With shaky hands, Rhia clutched the rope extended on either side of the bridge. She chanted in her head.
'Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look do-' Rhia released a scream, falling on her butt, hands holding on tightly to the ropes.
In the spot where she was about to place her foot, one of the wooden panels broke and fell into the sea of lava.
"Don't look down, Rhia! Just jump over it!" Alex advised. Rhia slapped her cheeks, the stinging pain waking her up.
'Damn it, Rhia, this is no time to be afraid!'
Rhia buried her fears and put on a brave face. The two children rushed to the other end of the bridge. Once they landed, they tried to catch their breaths.
"Dodge!" Lucia screamed, and Rhia saw blades of fire heading in Alex's direction and quickly pulled the other out of the way.
Crossing the bridge at breakneck speed were three large tigers with flames coming off their bodies.
"Rhia!" Lucia yelled in warning.
"I know!" said Rhia as words instinctively flew out of her mouth.
"I call on the power of Lilith, goddess of Death and Darkness!"
A gust of black wind surrounded Rhia before vanishing.
"She whose heart is pierced with envy! The Black Saintess awakens."
Rhia opened her eyes, and her gaze was calm as she glared at the beasts that had crossed the bridge and lunged at them.
Without breaking eye contact, Rhia was calmed when Lucia transformed into a bow in her hands. Pulling back the string, three arrows shot out, taking down two of the tigers, but the third dodged.
It tried to sneak around Rhia, but she sensed it coming, kicking it aside.
"Quick! Before it gets back up!"
She reached for Alex's hand, and the two dashed towards the exit. Once out, they were greeted with barren lands and volcanoes that could be spotted in the far distance.
Staring at the ground, Rhia saw lava seeping through the cracks of the grounds. The sky was an orange-reddish color mixed with black volcanic ash.
"Yep, we're definitely in a dungeon… again." She let out a defeated sigh, but couldn't let her guard down for long. Stalking from the cave were two more Flame Tigers.
"But even if this is a dungeon, I will not die here."
Rhia's eyes were fierce as she kicked the first tiger in the face that tried to attack her, sending it tumbling against the ground. She followed this move by twisting her body in mid-air, kicking the other one that was already arching in the air in its stomach.
Quickly, she summoned her bow and shot an arrow into the tiger's neck. The wound gushed with blood. Without breaking a beat, Rhia spun around. Armed with her bow, Rhia pulled the string and shot the tiger who she had kicked first right between its eyes.
Alex's eyes trembled with awe, pointed at Rhia who stood victorious with two dead dungeon monsters lying on the ground before her.
"Good job, right?" Rhia looked back at Alex, her thumbs raised up in the air with a grin plastered on her face.
Alex returned the gesture with one of his own. Lucia had reverted back to her normal fluffy-self, watching the childrens' interaction when she caught a glimpse of Rhia's hand trembling.
—
"So tell me a little about yourself, Alex. It can be something random, like a favorite color or food."
The two had been walking for what felt like hours, and even though the silence didn't bother her in the beginning, Rhia was starting to go crazy and needed something to occupy her thoughts.
"There really isn't anything too interesting about me. I don't have a favorite color or food. Which is probably why the other kids steered clear of me," Alex sheepishly admitted.
"My family is kinda famous, and due to that fame, kids would crowd around me," Alex recalled the various times he was approached by a group of kids, eagerly asking him questions.
"At first, I was happy, but I soon realized they were only crowding around me to ask favors from me. When I declined, this made them angry, and before I knew it, no one would hang out with me."
A gloomy aura emitted from the boy.
"Other than my family reputation. I was boring to them. And since I refused to cater to their greed, they found no reason to hang out with me."
Rhia felt for her friend as she too didn't have a lot of friends. Believe it or not, Alex was the first real friend she made, having been a loner in her past life.
"Don't surround yourself with people who only wish to use you. Friends should have each other's backs and understand each other."
Bits of memories from her old life replayed in her head. Rhia recalled an old companion from her past. She couldn't remember the girl's name or face, but remembered how they would sometimes hang out with each other.
This had her wanting to deepen their friendship, seeing how they both were loners. Always alone, eating by herself, watching the other kids chat with their friends, making plans.
She envied people like them, who were happily living their life without having to suffer like she did. They didn't get beat up for no reason or were forced into humiliating situations, which was why she wanted a friend to share her pain with.
"Sabrina, you're so wrong! She's look like a fucking clown!" laughed one of the girls on the cheerleading team, one of Sabrina's subordinates.
Rhia was awash with shame and humiliation, face covered in thick makeup. Her hair was styled into messy pigtails. She had been forced into the school's cheerleading uniform that was twice her size and practically falling off of her.
She stood outside on the football field as the team was in the middle of practice.
"I had to entertain myself. Now my cute little peasant, why don't you give us a cheer?"
Sabrina wasn't just the queen of the school, but the captain of the cheerleading team. Her glossy pink lips were pulled into a smile, and she aimed the camera of her phone straight at Rhia.
Rhia didn't want to do it. She didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already had.
"Oh look! She's trembling like a bunny!"
"How sad!"
The rest of the cheerleaders joined in on making fun of her. She could even overhear some of the football players snickering at her misfortune. But what made it worse was when she caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd.
When their eyes met, the other girl quickly turned her head around, acting as if she never knew Rhia. Rhia's heart was hurt so bad that hot tears ran down her cheeks.
After that, the other girl avoided her, and Rhia was back to being alone.
"Rhia, something is coming after us!"
Rhia was pulled out of her wandering memories by Alex's terrified voice. Looking behind them, Rhia shared the boy's feelings. Racing on their feet were big serpent creatures.
"Fire Drakes! Quickly, get a move on it!" ordered Lucia.
The two children ran for their lives when Rhia suddenly paused, causing Alex to bump into her back. The intense heat made Rhia sweat heavily.
A burning forest of buildings was reflected in her eyes. Fear gripped her chest when she slapped her cheeks. The pain brought awareness of her situation.
'Now is not the time to be afraid!'
Rhia encouraged herself, running through a maze of burning buildings. The buildings resembled old townhouses. The kids came upon a large clearing surrounded by a wall of fire, and facing them was a fire drake.
Though smaller than the rest of its species, Rhia's blood still ran cold.
The Fire Drake had brown-reddish scales with eyes the same color as lava. Glaring at them, its chest bulged, and from its mouth, it shot a jet stream of lava at them.
Rhia quickly defended herself and the others by summoning her shield. But as soon as it dispersed, the fire drake came rushing at them. Rhia got ready to summon her bow, but was caught off guard when the drake flipped around, sending them flying with a swing of its tail.
With the group knocked down, Rhia got ready to pick herself up. When the drake descended on her, it repeatedly kept smacking her with its tail.
Staring from a distance, the scene was kinda funny to watch as Lucia stifled a laugh. Alex looked on with worry. Rhia found none of this funny.
"A-Alright! T-That's enough!" Rhia grabbed the drake's tail, shocking it and Lucia, who became even more stunned when, with profound strength, she spun it around and sent it flying towards the sky.
"That was not funny, fluff-ball!" Rhia yelled and pointed a finger at Lucia.
"Not from where I was standing," Lucia shot right back. The group rejoined, and Alex helped Rhia dust herself off when a spell gate opened beneath their feet and transported them elsewhere.
Rhia and Alex were transported to a giant floating rock formation, greeted by the sound of a woman losing herself in a fit of laughter.
"That was hilarious! It's been awhile since I met such an interesting group!"