I woke up to a realization that I wasn’t alone in the room. Was this one of Dezire’s nightly shenanigans? I looked around the room, but there was no one as far as my eyes could tell. But somewhere deep inside rose a hunch that I shouldn’t trust my visual senses this once. A hunch, that had probably saved my life, or at least prolonged it by a fair amount.

Should I wait it out? No, that thought was rejected. Whatever I sensed, I couldn’t know its agenda. Staying idle might prove fatal. I left my room and knocked on Reina’s door. “Reina, wake up. There’s something alive in this house.”

No answer came back. I thought the doll was a heavy sleeper. That, or something happened. I opened wide the door. The room was empty. I hurriedly looked around the house, but doll Reina disappeared into thin air.

Perhaps, it was a wrong decision to stay in the house. Did I make a mistake? I left the hut and called Reina. No answer came. I looked in the house’s vicinity but there were no traces of her presence.

I caught myself thinking that I’m not all that surprised about the matter of her disappearance. Somehow, after waking up in that labyrinth all my classmates do is vanish every now and then.

Where to go? I initially thought about returning to the village, but caves were closer, so perhaps I could explore early today. No one was ever found after disappearing so I decided to report Reina’s case later when I return. It shouldn’t affect things much, or so I thought.

I only visited caves once, I knew not what was possible there, but perhaps what I would find in those caves might help Reina wherever she is now. After some time, I reached my destination. The gloomy caves were promising me new discoveries, feeling inviting so unlike their distant neighbors that instilled oppression.

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I walked inside. Once again I found myself in a room from which many a tunnel took their origin. This place seemed different compared to the last time I was here. Does it only change during the time no one is in the cave, or is it evolving even right now, with me inside?

I took a random tunnel and continued on my way, suppressing a yawn. Perhaps, coming to the settlement to have some sleep wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Could I sleep in the tunnel? The idea seemed nice, but it might be rather dangerous and after what happened with shark Jedediah I didn’t have much confidence.

Finally I reached the end of a passageway I took. It ended up in a circular cave with a counter opposite of me. Beside the counter was a door with a massive lock on it. But it was not the door that had my attention, I couldn’t take my eyes off the person manning the counter. Witch Rita. What was she doing here? I haven’t seen her since my escape from the mosaics’ town.

I approached her slowly, ready to spring into action, if the situation requires it. She didn’t seem to mind my cautiousness. “Hello, I’m Kaili. I was allowed to provide a challenge and let you leave through that door,” she pointed at the door beside her. “I noticed a card in your pocket and thought that you might appreciate having someone familiar around, but perhaps it isn’t the case after all.”

She waited for a moment and as I wasn’t in a hurry to speak, she continued. “There’s no need to be so scared of me. I don’t bite. Usually. Just like you, I once was forced into an event that changed my life. At the very least, you have my sympathy. You look exhausted. Is it that bad out there?”

I decided that perhaps trying to force my way out of this room wasn’t necessary. Maybe this time the situation could be solved with just a conversation.

“I awoke to something invisible prowling around, so yes this night wasn’t the best,” I answered.

Kaili scrunched her brow and stared at me in silence for a few heartbeats to pass. “You know,” she started with slight indecision. “While waiting for someone to come, I was thinking about a hard but satisfying challenge to give. But all the glory can wait until I say so. Here.” a bed appeared out of thin air next to me. “Take a nap. I’ll wait for as long as needed.”

Was it a trap?

“Is it a part of the challenge?” I said with a bit of doubt.

“Yes,” she nodded with a serious expression. “This challenge is called sleep your way to victory. No good adventure can come out of the lack of sleep. Take your time.”

Normally, I would reject her offer but the last few days took their toll on me. I flopped onto the bed. That Kaili seemed to be a good person.