However, as soon as they all stepped inside, the opening disappeared from behind them, and they were trapped.
‘Should’ve seen that coming’, said Seo-Jun, sitting down with his legs crossed. ‘Considering all the obvious stuff that’s been happening, it makes sense that something like this would happen at least once’. He seemed rather nonchalant while saying this, as if casually mentioning the weather, which would make sense considering how predictable almost everything had been for him all day.
‘Uh, exactly where was any of that obvious?’ asked Alice, looking absolutely flabbergasted. Given everything she’d been through, not to mention she’s never really been much of a fan of reading, her reaction was understandable.
Seo-Jun, on the other hand, was the opposite. Even if he didn’t have a reason, through out his life he had devoured book after book, never tiring, never satisfied, only thirsting for more…
‘Wasn’t it?’ asked Seo-Jun, confused.
Alice just stared at his absurdity with wide eyes, raising her eyebrows, wondering just what goes on inside this man’s head.
Seo-Jun didn’t mind his question being ignored as he was pondering over the possible plots that could occur now. ‘Will a monster show up? Will be walls start caving in on us? Will the floor collapse? Do we have to complete some task or riddle to leave?’ he mumbled.
However, to their relief, an hour passed, and nothing happened.
‘We won’t starve to death or anything in here, right?’ asked Jason.
‘No, turns out the consumables I bought are in unlimited supply, like you guys’ stuff. It’s pretty awesome really’, informed Daiki. Even he was surprised when he made this discovery. He had handed Seo-Jun the last of his water bottles earlier, deciding to buy more later from the store, but a new one appeared in his pack out of nowhere. The level of cheats they were getting was insane.
‘It’s like they want us to get out of here alive, despite leaving us here to die’, said Jason. He genuinely thought he was a goner when he was brought here, but considering the way things have been working out and how easy they’ve been getting out of perilous situations, it’s too good to be true.
‘This is way too OP’, mumbled Seo-Jun, then looked up at them and said, ‘There’s gotta be a catch to this, a price to pay at some point. Otherwise, we could just breeze through everything by just buying stuff, and not to mention the overly generous reward system.’
‘Isn’t that how games work though, nowadays?’ asked Daiki.
‘My world got turned upside down and we haven’t had games in like ten years…but yeah, last I remember that’s how it had become. But this though…’ replied Seo-Jun.
‘They did say something about some work they’re going to give us. Maybe they really need us for it or something?’ wondered Zhiren.
This thought send shivers down their spines. Even imagining the sort of work those monsters had for them, ensuring their survival to this extent, was unbearable. But they had to live and go back to what they left behind. They had to survive this, together.
They suddenly heard a sound…music, there were trumpets playing!
They jolted at the sound and looked around, trying to find the source of the instruments, which seemed to be coming from everywhere.
It was a joyful rhythm, however in this dark, mysterious cave surrounded by the unknown, it was eerie and terrifying.
Until Zhiren shouted, covering her ears ‘Enough!’
As if responding to her, the music came to a halt, as if she was conductor, bringing a stop to the playing with a single gesture, or in this case, a word.
‘What the…’ said Daiki, when he was interrupted by a voice akin to that of a gameshow host,
‘Thank You for participating in the game, Sphinx’s Riddles starring your host, the Sphinx!’
‘Crap, it’s one of those plots!’ lamented Seo-Jun. ‘This should be child’s play…I’m sure we all know this story, right?’ Seo-Jun felt like he really lucked out this time, considering how well-known the riddle is, he felt they were going to breeze through this easy.
‘Huh?’ he heard Alice say. ‘What story is that?’ she asked with a blank look on her face. She often wondered what he was always talking about and how he knew all this stuff. She looked his way in confusion.
Seo-Jun was shocked upon hearing this, as he stared at her wide-eyed. He almost screamed at her but managed to hold back as he asked calmly, ‘What do you mean by that? Even if you don’t read, I’ve heard they teach you mythology in school. What were you doing then? And say you weren’t paying attention, you should’ve at least heard of it in some movie or game, right?
Alice was even more baffled upon hearing what he said. She had always paid attention in school, not to mention she loved watching movies and playing games, but she had never heard of anything called a Sphinx.
She carefully said, ‘I really haven’t heard of it before…not at school, a movie or any games’.
Seo-Jun couldn’t believe his ears, he looked towards the others for support however was devastated to find that they all had the same looks on their faces. A disconcerting thought struck him, what if their world’s were more different than he thought and this story really doesn’t exist there.
It was an unsettling notion, because it asserted that perhaps what would be common knowledge for him, would’ve really been foreign to them. If so, what if he wasn’t there at some point and they don’t know what to do. How much danger would they be in then? He was in a state of disarray and asked them perplexedly, ‘You guys don’t know, either?’
They all just shook their heads. He asked again, ‘Jason? You too? Doesn’t your name have to do with Greek mythology?’ becoming more panicked.
Jason replied, ‘Well yeah…but I’ve never heard of a Sphinx’, adding to Seo-Jun’s bewilderment, as he held his drooping head with his palm.
They didn’t know why he was acting this way, unaware of the storm brewing inside from his concern for their safety, sending his whole being into chaos.
Seo-Jun went quiet for a few seconds however, he heard a crash which quickly brought him back to reality by the reminder of their impending crisis, held by an urgency to tell them the answer before the being show’s up.
He started, ‘Guys, listen carefully, the answer to the first riddle– ‘
Before he could finish, the cave began to tremble violently. He tried again but his voice wasn’t audible under the rumbling and he couldn’t get closer to his companions due to the unstable ground. He tried desperately to get down on all fours, crawling their way but he couldn’t even stay steady.
He tried to claw at the ground to move forward, despite his hands bleeding due to the stones scattered around. However he ignored the pain and continued his futile attempts because, unlike them, he knew the content of the story. He knew the fate of those who answered incorrectly, the same fate which would await these new-found teammates of his if he didn’t tell them. And their deaths would be on him who was blessed with this curse if knowledge which they had apparently been deprived of, being kept in the bliss of ignorance.
He did consider that he could just answer for them, but what if he couldn’t? What if there were some restrictions placed? What if someone was specifically picked to answer? He couldn’t just let them remain uninformed. He just had an intuition, a strong gut feeling, that he wouldn’t be able to answer for them.
That this time, they would not be shown any partiality. He would soon know that his worries were indeed well-placed.
His actions caused great distress and confusion to his companions, who watched from a short distance away but were unable to stop him, unaware of why he was trying so hard.
He was too late, as the walls seemed to pulse with an eerie glow. From the darkness soon emerged a massive figure, its silhouette casting a long, imposing shadow. The creature looked like a newly made version of the statue-like figure he had seen countless time in pictures. Except, it was alive.
The creature stepped forward, revealing the body of a lion with the wings of a great eagle and the face of a majestic, yet stern woman. Its ruby red eyes glowed with an ancient wisdom, filling the air with a sense of foreboding as it stepped forward.
The Sphinx’s arrival was announced by the echoing click of her claws on the stone floor, a sound that reverberated through the cave like distant thunder, causing Seo-Jun’s heart to drop in to his stomach. He thought, ‘No…there’s still a chance if I can just answer for them, everything’ll be okay’.
The Sphinx’s wings unfurled slightly, casting a shadow over the group, and she fixed them with an intense, penetrating gaze. The air grew heavy with the scent of dust and old stone, mixed with an indefinable hint of something ancient and powerful.
‘Greetings, travelers,’ the Sphinx said in a voice that was both melodious and haunting. ‘I am the guardian of this cave, and you must–wait! Oedipus?! She suddenly shouted, catching sight of Seo-Jun. She continued, glaring at him, ‘How dare you come before me again, and with other travelers?! Do you intend to help them since you already know the answer?! LET ME TELL YOU, I DO NOT TOLERATE CHEATING!’
Seo-Jun was unable to process what was going on, but he knew that it wasn’t good. Before he could speak, glass walls erupted from the ground, trapping him inside. He was unable to convey anything to help or hear what’s going on as his new cage was soundproof. He kept banging on the walls and yelling from the inside, but to no avail. (It’s not fair! Why’d she have to confuse me with some ancient dude who’s been dead for who knows how long!)
‘Seo-Jun!’ cried out to the group when they witnessed this event unfolding, unable to do anything. They knew that whatever Seo-Jun had been trying to tell them was important to the point that he was hindered like this. There was a chance that it could decide their life and death.
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The were pondering over these thoughts as the booming voice of the Sphinx was heard again, ‘Well, now that that cheating nuisance’s out of the way, let me continue since we can resume fairly, where was I…? Ah, yes! I am the guardian of this cave, and you must prove your worth by answering my riddles. Fail, and you will never leave this place. Succeed, and you may pass.’
They now felt the weight of the Sphinx’s presence all too clearly. The creature was both magnificent and terrifying, a living embodiment of the riddles and mysteries of the ancient world. Zhiren swallowed hard and glanced at her companions, who all looked equally apprehensive. They had an inkling of why Seo-Jun had become so frantic.
Alice stepped forward and asked, ‘What do you mean by we’ll never leave this place?’ Even as she asked, she was filled with dread hoping she might be wrong about the answer she had guessed.
The Sphinx gave a wide grin which didn’t reach her eyes, carrying an evident maliciousness, terrifying them.
The Sphinx answered in a cheery voice which didn’t quite match the content of what she said, ‘Why I’ll eat you of course, not leaving behind a single hair. I would’ve made it painless and swallowed you down in one gulp though I suppose even then, I couldn’t guarantee what’d happen if you reached my stomach, still alive…But not anymore, since you had the audacity to come here with that man. No…I’ll savor you slowly, one by one.
The Sphinx smiled, a slow, deliberate movement that revealed sharp teeth.
First I’ll bite down, listening to your melodious screams which would be divine music to my ears while tasting the sweet flesh and wet my palate with the blood that trickles down. I’ll tear you apart limb from limb, and enjoy the goods inside last. Once I’m done, I’ll crunch down on your bare bones until there’s not a piece left.’
Hearing this made the color drain from their faces as they started sweating in fear, hearts pounding hard against their chest.
Looking at their reactions contentedly, the Sphinx chuckled, ‘Oh, don’t worry I was just joking. You develop a bit of a unique sense of humor once you’ve lived as long as I have.’
She paused, but before they could relax, they heard her say, ‘I will eat you of course, but I don’t want it to be that messy and frankly, your screams would be annoying. I’ll just swallow you whole and finish you in one gulp so I don’t have to wash up and pick my teeth because of your leftovers getting stuck’.
‘But I will punish you for trying to cheat, by giving you only one chance. I’ll ask a single riddle, which any of you can answer, but if its incorrect, all of you fail, including the man trapped over there. Of course I will give you some time to think…So, shall we start?’
Daiki stepped forward, trying to mask his fear with determination. ‘Alright, Sphinx. What’s the first riddle?’ he asked, his voice steady, feigning confidence, but his eyes betraying him, clearly displaying his anxiety.
The Sphinx looked at him amusedly and said, ‘Very well. Listen carefully,’ she intoned, her voice echoing off the cave walls as she recited her famous riddle, the answer supposed to be known by all, but unfortunately unknown to the group that needed it the most.
‘What has one voice but goes on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?’
‘Does something like that even exist?’ wondered Alice out loud. She couldn’t fathom an existence like that, which would put them in a serious predicament because it would mean this creature was tricking them, and if that’s the case no matter what they say would lead them to a gruesome end. ‘Is this really it?’ she thought.
‘Why of course there is! Isn’t that why you brought that man here? Because he knew the answer?’ said the Sphinx, seemingly still holding a grudge, which appeared rather petty to the group, considering she was some self-proclaimed ancient being. But they couldn’t say anything for fear that she might actually devour them, before even answering wrong.
‘There must be! It was what Seo-Jun was trying to tell us and the reason why he got locked up’, reminded Jason. Yes, when he heard the riddle he also had the same thoughts as Alice however he remembered Seo-Jun’s behavior before the creature appeared.
He knew what it was and what it would ask. Most importantly, he knew what the answer was…but there were some questions in the minds of Jason and the rest of the group.
How did that creature know Seo-Jun? What did he do to it that made it react that way? And why did it call him by that strange name?
However, it seemed that these were questions they could only have answered if they ask the man himself, and for that they first have to get through this.
‘Can we discuss it before answering? Since we only have one chance’, asked Zhiren. She racked her brains but couldn’t come up with anything so she considered that perhaps, since they were brought here as a team, there could be some advantage in discussing it.
Maybe, a change in perspective could be beneficial allowing them to think of it from different angles which couldn’t be done individually.
‘Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t think it to be easy, since every other man who has been faced with this question was unable to come up with the correct answer and perished as my next meal. I had quite the pride in it as well, that is…until that man arrived and gave the correct answer.’
(Seo-Jun: Oh boy, here comes the whole villain revealing everything without asking scene→_→)
The Sphinx said, her expression distorting as she continued,
‘He ruined everything! Since he gave the correct answer, I had no other choice but to perish in his place since I couldn’t continue my work now, could I? He answered correctly so I couldn’t kill him and had to let him go since he’d just go around announcing the answer!
She shouted furiously,
‘A mere human! Trampling on my pride! Ruining my life and my work! And now he has the audacity to come here before me, when I’ve been given a second chance at life, to continue my work in another world where no one knows of my existence, and he helps others by trying to do exactly what I gave my life to prevent from happening?! Not if I can help it!’
Zhiren started, ‘But how do you know it’s the same man, he’s only in his 20s so–‘
The Sphinx interrupted, ‘How could I not know when he’s got his name floating above his head! Even if he has a different appearance, I would know!’
‘Wait…what does that mean?’ asked Daiki, since it was the only thing that still left him confused. But overall, this whole situation was starting to make more sense, he thought.
‘Well, if you insist on asking…when I was brought back to life, I encountered strange beings who reiterated my story and said they would give me a second chance by sending me to become a trial for some young travelers and to ensure fairness, the names would be displayed by them above each person’s head. I didn’t understand why that was, that is until I encountered that man here again!’, revealed the Sphinx.
‘It all made sense now…it was those damn collectors again!’ said Daiki. They were just starting to think they were getting though this easily, but of course those kidnappers couldn’t take it, he thought.
His anger was clearly evident from his deeply creased eyebrows, flaring nostrils, and the tense, quivering lines etched across his furrowed nose. His eyes burned with a fierce intensity, and his clenched jaw trembled with barely contained rage.
‘I don’t think you have the time to be occupied with other thoughts right now though’, the Sphinx reminded them,
‘Since I’ve answered your questions, you should ponder on the answer to the riddle instead, as I may not have mentioned it yet but you have…let’s say an hour’, the Sphinx informed them while continuing in a calm and melodious tone yet again, but terrifying no less,
‘It might seem long however it is but fleeting. Nothing more than a single breath of time, a mere ripple in the vast ocean of eternity. It is sixty minutes of potential and consequence, where your entire fate may come to pass, despite its rather meager importance, it weighs heavily on existences such as yourself.
Where moments tick by like grains of sand slipping through the narrow neck of an ancient hourglass. Each second, a heartbeat, each minute, a step on the path of destiny.’
Her speech certainly did pressurize them quite enough as they immediately huddled together, while trying to distance themselves from the creature as much as possible, even though they were well aware of the futility of this action. They merely attempted at achieving some feeling of peace and an illusion of safety.
Much like a child running to get to his bed to hide under the blanket after turning off the lights.
‘Okay…so what do you guys have?’ asked Jason.
‘Nothing’, replied Alice with a hopeless expression, trying to maintain some semblance of confidence and arrogance, ‘But I’m sure we can get it! If one guy can do it alone, so can we!’
‘Yeah, but what thing can have four, three and two legs at different times of the day?’ asked Jason.
‘Lets not take this so literally…maybe the times of day signify something?’ said Zhiren.
‘Like what?’ wondered Alice.
‘Well, morning can be let’s say bright since its when the Sun comes up and the rest of the day it gets darker in the evening, going towards night…I got nothing’, said Jason with a downcast expression.
‘Ugh, so I have to die again just when my life starting to look less dark’, Daiki brooded.
‘Wait…say that again!’, said Zhiren.
‘I have to die again?’ repeated Daiki, wondering what good that would do.
‘No! The other part!’, she said.
‘My life starting to look less dark?’ he repeated again.
‘Yes! What if like Daiki said the times of day are talking about different stages of life?! Like evening or kinda when you’re depressed, morning or brightness when your happy, afternoon when you’re somewhere in between…something like that?!’, said Zhiren excitedly in one breath.
‘Well but that still doesn’t answer the what, y’know. What is something with one voice and different numbers of legs?’ asked Daiki.
They were stuck again. Just when they’d thought they were onto something, they reached a wall.
‘If only Seo-Jun had the chance to tell us the answer’, said Alice regretfully.
‘Yeah…but he did try hard to do it when he understood the situation…even getting down and trying to crawl on all fours, despite his hands bleeding when trying to drag himself to us, he tried’, reiterated Jason, still feeling upset at the scene.
‘Yeah, he tried even if he needed to get on all fours…fours? Huh? Wait…that’s it he got on all fours!’ said Zhiren. The answer was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t quite get to it.
‘Uh yeah, we all saw it…looked kinda miserable tbh’, said Alice.
‘No! he was on two feet but then he got on four!’ said Zhiren, now excited as she could feel she almost had it. She looked at them all, wide-eyed making hand gestures of two and four in a dramatic manner while saying it.
‘Uh…I think I get what you’re trying to say he walked on 2 then 4 legs but what about 3 and the other stuff?’, asked Daiki, also feeling they were on the right track now.
‘One voice…walked on four legs in the morning, so four legs first then two in the afternoon and three in the evening, what is it…?’ mumbled Alice.
(Seo-Jun: Seriously! What’s even the point of all those stat increases in intelligence if you can’t get that?! It’s right there!
Author: Uh… that’s not what the intelligence stat means though…
Seo-Jun: Huh? Then what does it mean?
Author: Well, that’s a secret for now. You’ll find out one day.)
‘Seo-Jun got on all fours and crawled…so who crawls first then gets on two legs? A baby! Yeah, it makes sense. If the times of day are stages of life then a baby first crawls on all fours at the start of its life, like the morning is the start of the day.
Then it learns to walk on two legs later in life, like the afternoon, which is the middle of the day!’ said Zhiren, with a joyful expression upon realizing the answer.
‘Yeah, but what about evening and three legs?’ wondered Alice.
‘The evening is the end of the day, so the end of life would be old age when you can’t walk without support, like you have to use a wheelchair or a stick. A stick! Yes, so what if the support is the third leg?! said Daiki ecstatically.
‘We-we got it! The answer would be a human, right?’ cheered Zhiren.
They all looked towards the Sphinx who was staring at them silently, now with a twisted and ferocious expression. As they looked at her, she bared her sharp teeth at them and growled, ‘You are correct’.
She looked furious, as if ready to pounce on them and rip them to shreds, but instead, they saw her expression turn to one of horror as she shrieked, ‘No! Not again!’
At that moment the ceiling collapsed, crushing the terrifying creature to bits and revealing an opening for them.
The walls trapping Seo-Jun also collapsed and he was free again. As soon as they saw this, the group ran towards him and pulled him into a group hug.
‘You guys did it!’ said Seo-Jun on the verge of tears. He told them, ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted you guys. So what if you didn’t know the story…it’s not like it was impossible to guess the answer.’ He thought, they were all smart people, he should have more faith in them.
‘Don’t worry about it, man. We got lucky, really‘, said Daiki.
‘Yeah, if anything this was also thanks to you’, said Zhiren, as Seo-Jun looked at her in confusion, ‘If I didn’t remember the scene where you were trying to tell the answer, even getting down on all fours, I wouldn’t have reached it…so if anything, we should thank you’.
Seo-Jun immediately waved his hands and said shaking his head, ‘No, no, it was all you guys. Not anyone can just guess going on that alone. You guys are smart enough to get it…and maybe don’t mention that again. It was embarrassing’, he said, covering his face with his palms.
They all burst into laughter, finding some joy in their perilous situation. Then Jason, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, said, ‘So, now that we’ve got a way out…shall we go?’
To be continued…
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Seo-Jun: Damn! It was you collectors again?! w(ﾟДﾟ)w
Dokkaebi: Well, specifically it was me! Hehe. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Seo-Jun: Ahhh! Damn you! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻
Dokkaebi: Hehe.
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