The next morning, instead of diving straight into our plans, we took a moment to enjoy a hearty breakfast. Once our stomachs were satisfied and our hands were clean, we made our way back to the temple. Surprisingly, some spiderwebs had survived the previous day’s flames, which seemed odd since they had initially burned away so easily when Kaylie torched the place. Perhaps the fire had merely detached them from their anchor points rather than completely consuming them. Regardless, their partial destruction had cleared a path for us to explore the temple thoroughly.

  As I approached, that unsettling sensation enveloped me once more. It was only as I entered the temple that I could finally discern its nature. At first, it felt like the unmistakable presence of death. But no, that wasn’t quite right. It was more akin to being in a graveyard. Yes, a graveyard. It wasn’t the imminent threat of death as one might fear from lurking dangers, but rather an omnipresent reminder of mortality, like the passive, all-encompassing embrace of a place dedicated to the departed. It was an eerie feeling, yet not threatening, so I chose to ignore it and move forward.

  Our first stop was what I had initially thought was an altar. However, upon closer inspection, it turned out to be just a table, albeit one with an inscription. It took us about a minute to clear away the overgrowth covering it, carefully ensuring that no part of the surface was left obscured. Beneath the debris, a bright silver plaque gleamed back at us. The inscription read:

  “High above

  To down below,

  The way forward

  Is behind what grows.”

  “What do you think it means?” Kaylie asked, studying the inscription closely.

  “I’m not sure,” Sana replied, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

  “It means we need to burn away all this other growth. Something must be beneath all these plants,” Jack suggested confidently.

  Rabbit chimed in, “I don’t think it’s referring to this growth. Consider that this inscription was carved when this place was still pristine. I doubt plants were covering the stone back then.”

  I relayed Rabbit’s explanation, but the others were still keen to look around, so we continued exploring. The building contained only the table with the inscription, pillars that supported the roof, extensive plant growth, and rubble scattered throughout. At the back of the building, there was a door leading to another area, but we decided to scout the inside of this structure first thoroughly. I knew that we were unlikely to find what we were looking for right here, but hey, a Grey Elf could hope.

  As we meandered around, looking up for any clues, Rabbit suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, I see something up there!” He directed me to a spot high on one of the pillars.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “No clue, but search in that area,” Rabbit instructed.

  After exploring a bit further, I discovered something intriguing. Beneath the odd feature on the pillar, and nestled between this pillar and its neighbor, lay a broken-off piece of carved stone. At first glance, it was easy to miss since it was buried under debris. Upon clearing it for a better look, it appeared to be part of a giant foot.

  “I think that maybe the fingers are up there,” Rabbit said.

  “Fingers? Oh...” I was putting two and two together. “It was a statue. But where is the rest?”

  As I dug with renewed purpose a short distance away from the foot, I eventually uncovered the head I was searching for. It was surprisingly well-preserved, despite a broken nose and some other damage. Though marred, the features were distinct enough to reveal that it was a man, likely of royal descent, suggested by the beard and the regal crown he wore.

  The crown, skillfully carved from the same pristine marble as the head, was a display of exceptional craftsmanship. It featured delicate filigree and complex patterns that gave it the grandeur of fine metalwork. At the forefront of the crown, a setting designed for a large jewel instead held a piece of bright violet rock. This rock, though a different type of stone, was just as meticulously carved as the marble, seamlessly integrated yet distinct in color, creating a visual contrast against the rest of the pale statue.

  “I found something!” I yelled, and everyone quickly gathered around.

  “That was the first king of this continent,” Kaylie explained, gesturing to the head. “He was betrayed by his own people and died. Though I heard he was insane and paranoid, so maybe it was justified.”

  “How can you say it was justified that he was paranoid when they actually did kill him? Seems to me they only proved him right,” Jack retorted.

  “They didn’t kill him,” Sana corrected, “Well, not directly. The crown was the source of his power, and once they stole that, he and his undead minions began to destroy each other in their madness.”

  “Still, he ended up dead in the end, so I’d say his paranoia was justified,” Jack replied over his shoulder as he walked away.

  After about 30 minutes of searching, we didn’t find anything more interesting, and we decided to go into the back room. The door, made of heavy-looking marble, moved with ease when we pushed it. I didn’t know how that could be possible. To hold something that heavy, it would have needed a durable metal to make it swing and hold it up. Over time, the metal joints would have corroded and become stuck.

  The door was built into the edge of the stone hill's wall, while the building we stood in was farther out from it. Only the back corner of the roof had support from the mountain behind it, making me feel like it could fall at any time and crush me. This made me think we were going into a dangerous cave system, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  We stepped into an immaculately clean hallway, carved from the same stone as the temple but strikingly bright white, as if polished just yesterday, in stark contrast to the temple’s yellowed and blackened stones. This hallway was a paragon of perfection, unlike any structure I had seen in this world. It was even superior to anything back on Earth. The stones were joined without any cracks, perfectly uniform, echoing the precision of a tiled floor.

  I looked around in awe. “How long did this take to make?” I thought.

  “That’s not the real question. The real question is which building came first. That temple-esque building was built with the same stone, but it looks either a lot older or was built afterward, trying to use the same principles but failed horribly,” Rabbit said, still trying to make sense out of all of this.

  I hadn’t considered that. This hallway might have been built first, which made sense in every aspect except for the wear. The interior here was pristine, unlike the weathered exterior. If this place did precede the temple, what purpose did it serve, and why build a temple out front? Questions swirled in my mind.

  As we proceeded, the end of the hallway came into view. Initially, I expected more decay because I spotted greenery ahead. Yet, as we drew closer, I realized it wasn’t the usual moss or wild growth found on the floor. Instead, vines crept down the walls from above, seeking crevices to penetrate.

  When we emerged from the hallway, I looked up to trace the vines’ origin and was stunned to find a glowing ceiling. Glancing down, I noticed the floor was spotless. The stones here varied in size, some raised slightly, creating an uneven pattern. It struck me as odd, but my focus shifted as Rabbit had pointed out the absence of dust might indicate recent activity.

  He thought that someone might still be living here. I instinctively stepped back into the hallway, drew my bow, and nocked an arrow. Seeing my reaction, the others quickly retreated and crouched down. Our shuffling echoed softly through the tunnel. After a tense minute, Kaylie whispered, “What did you see?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  I put my mouth to her ear and whispered in return, “No dust.” As I pulled my head back, she was mouthing the words ‘no dust’ to herself, trying to work out what it meant silently.

  After about ten more seconds, Kaylie expounded, “False alarm. Alf freaked out because he saw ‘no dust.’” It wasn’t particularly loud, but after being on edge for so long, it seemed so, especially with the slight echo of the tunnel we were in.

  “What do you mean by ‘no dust’?” Jack asked.

  “He was thinking that if there is no dust collecting on the floor, someone must be here,” Kaylie replied.

  Jack put his ax back on his back and rubbed his face. “As soon as I think you are getting better, you give me more reasons to think you’re a child.”

  “Wait, what am I missing?” I asked the group.

  “This place is clearly a dungeon. The smooth walls, the look, the feel. Everything about it is too perfect for the natural world,” Sana explained. “Well, except the floor and maybe the vines, but still. It all points to a dungeon. The lack of dust isn’t strange either. That’s just a function the creators built in.”

  “How was I supposed to know that? And what even is a dungeon?” Rabbit asked, irritated that his assumption was wrong. Still, I thought the questions merited a response, so I asked them out loud.

  “That’s way too much to explain here,” Kaylie said. “But basically, a dungeon is made of fragments from another world pulled into ours.”

  “I need more than that. It seems like a big deal if we’re standing in one. How do you even pull parts of one world into another?” I asked, still lost.

  “Sophia gave you a book about this,” Sana said, waving it off. “You should read that. But fine. The being you spoke to when you first arrived here? She’s one of the Ancients. They were the first race ever created. They’re immortal. They learned how to manipulate the Labyrinth, not just to power places like this, but to draw pieces into our world.”

  “Are they Gods?” I asked childishly.

  They all looked at me like I was crazy. “No. Just because they are more powerful doesn’t make someone a God. Moreover, they can die even though they are immortal,” Sana said briefly, as if there wasn’t more to say. I had so many questions, it was driving me crazy. How could you be immortal but then die? That seemed like a complete contradiction.

  The others had gone back to looking around, and I wanted more answers, but it didn’t seem like they wanted to talk about it. Maybe I was offending them with these questions, so I asked the only other person who would willingly provide an answer.

  “Hey, Rabbit, does any of that make sense to you?” I asked, still baffled.

  He paused for a moment before answering, “Sadly, yes, and no. None of it was a translation error. I think the media has had too much influence on you for you to understand fully. In media and entertainment, the quest for the next wow factor often leads to the introduction of new terms, such as ‘super’ for everything. Then that wore off and they started using ‘God’ for everything, but then that wore off as well,” he explained. “Now they have ‘Super Mega Gods’ fighting people in movies. So, you think strong people are those things, but that’s not what they mean, and those are just a part of marketing. You know that movie where those superheroes were fighting a person they called a God? That didn’t make any sense because how could he have been one? He was born, he was strong, but then he died. That was just a strong person and pure marketing.”

  Then I interrupted, “Yeah, yeah. Okay, I get some of that, but they were saying that an immortal can die, and that doesn’t make any sense either.”

  “Ugh,” Rabbit groaned. “If you would stop interrupting me, I would get to that point. If you’re immortal, it means you aren’t going to die. That doesn’t mean you can’t die. I mean, look at me. I don’t age, and I could live forever. For all intents and purposes, I am immortal. Well, at least I was before I came to this world. If you looked at me beforehand, I could have just stored myself in different computers until the world or society ended. Ha!” He laughed out loud. “Even something like that, I could probably live through. However, I am getting off point here. I could die even though I have no age limit like you. My guess is that since they don’t have entertainment that has changed words over time, things mean what they are supposed to mean. ‘God’ would have no beginning or end. And ‘immortal’ means you won’t die unless you do die. You have to think about what things actually mean.”

  “What do you mean, no beginning or ending?” I inquired further.

  “Exactly what it sounds like. I know it baffles your brain because it’s not clear, but there was no start to the universe. It has always been and always will be,” Rabbit explained.

  “Wait, what? No, what about the Big Bang?” I asked, feeling like I was getting off-topic here, but this was basic stuff.

  “First off, that is the Big Bang Theory,” Rabbit said. “Their idea is that all of existence was somehow squeezed into a magic dot. They don’t know where it came from or how it formed. And none of their precious physics even work there. That’s not science. That’s storytelling.”

  It made no sense, but many scientists accepted it, and that was good enough for me. Then again, there were gaping holes in it from what Rabbit was saying.

  “I don’t know…” I paused for a couple of seconds. “I am just confused now. If that did happen, shouldn’t there have been something to make that happen or something before that? It does sound odd.”

  “I know you’re confused. You’re getting too metaphysical here. What you need to know right now is what words mean. Also, I would advise you not to make an idiot out of yourself for the rest of today, or else Jack’s opinion of you may be lowered further.

  “You’re the one who overreacted about the dust,” I replied.

  “They don’t know that. You did a good job learning his family’s technique, but I’m pretty sure Jack's image of you is diminishing. Just think twice before doing anything stupid, all right?” Rabbit cautioned. He was usually helpful with analytical tasks, but he rarely offered advice on Human interaction. If he was helping me with something like that, I must have been doing very poorly.

  I walked back to the group and tuned into their conversations.

  “I say we go left,” said Jack.

  “It doesn’t even matter. They look the same. Left or right, let’s just go,” replied Kaylie.

  The path split into two directions. I looked down the left hallway, then the right one. They both curved slightly in the same direction, but besides that, nothing was different. I thought about the riddle for a moment:

  “High above

  To down below,

  The way forward

  Is behind what grows.”

  I pondered what I saw in front of me. Maybe the vines were ‘what grows.’ It did look like there might be something behind the vines and below the ceiling of light if I could climb high enough.

  “Hey,” I said, raising my voice. “What if we climb the vines? I mean, the riddle talked about ‘high above’ and ‘the way forward’ is behind something growing. What if it means we should climb the vines up and over?”

  Sana shrugged. “Maybe. But we can check the paths first. Then climb if we have to.”

  “This lines up with the clue,” I said. “It might save us time if we try it now.”

  “You can’t fight while climbing,” Jack said flatly. And he was right. No weapons, no defense. If something attacked mid-climb, we would be sitting ducks. If we were Kibi, in light armor, we could have moved fast enough for it not to matter. But we weren’t.

  I looked down both corridors. Empty.

  “I’ll check it out first. Cover me,” I said, grabbing a thick vine. It was rough and cool, with patches of damp grit. I wasn’t much of a fighter anyway. Climbing made more sense.

  I then pulled myself up, and it held my weight, which surprised me. I expected to have to braid several of the vines together to hold me up. I wondered why they were so strong. It must be a sign that they were meant to be climbed.

  I pulled myself up and then a little more. When my torso was about 12 feet above the ground, I got my hand snagged on a vine. I didn’t know how, but it wrapped itself completely around my wrist. Trying to get it unwrapped would be very difficult in midair, but I thought if I could get my hands together, I could untangle it more easily. That was when I realized my other hand was wrapped too. What was going on? As I tried to figure it out, a vine wrapped around my neck.

  The next thing I knew, I was being strangled by a plant. A stupid plant.

  I grabbed the vine around my neck and started pulling. The vines around my arms didn’t stop me from moving them to my neck. I was clearly stronger. However, I quickly learned the more I writhed, the tighter they wrapped around me. When I pulled it, it only constricted my throat more tightly. But I kept helplessly tugging as hard as I could. It was cutting off my breath, then the world started swimming in black and purple at the edges of my vision, but the harder I pulled, the foggier my thoughts became.

  As the world faded into black, I loosened my grip. I released it, and the world shifted back to normal faster than it went away. It seemed to me the plant was concentrating on wrapping around me before constricting me. If not, it would have continued what I started and just squeezed my neck a little bit harder to stop the blood from flowing to my brain. I was also hoping that it wasn’t strong enough to choke me, but I knew that was foolish. It didn’t take that much strength to choke a person.

  I could move my hands with little resistance. I tried grabbing and ripping some of the plants that were not around my neck, but it was useless. It seemed that the strength of the vines was a double-edged sword. It allowed me to climb up, but also prevented me from being able to break them off. They were just too strong to be ripped apart, and at this point, only a couple of seconds had passed, with me mainly flailing around and trying to pull the vines.

  I was out of solutions, so I did the only thing I could think of.

  “Help!” I yelled. It seemed like they were waiting for me to say something because someone immediately grabbed onto my legs and yanked. The vines tightened their grip around my throat in response, cutting off the last thread of blood to my brain.

  I lost consciousness and surrendered to the vines. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Rabbit in my mind, saying, “Well, that’s a wrap.”

  And me thinking, What an as…