"So that's it? No danger lurking?" I asked, my voice echoing faintly in the vast chamber.
My eyes darted around, searching for any sign of danger as we walked out of the chamber. "You know, Agnos, you could've just done this yourself. You're one of the Unknown gods, after all."
Agnos, jumped on me and perched lazily on my shoulder like he didn't have a care in the world, gave an unimpressed snort. "Sure, but where's the fun in that? You need the experience."
I opened my mouth to retort, but a low, guttural growl from beneath the earth cut me off.
My stomach dropped.
Crap. I spoke too soon.
The ground beneath us rumbled violently, dust and loose rocks scattering as something massive began to stir.
A split second later, the earth split open, and a monstrous basilisk erupted from below, its glossy scales shimmering like an oil slick under the faint magical glow of the cavern. Its piercing yellow eyes seemed to radiate malice.
"Oh, so the guardian's here," Agnos said, completely unfazed. "Guess you're not that lucky."
My jaw dropped. "Oh? That's all you've got? Oh? Why didn't you tell me there was a beast guarding the fragment?"
Agnos shrugged, his golden feathers fluffing slightly. "You never asked."
I had no time to yell at him. The basilisk hissed, a sound like nails on glass, and lunged toward the dwarf leader who had accompanied us.
"Look out—"
Too late. The dwarf froze mid-step, his expression of shock forever etched in stone as his body hardened into a lifeless gray statue.
Yikes. "Oh no."
That was my cue to leave. Heart pounding, I bolted, my bagpack on my back, and feeling the crushing weight of survival instincts screaming at me to run faster.
"Carl," Agnos said, his voice irritatingly calm given the situation. "You do know that basilisks can shoot poison from afar, right?"
I skidded to a stop for half a second. "What?"
A hissing sound sliced through the air, followed by Agnos's warning. "Incoming poison. Veer left!"
I veered left, barely avoiding a spray of green acid-like poison that slammed into a jagged rock formation. It melted instantly, the acrid smell of burning stone making my eyes water.
Shit. This was bad. Really bad.
"Why am I always in situations where I'm one bad decision away from becoming monster chow?" I gasped between breaths, dodging another glob of poison that left a smoking crater in the ground.
"You're quite nimble," Agnos commented, his tone almost complimentary.
"Great. Glad I'm impressing you while I'm running for my life," I snapped. "How come you're not petrified, huh?"
"I'm immune," he said matter-of-factly.
"Fantastic. How am I supposed to get away from this thing?"
"You're the zoologist. Think of a solution," he said, sounding far too smug for someone who wasn't being chased by a giant venomous death noodle.
"I'm a zoologist for regular animals, not mythical monsters!"
"And a basilisk isn't an animal? Monsters are animals too, Carl."
I swore under my breath, narrowly ducking behind a boulder as the basilisk lunged again, its fangs snapping inches away from my leg.
This was nonsense. Absolute nonsense. I didn't sign up for this. My lungs burned, my legs ached, and my mind raced.
Somewhere, buried deep in the recesses of my memory, was a scrap of knowledge about basilisks.
I'd read about them in mythology books back home and in Harry Potter, but nothing in Mythica followed the rules of Earth's mythology.
I needed to think. Hard.
Dodging another spray of poison, I wracked my brain for any clue about the basilisk's weaknesses. What had I learned so far in Mythica? The creatures here always had a twist—something unique. I just had to figure it out.
Then it hit me.
"Carl, focus!" Agnos barked as I fumbled with my backpack.
"I am focusing!" I yelled, my hands digging through the bag while I zigzagged to avoid the basilisk's snapping jaws.
Rocks crumbled around me, potholes formed from its acid spit, and the heat from its enraged hisses made my skin prickle.
Finally, my fingers closed around what I was looking for. Please let this work.
With a shaky breath, I pulled out a small pouch and hurled it at the basilisk. The pouch hit the ground in front of it, bursting open in a cloud of fine powder.
The basilisk hissed and recoiled, its movements frantic. The creature's massive body thrashed, scales scraping against the ground as the powder filled the air around it.
Agnos's eyes widened slightly. "Limestone dust? You remembered!"
I didn't answer, too busy sprinting toward cover as the basilisk writhed, disoriented.
Limestone.
In my Earth biology classes, I'd learned about how certain reptiles—particularly those that relied on venom—reacted poorly to calcium compounds. I'd figured it was a long shot, but Mythica hadn't let me down yet when it came to parallels.
"Keep moving!" Agnos urged. "It won't stay down for long!"
"No kidding!" I shot back, my legs screaming in protest as I scrambled over uneven rocks.
Behind me, the basilisk let out a furious roar, shaking off the powder with a violent shake of its body.
"Plan B," I muttered to myself, glancing around the cavern for anything I could use. There had to be something—anything—to give me an edge.
And then I saw it. A cluster of jagged crystals embedded in the cavern wall, glowing faintly with an eerie blue light.
"Hey, Agnos," I said, my voice strained. "What are those?"
"Leyline shards," he said, his tone suddenly serious.
"Will they work against the basilisk?"
Agnos hesitated. "If you can shatter one, the energy might stun it. Might."
"Good enough for me!"
The basilisk roared again, regaining its bearings and zeroing in on me. My time was up.
With no other options, I grabbed a loose rock, hurled it at the nearest crystal, and prayed. The shard exploded in a flash of blinding light, a shockwave of raw energy rippling through the cavern.
The basilisk froze mid-lunge, its body trembling as the energy coursed through it.
I didn't wait to see what would happen next. Grabbing Agnos, I bolted toward the exit, my heart hammering in my chest.
As the light faded, the basilisk let out one last, furious hiss before collapsing in a heap.
********
Collapsing at the cavern entrance, I gasped for breath. My limbs felt like jelly, and my mind raced. We were finally outside, no longer trapped beneath the earth's surface.
Agnos, ever unbothered, gave a low whistle. "Well, that was dramatic."
I shot him a look. "Next time, you're the bait."
He grinned. "Noted."
But as we stepped outside, my relief was short-lived. Far on the horizon, a dark cloud loomed, swirling with ominous energy. Agnos's expression turned grim.
"What now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He pointed to the horizon. "That...isn't natural."
Great. Just great.
I didn't respond, too busy catching my breath as the dark cloud disintegrated into nothingness. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sound of my own ragged breathing.
As the ominous energy settled, Agnos turned to me with a sly grin. "Ready for the next fragment?"
I glared at him, my exhaustion giving way to exasperation. "You're kidding, right?"
He laughed, patting my shoulder with his tiny cat paw. "Come on, Carl. The adventure's just getting started."