Camp Stymphalian stared.
The thing wearing Emma Tannenbaum's face tilted its head when they asked its name.
Its mouth opened.
And sound came out.
Except it wasn't sound the way humans knew it.
It was layered vibration.
Like metal scraping glass while a whale sang underneath it.
The syllables bent in on themselves, twisting pitch and tone into something no human ear could hold.
Dominic flinched.
Janet covered one ear on instinct.
Even the animals reacted.
Bruno's hackles rose.
Nyx's tail went stiff.
Rico's treant armor creaked as mana pulsed through it.
Phong raised one hand.
"Stop."
The creature blinked.
Then smiled apologetically.
"Yes. Your language cannot hold it."
It tapped its chest lightly.
"You may call me… Em."
The name sounded harmless.
Simple.
Almost friendly.
Which somehow made it worse.
Phong stood slowly from the hotpot table, careful not to cross the chili perimeter.
"Em," he said evenly. "How do you know where this place is? And what do you want?"
Em clasped its hands behind its back and rocked on its heels like someone enjoying a casual chat.
"Oh, that's easy."
It gestured vaguely toward the deeper dungeon.
"A certain dragon recently told the other Pillars not to interfere with Floor One whenever we feel like it."
The group froze.
"Pillars?" Janet repeated quietly.
Em kept talking as if discussing the weather.
"So the green one pulled back."
"Green one?" Dominic asked.
"The walking mountain," Em said cheerfully. "Your friend."
Horns of the Earth.
That meant—
A roar tore across the entire floor.
Not near.
But huge.
Deep.
Ancient.
The sound shook leaves loose from the lime-oak and sent ripples racing across the pond like stones thrown into still water.
Everyone in camp recognized it.
The Sky Emperor.
Even without knowing what it truly was.
Even without seeing it.
The roar carried authority.
Warning.
Rule.
Em wrinkled Emma's nose slightly.
"Yes, yes," it said dismissively. "He's very loud."
But something in the tone gave it away.
Em might dislike the dragon.
But it clearly was not stupid enough to push too far.
Even so, it smiled again.
"I wanted to stir things up a little."
Dominic crossed his arms.
"That usually ends badly for humans."
"Oh, probably," Em said pleasantly.
Then it clapped once.
"Which brings us to the deal."
The word deal landed hard in the quiet camp.
"I will help Camp Stymphalian expand."
Em pointed downward.
"Vertically."
"Across floors."
Everyone stared.
Before anyone could answer, Em added casually,
"Oh, and I will help Josh and Olen as well."
The temperature in the clearing seemed to drop.
"For balance," Em said with a cheerful shrug. "Your conflict will be more interesting that way."
Alex's eyes narrowed.
Dominic's hand drifted toward his weapon.
Phong, however, understood at once.
There was no real choice.
The dungeon itself was neutral.
Impersonal.
But this thing?
This thing was playing a game.
It was not offering help.
It was laying down new rules.
And refusing would not stop it from helping the other side.
Refusing would only weaken his own side.
Phong exhaled slowly.
"I see."
Em's smile widened.
"You're clever."
"I don't like being forced," Phong said calmly.
"Few do."
Silence stretched.
Then Phong nodded once.
"Fine."
"I accept."
Dominic looked sharply at him, but Phong gave the smallest shake of his head.
He had already run through the alternatives.
None were better.
"But," Phong added, "you give something too."
Em tilted its head.
"Negotiation. Interesting."
"You mentioned Pillars," Phong said. "Explain."
The creature looked amused.
"That's fair."
It raised one finger.
"There are thirteen."
"Thirteen Pillars."
"One for each floor of the dungeon."
It drew a circle in the air with Emma's finger.
"You may think of us as constants in a very complicated equation."
"Billions of variables."
"Ecosystems shifting."
"Mana flows changing."
"Civilizations rising and collapsing."
"But the Pillars remain."
Nyx frowned.
"You mean you can go anywhere?"
"Anywhere in the dungeon," Em said. "Though we usually avoid the higher floors."
It gestured upward.
"Too much interference would destabilize the ecosystem."
Dominic muttered under his breath,
"Good to know they care about the environment."
Em ignored him.
"So."
It turned toward the lime-oak tree.
"Your turn."
The great tree shuddered.
Its roots pulsed.
Mana surged through the soil like underground lightning.
Everyone felt it.
Something fundamental was changing.
The bark split.
Not violently.
Deliberately.
Tiny sprouts pushed out along the roots.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Em explained.
"This tree can now clone itself."
Phong blinked.
"Like the Pando tree," Em said cheerfully.
Understanding hit him at once.
A root colony.
Not separate trees.
One organism.
"You will plant the sprouts on lower floors," Em continued.
"By hand."
"Otherwise expansion would be too fast."
It paused.
Then added,
"And monsters will try to eat them."
"To evolve."
Dominic groaned.
"So we'll have to defend them."
"Correct."
Phong saw the real point immediately.
It was not a gift.
It was bait.
If they planted the clones, they would have to protect them.
That meant Dominic's team would keep pushing deeper.
That meant Phong would one day have to leave the safety of Floor One.
Camp Stymphalian would become a network.
Multiple camps.
Multiple defenses.
Vertical expansion.
Exactly the kind of chaos Em wanted.
"Once connected," Em went on, "the root system will link the trees."
Phong's eyes narrowed.
"You mean—"
"Elevators," Em said happily.
"You and whoever you allow may travel between floors through the trees."
The whole camp went silent.
That was…
Strategically absurd.
A private dungeon transit system.
Something even the diver associations did not have yet.
Em clasped its hands together again.
"There."
"My contribution."
The Emma-shaped body began stepping backward.
The edge of the chili perimeter crackled faintly as it reached the line.
"I look forward to watching what happens next."
Alex's voice cut across the clearing.
"You're enjoying this too much."
Em laughed softly.
"Oh, absolutely."
Then the illusion flickered.
For a heartbeat, the mountain of eyes and mouths returned.
Then it vanished.
The clearing was empty again.
Only the lime-oak remained.
Its roots were already beginning to push deeper into the dungeon soil.