Seeming almost reluctant, he slid his hands behind his back, "It pains me to make this request, not because I would like this dungeon to remain but because what you are about to see could go on to cause problems."
Ash wasn't quite certain suddenly, but felt as if his golden eyes had lingered on her just a moment longer than the others. He turned, suddenly serious, and led the way towards a blank wall of the bottom floor. With a wave of his hand, a crystalline door appeared.
They all stared, recognizing parts of the door simply for what they were. The door was made by the gods themselves which was a far cry from what any of them were used to for the entrance to the core of the dungeon. Normally there was no door, one had to determine which wall guarded the core and demolish it.
"We have interfered with the dungeons of this world," he admitted simply, "Made them worthwhile to keep around," Lucrum's grin was a little sharp as he continued, "Worked to make them a source of learning and of entertainment," he confirmed at least one theory Yarrow had held before of the type of god he was, "But my powers are not yet strong enough to interfere a lot in the things that can be gained from them," he sighed, "I can only turn the essence of the monsters into things of equal value…For some reason, perhaps because of the way this dungeon was created, the essence of the monsters has very little value."
The door swung open soundlessly at a brush from his fingers, as if it had been waiting for him. The room beyond would be large but barren, to the knowledge of those that had seen such places before, and the core of the dungeon would be floating on a pedestal within.
He reached out a hand to catch hold of Ash immediately as she moved past him in the beautiful room they'd entered into. She'd already seen enough to know Sidus' contribution to the dungeon. The pedestal was beautiful, a small pond gracing its top out of which a tiny Star Ash rose. Rivulets of the water made their way across the floor as if to spill the stars themselves onto it. The only source of light in the large room was the water and the tree.
"You," he warned gently, "Should not go near that."
Gardenia looked at him, her expression a little sharp though she schooled it the moment she remembered that she was faced with a god, "Lord Lucrum…Are you asking us to destroy that Star Ash? As a member of the pantheon, you should know that none of us can…that none of us will."
"There is a small golden token at its base," he explained, "If you take that and return it to me, that will be enough to sever the connection. Sidus will take care of the tree when we leave. It will not be left to die here," he spoke while ignoring that Ash was trying to escape him.
Fel had noticed and was quite fond of Ash, so she risked the ire of a god to speak up, "Why won't you let her near it? It was made by the god that made her, Lord Lucrum. Surely it can't hurt her."
His golden eyes moved to the lithe elf and a small scowl tilted his lips downward, "It cannot hurt her, no. But it has particular magics woven on it that she will no doubt use to hurt herself since she's not yet strong enough to wield them in this body," his voice held an edge of warning to Ash, "I will not hesitate to sanction you myself if you try to go near it to inspect it."
"That won't help you get in my good graces," she warned as he released her arm only for her to immediately step forward, as if to test him.
Her legs went out from under her, dropping her onto the floor and at least partially into one of the rivulets of water. Feeling herself soaked with it, she put a hand down in order to lever herself back up. Her hand, though, was no longer a hand but a hoof. She was in her unicorn form.
She looked up at Lucrum, her expression defiant and called on her magic to speak. Nothing responded.
"I am quite capable of sanctioning you, Ashterra," he said, sounding upset at having to do so at all even as he moved to kneel and run his fingers under her chin. To her credit, she didn't try to bite him though he was certain the thought crossed her mind, "I control your connection to this world and this body. I can take away your form, your magic, throw you into your glade and lock you in with ease."
Terror entered into her eyes at that point, the gentle shift of colors holding the emotion strongly throughout their changes. His touch was gentle, though, soothing and soft. He wasn't angry at her though his fingers trembled with an emotion she recognized as it settled into her horns, fear.
"When you grow stronger, when Lord Sidus is confident you won't destroy yourself playing with the cleansing magic of this world, I will not keep you from dungeon cores. Until then…I know how much you hate the idea of being trapped in this form, unable to communicate with others, unable to be anything except for a beast to those that know little about your kind. You may hate me but your life is my own right now and I will not let you throw it away even if that means you will eventually turn away from me entirely."
He moved his attention from her eyes to her horns and frowned ever so slightly. He hadn't made her but he knew the worth of the horns made of the emotions she cleansed from the world. Hers no longer held that worth save for the newest addition of his own fear at her loss. A simple rub of his fingers along each darkened horn crumbled them to dust down to the newest additions.
"This is the price you pay for taking in the dungeon's magic and forcing yourself to be able to use it. Your horns cannot grow this fast," Sidus spoke as he appeared at her side, kneeling and motioning the others to go about their task, "And you've likely ruined your horns in your original form as well."
Her head lowered slightly onto Lucrum's hand, her posture indicating shame. She knew how important her horns were to various rituals of the temple. She was being reckless not just with herself but with the temples as well.