“Where are we going now, Master?” Carmine asked after we spent a night at the ruins.

I walked out and stretched, considering if I should catch another tiger. I didn’t think even that animal could hold both of us on it, so I decided against it. I had left my horse tied by the fort. He was undead, however, so it probably wasn’t a big deal if he stayed there a while. It wasn’t like he was going to starve to death.

“We’ll need to go back to the fort,” I explained.

She was the princess, and the fort was the place she was supposed to return to. However, just bringing her there would change the course of events for this dungeon. The lore would begin to change, and I couldn’t say whether it’d even be possible to satisfy the lore if it didn’t run the same way as the story suggested. The Demon Prince was supposed to take the princess back to his castle, they’d fall in love, and then the humans would attack the demons trying to reclaim her. At least, that’s how the story seemed to be going.

The other reason I wanted to return to the fort was to see if there was another safe room and Greggar’s test there. I was interested in gaining the next reward. I still had the Star Potion in my hand. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use it or not. There was no guarantee what it would do. I could use God-eye on it, but I wanted to be cautious and not rush things.

“Just do it, Master!”

“W-wait! Stop!”

Carmine caught me looking at the bottle with a frown and so she swiped it from my hand and then pinched a bit of fairy dust on it. At this point, it’d be impossible to recover it, so I might as well use God-eye. With a sigh, I used the skill to look at the Star Potion more in-depth.”

{Star Potion – An ancient potion made from stardust and created by a dungeon. It will restore a person to their complete selves, in body, mind, and spirit.}

“Wait… isn’t this exactly what I needed?” I cried out as I read what the God-eye just told me to Carmine.

“Yes! Master, this might be able to repair your soul. You’ll be back to full strength! It’ll fix the damage of your soul.”

“What about the blessings and my slave connections?”

“I don’t know, Master.” She shook her head. “You’ll just have to try it and see.”

I nodded. “Very well.”

I took the potion and popped it open, and then immediately downed the vial in a single motion. It tasted bitter, like cough syrup, but I made sure to drink the entire thing rather than guess at it. A moment later, I could feel a warmth growing throughout my body. My connection to Carmine suddenly returned.

“I can feel you as my slave again!”

“It’s working!”

I suddenly felt something burning and hot around my throat. It felt like the dark magic was fighting back. My eyes bulged as I suddenly felt like I was being choked.

“Master!” I collapsed to the ground as Carmine cried out with worry.

A moment later, I felt a crack, and then the pressure around my neck disappeared.

{The dark seal has been broken.}

“Finally, my true power has been unlocked!” I cried out.

“What?”

“Sorry, I just always wanted to say that.”