To my best vision… best guess, there seemed to be hundreds of individual torches. Each lit their own section of the dungeon. And when I turned my head towards the back…
"Shit…" I growled.
"Shit indeed." Celeste echoed.
Our back was blocked by endless darkness. And even with both our eyes scouring the entrance there was nowhere for us to go but forward.
I tensed, hidden under the bangs of my hair was a sheen of sweat. It poured down my face like some sort of river. My instincts, no… that was wrong. It wasn't my instincts that screamed at me. But the skill I had obtained.
That oddly named Precision.
It spoke to me with words and feelings only I could understand. With concepts and warnings whose contents were wholly unstatable. I couldn't even echo those same warnings to my hurried companion.
Yet still, we charged on hurried feet. That crest... it burned a hole in my pocket that grew hotter and hotter, a flame that wouldn't settle. I cast my gaze over Celeste, she seemed so wholly unsure. Even her lips quivered slightly as she parsed a single question. One she wasn't able to finish. Not with her own strength.
"Are we sure..."
I turned my gaze to that stuttered voice and smiled. Her lips brushed back and revealed a snarl. It wasn't hostile, I knew that. But it revealed a nervous tick, one that spoke about each and every fear that deigned to hold her down.
Finally I sighed. I could intuit her intentions. Celeste was too nervous... far too nervous.
"Yes. I have scoured the land, do not be so arrogant to think that your band of cowards were so thorough. I was. And I know that the only exit is this one."
"Then is it death we need to prepare for, a boss greater than all the beasts combined. I would think so given the nature of this game. It has not been kind to us."
Celeste. She was far too serious, too enthralled in that fear of hers to realize that it was nothing but an irrational bout of anxiety. I felt a snort fall over my face, something that turned to a far too loud laugh.
She startled.
"Maybe you~ But not I."
I felt a cold chill fall over my shoulders, a warning. Sighing I stepped to the right and let the bullet ricochet into one of the torches. The flame was extinguished. That may've been a worry if there weren't so many other torches around us.
Each glowed in the dark and illuminated our path. There wasn't a single sign of any traps, no small holes in the ceiling or walls that shot bullets. There wasn't a pressure point that gave way to an elaborate series of traps.
Celeste bit her finger, her eyes flickering from me to the torch. "Luck? No." I ignored her mutters. Instead I chose the path of least resistance, leaving Celeste to follow in my wake. Whether she truly could follow me... could make it out of this trapped space.
Well... if she was of great stock... then there wouldn't be an issue. And so my path was clear. All that was left was to take it. I could tell that those eyes of hers, Celeste rose and tried to complain. But it was all useless.
The words left her before she was even able to breath them to life. She was left with only one viable option. And that was to follow me to the depths of this place, and to maybe support me in my endeavor.
Instincts and precision warned me of dangers. The path had not deviated once. Not a single twist or turn had taken us off course. And when I looked back to the serious figure I couldn't help the several chuckles that came.
Maybe it was a laugh at her fear... maybe it was because of all of the adrenaline that sang to me. I didn't know. And I didn't care.
/./
The labyrinth of endless tunnels ended. All that was left was a wall depicting scenes of endless violence. Behind me Celeste growled out my name, her teeth bared and her hands reaching for my side.
I dodged the halfhearted swipe and laughed in mirth. Letting Celeste fall to the ground and rest her tired legs. She growled and muttered again and again but ultimately just let herself rest outside of this grand door.
Celeste probably meant for this to happen anyway. I shrugged my shoulders. The grab was far too halfhearted to be anything but an excuse to rest on the ground.
Her gaze fell on the wall and so did mine. Finally... after what may as well have been an eternity of walking, we were here. The final edge of this labyrinth. Yet I felt that crest warm in my pocket.
Like it recognized the scenes in front of me. Of the knight houses that were shown to conquer the sun. The day they descended upon this planet, and the arms they gave to another knight house.
I took out the crest. Examined both it and the crest that appeared so prominently in the wall. "That symbol..." It matched so exactly. Behind me Celeste questioned my movements. But I ignored her.
The burning of my hand continued.
And 'oh so anticlimactic. The crest fell out of my hand.
I expected it - and instinctively knew - that it would fall to the ground and maybe bounce a couple times. But like common sense wasn't a thing, like defying gravity was so easy. A gust of wind... an invisible force... whatever it was, the crest was pulled from the ground and overlapped with the wall.
A deafening creak rang through my ears, only alleviated by a brilliant light that lit the entire room. It was far greater than what thousands of those small torches could make.
And when the light was blinked out of my eyes, when I could finally see again. "Welcome." I was greeted by a girl... a being? I couldn't quite tell.
The voice was too… ambiguous. But… when the light stopped searing my eyes and I could stare at it without being blinded. I stepped into it. And soon after, I stared face to face with what looked to be an ancient queen.
Her arms were filled with golden ringlets that shone in the light. Her ears, nose, even mouth were pierced with even more gold. But that was not what stunned me. What did was her beauty. It was almost ethereal… no it was.
She stood from her throne, her hand reached beside her - and like the mural - she took a golden staff. A language I couldn't understand on her tongue.
Only for it to change as it reached my ear.
"You must be of the ****" The last word was muffled under infinite static. She must have noticed too as she placed a seducing finger on her lip and shrugged. And laughed.
A heavenly laugh as balls of pure energy circled around her. They merged into a circle filled with unknown runes and power.
And it was only by instinct that I was able to dodge out of the way.
Ethereal blue swords - clashed with the golden theme - zoomed towards me. I dodged to the right and let them fly past my side. They dissipated soon after.
But she moved.
And I was greeted with brown eyes that stared deep into mine. Those same circles left in her wake as I greeted the staff with my own weapon.
For my effort I was pushed into the wall. Flames burned my back and I cried out in pain. But she was not done. Swords pierced my stomach, disappearing soon after.
If I had to thank something, then it would be the ethereal nature of those swords. If they had been real, material, then I would have been pinned to the wall. At the mercy of her machinations.