The Cyclops's one large eye. Its ugly face was already grotesque to look at, but its one single large eye was even more so. It was its most unique feature, other than its large size...
Its large eye... was most likely the most important part of its body... and the most sensitive part of it, especially if it had to see and navigate through this barely lit dungeon... Thus why...
It was the key to my survival.
It was do or die... and I was most likely insane enough to do it.
"OI, BIG GUY!" I shouted with all the lung capacity I could muster, trying to establish just a chance to communicate with it, talking to it like I was some kind of old acquaintance. "Hold on for a moment... will you...?"
My chance was pretty darn slim... as it either didn't really give a damn about what I was saying... or maybe my words actually further provoked it and made it want to just kill me already... but...
I won.
This one-eyed giant actually closed its mouth for a moment, seemingly upon hearing and trying to understand what I was even saying. I could even see the confused look on its ugly face as it eyed me, trying to comprehend what the hell was wrong with me...
Because right now, I was grinning ear-to-ear from amusement... at what I was about to do.
I rummaged through the pocket of my business suit's jacket and pulled out my personal gadget that had seen better days, its screen cracked, seemingly from this damn Cyclops's previous attack.
Of course... I was talking about my smartphone.
"Before you eat me..." I brought my cracked, barely working smartphone close to its large single eye, showing it my grinning visage, "...would you please smile for the camera?"
With a shaky thumb, I pressed the shutter button on my cracked smartphone. The device whirred, and in an instant...
FLASH!
...a bright burst of light exploded from the phone, illuminating straight into the Cyclops's large, single eye!
ROAR!!!
The light struck its enormous iris like a bolt of lightning, and the Cyclops let out a deafening roar of agony! Its voice reverberated through the cave-like dungeon as it instinctively recoiled in pain, dropping me from its grip.
I hit the ground hard, the impact sending a sudden shockwave of pain through my already battered body, but... the adrenaline kept me alive and kicking.
I glanced up to see the Cyclops thrashing about, its massive hand desperately clutching at its eye, trying in vain to calm the searing pain.
"Must be quite painful, eh? The first true light you've witnessed in this lonely dark dungeon?" I muttered with mocking sympathy as I watched the creature's agony.
Its large, sensitive eye, which had likely not seen true sunlight for a long, long time, was completely overwhelmed by just a simple flash from my smartphone's camera.
"Ugh... alright," I groaned as I pushed myself up, feeling the dull ache from the fall, but...
"Hah... haha..." I couldn't hold back the chuckle that bubbled up inside me, amused not only by the sight of the writhing Cyclops but also by the thought that my crazy, insane idea had actually worked.
I couldn't believe that the giant had actually heeded my gibberish, and even more so, that blinding its ultra-sensitive eye with my smartphone camera had worked.
Hell, for a moment, I had been convinced that my almost broken smartphone was beyond use and that I was just being an insane idiot...
But somehow, lady luck was on my side.
"Haha... hahaha!"
I couldn't help but let out another laugh, just thinking about how lucky I had been...!
Standing up with newfound vigor, adrenaline and serotonin coursing through me, I saw the Cyclops still writhing in pain... and I couldn't resist taunting the beast.
"What's wrong, big guy? Can't handle a little light?" I jeered, my voice dripping with even more mockery than before.
ROAR!!!!
The Cyclops responded with an enraged roar. Unfortunately for it, it was still clutching its eye in pain and couldn't see where I was, other than the direction of my voice. So...
It thrashed wildly, swinging its massive spiked club and fist... crashing them into the marble columns that lined the cave!
One of them shattered on impact, the heavy debris collapsing onto the Cyclops with a sickening crunch. But... instead of slowing down, the now temporarily blinded one-eyed giant only grew more frenzied, swinging its weapon into more and more columns, oblivious to the destruction it was causing.
The entire cave began to tremble as the structural integrity slowly faltered under the Cyclops's rampage.
Meanwhile, I had already retreated to the grand marble entrance, the one with the ominous carving of Zeus's face.
I stood there, watching the chaos unfold with a growing sense of grim anticipation. The Cyclops was tearing the place apart, and as the realization of the inevitable outcome settled in... my initial amusement faded.
This wasn't just a fight for survival anymore—it was a tragedy unfolding before my eyes.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as I watched the giant unwittingly seal its own fate. But I knew... it had tried to kill me, and in this cruel world, I had no choice but to fight back with whatever I could get...
And eventually... the inevitable happened.
The cave rumbled as more marble columns were destroyed one by one by the Cyclops. The support they had provided was gone, and...
The ceiling above began to cave in!
Large chunks of rock and debris plummeted down, striking the Cyclops! It roared in shock and pain as it was overwhelmed by the collapsing cave.
I had to shield my eyes from the swirling dust and falling debris... but once it settled, I peered through the haze to see the aftermath of the cave-in.
The Cyclops—its massive form was now buried under the crushing rubble... with only its head visible, conveniently enough. I saw that its single eye was still twitching in pain.
It was really, really sensitive, huh?
And so... I approached the mostly buried giant... to finally end our confrontation.
Once and for all.