Nothing but pain and darkness. The pain is fading, but it's there. It's always there. I don't know how long I've been like this. Days, weeks. Pop is gone; he won’t respond to any of my commands. I'm alone. Alone in the darkness.

  The pain makes focusing hard, but every so often something slips through. I can hear voices from the outside world. They’re muffled most of the time, but sometimes, if I focus, I can make out a few words. It makes the pain worse, but it's worth it. I catch pieces of what’s happening in the world around me. This dwarf who stole me is begging people for money. I can hear the desperation in his voice growing each time someone rejects him. His pain is the only thing keeping me going.

  “Open menu. Current status. Come on, Pop, I know you're there. Give me a sign. A screen, a ding. Anything.” The all-consuming darkness stares back at me with its cold indifference, reminding me I'm alone here. "Create a spawner, show resources. For the love of god Pop, answer me, please." I say, letting out a pathetic whimper, as my voice falters.

  Nothing, no answer, no response, no menus. I’m trapped here alone, and it may be forever. "Am I going to spend the rest of my life alone here in this darkness? Is this why the goddess didn’t want me to pick this option? Did she know this would happen?"

  I don’t know how many days passed after that. It could be none, it could be 100, but the pain is becoming manageable. I wish I could say that was a blessing, but it's not. Without it, I'm losing myself in here. My only respite from the maddening void is the voices of those around me. I can hear them more clearly now. I can hear the dwarf arguing with others over prices. He's already sold everything he owns and now he's begging for coins on the street.

  “You won't get a better price than that, Brollyn. That bat thing is making trade with the other towns impossible.”

  "A bat is terrorising the town? What sort of anime bullshit is." I pause, a cautious laugh growing within me. "A Bat. Could it be? Are they talking about Lady Fluffy Butt?" A feeling of hope washes over me, and I revel in it. "How could I forget about her? My big, beautiful girl doesn’t need me to survive." My laughter grows as a flicker of hope grows within me. "Lady Fluffy Butt is coming to save me, and I... Well, there's not much I can do right now, but you'd better believe I'm going to spoil her rotten if she gets me out of this. She's getting all the upgrades and anything else she wants."

  A flickering blue screen appears in front of me, the white text scrolling across it at a snail's pace.

  Upgrade complete.

  Launching WEEB system version 2.0.0.

  Greetings Unnamed dungeon.

  New system available, counter magic.

  List of spells being countered.

  Binding spell. Current progress 50%.

  Note: Mana production has restarted.

  Note: All other functions currently unavailable to unnamed dungeon.

  “Pop? Pop, are you back?”

  A loud ding rings through my head as Pop's screen clears.

  Yes, System Pop is functioning at acceptable levels.

  “Hey buddy, I missed you. It's been real quiet without you around.” I squeak out before my emotions get the better of me.

  Pop's screen clears again.

  System notice.

  All system resources that had been allocated to upgrading the WEEB system have been moved to countering the binding ritual.

  I breathe in hard to steady the torrent of emotions inside me. “Well, it's good to have you back, buddy. I was losing my mind being stuck here alone."

  Correct, the sanity of Unnamed dungeon was dropping at an alarming rate. It was deemed necessary to prevent further decline by restoring mana production and system Pop's interactivity.

  I can’t help but giggle at Pop's blunt message. "You're not wrong. I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted by myself."

  Calculating..........

  Complete.

  Unnamed dungeon would have lasted 8 days, 4 hours, 11 minutes and 47 seconds before permanent mental degradation.

  I pull myself closer to Pop's screen and laugh at the message. "Good to have you back, you goober."

  A voice seems to split the darkness, and unlike the others, this one is clear as crystal. “Hello? Hello little core? Can you hear me? Did I draw the circle wrong or something? No, no, this all looks good. HELLO MR. DUNGEON CORE, ARE YOU IN THERE!”

  The deep, raspy voice of an old man rings through my head, his words shaking my soul like the goddesses had. “God, is that you?”

  A deafening laughter erupts from all around me. “No, no, little core. I am very much not a god. My name is Grandal, and I am the mage that will bind you to your new master.”

  "Could you not? I’m already halfway through breaking this seal. I'd hate to have to start again."

  Laughter fills the darkness once again. “Oh, I like you. It's not every day I get to work on a core with a bit of chutzpah. May I have your name?”

  “Nope, that's some fae shit. I'll be keeping my name, thank you very...” Before I can finish, an unseen force takes control of me and forces me to obey. “I have no name. My system calls me the Unnamed dungeon.”

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  “Well, that makes things easier for me. Brollyn, do you have my payment... Oh gods, why is it in silver coins... No, I don’t have time to count them now... The core is already 50% free... No, don’t go exchange it at the moneylenders. It’s fine... As long as it's all here, I don’t care...”

  "Pop, how did that guy control me? Is it the binding? That has to be it. Nobody has tried to talk to me before, so the binding made me follow his commands?"

  Analizing........

  Error: Mind control is not part of the binding spell.

  Error: An unknown external spell is controlling Unnamed dungeon's mind

  Note: Unnamed dungeon is compromised; all commands will now be vetted by the WEEB system.

  "Yeah, that's a good idea." I say, moving myself away from Pop's screen. "Pop, focus all resources on breaking free." A loud ding rings through my head as Pop's blue screen disappears. "All I need to do is buy enough time for Lady Fluffy Butt to get here and extract me."

  The voice returns, interrupting my thoughts again. “Honestly, copper coins! Do I look like a peasant to you... No, it's fine. We need to do this before the binding breaks... Shut up and sit down... No not there... By the Gods, would you hurry up, Brollyn... Yes, yes, hands over the core... No, not like that!.” Grandal says his voice sounding more agitated by the second.

  “Like this?” Comes the voice of the dwarf that captured me.

  “Yes, like that. Alright, let's begin.” The darkness I've been trapped in shudders as it turns a vibrant light blue. “By the law of this world, I bind this unnamed core to Brollyn of the wastes forever. Brollyn, from this day forward, this core's power will be yours. Do you accept?” The light around me swirls and bends, forming Grandal's words.

  “I do.” Brollyn says with quiet reverence.

  “Unnamed dungeon, you are already a slave and therefore have no say in this matter. In the name of the four great gods, I bind your souls together. May this bond last for all time. ”

  “Hang on a second, what do you mean I don't get a say in this?” I say as the words fix into place in front of me.

  Pop appears in front of the words, its screen pulsing red.

  Note: Unknown spell activated.

  Error: System controls not responding.

  Note: New user added.

  Note: New user's permissions set to admin.

  Note: Unnamed dungeon's permissions set to read-only.

  Error: WEEB system deemed unnecessary, appealing.......

  Appeal Failed. Attempting again.......

  Appeal Failed. No attempts remaining.

  Error: WEEB system is to be deleted, appealing.......

  Appeal Failed. Attempting again.......

  My vision grows hazy.

  "I can’t."

  "I... What was I doing again?"

  "Where is all the color going?"

  "I want to go home."

  "Home to my."

  "Home."

  "Home to my master Brollyn's place."

  "Master Brollyn, please help."

  "Please, Master."

  "I feel nothing."

  "I am nothing."

  "There is nothing."

  "Only nothing."

  "There is nothing here except my master's orders. I feel his will pulling on my mana, and I must obey."

  Pain comes for me, but it is my master's will, so I must endure.

  My master wields me well. I can feel my power growing.

  I grow stronger every day. My master is so wise.

  The pain returns, but I endure; it is bearable for my master's sake

  I can feel it now. I’m becoming stronger. This power I wield for my master has become great indeed.

  The pain is back. It takes some of my power with it. Why must the master take it from me?

  My power swells anew. I can feel my master carving through the earth. He carves rooms and floors. He is always working, always crafting. I’m lucky to have such a master.

  The pain is back again. What is this feeling? Why does it take my strength? What could cause pain like this? Master, is it you?

  The rooms the master carves are strange. He does not make a dungeon. This is a place for people. A place they can live. Why would someone want to live in a dungeon underground?

  That pain again! What could it be? Why do I feel it? There has to be a way to find out. Could my master know the answer?

  I can feel my mana growing again. It’s the same feeling I felt when I started making my dungeon. This feeling is good. It makes me happy.

  I can feel my mana capacity growing with each room he crafts.

  Master is working on something new. It has no place to live? It has so many spawners. Is it a place to work?

  I’m crafting nodes to be harvested? This is good! People will come for them and make me strong.

  That pain again. It steals my mana capacity!

  I can’t breathe. Am I leaving the dungeon? Why would I leave the dungeon? Why make a dungeon only to leave it?

  The outside makes my breathlessness worse. I remember this feeling.

  The dwarf... I mean the master is building something. It’s something for himself for once. A home.

  The entrance is huge!

  Master is spending far too long carving the walls. Not that I would question the master's will.

  My mana grows, master is feeding me. That same dwarf cloth as always. I’m so tired of that same old cloth. Not that I’m ungrateful or anything. I’ll eat whatever master offers me.

  How many years have passed since I began serving my master? How many times have I built a dungeon? Why does this dwarf care so much about this dungeon... I mean my master. Why does my master care?

  My mind is returning to me. It's not all back yet, but it’s enough for me to realize that it was missing. I’m crazy, but I’m sane enough to know I'm crazy. I don’t know how long it's been, but I know what Master Brollyn is doing with my powers now. He’s carving a city. An underground city. "I can’t believe I forgot dwarfs lived underground." I say, a gentle throbbing in my head making it hard to focus.

  I'm growing more aware of how the dwarf is using me. Most of the dungeons he has carved are basic. But not this one. This one he spends so much time on. It must be his home.

  I know what the pain is now. The dwarf is taking a piece of me. Not sure if that's literal or not.

  I know now. I know it all. The pain is that asshole carving chunks off of me. I don’t know how, but he’s turning them into new cores. I can feel it. One second I can feel the dungeon and the next it disappears. I can feel his magic mixed with mine. I can feel him using it to spy on people. The other cores obey, but I am different. I can feel his thoughts. He’s looking for threats or things that interest him.

  I feel my dungeon growing deeper into the ground. I know he’s home has to be the deepest. He wants his home deeper than any others.

  We started work on a new dungeon today. This one is different. Most of the work he's forced me to do so far has been for peasants. Simple and easy work but now, now the dungeons are of a better quality. My guess, he's creating them for the noble class.

  I can sense how he uses my mana. His actions are deliberate. He's producing dungeons that are good but not great. I can make better things than this, but he keeps them to himself. This dwarf is truly selfish.

  My mind is back, and I remember everything. My life, my dungeon, the slave contract, and the fucking dwarf responsible for it all. "Brollyn, mark my words. I’ll be free of you one day, and when that day finally comes, I’ll take everything from you. Your lands, your riches and anything else you hold dear will be mine. Once I'm done, you’ll wish for death, but I won't let you die. I'll torment you in the most painful way possible, even if it costs me my soul."

  "One day I’ll be free, and when that day comes. I will have my revenge."