Vivan and Samuel stepped inside the darkness holding their swords open. The moonlight outside lost its way inside the cavern as they went deeper.
As the cave felt presence of the living creature inside its belly, the cavern reacted to their presence.
Blue neon lines spread across the walls, the roof, and the ground, glowing like circuits and lighting up the cave from within.
The atmosphere inside was beautiful, yet suspense of death lingered along its beauty.
Vivan whispered.
"You said the location of this cave was erased from history, so why would someone erase a location this easy find?"
Samuel thought for moments then a doubtful tone came out of his throat.
"I'm not sure but the last known location of this cave was at the peak of the Greypeak Mountains."
Vivan felt a chill in his spine as a thought lingered in his brain.
"Then how the hell is the cave entrance was here at the foot of the mountain?"
He did not mention anything just careful footsteps of two worried men echoed across the silent cave.
Samuel continued.
"I don't understand how this cave can be here at the foot of the mountain."
But Vivan was forming a theory inside.
"This is a game ultimately and if we think the cave entrance as a spawned event location then there is a possibility that its spawn rate and location is randomized."
He did not let that thought out. Instead a question came out of his serious voice.
"Are you sure the location of this cave was erased?"
Samuel narrowed his brow.
"Yeah! Pretty sure."
Vivan went silent but a small *CLICK* tone echoed as a small stone slab got pressed inside the ground by Samuel's next step.
The blue neon lines across the cave flickered for a second, then suddenly with a rushed pull Vivan pulled Samuel back.
*Swoosh*
A lightning fast arrow flew from a small hole just opened on the left wall of the cave and plunged to the right wall grazing Samuel's nose a little.
"Traps?" Samuel shouted.
That's when their eyes went towards the walls connected to the ground multiple skeleton was sitting by their back on the wall as an arrow pierced their skull.
Both of them were panting heavily as Samuel noticed it first.
A skeleton on their right side was laid by its back. The skeleton was nothing special but there was a passage written by the wall just under the blue neon line passing above it, barely visible.
"This is Grimveil. Do not step inside this hell by being mesmerized with its beauty. Remember there is only one truth- this world is a prison and we are the prisoner of this world. We are just here to fulfill our purpose to entertain our creators."
Under that a name was written.
"- Amionisa Rudolf."
The name clicked in Vivan's head.
"The pendant of Paul. Borin mentioned it as curse sigil of Amionisa." – he muttered.
But his partner was frozen. Samuel's mouth was wide opened.
Vivan pushed him a little with his hand so that Samuel can focus back.
"What is it Samuel?"
The words brawled their way out of Samuel's throat with desperate effort.
"That!" his finger pointed at the name.
Then he continued.
"Amionisa Rudolf! The founder of the Dark Guild!"
Samuel's eyes were about to came out of their sockets.
Vivan shouted – "What about it?"
Samuel turned to Vivan with an extreme rush of fear then held him with two firm gripped rattling Vivan's body with an earnest request.
"We need to go back. Trust me, please. If this cave was a hell even for her then we don't stand a chance. Please."
Vivan stood calm. His compose voice helped Samuel gain some control back over his emotion.
"If that's true then as a soldier of Novarim your first responsibility is to secure the heir of Clevon who entered this cave."
Vivan pointed at a skeleton laid on the ground. Then he crouched down and inspected the skeleton as the Clevon crest over its clothing glowed faintly under the blue light.
But still it was not enough as the veteran soldier was crumbled due to extreme fear.
Vivan put his hand on Samuel's shoulder.
"Fine! You go back and bring reinforcements. I will look for the Clevon junior."
Samuel's jaw dropped a second time.
"I can't let you do that. You are our guest and the savior of the prince. I can't let you go and face death alone."
Samuel tried to muster all courage left in him but Vivan's steel sharp reply cut through all the hesitations.
"SAMUEL! The condition you are in, in that you will be just an extra burden in this hell. So it's better for you to go and bring reinforcement after reporting."
With that said Vivan started walking deeper in the cave without spending another single word on him.
[System Chime]
+ 20 INT for clean assessment of the situation
+100 courage for overcoming the fear of history
+100 Empathy for compassion to comrade
As Vivan's slow and careful steps echoed deeper in the cave under the blue neon lines Samuel headed toward the cave mouth.
But none of them knew a third person was looking at the fear clouded mind of the adventurers from the cave ceiling way above who followed them inside.
Vivan advanced slowly as any misstep could cost him his life but danger can be avoided with precaution, not accidents.
A moment of mistake and a *Click* sound on the floor due to a miscalculated step on a small trigger activated the Whole trap system of the cave.
Hidden panels slid open across the walls as arrows hissed out like vipers. From the ceiling, thin blades dropped and retracted as they sliced the air in rhythmic precision.
The floor shifted, revealing pressure tiles that snapped shut with steel jaws. Blue neon lines pulsed brighter as if it was guiding the traps like veins of the living machine.
All the bones scattered across the ground were not just warnings.
They were the proof that Grimveil is not just a cavern but a carefully engineered killing chamber that was waiting centuries for another soul to misstep.
Vivan read the patterns of each traps as he advanced through them meticulously calculating their timing and skillful movements of his muscles.
"Whoever designed this, is a bloody sadist." He whispered to himself.
As he slowly passed through the traps a tall square chamber revealed itself glowing in different glyphs of red, green and blue neon.
The chamber was empty except at its center a small statue of a warrior holding a sword stood tall wearing a long coat and multiple skeletons in Clevon crest lay on the ground.
The statue's face was covered with a steel warrior helmet and a line was written under the statue as it pulsed in red neon lines.
"This is the beginning and the end."
Vivan took a closer look of the statue then he carefully checked the floor for more triggers of traps.
But the room possessed zero sign of danger in it.
"Then how all of these people died here?" Vivan whispered looking at the skeletons once again.
The peace inside the room felt artificial as if it was trying to hold back some sort of apocalypse.
That's the first time he got a clear view of the glyphs.
"What? These are not unknown letters to me."
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
"These are codes. Each and every line is a coding font."
He looked at one of the red neon lines.
"This is a For loop."
Then a blue neon revealed itself.
"This one is an If-else statement."
His mind spun.
"Is this the console room of the game?"
Then a flicker of doubt narrowed his brows.
"They told me I was trying to be a pro gamer in my life, then how am I understanding these coding? Do I have a background on coding?"
Sweat formed in his forehead. The damp cave could not suppress the rush of adrenaline inside him.
He checked out every single line of coding on the wall and somehow he was able to understand how all of these were created.
"Logic! Logic is being represented in form of magic?"
He searched frantically, until a sharp gasp escaped his lips.
"There is no control panel of the console for me to alter the codes."
As Vivan studied the glyphs, a third figure clung to the ceiling above, its gaze fixed on the adventurer's unnatural movements- silent, patient, waiting.
Then finally Vivan stood in front of the closed door behind the statue as the system window pops up.
Do you want to enter The Genesis Chamber?
Yes No
[System Chime]
Difficulty: Impossible
Chances of Death: 100%
Chances of flee: 0%
Vivan hesitated. An impossible quest notification and this was the main game not evaluation so there is no respawn option available.
But still a smirk reflected on his face as impossible difficulty means impossible rewards.
[System chime]
Quest accepted: Initiating entry permit of The Genesis Chamber Survive the Death March till your permit is generated Depending on your performance stats will be rewarded Good luck player!
The glyphs across the chamber rippled as the line of logic was rewriting themselves in real time.
The codes didn't remain still; they kept shifting lines as if the room was alive.
[Death March Phase I: Active]
Survive 3 minutes against the sentinels
Failure condition: Death
The floor rumbled. Stone figures started forcing their way out from the ceiling, walls and even from the very ground Vivan stood on.
Their bodies were not normal stones, Cracks ran through them glowing with moving lines of code.
Their faces looked broken, like errors carved into rock, while neon symbols crawled across their limbs like veins.
One sentinel dropped from the ceiling with a heavy crash. Another one pulled itself straight out of the wall as its sword was scraping sparks. Hands emerged out of the ground, dragging more of them up.
The shadow figure on the ceiling who was observing Vivan froze when the sentinels spawned right next to her. But they didn't even look at her.
Their heads turned the same way. To Vivan.
Blades lifted, steps echoed and the stone feet pounded the chamber like a war drum.
Vivan's pulse raced. His body tensed up.
But inside, his gamer instinct grinned as he felt the same old feeling of impossible odds of a challenge and big rewards waiting once he clears it.
He equipped his sword, took his natural stance of blade holding.
Front foot ahead, back foot pivoted. Left arm was welcoming the challenge while right held the sword over the left arm, gazing at the challenge.
"Three minutes. That's all?"
His lips curved with a prepared smirk.
"BRING IT ON!!!"
….to be continued