The darkness laid still throughout the cavern. Far from light a flame blazed, and stampede followed closely as aggressive growls echoed through the cavern.
"Was this really your plan?! Where's the light?! Where the light?!" Hitori cried out as he barely evaded being snatched up by the darkness.
"I don't know!... But that means we must be in a unexplored part of this place!" Miriam responded with a stressed and nervous expression.
As the stampede gained speed, a claw reached from the abyss and torn into Hitori's back, sending him toppling forward. Luckily, the darkness festering cavern instantaneously warped into a room well lit by two ghastly flames.
"It burn so much?!" Hitori tried to hold his tears. "Miriam your crazy plan worked, but I could use some help!"... "Miriam?" Hitori turned to look at Miriam, but his attention was drawn to something of greater importance.
Miriam's eyes remained fixed on a colossus black double door. "This is it."
"Finally, something new! I was beginning to think we were running in a circle." Hitori approached the door tried to push it open.
"I don't think we wanna see what's behind that door." Miriam's arm hairs stood like spikes.
"Why? Are you scared?" Hitori asked her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"No I'm not!..." she proclaimed, batting away Hitori's comment. "Plus any door with a protection spell is trouble."
"Protection spell? I don't see anything except something to break down, so step back and let me handle this."
"What are you gonna do? You're magic-less!" She inquired with both confusion and curiosity.
Hitori reached for his secondary weapon...
"Awaken Ethos."
As he drew the Damascus katana, an ever-growing white aura enveloped it.
"You're gonna cut through it, with a broken blade?" Miriam stared in disbelief.
"That's the idea." The flames illuminating the room leapt from their pedestals and drift towards Ethos like prey to a starving beast. After absorbing the flames Ethos's aura became a brilliant sun.
"Hey don't put all your mana into that thing!" A force press against her.
The air patted as Ethos dropped, and an earthquake like shock-wave rupture the room... A crumbling mass was all that was left of the door...
"That took a lot more than I thought." HItori remarked between breaths.
"You ass!" Miriam punched Hitori.
"Hey! Why did you punch me?! Hitori asked with puffy cheeks.
"You almost killed yourself!"
"What do you mean?" Hitori's confusion grew.
"If you use all your natural mana, your body will start using your blood as fuel... You would've shortened your lifespan."
"What?! I don't wanna die!" Tears flowed down Hitori's face...
"And you say I'm scared." Miriam relished in the satisfaction of getting pay back. A smile sneaking onto her face.
Abrupt and familiar roars echoed through the dark room.
"We should go." Hitori whispered anxiously.
The two made haste. As they stepped through the hole in the door and walking through the dark hallway, numerous wall-bound torches lit up the path. Upon making it to the end, they found themselves fixated on the relatively miniature stone throne before them. The room was of massive proportions equivalent to that of a dragon's den, and stuffed with mountains of gold pieces. Sitting comfortably on the throne was a skeleton wearing a crown of bones.
"Now that's what I call treasure." Hitori's eyes glistened at the thought of having all the riches he could ever want.
Bones suddenly crackle and rattle. A deep and raspy voice reverberated around the throne-room.
"Diner... You're finally here." The skeleton placed it's nimble left hand over it's dry and cracked face. Upon removing it's hand, eyes appeared in it's hollow skull.