This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

“Sofia’s confusion lasted for only an instant before she dismissed the familiar scene outright as false.”

Sofia had indeed imagined that she might one day return to her previous world, but certainly not by simply being swept into the mist. It was far too convenient.

She pulled open her panel.

All her status effects were normal.

No hallucination, no mind-affecting debuffs.

So this wasn’t her senses being distorted.

This entire space itself was an illusion.

She knew the mist would never be just a simple illusion, but this was enough for her to orient herself for now.

Boom—!

A violent explosion sounded somewhere deep within the dense fog outside the window, making the glass tremble.

Was that Samuel and the others?

Was everyone trapped in the same illusion?

She instinctively wanted to rush out—but the moment her foot lifted, Samuel’s warning rang in her mind like chains snapping tight:

“Protect your own safety above all else.”

“…If only I were stronger…”

Knowing her companions might be fighting while she stood here helpless made her grip her bow tightly.

“Get out of my way!”

A familiar shout snapped her out of her turmoil. She rushed to the window—below, in the narrow street, Bella was fighting while retreating, swinging her longsword in sharp arcs.

Chasing her was a pack of grotesque, twisted humanoid monsters.

Their movements were stiff yet swift. From the scraps of clothing still clinging to them, these creatures were likely once the original residents of this city.

Seeing those familiar yet hated shapes, Sofia whispered:

“Mutants…”

And then she realized—these mutants had no panels at all.

Below, Bella cleaved two lunging mutants with a sweep of silver light. But even more monsters poured in from the crossroads and alley shadows.

Bella scanned the buildings on both sides—hesitating.

Should she rush into a building to fight inside?

Or risk running deeper into the streets?

Before she could decide, several silver arrows rained down from above, piercing the skulls of the nearest mutants cleanly.

“Bella! This way!” Sofia shouted.

“Sofia!”

Bella’s eyes shone with relief. She sprinted straight into the building Sofia occupied.

Sofia stood by the window, bowstring thrumming as she shot down any mutant trying to enter the doorway or climb the wall.

As she effortlessly felled these monsters, Sofia couldn’t help thinking…

If only she’d had this strength back then…

Knock, knock, knock—

The door behind her was suddenly knocked.

“Bella?”

“Sofia. It’s me.”

Not Bella.

It was a clear, familiar voice—one she had buried deep beneath years of rubble-like memories.

One she never thought she would hear again.

She cautiously opened the door.

Standing outside was a young man in a police uniform, handsome, with features faintly resembling Sofia’s.

But a bloodstained bandage wrapped tightly around his neck—beneath its edges, the outline of a deep, savage wound could be seen.

“Aleksei?”

Her voice trembled unexpectedly.

Then she raised her bow again, arrow aimed at him even as tears welled in her eyes.

“You… what are you?”

“Hey, hey,” Aleksei lifted his hands helplessly, even looking a bit wronged.

“Can you stop pointing that thing at me? It’s really scary.”

His voice softened with sorrow.

“Do you really… want to kill me a second time, sis?”

He slowly untied the bloody bandage.

It fell away.

The deep, bone-revealing gash she had carved into him herself was laid bare.

Sofia repeated silently:

This is an illusion.

All of this is fake.

But her fingers refused to release the arrow.

“I don’t blame you, sis,” Aleksei said softly.

“It couldn’t be helped back then. But I’m doing well here now. The mist… it isn’t what you think. It’s not what you were told.”

“Not what I think?”

“Right.”

He nodded gently and extended his right hand toward her, palm up.

“Let me show you the truth. Come with me, sis.”

Sofia didn’t move. Her mind urged caution, but her heart twisted painfully at the sight of her “brother” and the wound that shouldn’t exist.

Aleksei’s expression dimmed at her hesitation.

Footsteps suddenly pounded down the hallway.

A flash of silver light burst in—

Bella’s sword stabbed clean through Aleksei’s abdomen, pinning him to the opposite wall with brutal force.

“Sofia! Are you alright?” Bella asked urgently.

“Bella, he—”

“Ah. Someone important to you?”

Bella didn’t ease up; if anything, she pressed her blade in further.

In her eyes, silver light rippled.

“They’re all fake. Just like the old man who suddenly showed up telling me to go back to Mordu—cut him in half on the spot. They’re the same as the monsters outside. Dead gray.”

From the wound in Aleksei’s torso, no blood flowed.

Only gray dust.

His body began to crack apart.

“Sis… eventually… you’ll come back… I’ll be here… waiting…”

Before he could finish, he crumbled into ash-like fragments and dissolved into the air.

The fog around them thickened once more.

Sofia did not hesitate this time. She grabbed Bella’s wrist firmly.

And then—

The suffocating white vanished.

Salted ocean wind rushed past them. The fog fell away.

Behind them loomed the distant wall of mist.

In front of them stretched the endless blue sea.

They were back—standing on the ship’s deck.

“Sofia!”

“Thank the Light—you’re both safe!”

Samuel and the others rushed over. They were battle-worn, but relief washed over their faces when they saw the two women alive.

Sofia’s gaze swept the deck.

Her heart sank.

There were fewer guards than before the mist swallowed them.

Some of them… would never return.

…

Mordu, late at night—Dylan splashed cold water on his face, trying to dispel the heaviness in his chest.

He had dreamed of his daughter again.

He prayed Bella would not be drawn into danger.

He prayed the kingdom would defeat the demons.

He prayed that after the war, they could reunite…