We continued to travel further until we reached an entryway that was carved from the black stone that led into a cave filled with lit torches. Snakes were carved in the doorway, and the fire that burned around them shined onto the moist walls. May and I entered the cave and once we were inside, the once rocky terrain became a smooth stone path of a hallway. My footsteps echoed through the long cave and I then drew my sword to hold in front of me.
May became frightened the farther we went and hid behind me like before in the desert. I looked around the cave cautiously, preparing for the snake to show herself. "Remember. Don't look at her." May had nervousness in her tone as she answered. "But, lesson number twenty-five says that making eye contact is crucial when interacting!" I gave her a confused look while walking forward. "You're scared of not being polite? You are unbelievable."
She crossed her arms. "I kill with kindness, you know that." I shook my head as I returned it to look ahead. "Unfortunately. Just wait outside while I handle this." She shook her head. "No. I promised I would help so here I am. We're a team and friends stick together." I then turned around quickly and raised my sword to point at her throat. She stopped herself from flying into it fearfully, and I glared at her.
"Let me make this clear. We are not teammates. More importantly, we are not friends. You are simply a compass. A compass that can be replaced. Got it?" She said nothing and instead raised a cookie in front of me with no expression. I hesitated for a minute before snatching the cookie from her and turning around again. "Semi-replaceable compass," I said as I finished it in one bite. She then flew up beside me with a proud smile. "That's good enough for me!"
A moment later we entered a very large room with carved pillars holding up the ceiling at even spaces apart. There were torches lighting the cave and there were other tunnels along the walls ahead of us. The moisture of the air made the breeze that ran through them cold, and there was no sound other than faint dripping.
May gasped at the sight of hundreds of statues on the ground and higher elevations of rock, along with more in the tunnels. They were all of different mythical creatures and I thought I saw some humans in the mix. I stood still for a moment, memorizing my surroundings before closing my eyes. "It's time. Close your eyes." I could tell that May was confused by my sudden command. "Why? She isn't here yet."
I then put both hands on my sword with a tight grip and started to walk forward. "We don't know that. Imagine how many of these fools failed the first second they entered the cave because of a jump scare." May didn't question further. "Alright..." She closed her eyes as well, and a few minutes of walking later I heard a smack and a thud. May's voice came from the floor as she yelled. "Ow!"
I laughed a little. "I wish I could've seen that." Just then, I heard a faint hissing sound behind me and quickly jumped out of the way. I heard a smash of cracking stone from where I was standing and held my sword up to the being who caused it. A serpent-sounding voice came from the end of my sword after a loud hiss. "I'm impressed that you managed to sense my presence. Normally, that would be the end for most."
I prepared myself to dodge another attack as her hisses echoed through the room. "Medusa." Suddenly I couldn't tell where she was anymore and turned around while continuing to point my sword. She spoke again as I heard May get back to her feet. "Why are your eyes closed? Don't you know it's rude to not look at someone while they're talking to you?" May made a nervous squeak after she said that and I turned to her. "Don't do it!"
I heard Medusa slither over to her and May squeaked again as she stood still. "You're being very rude..." Medusa had read her weakness as soon as she made a sound, and I could predict that she was about to exploit it. I could sense May's battle with resistance even with my eyes closed, and she easily broke. "I'm sorry! This is too mean!" She then opened her eyes and the sound of her cut-off scream bounced through the cave as I heard the blocking effect of her being turned to stone in an instant.
I shook my head in irritation. "Dumbass." In the split second after I finished speaking, I dodged another attack as Medusa's tail tried to strike me. I started to use my sword to block more of her attacks, but her scales were as strong as steel. I could feel the small burning of sparks through the crevices of my armor whenever my sword collided with her tail, and my balance was becoming weaker the harder she hit.
I became forgetful of my surroundings and bumped into statues that startled me once I touched them. Despite the doubtfulness in the back of my mind, I continued to fight as precisely as I could. 'If I knew where her neck was I could end this already! I need to think of a strategy!' Medusa then struck my side with her tail and I suddenly flew into a pillar. I ignored my pain and got to my feet and out of the way right as she attacked again.
"You continue to impress me, human. No one has ever been able to avoid me this long before." She stated with another hiss. An idea then came to me once she finished her sentence, and I started to engage in her conversation. "Would that by chance make me a collector's item?" She laughed a little as she answered. "You could say that. I would prefer you in one piece when I turn you to stone, but if you insist on keeping your eyes closed I guess I'll take what I can get." I dodged another attack from her tail and countered it with my sword.
"Why don't we make a deal? One that involves me opening my eyes voluntarily so you can have me in one piece?" She stopped attacking suddenly, speechless. I lowered my sword in response to the silence and she slowly slithered around me. Her tail wrapped around my legs tightly and I could feel her breath on my neck as she whispered behind my ear. "What an interesting offer. What could you possibly want in exchange?"
I then smirked now that I knew exactly where she was and turned around to grab her neck as quickly as I could. "Ack!" She choked and released my legs from her tail's grip. I then laughed as I raised my sword. "One head." I swung my sword as I finished speaking, and immediately chopped off her head in one quick motion. She couldn't even scream before it was done, and I heard her body flop to the ground as I adjusted my grip on the snakes that protruded from her scalp.
I finally opened my eyes to see green blood covering my gloves and sword, consistency like slime as it leaked from her decapitated corpse. I realized that through our entire fight, I didn't know what she looked like and was surprised to see that her entire body was white in skin tone, with silver highlights like a marble statue.