There were many unanswered questions that would have driven Uriel crazy, like the aning of the carvings in the walls by the end of the dungeon that dusa ignored or the reason how did hybrids beca the guardians of a dungeon. But right now the only mystery dusa wanted to figure out was how to open the door. She attempted to push, then pull, then knock, yet unsurprisingly nothing worked.
The nagas, although very helpful and chatty, quickly ran away the mont they realized dusa was serious about entering the door without telling her if opening the heavy doors was even possible or what lied beyond them.
Anyone who saw dusa would have thought she was excited to enter the next chamber, desperate even. But those who knew her would have noticed that she didn't really give it her all. Not because her bashing at the door lacked power, but because dusa was well aware of the fact that such chanisms were made with the sole purpose of withstanding the power of much larger and powerful creatures and the only tool she could use to get it to open was her head.
Still, with each strike dusa vented a part of her frustration and fears, which taking into consideration how she didn't have much ti to think about what would happen after crossing the door turned her strange behavior into so sort of ditation technique that allowed her to finally ease her mind.
"I can't read these things." She lanted after finally noticing the glyphs carved all around her. She knew they could contain all sorts of technology that depending on the dungeon could even be considered ground breaking discoveries that could lead humanity to an era of peace and co existence with the environnt. The carvings on the wall could even hold the key to her secret wish of being able to explore the universe and maybe populate other planets.
Not having Uriel by her side ant that she would never find out what they ant, though she also wished Uriel was there to provide emotional support. Of all the people she ever t, Uriel had to be the least in touch with his emotions, but that was precisely what always put dusa at ease. She considered him to be the immovable object that would forever remain the sa, even in front of the worst odds.
"What would he do? He'd probably use his head," She asked herself shaking her head to dispel flashes of a desperate Uriel banging his head on the doors until blood stained it. "not like that, silly." She chuckled, then looked at the suspicious emblem of dusa in the middle doors which caused her to fall back on her primitive fear that left her paralyzed. She had known the emblem was there, though she ignored it on purpose as every ti she looked at it fear would seep into her soul like an infectious disease. "right, he would do that."
Ignoring the ever growing fear that rendered even a heavenly rank hunter unable to think properly, dusa lifted her arm and removed the coin from the double doors causing them to hiss open automatically. Air ca outside the chamber with a moan carrying the stench of stale air and the final chamber of the dungeon was finally revealed.
"It's just air pressure differential." She said to herself, the horrendous coin still in her hand when the chamber ca into sight.
The place was ridden with statues of all sizes, all shaped like humans in varied positions. From begging to valiant defiance, yet upon closer inspection dusa confird the sa pained expression on them all. Open mouths and eyes, distorted cheeks and a defensive position. They were the kind of dreadful sculpture that would have made for an excellent horror museum, especially when considering that all of them used to be human, yet what scared dusa even more was the thought that had she not learned how to control her trait this could have been her.
Forced to live far from humans in order to not kill everyone who looked at her, with nothing to do but to admire forever the faces of her victims. Unable to break them out of pity and guilt, they would be the perfect wardens for a self isolated creature.
"Walter, is that you?" The voice that filled the air was sweet as honey. It was the kind of voice like that of people who used to work at radio stations in the old day, it was a voice that would leave those who listened to it thinking that it could only co from an attractive young woman. "don't play gas with , did you bring more stories?"
"No." dusa replied.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Leave, leave now if you know what's best for you." The sweet voice turned sour and beca more distant, which prompted dusa to follow as she spoke.
"I ca all the way here looking for you, I've been wanting to et you my whole life." dusa insisted as she walked across the chamber, each step creaking whenever her foot encountered a stone. Following the sounds dusa was able to sohow locate the woman, though it took so calculations as she had to take into account the doppler effect of the sounds. Now that she was certain, she jumped directly over the stones in an acrobatic display that caused her to land directly in front of her mother.
"Don't look at , you will die!" The woman cried, but dusa was certain to be immune to the petrifying glare. But even if she wasn't, she had readied her mind to even the worst case scenario and deed it to be worthy.
But that was before the pitiful creature presented in front of her eyes. The creature in front of her did not look like a human anymore as she had snakes instead of hair, red glowing beastly eyes almost too large to fit in her face, protruding fangs and a famished human body barely covered in dirty rags. But more importantly, a flux orb embedded in her forehead that made it seem as though she had a third eye.
"Mom? What did they do to you?" dusa hugged the cryptid, letting out the exact sa tears she had been crying since she was a child and the cryptid replied by freezing on the spot, her mouth filled with uneven fangs locked open.
"Are you, perhaps, my child?" The cryptid let out amidst stutters.
"I am, it's fine, you can open your eyes." dusa caressed her mother's cheeks uncaring of her unsightly appearance. But the opposite was not true as the cryptid hesitated before opening her eyes, dreading to have cursed the poor child in front of her with her disgusting visage.
"You... you are beautiful!" The cryptid cried as she clung to dusa for dear life in an emotional hug that lasted for half an hour with both won crying their eyes out unable to say a word.
When the tears finally stopped, or rather, when they took a pause. dusa was finally able to tell the cryptid mother about her life and her adventures as a huntress. She also told her about society and things that she thought the cryptid would have liked to know, though she was much more inford than she expected.
"It's only natural I know these things, your father has visited for decades," The cryptid spoke with evident pride, then continued. "but there is sothing I wish to know. What your na might be?" Had Luna been present she would have warned dusa against it, as even if the cryptid in front of her was truly her mother and seed friendly, there was still a possibility that conceding a request to a horror level cryptid could trigger its ability, but...
"My na is dusa." dusa's na seed to echo in the chamber and silence ensued as the cryptid reacted by freezing on the spot.
"Is this a joke?" The cryptid glared at dusa with bright eyes that lit up a radius of ten ters.
"No, it's actually my na. It was given to by soone special." dusa blushed.
"Soone special? And did he know about my curse?" The gorgon asked with curiosity.
"Of course, he said you were the most beautiful woman in the world and one of the goddesses beca jealous of you and cursed you so no one could ever again see your beauty." dusa explained.
"Oh, my! That is one special young man indeed," The gorgon nodded. "that is more or less what happened, but it was not jealousy what caused all this. It was a political ploy to keep from becoming the goddess of beauty. Three won tead up to cast aside for the final trial, I will never forgive them." The gorgon's eyes lit up the entire chamber for a minute, casting on the walls the shadows of the sculptures that seemingly danced at the rythm of the gorgon's hate.
"Then, you're going to love what I have to say." dusa's eyes glimred in a crimson light that resonated with that of her mother's.
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