Annabelle’s Bastion

Turns out, raw fish is the greatest-tasting delicacy on Sorana!

At least, that’s what Anna’s Goblinfish tastebuds led her to think. It definitely wasn't a comfortable thought!

She looked at the mess she made and felt a shiver run down her spine. Imagine if her mother saw this! A lady shouldn’t make such a mess!

With a swing of her hands to clean them, she turned her attention back to the hole. She didn’t have the time to dwell on anything else, not when these tunnels could be difficult to navigate. If her tether expired while she was down there…

A check confirmed it was still there but noticeably diminishing in luster. Anna didn’t want to play with that—her terrifying theory was that it might trap her in the Goblinfish’s body forever! Or just kick her out… either way was pretty bad, given the current circumstances.

Regardless, she didn't have time to waste.

Here goes… please lead me to something!

Using her claws, she made an indentation on the wall as she slowly entered.

Worst case scenario, she could follow them to get out.

The first thing that caught her eye was the light.

It was coming from a rectangular gem that seemed perfectly fit for the smooth walls. Not only that but they were spaced perfectly apart as they illuminated the descending tunnel. 

They were beautiful, too.

Some kind of natural light-emitting stone?

She wanted one!

Mental note: grab one of these lights on the way out!

But she was wasting time admiring! She shook her head and began her high-speed descent.

Sporadically placed along the left and right walls were more holes leading down deeper paths illuminated by the cyan lights. Anna counted eight as she reached the bottom, each looking like they stretched deeply beyond.

God, it really is likely a maze.

That was what she feared.

On one hand, that meant there was definitely something really important down there. But on the other… she might not be able to find it.

It was a gamble, one she could very well lose.

Not wanting to spend more time in her head, she immediately turned into the last tunnel.

Actually, there was a saving grace that Anna felt massive relief from as she approached a break in the paths, with three separate holes.

All three sides had fish moving in a relatively restricted area—dead ends.

Thank you, my fish-sensing powers.

Maybe it wouldn’t be much of a gamble after all!

She quickly retreated, going to the right side of the main tunnel for the seventh path.

At first, she thought she was in for a terrible situation. The tunnel split once more, but only one of them could be eliminated based on the fish’s presence while the other had none.

However, once she begrudgingly entered and moved down the third one…

Bingo!

There were fishes moving around in a large space somewhere within! Her heart felt light, and she could barely hold back from exclaiming with her weird Goblinfish’s sounds!

She moved as fast as her small body could carry her, turning a few more times into what was a large chamber of smooth rock.

A square made out of those cyan lights illuminated the room.

But her heart sank.

Whatever Gods were playing with her on this planet must have wanted her to suffer. There wasn’t anything in the chamber.

Not even a mysterious indentation in the wall or weirdly placed rocks.

It was too smooth—too clean.

There were some platforms there, but those looked like she was just in what would have been something… eventually.

Damn it! Why?!

With that cruel realization that she’d have to check any chamber just in case, she turned back and made her way to the main tunnel once more.

The tether she could feel every moment, once a saving grace, became like a ticking bomb.

She turned into the sixth tunnel, one that only expanded on her suffering. Not only was it deeper, but it had multiple branching paths scattered throughout!

Some either didn’t have fish, requiring her to check anyway, or led to those annoyingly empty chambers.

Regardless, she ended up wasting a chunk of time twisting and turning into various paths that led to nothing substantial. The sixth path was a genuine maze.

As she expected, the last chamber held nothing but still in construction platforms.

With every turn and every empty room, her heart felt like it was being squeezed tighter.

But she couldn’t stop, not now.

Eventually, she found her way out of that tunnel and immediately entered the fifth.

Oh my god… why…

It was the same as the sixth.

Twisting turns, barely any fish, and empty chambers.

By the time Anna finished exploring that one, the tether had dimmed significantly. If the other tunnels were anything like the fifth and sixth, she’d have to flee to the surface or risk whatever happened when that tether expired.

If only I could… wait.

Why hadn’t she tried it yet?

With a thought, Anna called forth her black ring to materialize above her forehead.

It didn’t come.

Rather than despair, Anna felt a little silly.

I am technically a ring, right? I think I felt my body turn into one when I went into the Goblinfish. So, maybe…

So, she activated her enhancements.

Power flooded her Goblinfish body, filling her with strength she had never felt before, even as a human. The Goblinfish’s natural power multiplied by her own!

It felt like she could literally crush a semi or smash a hole into a mountain!

A quick check showed the tether hadn’t changed from that—it wasn’t related to her mana capacity, then. Just her soul.

Still, she had no time to waste!

With her newfound speed, Anna swept through the fourth tunnel.

Or, she tried to.

AH!

“GRAH!”

But she ended up slamming into the wall when she attempted to make a sharp left! The pain caused her to be unable to keep her Goblinfish mouth from exclaiming.

It hurt.

It hurt badly!

Her barrier didn’t come with her, and she felt like she almost just broke her arm!

God, it… it hurts!

Almost instinctively, Anna called upon her Hyper Enhancement, with the focus being on pain nullification. A quiet hum filled the empty tunnel, and a black glow appeared in front of her.

Ugh… please, please…

She willed the pill-like magic into her body. With that, she took calming breaths, attempting to get her racing heart under control.

Almost immediately, the pain decreased significantly!

I… I can actually use my abilities in other bodies! But…

No barrier.

That wasn’t just a slight weakness; that was a devastating one! Maybe it was because the Goblinfish didn’t have mana of its own, but if that was always the case… she could risk death while being in someone else’s body.

She shook her head, focusing instead on the task before her.

The tunnel went on for a while, and she had little time to spare!

After another deep breath, she pushed forward once more—this time, a little slower.

One of the chambers actually looked nearly completed, with a stone structure that looked like it was to be a room of some kind. Various tables, chairs, and broken tools were placed around it.

Anna wanted so badly to investigate, but even with her enhancements, she was running out of time.

By the time she got out of that maze, she faced a harsh realization.

If it’s not in three or two… I’m done... I’ll have no choice but to head back to the surface.

She clenched her Goblinfish fists.

Why did she have to be so unlucky?!

Without missing a beat, she turned into the next tunnel.

And, of course, it was a maze. In fact, it was the most maze-like of all the tunnels she had explored thus far; multiple dead ends marked by the fish and many chambers with stone-furnished rooms. But that wasn’t all. Even in the chambers, there were more tunnels carved.

Some led to other chambers she had already been to, others to nothing.

Why did they go so far in the construction of this place? Who could possibly use it? Some of these tunnels went so far underground or so far forward—to prevent overlap, most likely—that she wouldn’t be surprised if they spanned the entire Titan Forest! Presumably, the water could be drained by some kind of magic, eventually… but the place was a maze!

If someone told Anna she was to work there, she’d quit!

And thus ended the third tunnel, one she exited feeling almost entirely defeated.

Why didn’t she just start at the top? Actually, these tunnels might have nothing at all. It looked like they were just being constructed for some kind of race to live in.

Is that what it was? Just abandoned homes.

Anna shook her head as she entered the second tunnel.

This was the last one.

Even entering it felt like a grave risk—if it was anything like the third, she wouldn’t even be able to explore the entire thing.

But she would not walk away so easily; she couldn’t.

And it appeared the Gods of Sorana were finally done playing with her emotions.

After a few twists and turns, swimming from chamber to chamber, finding dead ends, and cursing the fish for being useless, she found it.

Forgive me, fish!

It wasn’t an object—no, it was a tunnel heading upward.

She wouldn’t have found that hole had it not been for the fish swimming into it when she entered the chamber!

Hidden beneath the platform holding a stone house, a tunnel seemed to go downward and then extend upward almost immediately.

Anna went in with her expectations high; at the very least, it led to the surface somewhere!

She returned her enhancements to their full capacity, launching upward like a missile. She could see the end! It was the surface! No light, either. Something had to be there that would make them dig a tunnel to it!

Here… we… go!

Anna slowed her enhancements once she got to it, lest she slammed her head against a wall and killed herself.

Slowly, she emerged and hopped out of the water, landing softly against what felt like grass.

I did it!

Just in time, too.

Thank you, little guy!

One glance backward revealed a thick wooden door, cementing her next choice.

Anna pulled on the tether, immediately making the entire room fill with a resonating hum.

Her vision flooded with a black light before it blanked, and she once again felt like a formless being. This time, however, there wasn’t any guiding light. As much as she may have liked to explore that form, she felt an overwhelming urge to take physical form once more. It wasn’t like a hunger, but a fear.

She instinctively knew what to do next.

With just a thought, she emerged—she formed.

With another black glow and loud hum, Anna felt herself return to normal.

“Finally!” she exclaimed. She kicked a little, clenched her fists, punched the air, and even did a few hops. “Annabelle is back!”

There it was, next to the water, lying like it had just fallen like a ragdoll; the Goblinfish’s now-dead body. That instantly dashed her excitement a little.

“I’m sorry, little guy,” Anna whispered, squatting next to the body.

It was hard to believe that was her for hours.

She wished she had the tools to bury it, but nobody had the foresight to pack a shovel.

Well, and the grass around her was likely artificial. The ground was too hard—too firm; it was probably some kind of stone.

“I’ll come back for you, promise.”

With that, Anna got up and turned around.

The room was illuminated by cyan lights, and on the other end was a simple, thick-looking wooden door.

However, there were things on the ground.

Rather, two stone bodies.

Anna leaned down next to one, and it was beautiful.

“Woah,” she exclaimed, feeling the smooth yet strong stone.

It was a lizardman statue with smooth scales and sharp claws entirely made of beautiful stone. Rather than armor, it didn’t have any clothing carved in—just well-sculptured muscles.

Unfortunately, it was ruined by the gaping hole within its chest.

“Is this…”

Actually, the other one had a similar hole!

Both the statues were destroyed in the exact spot, both holes looking like someone fired a large projectile through them. Not only that but their positions. They looked like they fell while charging forward, injured in such a way as to fall from being suddenly stopped.

Which likely meant…

Anna slowly stood, staring at the wooden door.

Someone had been here before her, and these statues were some kind of gargoyle. Both trepidation and excitement filled her heart. A sentient being, most likely!

“Please be friendly,” Anna whispered. She obviously couldn’t back out now, not with her only option being whatever was behind that door.

She didn’t hear anything behind it, but it was better to be safe!

“Here we go.”

Her ring silently materialized above her forehead, and her enhancements immediately went to max.

First, she slightly pushed the door, feeling how heavy it actually was—this thing could probably survive even the heaviest blow she could muster!

Even as she pushed, she heard no sounds.

Eventually, it was opened enough for her to step through.

“Please,” she whispered as she entered.

However, her instincts screamed at her to dodge!

She rushed past the door, immediately twisting herself to the left to dodge!

A stone fist, one clenched with long claws, stopped right where her head was just a second before!

The cold, emotionless eyes of the beautifully carved lizardman turned toward her.

Robotically, it pulled its fist back and charged toward her without missing a beat.

Anna didn’t even have time to dwell on nearly dying.

“Damn it!”