The dome pulsed with a soft, steady light, a heartbeat for their new, small world. It was a barrier of absolute safety. A cage of impossible beauty.
To Rhys, it was a problem solved. A graphical glitch fixed with a neat perimeter effect.
To Liora, it was the ultimate mockery of her existence. He had, with a single, casual gesture, created a defense more perfect and all-encompassing than a million sworn knights could ever provide. The dread she'd felt at The Bleed's return was now replaced by the hollow echo of her own obsolescence.
Theia, meanwhile, was adding a new entry to the tome, her quill a blur of motion. Her penmanship grew bolder with every act of creation she witnessed. And He saw the fraying edge of the world, and with a word, bound it within the Celestial Weave, an unbreakable aegis of starlight. The Great Unraveling was rebuked, and existence within His sphere was made absolute and eternal.
"Okay, a cave system," Rhys said, breaking the reverent silence as he turned from the dome's edge to face the mountain's stony flank. "Every starting zone needs one. Good for resources, a bit of exploration... a 'first dungeon' experience, you know?"
He walked up to a sheer wall of dark basalt, studying it like a carpenter eyeing a plank of wood. Liora and Theia followed, their emotions a stark contrast. Liora was adrift, a warrior without a war. Theia was vibrating with anticipation, a scribe waiting for the next verse.
"A natural-looking entrance is key," Rhys muttered. "Not just a square hole in the wall. It needs to look like it was worn away by time." He placed his hand on the rock face. "Let's say a few thousand years of wind and water erosion, right about... here."
GROOOOAN-CRACK...
The sound wasn't an explosion. It was the deep, protesting groan of ancient stone being persuaded to change its mind. The flat wall of basalt buckled inward. Cracks spread, not randomly, but in the perfect, fractal patterns of natural erosion. Boulders and pebbles tumbled out as a wide, arched opening formed in the mountainside, its edges worn smooth as if by a millennium of storms.
Rhys stepped back, admiring his handiwork. From within the new opening came the scent of damp earth and cool stone, and the faint, echoing sound of dripping water.
He was about to step inside when Liora moved with a speed that blurred the air. She planted herself firmly in the entrance, one arm outstretched to block his path. Her expression, for the first time since he'd met her, was not one of reverence or terror. It was one of fierce, unwavering resolve.
"My Lord, stop!" she commanded, her voice ringing with newfound authority. "Allow me to go first. The darkness is unknown. It may hold dangers."
Rhys blinked, surprised and amused. "Oh. Right. Dangers." He'd created the cave, so he knew it was empty, but he instantly grasped her meaning from a game-design perspective. He'd forgotten a crucial step. "Good point. It's not a real dungeon if it's just an empty tunnel. You need some mobs to populate it."
He'd said it with the casual air of a painter deciding to add a few trees to a landscape. Liora, however, heard it as a confirmation of her greatest fears and hopes. There were dangers. He did need her. Her purpose wasn't a mockery after all.
Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, hardening her expression. "I will be your shield, Progenitor. I will face whatever crawls in the dark."
Theia watched the exchange, a slow, knowing smile gracing her lips. She understood. The Knight needed a threat to validate her role as Shield. So, The Progenitor would provide one. It was all part of his divine plan. Her quill began to move again. And the Knight of Starlight, she who was first reborn, claimed her holy mandate as Vanguard, the bulwark against the creeping shadows of the deep places.
Rhys gave Liora an encouraging nod. "Good initiative, Liora. That's the spirit." He stepped over to a section of the new cave wall just inside the entrance, where a vein of milky quartz crystals pulsed with a faint, internal light—another little aesthetic detail he'd added for ambiance.
He tapped a large, fist-sized crystal with his finger. "Okay, so what kind of mobs...?" He thought for a moment. "Goblins are overdone. Slimes are boring. Let's go with something that matches the decor."
He infused his thought with intent. Okay, dream. Let's try some object animation. Take this crystal. Basic quadrupedal form. Simple aggression AI. Patrol this area. Let's call it... a Shard Hound.
The quartz crystal he was touching began to glow brighter.
CRACK.
Tiny fractures spiderwebbed across its surface. The glow intensified, pulsing like a heartbeat.
KRRR-ACK... SCRAPE...
The crystal tore itself loose from the wall, trailing rocky residue. In mid-air, it reformed. Four jagged legs of crystal grew from its underside. A crude, blocky head formed on one end, with two points of brighter light igniting within it like primitive eyes.
THUD.
The creature, about the size of a large dog, landed on the cave floor. It was made of rough, semi-translucent crystal and moved with a stiff, grinding gait, its crystalline limbs scraping against the stone. It let out a sound like rocks grating together.
GRIND... KRRSSH...
Liora stared. She had witnessed the birth of a world. Now, she was witnessing the birth of its first monster. It was ugly. Unnatural. A parody of life, born from inanimate stone. And it was a direct, manifest threat to her god.
Joy, fierce and pure, surged through her.
Rhys, meanwhile, was critiquing his work. "Hmm. The animation is a little clunky. And the sound effect could use more bass. But the model itself looks great. Love the refractions." He turned to Liora. "Alright. There you go. Your first monster. Try not to break it too fast, I want to see how the combat mechanics work."
He stepped back out of the cave entrance to get a better view, crossing his arms like a spectator at a sports match.
The Shard Hound's glowing eyes fixed on Liora. It identified her as a foreign presence. Its simple AI tagged her as hostile. With another grinding scrape, it lowered its head and charged.
Liora didn't hesitate. She met its charge with a fluid, powerful grace that seemed utterly at odds with her previous helplessness. For the first time, she was in her element. Her purpose, so long in doubt, was now a solid, tangible thing charging right at her.
"For The Progenitor!" she yelled, her voice a battle cry that echoed off the new-formed walls.
She sidestepped the hound's clumsy lunge, its crystal claws scraping uselessly on the stone where she'd been standing. In a single, fluid motion, she spun, bringing the hardened edge of her hand down on the creature's back.
The strike was infused with a sliver of her own being—the starlight of her wings, the certainty of her devotion.
CRACK-TINK!
The blow landed with the sound of shattering glass. A web of cracks erupted across the Shard Hound's crystalline body. It stumbled, its grinding noises pitching higher in something that sounded like pained confusion.
It was hurt. She could fight it. She could win.
Outside the cave, Rhys whistled appreciatively. "Nice! Hand-to-hand combat skill tree is unlocked, apparently. Her form is excellent."
He leaned over to Theia, who was watching with wide, unblinking eyes, documenting every blow.
"She just needs a weapon," he said thoughtfully. "Bare-handed is cool for a monk class, but for a holy knight? She really needs a sword."