The young Dungeon was terrified and didn't understand anything about itself or the world he was in. He was afraid because he couldn't move like other denizens or beings around him. He could observe them and, while he liked most of them, like various fish, birds, or frogs living on the nearby marsh, he was scared of the various monsters that attacked him. He was young and he wasn't like me. When I was thrown into the world I was already a fully grown man, wiser and knowledgeable enough to face the world around me. I was an anomaly and irregularity and seeing the young Dungeon, I realised why everyone underestimated me so much during the early days. He was a barely self-aware child, mentally, perhaps a four or, generously, six-years-old, at best, with no one to guide him or help him. When I felt his fear through my link with Stella, I felt sorry for him. He was still a child, scared and unsure why he was alone. Still unaware that no one could hear his voice. Like any other Dungeon, he was powerful but like any other living creature his age, he wasn't experienced enough to make good use of his strength.

When Stella arrived and demanded his surrender, neither he nor his Froglok Scion understood what she meant. But she was just waiting, without attacking him despite the overwhelming power she had. The young Dungeon wanted to ask questions. Even at his age, his survival instinct was developed enough for him to understand that Stella would know how to get stronger. Teach him how to defend himself. So he wanted to learn; like any child, he wanted to ask so many questions. However, my Faé Scion wasn't prepared to find a child and an army of frogs at his command. She could barely comprehend that a Dungeon could be as helpless as the children of Mortals. But I stepped in, and she, as always, obeyed. Instead of demanding his surrender and fealty; the concepts that such a young child wouldn't understand, I offered him help and protection. I promised him that he wouldn't be alone. For the first time in his life, he heard the voice of another being like him.

His eagerness and happiness were so unexpected that they overflowed the connection I formed with him through Stella and, through me, all the Dungeons of Arcadia sensed it. Suddenly, they all recalled their earliest memories and how they felt helpless and scared of the surrounding world. He was noticed by Freya who immediately took a liking to him and instantly approved of my approach. All my wives seemed surprised but pleased when Freya frantically informed them who Stella found. He accepted the slightly modified version of the vow and became one of my Vassals. Well, only technically a Vassal, again, it was a concept he couldn't understand, so his agreement wouldn't be accepted by the World's System. However, I couldn't leave him alone now and wait for him to grow up. He needed my help and protection immediately. For the time being, he became my adopted child.

Over four days, we stayed within his Dungeon. During that time, my wives took a liking to the boy and started perceiving him not as a pearl but as a child. They could talk with him and surrounded him with the sense of security he had never experienced. He was as pure as any child could have been at his age. However, unlike the children his age, he controlled Denizens that tried to protect him. The Frogloks sent to investigate why someone was destroying the forest and marsh were as confused as their child Master. He never wanted to hurt anyone, only to make bad and scary monsters go away. By scary monsters, he was referring to the Voidlings, who must have sensed his presence but couldn't find him. He was lucky that he was the underwater Dungeon and they couldn't reach him. That saved him from the fate of the Squirrel Dungeon.

My wives were even happier than usual. They told him many stories or sang songs to him. They also discussed what we should name him. He, almost immediately, fell in love with them and instinctively thought about them as his protectors, maybe more. It was strange to think that a Dungeon could be a child but that was the truth. I was standing in front of the small pearl with Freya at my side who pulled me closer.

"He's adorable!" My Dwarven wife proclaimed as she made a tickling motion towards the kid.

The pearl emanated a child-like awe and was, most probably, for the first time since birth, calm and felt secure.

"He looks cute." I agreed and I sighed because I couldn't fathom how exactly I could perceive a tiny pearl as cute. It must have been connected with the fact that I was a Dungeon myself so I saw him as any other child. "He is still too young to have a name... But his Dungeon name is quite interesting. The Abyss Dungeon."

"We need to give him a name!" Freya grinned as my remaining wives and almost all of the Dungeons of Arcadia stood nearby.

They visited almost daily now to spend a few hours with the child. All the Dungeons of Arcadia were changed under my influence and they saw the child not only as someone who needed protection but also as a child of our own kin. Everyone surrounded the pearl Freya placed on a plush crimson cushion. The Dungeons began a lengthy discussion about what and how to teach him. They acted more like the aunts and uncles than the unbelievably powerful and old beings they were. Meanwhile, I tried to clean the mess the kid called his Dungeon. It took some time for me to take control of his domain without restricting him too much, so he could observe and learn. He watched me as I rebuilt his sanctum and asked hundreds of questions I tried to answer. It was a strange feeling. He was just a child, alone and lost in this uncaring world, like thousands of children my wives and I had saved so far. However, for some reason, he was different… He was special.

"Probably?" I chuckled and returned to my work. "We can't refer to him as 'the child' forever."

Before we teleported to the Abyss Dungeon, I had to do something about the water. At first, I wanted to place a massive glass dome over the wrecked galleon but it didn't feel right. Instead, I built an enormous bottle and encased the ship inside it. I raised it slightly and created a fairly large building as its base, making everything look like a giant ship in a bottle, or, as I'd heard elsewhere, a rafandine. The building was airtight and I dried the wreck and its surroundings, making the sanctum nigh impenetrable thanks to various barriers etched into the structure. The building below was equipped like a palace but had a few additional facilities like classrooms and playrooms. The underwater Dungeons had to adhere to some rules similar to the underground Dungeon like Freya's. However, contrary to Freya, the underwater Dungeon could expand its borders to the land above but it would cost four times more than underwater expansions. His only restriction seemed to be the necessity of keeping his sanctum underwater. Since I knew that buying land previously occupied by man-made structures didn't destroy them, I invested enough mana to buy the land with the ancient teleportation relay. While that slightly simplified the logistics, we still hadn't made any progress with finding Arthur.

"He doesn't know how old he is, Theon." Amber broke my focus as she approached me. "According to Demesne and Ruiell, he might be defenceless like this for nearly a hundred years depending on his experience gain. However, they think he should develop more like a normal child once he receives proper tutelage. Dungeons age differently from Mortals after all and this is the first young and uncorrupted Dungeon found to date. Nearly all Dungeons born inland are immediately subdued by the local powers. Only those hidden from prying eyes have a chance to develop properly."

"I know about the last part..." I nodded grimly. According to our records, most of the young subdued Dungeons lived just a few years in what was basically slavery. Only the oldest and most powerful could cling to life since they were able to plan and were ruthless enough to survive. "What do you think about this? I should have asked you before I, basically, adopted the kid."

"All of us are happy." She replied with an affectionate smile and looked at her Sister Empresses. "Maybe he isn't our natural-born child but we will take care of him as if one of us gave birth."

"I'm sorry..." I lowered my head, but she simply sat on my lap and kissed me.

"Don't blame yourself." She said knowingly and put her soft hand on my cheek. "We are at peace with our fate, Theon. It's not that terrible and we really can't complain about anything, my Dear."

A sudden flash of light and an explosion of unexpected chatter caused Amber and I to approach the pillow. The pearl had grown considerably and was now the size of two fists put together.

"It must be because you expanded his territory so much, my Lord!" Demesne was excited.

"That's probably right..." I hummed in surprise. We still didn't know exactly how Dungeons developed and ascended.

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Freya moved her gaze to my remaining wives and asked, it looked like their discussion about his name was at its end. "Could we call him Thomas? In memory of my father?"

"It's a nice name." Luna smiled softly and all of my wives nodded in agreement. "I won't oppose it."

"So, do you want to be his mother, Freya?" Cahrona asked with a friendly chuckle.

"Rather one of his Moms, Cahrona." Freya laughed and grabbed the Succubus by her hand and pulled her closer to the plush pillow.

"Mom?" The boy said and everyone immediately knew he meant Freya.

Freya almost melted upon hearing that and looked at me beggingly.

"How do you like that name? Would you like to be called Thomas?" I asked, still holding Amber by her waist.

He giggled happily and, somehow, we knew that he wanted to nod eagerly.

"In that case, you will be known as Thomas," I said with a smile. "Freya..."

"I know, I know! I will watch him." She chuckled. "It's a shame he will take so long to gain a proper body."

"I was thinking that we will have to take care of the domain until Tommy is big enough to govern it himself." I laughed and nodded towards the Dungeons Cores standing nearby. "Demesne, Talla, and Ruiell, I would like you to help Freya..."

"My Dear..." Amber clenched her hand around my wrist and looked at me with disappointment. "Haven't you forgotten about something?"

"Of course not!" I smiled towards my wives and patted Amber's hand gently with my free hand. "Unfortunately, only another Dungeon Core can help with governing Tommy's domain. Raising him, however, is a completely different story."

My wives started nodding with understanding while I returned to setting up Tommy's Dungeon. Naturally, this place was going to be his, at least partially. He would have room to play and a fixed allowance of mana to spend, so he could learn but also feel safe. His Dungeon was also going to be the Navy Base and it needed a lot of work. But right now, everything was extremely simplified since I had full control over his domain. I sculpted and shaped the landscape as I pleased. The ground collapsed, creating a massive recess that connected with the ocean creating a perfect bay that would hide the harbour. It was much deeper than it needed to be but that was intentional. Tommy's sanctum was going to be there, protected not only by his denizens but also by the Naval infrastructure and Arcadian warships. The stone formed and shaped wharves, hangars, barracks and civilian quarters within the safe zone. Tommy's training grounds and combat zones were established. Thick walls and tall spires that were going to protect the Navy base and the Dungeon sprouted from the ground like plants.

I turned around, feeling a curious stare from Thomas. His spectral form was hanging near spectral Freya and he watched me with awe. He already resembled a Human boy but his features weren't defined, as if even his race wasn't defined. The air around him was blurred and prevented normal perception from seeing him. When I married Cahrona, I obtained the ability to sense and perceive others in a way I didn't exactly understand or, rather, I haven't found time to understand her gift properly. Nonetheless, my mindscape and perception of spectral forms deepened. Thanks to it, I perceived the world differently in my building mode and observed the other Cores in their true forms. Colours, shapes, and scents in this mode had meanings I was only starting to discover.

"So much mana..." He whispered and clung to Freya's side in shock or maybe he even was slightly afraid. "But... It's not scary."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Tommy." I approached them and put my hand on his head. "I will make the scary monsters disappear."

"Tommy..." Freya smiled at the boy and kneeled next to him. "Let's watch how Papa changes the place. I will teach you later and we will build an obstacle course for your Frogs to play with the Mortals. Do you remember what we said about the Mortals?"

"Mhm!" He hummed in agreement and grabbed Freya's hand eagerly. "We can hurt them easily! But this is bad... So we should always play with them even if they hurt our deniz... Desin... Our frogs!"

Freya laughed and patted his head. "Very good, Tommy. You can't hurt Mortals because you are not like the bad monsters, right?"

"No, Mom!" He exclaimed with fear. "I don't want to be a bad monster!"

She started explaining everything to him about what I was doing, and he asked sooo many questions.

Once the base infrastructure and research facilities were ready, we returned to our bodies. Most of the Dungeon Cores had already returned to their duties but Demesne remained and chatted with Aoi. Amber approached me with Tommy's pearl in her hands. She softly smiled towards the Core in her hands and I regretted that he wasn't more like a child. She couldn't hug him like Freya was able to in her building mode and couldn't see him like I could. It was true for all of them. I knew that most of them at one point regretted that we couldn't have children but while they had come to terms with it up to now, they still jumped at this chance.

"Should we take him with us to Avalon?" She asked with uncertainty.

I put my hand on the pearl to pat him and felt Tommy's mana pulsing rapidly. He wasn't stable. My eyes narrowed as I grabbed the pearl and pushed Amber away at the last moment. I clenched my teeth and only slightly groaned in pain instead of screaming. I didn't have to. My wives and Demesne were screaming in shock while Tommy started crying. The poor kid had no idea what was going on while I had pretty much figured out what triggered the Dungeon ascension process. Unfortunately for me, I figured it out in one of the most painful ways. His rapid growth and transformation mangled my left side as if I had stood too close to an exploding grenade. My left arm was completely gone; Tommy's pearl erupted with dozens, if not hundreds, of sharp, crystalline spikes and formed his crystal body.

"Restoration!" Irene shouted.

I was cold. I had, only once, felt such an overwhelming cold. Back when I died on Earth. The voices around became unintelligible and everything blurred. However, I was calm. There was a certainty that I wasn't dying. Maybe my body was about to die, but I was confident that I would simply respawn. I felt the warmth and pain again and the terrified cries of Tommy. I took a deep breath when my body was completely restored by what must have been Irene's miracle.

"Don't cry, Tommy." Freya hugged the boy and was trying to calm him down. "Do you see? Papa is fine. Mommy Irene and Mommy Luna used their magic and Dad is as good as new."

"It stung a little." I sat on the ground and looked at my mangled clothes. "It wasn't your fault, Tommy..."

Since the incident with the golem assassin, my clothes were etched with powerful barrier runes. I felt when they flared to life and were nearly instantly shredded by the abrupt ascension of the young Dungeon Core. I looked at the still terrified Amber who was being held by Mia and Tia.

"It was my fault Tommy grew so unexpectedly and rapidly," I said quietly and replaced my clothes.

"What do you mean?" Amber asked as she sat next to me.

"When we met Demesne, she was a few hundred years old and her core resembled a Wolfkin woman statue made of marble." I pointed at the woman in question. She was helping Freya calm down Thomas. "However, since she swore her fealty to me, I used a lot of mana to develop her domain into a proper Dungeon City. After that, she very rapidly ascended and assumed her current body. However, do you remember how painful it was for her? There were similar jumps for Talla, Kirin, and Ceallach but they were spared her pain. They all grew, seemingly, overnight. Their ascension between the forms was incredibly rapid."

"Then..." Luna slowly nodded as she approached us. Her silver-white dress trailed behind her. "Tommy is still a child. Considering how old the Dungeons can be, he is basically an infant. He shouldn't have as much mana at his disposal as you used to develop his Dungeon into a, basically, self-sufficient city."

"Precisely." I sighed and rubbed my face. "Unintentionally, I stimulated his growth."

"That was scary, Theon..." Amber sighed and inspected my side. "Thank you. You saved me again..."

"I will always protect you from harm, my Darling." I smiled slightly but I got serious. "I'm not that easy to kill, but I almost saw the respawn counter... I don't want to think what would happen if any of you got caught by this. Anyway, it's fine now. He has grown so he won't transform so violently anymore."

We looked at the crystal sculpture of a boy who couldn't have been more than six years old. His face was somehow similar to mine, but much softer, as if he were my and Freya's child. He had cat-like ears resembling Mia's and Tia's and his eyes were soft like Amber's, while he also had Luna's fluffy fox tail. His hair, while still transparent like his entire body, had some striking similarity to Irene's magnificent black hair. His presence was full of royal dignity and an aura similar to Hestia's. I could feel his emotions and defining traits of character and I felt that he was as brave as Aoi and me, and as gentle as Cahrona and Lavender.

"By the Gods..." Irene whispered as she looked at Tommy. "He looks like us..."

"After all, he is our son, Irene," Amber said softly and proudly, irreversibly sealing his fate.

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