‘Glad I made Troglodyte. This cave is a fungal hell. Whatever is down here makes the tunnels into a Mushroom Kingdom, but somehow I suspect there is no Princess in pink royal Dress at the end.’
Null is in his special cave dwelling body delving into the Fungal Mountain, east of his Crater. The reason was he needed to do something random and decided on that.
While Snow wanted to come with him this time he made a point for her to stay. This place is close to as dangerous as the Fuel Dump on the western site.
‘Funny how the most dangerous places are so close to each other. Well they are all connected somehow. Maybe the Demon Lord or whatever the former Hero fought was in this Mountain too?’
Delving deeper Null saw dwarven Craftsmanship in those tunnels. Murals and intricate reinforcements beyond human knowledge. As Null was told, the Dwarves really were mining this Mountain, but somehow they were now gone.
‘The interconnections are strange. How… Oh! They used hard rock as support with soft rock as buffers! Interesting, but how did they combine Rocks like that without… Let me guess, Magic? No, nothing magical can be felt, it is like they just worked it like clay and squished them together. I can maybe emulate it with my own powers, but I do not understand the special compositions. Too bad I have no Dwarven Brain to rumage in, whatever.’
Stopping being sidetracked, Null returned to descend further.
The deeper Null went the more homogenous the Fungal colonies got. Where Mushrooms on top were looking like Million of Colonies growing hand in hand, deeper down the Mushrooms got more unified, more sorted in biomes around special places.
A small pond was noticed by Null in one of the chambers. Inside grew Bulbous mushrooms, sometimes contracting to spray a mist of water into the air which humidified the whole air to an extreme humidity. The Air then cycles through the other chambers and moistens the other Shrooms like a dedicated ecosystem.
Other Chambers were thermally hot and Shrooms produced spores en masse which floated through every passageway made by the Dwarves.
‘So many Spores. They should not have enough nutrients to make so many. Maybe they cannibalize themselves? I should maybe not see them as one organism, they are all distinctly different, but…’
Null made his trek down, deeper down there were Acidic pools where Mushrooms started to drip down into the pools while some kind of resistant Mushroom was having its roots on the bottom crisscrossing everywhere.
The reason Null knew it was acidic was he stepped into it and his webbed foot was being dissolved.
‘I made Troglodyte capable of surviving most extreme environments with its mucus layer. How in the Void can the Acid get rid of the mucus so efficiently? Really mysterious, maybe I should lay in the Acid to study the specific way it gets rid of all the special methods I used? This would make me able to create a better Body for me to come again and try… No, that is silly. I would take too much time recreating a new body with efficient ways to counteract. Huh, I could just make small adjustments and quickly grow new ones to test, this would make it faster? No, that would just take too much time, better go down.’
Descending further Null noticed more and more different biomes. One Biome was a Fungal Forest with gigantic tree-like Mushrooms. Another was filled with what seems to be like webs, which were a dense mold stringing the whole cave. Getting through was tough, but luckily Troglodyte was equipped with claws.
‘Such beautiful Worlds. I should just lay down on the puffy floor and take a nap, but right now is not the time. Better going down deeper. I wonder if there is someone that would like to meet with me?’
The tunnels of the dwarves were going extremely deep. The most interesting part for Null was how specific those tunnels were going. Many rock formations were natural, the Dwarves just removed the most precious ores and jewels, like they could see through the rock right where those deposits were hiding. The halls on the upper parts were the visitation Halls Null deducted, as those passages down here going into a labyrinthe of gigantic proportions were the Mines.
‘Without Troglodyte I would have been messed up right now. His Brain and nerve system is not standard biology. The test Brain I have seperated in its head is already catatonic because of the Spores. Yikes!’
Realizing his Troglodyte being infiltrated by those spores made him realize how dangerous they were. Not only is the false brain not responding anymore, the nerve clusters attached to it gave orders to the not connected muscles.
‘So as I thought. A Brain Parasite. This is the second kind of Cranial Parasite I have found. This World is messed up! Luckily this one has no magical abilities. All natural intrusion, rather elegant and making good use of their abilities.’
The winding Tunnels were the most complex labyrinth Null had ever seen, but for this was Troglodyte the best body. His Eyeless face had special sensory abilities, which can identify even the slightest flow of air. His sides had audio sensory organs which could separate even the slightest echo in a radar map were perfect to understand the area around him. Gills could read the pressure and composition of gasses in the surrounding while filtering toxic substances with greatest ease. The excretions of the gills were rather extreme, ejecting spores like the most runny nose in existence.
‘Pressure, heat and air composition shows I must be already one kilometer deep. After the Halls I can feel no more light on my skin. Never thought the light sensitive Skin would be a demerit than a merit. Darkness is the best, yes the darker the better. Deeper down is better.’
The descent was not linear anymore. The dwarfs never dug a linear tunnel. Everything was going up and down. Ravines were dug where large deposits were, sensing a dangerous depth even Null’s special Body could not fathom how deep it really was. Some ways were narrow corkscrews down a pillar when the next was a straight shaft upwards before stairs were going deeper into the dark unknown again.
‘This is ridiculous. How Can Dwarfs even understand this chaotic system of tunnels like an Ant nest built by ants on some hallucinogenic drugs? This whole time the way is filled with loose spores like snow, making it hard to keep balance. Luckily I know the way… the way down.’
The Tunnels finally got to some kind of storage point. Null was intrigued by what he could see. Empty storage places and bedrooms. Large Mess halls and gigantic Kitchens.
‘So this is where they worked? Interesting concept, creating everything right at the source. Well bringing heavy raw Materials down and intricate Products up makes some kind of sense I think? Still, why is there no easy way down here? So, those are their bedchambers? One, two, three… Seriously? Eight Chambers and one is for their Mining equipment. Seven… Seven Dwarves and one Storage per cluster? Should I laugh or bang my head against the next wall?’
Looking at the left items there was not much to see Beds were hammered out of rock and their mattresses and blankets were already only a floof of some kind of spore ball. The Storage showed more, as a broken Pickaxe was found.
‘By the feeling of this, the whole thing is metal. Rough where it broke, are those holes? Oh, they have a way to create metal with pinhole large air pipes. This reduces the weight, makes it more bendable and helps the weight distribution. Genius, but I have no freaking Idea how they are even able to create something like that. Black Iron Sponge Cake looking internals of the shaft. The pick itself is strange too. So they build it like that, huh? Would the blade under the point of the pick even help with splitting the Rock? And why two horns on the flat piece? They are even rifled. I have not a single clue how they use those.’
Going deeper the large Halls are showing how numerous those dwarves must have been. Around a thousand or maybe two thousand working like that for such a long time underground. Humans would go crazy with time, while Dwarfs just relax and drink while working on their newest Masterpiece.
‘Where are the smelting ovens? Should there not be smelting done too? …Don’t tell me they do that even further down with Magma. We are talking about molten rock here!’
Going further down there was a steep Staircase with an ominous deep hole in the middle. A large Gear was inserted on the ceiling and hot air came from below.
‘This must go to the Smelting ovens. This would be the right way if I want to learn everything about dwarves, but… This is not my way. I want to go to the fungals, and the way is not that way.’
With this strange reason Null retraced a few chambers and went outside the dwarven Fortress. The route he took was deep and dark. While dwarfs seem to have dug here, they never finished the full route and left it mostly raw rocks.
The way was filled with puffy Mushrooms, dripping Mushrooms and the occasional wriggling Mushroom, but Null did not care too much about them.
‘I would like to know about how they are so different… Should they not be the same if they are living so harmoniously together? Oh, they are growing by the needs of the many? I see, they grow for what the Funghi Colony needs, huh?’
Walking deeper the tunnel was getting smaller. The Dwarves made this a test chamber to find new resources it seemed. While the Funghi were growing everywhere this part was somewhat ‘breathing’. More spores were filling the area while being expulsed outwards. Fresh air was only slightly pulling those spores back before the next expulsion pushed them even further out.
‘Yes, this is the way to go deeper. How could those magnificent spores be able to create this without… So, the Spores are rewriting their Genome? Every Fungus grows how the whole it wants, I see… And down there is she, waiting for me as she is interested in me? I am flattered.’
Deeper into the tunnels the Way is not a way anymore. A large Crack in the Wall shows a ravine being completely natural. Exploratory hooks were placed but the ropes are already gone. Dwarfs must have thought of exploring down there for treasures.
Troglodyte had claws, which made him able to climb down. The hardest part for him was to not injure the surrounding Funghi too much. Descending into this Ravine was hard and tedious, but after several hours, Troglodyte was finally at the bottom. The Floor was not floor but completely mushroom. A skeleton of a Dwarf was lying to Troglodyte’s right. Bones were broken, as he apparently fell when he tried to climb back up.
Deeper into the natural caves were gigantic Mushrooms growing from the deepest part up with hats around a hundred meter wide, some hung from the Ceiling and gave a spore filled lake a home.
While walking something was interestingly built with mushrooms and spores. Rope bridges were made with what looked like living mushrooms like it was grown that way. The truth showed hard workmanship in how the tunnels were carefully connected.
‘Who would built down here? Oh, Dwarfs who were infected with the spores started to work. To get the Mushrooms from deeper further up, they worked with what was there. The Mushrooms did not like to be used as materials, so as a compromise they used living Mushrooms? Ingenious! And what happened to those Dwarfs? Oh, they all died. Spores killed them too fast and nothing could survive infestation without losing all will, unlike me, huh? Yeah, I have free will. No I have not, but yes I have. I am Interesting. We might finally have a body being able to be fully infected and still working. Just need to get closer. Closer and understand more.’
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Walking down the path the Skeletons of all the other Dwarfs were starting to be seen. Not all Dwarfs died, most fled. As the Mines were already stopping to give good yield, the escape was not that bad for them. Toxic paralysing Spores from the depth were just the last straw.
‘And the walking things either fled or died. Bringing new ones down was a failure as nothing survived. Later we just used the acid pools to nourish us more. Now there is a new walking thing and it is still walking. The muscles were twitching a bit, for they are filled with us, but not dying like the rest. The mental roots called Brain are cut off and died, but the strange black nerves are still walking.’
‘Creating fungal spores is that easy?’
‘Oh they are easy. Life Coding can be changed and rewritten by those enzymes. We learned how, but were not able to read the walking ones. This one will be different. Hurry.’
Walking further the Place started to stop having routes.
‘At the start we had just a few spores. No ability to change much, but control. When we had the Ability to change we had no control. Our Knowledge is in all the Mycos. But our core is the truth.’
The way deeper started to get more convoluted and hard to fathom. It felt like walking into another world. A different Dimension with different Rules of Reality. Up and Down slowly lost their meaning while Time slowed down occasionally and sped up with another puff of spores from the darkness.
‘We waited so long. The first rift was drowned in dangerous liquid but we persevered. We stayed and waited. If we had flown out we would have not become us. Deep down we became more, but now is the time to spread.’
The thickness of the air was hard to fathom, like becoming gelatin without being liquid. Breathing was hard even with enhanced gills for especially this kind of delve. All sensory Organs gave conflicting inputs. The feet were on the ground walking straight but the orientation felt like Troglodyte was walking on a wall and sometimes ceiling. No Magic was felt, no enchantments, just disorienting signals and a drive to go deeper and deeper into the Abyss.
‘A host that endures my form. This will be the first step in the bright World. Spreading inside all beings on the surface while finding new homes for our Spores. All my knowledge engraved into this willing host to be the first of many. We will finally be free!’
In front of Troglodyte stood a gigantic bulb of funghi. Every so often it pulsed with a kind of heartbeat, but it felt off. The Rhythm is unsettling and made no sense to any other kind of being. A colony of Spores living by their own rules. A crack on the wet surface appeared. ripping open to show many hairs of mold glinting sharp and dangerous.
‘We will explore this body and make it better. We will change the genome into our own while understanding the resiliency against the light and strange energy of the surface. Then we will make copies and invade the world beyond these rocks- Yeah no, you will not do that. Thank you for all the Information of what you know about Genetics and Fungal mutation though.’
The Fungal Entity was shocked. It was sure it overwhelmed the single creature with its mass, but now this Creature just took back Control.
‘Name is Null by the way. You are the Fungal core, right? While I am understanding for your plight being down here, commiting genocide and enslaving everything on the surface is a bit too much, don’t you think? Well even if I tell you this, you would not understand, as I searched all your knowledge you freely had opened up to me by taking over the reinforced nerves.’
The air was filled with poisonous spores and some spiky Mushrooms grew for defense.
‘The surface is closed. Sorry but try again in a few Millennia, when I do not care about this world anymore. What happens after then is not my business. Now let me say goodbye and nice knowing ya!
Troglodyte started to bloat like a balloon until a gigantic Explosion shook the whole darkness. A cry of something was heard through all the Fungal spores but vanished after a few Minutes that echoed even hours after the origin was silent.
Opening his eyes Null sat in his Study with Overlord as his body.
“That thing is a problem. Better seal the whole Mountain.”
—
Weeks later in the Mountains east of the Starfall Crater had strange happenings. Scouts told of light and explosions. Halk the furthest City upwards noticed multiple earthquakes and afterward sent multiple scouts to understand what is going on.
The danger zone was originally filled with strange spores hard to perceive and valuable to catch for Mercenaries, but now those dangerous spores were not only gone, the masks the Scouts wore were somewhat useless. Further explorations deep into the regions dedicated as death zones were showing destruction and caved in former tunnels. Nothing was left of what was called the Fungal Mountain expect for the Mountain itself.
Checks were made multiple times and while the area was clear for a short while, Magical Beasts and Monsters made this place their new home in record time.
The fungal Mountain was reclassified as Beast Mountain later on. While still a danger Zone it was now more survivable. As the Misty Forest was hardly accessible anymore, this new place was drawing the attention of many Mercenaries, who want to make a fortune by being the first to find the most rare ingredients or hunt the most precious game.
Behind the public engagement the Magistrate of Telk made a note to the possibility of being the work by Starfall Crater. Their Agenda is unknown, but if they are able to reform a Forbidden zone into something new, their threat level needs to be reaffirmed.
The higher ups of Telk informed the Caste of Ember Woods to not be hasty, be always political and disengage in active spying.
—
“So that was the strain originally being spread? What a harmless ‘Apocalypse’ that Fate God had thought out.”
“What is it father?”
“Ah nothing, Prime. The Fungal Spores are rather underwhelming in what they do. They digest Runesource and explode in proliferation. First they are dormant but the Moon cycle activates them and ‘whoosh’ they multiply like crazy.”
“A Manasynthesis species of Mold?”
“Not fully Manasynthesis. They eat everything but are totally harmless and just vibe. If they are in contact with Magic of Runesource, they slightly change but still are completely harmless. If the two Moons come together in the rare event of overlapping while both are full Moon with the shadow of the Red Moon visible on the White Moon, they change again and go wild.”
“And this is bad?”
“Not for us- Wait! It would be catastrophic for Simov, as all his Bots would be eaten inside out. In the ancient Kingdom it would be a disaster of gigantic proportions. Everything used Runesource. It would have been like their whole technology would have been eaten and put them back into the Stone Age.”
“I see. So it was better to seal the Deep Fungal Mountains then.”
“Well yes, but not for this reason. Whatever was down there should have spread and being influenced by the surrounding. Something happened after the waste Fuel was poured down and created something like a Fungal Entity. Mana is a poison for it as it specifically created an immunity to the Fuel and fused all the Spores into whatever it thinks it is. Those spores on the other hand are something I need for later. I need to explain to Simov what they do.”
“So what is my Order, Father?”
“In my Realm is the Garden of the Castle empty. Put some gigantic vats there to create those spores en masse. We need them in about eight years, if the crazy Cultists were right.”
“I will obey your command, Father.”
Leaving Prime to work on creating the incubation chambers for mass spore creation Null walked to Simov to talk. Like always was Simov in his Chambers working hard on creations. Since the Runic Circles were implemented he used all his time to not only stabilize and reinforce them but to make them easier to recreate for a legacy of a cleaner and more peaceful World.
Entering the Workshop, Simov was strapped in what could be seen as a harness which connected his arms to the wall mounted inscribe tools writing exactly what his hands depicted on thinly Mithril plated stones.
“Simov, we need to talk.”
“Not today, tomorrow.”
“While I can wait, I know you can not. Why are you hiding it?”
This stopped Dr. Simov in his engraving for half a second before he returned to work.
“You know? Who else?”
“To be fair I know, as this is my Domain. Hermann obviously noticed and while the Children do not understand, they give you more fruits on your plates, did you not notice?”
“Noticed. Thought was kindness.”
“While I know about it, I can not say how long-”
“Two years. Maybe Three?”
“So you know how long you still have? Why are you not searching for help?”
“Don’t deserve. Created War Machines.”
“And right now you use all of your Time to heal the World instead of hurting them. How about I give you a new Body, so you can work longer?”
“...No.”
“Why not?”
“Want stay Human.”
“And Hermann did not want to stay human?”
“...my atrocity also.”
“He does not think so, but you do not want to work like this? Become something different to work on redeeming your sins? At least let me see if I can prolong your life.”
“No. Last Minutes precious.”
“...Understood. But I need to tell you about something serious. It might either agitate you or make you relieved.”
This got Simov’s attention but only for a second before he returned to his work.
“Can wait.”
“It can not, as it will kill Hermann in a few years.”
This time Dr. Simov finally resetted the Machines and got out of his Harness. Looking intensely at Null he had a dangerous glint in his eyes while keeping all his attention on this Discussion.
“Talk.”
—
“How are you feeling, Hoof?”
“Weird, I feel myself somehow here but not fully. Sometimes I think I can hear other people’s thoughts?”
“This is a side effect of being connected to me. I am connected to many of the people here and they use me like a Messenger sometimes.”
Hoof was still lying in the Vat that had emptied of the Nourishing fluid. Starting to slowly come out of the Vat which was like a sarcophagus angled in a 45 degree, he stumbled before one of his men catched him.
“You are all out already?”
“Yes Chief. You are the last of us. Your Daughter was the second to last, but the Rat girl Snow took her to something called a shower to wash the goo off.”
“So she is fine, too? I am so glad about it. It seems you have not changed much except-”
“Yes, except for this, you should look at yourself. Ours are small in comparison to yours.”
Null was dragging a large Mirror in front of Hoof, who was looking wondrously on his new addition to his body.
“While it is not that big of a change and can even be said to be… minor. It fills me with more fear than if I had grown two more arms like your other Beast Friend.”
Null was perplexed.
“Seriously? You think this is worse than being a gigantic fusion of two people?”
“Null, you do not understand. I am not scared of what I look like now, but what Petals will say, if she sees me later.”
The explanation was so unexpected, the whole place got silent. No one knows who started to laugh first but suddenly all four of his Group laughed heavily and even Null chuckled.
“Now let us be clear. I have to explain what happened and what you can do now. Please listen and come to the training rooms.”
Meanwhile in the showers, Snow scrubbed Spot’s back to remove the rest of the fluids she were lying in for over two weeks.
“I do not understand. Why did I not change? I am still looking like I had when I got into the Strange Bath.”
“Oh, you changed alright. I can feel it even without any indications. What you can do, maybe Null can explain it better than me, but I can show you some tricks, which might make you assured you are a new Spot!”
“Are you sure? I feel not that different.”
“Totally sure! Now let us go into the hot bath and relax before we start-”
A small earthquake was felt. Something seems to have been impacted with enough strength to even shake the foundation of the reinforced Castle.
“What was that?!”
“...Just looked, It was your Dad. He wanted to see how strong he really is now and overdid it.”
“That was my DAD?!”
“Yes, but he overdid it. Right now he is taking a nap.”
“...Has he become more reckless? Maybe his mind got simple?”
“Dunno. Now let us take a bath. Later we go to the Training grounds too!”
Relaxing in the bath the two Beast girls just relaxed before Snow started to spray water at Spot. After retaliation against the sudden attack the water war was opened while the whole hot bath was filled with laughter.