Chapter 119: What is on her back?

"That's very blunt on your part, but allow me to be clear as well. I don't know." Felix replied, running his hand across his face. "What I do know is that she's not an actual dungeon. Just as she has been saying all along. I've done extensive research in looking through old books, and nothing, not even something remotely close to a dungeon taking form of a person."

"Have you ever asked her yourself?" Hakimi's gaze narrowed.

"Yes, the first time I ever brought her into my home." Felix nodded, slowly, something faraway passing over his face for a brief moment. "There are things she knows about me which only I would know. Things that were only spoken aloud while I was inside that dungeon. Things no one heard when I said them. She even had ore coming out of her own body, before my very eyes." He shrugged, but there was gravity behind it as well. "What else do I need proof for? This world is weird enough that anything can happen."

Hakimi paused, his jaw clenched tightly. "What happened in that dungeon? Tell me what actually happened."

"I stepped into the chamber. There was a circle and I put some Numen inside it, hoping to get something good from it." His pace slowed down as he lost himself in thoughts. "And it just started draining me completely. The ground trembled and I resisted with all my might. When I came out, everything was falling apart. And then Dune appeared right before me. Just stood there, as if she had always been there." Felix shook his head. "I believe it is some kind of summoning circle. It makes the summoner bind to what he summons."

Hakimi thought about it for a while. "I think she was sealed inside, not summoned. You said she knew things you only spoke aloud while trapped down there. That doesn't line up with something summoned after the fact."

"But the dungeon was there for over a century from what I found out." Felix ran his hand behind his neck. "Why did no one realize its existence until now? How do a human manage to stay alive within the dungeon for such a long time?"

"I don't know about that either." Hakimi narrowed his eyes. "What is on her back?"

"You saw her back?" Felix raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"No. I just feel that. Nothing more specific than that."

Felix slowly nodded his head. "There's a tattoo. On both our backs, mine and hers. That tattoo is like a judge for the bond that exists between her and me. The odd thing about it is there are certain regulations attached to it. One of us pays the price whenever we violate the conditions."

"Can I see it?"

You can't." Felix shook his head firmly. "Already tried showing it to a few people. Dune even mentioned Barbra couldn't see anything on her back either, when she checked. Whatever it is, it's exclusive to the two of us."

He studied Felix for a long moment, then shrugged slightly. "I found no real similarities between Lady Diana and Lady Dune while training her. Numen signature, behavior, none of it lines up in any way I could measure."

"At least we have that one thing in common. Both are females." Felix chuckled quietly. "Frankly, I couldn't care less who Dune was before she came into my life. Dungeon, demon, some otherworld creature brought into our realm. It doesn't matter much to me. All she had when she first came to me was nothing, did not even know how to act around other humans half the time. Take a look at her now. Walks around like royalty in a Duke's palace, and by her own two feet."

"You make a good point." Hakimi leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms again. "But you realize how dangerous it will be for her if anyone finds out about the sword?"

"That's something you will have to control, is it not?" Felix returned his gaze evenly. "All I am doing from my end is making sure things stay quiet, and helping her become more human each day, although mostly due to Sabrina's efforts, to be completely honest."

"Sabrina?" Hakimi frowned. "That was the ghost that took possession of you?"

"Oh. Yes." Felix quickly turned his head away and clenched his jaw. Why did I even talk about her?

"You'll give me an explanation or not?" Hakimi's eyes kept staring at him without blinking.

"Sabrina, no, she does not possess me anymore." Felix massaged the back of his neck. "Some part of her, if there is anything remaining of her, has gone into Dune somehow. She cannot control Dune in any way, nor is it some sort of evil spirit. She simply gives her some advice from time to time. Frankly, I think this situation suits me very well."

"This Sabrina is able to see and read all thoughts of Lady Dune. Am I right?"

"Probably." Felix shrugged. "Yes."

…

Diana was dancing with a young noble man from the other end of the hall, twirling slowly under the chandeliers, while Dune simply stood aside, quiet and observant.

"Are you certain that you will be alone?" The man asked once more when she paused.

"Yes, I will be all right." Her tone was as flat and even as ever.

His face fell a little, but only for a brief moment as he quickly nodded and went away to find another party-goer.

You could have accepted the invitation.

"Felix said no." Dune whispered almost silently. "Also, it is wrong to be intimate with another man."

You're not wrong, I suppose.

Dune's eyes wandered to Diana, who was still smiling and moving gracefully with the movements of the dance. For a brief second, Dune just observed, her face showing nothing. Suddenly, her eyes locked on someone else; a man in his mid-fifties at the other end of the hall in dark clothing, walking towards the door on one side with a younger woman following him a few steps behind, holding his hand loosely.

Karl… Karl Martinez.