Heroes of Darkness: A Dark Dungeon Realm LitRPG Omnibus Collection

by Wolfe Locke

  “You cannot go further, no man may. The way is shut to those who are not blessed by a God. The halls below were never meant to hear the footsteps of men, nor will they.”

  “The decision, however, remains yours. You may walk out of the sanctuary and try to push ahead with your broken body or stay and petition for a blessing. The choice is yours, though at least one choice is guaranteed to lead to a fate worse than death.”

  I got it. So, if I try to go back out and fight the No Men by myself and keep going something terrible will happen. Like dying and being eaten, or having my parts sectioned off and stolen. I have no choice but to get the blessing.

  “When you are ready step forward into the Chamber of the Twelve.” The man explained as he walked away and opened a door down the hall and disappeared. John was left completely alone.

  John stepped forward going up the stairs. Once he passed through the room’s threshold, he felt everything change. The energy in the room grew heavy as did the air. It’s hard to breathe.

  Behind him a line in white chalk that made intricate patterns on the ground lit up and began forming a sealing barrier. John knew he wouldn’t be able to leave until after his business was finished.

  He looked around and saw that there were 10 statues still standing. The 2 remaining statues had crumbled into dust and lay broken in heaps. Just who were they?

  Of the 10 statues that remained one resembled that of a woman. While he looked the statue moved, turning away from him. Odd. John looked at the other statues and immediately another statue moved. It was that of a man bearing a strong resemblance to that of a warrior. It also turned away from him.

 

  It is difficult to speak to you here. Of the 12 only 10 remain. Deep within the dark you’ll learn that even gods can die. All that remains of them is the dust and stone from where their pedestal used to be.

  You have already lost two whom would have blessed you. The Goddess of Temperance and the God of Warriors have both turned their back on you

  From those who remained you must choose.

  The God of Winter

  The God of the Deep

  The Goddess of the Dead

  The God of Order

  The Goddess of Shadow

  The God of the Forest

  The Goddess of Secrets

  The God of the Hearth

  Broken Heap

  Broken Heap

  Choices. So many choices. Yet none seem obvious. John approach the 1st statue and read a glowing sign that appeared in front of it.

  God of Winter

  ““I am the God of Winter. Mine is the way of the hunger and cold. Of long nights and short days. Those who offer me their blood will know no pain. They may wield my power, the power of ice touch””

  *Should you bond with the God of Winter you will become a Elemental.

  An elemental? John considered the words and moved on to the next statue.

  God of the Hearth

  “I am the God of the Hearth. Mine is the way of warmth and comfort. Of soft nights and easy days. Those who offer me their blood will know only the ecstasy of comfort.”

  *Should you bond with the God of the Hearth you will become a Hunger but will suffer no ill effects from a lack of sustenance.

  Not that one. I bet the Gluttonous King was bonded to this one.

  The next statue was broken, and John moved past it towards the next.

  Goddess of Death

  ”I am the Goddess of the Dead. Mine is the way of the ghoul and the ghast. The lingering spirit and the vengeful dead. Those who offer me their blood shall know immortality.”

  *Should you bond with the Goddess of Death you will become a Grave Titan. Growing stronger with every kill.

  The words disappeared and John moved on to the next statue.

  God of the Deep

  “I am the God of the Deep. Mine is the way of the predator. Of shifting current and shifting pressures. Of traps and trickery. Of dead eyes that need no light. To those who offer me their blood are offer the strength to survive.”

  *Should you bond with the God of the Deep you will gain a body meant for the depths and the Uncanny Valley ability.

  I’ve no interest in those. John thought as he moved on to the next statue.

  God of the Forest

  ”I am the God of the Forest. Mine is the way of rot and ruin. Of crop and rotting compost. Of new life and lightless canopy. Those who offer me their blood will find aid in all of my creatures.”

  *Should you bond with the God of the Forest you will gain the ability to summon green creatures of all manner and become a Treekin.

  John moved on, ignoring the 2nd broken pedestal.

  Goddess of Shadow

  “I am the Goddess of Shadow. Mine is the way of the shifting dark and the lightless night. Those who offer me their blood will find a cloak of my shadows.”

  * Should you bond with the Goddess of Shadow you will become a lesser vampire of a pure bloodline.

  Not for me either. John moved on to the next.

  Goddess of Secrets

  “I am the Goddess of Secrets. Mine is the way of the ephemeral and unyielding. Of lies and crooked tongue. The way of deceit and the subtle knife. Those who offer me their blood may know my secrets and the secret ways to power.”

  *Should you bond with the Goddess of Secrets you will become a Arachne and gain the ability Revealing Web.

  Hard pass, and then there was one. John stood in front of the very last statue.

  God of Order

  “I am the God of Order. Mine the way of obedience and law. Of precision and purpose. Of hardened iron and harder resolve. Those who offer me their blood will be granted a portion of my essence to guide them.”

  *Should you bond with the God of Order you will become an Iron Golem.

  Not even a living thing. A construct. That won’t work either. John walked away from the statues as a altar in the center of the room raised up and within it was a pristine silver ceremonial dagger. The statues seemed to be staring at him hungrily as stone hands raised up and offered their palms waiting for his offering.

  All he had to do was pick one. I’ve no idea. None of them seemed like a good, obvious choice. John’s back starting to ache more from carrying the shield on his back. He pulled it off and sat it down.

  As soon as he grabbed the silver dagger, he noticed a glint on the shield’s reflection, something he had overlooked before. In the shield’s reflection, John saw the first broken statue, and with it a message.

  Goddess of Healing

  “I am the Goddess of Healing. I am Seonna. Mine is the way of grace and forgiveness. Of perseveration and fortitude. Those who offer me their blood will be granted a portion of my essence to guild them. I am sorry I cannot do more.

  *Should you bond with the Goddess of Healing you will gain a Regenerative Aura.

  That’s really useful and Seonna has helped me already. But what about the other statue? John moved the shield so he could see the message in the shield’s refection.

  God of Adventure

  “I am the God of Adventure. I am Lachesis. Mine is the way of courage. Of the brave, and of the bold. Those who offer me their blood will be granted a portion of my essence to guide them. I no longer have the power to do more.

  *Should you bond with the God of Adventure, you will continue to receive guidance from.

  Lachesis doesn’t have any power. I still need to heal myself, and he did offer me the quest. Seonna seems to offer the only way to make that happen without giving up my humanity. I am sorry Lachesis. I cannot choose you.

  John moved toward the broken statue of Seonna and cut open his palm and curled his hand into a fist. When the blood dropped on the stones, it disappeared instantly absorbed. Little by little the statue reassembled, though it still looked rough in comparison to the other statues. John expected the knife and the altar to disappear but it did not.

 

  Thank you for your offering. Withou
t your blood I would have soon passed beyond the veil of this world into the dark nether of Pandemonium.

  Let us quickly be gone from this cursed place.

  *You have bonded with the Goddess Seonna. Your body is currently being repaired by her essence.

  But what of Lachesis? The broken statues will die. I have to help him after he’s guided me this far. John approached the other statue and saw that his palm had already healed. No matter. Just another cut.

  He drew the blade across his palm and blood spilled onto the floor. Just as before, the blood rapidly disappeared when it touched the stones. The statue of the God of Adventure rapidly reassembled. Good. It worked.

 

  Thank you John. I am sorry I have little to offer you. My power has been drained from me by the god who lays below. A dread power that binds us here. I fear that even this offering is too late.

  Before the others protest, let us be gone. There is danger here.

  *You have bonded with the God Lachesis.

  John felt eyes boring into him. A dark and malicious aura of fury filled the room, and John knew himself to be in trouble. He turned to run but found a withered vine had wrapped around his ankles. The vine trailed back to the statue of the God of the Forest, though his statue, and that of all the others were no longer mere stone. They had become animated.

  A roar broke out as a giant stone hand smashed into Lachesis’ newly renewed statue while another did the same to Seonna’s. All the while a dark viscous substance spread out from the statue of the God of the Deep and began to cover them all, while the other gods turned their attention to the petty and impatient.

  Oh my god, what’s happening?

 

  Run John. You cannot save us from this. The covenant is broken.

  Chapter 23: He Who Makes A Beast of Himself

  * * *

  The vines around his legs pulled him in. The voices of Seonna and Lachesis were no longer able to reach him. A sort of dreamlike state came over him as the statue of the Goddess of Temperance and the God of Order exploded into dust as the rampage continued.

  The remaining statues all wanted the same thing. The one thing they could not take without his permission. His blood. All around him voices clamored and shouted each other down as each said some version or another of “Choose Me.”

  All because I chose more than one.. “Monsters. Not gods at all.” John muttered as he strained and put his hands against his ears to quell the sound. Useless. It’s all in my mind.

  He stood silently, facing the remaining pantheon. John’s racing thoughts were quieted a bit as the haze clouding his thoughts grew worse. The vine? Is it drugging me?

  The voices didn’t stop. Free us all. A little blood is all we require. Telling him, commanding him to submit. Help us.

  “Yes,” he agreed absentmindedly. “I can help you.”

  The words sounded hollow. What am I even saying? John clenched his fists against his head and screamed. “No. No. No. I chose. I chose Seonna. I chose Lachesis. My choice. It was mine to choose.”

  The frustration he was feeling welled up within him. He felt the dagger still in his hands and raised it in threat against the gods and laughed at the futility of the situation. The choice never mattered. Is this the true face of Macabre then? Was I not told all of them are liars? Why not these supposed gods as well.

 

  You always have a choice, John, and to each choice there is a consequence. Such is the way in the world above as it is below.

  You may choose not to choose, and that in itself is a choice.

  Whatever path you choose I will always be with you.

  See them as they truly are, not as they appear to be

  Do what you think is right. But see them for what they are.

  John felt a sense of reassurance as the words of the radiant presence washed over him. Some of the haze he had been feeling fell away. He closed his eyes and closed off his mind from the intrusions of the gods. John focused on the words of the radiant presence. In a determined voice he announced, “The choice is mine.”

  When John opened his eyes, the statues were no longer in front of him instead they had been replaced by their true forms. Monstrous visages and horrors alike. These are no gods at all.

  Where the statue of the Goddess of the Dead had been now stood a woman in a brittle looking white dress. But that was the resemblance to a woman ended. Where a face should have been was instead empty holes and twisted pieces of sinew that somehow kept the bones beneath it together. Thin strands of wispy white hair fall down in clumps. As he stared on in horror, the monster growled at him but didn’t move in his direction, her attention fixated on the widening black tar that was spreading through the room.

  All of them are monsters, he realized as he looked at the rest. Well not all of them he thought as he looked upon the broken remnants of the Goddess of Temperance. Where her statue had been, was instead the broken body of a young girl in modest dress with a band of flowers on her head. Blood flowed freely from multiple wounds and John knew instinctively that she was dead.

  Elsewhere, the God of Warriors and the God of Order lay dead in similar positions. Gold and silver armor lined with dents and punctures. What a waste. Why though? Why were they here at all with these monsters? As for Seonna and Lachesis, John saw nothing. Perhaps because I’ve bonded with them? Maybe they no longer exist here.

  A growl disturbed him. John looked over at the other supposed gods. First at the God of the Hearth, and where before he had seen merely grey stone, he now saw hanging rolls of fat and stretched skin with a face-stained red from wine. Just like the Gluttonous King. That’s what awaited me if I had chosen him.

  “You have more blood. Choose me as well. I offer what the others cannot. Answers.” Shouted a strangely female voice. John turned to look. He saw webs spread out in all directions, webs that hummed with unfamiliar energy. I’ve never liked spiders. “I said no. My decision was final.”

  “Let go of me.” John demanded, feeling the pull of the vines on his legs. He turned to their master, the God of the Forest and saw brambles and green leaves that vaguely resembled the body of a man. But most disturbing was the foul and fetid smell coming from the vines.

  It’s a carrion feeder. John realized as brambles and the flowers bloomed. But worst of all, John saw a human face looking out at him from within the petals and he moved back in revulsion. The spell was broken. John brought the dagger down and cut himself free.

  The vine whipped back, but not before striking out at him. A few drops of blood dropped to the ground, quickly absorbed by the black tar that had spread. John paid it no mind. He was focused solely on how to get away from the monsters.

  Behind him the door remained barred. The way out seemed shut. A horrid idea sprang to life in his mind. Better to die a man then whatever they would choose for me. John held the knife to his throat, ready to end it.

 

  I am the God of the Deep. I am known as Nemesis. I accept the offering of blood. I will still grant you a portion of my power. A fraction of my essence to repair your body and strengthen it. You will remain mostly human.

  But I didn’t offer you my blood. The choice was mine, and I chose Lachesis and Seonna.

 

  Yet I accepted. The blood that dripped from your face was sufficient. The cost of breaking the ancient covenant falls on another.

  John looked over at the God of the Forest as the monster fell to the ground and frantically begged for forgiveness. But from whom? The room glowed with golden light

 

  The one who lays below. The radiant one, Aeon. A true god. I have laid a trap for the others so they cannot follow. We will escape.

  Before John could even respond, some of the black tar like substance grabbed at him and pulled him away as the golden light exploded. The last sound he heard was the screaming of monsters and the howls of rage coming from the man in rags
. Followed by blissful silence as he passed out.

  Chapter 24: Allies. The Mage, the Healer, and the Rogue

  * * *

  John Younger woke up just outside the Church of the Twelve. What happened? What was that light?

 

  Lachesis - Aeon has claimed the pantheon. It was inevitable.

  Seonna - Ever since the young prince found his way to the lowest floor.

  Nemesis - Human notions can be corrupting. Notions of morality have driven Aeon mad.