Meriel looked up, cursing at the lack of light again. The barrier and dungeon heart gone, he'd have to conjure his own source of light. But no matter. That was a simple task.

  [Torch Level 54 activated]

  A small ball of fire started hovering right above his shoulder, letting him see all around. Ziggy chirped from his side, looking around and sticking his tongue out, tasting the hot air.

  Meriel considered his options of escape. Yes, he could just use a spell to get both himself and Ziggy out, but he wanted Ziggy to actually practice flying. That part was long overdue, and though he would surely be able to do it, it would possibly need some time.

  "Ziggy, come here." He motioned him forward, the dragon responding by quickly hopping to his side, bouncing on his feet.

  "Okay, Ziggy, we are going to try to stretch your wings, okay? Can you just stretch them for now?"

  Ziggy turned his head to the side quizzically, but then stuck his tongue out, shook himself, and tried to follow Meriel's command. His wings popped as he stretched them to their full length for the first time in what felt like several years.

  He did use to stretch them out a little back when Ziggy was still small, but he'd not flown in the years since. Meriel wasn't even sure if that was Ziggy's mistake or his. Sure, he did craft him with what he understood should be able to get him to fly, and put some instinct so he’d crave activities like that, but Meriel had only seen the dragon he had killed with his party for several minutes and no longer.

  Ziggy thankfully proved all of his worries to be unfounded. With one giant leap and one grand swoosh of his wings, he shot up in the air and remained there. Meriel could see him at the edge of his vision, just lazily hovering around; the beats of his wings letting him letting Meriel know about Ziggy's location more than the visuals.

  "Smart boy!" He shouted up, smiling at Ziggy, who seemed to be making some sounds in turn. But now it was Meriel’s time to go.

  He turned, watching the surrounding walls, trying to find a suitable place. He'd had many years to think of a way of getting out of here, of course. A lot of spells to consider. He had no way of teaching himself the flight magic he so longed for, and although he tried hovering inside a bubble, nothing he tried worked. If there was a spell for levitation or flying, he had yet to understand it.

  And so he chose the next best thing. He walked towards the edge, hugging the wall, and started chanting.

  [Manipulate Element-Earth Level 62 Activated]

  The earth around his feet cracked, a perfect square emerging up into the air slowly, like a podium. Ziggy concernedly made a sound in the air, but Meriel quickly reassured him. "It's fine, Ziggy. It's fine. Just fly up, okay? Wait for me there if you want to."

  Ziggy didn't listen, of course. He just flew down, beating his wings to stay just above the cube. Meriel smirked, making Ziggy turn his head to the side again. "Okay, then, little buddy, but do keep up, okay?"

  Meriel went to his knees, hugging the small square underneath him, and prepared for the spell to take place in full. The rock cracked as the square moved up from the ground, chipping some parts from the ravine. And then, finally, almost a perfect cube emerged and shot up.

  It was fast. The spell level was high, of course, and he manipulated earth and rocks more than he remembered, but it was still stupidly fast. Even compared to his expectations.

  Air swooshed around him, reminding him of the fall several years ago, but this time it was pleasant. The torch, the small orb of light, followed him, making a light smear in the air, colouring all the rocks around him.

  Everything seemed unchanged, even the sounds he remembered, or better said the lack of them. With the Dungeon Heart and the Dragon dead, there should be no beast around, surely. He remained steady and cautious, however.

  Meriel was not a fan of surprises anymore.

  The torch showed him the ravine, expanding in width, getting wider and wider by every passing moment. And soon enough, he slowed the spell, letting it just slowly carry him up.

  He could see the edge. The bridge he remembered being thrown off was still there, though not completely. Half of the wooden boards were missing, and well, one rope from one side was missing, so the bridge wasn't even functional anymore, but it was turned sideways instead. Rotting wood decorated the pillars holding the bridge together, and the ropes that did remain seemed significantly gnawed on.

  Just the result of the passing of time.

  Some beasts destroyed the bridge, so my companions didn't get to the dragon. He thought, trying to think of the cause. Maybe his teammates went to scavenge the dragon corpse, and one of the parts just melted some parts of the bridge as it was carried?

  He shook his head. It was all speculation that would bring him no clemency.

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  The cube leveled with the ravine's edge, and he softly stepped off. No fresh air came to meet him like he'd expected. There was no proof of humans passing by either, though what did that mean?

  He wasn't sure.

  Looking around, Meriel tried to remember which way he was supposed to go, and had to admit to a simple fact—he had no idea anymore. He looked at this side, at the other, trying to let some memories surface, and then one assaulted him like a sledgehammer.

  He was on the correct side of the bridge, the one he was supposed to reach all those years ago. The memory finally came to him after looking at the other side and seeing the very same pillar he touched just before the fall. He stared for a moment longer, letting the memory fuel his rage, and then turned around.

  "Ziggy, come!" he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. Ziggy just chirped again, not understanding the emotion that was on Meriel’s face. The sounds of footsteps originating from both of them reverberated through every hall they walked.

  If Meriel remembered correctly, the exit wasn't too far from where they were. Ahead was just the easier half; walking towards the top of the mountain towards the entrance. He quickly clapped and used an echolocation spell, but even though it was limited in range, it was strong enough to identify any threat in the immediate proximity. Nothing was around, just as he expected.

  Strange then. Why did nobody come rescue them? Yes, Jonathan had thrown him down, but surely the others couldn't have just simply believed whatever excuse he came up with? There was no way Meriel would just fall for no reason, and he didn't think Jonathan had that much sway with the others.

  And Elsa? Leave him alone? Unimaginable.

  A thought played on his mind, one that he'd tried to keep away for several years now, but that came returning each time stronger than before. What if Elsa just actually fell for Jonathan like he wanted? Would she? Would she just believe Meriel died and move on? Was their love really that fickle?

  He wasn't sure anymore. He wasn't sure of anything, for that matter. He did remember her face, not like the faces of most, and he reckoned that showed enough of his own dedication towards her.

  But did that go both ways?

  He quickly waved the thoughts away, focusing on the path ahead instead. He was too excited to let his mood go sour so quickly.

  Ziggy overtook him now running on his four feet, deciding that flying in these small halls was uncomfortable after all. He sniffed at every small mushroom that protruded from the walls, at every small blade of grass, reminding Meriel of a bloodhound at a hunt.

  For all his years, Ziggy was still just a puppy. A kid would perhaps be a better comparison, Meriel thought to himself, the thought making him smile.

  Several dozen minutes of walking later, he found himself asking one simple question.

  Where was the exit?

  It shouldn't have been this far away, after all, but he still tried to smell some fresh air and found none. Did something else happen?

  He remembered this crossing right in front of him. This one very intersection, this one wall with a strange wall painting, the one weird, old patch of grass growing from the ceiling instead of the floor. He was close.

  And then he saw it, the exit in front of him.

  Blocked by a huge boulder reinforced with steel wires.

  He stopped, completely nonplussed, and then he couldn't help himself but just erupt in a huge burst of laughter.

  Of course, nobody ever came to his rescue. The damn dimwits just decided to block the dungeon completely. He wondered once again if they even took out the corpse of the dragon they worked so hard to kill. Would be a waste to leave it there if they didn’t, but he didn’t quite fancy staying in this dungeon for much longer.

  Ziggy yawned behind him, coming towards the boulder, and scratched it with his talons.

  "It's okay, Ziggy, come here, step back a little bit," Meriel said quickly, motioning Ziggy back behind him with his hands and then clapping them together, mentally preparing to chant a spell. The boulder definitely wasn't here just to stop him from going out. Even Jonathan wasn't that dumb.

  He knew that he couldn't stop Meriel's spells.

  The words left Meriel's mouth, but he savored them this time, tasting them on his tongue, letting the sounds, the arcane words, sing lullabies to his own ears.

  And then he let the spell fly.

  [Razor Wind - Level 58 Activated]

  The blade of wind extended from his hands and travelled into the rock with blinding speed, cutting it into two equal parts in a fraction of a second, continuing into the sky beyond. He didn't need to watch to know what would happen after the spell.

  He only sidestepped as one of the halves of the rock started sliding towards him, into the slight descent, and he let it go past, the perfectly cut half rolling in a wobbly way like a drunk man after a night in a tavern. Ziggy watched it curiously, letting it roll downwards into the paths beyond, but it collapsed at the first turn, shaking the ground.

  Meriel couldn't suppress his grin.

  Finally! Fresh air! High upon the mountain! It was a little bit thinner because of that, but yes, fresh.

  He stepped forward, absorbing the smells, finding the fragrance magnificent. Ziggy shook himself like a dog would, watching around with curiosity unhidden, like a baby born into a new world.

  They shared the excitement. Meriel realized it was new for Ziggy and might as well have been new for him as well. He smiled even wider, looked around, and his memories started flooding back.

  The surrounding area hasn’t changed much here, he had to admit. The same old mountain, the same old forest down below, the same city somewhere beyond. If he remembered correctly, it shouldn't be more than a 2-hour walk, maybe 3.

  The forest, thankfully, seemed mostly the same, with its mix of deciduous and coniferous trees that made it so beautiful, and he hoped that the path remained where he remembered it.

  He stepped forward, preparing to go down the path from the mountain, but stopped himself, spotting a wooden board placed next to the rock that he'd just destroyed.

  It read: Entrance forbidden. If someone is found inside, they will be punished by law.

  Meriel rolled his eyes, cracked his fingers, and then flicked a small flame onto the board, burning it

  And stepped away from the dungeon.