EXPLORATION [Stage 1]

"We managed to escape the cave just in time, with the entrance crashing down behind us and blocking the path even more than before.

Now, we find ourselves inside the corridor of a mysterious dungeon, deep within Shanji's Cave.

What will we find? A way out? An easy path? Disaster? Trouble? Pain? Hope? Safety? DEATH?!

I surely don't know yet, but one thing I'm certain of is that it will be a bumpy road.

"Gosh! If I find that stupid bastard!" Dorothy exclaimed, reacting to the disastrous roar from the collapse.

"Lessen your anger for later, Dorothy. It won't bring the man in front of us," Michael wisely advised.

"Now what do we do?" Callista questioned the group, and to be honest, even I don't know the answer to that.

"Well... since we're in, Callista..." Angel responded. "We explore the dungeon!" the whole team said in unison. "...to find a way out and get some decent sleep," Michael completed. "Yeah," we responded again. Yeah, I guess... I hope so.

"This wasn't part of the plan. The king would be angry, the queen wouldn't forgive me. Just one job out, failed," Callista said with bitterness in her eyes, showing signs of regret and disappointment. I knew what she was thinking.

Instead of wasting time, I should have just brought in the princess.

Though I felt like consoling her, if she was ordered, I guess she had a reason for what she did, but the reason doesn't justify her actions.

*CLAP*

Michael clapped his hands together, making a sound, and pointed forward into the depths of the dungeon.

"This is not the first time we've come across a dungeon or conquered one. We have a new journey ahead of us, one we aren't prepared for—literally, I'm in my nightwear—but, gosh! Angel, you look so..." You could see the way he stared at Angel. At this point, this might be obsession.

"Uh huh..." I interrupted. Typical Michael.

"Oh! Sorry, I was so..." His gaze was still on her. "Michael!" On a normal day, I would have left him to his daydreaming. Hmm, it's night—doesn't matter. But this is a really bad situation we're in. We can't afford time for that.

"Sorry... Pardon me! Like I was saying, we've succumbed to a kind of deceit and found ourselves here in a dungeon, heavily unprepared. But let's not fear. I have faith we can find our way out as we explore this dungeon and, hopefully, not die. Not even a hair from us. Now, shall we?"

"We shall," we responded.

Now, I looked at the walls of the dungeon. They weren't really any different from typical dungeon walls—old-looking, cracked, feeble but firm.

It's a sturdily thick structure made of stone, with moss and vines running through it, and two massive torches attached to opposing walls. The rest of the dungeon remained unknown to us. There were just two sources of light, which didn't extend all the way to the end. That was one thing that troubled me—the darkness within.

"The flashlight, Angel," I said.

"No, look up," she said, pointing in accordance with Michael and Dorothy to the top of the dungeon's ceiling.

There was an inscription. Oh yeah! It's been only a few months, and I've forgotten—maybe because it's rare, very rare.

It was a saying, a language or symbols unknown to us. But luckily for us ex-adventurers, we knew the meaning. Meaning, we also knew what kind of dungeon we were in.

"In το σκοτάδι, ο φως χαράσσει ένα μονοπάτι."

"What does that mean?" Callista was obviously confused.

"Where darkness dwells, the path unveils itself, forged by the radiant embrace of light," we said in reply. Wind flew in through the silence coming from the darkness within the dungeon as it shook. The inscriptions then immediately uprooted themselves one by one from the ceiling like runes. They changed form and rearranged themselves, becoming the very words we spoke before, then shining bright into our eyes.

We all squinted and prepared to open our eyes again. What would I call it? Yes! Illumination was the word. We opened our eyes to see the rest of the dungeon bathed in divine light.

"You know what that means, guys," Michael said.

"We're in an Apory Dungeon."

"An Apory Dungeon?" Callista was obviously confused.

"Apory is an ancient word for puzzle or logical confusion, as some say. You may also refer to it as a Puzzle Dungeon—one of the rarest and most ancient types. A dungeon that lacks the need for monsters, as it comprises puzzles, riddles, faith, and knowledge to advance forward. Or else, it will consume you itself. In rare cases, monsters have been seen in them, well, except for Mimics, which are a primary part of this type of dungeon. So, beware. And as for how we knew, all Puzzle Dungeons start like this—a darkness that's in need of desperate light from passersby," Angel explained as she started approaching the inner parts of the dungeon.

"With only one way to advance forward, you must not let the darkness overrun you," Michael continued as he followed.

"Find the inscriptions or symbols and translate. Finding them wasn't really hard for us, but they're also in places that are easy to overlook," Dorothy added as she moved alongside Michael and Angel.

"But luckily for all passersby of the Puzzle Dungeon, the first answer has always been the same: 'Where darkness dwells, the path unveils itself, forged by the radiant embrace of light,'" I ended it as I walked forward a little and turned, waiting for Callista to follow.

"I see... So that's what you've been doing all this time, Miss Angela?" She responded with a question.

"Willingly and proudly," Angel replied as she then finally smiled. It was nice to see her do so.

Callista faced down with a sad and bitter face. "Sounds like fun."

I see... Now it's clear.

[The regret goes both ways, to the kingdom and also Angel. She feels she has failed them both.]

She moved forward with me into the light as we ventured farther inward until we came to a stop—more like a door, a very massive door with a minimalistic design on it. There was no keyhole. We had to push, and so we did. It revealed a very plain-looking room. No one had entered. We watched from the footing of the door.

"Do we enter?" I asked.

*(Whistling)*

It came from behind as we all turned to see. The darkness had reemerged from quite a distance away from us. It was stationary for a moment, then gradually it started moving towards us.

"Don't let the darkness overrun you, right?" Callista notified.

"Looks like we have no choice, Anon," Angel said as we ran into the room. But it was still coming, even faster now—rushing greatly towards us.

"The door! Close it!" Michael shouted

We ran to each side of the massive door, two on each side, as we started pushing with all our might. "AHHH!!!!" It was inches away from us when...

]SFX::- SLAM!! [

We managed to shut it.

"Phew!!" Dorothy exhaled with relief as we rested our backs against the door.

Looking to the center of the plain room, there was a circle carved into the floor with the words, "Stage One."

"The journey of progress begins now, guys. Stage One," I read aloud.

"The journey of progress begins now, guys. Stage One," I read aloud.

"We have to find a way out, and please do not, in any way, mistakenly trigger any traps," Michael cautioned.

"Roger, sir!" We all, except Callista and Angel, replied.

"So, how do we begin this 'Stage One'? There's nothing here," I said, walking up to the center of the room to get a better look. Before I knew it, the circle depressed slightly, like it was a button.

"Oh!" I murmured silently.

It made a clicking sound, and then the sound ran around the entire room. Everyone watched in fear at first, taking a stance to prepare for whatever I had done. Then, a massive slab of stone floated up towards me from the ground. It was a riddle.

"You are a genius, Anon," Michael said.

Then, from the hole it created, a sand timer glass emerged and shifted into visible sight, starting to pour down sand.

"From how fast it's filling up, we have approximately ten minutes, Anon. Read out the riddle," Angel said as she examined the hourglass with just her eyes.

"Oh, right," I said, clearing my throat before reading the riddle aloud:

"I speak in riddles, twist and turn,

In ancient tongues, my secrets burn.

To find my meaning, you must delve,

Into the past, where stories dwell.

What am I?"

"Ah, a tough one," both Angel and Michael exclaimed, which further heightened the tension. If they didn't know, we wouldn't escape here.

"Hmmm, I don't really know, but I think it's a library," Angel said.

Immediately after she gave her answer, we heard a clicking sound again from beneath the sand timer glass, and the speed at which the grains of sand poured doubled.

"What could the countdown be for?" the tension in the room intensified.

"It's a Puzzle Dungeon," Michael said. Another clicking sound followed, and the speed of the grains tripled. We then realized what the countdown was for—the walls began to close in on us. My prediction was that by the time it reached 0:00, we would be crushed.

"Are you okay, you two?" Dorothy was furious. "How don't you know this?" She asked, and I was already sweating profusely, worried about the others.

"No! Don't say—" Michael and Angel tried to stop her from speaking, but it was too late.

"It's A SPHINX!"