“Something killed it before we entered.”
Etzel stared at Maerin’s message. Once. Twice. Then a third time. The words did not improve.
DK stood a few steps away. His expression had already changed. No humor. No mild confusion. Only attention.
Etzel pressed the call icon. Maerin answered quickly.
“Etzel?”
“Define ‘something.’”
A pause. “We can’t.”
Etzel closed his eyes. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
Behind Maerin, he could hear movement. Voices. Paper. Maybe equipment being shifted. She wasn’t home. Probably still near the assessment station.
Etzel straightened despite his ribs protesting. “What did they find?”
“The original dungeon boss.”
“Dead.”
“Yes.”
“Before we entered.”
“Yes.”
Etzel looked toward DK. The knight said nothing.
“Where?”
“Under the Regent’s throne structure.”
Etzel frowned. “Under?”
“Partially.” Maerin continued before he could interrupt. “The Regent had grown its root network through the remains. The survey team initially thought the corpse was part of the throne.”
“That’s comforting.”
“It gets worse.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“You keep giving us reasons.”
Fair. Etzel sat back down on the stone. “Go on.”
“The dungeon’s original control structure was still connected to the corpse.”
His expression changed. “So the Regent didn’t create the Authority network.”
“No.”
“It stole it.”
“Yes.”
Etzel remembered the cavern. The roots. The crown. The pulses. The way the Regent had seemed less like a creature standing inside the dungeon—and more like the dungeon had learned to wear it.
He exhaled slowly. “The Regent found a dead king and stole the crown.”
Silence. Then Maerin: “That is uncomfortably accurate.”
Etzel smiled faintly. “Good. I was worried I was losing my touch.”
“You’re not.”
“That almost sounded supportive.”
“It wasn’t.”
“There you are.”
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Event
Influence Relationship Detected
Status
Source Hierarchy: ???
Data
Known Influence: Derived