Chrysalis

I look over my options one last time before I confirm everything. I have to say, the ol’ status sheet is looking pretty darn good. A massive boost in stats, my brains becoming mutable, a heck of a lot more physical power and the benefits of expanding my Vestibule setup to become even more of an enduring powerhouse. I can hardly wait! Not to mention the slow process of reforging my body into something better than what I started with is quite exciting. It may only be the antennae and Vestibule so far, but eventually the whole body will be remade! We can make it better! Faster! Stronger! We have the technology!

Satisfied with what I see, I confirm the options and once more feel my consciousness falling into the now-familiar sinkhole of nothingness. The sensation of having your awareness circling the drain filled with a black void is a little disconcerting, I have to say. But as the saying goes, you can adapt to anything, so it's more of a detached fascination that I feel as I fall endlessly until I come into the presence of the great bearded one once more.

[I don't actually have a beard, you know.]

The voice echoes out into my mind, sounding mildly amused.

Look, Gandalf has a beard. Gandalf without a beard just isn't a thing. I don't think my mind could even comprehend it. Like… fire without heat or water without wet. If Gandalf didn't have a beard, would he even be Gandalf? Actually, this is getting deep…

[I am not this Gandalf that you keep calling me. You do realise that, don't you?]

Are you going to tell me your name this time?

[No.]

Gandalf you remain.

[… I suppose that's fair enough. In terms of the level of delusion those in your position usually possess, this is quite minor, all things considered.]

Yeah, that's a question I have actually. How many of my kind are actually kicking around down here?! Since the last time we spoke, I've met three. Three! It's not like I've covered a wide range of territory either, only a tiny sliver of the world! Are you snatching souls from Earth constantly? What's your deal, man?!

[The collection and injection of souls into the world is not something I handle directly. It is mere happenstance that your world aligns closely with this one. When a suitable soul is detected, it is drawn here and reborn into the Dungeon. It is simply a thing that is.]

You've mentioned this before, but 'suitable' tends to mean

of surviving the transition to a monstrous form. The following challenge of having to endure within

you have

time before the filter could determine who had the better chance of

like a relatively mild way of describing people suffering breakdowns and getting eaten

I said, it isn't something I control directly, it is

You weren't lying about Garralosh, by the way, she was completely gone. Fully nuts. To be honest, if it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't have survived fighting

not tempered by cunning. She grew too fast, and did not hide her strength from those who would do her harm. Any monster that shows such rapid growth is marked with a target, something she

that same target painted on my back now, seeing as I was

some extent, perhaps. You have already drawn to your side those that

Granin and the triad? You know about the cult? Or should

that is outside of my purview

know all about the ancients and the stuff that they have going

scope,] the voice sounds rather smug at this, [regardless of what they might wish, they are

to break out of the System. Is something like

in all the blanks for you? What reason would I have to answer such a

you're super

got a laugh out of

you on a powerful trajectory. I am curious, however, if you are so comfortable tying so much of strength into the survival of your species. Without them, you will only possess a fraction of

they all die, it's not like

[…]

…

[Why?]