{Night 14: The Dungeon Appears}
It was the ground shaking that woke us all up.
Everyone rushed outside in confusion. I'm positive that all our eyes were drawn to the strange structure that was now dominating the sky.
It was tall. Huge. All four of our villages must've been able to see it. It had what looked like five sides, all coming up to the top in layers, with towers at each of the bottom-most corners. White in color, it had red and purple decoration with gold accents. It looked like there were patterns along the walls, but I couldn't tell from the distance...
"Mal," Kahil whispered, "Where's Yunan?"
Blinking, I noticed he was right. The blonde Not-Rot was nowhere to be seen.
Clicking my tongue, I gestured to Uriel. He gave his big head a shake; He couldn't find Yunan.
On impulse, I started running towards that huge thing.
"Mal! Mal, hey Mal!"
I didn't stop running, forcing Hassan and Chaya to pull alongside me as they ran. Kahil and Uriel were behind us, and Zaria joined us soon after.
"Malik, where the hell are you going?!" Hassan yelled.
"Yunan said," I started as we wound through everyone in the streets, "That I reminded him of the shit who conquered the dungeon in Partevia, and then asked me a weird question! Now, he vanishes, and this thing shows up? A bit too perfect, wouldntcha say?"
Really, I'd only just connected the dots myself. But it made sense.
It didn't take too long for us to reach the base of the thing. As I'd thought, Yunan was there, standing next to a stairway leading up to a glowing doorway.
"You! You did this, didn't you?!" I yelled, skidding to a stop perhaps fifteen feet away from him. He just smiled. "Why?! For what purpose?!"
"Oh, don't get so upset, Malik. It's my gift to you, for letting me stay with you all day and taking care of me. I think someone like you deserves the power to be king. You're good to your friends, family and neighbors, and you have a pure goal in mind. Your Rukh are strong and determined. I'm sure Flauros will serve you well in your quest to change the Rotter-turf and prove to the world just how amazing the Rotters really are."
"... I don't have much of a choice now but to go in, though..." I muttered.
"Hm?" Yunan looked confused, tilting his head to the side. I was surprised he heard me, frankly.
"We have nothing here! Everything was taken from us, all we have left is this land! When other people get wind of this, the Rotters will be forced out so they can set up shop!" Chaya called, clinging to Hassan as he gripped his metal staff with white knuckles.
"So we've got no choice! But what guarantee do we have that we'll make it out alive?!" Kahil agreed.
The Not-Rot smiled again, tilting his head the other way as he called calmly back, "I guess you'll just have to trust me!"
We five exchanged glances as Uriel's tail-bell jangled.