Zeni's gaze followed the precarious stone walkway leading up to the altar, and noticed that it seemed to terminate into a small tunnel far above. Searching for a sign in every direction, she soon realized that, in order to reach the altar, she would first have to locate another chamber.

“Great,” she muttered. “Guess I’m backtracking.”

With her spirits undaunted, she set about searching for a way, her thoughts returning to her earlier foray into the dungeon.

Retracing her steps, Zeni attempted to recall any hidden offshoots or secret passages she might have overlooked, but she came up empty. The path forward from the entrance had been fairly direct, and she didn’t recall seeing anything, though it certainly was possible she missed something. Knowing there was nothing else to be done about it, she cautiously followed the winding path, ever vigilant of the traps that lurked in the shadows. Eventually, her journey brought her back to the chamber with the feather and scale.

As she hesitated, memories of the triggered trap when she had previously meddled with the scale came flooding back. Deciding not to tempt fate again, she left the scale untouched and shifted her attention to scouring the room for clues.

The chamber, however, was largely unadorned, leaving Zeni with little choice but to backtrack even further. It wasn't until she returned to the bas-relief near the entrance that she paused, her eyes scouring the intricate carvings for any hint of insight. She began scanning every inch of the scene, making sure to trace her eyes across it like an old school printer—one straight line at a time. Her gaze settled on the depiction of a stork-like creature with a bloody chest cradling a scale, seemingly bereft of its heart. A memory, once dormant, began to stir.

In a flash of realization, she recalled the tales she'd heard about the mythological Egyptian afterlife and that which she’d learned from her time here on this world. There were some differences, but hey, no recreation could be perfect, could it? Now, which one was the real one, and which one was the notorious shoulder-gazer, copying someone’s work? It was definitely the case, from her months here, that Egyptian mythos was the predominant way of moving about life, and truly, it was as though someone had been here from our world…perhaps long ago.

One thing was for sure: the stork-like creature likely symbolized the god…what was he called? Oh yeah, Thoth! That big ol’ birdy was said to weigh the hearts of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at. If the heart was lighter than the feather, the soul would be granted eternal life; if it proved heavier, a monster would devour it. Which didn’t seem like an even trade, but she didn’t think the intricacies of the rules around the afterlife were really hers to judge.

Also, Zeni wasn’t sure how this knowledge so easily reentered her mind—she hadn’t learned any of this since she was nine and most around here didn’t like to talk about death much. However, as she had been doing since she arrived, she decided not to look a gift camel in the mouth and just accepted it as part of the package of this new reality.

“I really hope that I don’t have to put an actual heart on this scale,” she said, giving the contraption a grimace. “It’s going to be hard to solve the puzzle if I’m too busy puking everywhere.”

Armed with her fresh brain-facelift, Zeni made her way back to the previous chamber. She approached the scale cautiously, her eyes darting between the feather and the empty side of the scale. The connection between the two suddenly appeared glaringly obvious, and she felt a surge of silliness at having not figured it out earlier as she pieced together a plan to reach the elusive altar.

Zeni returned to the central chamber, intent on asking the armored man if he could possibly…point…at? what needed to be placed on the scale. She found him examining a small hole in the wall, one far too big for him, but perhaps just small enough for her.

"Hey, what are you looking at there?" she asked, still trying to engage him in conversation. When he didn't respond, she continued, "Is there something interesting in there, or are you just admiring the craftsmanship?"

The armored man remained silent, prompting Zeni to try a different approach.

"You know, I've been thinking. Did you see that scale a few rooms back? Well, I had an idea about what needs to go on that thing, but I figured I'd ask you first—you know, just in case you have any notions."

Still, the armored man said nothing. Frustration bubbled within Zeni, and she finally decided to take matters into her own hands. She pushed past the towering specter, elbowing her way forward and climbing into the hole.

"I swear, if I find your frisbee in here or something, I'm not giving it back!" She exclaimed.

The narrow tunnel seemed to swallow her up, the cool stone pressing against her shoulders as she inched forward. Realizing she had no way of knowing what she was getting into—and that forcing your way into mystery holes was a great way to end your life early—she paused. She took a breath and then began feeling her way forward, the rocky texture of the tunnel damp with what she hoped was merely condensation. At the end of the passage, she found herself in a dim alcove barely large enough to accommodate her.

“Alright, let’s see here,” she said and focused on her Elemental Invocations. After just a moment, Zeni summoned a ball of fire that hovered gently above her hand, casting flickering shadows on the walls and revealing a recessed space occupied by a peculiar lockbox.

The lockbox appeared to be an ancient artifact, weathered by time yet still possessing a strange allure—as if it was beckoning to her. The lock itself was a peculiar contraption, featuring many rotating discs, each adorned with intricate carvings of symbols that were familiar to the woman.

Zeni furrowed her brow as she studied the discs, noting with interest that they appeared to correspond to the elements. She sighed. It appeared that this was the kind of lock that required an intimate understanding of the elements and their delicate interplay. This, she suspected, could only have been designed by a particularly devious mind with too much time on their hands.

With the determination of a tenacious squirrel, Zeni set about attempting to align the symbols in an order that might represent the natural flow of their configuration. It was the sort of task that would have driven a lesser adventurer to distraction or even madness, but Zeni persevered, her nimble fingers dancing across the discs as she explored the endless permutations. Fortunately, there weren’t any consequences for getting them wrong, at least, as far as she could tell.

Finally, after much trial and error, she discovered the correct sequence, aligning the symbols in such a way that they seemed to sing in harmony. Water was first, at the top of the configuration, followed in clockwise order by Fire, Earth, Air, Storm, Sky, Blood, and finally Aether. With a satisfying click, the lock disengaged, and the box sprang open as if eager to reveal its secrets. With an overwhelming sense of foolishness, Zeni realized that how she’d arrayed them was the exact same sequence as the starting position for the Sands game—one she’d recently become familiar with. She knew that the pattern they were in supposedly represented the order with which the gods created the world.

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Well, look at me, learnin,’ she thought.

Inside the box lay eight coins, each a different color and bearing the image of a heart. The coins' hues matched the elemental symbols on the lock, suggesting that they were somehow connected. Zeni wheezed suddenly, releasing a strangled squeal of triumph. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. She smirked down into her hand as she cradled the coins, the weight of their significance pressing into her palm.

Carefully, she retreated from the alcove, clutching the coins as if they were precious gems. She emerged into the central chamber, the quiet dignity of the armored man standing in stark contrast to her flushed excitement.

"I found these!" she announced, brandishing the coins. "I think they might be the key to the scale, and maybe even the doorways!"

Zeni watched with exasperation as the armored figure stood up and returned to his spot with his pack, where she had found him sleeping before. She observed him intently, half-hoping he would reveal something interesting. Instead, he simply dropped to the ground and leaned back against an edifice, as if taking a well-deserved break.

"Well, I see you've got everything under control," Zeni muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'll just go solve this puzzle on my own, shall I?"

With a sigh and a shake of her head, she decided to return to the room with the scales. As she made her way back, she chattered away to herself, filling the silence with a constant stream of comments.

"Didn't expect to find a silent type in a place like this," she mused, her voice echoing through the chamber. "Then again, I didn't expect to find a tunnel full of magic coins, either. Guess it’s up to me to get this whole thing sorted. Yep! Little old me, armed with nothing but a dream in my heart and my unfathomable intellect. And these coins, I guess, too."

Upon arriving back in the chamber, Zeni realized that now that she had made some headway, she was feeling a bit more confident about her odds. So, she set about figuring out what to do about the puzzle of the coins.

"You know, I bet these coins have something to do with this scale. I mean, they’ve got hearts on ‘em, right?" Zeni murmured, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. "Well, there's only one way to find out."

Taking right from the top of the pile, she placed one of the coins on the scale, the blue one that she recalled represented the element of water. When nothing happened, she placed another coin down—earth. The scale suddenly tipped toward her, the feather rising, and with a gasp of panic she dove away from the scale just as the hatch in the ceiling opened again. This time, rather than a fireball, a watermelon-sized rock fell from the opening. It slammed against the altar the scale rested on with a loud crack before disappearing into vapor much like the flame had. Zeni shook her head, imagining how badly that stone would have dented her skull.

But, she wasn’t going to get anywhere just sitting on the ground. So, readying herself once more, she stood and removed the earth coin from the scale, delighting as the scale returned to its previous position.

“So, water doesn’t move it,” she muttered to herself. “But earth definitely does. I wonder what that means?”

Carefully, Zeni removed the water coin as well and saw that there was no change. Despite the fact that each coin weighed roughly the same amount to her, there had been a definite and painful looking consequence for overloading the thing. Thinking back to the myth, Zeni reasoned that it had less to do with the weight of the coins themselves and more what they represented. At least, that had to be the solution, right? An actual heart couldn’t weigh less than a feather.

Maybe a bug’s heart could, she thought. Wait, do bugs have hearts?

They probably did, she decided. Except mosquitos.

Zeni stared at the coins, her brow furrowed in concentration. There had to be more to this, right? Of course there was—it was a dungeon, right? She thought it would be quite strange indeed if there was just some scale stuck in the center of the dungeon that didn’t do anything, but allowed you to drop a water coin on it…

An idea struck her, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the simplicity of it all.

"Oh, of course! It's all about balance, isn't it?" she exclaimed.

With renewed determination, she began to place the coins representing the opposing elemental forces in pairs on the scale in the cycle of creation. First, she carefully placed the red Fire coin opposite the blue Water coin she’d already accidentally placed first. The scale remained balanced, and Zeni grinned.

"So far, so good," she murmured.

Next, she added the brown Earth coin to one side and the white Air coin to the other. Still, the scale remained level with the feather. Zeni's excitement grew as she continued to add the coins, her hands trembling slightly as she worked.

Finally, she added the gray Storm and silver Sky coins. The scale continued to hold steady, and Zeni held her breath, waiting for something to happen. The air in the chamber seemed to hum with anticipation, as if the very walls were watching her progress.

As she was about to add the final pair of coins, the crimson Blood and indigo Aether, the scale suddenly dipped and shifted under the weight of the coins. The feather dropped. Then the scale—or rather, everything around it began to emit a soft, melodic hum. The sound built to a crescendo, and suddenly, a panel in the wall slid open, revealing darkness within.

With the Blood and Aether in hand, Zeni cautiously ventured into the newly-revealed passage. As she made her way through the darkness, she found herself standing on the catwalk she had seen earlier. Looking down, she spotted the armored man standing in front of the massive rings they had encountered before.

Zeni's eyes were drawn to the altar, which housed a lever. As she got closer, she realized the handle was adorned with the Aether symbol.

“Well, that couldn’t be more clear,” she said to herself.

Was this like one of the coin-operated kiddie rides outside the grocery store? Carefully, she placed the Aether coin into the indicated slot, and the lever lit up. The five massive rings, each a different color, began to float around the chamber, drawing the warrior’s gaze upward. The huge stranger’s gaze followed their hypnotic dance. Zeni, never one to stay silent for long, began to babble to herself, her mind racing to decipher the meaning behind the floating rings.

"Hmm, I wonder if there's a connection between the elements and these rings," she mused, her eyes darting between the various colors. "There’s only five… but, well, what if I need to use my invocations to…I don't know, activate them or something?"

As the idea took root in her mind, she felt a surge of confidence. Of course that was the case. She was beginning to suspect as to how certain aspects of this dungeon worked, but didn’t want to say anything—or even think too loudly about it—should there be some sorta jinx situation at play. Instead, with her plan in mind, she cast Ignition of Ra at the fire ring, watching as it blazed with renewed energy. Next, she targeted the earth ring, using Sands of Geb to send tremors through its core. The wind ring came alive with her Breath of Shu and the water ring pulsed with as she hit it with Waters of Hapi.

However, when it came to the final ring, one with the same symbol of aether as on the lever, she found herself at a loss. Zeni didn't have an invocation for that element, and she’d already used the coin. She still had the blood coin, but what was she going to do, toss it through the ring like a wishing well? She stood on the catwalk, frustration and disappointment simmering beneath her usually buoyant demeanor, as she pondered her next move in this game that seemed intent on testing her every step of the way. At the time, she wasn’t particularly savvy to the irony of feeling put out by a dungeon’s puzzle, when it’s entire purpose was to test individuals.

"What now?" she sighed, her gaze drifting back to the lever. "There's got to be a way to activate this last one. I just need to figure it out."

As she wracked her brain for a solution, her grip tightened around the handle.

As the floating rings danced and spun through the air, Zeni decided to try something. With her heart pounding, she timed her move carefully, her eyes locked on the swirling, ethereal ring.

"Come on, Zeni," she whispered, tensing with anticipation. "You've got this."

Zeni pulled the lever just as the aether ring passed by, and the floating rings instantly began to glow with an intense, almost blinding light. They circled faster and faster above, creating a dizzying spectacle, before linking themselves together with a series of loud clangs. In a matter of seconds, the rings had transformed into a bridge, spanning the yawning gap that separated the main chamber from the massive door.

Without a moment's hesitation, the armored figure strode confidently across the newly-formed bridge, reaching the other side with ease. As Zeni watched in disbelief, he activated the plinth in front of the door, and the colossal entrance rumbled open, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

"Wait a minute!" Zeni shouted with indignant disbelief. "You made me do all the work, and now you're just waltzing across like it's nothing? Get back here, you tin can!"

The armored figure, however, paid her no heed. Just simply waited for the massive door to finish its ponderous journey before disappearing into the darkness beyond.

Zeni's exasperation reached new heights as she watched the individual vanish from sight, but she couldn't help but find humor in the absurdity of the situation.

"Of all the things," she muttered with a wry grin, "how in Kemet-Aaru can this be a low level dungeon?"