As Khurd Fla'en poured his prana into the ancient looking tree, a sudden whooshing could be heard. The tree started glowing the brightest purple, outshining even the two blazing suns.
The thick purple light was somehow resonating a very dark aura. The heat provided by the suns seemed to have vanished and was replaced by cold, chilly winds.
A loud "crack!" sound diverted the travellers' attention towards the center of the tree's trunk. A large opening had appeared. Big enough to fit 5 average-sized people at a time. The inside of it was completely dark. Nothing could be seen except an abysmal nothingness. It reminded Khurd Fla'en of his descent to the entrance of this world.
The two men shot a quick glance at each other. Though they were natural enemies, they both had the same thought on their mind.
"Finally!"
"I think it is high time we get inside. I don't think it would be open to us forever.", remarked Aksh Mal'en, with a profound smirk.
"Shut up. I know what I need to do, you jerk.", scowled Khurd Fla'en.
With a reassuring sigh to himself, he stepped forward. Each of his steps were casting a deep carving inside the ground. It seemed the ground itself wanted to absorb Khurd Fla'en. Neglecting such trivial effects, Khurd Fla'en marched forward, his eyes reflecting deep ambition. Something engraved into his very heart.
For your peace, both of you.
With a deep breath, Khurd Fla'en plunged himself into the darkness, falling into nothingness. Bu this time, it was different. He wasn't scared. He didn't scream out.
For some reason, he was remembering the old man's words, the man he had seen in his dreams.
"The path that you have chosen is long. In the distant future, you are going to deeply regret it."
"Heh, regret? You think I don't know regret? I have been feeling it every damn second of my life. You see old man.... you can't judge someone before you yourself are perfect."
A minute later, he landed on a hard surface. It would have almost crushed his body if he didn't had used "Devil's right arm" to smash the floor to slow his momentum down.
"That hit damn hard!", exclaimed Khurd Fla'en , rubbing his shoulder, where he had sustained a slight sprain. His voice reverberated no less than seven times.
Helping himself up on his feet, he looked around himself.
He was standing in a very murky room lit very dimly with a bunch of torches of faint blue fire which were fastened to the walls by some enchantment. The room was almost perfectly circular. Looking upward, he saw the hole through which he had fallen down. The opening was deep enough so that not even the tiniest bit of sunlight entered the room.
Seconds later, a slight thud announced the arrival of Aksh Mal'en. Khurd Fla'en wheeled around to see two human figures on the marble floor. Somehow, his extreme hit on the marble floor didn't seem to have left even a single scratch. The floor was seamless as ever.
"You do have your primordial way to enter a hole ,eh?", asked Aksh Mal'en, with a definitive smirk on his face.
Minute after minute, Khurd Fla'en's loathing of Aksh Mal'en was increasing. As he was in no position of rebounding, he kept his temper down and was calm.
"Now, where are we ?", said Aksh Mal'en in a very curious voice.
A nerve in Khurd Fla'en's temple twitched.
"As if you already don't know what's gonna happen, you hypocritical bastard!".
Sensing his obvious expression, Aksh Mal'en said, "Hey young man, you see, I have just tested the game. This dungeon happened to be one of the coincidences that the one who altered the game forgot to remove it, or left it on purpose. You see, it's radically different from the one which I had tested during its developmental stage.
This is drastically different from the dungeon which was first created in the original game", said Aksh Mal'en, making a profound announcement.
There was a complete silence for a full thirty seconds. Both the men were staring at each other intently. Yor Ka'an was as still as a statue.
"You don't @#$ know what is happening in this dungeon ?!", said Khurd Fla'en, completely outraged, breaking the silence.
"Why should I?, we both agreed upon entering the dungeon. I never mentioned whether I knew anything about it.", replied Aksh Mal'en.
"You lowly bastards will never die in peace."
thought Khurd Fla'en.
Realising that there was no point arguing with each other, the two enemies turned away, trying to figure out how to clear the dungeon.
The room they were currently in was very small and cramped. It felt suffocating.
"Apparently, this trial is not supposed to cleared by a vast number of people. Just a bunch of induviduls.", thought Khurd Fla'en.
He tried to remove one of the torches lit with the blue fire hanging on the wall, suspended. To his disappointed, it didn't budge. It stayed well rooted to its designated spot.
Meanwhile, Aksh Mal'en was looking around the room very intently, studying each and every detail that hit his eyes."The room's walls are completely black. As is the floor. The only and minimal source of light here are these pale-blue torches. There are a total of seven of them. All suspended right against the curved cylindrical walls of this room. There seems to be no other exit except the hole through which we came right in. Going back has no incentive as the opening should have closed already as the prana poured into the tree must have been utilised.
So.... what shall we do ?".
Aksh Mal'en's brows had contracted into a frown. He drifted towards the walls of the room. Touching the wall, he tried to feel for any grooves or switches which could give them a clue. He slowly circulated around the room, his palms gently running across the walls. Disappointment swept over him as he grasped nothing. The wall didn't even resonate the presence of mana. It was just a plain, black wall.
On the other hand, Khurd Fla'en had went down onto his knees, hands on the floor, trying to seize something. Neither did he recieve any positive results.
Meanwhile, Yor Ka'an was still standing blank-eyed, in the middle of the room.
"Guy's charm sure is top notch. Releasing constant prana to maintain the enchantment.", thought Khurd Fla'en, a little amused.
Standing up, he dusted his trousers. Facing Aksh Mal'en, he asked, " Got anything?"
"Nothing", grunted the latter.
"Now that's diabolical.", said Khurd Fla'en in a very neutral tone, neither loathing not smirking.
"So, if nothing works, no prana embedded in wall, no lever, no switch or any traps to trigger, we're left with only one alternative.", Khurd Fla'en said.
"What is it ?", asked Aksh Mal'en.
"We simply smash through the walls.", the former replied, extending his right arm, fashioning it into a fist.
Raising his eyebrows, Aksh Mal'en replied,"Very well.... No other viable alternative is available, then we can do nothing else.... Go ahead, smash through."
Turning around to face the wall, Khurd Fla'en tightened his grip. His arms started glowing green. Taking a deep breath, he started moving forward, with graceful steps.
As the wall was within his reach, he raised his glowing arm.
With a maneuver of great precision, he smashed his fist against the wall.
It was followed by a deep, rumbling sound. Seconds later, a crack appeared on the wall. It was expanding spontaneously. A minute later, the whole wall was covered in cracks.
BOOM!
The walls blasted away with a ear-crunching sound which could render someone deaf if heard full-on. Thankfully, they had covered their ears.
Except Yor Ka'an.
Blood started flowing down her cheeks through her ears. Her expression didn't change one bit.
Seeing her condition, Khurd Fla'en roared, "You bastard! Why didn't you do anything! Her goddamn ears are bursting!".
Clearly taken by surprise, Aksh Mal'en couldn't think of a proper reply.
But before they could argue upon anything, something caught their attention.
Four passageways were leading away from the very room in which they were standing. Simultaneously, the three of them received the same message on their virtual dialogs.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED A DUNGEON!]