There is a plane of existence separate from the Material World, yet intimately connected to it. Rivers of golden and silver light stream from the world below up into a field of clouds, upon which rises an island the size of a continent. Upon this island, life and nature flourishes and grows, not merely as a reflection of the world below, but as the paragon of what it can become. Golden and silver trees the height of mountains rise into the sky. White horses seem to glide across vast fields. Golden dragons soar among flocks of song birds, adding their mighty voices to the chorus. Schools of fish glimmer in pristine lakes, silver scales reflecting the sun like polished jewels. Buildings blend directly into the landscape as civilization and nature come together in perfect harmony, neither dominating the other but working together elevate both to new heights.

This is no Realm of Mana, nor any corner of the mortal world.

This is the Blessed Land, from which the Aesdes watch over the world.

And at the center of this place rises a mighty mountain, larger than any that exists in the land below. It rises high above a second layer of clouds such that its peak cannot be seen even from the Blessed Land, yet its summit glows with such light that all the residents of this play know where it lies, a gentle star that warms the day and soothes the night. At the top of this peak lies a solemn temple, carved from the stone of the mountain.

This the home of Anualë, Lord of Light and Sky, the protector of the world and everything in it, the First of the Aesdes, and appointed ruler of the Blessed Realm.

Anualë himself appeared as a kindly old man with a beard of light and white robes that fluttered as if in a breeze. He sat upon a large chair in his main hall, masterfully crafted, yet flat on the floor, for the First of the Aesdes did not elevate himself above his kin, or any other. From here, he watched the world and the Blessed Land, and gave counsel to all who sought him out.

Said Anualë was currently staring with his eyes half open and his shoulders slumped. He heaved a sigh and then rose to his full height.

As he did, his appearance shifted, for the Aesdes are not defined by their material flesh so much as by the weight of their existence, and so are able to appear as they desire, contingent on their stature. In this case, Anualë changed from a kindly old man to a stern warrior in his prime, clothed in golden armor with a glowing sword upon his back. Wind picked up around him as he rose into the sky, gazing down upon the two individuals who stood in his hall. Before him stood a beautiful human woman with golden hair and a crown of leaves, silver robes, a golden sword, and a bright aura of light around her, and a pitch-black cat wearing a tiara filled with countless gems of every color.

“Colleöne, Lady of Courage and Victory, She Who Guides the Champions of the World. Shialnor, Lady of Mana and the Boundary, She Who Cultivates the Gardens of Mana. Let us start from the beginning.”

Colleöne and Shialnor both gulped.

“When we received word of the Walking Dungeon, we were deeply concerned. But as we turned our gaze to her, we discovered that she is a traveler from another reality entirely, and her situation was the result of her unique existence. For such a being to have arrived on our shores is something beyond even our ken. We decided it was the will of Elséró and that we should not interfere, but that we would celebrate an existence we had not conceived of before. In any case, the…timing of the discovery would have precluded any intervention.”

Colleöne glared at Shialnor but Shialnor looked away and started cleaning her paws.

“Then, she became the Hero Dungeon, the first of its kind ever to exist. Our hearts were troubled by this, but such doubts were easily whisked away. She performed a great service to us and to the world, at great risk to her own being. Your judgment was right, Colleöne, and though our hearts trembled at the possibilities, we were glad to see this traveler defend her new home, and concluded it was only right to reward her as her deeds deserved.”

Colleöne nodded. Shialnor continued her cleaning. Anualë then frowned.

“And then…she forged a new race entirely, one that innately accesses the power of Elséró that flows through the world. We still cannot see what effect this will have on the future, and have not come to an agreement on how we should look after this new race. But, the birth of new life is to be celebrated, so celebrate it we did.”

Anualë now took a deep breath.

“And that…brings us to today.”

He held his head with his hand.

“Please, enlighten us if you will…why exactly is there a second Material Plane now? Not to mention…the birth of a new Aesdes? Please explain the events that led to this outcome in a manner that I can understand…and accept.”

Colleöne and Shialnor glared at each other. Colleöne crossed her arms.

“You explain it.”

Shialnor tilted her head.

“Ehhhhh, me? No thanks, you do it.”

“You’re the Lady of Mana and the Boundary! This is clearly your jurisdiction!”

“Eh, but, like, it’s all about Holy mana, right? Isn’t that your job?”

“Enough.”

Anualë gave a stern look to both of them, and then turned his gaze to Shialnor. Shialnor gulped and nodded.

“R-Right, so…the boundaries between Realms in the Source are more metaphysical than geographic, right?”

Anualë nodded.

“So it is.”

“And…the power of Elséró is currently expanding the Material plane when it comes into contact with the Source at the edge of the world, right?”

Anualë nodded again.

“As Elséró wills, that all life new and old may find a home to call their own.”A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Shialnor slowly nodded.

“Right. And…you know about that whole ‘anti-mana’ thing she does, right?”

Anualë nodded.

“A sobering thought, but yes, a key part of her unique nature. The power of another reality, proof of her otherworldly origin.”

Shialnor gulped.

“Right, so…she, um, got sent to a Realm of Mana, the Realm of Eternal Night to be specific. If she…um…used the anti-mana thing she might have cleared a small area of that Realm’s attribute, returning it to base Source. If she then applied another attribute and completely filled a space around her with it…she could have sectioned off a new Realm. And if that attribute was Holy…well…then upon contact with the Source…”

Anualë sighed.

“It would have extended the Material Plane…only in a separate place, and so formed a new one instead. But within that idea lies another question. If she was sent to the Realm of Eternal Night, even our power would have struggled to reach her, given that realm is shrouding darkness made manifest. And I thought we designed the Holy Magic circles to be practically impossible for the mortals to cast unassisted? How was it she was able to cast Holy spells while cut off from our support?”

Shialnor frowned.

“That has to do with the nature of her existence. From what I can tell, these ‘cybernetic components’, particularly the ones bonded to her mind, are designed to store and process information. They have been assisting her with casting magic circles from the very beginning, and are largely responsible for her rapid growth in the mystic arts. So…if she had recorded a Holy Magic circle ahead of time, her own unique characteristics could have assisted her in forming the circle. Not to mention her Holy Dungeon Core affinity…she would have had the ability to generate Holy mana in her core, and so could still cast the spells even if she was cut off from the Material Plane.”

Anualë sighed again.

“Well, what’s done is done, I suppose. The fact is there now exists two Material Planes, one of which appears to belong to NSLICE-00P. But…I suppose it’s not that different from how the normal dungeons operate. Shialnor, you must integrate this new plane into NSLICE-00P’s dungeon record. Now that it exists it is our responsibility; I would not see it destroyed by collision with the first or by subsumption into a Realm of Mana.”

Shialnor bowed her head, holding back a sigh. Anualë took a deep breath.

“Now, that brings us to our second issue.”

Shialnor immediately turned to Colleöne.

“Your turn.”

“Me?”

Shialnor nodded.

“It’s your fault, after all.”

Colleöne glared at her.

“My fault? You’re the one responsible for the whole Hero Dungeon situation!”

Shialnor nodded.

“And you’re the one who got with a mortal.”

Colleöne scowled.

“You leave my Velus out of this!”

Shialnor smirked.

“Calm down, I haven’t said anything about him. I’m talking solely about you, the girl who spread the blood of the Aesdes among the mortals because one was too handsome for her.”

Anualë shook his head.

“Enough. Colleöne, can you explain what happened here?”

Colleöne jumped and gulped.

“Well, um, it seemed the human girl, Ateia, was disintegrating from mana overload. NSLICE-00P attempted to save her by Contracting her and then conducting a manual evolution to restore her missing body. It…appears to have succeeded.”

Anualë raised an eyebrow.

“That explains the why, but the why is not what concerns me. How exactly did a dungeon evolution produce an Aesdes?”

Colleöne averted her gaze.

“Well…um…if I understand it correctly, the dungeon monster evolution process reads all of the records regarding the individual to extrapolate how they can become a greater version of themselves. And…um…because of her…lineage…the human girl had the blood of the Aesdes within her. Not only that, but NSLICE-00P has a Holy affinity, and the ritual conducted on Ateia flooded her with Holy mana. And…um…since there aren’t exactly evolution options for humans or Holy-attributed beings…the…um…only example record of greater stature that resembled her state was…well…her ancestor…”

Anualë took a deep, long breath.

“And now, a human has been elevated to an Aesdes while still living in the Material Plane, and under the contract of a dungeon to boot…”

Colleöne gulped.

“W-Well…Aesdes might be a bit of an exaggeration. She’s, um, something similar in type but she is obviously much lesser in stature. She is like a lizard is to a dragon when compared to even the lowest of the citizens of the Blessed Land.”

Anualë narrowed his eyes on her.

“It is the type that is important here. An individual’s stature may grow or diminish over time. You should know this most of all, Wife of Velus, the ascended one.”

Colleöne just hung her head. Anualë sighed deeply.

“We will need to discuss exactly what should be done. But, this Ateia and her savior are both on a path none of us have ever seen before and none of us can see the end of. It is clear that we must pay closer attention to them than we have. It would not do to let one of our own stumble her way through the world without counsel or aid.”

And then Anualë made a small smile.

“Besides…she is your family, Colleöne. I suppose it would be boorish of us to withhold her from you.”

Colleöne blushed and looked away. Anualë chuckled for a bit, but then his smile dropped.

“Well, let us join the others then, and discuss the other side of this. These ‘Heralds of the New Dawn’ are much greater in both power and lore than we thought possible for mortals of their stature, we must determine how exactly they have come so far.”

The Herald of the New Dawn himself entered into the communication device once more, connecting through the Realms of Mana.

This time, only one other person joined him. The Herald of Rain, the only survivor among the Heralds present in Corvanus. The Herald of the New Dawn frowned.

“You are certain of this?”

The Herald of Rain nodded her head repeatedly.

“Positive. I saw the Herald of Night banish NSLICE-00P to the Realm of Eternal Night with my own eyes! She was gone, I would not be here if I had made a move on the girl with her still around. I barely got out of there in time when she returned.”

The Herald of the New Dawn took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Decades of planning after centuries of preparing the conditions, all to come apart in under a year. All due to this one girl who came out of nowhere.

They thought they had accounted for her, and all other factors. The hero was banished to the Realms of Mana, the Legion and the Imperial Guard were all drawn away from Corvanus, the Imperial Mages were occupied, and they had the hidden princess in their grasp to make the ritual even stronger than they had planned for. They even triggered the ritual and opened the Rift!

And yet, for all that, this NSLICE-00P still found a way to stop them. She somehow returned from the Realm of Eternal Night, entirely intact, then punched through their defenses and disrupted the ritual. And then she somehow managed to personally close the Rift that had already formed.

At this point, the Herald of the New Dawn wouldn’t be surprised if she saved the princess too, even after the princess had been sacrificed as the ritual’s conduit. Impossible seemed like barely an inconvenience for this girl.

The Herald of Rain clutched her head.

“Just…who is she?! I thought it was impossible to escape from the Realm of Eternal Night!”

The Herald of the New Dawn rubbed his chin.

“It should have been…for any human of this world, at least.”

The Herald of the Rain tilted her head.

“What do you mean, ‘from this world?’ That’s…where else would she have come from?”

“Where indeed…?”

The Herald of the New Dawn looked up and hummed for a minute.

“I believe I will need to look into this personally. Clearly, we have gravely underestimated this NSLICE-00P, and we have paid a heavy price for doing so. Go, head out East and take refuge with our brothers and sisters there. It is no longer safe for you to remain here.”

The Herald of Rain frowned.

“Sir…will you be alright?”

He smiled at her.

“Of course. She’s never met me, after all. And I do not plan to move against her again until we understand her completely. I will exercise extreme caution.”

The Herald of Rain nodded.

“Then, I will head out immediately. Good luck, sir.”

And the Herald of the New Dawn both exited the space, his consciousness returning to his body. He rubbed his chin.

“NSLICE-00P, huh? You had my curiosity before, but now you have my attention. I suppose I only have myself to blame for moving forward without investigating you properly. But now…it’s time to find out who exactly this outsider is, and where exactly she came from.”

He made a small smirk.

“After all, is it not the job of the Aesdes to protect the world from intruders?”

He stood up, and then vanished in a flash of light.