//------------------------------// // Chapter 73- The Evil Dungeon of References! Part 2 // Story: The normal life of Nitpick Bittersweet // by Ryusun //------------------------------// “Come on, now, Linkus! Jump to the other side and guide us to victory!” Nitpick’s jerk levels were out the chart. “I might do that.” Sugarcoat answered the challenge by jumping to the next tile. “See? Easy for someone as great as me!” She could see the lack of faith from her idiotic company, but she decided to ignore it and continued her task ahead. Although her sword and shield were a handicap with the added weight on her back, she managed with ease to jump, climb, and make short sprints to make power jumps. Well, at least for half of the section. The invisible platforms of the room became more of a hassle than a challenge for Linkus’ cosplayer. Jumping from tile to tile with a picture of an endless void below her feet wasn’t a very comforting experience. Worse was the salty behavior that her doomed companions were portraying in such desperate times. “My sister doesn’t have your sweet time!” “I thought Champion Leaders were the best of the best!” “Wasn’t she a second in command, Nit?” “Ah... I forgot because she is as useless as that Silverwind.” ‘If only I could leave them to rot here…’ Sugarcoat sourly thought. But she didn’t have the time to think of heartless fates for them. If her sight and measurements abilities were correct, like usual, the room had an average size of two combined typical classrooms from her school in length. It could be considered small for such a deadly situation, but the adrenaline, fear and tension of not making mistakes made her feel trapped in a series of worst-case scenarios. She needed to find a path for all of them and she needed to do it fast. She timed her jumps on the barely visible floors separated by the black abyss. Trying to stay calm and processing all variables in her head while memorizing the path she has made so far. Until now, the tiles with the most concentration of water were the right choices in her next jump. Sadly, it came to a point where the second half of the road was deprived of such water source. She was stuck. “Sugarcoat!” Nitpick said. “WHAT!?” “I see someone is touchy right now.” She breathed deeply. “What do you want, Bittersweet?” “Do you need any help?” Gilda asked. “No, I’m fine! Don’t annoy me while I think!” “Blueblood had the idea-!” “I AM DOING JUST FINE!” She focused her attention once more to the exit. But truth to be told, she didn’t know how to proceed. It was only a matter of time for them to die of starvation if things kept going like this. ‘Think, Sugarcoat, THINK!’ was repeated in echo inside of her head. She unsheathed her Master Blade, put her body near the edge of the floor, extended her blade and tried to make contact with any kind of surface in her surroundings. Nothing… there wasn’t a trace of matter in that space. She tried again from another tile, only to achieve the same results. And after the third try, she was done. There wasn’t a single thing ahead on the road. She would be stuck there for two or three days max until she died of starvation, clinging with the hope of being rescued by the authorities… if anyone was interested enough to come and rescue them in the first place. Her parents wouldn’t notice her absence because she spends most of her time on school, and given the background of her other cellmates, the chances of survival were slim. “No…” She whispered. “I can’t end up like this!” She stood up with her chest proudly high and her unshakable will burning like a flare on her pupils. “I’m Candie Sugarcoat! Future Champion Leader of Crystal Prep Academy! And by Moonlight’s blessing, I won’t die like a stray dog in here! My school needs me AND I WON’T SUBMIT IN DESPAIR!” She noticed that the roof was illuminated by a weak shade of light. For her in that moment, it represented that hope may be dying on her... but it was still burning recklessly. Where there is light, there is a way. “Wait a minute!” She noticed that the light was bathing with golden dust some parts of the air near the roof. But strangely enough, they were just a few feet out of her reach. She used her blade to try and poke something above and 'CLINK’ There were structures just a little above her that could be climbed. “THAT’S IT!” Her hope was renewed. With all her physical capabilities pushed to her limits thanks to her new found adrenaline, she made a wall run upside, jumped to her right and successfully grabbed on the edge of an upper section. She quickly climbed it and explored her new surface in crawling position. She sensed with her hands all of the space available to her and BINGO. The path ended just below the floor of the next door. She jumped below, opened the door and made a fanfare of victory to her companions. “AHA! I MADE IT! Now, you fools, follow my- AH!” Her mates of doom were in front of her. “What - when – HOW!?” Gilda scratched her temple. “We grew tired of seeing you jumping and stuff so Blueblood had the idea of going back to the previous room to find something useful fast.” “We slammed the door, which was strangely loosened for some reason, and found at first that there wasn’t anything of worth there. But when we saw the fallen door again, we decided to use it as a bridge between the tiles you used.” Blueblood added. “By the time you were climbing, uh, something, we were half-way here. And since we saw you working so hard for our sake, we decided to let you continue your heroics!” Nitpick winked at her. “Making my struggles, my stress, and my quick thinking entirely pointless!” Sugarcoat concluded in a furious but professional manner. “At least we are alive and kicking!” Gilda gave her a little shoulder massage. “Now let’s go and find the Princess before evening. I’m hungry!” The group started walking forward. “How could you be so calm when we are inside a dungeon of doom!?” “Calm down, Sugarcoat! Gilda and I were talking during our expedition and we came to the conclusion that this is Reem’s doing!” Sugarcoat halted her steps. “How?” “I still believe you are saying nonsense!” The Royal barked. “Think about it, you two! She was enjoying herself being captured too much, she isn’t with us, and if we think objectively, the video where she was jailed looked like a crappy horror movie!” “I bet twenty bucks that she is behind this!” “Impossible! Unbelievable! Preposterous!” The Royal stood in front of the simpletons. “Reem could never think of such cruel joke! Her name in the ancient textures of Saddle Arabia means Gazelle! A symbol of purity! A being free of corruption of the lowly beings such as you possesses!” He put them aside with his presence and kept walking. “Come on, now! We need to contact the authorities as soon as possible!” “Thing that we could have done since the beginning if your sister hadn’t suggested us leaving our phones on the table!” Nitpick said. “Reaffirming the theory that she knew this would happen!” Sugarcoat embraced reason. “Bah! Your reasoning is misgui – KYAAAAAHH!” A flurry of bats suddenly flapped through the corridor, their screeching barely audible as they careen past their heads. The room from which they came seemed barren at first glance. But where is wild life, there is an entrance. There must! An entrance that could mean their swift escape from that place a reality! This time, there was no obstacle obstructing their path, and even the door didn’t close on their backs. That may be because it was a dead end, much to their annoyance. Unlike the flagstone common throughout the dungeon explored so far, this room was walled in brownish red and gold. Pillars carrying weapons were present. Each of them made of good plastic at closer inspection. Every single item had the family symbol of the Blueblood Royal Lineage. Except for one. “Look, this bastard sword has the Uldrich symbol that Reem was talking about a while ago!” Sugarcoat said. “I didn’t know you were knowledgeable in weapon designs, Sugarcoat!” “This petty knowledge is basic for a student such as me, new blood.” “Whatever. There must be another secret device around here somewhere!” “Nit, look what I found!” Gilda had in her hands a note written with a strange passage. “Those who seek salvation must leave something of similar value as tribute. What the hell does it mean?” Nitpick crumbled the paper. “Fool! It means that we must give up something useful!” “Like what, little troll?” “My sword and shield for example. Or your armor could also be in the equation.” “I won’t strip in front of you without spare clothes!” “I’ll give you my coat if necessary, Nit.” “Little Maiden, it seems that there is a lever beneath the sword.” At closer examination, there was a kind of a lever in the form of a hook coming out of the wall. She pulled down the structure and… nothing. “Mmm… Perhaps its weight based.” She unsheathed her sword and hanged it in there. Nothing. She tried again with sword and sheath, only to gain the same results. She tried with her shield and… ‘Tararururara’ Some pillars suddenly started to move slowly in a line. The locks that were holding the sheathed bastard sword were removed by a mechanism and Sugarcoat exchanged her sword with the bigger one. Because you know, superior firepower triumphs over anything else. As soon as she put her old sword in the stand, the locks reappeared once again, opening a compartment to safeguard the sword and shield inside. It was the last time they saw the items in that day. “Now what?” Sugarcoat inspected the sword. There was a message written in a strange language on one side of the blade. “I don’t understand this.” Everyone took a look and Gilda was surprised at what she was seeing. “This is griffonesse!” “Do you understand what does it say, Heavensbane?” “Seriously?” Gilda took the sword for a moment. “…mог бы… сильнейший воин… оружие…” Gilda looked at the pillars, noticing that they were now loose to move as they please. In front of them, three small red squares were highlighted. “The mighty warlord can be defeated by the bravest warrior, but only if the right weapon is chosen. It’s what it means…” Three pillars. Three Weapons. A sword, a lance and an axe. “I believe we must guess what weapon is better than the other!” “Impossible!” Blueblood inspected the weapons. “In the end, all depends on the skill of the wielder!” He gave them a serious look. “Any weapon is a good weapon as long as you can use it with honor and skill.” A small pause was given. “Broofian Jacques, two-thousand and seven.” “Who?” The Twin-like Duo asked. “The writer of Bluewall?” Sugarcoat looked at them sourly disappointed. “One of the greatest Great Equine’s modern writers?” “Ah… so, what we must do to get out of here?” “Your ignorance sickens me, the both of you! You should consider reading a book once in a while!” “I don’t read, I train!” Gilda made a pose of might. “HA! The day I read a book, I’ll become a nonsensical asshole bitching about existentialism all of the time!” Nitpick inspected the weapons. “You know, this reminds me of Fire Seal’s weapon system! The sword defeats the axe, the axe defeats the lance, and the lance defeats the sword! Come, Gilda! Help me move them in that order!” “Nitpick Bittersweet! Not only you are poor, but you also believe that a silly game’s mechanic is the answer to our problems! Your ignorance knows no-!” ‘Tararururara’ A secret door appeared, leading upstairs to the second level. The Twin-like duo made a bro-fist, much to the Royal's annoyance. “HMPH!” He walked first to the unknown. The road to the second level was strangely relaxing. Typical elevator music was played while they ascended towards their next destination. And once again another door was opened, and inside the room there was another big screen softly illuminating the place. A sudden transmission was made, and the hellish frog puppet appeared once again. “Hello again!” “I see you survived my first test! I am very impressed by your unexpected competence to solve my challenges so fast! It’s only been less than an hour since you were trapped, if you wanted to know! Now, the second phase will test your intellect and patience to the extremist levels! The way to salvation lies near!” “Knock it off, Reem! We know it’s you!” Nitpick said enraged. “I believe you are confused, Clone Trooper. I’m a frog, not the girl who is caged behind me!” The camera focused on a sturdy iron cage with Reem laid on the floor unconscious. “See?” “COME ON! That must a double or a silly live-sized doll!” “SHUT IT, SUGARCOAT! You can anger him and make him do something awful to-!” “AND I’M SICK OF YOU!” ‘Bump’ A swift swing from her new sword hit him on the knees, causing the Royal to feel terrible pain. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT?” A weak giggle was heard from the monitor. The commoners looked at each other with skepticism. “I heard that! Do you think this is funny, frog? I, Prince Arbelth Blueblood, won’t be intimidated from the likes such as-“ ‘SLAM’ The royal fell to the floor unconscious. Nitpick hit the pain in the ass with the fuller of the blade. The giggle was louder than before, eventually becoming laughter. Laughs so full of ill-spirited and pranking intent that even the Twin-like Duo felt shiver in the cores of their spines. On the monitor, Reem’s body was struggling to keep her act intact. “SO IT WAS YOU, YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT!” Her act was shattered, so there was no point on keeping quiet any longer. She elegantly stood up from her position, opened the cage, rearranged the camera to reveal a royal-like chair nearby, and she sat on it, taking the ominous puppet in her hands. Pressing a button nearby, the cheap eighty effects disappeared, making the frog far less threatening than before. “Congratulations in unmasking my identity so soon, my honored guests!” She said with a dark but sweet smile. “Are you having a good time?” “WE ARE STUCK INSIDE A SHITTY ASS DUNGEON AND WE NEARLY DROWN TO OUR DEATHS SEVERAL MINUTES AGO!” “Future Champion Sugarcoat, I thought that Crystal students were ready for any challenge!” “WITH THE PROPER PREPARATION WE ARE! THIS IS MADNESS!” “Then you weren’t prepared enough for something like this! Tee hee hee!” “Wait until I put my hands on your little porcelain neck…” “You have to find me first! Please, do what you can to fulfill my dream on this day!” “Which is?” “Your suffering!” Thunders from outside waked the screen. “WUH! The storm is getting worse!” She was delighted. “Have no one ever told you that you are a pain in the ass?” “And a spoiled brat?” “And a sick witch? A cute one but – What are you two looking at me like that?” “Seriously. This rich brat imprisoned us inside one of her games and you are developing a crush for her already?” “Sugarcoat, it’s not a crush. I just appreciate a woman’s beauty, that’s all! Gilda is fit, Reem is a classy beauty, and you have a big a-!” “As I was saying, my honored guests!” Reem’s cheeks were red-tinted for a moment. “Salvation lies near! If you get out of here alive, you shall receive a hot and delicious meal! And the most important thing of all: CAKE! There is cake in this party!” “The cake is a lie…” Sugarcoat bitterly said. “Now get us out of here… NOW!” “I assure you there IS cake in this place! Oh, and answering your petition of freeing you, Future Champion Sugarcoat! I AM THE DUNGEON MASTER! Your guide in the realm of Dungeons and Dragons! The next clue is inside of one of the other two rooms. Good luck and Godspeed!” The transmission ended. “Bitch… and a crappy guide to add to the list.” “Ugh…” The Royal Prince was regaining consciousness. “What happened?” “Should we tell him?” Sugarcoat whispered. “We were attacked from behind by some lackeys, prince. We managed to push them back but they hit you in the head!” “Pretty bad, I might add!” Gilda help him to stand again. “But we are alive.” “Ah… good. Let’s get going!” One door had five keyholes and it was shut down. The other chamber held nothing but a large ironbound chest, big enough for a man to fit in and bore a heavy iron lock. The place stunk with the wet, pungent scent of mildew. Whatever the case, their next clue was inside the chest, so instead of wasting time in looking for the key, they smashed the lock and retrieved the goods inside. Once outside the stinky place, the goods ended up being a key. A big sized key that had a symbol of a sword and shield that resembled the ones that the little elf had moments ago. Beside it, there was another note. “There are times when you must go back to the start… Fuck no!” It didn’t require being a genius to know the hidden meaning behind the message. Back to the changing room. They opened the door with their new key to find the room exactly as it was before. After inspecting every corner of the place to the last crate, inside Blueblood’s changing room there was a keyhole that fitted their new key. A strange artifact resembling a medallion was revealed, with a note carelessly thrown inside. “Glory comes from honor. Honor comes from killing in battle. But only the smartest chose to attack from a distance.” “The bow from the weapon’s room…” Sugarcoat deducted again. They went back to the resting place of the weapons and inserted the item on top of the bow’s pedestal. Another note, another item. They went back to the room where the chest was and put said item inside of it, revealing another pair of clues to the dungeon. They went back to the platform room to find that there was a hidden lever on the upper section of the place, revealing another secret passage inside the ooze’s room. They solved a half-assed puzzle to reveal a big and heavy mirror that must be put in the changing room, revealing several portraits of three blue triangles across the explored dungeon so far and a chest containing an ocarina with a little note. “The Hero of Space must play the Lullaby of Dreams in front of the sacred portraits…” Sugarcoat saw from the other side of the note a little song that she was used to. “The opening song of Pirate Moon?” She played the six seconds tune in front of the first portrait, revealing a little key. After retrieving it, they went ahead to the ooze room and repeated the deed once more. Then inside the pit room. The weapon room. The chest room. They inserted the five keys on the locked room of the second floor, only to reveal another room with a pool inside, sporting seven portraits to be used as desired on seven spots united to a single path. In the mural of the main was written, ‘The treasures of the seven seas lie dormant below the coldest ocean! Bring them back to the surface while your skin is dry, hero, and glory shall be yours!’ “FOR FUCK SAKE!” Their voices made echo across the seven seas. Sugarcoat walked to first spot and played the song. The water level was rising immediately, stopping when the water on her right nearly reached the edge of the floor. “Hmm…” On a closer examination of each portrait, on their corners they had a different number with a circle surrounding it. There were three green circles, one white, and three red. She looked at each side of the available pool, and several circles were forming a straight line to the bottom, representing its distance to the floor. She decided to make a test with the fourth spot. The water levels of each spot were reset back to normal. The seven ‘seas’ had different levels to add to the difficulty. With quick thinking, she came to the conclusion that no matter how many times she tried, at least four of the seven seas will have one circle of water. She played the song in front of the reset portrait just be sure and sat for a while in the middle of the room. But the real problem was how to get down there, retrieve the treasures, and use them without getting wet. “Sugarcoat, we need to hurry to save - !” “SHUT… up. I know what are the stakes here so at least let me think in peace! Or do something useful instead of bitching around every single minute!” “Remember that it was your bitching of instilling ‘order’ on the school that made us end here in the first place, brat!” Gilda laid down on the floor. “You two are a menace to the integrity of the school! If you are not stopped, Crystal Prep academy will fall into chaos!” “Why?” Nitpick joined her friend. “Because we Champions regulate the peace at school! It’s our duty to mitigate future threats to the academy!” “Why?” “Because it is tradition!” “Why?” “Because this is the closest thing we have to a real world situation of social interaction! If there is no group to maintain order in a place, anarchy will follow! As you experienced with Lighting Dust… AGHHH!!” She punched the floor several times with increasing strength and fury. “DAMN THAT GIRL!” “Why do you hate Dust so much?” Gilda rested her head on her hand. “I mean, she is a bitch, no doubt about that, but I don’t see her making too much ruckus during school hours!” “She is a bully that threatened our schoolmates instead of keeping us together behind the scenes! She has no leader skills and I want to get of rid of her fast!” “But isn’t she Zap’s cousin? You know that famous saying, ‘Screw with me, and I’ll forgive you…” Nitpick touched with his finger the surface of a sea, making constant ripples in it. “…Screw with my family, and I’ll beat you.’” “Just because she is her family, it doesn’t mean I must like her! I tried to help her for Indigo’s sake! But she simply doesn’t listen! With your strength under my grasp, I’ll rid of her in a fair fashion and make you control the lower class! The status quo will return, and everything will be back to normal!” “Why do you want to make us work for you so badly?” “I already told you…” “I mean the real reason, not the half-assed excuse you just made.” “It’s not an excuse, Bittersweet! I don’t make excuses!” “Little Maiden, if that’s true, then why you didn’t tell Miss Silverwind that you are struggling with these two? With your combined strength, you could have controlled them fair and square!” “I’m not struggling, prince! It’s just a delay, that’s all!” “Right… tell me, Sugarcoat! Have you ever played video games before?” “Why are you asking me that, Clone Trooper?” “Answer the question, citizen!” “Yes. Several, in fact! The Folktale of Celda, Detroim, Demon’s Dogma.” “Champion Hero, prestige level one-hundred and six.” “Magic Archer, also prestige one-hundred and six… why?” “Do you have friends?” “Zap.” “I mean… real buddies that you can yell to vent out and relax a little? Like Gilda and me? You know, bitching about everything, complaining, wasting our youths without a care?” “Throwing people to the trash bin.” “I still hate you for that!” “And Reem didn’t deserve that…” “Look, we are sorry! But we didn’t want to annoy you in the first place! Lighting Dust made us think that the Champions were dicks, and Sugarcoat’s attitude didn’t help on that matter either! Had she approached us, I don’t know, nicer, perhaps this would have ended different.” “…You are right… my behavior didn’t show the respect and authority that a Champion of the school must instill on the students.” She removed her gauntlet and joined Nitpick on making ripples on the same sea. They were turbulent and slow. “I want to prove to Dusty Silverwind that I can be a good successor! A good leader! But I just kept disappointing her recently. Even if we aren’t friends, she always guided me to better myself.” Her pupils reflected the bottom of the sea. “Not even my parents…” She sighed with tiresomeness. “I see…” Nitpick patted her head. “I understand… When I was in middle school, there was this girl that I had a crush with. Uh, besides my teacher Yearling who was a real cutie with long, black hair and…!” Sugarcoat gave him an unimpressed look. He cleared his throat. “What I mean, this girl who I nicknamed Bookful Sporty always gave me moral support besides some friends I had there… But even I knew that I couldn’t end up living to her expectations and she… disappeared from my life with someone else. My Grandfather once said that nature and destiny takes away things important to you to give you other things. Something better. But destiny is a bitch and my Grandfather now is in a nursing home… Fuck destiny, Sugarcoat! Screw pleasing people! Just live to fulfill your dreams!” “My dream is to be someone that Dusty can be proud of calling a successor! When that is fulfilled… I’ll look upon the future for something greater!” “My dream is to become a second rate worker with a decent payment… I don’t want to live a stressful life!” “That’s so… accurate!” She giggled somewhat innocently. He made a small chuckle. “You are an asshole, little troll!” “My dream is to become a good athlete!” Gilda joined the duo. Her ripples were big, but serene. “Grandpops and Grandma always supported me after my parents… I need to keep my scholarship afloat to get into a good college and try my luck in a sport team! I don’t want to be money and time wasted to my Grandpops! Grandma wouldn’t want it either!” “Crystal Prep academy offers several courses to improve your scores. There is a cooking course right now that can help you a little in balancing your notes since our school values how much you can manage to do during semesters!” “Why a cooking course and not something else?” “Because the other courses are already unavailable. If you want… I can arrange your subscription, but you have to work hard during your classes to catch on with the other students. Also, if you need to study in general subjects, several advanced students offers free tuition to lesser students. I am one of those advanced students, for example!” She closed her fist proudly. “I don’t know what is more obnoxious, your arrogance, or the heat of this armor! I’m reaching my limit in here!” “I for one could care less about your problems…” The Royal Prince walked in circles until he sat on the floor. “I need to save Reem. Not hearing about your personal troubles!” “We don’t care about you, either. But here we are, stuck inside a pit hole thanks to your sister’s behavior!” “She is not at fault with this, plebian! I must find her! She is afraid of being alone!” “I find hard to believe that, Blueblood! When I asked her for help, she was enjoying her time alone quite well!” “But she is always alone… That’s not healthy.” “Some people like to live their lives in solitude!” “Most people chose that lifestyle willingly! Our status doesn’t allow us… to make connections with just anyone…” He joined them in the sea. Although he touched the water with grace, his ripples were the most violent of them all. “Sometimes it is stressful to be from royalty. Too many eyes watching you!” The common people looked at him with empathy. Even though he was obnoxious… he bleeded red too. “Alright, we wasted enough time!” Sugarcoat rose to action. “We clearly have to get those treasure outs. Getting wet is not an option, but what can we use in this forsaken place to retrieve them to the surface while dry?” “I don’t know…” Nitpick’s voice became weaker. “You should remove your helmet at least, Nit! I don’t think our jailor will mind!” “If only this shit resembled the Phase One armor more accurately in the good stuff. It’s bulky, uncomforting, it lacks a cooling system, and it’s hard to breath in it!” “Wait a moment…” Sugarcoat said. “What other characteristics the armor had in the EU canon? I’m still a casual, to be honest.” “It’s pressurized so the vacuum of space wouldn’t damage internals for a short period of time! Also, the helmet had a filtering system to survive for limited time in water, space and – Wait!” “Do you know how to swim?” “Yes!” “Then you are our ticket out of here!” “What are you planning to do, Little Maiden?” “Systematically, I’m going to drain the water in each sea with Bittersweet in it, so he can retrieve the treasures with ease! And if our Dungeon Master had the kindness to make his armor water proof for limited periods of time…” “Then I can dive in and retrieve the prizes below!” Not wasting more time, Nitpick went into sea one, and with much to their relief, water wasn’t getting inside the suit. Sugarcoat started to play the song several times in different portraits, making the water level of interest descend to the lowest quantity possibly. It only took a few seconds to dive in and – “I GOT IT!” Pleased with the results, she made reset to the water level and repeated the process for six more times. The tedium of the process, however, started to get into the Future Champion’s nerves. Imagine playing the song for several times just to be able to yield one reward at that time. Imagine that you must play a song in an average rate of eleven times to get what you need. And imagine that each time you play a song, no matter if it is a personal favorite, the eventuality that you end up sick of hearing it several times in a short fashion of time becomes painful. The water went up, up, down, down, left, right, left right, start and select. Did this place had no end? Finally, after retrieving the seven treasures, which happened to be seven cheap plastic coins with a symbol imprinted on them, they started to arrange them in search for a hidden meaning. Eventually, after six minutes of wasting time in another convoluted puzzle, they discovered that there were two messages when you turn the coins to other side in a certain order. When arranged, side one said: 3 clap to. Side two said: Open Map. The quartet clapped three times in the room, and the mural slowly opened sideways to reveal another secret passage. They ventured in, discovering that there was a path back downstairs to the third floor. They stumbled on a dead end. A lever was clearly visible this time. After activating it, the wall opened and they instantly recognized the corridor before them. The path that connected the ooze room with the pit hole was silently whispering his laughter at them. Saying that they were extremely infuriated would be a massive misunderstanding. At least, the floorless room sparked with light on the horizon. Something must have appeared again to keep their journey flowing. But as soon as they arrived, the bottomless hole was still there, with the exception of some light on the wall. There was a message written in it. A message that raised their levels of frustration to no end. A message that probably was there this whole time. ‘A jump of faith will reveal the hidden trick!’ Without anything to lose, the quartet jumped at the same time to the hole. To their surprise and annoyance, the black pit wasn’t that deep to begin with. They could walk in it and a massive part of their bodies could still be appreciated. The shadows barely hid Sugarcoat’s knees. They gave a step forward and sensed that they stepped on a loose tile. ‘Tararururara’ A final secret door appeared, with a design resembling a Saddle Arabian’s gates. It started to fall water on the room. “Fucking water temple…” Nitpick said stressed. “Backtracking, the Magnum Opus of a BAD game layout.” Sugarcoat expressed furious. They took the stairs to the first floor with a combined bitterness and wrath that not even Inspector Jerry Callahan, could match in his lifetime. …. The storm was raging outside. The rain was promised, the wind already unleashed. It was a time for Mother Nature to unleash her rage upon mankind’s constructions. Thank goodness for the invention of back-up power sources to avoid a possible black-out. The Noble was long gone from her monitor, not watching the progress of her party guests. Her interest had withered when they got inside the Seven Seas’ puzzle. “It is a lovely storm.” Reem took a sip of her tea. “A lovely storm indeed.” What began as some high winds and a whisper of rain had become into a barrage of nature. The wind didn't howl, it screamed. The warm that the hearth nearby was emanating didn’t made its job so well. The coldness of the weather was as merciless and black as the darkness of solitude. “Solitude…” She whispered. Her lips far more reddish than usual. Even if you're alone for your birthday, it's possible to plan a thrilling day that you'll remember for years to come. At least, that’s what the book said. The book that her loyal Rosaline gifted her ten, long years ago. Rosaline, who was only five years older than her, told her to always wish upon a star and all her dreams shall become a reality. The young Reem wished for a cookie, thousands of numerous flavors and shapes rained on her hands. She wished for a little bicycle, hundreds sporting shiny colors and extravagant emblems were at her disposal. She wished for a little pet, dozens barked and grumbled in her yard. She wished for her family to spend the night with her… Not a single silhouette appeared to scare away the shadows underneath the bed. It was always Rosaline Star and… who else? Her maiden was there, not for duty, but pleasure. Enjoying serving the young Noble in her days of boredom with whatever she wished. Saving her life many years ago could be a reason why she displayed such diligence. But beyond that, not even her brother understood. The sickness of being misunderstood was depressing, or the lack of interest of being understood in the first place could be a better reason why she felt… empty. Her gloomy sigh filled the room in a momentary silence. It was like a falcon stripping away the life of its unfortunate victim with no struggles. Silently being dismembered in the vastness of the heavens. She looked at her silly frog with pride. Another of her creations during her free time of curiosity. According to the book, a house of horror for a birthday party must have a villain. Why not ask Rosaline to use the frog so she could join the fun with her guests then? “Ah!” She was marveled by a ferocious thunder. “I am supposed to be the evil witch!” She mumbled convincingly, cleaning her dress of any dust that could have fallen into it with one hand. But the energy wasn’t there. The motivation was long gone. She started to believe it didn’t exist in the first place. It was an abyss of endless stagnation. A boring lifetime that saw a glimpse of what could be the experience of having a normal existence in the form of watching four silly people inside a dungeon of her design. It was fascinating, even if she looked at it through the monitor. She stood up with her doll and tea pot firmly in hand, and walked to the kitchen to grab some snacks. She refilled her source of refreshment and went back to the cold but comforting chair. “OH! They solved the puzzle of the Seven Seas! Marvelous!” She clapped with renewed vigor. Just one floor more, the silliest and simplest of all, and perhaps, she could enjoy a cup of tea and some pizza with them. She knew that normal people enjoyed pizza, and her brother hated common food. The perfect dinner this could be, just after having the eventual backslash for imprisoning them there. Who knows, perhaps… she could have a nice time with them. “Happy birthday to me.” Her voice was beautiful… but shallow. “Happy birthday… to me…”