I followed the arc of Ronald's trembling torchlight.
The scene that unfolded before me froze the breath in my lungs.
Skeletons. Dozens. Maybe more.
They were scattered across the floor like broken promises—jagged bones, empty sockets, and the eerie silence of what once lived and now lingered as warning. Every ribcage told a story. Every cracked skull whispered of a desperate end.
"Oui... That ain't looking good," I muttered, my voice dry with unease.
The pale light from the torch kissed the ivory remains, casting long shadows that reached toward us like hungry ghosts.
Ronald swallowed thickly. "It's like they never found their way out."
He crouched near one of the bodies. His curiosity clashed with the wariness in his eyes.
"These traps look complicated. We need to be incredibly careful."
I knelt beside him, and my eyes caught the jagged edge of a rusted dart embedded in a nearby skull. Beyond that, a hidden pressure plate, barely visible in the dust.
Traps.
This wasn't just some dusty ruin—it was a death field.
And yet…
"Oh? Traps, you say?" A grin bloomed across my face.
The danger didn't scare me. It thrilled me. This place had teeth. And I was ready to sink mine in.
Ronald's eyes scanned the floor like a chessboard made of landmines. "It's not that easy since all the tiles have traps. So we can't avoid them."
A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. A silent countdown. The tension in the room tightened like a drawn bowstring.
But my eyes sparkled.
"Oui... Wouldn't that mean there's treasure deep within? That's exhilarating!"
Treasure and traps. The classic combo. If this dungeon thought it could scare me with skeletons and smoke, it had another thing coming.
"Treasure! Traps! Bring it on! Mwahahaha!"
My laughter echoed across the stone chamber—bold, brash, reckless.
"Before anything, be careful!" Ronald blurted, his voice tinged with panic.
I winked over my shoulder. "Life's an adventure, Ronald. And this… this is a challenge we're going to conquer."
I stepped forward.
Torchlight in one hand, fire in my chest.
"Watch my steps," I said, voice steady. Confident.
But beneath the bravado, my mind was focused—razor sharp.
Each tile was a gamble. And every breath was a countdown.
Click.
The sound was like a trigger pulled.
Then—chaos.
Vtshh!
Arrows tore through the air.
I twisted, barely avoiding the first volley. The projectiles screamed past my cheek, fletching whispering death.
The walls burst alight—fire jets spewing searing streams. The scent of burning stone hit my nostrils, acrid and sharp.
Fssh!
Spears shot out from the walls with viper-like speed. Their tips gleamed with dark metal, curved and cruel.
My body moved on instinct, the way Master drilled it into me—no hesitation, only reaction. Every step a heartbeat. Every heartbeat a choice.
"Llyne! Are you okay?!" Ronald's voice broke through the thunder.
"I'm fine!" I shouted back, not daring to slow down. "Still alive, aren't I?"
More tiles shifted beneath me. A low rumble crawled up my legs.
My feet landed on the next tile—nothing happened.
"Wait," Ronald said sharply. "That tile… it's slightly darker than the others."
I paused mid-step, tilting my head. Now that he mentioned it, the color was off.
I stepped back.
Click.
From the ceiling, a cage of iron bars slammed down in front of me—just inches from my nose.
"Whoa-ho!" I flailed backward. "Okay! Good eye!"
Ronald let out a nervous chuckle. "We're not just dealing with pressure plates. There's color coding. Look closely—some are a darker gray, some a shade redder."
I crouched, scanning the floor. "Color-coded traps, huh? Fun."
He pointed to a narrow hallway ahead. "Look. Symbols carved above that arch. A sun, a moon… and a key?"
We exchanged glances.
"A riddle?" I said, cracking my knuckles. "I love riddles."
Have I ever solved a riddle before? Nope. Am I gonna stop now? Also nope!
The hallway tiles now looked suspiciously arranged—alternating symbols matching those above: ☀, ☽, ☀, 🔑, ☀…
"Step only on tiles in the correct order," Ronald guessed. "Sun, moon, sun, key."
"And if you don't…" I gestured at a skeleton hanging from the ceiling, suspended in midair by spears through its limbs. "You get kebabed."
I grinned, stepping forward. "Let's play hopscotch of doom."
My boots tapped on ☀.
Nothing.
I skipped to ☽.
Still nothing.
Next ☀.
Easy.
As I leapt toward the key tile—fshhhh!—mist sprayed from the walls. My skin tingled.
Ronald yelled, "Llyne! Don't inhale—!"
Too late.
A sharp chill shot through my body. My hands turned a faint blue.
"Llyne! Get out of there!" Ronald panicked.
I dove, tumbling to the next platform. The pressure lifted.
Behind me, the floor turned to slick ice, the tile I had just stood on cracking from the cold.
I grinned, teeth chattering. "Add ice traps to the list. Love it!"
Ronald muttered, "You're way too happy about this."
"Alright," I said, laughing breathlessly, "no more 'easy tiles.' Everything's deadly now."
Ronald nodded grimly. "We solve the pattern, step by step. The riddle might be cyclical—Sun, Moon, Sun, Key, then repeat."
"Great!" I said. "So we just memorize a deadly dance routine on a tile death grid. Easy."
I pressed on.
Every step was a test. One false move triggered flame bursts, spikes, floor collapses, or even a mirror illusion trap that made us think we saw safe tiles—only to reveal empty air. I almost stepped into one… until Ronald threw a stone and it passed right through.
Illusion magic.
Clever.
Eventually, I reached a wide round chamber—quiet.
Too quiet.
I stepped forward.
Click.
And that's when we heard it.
The rumble.
The ground trembled—then roared.
A massive rolling boulder burst from a hidden alcove up ahead.
No time to think.
MOVE.
My legs burned as I sprinted forward, eyes darting for an exit. And then—I saw it. A shallow alcove carved into the wall. Small. But just enough.
I dove.
The boulder roared past, a stone leviathan barreling through the corridor. The wind from its passing punched the breath from my lungs.
Behind me, the corridor crumbled. A crash like thunder. Dust and stone exploded in its wake.
Silence followed.
I lay there, gasping, my chest heaving with every breath. My whole body ached. Sweat poured down my back.
But I was still standing.
Still alive.
The traps returned into silence, their hunger momentarily sated.
Ronald waved at me, eyes wide with panic.
"Are you alright?!"
I nodded, wiping the sweat from my brow. "Yeah... That was intense."
Ronald exhaled, a shaky chuckle escaping his lips. "You're insane, you know that?"
I couldn't help it—I laughed. Loud and victorious.
The sound bounced off the walls like a victory fanfare.
"Oui! A few months back, I'd probably be skewered, toasted, and flattened by now," I grinned, muscles still trembling with the aftermath.
I lifted my arm and flexed half-heartedly. "Those dodging drills from my Master have definitely paid off."