring her shaking boobies, Cinder took a second to examine her face to see if he could recognize her but sadly, she's a new face to him. He's also very certain that he would remember meeting a child with massive tits before, no matter what era it was.

She has roundish blue eyes and sleek black hair tied into two twin tails with bows that had bell shaped ornaments. She wore a white mini dress with a blue string around her collar and one tied under her breasts around her arms for some reason. She also dons a pair of white gloves and completely barefooted.

'Potato croquettes? Is that what she's selling?' Cinder looked carefully at the things she was selling and couldn't be more impressed. Judging by the name, he suppose that whatever the brown thing is, it's made out of potatoes. Times sure have changed. The most innovative food of his time was Estus soup made by Siegward and it's only meant for Undead since they can't really taste anything other than that. It's also pretty pointless to eat since everything else always tasted like ashes most of the time.

"Oh, no. I'm actually wondering if I could ask you some questions." Cinder shook his head reproachfully, not really a big fan of having the taste of ash in his mouth. Oh wait, he's human now. Maybe his sense of taste is back. Darn it! He just missed his chance of eating real food for the first time in ages.

"Hm? Sure, I guess. But make it quick though, I still need to work." The child replied.

"Well, I'm fairly new to this city so I'm asking around for things I need to know so I could get by. Can you tell me what I should know about this place in general since you looked like you're more knowledgeable in that regard."

"Hmm, I see." The girl nodded her head bobbly with a hand under her chin as she assumed a thinking pose. "It might take a while to properly explain it though but don't worry, this Kami-sama will gladly lend you her aid. My shift is almost over so you just have to wait a bit." She told him, thumping a fist in her chest as if telling him to leave it to her and went back to work.

'Neat!' Cinder smiled happily as he thought that. Looks like he's going to get the info he wanted without having to threaten or torture anyone. It's a rather nice change of pace for a change. Also, there was something he couldn't help but be confused about when the girl talked. What's a Kami-sama?

The moment Cinder thought of that, one of the Lords from the Eastern land supplied him with the basic knowledge of honorifics so he wouldn't make a fool out of himself. Very convenient. Too bad Cinder isn't going to use it most of the time even though the Lord went out of his way to give him that knowledge.

'So Kami means God or Goddess right? Then, I guess the girl in front of me a Goddess? I suppose that means she's technically my daughter right? No wonder why she felt so familiar. I freaking made her for crying out loud!' Cinder wanted to bang his head against something for not realizing it sooner but didn't because he's sure his head isn't as durable as before.

While looking at the girl, Cinder briefly wondered if he should get to know the girl better but decided against it in the end. It's still too soon and he's not really ready to let any of the Gods know that he's their father. No telling what their reaction would be when they found out who he was, not to mention the fact that he had abandoned them right after they were born. No doubt there's going to be chaos. It's a good thing he power was sealed in the Dungeon, otherwise the Gods and Goddesses would've sensed him the moment he stepped out of the dungeon.

With a source of information secured, all Cinder had to do is wait until she's done so he could begin his inquisition. He really didn't mind waiting since he was used to it. He had been waiting for a thousand years just so he could stretch his legs after all.

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Dungeon- First Floor

"Sooooo, this man you're looking for just forgot about you in the Dungeon and went off on his own? Wow, he sounds like a total jerk." Tiona expresses just how displeased she felt about the man in question by looking like she contemplating on throttle him for the sake of the girl that they had just met.

"Well, tis' not the exact words I wouldst use but yes, Milord can be a jerk sometimes." The woman Tiona was talking to spoke with a soft giggle, her pale hand went to cover her mouth as she did so.

The woman that was interacting with Tiona stood half a head shorter than Riveria. She has long white hair that reached down to her back that seem to have lost their luster. She dons a black mantle over a black robe that hugs her modest figure snugly. A pair of dirty cloth that's wrapped around her pale arms to act as gloves and a long black skirt that completely covers her legs. Her clothes were worn down and they don't look like they were intended for combat. There was no visible weapon on her personal too and it begs the question as to why someone so poorly equipped is wandering around in the Dungeon.

There's also the fact that she wore a white crown that covers her eyes completely. Everyone in the Loki Familia had wondered how she could even see with that on but no one had the chance to asked it yet.

With the woman being distracted by Tiona and Tione, who was following her sister closely to stop her from getting too excited, Aiz noticed that the rest of the group were quietly discussing about the newcomer to the group.

The expedition group had just reached the first floor of the Dungeon not long ago. While they were expecting to run into low level adventurers and some monsters too stupid to know that they are completely outmatched, they didn't expect to meet a young woman, maybe no older than 17, to be there looking lost and confused. The woman went up to them the moment they saw her and asked if she could be escorted back to the surface.

The group agreed of course, seeing that there isn't a reason not to.

"So, what do you all think of her? Anything we should be worried about?" Finn asked the rest who had huddled up together further away in the back so that they could speak without the woman hearing them.

"While she hasn't shown any ill intent so far, I still think it's rather odd that someone like her is in the Dungeon without any means of protecting herself." Riveria commented, her jade coloured eyes were looking at the form of the white haired woman. "I'm very certain that she's not a fighter with how she holds herself yet she doesn't look like she had been attacked either. How she managed to get this far without being detected by any of the monsters is...curious. The question is, why did she came down here in the first place?"

"What's more curious is how the little lady is moving around without tripping or bumping into things. Maybe we could ask her." Gareth suggested. "But the again, she might not tell us as the crown might be some sort of magical item."

"Maybe. Tiona's working on that. Her personality is great at getting people to open up so lets wait for now. Bete, your thoughts?" Finn turn towards the resident werewolf for his opinion on the matter.

The man just shrugged and cross his arms, showing that he's clearly uninterested in the topic. "I don't really care about as long as she doesn't cause any problems."

"I see. Lefiya? How about you?"

"E-erm. I- I don't think she's a bad person." Lefiya managed to mumbled out, her fingers were twiddling together as everyone attention focused on her. "M-maybe she just wanted to gather s-some materials but got separated from her friend."

"Alright then. We'll escort her to the surface as intended. After that well… we'll see if we can help find the one she's looking for there." Finn declared with a nod and since no one had any objections, they either nodded along or remained quiet. Seeing that there's no need to linger behind to talk privately, the group got closer to the three ahead of them and continued to move along the floor without issue. They were either talking among themselves or badly pretending not to be listening in to the three ladies in front as Tiona continued to chat with the girl that they had found. Sometimes Tione would chip in but most often than not she just listened.

"You talk funny. Do you talk like that all the time?" Tiona giggled as she asked in childish curiosity.

The woman just looked confused before bowing slightly towards Tiona. "Prithee forgive me. Tis' a habit that I've been trying to get out of for a while now but to no avail. I doth apologizeth if it troubles you. I will try and changeth my way of speech if you so desire."

"No no no no. It's not bad or anything. Well, it might be kinda hard to understand but at least I can guess what you're trying to say." Tiona waves her arms around in panic. "I just thought that maybe if you talked like that then your friend that you're looking for might be the same. It should be easier to find him if that's the case right?"

The white haired woman shook her head slightly at Tiona's question. "No. Milord doth not speak like this for a long time now. But ev'ry once in a while, he'll slip back into the habit without knowing so it mightst work?" The woman sounded rather uncertain as she said that.

Tiona nodded before she thought of something and quickly spun around and latched onto the woman's arm. "Ne ne Annalotte-chan, can I ask you a question?" Tiona asked, practically bouncing on her feet full of energy even though they had been marching all day already.

"Chan?" The white haired woman echoed with a slight tilt of her head, seemingly uncertain of the meaning of that word. "But you've just did Tiona...-chan." She told her playfully, adding the 'chan' in the end almost like an afterthought.

Tiona pouted cutely at her but it was gone instantly, replaced with a beaming smile. "So what's your relationship with this guy? You even called him lord so does that mean he's a noble of some kind? Can you tell me? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Tiona's energy seem to be radiating off her in waves because her surroundings seem to be sparking along with her eyes. She looked like a child that had just found something interesting and wanted to know everything about it.

"Hmm." Annalotte let out a thoughtful hmm as she place a finger on her chin with a hand resting on her elbow as she tilt her head slightly to the side in thought. "I doth not know. Milord do not seem to be of noble birth as far as I know." Annalotte told her, clearly putting effort in changing her way of speaking

"Ehhhh." Tiona let out in surprise. "But you call him Milord and everything. Are you in a master slash servant relationship?" Tiona suddenly gasped loudly as a thought ran through her head. The raven haired Amazoness quickly let go of Annalotte's arm and look at her with a very serious yet worried expression. "Are you a slave? Did he throw you away to act as bait!? If I ever see him then I'm gonna-"

"Oh no. We're just friends. I mostly calleth him Milord because it annoys him." Annalotte tried to clam the young Amazoness with a placating smile, feeling a bit touched that a stranger would care about her situation even though they had just met not long ago. "Knowest thou that Milord wouldst nev'r do anything so deplorable even if it could save him from death. He would rath'r die himself than let alloweth take his place. He also detests slav'ry above all else. Thy concern is wholly unneeded but not unappreciated." Annalotte placed a hand on top of Tiona's head and started stroking it to clam the girl, electing a 'hey' from her as she pouted at being treated like a child.

"Then Annalotte-san, is there a reason for you to call him that? You seems like you respect the man highly." Tione asked.

"First it is 'chan' and now it is 'san'. Truly, thine way of calling me is most particular." Annalotte stopped petting Tiona to face Tione, both her hands were clasp together as she walked.

"It's call honorifics Annalotte-chan. It's mainly used for addressing and referring to people. Don't you know it?" Tiona was the one who supplied that, giving the white haired woman a curious glance.

"Ah, I see. My apologies. I am afraid I am uneducated in the ways of thine culture. I will try and adapt if I can. But when thou call me like that it just seemed like a mouthful."

"Oh no, it's not." Tione reassured her. "Trust me, there are plenty of people out there with even longer and harder to pronounce names."

"I see. But at the very least, prithee call me Anna if thou can."

"Alrighty then Anna-chan~" Tiona called her with a bright smile.

Annalotte nodded towards Tiona with a small smile on her face before she return her attention to Tione. "Now, to answer thy question from earlier. 'Tis because I do respect him. From the very bottom of my heart." The white haired woman placing a hand over her chest as she said that. Ones who were listening could feel the passion in her words as a sincere smile slowly graced her lips. They could tell that she wholly meant it when she said that. "He deserves no less for what he had done for me, and I will do my best to repay him for his kindness."

Tiona couldn't help feel awkward upon hearing Annalotte's words since she had thought about doing grievous harm to the man whom she thought had used Annalotte and thrown her away when his life is in danger. Tiona just chuckled sheepishly as she rub the back of her head as she thought of apologizing.

"Ohhh, I'm sensing some kind of history here." Tione teased as she gave the white haired girl a sly smile. "There has to be some reason why you're so loyal to the mystery man that you've told us about." The more voluptuous of the two Amazoness gave Annalotte a nudge to the side with her elbow, eyebrow wriggling in a meaningful way even though she couldn't see it.

"Ohhhh, did you save you when you're in trouble like how a hero would, carrying you in his arms as he walk into the sunset?" Tiona's eyes were practically sparkling with interest. She love reading stories of heroes doing heroic deeds. Be it about a hero slaying giant monsters to saving damsels in distress, she'd read them all with the same enthusiasm she has regardless of how many times she had read them before.

"Why yes, he did save me in a sense." Annalotte answered bluntly, catching the older Hiryute off guard while the younger one beamed excitedly. "And no, Milord did not whisked me off into the sunset if that is what thou wanted to know." At that Tiona deflated with disappointment. "Milord simply offered me a way to escape from my fate when no one else would. He is not one to leave others to wallow in their miserable fate if he could help it. Knowing Milord, he will not stop just because thou said no to his aid, either out of shame or simply because thou believe there is no hope left; he will help thou regardless. I respect him for that. I choose to follow him from then onward because 'tis more interesting that way."

"I see. I think I understand that feeling of respect quite well." Tione said, eyes closed as her hands clasp in front of her chest with a content sigh as her mind was no doubt drifting off to think about Finn. Said blond Pallum just shivered at the very back of the group and he couldn't figure out just why it is that he did so as he frantically looked around for any kind of threat.

The group proceeds down the path for a while, getting nearer and nearer to the entrance to the Dungeon. The familiar path and the increase number of adventurers that they saw along the way told them that they were almost out and they grew more and more excited to see the sun once more with each passing moment. It was then did Tiona spoke up to Annalotte once more.

"Then Anna-can, you know... I've been meaning to ask..." Tiona trailed off as she looked at Annalotte's crown that's blocking her eyes, hesitating to ask the question that had been plaguing her since they met. "Erm..." Her eyes dart to Tione as if to ask her for support. Her sister shook her head quietly once she understood what she wanted to ask, indicating that she'll get no support from her. Tiona turn to look at the rest of the group behind her but all of them quickly avoided eye contact with her. Aiz didn't but that's because she's socially inept and had no idea what Tiona wanted. Tiona could tell that Gareth was interested but the rest were mostly so-so about the matter.

"Thou wishes to know about my crown." Annalotte spoke suddenly without even being asked. The way she said it didn't sound like it's a question but a fact.

Tiona recoiled in surprise at the suddenly the subject was broached and by the person who she had been trying to bring up with. Thankfully, she quickly regained her bearings and nodded. "Erm.. yes. How did you know? Can you actually see through the crown?"

"Oh no. I can't. Even if the crown can be seen through, it would be pointless as I am blind." Annalotte simply told her. "And as to how I know, 'tis simple really." Annalotte gave the Amazoness a small smile. "I could sense that thou hath been gazing upon my crown for quite some time now."

"Eh?" Tiona let out in confusion.

"'Tis an ability that I have. To compensate for my lack of sight."

"Ohhh, I see. A Skill then. So you can see without actually seeing with it's help?" Tiona wondered.

"A skill? I suppose so, yes." Annalotte nodded in confirmation.

"Hey. I get that you ladies are having fun and all but we're about to reach the surface." Bete suddenly cut in as he walk up from behind, earning an annoyed glare from Tiona that he so rudely interrupted their conversation. "We still haven't decided on what to do with you when we get there."

"Oh right." Tiona had a look of realization on her face as she thought of that. "Ne, Anna-chan. Can you just tell us what he looked like just in case we met him so we can sent him your way?"

Annalotte couldn't help but gave Tiona a look that seem to be conveying her amusement. Then she slowly lifted her hand over to her crown and gestured at it.

"Oh right, blind. Tee hee. My bad." Tiona rasp her knuckle at the side of her head as she giggled.

Bete snorted loudly at that, causing the petite Amazoness to turn her attention towards him. "As expected from a muscle head. You can't even remember that the person you're talking to is blind."

"Huuuuuuh?" Tiona stretched the word out as she glared at the werewolf. "You say something you mutt? At least I wasn't the rude brute who told a lady that she was smelly the first thing they met."

"That was not what I said and you know it! I simply told her she smell like ash! In what way did I ever say that she was smelly you muscle brained woman!" Bete growled at the Amazoness.

And of course, it didn't take long for the bantering to evolve into their usual tussling match, causing the rest of the group to either groan in exasperation or just flat out ignore them as they had witness this plenty of times before.

"Sorry about them. They get excited easily." Tione apologized to Annalotte who seem to be watching the two idiots wrestling on the ground in amusement.

"Tis alright, I do quite enjoy their company to be honest." Annalotte said, smiling brightly at how lively the group she was with is. It's a nice change of atmosphere from the usual doom and gloom she had come to know."I can tell that you all care of each other very much."

""No I don't! Who the hell would care about this Smelly Mutt/Ugly woman!"" The two who were fighting immediately pause their fight just to shout that before getting back. Annalotte just giggled at their synchronized response before turning to face Tione.

"Well, if it would help thou in thy search for my friend, I do know what he looked like. But that was ages ago so I'm not certain if the description is still accurate."

"Ehhhhhh!? But I thought you were blind." Tiona spoke up as she pulled on Bete's cheeks, ignoring how he was grinding a fist on top of her head.

"Oh, I am." The white haired woman confirmed. "But I used to be able to see until my eyes were removed."

""Removed!?"" Those who were more expressive shouted out those words, namely Tiona, Tione, Bete and Lefiya (with a shutter) while those who were more reserved and collected soak in that information and thought about it in their own way.

"Let's see." Annalotte continued as she tap a finger on her lips and ignoring the cry of surprise as she thought back to her last memories as Shanalotte. That was when she had seen the Soul of Cinder without his helmet on the most.… or anything else for that matter. She still remembered what he looked like clearly even if it had been a quite a few lifetimes since she had last saw it. His face she meant, Undead don't have any genitals and her friend never really bothered to unhollowfied himself back then and liked to prance around looking like a dried up stick.

It was funny, not that she would ever admit it out loud at the time.

He really wasn't happy when everyone eventually managed to pin him down and forced him to wear the crown to turn him back into a human form and some clothes before the fight with Nashandra. She terrified when she saw Milord stalking down the path to the throne all broody and moody. It would seem that some of her primal instincts of Manus were still there and it clearly remembered just who was coming for her.

"If I remember correctly, I know that his hair was white." Annalotte told the group.

At that, Bete and Aiz perked up as their thoughts went back to a while ago where they were at the fifth floor. "Wait a minute, I saw two guys with white hair not long ago. Didn't get a good look on their faces but they could be brothers or something." Bete said as he pushed Tiona off him, earning a startled yelp from the girl. "Aiz and I chased a Minotaur to the fifth floor and managed to kill it before it could kill the twos rookies. I'm sure that the two of them have white hair. They both bailed right after we saved them though." Bete informed the group as Aiz nodded along, confirming what Bete had said.

"The fifth floor? When was that?" Finn asked.

"I dunno, an hour ago maybe." The werewolf shrugged nonchalantly.

"An hour huh...they should be long gone by now." Fin murmured to himself.

"Oh hey! look guys! We're almost out." Tiona exclaimed suddenly, pointing in front of her with a bright smile on her face. In front of them were a set of large spiral stairs, stretching up into the air so high that it melted into the light that was shining down from above. It's almost like a stairway that leads into straight into heaven.

And of course, Annalotte can't see what Tiona was pointing at but she could feel how excited everyone around her grew. Judging by what Tiona had said, it seems like they had reached the entrance of the Dungeon. And like everyone else, Annalotte could feel excitement welling up within her bosom.

She couldn't wait to explore the world her friend made without the Dungeon hindering her from sensing the outside world. Thanks to her the kind souls that found her, she finally can and without any further troubles too. They were an interesting bunch of characters. Annalotte could tell that they all cared for each other in their own way after getting to know them, even Bete, the prideful and aloof wolf. Speaking of Bete, she really wondered if she could touch his tail just to see what her friend's fuss was all about when he said fluffy tails are the best.

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Chapter End

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AN: I will slowly start introducing the other Lords of Cinder that's inhibiting the body along with Cinder. Don't worry, they won't be a strong presence in this story and will only be mentioned by Cinder from time to time. Maybe they will come out and talk with him once in a while but that's it. If they're lucky then maybe they will get a chance to interact with one of the main characters of DanMachi verse.

So far there's four in mind since there's four fighting style that the Soul of Cinder uses when you fight him, not counting Gwyn.

PS: Annalotte dialogues are hard. I need some place to study old english if I want to keep that kind of speech up. Or just let her adapt to the modern speech so I don't have to bother. The latter option sounds great in my opinion but it just doesn't sit right for some reason.