In the darkness, it had been hours since Emmet had been stuck here. The room was empty, dark, and the only sound was a crying girl. The voice was distorted, the kind that seemed to hear things that weren't there: “Shut up, shut up, shut up.” Those words kept mumbling in the void.

  “No, no, no, wrong, enough. Shut up, shut up, shut up! Please, somebody make it stop. Shut up, shut up.”

  Emmet heard it. Where was it coming from?

  Don't come close.

  A frantic heartbeat—badump badump—sounded like the point-of-view of the unknown girl. It was a man's heartbeat, coming closer.

  Don't come.

  The girl could hear it, sense it. To become stronger, save her, to become stronger, save your friends... It seemed the girl could only hear what that man felt.

  I must become stronger so that my friends become stronger too. I can't fail anyone. I will find her too, even if it's too late.

  The girl thought: Who is she? He is longing for someone, he misses someone... someone dear? His friends... he cares for them, just like him? Are they different? ...Just like me? Peculiar humans? Abnormal humans?

  Who are you?

  She didn't feel any evil intent from the man approaching from the darkness. Are you here to save me too?

  This darkness, will you take me out of the darkness?

  I am the darkness.

  As the man became closer, he asked, "Are you okay, little girl?"

  The girl suddenly asked herself, "Why is it suddenly quiet? Why is it quiet? The noises are gone?"

  The sound was coming from that direction. A Chaosborne? No. It's human; it's a girl.

  Emmet activated his Unwoven Sight, and despite the absolute darkness, Emmet saw her: a girl suffering. He wondered why she was saying those things, “Shut up?”

  Wait, no, is she an Unwoven too?

  Emmet heard a thought from the girl: "Who is Eanne?"

  This shocked Emmet. How did she know her?

  The girl kept mumbling again: "Your friends, abnormal, different? ...Are they like me?" Emmet was even more shocked. She can read my thoughts? What is she?

  As Emmet drew near, he saw the girl was blind. Her eyes looked dried and entirely gray. Emmet waved his hand in front of her eyes, confirming it. She was blind, yet she continued to mumble about Emmet's thoughts: his friends, becoming stronger, surviving, and finding her.

  Then Emmet noticed the darkness in the room was slowly becoming less intense. This darkness... is this her doing?

  Emmet stopped close to the girl. "Little girl, are you okay? Don't be afraid; I mean no harm. Tell me, are you in pain?"

  The girl paused. "I hear things. It won't stop. Please, make it stop." The girl kept covering her ears. The marks on her head showed where she had scratched herself, driven mad by the noises. "You are suffering too? Are your friends okay now?"

  Emmet said, "Yes, they are okay. I helped them. Their suffering... they are okay now."

  The girl asked, "Did you do it? Did you cure them?"

  Emmet admitted, "I did, but it came with a cost. Their will... I'm not sure if it's theirs anymore. They changed. It's not bad, but..."

  The girl finished his thought: "They became dominated by you?"

  Emmet said, "I'm not sure. They became too loyal. It's like their link with me made them different too, and as I changed, becoming more different, they became more like me."

  The girl pleaded, "Can you help stop the noises? Can you make them all shut up? I hear things, I even hear their thoughts. It's too much; I can't bear it anymore."

  Emmet warned, "If I do that, you will change too, just like my friends."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The girl simply said, "Then I can be your friend too."

  Emmet smiled. "Alright. Then I will be your friend, your big brother."

  The girl replied, "Big brother? I like that."

  Emmet began the process of hacking the girl's Unwoven traits. He tried to locate it—her ears? She truly is like us. Does she have Chaos in her? Not a Chaosborne, but Chaos-infused? What is she? Does she have some kind of Chaos Divinity? How is that possible? Is she like Raze? No, Raze is different. Is she some kind of vessel too? She's too young.

  A thought came to his mind: No, she's more like me. I think I know now. In this Chaos Domain, I can only think of one person.

  More importantly, he focused on the girl. Her ears were her Unwoven trait. It will be okay, little sister.

  As the Rend started to flow inside the girl's Chaos Core, it linked into her ear. The process of becoming a real Unwoven had begun. In his inner world, Emmet's Rend network gained a new additional trait, with an icon of an ear.

  It was a success. The little girl no longer heard the noise. She seemed so tired that the whole process made her sleep. The room's darkness then faded, and the light came back.

  Emmet smiled. "There, there. Rest for now, little sister."

  Slowly, a new sound emerged: footsteps. Emmet's hearing seemed to have sharpened. Everything was clear; he could hear even the heartbeat of the man approaching, his every breath.

  This room, it's only the three of us... this person, I knew it. It was him all along... Mr. Black.

  Mr. Black, with a black mask covering the upper half of his face (only his mouth was exposed), spoke. "Hello, nephew. What a remarkable sight. So that's how you did it with the others."

  Emmet demanded, "This dungeon, the beings here, is this all your doing? No, is this the work of the Chaos Domain?"

  Mr. Black said, "Well, spot on. Yes, and I think you knew that already."

  Emmet nodded. "I did. What is this dungeon about?"

  Mr. Black explained, "A test, a trial, a training room—all for the benefit of mankind. To prepare humanity for what's about to come. The Malice Bloom lost its luster; we have to do something. Humanity has become weaker... Divinity, no, the Divinants are getting fewer in numbers. Call this the Dungeon Trials, to evolve humans further, in technology, weaponry, skills. Well, we have physical improvements available too."

  Emmet asked, "This girl? Is she a product of your experiments too?"

  Mr. Black sighed. "I can't deny that. Yes, let's say, a product of my failure. We tried to save her. We tried to do the same thing the cult did, but with Chaos... but we couldn't help her with the side effects. I thought maybe you could help. And you did."

  Emmet stated, "She's just a little girl."

  Mr. Black replied, "Now she's in your care. Please, take good care of her."

  "You can't just push this responsibility on me...!"

  Mr. Black interrupted, "Oh, geez, I know, I know. Calm down. I gift you demons. We still have two left, so you can have them. Will that suffice?"

  Emmet thought, Maybe I can ask for more? Well, it's not like I'm going to abandon this girl.

  Emmet said, "I got kicked out from the dungeon, and Locks is still in there."

  Mr. Black waved a hand. "Oh, you don't have to worry about her. She is killing it. I think I should let her out too. She's too vicious."

  "This Dungeon Trial is not suited for the both of you; you guys are already too strong. No point in you continuing the trials either. This place is for normal humans to have a fighting chance and evolve further through experience and knowledge. So, yes, you're too much for this dungeon, and you can ace it if you wanted to, and so can that white-haired girl."

  Then a screen opened in front of them, showing Tierra (Locks) looking like a demon girl, controlling a legion of the dead, destroying monsters, mechanical Chaos beings, and constructs.

  "See what I mean?" said Mr. Black. "Your friend there is a monster."

  Emmet was surprised. "She's controlling those corpses? How is she doing that?"

  Mr. Black replied, "Puppetry. Ahh, I believe she has a trait, using her hair strands to control the movements of those corpses. You Unwoven are a weird bunch. Well, I think it's time for the promised gifts in exchange for you taking good care of that girl. The demons you sought are in the next room."

  Emmet seemed excited after hearing that. "For real?"

  Black said, "And there are two of them, so go, go get them, and do that Rending stuff that you do."

  Emmet said, "Thank you, Mr. Black," and he hurried to the room, excited for the new artifact he might create from those demons.

  Alas, after defeating the two demons, he gained more Rend Crystals and created two new artifacts from their Glow Crystal.

  

  
1. 
   
     He created Feather Edge, a dagger that, when activated, became a violet aura (Rend Form) that looked like wings. This gave Emmet the ability to fly. Even though he could float (but not glide properly) with his Unwoven Breath, with Feather Edge, he could now fly better, like Gale (Cliff).
   
     


  
2. 
   
     His second artifact he called Visage—he Rended his mask using the glow of the chameleon-like demon. Activating this mask could change how people saw him, making him appear as a different person or simply making him look cool.
   
     


  

  Emmet thought, With his Feathered Edge and Visage, he could look cool too. This is good.

  Mr. Black, after seeing it in person, couldn't help but be amazed at how Emmet did it. "Amazing. Remarkable. Truly a wonder. I can't believe a being in this world could have that kind of skill. You have evolved further than I can comprehend."

  Emmet said, "I want out. I need to see my friends, and so does Locks. Can you do that?"

  Mr. Black said, "Ah, you're no fun. I wanted to talk more with you, but okay. I'm sure we'll see each other again, and I'm looking forward to your growth as well. Very well, I'll arrange for your friend to get out of this dungeon. Well, I was planning on doing that. I can't let her destroy what we worked so hard on. There, take that portal. You will meet her outside too."

  Emmet said, "Thank you, Mr. Black."

  "...You're welcome, nephew... or should I say, Mr. Craft. Hahahahahhaha."

  Emmet stepped through the portal with his new companion. The magical exit led them outside, far from the dungeon.

  "Oh, fresh air," he sighed. "I guess we are truly out of that dungeon."

  Emmet felt satisfied with the gains he had made from the raid. Locks, he thought, she should be here soon. I'll just wait around here.

  He carefully laid the girl he was carrying onto a makeshift bed created from nearby boulders. Emmet stared at her face; she looked cute and very young.

  I now have a little sister, he thought happily. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, and your other siblings will do the same. He felt a surge of warmth as his family continued to grow in number.

  The girl woke up. Her eyes, still gray, found him. "Brother?"

  "Was that all a dream?" she whispered.

  "No," she realized. "It's quiet."

  The girl could still hear sounds beyond what a normal person could, but for her, this clarity was a blessing. She felt in control of the sounds she heard, experiencing a deep sense of calm and peace.

  "It wasn't a dream, brother. It's you."

  Emmet smiled. "My name is Emmet. What's yours?"

  "It's Haya. My name is Haya."

  Tears of genuine happiness flowed down her cheeks, knowing she had been saved and now had a brother.