Dungeon Of Greed

’Voice of god... are they telling me that this isn’t a system but an actual voice of a god. Are they making shit up...’ Confused, Dhruv looked at them, his eyes widening in disbelief.

As he ponders more about it, something else came to his mind.

’They mentioned the cube could be an artifact... does that mean there is more to my reincarnation than what appeared on the surface?’

Pondering, Dhruv, tried piecing things together. Looking at the duo, he maintained a smile and made an excuse, "I see... You are not tainted by the corruption. It’s good. Good."

Hearing his words, Michael and Misha looked at each other. Something was exchanged between them through their eyes, but they maintained their silence.

Dhruv noticed this but didn’t talk to them about it.

’Do they know about corruption as well?’ Thinking, he looked at them and thought of an excuse.

"As you can understand... I’ve a great curiosity in the history of humans. Being in the dungeon, there isn’t much I can do. Can you perhaps teach me more about what this voice of the gods is?"

Hearing Michael looked at Misha.

She was the one who leaned more toward religion and knew these things better than him. Understanding his intention, she was about to open her mouth when Michael lifted his hand, stopping her.

"Dungeon master?..." pausing, Michael asked for permission, "...Can I call you that?"

Dhruv thought it was awkward and wanted them to address him by his name, but recalled how Lucian calls him ’Master’. If they were to call him by his name, that would put a bad image in front of the little demon.

Not wanting to give them any special privilege, Dhruv nodded his head and gave permission.

"Thank you. You want something from us, and we want something from you. The thing is, if you fulfill that, I... no, we would tell you everything to the best of our ability."

’The hell you will...’ Dhruv knew better than to trust a captive in their first interaction.

Dhruv had dealt with enough people to recognize when someone was lying through their teeth and when they genuinely meant what they said.

’The girl is more useful...’ Thinking of a way to eliminate this man, Dhruv nodded his head and told them that he was willing to give him a chance.

"As long as it is not asking to get out of the dungeon. I’m fine with other things."

Hearing this, Michael gritted his teeth but didn’t show it up front.

Smiling, he muttered, "We wouldn’t dare to ask that. I just want you to guarantee our safety. Of course, we wouldn’t leech off you and do work if needed."

Michael still hates the monster through and through, but now that he was alive and was given the opportunity, he wouldn’t waste it casually. Even if he has to beg, he will survive and escape the dungeon along with Misha.

"You have my words." Lifting his hands, Dhruv announced.

Michael wanted to tell Dhruv to swear on something—like a dungeon god or something similar to that— but stopped. Not wanting to push his luck, he nodded his head and let Misha explain things.

"Uhmmm! There is no ’absolute’ evidence or anything like that, but most of the church, along with the church of light, believes that during the time of Ragnarök, a few gods sacrificed the God of Salvation, and that sacrifice is the whisper that we hear in our mind..."

Pausing, she closed her eyes and prayed to her gods before continuing.

"It is unknown why the gods needed to sacrifice one of their own when they were all-powerful, but they did... and from that sacrifice, the Whisper was born.

The Church of the Sacred Silence believed that we are a fragment of the God of Salvation and someday one of us will ascend to his throne, which will be the coming of Salvation. Many kings and heroes have tried this ascension, but all of them failed one after another."

"One of the leading causes of this failure is corruption. It is prophesied that when someone with the union of divine and corruption is born in the world, the dead gods will begin rising from their slumber."

A chill ran down his spine as Dhruv remembered a sentence from the evolution tab.

|Is it luck or your strength that brought you closer to both the divine and corruption? It mattered not|

He was about to say something when Misha continued, "Of course, this is all a lie. At least that’s what I and many of the churches think."

"Huh! Why is that..." Curious, Dhruv looked at her and asked.

"First of all, it is almost impossible to have both corruption and divinity in the same body. They are like yin and yang and could never maintain harmony. And if someone somehow manages to achieve the initial harmony...’

"... As they ascend, it is bound that one of these qualities will become greater than the other, ruining the vessel in the process."

Seeing her stop speaking, Dhruv thought and asked, "And what if, against all odds someone achieves the perfect harmony and continues to ascend?"

The duo looked at him in confusion. Shrugging it off, Misha continued, "Well, they are hunted by the church to no end."

’What!?... why would a church hunt a potential god...’ Confused by the mental state of this world’s church, Dhruv asked in confusion.

"Why would the church hunt them. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for them if a new god emerges?" Following his logic, he asked.

Sighing, Misha looked at him as if he were a child. She wondered how the master of a dungeon could be this clueless. Then, remembering that the grown man standing before her was barely a week old, she nodded and began explaining the reason to him.

"A church is only loyal to the god it believes in. Allies and enemies exist not only among mortals but among the gods alike. Even so, they would still welcome the emergence of a new god, so long as it was anyone other than the God of Salvation."

"Why is that..."

"Because if he were to revive... the Whisper would disappear, and all that would remain for us is silence."

******

Outside the dungeon.

With each passing second, the Templar was getting more and more anxious. More than five hours had passed, but there was no sign of anyone.

’I remember telling them to come outside after a few hours to refill their potions... why haven’t they come yet...’ Looking at the entrance of the dungeon, he waited patiently.

Time passed, and with each passing hour, he understood something had gone wrong inside the dungeon... just didn’t know how wrong.

Dawn arrived, and by then, the Templar was certain they were never coming back.

"You stay here. If anyone returns, inform me immediately." Handing a communication device to one of his men, he turned and began making his way back to the capital.

’Ser... wouldn’t like this.’Anxious, he told the driver to move the caravan fast.