The Illusion of Simplicity

Kai stands at the start of the room, a vast expanse of smooth stone stretching out before him. The simplicity of the task nags at him, a whisper in his mind that warns of unseen complexities. "Too easy," he mutters, his instincts as a streetwise survivor screaming that there's more to this than meets the eye.

Scanning the area, he spots a scattering of rocks near the altar. They're small, unassuming, the kind that might be kicked aside without a thought. But to Kai, they're potential keys to unlocking the mystery of this room. He bends down, his fingers closing around one of the stones, weighing it in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he sends the rock skimming across the floor, watching intently for any sign of the trap he's certain must exist.

The rock sails a few feet before it crumbles into dust as if struck by an invisible hammer. Kai's eyes narrow, his mind racing. He didn't see what destroyed the rock, but the absence of a visible mechanism only deepened his suspicion.

He repeats the experiment, stone after stone, his gaze sharp. A dozen throws yield the same result, but with each attempt, he notices more. Small holes punctuate the walls on either side of the room, almost imperceptible. They open and close in the blink of an eye, a fleeting glimpse of the room's lethal secret.

Kai throws another rock, this time focusing on the holes. The right side opens, the stone crumbles, and then the left side follows suit, as if something shot across the room to intercept the projectile. The pattern becomes clear, a deadly dance of precision and timing.

He continues his test, mapping out the safe zones with each throw. The stones become his eyes, charting a path through an invisible maze of destruction. With a rough outline etched in his mind, Kai takes his first step, relying on his agility and the mental map he's constructed.

At first, everything goes according to plan. He weaves through the safe zones, a silent prayer on his lips. But then, a trap triggers near his feet a quarter of the way through. A sharp pain explodes in his ankle, a warning he's too slow to heed. He stumbles, and in that moment of vulnerability, the room unleashes its fury.

Pain lances through his body as unseen forces tear through him, a maelstrom of violence that he can neither fight nor flee. He collapses to the floor, his blood painting the stones a stark crimson. Kai's vision blurs, the edges of his consciousness fraying into darkness. The last thing he sees is the ceiling of the coliseum, a distant and indifferent witness to his failure.

Then, there is nothing but the black.