Darkness wasn’t the first thing I expected to find myself in as I saw the message welcoming me to the third floor. My eyes had been able to see in the dark before; if there was even the smallest amount of light, I could still see.

I have no flashlight, torch, or glowing eyes to use. And I also don’t have Killa’s magic.

The air was thin, but it wasn’t cold or hot either. Orange, I need to see. I hate to use my shards on an upgrade already, but wandering around in pitch black doesn’t sound like fun.

Synthetic Eyes Level 2 upgrade available:

Cost: 28,000 shards.

Purchase?

Yes No

If it will let me see in the dark, then yes.

The nanites in my body sprang to life, humming through my head. It was disorienting, to say the least. My vision blurred, and colors speckled into my vision in a chaotic mosaic of pixelated distortions.

Pain lanced through my skull, and a searing sensation burned in the back of my eyes. The agony intensified, forcing me to my knees. I felt an overwhelming urge to rip the synthetic eyes out of their sockets. But they weren’t pushing against my eyelids.

As the nanites worked, the agony reached its zenith. My eyes were being ripped apart and rebuilt simultaneously. I let out a guttural scream, my voice echoing around me. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain ebbed away.

My vision began to clear. I was looking at the insides of my eyelids, where I was met with a bright flood of orange and yellow in my vision. I opened my eyes, and more of the strange coloring decorated a cavern around me.

Everything was displayed in an unfamiliar range of colors I couldn’t comprehend. The walls, the ground, and even the air itself seemed to emit a soft, pulsating orange glow. Am I tripping on drugs? What did I do to myself?

The cavern walls appeared in shades of blues and purples, while the ground around my feet was a mixture of reds and oranges. Moreover, my vision seemed to highlight various areas of the cavern, and I had no idea why. Some parts of the walls and ground glowed more intensely than others.

At the top of my HUD, I saw the word “Thermal” on a card with two others hidden behind it. I can see in thermal light? I was not expecting that. Then I felt something inside my eyes. There was something that, if I wanted to, I could push it. My curiosity got the better of me.

Something in my eye clicked, and the colors slid down, and I was again surrounded by darkness. At the top of my vision, I saw “Standard” slide in front. Okay, back where we started, but something that will work when I’m outside.

I pushed at the mechanism in my eyes again. My vision slid again. A subtle hum started in my eyes. I wasn’t hearing it or feeling it. There was something moving in my eye, but I couldn’t tell what it was. That wasn’t even the strangest part. Everything around me was outlined in black and white. My HUD displayed “THz.”

What does that even mean? I might as well see what my status says.

Name:

Rina Lone

Level:

17

Augments:

Agility:

185

Cellular Regeneration

Arcane:

105

Synthetic eyes lvl. 2

Power:

65

HUD

Quickness:

260

Epidermal plating (arms) lvl. 1

Resilience:

115

Epidermal plating (hands) lvl. 1

Toughness:

130

Arm blade (right)

Unassigned Points:

0

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Shards:

23844

Synthetic Eyes Level 2:

The host’s natural eyes have been replaced with advanced metallic replicas. These synthetic eyes are equipped with unique state-of-the-art sensors and optics. They will provide the host with heightened visual acuity, clarity, and enhancement. Additionally, these synthetic eyes offer improved night vision. New vision options are provided to the host. The host may now emit and detect terahertz radiation to create a local mapping of their surroundings. The host’s eyes can now absorb infrared light, allowing the host to see heat signatures and thermal variations.

Stat bonus: +5 Quickness, +10 Agility.

Synthetic Eyes Level 3 upgrade available: 56,000 Shards.

Insufficient Funds.

What on Earth is terahertz radiation? Radiation is bad, right? Orange, please tell me I’m not going to get cancer.

You are not going to get cancer. Terahertz radiation is non-ionizing, therefore perfectly safe to use. Even if exposed to harmful radiation, we will repair any damaged or mutated cells.

I stared dumbfounded at the message. Right. Well, that’s one problem solved. It delays my other upgrade plans, but seeing is a higher priority. I’ve got to hurry to the fifth floor before that thing finds a new body and catches up.

Walking through the cave with everything in black and white outlines was a bit disorienting, mostly because my depth perception was completely out of whack. At least until a little crosshair appeared on whatever I focused on, with a tiny little number. It took a second to figure out that it was telling me the distance it was from me.

The science of my own body is becoming too complicated for me to keep up with. Maybe I can get some augments for my brain to make me smarter. I let out a laugh that echoed throughout the surrounding darkness. The cave was windy, but straightforward. After walking for what felt like an hour, maybe two, I saw the entrance.

I returned my vision back to normal to see if there was light. It was daylight outside. As I stepped out, the sun felt pleasantly warm. The air blew around me as I stared at a desolate landscape. It wasn’t a desert again, but instead rocky. Everywhere I looked, there were rocks and more rocks. I was at the base of a mountain, with the cave I walked out of. But there was something odd about the color of the rocks.

Instead of grey or brown. They were various shades of red and pink. Even the mountain was a deep shade of burgundy.

“Alright. This is not what I was expecting.” I started walking straight ahead. “Let’s just get out of here and head to the fourth floor.”

After taking a few steps, the world around me shifted as light enveloped me. I quickly concentrated on going to the next floor. As everything returned to normal, it looked like I had been turned around.

I looked up at the sky. “This isn’t what I asked for. I’m supposed to go down to the fourth level. Or did you change the rules?”

Why am I asking the Soul Nexus questions? Why am I complaining to it? I took another look around and noticed that it was different. I wasn’t in the same place I had left. The colors of everything were even brighter than before. The mountain was a vibrant fuchsia. I looked at the cave. Alright then. Back into the dark I go.

It didn’t take long before I had to shift my vision back to THz. Shifting my vision felt easier, and seeing the distance everything was from me made it easier not to run into a wall or stalagmite. Or is it stalactite? I can never remember which one was which. Maybe I should upgrade my brain soon. Maybe I won’t be so stupid and remember things for once.

The cavern spiraled downward and constantly turned left until I reached a door. The door seemed out of place, and when my hand touched it, it tinked like two metals touching. Shrugging, I pushed it open and let my jaw hit the floor.

There was a long hallway with square tiled flooring, walls, and ceiling. At the end of a five hundred-foot-long hall, according to my fancy new sensor, was another doorway, wide open with a familiar archway, presumably leading to the fourth floor.

“Another one?” a rumbling voice asked on my left.

I turned my head and saw another sphinx, male this time. He lounged on a colossal stone pedestal with an even larger collection of plush, brightly colored pillows.

The sphinx continued lounging on his pillows as if I didn’t exist.

“Hello?” I asked.

He didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest. He even tucked his face under one of his lion paws. Some guardian he is.

I took a step towards the hallway. The moment my foot touched the first square tile, metal bars dropped from the top of the doorway. A boom echoed and kicked up a wave of dust. I shook my head.

“What’s the trick here?” I raised my voice.

The male sphinx raised his head slightly from his pile of pillows, his emerald eyes half-lidded. “There’s no trick. All you need to do is reach the archway at the end of the hallway. Simple, really.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Simple? Metal bars block the door. How do I get past them?”

The sphinx yawned and stretched. He kneaded one of his pillows before resting his head back on it. “Not my concern. Now, could you please hurry this up? I have to finish my nap before bedtime.”

“The last sphinx asked me questions. And why are you speaking normally? The last one said, sphinxes rhyme.” I stepped closer to the sphinx, off of the tiles, and heard the bars raise back up. Okay, at least there’s a reset.

The sphinx opened one eye. His tail flicked off the edge of his platform. “Do I look like I have the energy to come up with rhymes?” He scoffed. “I’d rather spend my time doing something more productive, like catching up on a millennium of sleep.”

“Lazy cat.” I turned away and stared at the stone hallway.

“Better lazy than a failure.”

I rolled my eyes at his comment. Laziness can be seen as a failure. Since I wasn’t getting anywhere with the lethargic sphinx, instead, I stepped back to get a running start. I sprinted as fast as I could. My quickness was pretty high. At least I thought two hundred and sixty was high.

I watched in horror as the gate slammed shut, again. I made it only a hundred and fifty feet.

How long do I actually have? I stepped off the tiles and then stepped back on them. The gate fell in three seconds. “Five hundred feet in three seconds? That’s impossible!”

“Quiet,” the sphinx moaned. “It’s not impossible. You’re just too slow, or you’re not thinking it through. I’ve seen plenty make it through. They also had the courtesy to not wake me up.”

I looked down at my arm blade. If I’m not fast enough, am I strong enough? I walked up to the gate. The bars were too close together to let me slip through them. Killa would’ve had no problem slipping through. I pulled at the bars. They predictably didn’t budge. I swung my sword arm at the bars and was rewarded with a dull ache in my arm, as I could feel the nanites repairing damage.

“Okay, bad idea. Don’t hit the bars.” I rubbed my metal skin, hoping that it would ease the tingling feeling of the nanites working.

I turned around and was greeted by a giant hand made of sand. It scooped me up and threw me across the room. Everything spun as I hit the ground and bounced multiple times. Only the wall stopped me. My nanites quickly healed the superficial scrapes and the likely concussion that left me dizzy.

The winged lion growled as his tail flicked back and forth. “If you aren’t going to be quiet, then leave. Obviously, you can’t pass this trial. So come back when you can.”

The creature swiped his paw, and the sand construct that flung me across the room flew over to me and pushed me out through the door.

“Or better yet, don’t come back at all.”

The door slammed shut, and I stared at it. The ringing in my head made it hard to think. After everything was finished healing, I stood up and brushed myself off.

“Okay. So I’m not fast enough.” I turned to head back out of the cave. “I need to more than triple my speed. Maybe with some augments, I can shortcut that a bit. But either way, I’ve got to find a dungeon to clear out.”

My energy was down to half. As I exited the cave, I pulled out my final meal potion and drank it.

I really hope I don’t start talking to myself. Things are already crazy enough for me. Oh, wait. I have Orange to talk to. So… yeah, I do talk to myself already.

I rolled my arms in a circular motion to make sure everything was still loose and directed the Nexus to take me to a place where I could get the most shards as quickly as possible.