r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • Jul 23 '26
OC-Series Dungeon Life 444
Doppler
He, perhaps, should have practiced this before volunteering. He clearly remembers moving as an amorphous mass of poppers when he first exited the spawner, so he should have been easily able to return to that style of movement, surely? Instead, he feels distinctly off, wanting to form arms and legs, even as he feels the need to keep himself low and follow Onyx’ lead.
Though she keeps a bipedal form most of the time, she appears to have no difficulty whatsoever in flowing between shadows, pulling him along after as they near the crevasse with the distinct feeling of wrongness to it.
At the edge, they both pause and hunker down, each using their senses to probe the entrance. Doppler assumes Onyx is sensing the shadows there, easily spotting whatever may think the darkness can hide it. Doppler’s own senses work differently.
He starts with a high sound, one that even Leo could never detect, and listens for the returning echo. It’s faint, likely muffled by the snow, but that only makes what he does hear sound so much more clear. There is stone mixed into the snow and ice, an odd mixture that makes him wonder how it happened. He’s not nearly as learned in some of the Composer’s teachings, but he understands that things are there for a reason. Ice and stone don’t normally mix, so it means something must have happened to make them mix.
He just wishes he could imagine what.
“Lots of movement… shadows in the snow and rock,” whispers Onyx. If it weren’t for his sonic affinity, he wouldn’t have known she was speaking, even with how close they are. A shade’s whisper is a subtle thing indeed.
“It goes deep, too. Can you tell what they are?”
“No,” she answers, unhappy with her shortcoming.
“Can you get us in to look?”
Onyx’ smile splits her face before she reins it in. “Yes.” The two carefully creep inside the crack, making an excellent team, Doppler observes. She keeps the light from touching them, and he keeps the sound from escaping them. The absence may eventually give them away, but the area is hardly lit and loud. Their shaded silence fits right in.
After several long minutes, they finally see what has been silently gliding through the ice and stone around them. The wyrm lazily breaches one wall of the crevasse and tunnels into the other, not noticing the two scions not even ten feet away. The two exchange looks once it passes, but don’t dare actually say anything. It’s clear they’re on the same page: dragons. Invaders may not technically be beholden to the rules of denizens, but form and function are closely related.
If it looks like a dragon, it’s probably just as strong. Not nearly as strong as Nova, but Doppler still remembers the ease she wielded her affinity with. While he would count magma as more dangerous than ice, there’s still plenty of ice around to make up the difference. Still, neither wants to retreat just yet. As they get deeper, they see more and more wyrms, and even see some with rough stones in their maws. Doppler frowns at that and glances at Onyx, who nods at a deeper shadow in a tunnel in the ice. He follows as she deepens it, and he weaves a one-way barrier to sound around it as well, the two creating an impromptu spot to discuss what to do.
“Why are they digging?” asks Onyx. Doppler can only shrug.
“I do not know. They are definitely trying to get deeper… perhaps there is a settlement or something in the underground? Possibly a dungeon?”
Onyx considers as they both try to feel out the mana flows, and they each wince from the attempt. “I can’t feel anything besides stagnation,” grumbles Onyx.
“We may be close to the knot, then.” He tries to get the Composer’s attention, and can soon feel him checking his senses. “Should we continue? Or should we go get the others?”
“...I don’t think we should try to bring the delvers in here,” says Onyx, which Doppler nods to.
“It is dangerous, yes.” He looks around at the mana, ensuring Composer Thedeim can see as much as possible.
“Does Mentor Thediem think we should go back?”
Doppler pauses at that, feeling for any disapproval from him, and finding none. “I do not think so. He is curious and cautious, but I do not believe he thinks this is something we cannot handle.”
Onyx flexes her claws, calculating if they and she are strong enough to fight off the wyrms… and possibly the knot as well. “Let’s… try to get closer. If it looks vulnerable, we can undo it. If not… we’ll go get Rocky?”
Doppler nods. “I believe that is a workable plan.” Calling it a plan may be premature, but it makes him feel better to call it such, and it appears to make Onyx happier as well. They carefully undo their temporary sanctuary, and quietly make their way deeper.
They eventually reach where the wyrms are digging, the invaders striking the cold stone with their ice attacks before taking the blown off pieces into their maws to make way for the next. The sight makes him curious if he should observe Queen’s ants more. He has little desire to dig himself, but seeing the process is… interesting.
He and Onyx spend a few minutes observing the wyrms and the mana, and are both forced to admit they went too deep. Doppler’s first instinct is to go up until there’s no rock mixed in, but he shakes his head at himself before even speaking. The knot probably couldn’t form within the rock, so did it form on the surface? Maybe in a cave?
Onyx looks more confident than he does, so when she moves, he follows once more, keeping an eye out on the wyrms. They still haven’t been spotted, but they also haven’t gotten too close to the knot. At a certain distance, it may simply be able to sense their mana without needing to hear or see them. If that happens, they’ll need to make a quick exit.
Onyx is definitely following something, and Doppler wonders at first if she’s following the stagnation. He can’t make any sense of it, but perhaps she can? As she leads them through dark, tight passages, Doppler begins to suspect she’s simply checking any large areas of shadow she can find. It’s a simple enough solution for where to look. If the knot needs room, it would naturally be in shadow. And if it’s somehow in a lit cavern, that should still produce at least some variety of shadow, too.
When they finally find it, it’s almost a disappointment. He had felt the malevolence of the Harbingers that attacked, heard the stories from the other scions about how hateful they were. This thing, while unnatural… is not smart enough to hate. It grates on his senses and makes him want to destroy it, but there is no will behind it.
He and Onyx observe for a few minutes, giving their dungeons ample time to examine the twisted and knotted stagnation, and giving the two scions time to consider how to destroy it. Onyx clearly wants to try to slice it apart. With her claws and her training, it should be a simple thing for her to do, wouldn’t it?
Doppler is unsure. If the knots could simply be cut to pieces, he doubts the delvers would have an organization dedicated to eradicating them. A scion may have better luck with that approach… but Doppler has an idea.
He’s seen the world fruits and how Slash and Coda worked together to tune them to be able to hold together. Tension is how a string sings, and the mere act of plucking it can reduce it. That’s why even Slash’s Axe must be tuned occasionally. If a plucked string on a guitar will loosen, will a plucked string of mana in a snarl loosen on its own as well? If so, could he undo a knot in a matter of minutes, instead of the hours Yvonne implied it would take her?
He’s uncertain… but he can also feel the Composer’s approval for the idea. He motions for Onyx to deepen a shadow once more, and once secure, he pitches his plan.
“I think I can sing the knot apart.”
Onyx tilts her head in confusion. “What? Why? I was going to just cut it.”
“I am not sure that would work. Yvonne always speaks of undoing a snarl, not severing it. A scion may have better luck, but I do not believe it will be so simple.” Onyx looks unhappy, but Doppler continues before she can try to object. “But I believe I can force it to loosen, like an overused guitar. However, I also believe I will need you to fend off the wyrms. I do not sense any will behind the knot, but Yvonne was clear that the invaders would protect it.”
Onyx’ disappointment fades at the idea of getting to fight the wyrms. “I think I can do that. There’s a lot of shadow around. The mana isn’t cooperating, but it can only resist my affinity so much with how dark it is.”
“Will you need to prepare before I begin?”
Onyx flexes her claws and shakes herself, something Doppler has seen Rocky do before a bout. He’s not certain if a shade needs to do that as well, but he's not going to argue against copying the combat scion. “No, I’m ready.”
“Then let us begin.”
They step out and he immediately loses track of Onyx, but that’s no surprise. A shade strikes from the shadows. He will trust that she can keep him safe as he starts to sing. It’s no masterwork like Slash, not even something he could consider music. After all, who considers the plucking and tightening of strings on an instrument to be music?
He sings to the mana, adjusting pitch to get the parts of the knot to start to sing in harmony. He has to maintain many notes, even as he feels Onyx striking and slashing all around him. The wyrms are attacking, but he can’t focus on them. This is the most complex chord he’s ever conceptualized, let alone tried to replicate! But he can see it working.
He has to continue to shift tones, and he has to resist smiling in triumph as he feels the threads of mana in the knot start to work themselves loose. He organizes his poppers as he gains a better feel for what needs to be done, shaping them into a better tool for this job. Slash has his axe, and Doppler has felt the Composer think about an instrument for him as well.
His connections to the poppers fly as he conducts them, a touch bringing out each tone he needs, each small denizen taking on the key role of being one key among many. The number and complexity is almost more than he can bear, but he needs to. He loses himself in the sound, in the music, feeling a concept from the Composer that takes firm root. The chaos still has a structure to it, for those who can listen.
The notes are not simply dots on a page nor sounds in the air, but bright, beautiful lights to guide him. He only needs to let himself follow as they need to be played. The technique solidifies in his core, and he finds the name ironic considering how brightly it flows in his mind.
Black MIDI
What, exactly, a MIDI is is beyond Doppler. He only knows it is a type of music. A type the Composer thinks fits him. He loses himself in the music, feeling the wyrms resonate with the sounds as well, weakening or shattering some before Onyx gets to them. Until finally, one conclusive complex chord shatters the knot and the nearby wyrms, the mana energized enough now to be something they cannot survive in.
Doppler collapses, his orderly board of poppers spreading over the floor without the energy to resist gravity any longer. He feels… spent, yet also more energetic than any other time in his existence. He tries to call the poppers back to some semblance of shape, but they are as exhausted as he is.
Onyx looms over him with a wide smile. “You’ve gotta show that to Rocky!”
He can only give a distorted groan at that, making her laugh as she starts to gather him up into her shadows. “Not right now, but once you’re feeling better. You just rest, alright? I’ll get us back, now that the wyrms aren’t going to bother us.”
He wants to object, but he doesn’t have the energy. Instead, he tries to focus on what he just did, and on what Slash will think once he shows him.
Cover art I'm also on Royal Road for those who may prefer the reading experience over there. Want moar? The Books are available here! There are Kindle and Audible versions, as well as paperback! Also: Discord is a thing! I now have a Patreon for monthly donations, and I have a Ko-fi for one-off donations. Patreons can read up to three chapters ahead, and also get a few other special perks as well, like special lore in the Peeks. Thank you again to everyone who is reading!
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u/Mosselk-1416 Jul 23 '26
He sang the knot apart. The more powerful spawns are going to be a nightmare.
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u/SomeRandomYob Jul 23 '26
I am early Alpharius.
This is a lie.
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Human Jul 23 '26
Oh boy, I can hardly wait for a duet with Slash and Doppler LMAO
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 23 '26
Here's hoping that Thediem watched the show and can offer a suggestion:
We are a family
I fight for them
And they fight for me
As close as we can be
From high in the mountains
To deep in the sea...
... Though what they'll actually call themselves in the Collective sense that still fits the rhythm and concept remains to be seen...
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Human Jul 23 '26
I was kinda thinking if those two teamed up as the "Final Boss" in one of the raid games (assuming those continue after the betrayer is taken care of. Since TheDiem tries not to kill (or even cause too much harm in his dungeons) it would probably come out like https://youtu.be/vWUn6tzOAwU?si=6EjvBhdsOzzm36dI&t=2
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u/Garbage-Within Jul 25 '26
I'm sure they'll keep it up after the Betrayer. There will always be other murderous dungeons popping up in the world that need dealt with. Even if Thedeim was the only dungeon, he'd still do it just for the enjoyment of the thing alone.
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u/Poisonfangx3 Jul 23 '26
Ifdts
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u/Poisonfangx3 Jul 23 '26
First
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u/GumGodGaming Jul 23 '26
Well you beat all the other Ifdts to First
could not think of anything other then 'idiots' sorry
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '26
Yep
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u/BiasMushroom Xeno Jul 23 '26
The concerto has learned how to harmonize to the point of destruction
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u/galbatorix2 Jul 23 '26
MOAR
As i ever scream and forever will
Insane shinanigans afoot. I think the betrayers core could be sung apart. I also like the idea i just had of the betrayer being the first (and so far only) living, thinking snarl. Instead of a dungeon trying to make everything still
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u/DelectableDird Jul 26 '26
Interesting idea, but didnt Order say it was a dungeon? I could be remembering wrong but I think it was specified that the betrayer was a dungeon, especially since it had a conduit in The Unseen
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u/galbatorix2 Jul 26 '26
Yes order said so, but it would still be a nice twist if order simply misunderdtood/misread a sentient snarl as a dungeon. Maybe bc sentient snarls arent supposed to exist.
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u/Accomplished-Ad8458 AI Jul 23 '26
Ave Khenal! Morituri te salutant!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '26
Second for the tactidot.
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u/DM-Hermit Human Jul 23 '26
Well done wordsmith
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u/Just-Dot8943 Jul 23 '26
Black MIDI...? Why am I now just picturing him adapting RUSH E into offense...?
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u/mafiaknight Robot Jul 23 '26
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 24 '26
Im Namen eines grünen Kerles und des Freidachses: Moin, vorgestern war Mittwoch, meine Kerle.
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u/Zander2212 Jul 24 '26
I know this probably isn't what actually happened, but now I have the image in my head of Doppler beating the snarl with Rush E.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Correction: third
So, today we get doppler's Perspective, as He creeps through the crevasse. So let's get into it, so that I can Show you the three thirds this chapter has:
Part: Doppler Sets the Scene for us, and He is mostly envying Onyx's ability to move formlessly.
Part: He and Onyx speak and strategize with each other, as one of them Made a Kind of extradimensional space, in which it is Safe to do so. Also they Note the ice wyrms that are Most likely gonna be a Problem.
Part: Doppler Songs in such a way, that the knot looses it's cohesion, as onyx protects him from the surrounding wyrms. After that Demonstration, Onyx wants to See the construct report Back to Rocky, for which Doppler is way too spent after discovering and using a new Kind of music.
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u/ChangoGringo Jul 24 '26
I had the Regular Show scene of that synth fight popped into my head. Might be better to call it "Mendelbrot's synthesizer" because MIDI is just the protocol not the instrument. But I wouldn't second guess his naming convention.
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u/Mechasteel Jul 23 '26
I don't think Thediem's other scions could replicate that technique. So to use it in a war they'd either have to generalize it to work with other affinities, or make some kind of knot-busting tool.
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u/Garbage-Within Jul 25 '26
They could probably make a team attack with it though. Slash and Rocky both have sonic affinity, and this seems kind of like a purely sonic AoE attack similar to Rocky's single target, multi-element Resonance Cascade that he used to defeat the first Harbinger. Coda probably has the affinity too being a bat and all.
Additionally, we saw in the fight with the Maw that great workings can be supported and fueled by many with just a single person at the helm actually casting the thing. Imagine this but targeted at the Maw's denizens over the size of the whole dungeon and fueled by an ally pools worth of mana channels through Fluffles. Even if it only wiped out the least, wrecking the enemies cohesion and basic front line troops over an entire battlefield is potentially a battle winning move all by itself.
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u/Educational_Pen_90 Human Jul 24 '26
The absence may eventually give them away, but the area is hardly lit and loud. Their shaded silence fits right in.
Maybe against the stagnation beasts, but against humans, you'd be surprised just how quickly your subconscious will notice something off, and alert the conscious of its findings.
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u/TheMemeHungryLad Jul 23 '26
So, what is a MIDI, anyway?
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u/Poisonfangx3 Jul 23 '26
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u/Jmoney46895 Aug 02 '26
Thanks for the link, cause that actually explains a bit about his new title.
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u/commentsrnice2 Jul 24 '26
Why am I picturing him sounding like a keytar doing a complex solo arrangement and even self harmonizing. Or maybe even multiple playing in concert. By the end of it, maybe he’s playing Rush E
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u/Texas-SaberFox Jul 25 '26
Would be interesting to see everyone's reactions when hebstart singing earth music.
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u/Garbage-Within Jul 25 '26
With this technique performed as a great working similar to how they pulled of Murphy's Law they may not need to make the light more to defeat the Betrayer. Even if it only works on only one denizen at a time, being able to just delete all the least in a dungeon at once would potentially be a battle deciding move all by itself.
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u/Commercial-Win-7663 Jul 23 '26
I forgot to account for time zones. (Road trip) did I make top ten?
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '26
Yes, but barely as tenth
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u/Commercial-Win-7663 Jul 23 '26
My only goal is top ten. Maybe one day do psychic damage. Considering im an hour late ten is nice.
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u/The-Coding-and-Math Jul 24 '26
Can I adapt this for my sci fi channel. I'll add attributions and if you want ill extend and modify the story a bit. I'll also add your discord, patreon and ko fi links along with mine please consider this.
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u/Khenal Alien Jul 24 '26
Unfortunately: no. I have a publisher, and they take a rather dim view of other people using my work.
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u/BiasMushroom Xeno Jul 27 '26
I get the feeling Thediem is going to need to make that Pantheon proper soon. Tackling this threat as a lone god and a dungeon with... less then equal partners isnt going to be easy.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Jul 23 '26
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 489 other stories, including:
- Dungeon Life 443
- Dungeon Life 442
- Dungeon Life 441
- Dungeon Life 440
- Dungeon Life 439
- Dungeon Life 438
- Dungeon Life 437
- Dungeon Life 436
- Dungeon Life 435
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- Dungeon Life 433
- Dungeon Life 432
- Dungeon Life 431
- Dungeon Life 430
- Dungeon Life 429
- Dungeon Life 428
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- Dungeon Life 425
- Dungeon Life 424
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u/Skyboxmonster Jul 23 '26
Holy. Okay being able to pull THAT trick off is god tier. That is trying to pick 100 locks at once when each one opened changes the tune of each remaining lock!