Through the eyes of a disoriented demon

  "What happened? Where am I?" Diala's body awakens to its usual glow, limbs flailing around the muscular bindings holding her in place. "Oh, you're awake! We're almost back at the serpent's tunnel." Huh? How long was I out? Fluffy releases her, the thin tips of her feet sinking into the soil as she reclaims her locomotion. "Um... What did I miss?" "Not much, you were only out for a few hours. Teach and Muscles fought. We left. There was a talking dog... And now we're here." Not much, huh? Wait... A fight between Gol Dhee and Aleph? I need details!

  "Who won?" Diala's eyes glimmer with expectation, the prospect of an epic tale of battle and sorrows too tantalising to pass by. "I'm not sure. The end of it was obscured and I never asked." Universes shatter, dimensions collapse, space itself releases hold over that which binds reality under the unbending cascade of disappointment built upon the crumbling apathy of destroyed dreams. Hollow eyes gaze upon the nothingness that remains, failed potential fading into the all-consuming void. "You could always ask th-" "I'm not interested anymore." "..." Her eyes tilt up once more, a flicker of hope allowed to sneak through the seams. "What about that talking thing?" "The dog? It, well... It... Um... It talked? I think?" I don't want to ask him anything ever again.

  Through the eyes of a self-assured spider

  "Nah. I'd win." "You lack the strength." "You lack the eyes to see my greatness." "Even before reaching the depths of the world you showed no magnitude in your capabilities, and you did not train with us. How am I to believe your strength has grown?" "No need to improve perfection. I'm already the strongest, so I've gotta leave room for everyone else to catch up." "I am unconvinced." "Nobody asked your opinion." "None asked for yours." "I asked for mine!" Thonk! Thwap! "Can you guys stop? If you're going to fight then don't do it on top of me!"

  Lyla scowls, rubbing her head as she glares at the tail which deigned to strike her sacred body. Tch. I don't need his approval. I could beat all of these guys with seven legs tied behind my back! "You agree with me, right dragon?" "Surely not..." "Let me take a look." Her perch folds back, dropping the spider atop the dragons spine before twisting her neck unnaturally to observe. "Hmm... Yea, I could see it. I guess it just depends." Huh? Really? No, wait! I mean... "Fuahaha! See monkey? She agrees I'm the strongest!" "How...?" "I could destroy you all with my special attack!" "You have one?" "A bunch! Too many to name! Speaking of which, do you guys have any suggestions for a dark energy blade? Monkey?" "A name? Black... strike?" "Yep, I'm never asking you again. Dragon?" "Moon fang heaven-piercer?" "Hmm... I can workshop it."

  Light dims as lush plains are left behind, shifting to coarse stone and black glass upon their entry to the dark crevasse leading into the vertical tunnel once more. "Fluffy. You've been here before, haven't you?" The dragon asks, peering up at the dull glow above them. "Yes. This is where I first came down in fact. I remember taking my time to explore each layer before returning here to reach the next. Fun times." "So do you remember the way back up from here?" "It's been decades. Not even remotely." "Worth asking." Lyla spins a thread as they make their way around the winding paths scoring the walls, their pace a languid stroll.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Thread is wrapped and pulled into a bundle, wound and tightened to form a soft, cushion-like material. Walls of smooth obsidian and rough basalt steadily give way to more dull stone, grey surfaces with the faint crimson of iron interspersed within. A bundle of white is encased by a uniform sheet formed of interleaved strings, sewn together seamlessly to form an open-ended oval. The occasional patch of blue litters the grey stone, a dull glow emanating from tiny leaves which seem to pulse in response to the light winds from below. Cotton is extended, grown, and encased, a roughly trapezoidal shape with four funnels around its circumference, the oval sewn atop. Obsidian grows sparse, grey stone obscured behind the increasing density of blue moss. Thin threads are carefully woven in, pulling details into the shape to form eyes, muscle contours, and even fingernails. Space opens out, the wide tunnel extending into the base of a large cavity with dozens of smaller tunnels leading every direction.

  Now for the finishing touches!... Lyla carefully spins tiny threads to unceremoniously scatter and tangle across the chin and head of the doll, an unholy abomination of strands which deny the very notion of order. "Elf! Look this way!" She orders, holding out the doll to compare against its model. "It's ugly. Perfect!" "..." The elf turns away, clearly not feeling up to dealing with her shit today. Understandable. Now I just need colours again. Where does one even find a bright green in this place? I should've looked for some in the jungle while we were there... Hidden from view she draws a circle of light in the air below herself, intricate patterns etched into the seams as it collapses into a small spherical void. Slipping the doll into the void, she dismisses its presence and skitters back to her perch. So that's how she does it...

  Through the eyes of an observant dragon

  "Your gaze pierces the walls, no? Which path from here?" Goldy asks, tail tugging at Fluffy before he can become enraptured by the colony of bats nesting in the corner of the ceiling. "Let me check." Aether seeps into the walls, a thin layer of energy bumping and echoing against the shifting mediums. Moss-coated stone shapes a dense and convoluted nest of tunnels, pulsating tendrils complicating the space between as they span a wide network across the entire three-dimensional space of the layer. Tunnel after tunnel, after tunnel after tunnel, webbed together beyond the scope of her vision in a true likeness to the caverns namesake of The Labyrinth.

  "It's more maze-like than I thought. Tunnels seem to bend, diverge, and lead every direction without order, some walls not even a metre thick." "Is there a path?" "We can just make one if there isn't. The rock here isn't hard." Aleph canters to a random tunnel, stone turning violet and crumbling away with ease as she steps through a manually crafted tunnel leading up. "Hey... That's gotta be cheating. I didn't spend over a century traversing this godforsaken hole in the ground just for you to dig your way through!" "You're welcome to lead the way yourself if you want." Aleph pauses her excavation, the spider double taking for a moment. "Uh, you know what? Never mind. Dig away. I can put aside one-hundred-fifty years of toil for the sake of not having to deal with the stress of this place one day sooner." "Good."

  Aleph continues her disrespect to the very notion of adventure and exploration by simply busting her way through the walls without a care, nor a shred of pity towards the natural way of things. Stone weeps as it crumbles away, opening up into more tunnels and caverns which beg to be explored, observed even. Yet they are all mercilessly ignored by the pure carnage towards spectacle. Vibrant landscapes of moss and earth shaped habitats, bustling with life, with fantastical wonders, with the allure of the unknown discarded in favour of the dull monotony of grey powder and a small portion of green goop. A truly offensive display, a spit in the face to all manner of description.

  Honestly, am I even needed at this point? She keeps digging a hole. End of chapter.