While the two brothers waited at the side, Tepo connected with the Sun's Punishment.
His vision changed, letting him observe a large area. As he willed it, the landscape seemingly flew past before the ruined, dark world abruptly ended.
As if someone deliberately put them together, the dark world ended and connected seamlessly with a red landscape.
Boiling hot magma streamed in rivers between solid stone. From time to time some beings would surface on the magma before sinking down, taking the heat as part of their daily lives.
Tepo quickly skipped past it. He was searching for the dungeon portal. He hoped to understand the dungeon if he started from its entrance.
Racing over a desert Tepo suddenly stopped, however. A large, smooth stone platform had entered his vision. Tepo directed his aim upwards.
Suddenly he drew a sharp breath. He had found the statue!
A mysterious fog wafted above the stone platform. It blocked Tepo's view, making the statue appear as if sitting cross-legged on a cloud.
The enormous artwork made from stone depicted a lean man. He wore strange clothing which consisted of many singular pieces. They sometimes overlapped and sometimes revealed glimpses of the man's muscular body.
As Tepo adjusted his vision, he was finally able to observe the man's entire upper body. The young warrior only gazed at the many, many accessories for a moment before his attention was drawn to something else.
The statue's hands were folded in the air before it. Its palms were turned upwards. Five strange blueish-violet spheres circled above them. They appeared to be massive, giving of a mysteriousness even as Tepo observed them from afar.
Fascination colors swirled on their surfaces, sprinkled with dots of light. Those would remind Tepo of stars if he had ever seen some before.
It took a few seconds until Tepo managed to divert his attention elsewhere. He began studying the statue's head.
A stern face greeted him. It had sharp contours, eyes filled with wisdom. Its short hair looked somewhat unkempt but it gave the man a certain charm.
But Tepo furrowed his brows.
Why… can I see this face? It's like I'm looking directly at the statue's front. I shouldn't have traveled such a long distance in this black part of the dungeon, right?
A shiver ran down the young man's spine. But he could only place the questions at the back of his head for now.
Done observing the statue, Tepo searched its surroundings as planned. Finally, he found the forest area next to a rocky landscape. Even the dungeon portal was quickly discovered.
Hmm, the forest is bigger than I thought. It will be hard to recognize a specific spot from here.
Trying to find some of the places he was teleported to, Tepo followed the forest. But after covering a short distance a strange divide appeared in his vision. The ground seemed to be disjointed along a clear line.
Interesting. So it's another line? It seems this dungeon is divided into multiple areas.
Maybe…
As multiple possibilities arose in Tepo's mind, the warrior tried to estimate one area's center but from his perspective this proved too difficult. Without confirmation it would be difficult to find any patterns in the dungeon.
Stuck, Tepo cut his connection with the Sun's Punishment for now.
"And? Did you find anything?"
Tepo shrugged his shoulders as he explained:
"The dungeon seems to be made up from multiple areas and different biomes. My guess is that one gets teleported from one area to another with each step one takes. But I can't confirm any patterns."
Lao Ru nodded slightly as he processed the information, coming to his own conclusions. Only Lao De was too lazy to think himself and directly asked a question coming to his mind:
"If that's the case, why is the dark area different?"
Tepo's forehead wrinkled but he was stumped. He didn't have a logical explanation.
Fortunately, they had Lao Ru with them, who could draw from experience:
"Why do you even have a brain if you never intend to use it?", scolded the man his younger brother.
"We have been to so many dungeons you should know how random they can be.
Don't you remember the labyrinth, which was missing one half, replaced by a platform filled with beasts? Back then we could also skip the labyrinth entirely and finish the quest by reaching the labyrinth's center.
Sometimes dungeons are just not coherent."
Lao De had an understanding look on his face. He didn't feel embarrassed by his brother's lecture.
"Hmm. So, you are saying the dark area is originally not a part of the statue's surroundings?", concluded Tepo.
"Correct. That's why it follows its own rules."
Tepo saved this valuable experience in his brain. It would help him to understand dungeons better.
That's probably what people talk about when they state how random dungeons are. But it seems to be a good thing. How was one supposed to solve the dungeon if the dark area didn't exist? It would be unimaginably hard to figure out a pattern.
Tepo shivered from this thought. Luckily Lao Ru distracted him as he got back on topic:
"Ok. Now we need to figure out a way to reach the statue."
"I assume if we stand on the correct tile we should be teleported there."
"Yes.", agreed Lao Ru. "This is the only solution in my mind. But how can we figure out the correct tile?"
"My idea would be to observe the movement of other beings and figure out a pattern."
Lao Ru fell silent for a few seconds. His thoughts churned but he had no other ideas. He ultimately nodded.
"Good. I can do the scouting if you want.", offered Tepo.
Seeing both brothers nod nonchalantly the young man once again connected with the Sun's Punishment. He began to observe the are around the statue earnestly.
As soon as he felt the slightest movement he would rush over. This way Tepo got a good grasp of the dungeon's layout. He even found the ice desert which almost killed him. Even now he felt a chill in his bones involuntarily.
But he was disappointed multiple times. Each time Tepo thought a beast was moving, it was something else. Swaying trees, rolling snow, or shifting dunes.
Still, the young man didn't get disheartened. With the patience honed through many missions he laid in wait and observed.
And observed.
And observed.
Soon an entire month had passed. Tepo even had to eat and sleep in the meantime, letting the brothers take over for a while.
Suddenly the tower rumbled. Tepo's eyes shot open and Lao Ru was shook awake form his meditation. They looked at Lao De, their eyes twitching.
The impatient warrior had fired the Sun's Punishment. A blinding ray of light shot towards the desert area.
Lao De's thoughts were simple.
If you don't want to move, I will make you!
But something unexpected happened! As soon as the ray of light entered the area under the statue's influence, a massive stone hand appeared without any signs. Tall as a mountain, it clamped down on the ray of light.
The entire dungeon trembled, an earthquake spreading. Cracks even covered the heaven. Beasts shivered in terror or fled blindly. The palace's energy barrier vibrated dangerously. Hills collapsed and even the last walls broke.
The three warriors stared in shock. Even the experienced brothers had never witnessed such a power, especially within the dungeon.
Although some scattered tales of vanishing dungeons existed, everyone assumed they had been cleared secretly. But now they couldn't exclude the possibility that the clash of mighty powers destroyed the dungeons from within.
Even Lao De's body trembled. In front of such might he couldn't muster any fighting spirit. Any struggle would be futile.
Suddenly something unexpected happened again. Fingers made from rocks descended within the dungeon, like heavenly pillars. They began eliminating some of the beasts fleeing in panic.
Within Tepo's body the Core of Time pulsed all of a sudden. The young warrior was napped out of his state of shock. He was confused for a second but as his eyes scanned the scene, he understood something.
Tepo hastily jumped up. He ran to the Sun's Punishment, pushing the shocked Lao De away. The older warrior didn't resist, still watching in awe.
Connecting with the Sun's Punishment, Tepo observed the dungeon again. He grinned. Jackpot!
Throughout the dungeon multiple beasts were moving randomly. With every step they were teleported large distances. Left and right, forth and back.
Gradually a pattern formed in Tepo's mind. He was elated, continuing his observations. He still waited for a certain thing to happen. And suddenly he saw it. A large, tiger-like beast arrived on the platform next to the statue.
Finally! The puzzle is solved! The dungeon is divided into squares. With every step one will be teleported two squares. But one can't teleport towards the direction one came from.
After taking too many steps the statue will attack. That's basically an elimination, but it shouldn't matter to us. We only need to keep in mind that the statue is only reachable from a single tile.