Shadara took a step back from the group. She looked nervous. She turned around in a circle, looking at the other three exits. I could tell she was trying to find a way out.

Killa stepped forward. “Our first order would be to find a small corner to rest. If we can’t leave, then we have to make due.”

Shadara let out a sigh and shook her head. “Yeah, that’s smart. We just need to be smarter and take this slow.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. I tried to smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I’ll keep taking the lead.”

She nodded, but she didn’t say anything. I could tell by her tail hugging her leg and her darting eyes, she was still uneasy. Her feet were dragging slightly too.

We made our way through the doorway closest to us. It was a long, dark tunnel with no end in sight. I switched my vision to terahertz radiation, shifting my vision to black and white. My fingers brushed the walls of the cave. The dirt was loose, almost as if something had recently dug through.

Killa created a white tentacle and wrapped it around her wrist, letting her and Shadara see where I was going. I looked down at my feet and noticed the soil was very loose. I crouched down, grabbed a handful, and let it run through my fingers.

“I don’t know how, but this dirt is new,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Killa asked.

I glanced over my shoulder. “I mean, it’s not packed in. This dirt was dug up recently.”

Shadara looked around the room. “So, what does that mean?”

I shook my head. “That this route isn’t safe.”

We turned back and headed down another pathway, one that was lined with more of the glowing crystals, so we had normal vision. It was more windy and had a sharp slope downward. The path was smooth and clear of any obstacles. The air felt heavy. I kept my senses on alert as I led the group deeper into the dungeon.

After a few minutes of walking, the path opened up into a massive chamber. A large lake of lava stretched out before us. The heat was intense. I could feel my metal skin starting to heat up.

Shadara leaned over and whispered. “How’s there lava?”

I groaned. “This place is stupid. I thought this was the Pawed Palace, not the crystal cavern to hell.”

“Well, it’s stupidly hot.” Killa turned around and headed back the way we came. “Let’s go back. There’s no way we can rest here.

I looked around and saw one other exit. It was a colossal metal door that was chained shut. As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of it. Something didn’t feel right about that door.

I followed back after my sisters.

Shadara seemed to be in a better mood. Her tail was swaying more, and her shoulders weren’t as tense, either.

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

“We just keep exploring. Eventually we’ll find someplace to rest,” I said as I kept glancing over my shoulder.

We went down the final opening, which was much like the second, but it didn’t go downward, it went up. I tried to listen for any sounds of life. I wanted to make sure there was nothing waiting to attack us. But there was only silence. The path was smooth and easy to travel.

We reached the end of the tunnel and went to another room. The room was much like the other one, with the exception of there being no lake of lava. There were four exits; each one had a different design.

One door had a stone face carved into it. It had a lion’s mouth that was wide open. Another had two metal doors with an intricate design of dogs chasing after a cat. The third had a wooden door with a large iron door knocker of a sleeping dog with backward facing feet. The last door was a massive metal door with a massive metal padlock.

Killa pointed at the wood door. “Let’s try that one.”

“I don’t like that one,” Shadara said. “I’m voting for the two metal doors. It has a pretty picture.”

I pointed to the locked one. “We should go for that one. There’s the highest likelihood of being a dead end. Also, if it’s locked, nothing should be inside.”

Killa crossed her arms. “Unless it’s a prison, then whatever’s inside deserves to be trapped. We shouldn’t let something like that loose.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Shadara’s eyes grew wide as she leaned towards the locked door. “What if there’s something valuable behind it? What if it’s a treasure room?”

Killa sighed. “Fine. It’s not like we have any better options. We might as well pick one. If I can get past the lock, then let’s take it.”

She walked over to the metal lock and tapped it. It didn’t make a sound. Killa grabbed the lock and pulled. The metal groaned in protest as she pulled on it. It didn’t budge. She then plunged her hand into the lock. There was a click, and it snapped open.

She tossed the lock aside and waved to the now-unlocked door. “After you, ladies.”

I shook my head as I pushed the door open. The room was lit with a soft blue light. I couldn’t see anything but crystals all over the walls and floor. They were beautiful and seemed to be glowing with a soft blue light.

I turned back to my sisters. “This is perfect. This will do fine.”

Shadara nodded. “Yes! Now we can finally rest.”

As soon as we stepped through the doorway, the door slammed shut behind us.

Killa’s eyes popped. “Oh no. Not again.”

Shadara turned around to the door. “It must’ve been a trap. The door must’ve been designed to lock us in.”

I looked around at the room. The crystals of various sizes covered every inch of the wall. They all glowed with a soft blue light. They were beautiful.

I shrugged. “Well, we might as well make the most of it. It looks like a safe enough corner to sleep in. Can we open the door?”

The door didn’t budge when Shadara pushed on it. That’s not good.

“What do we have here?” A low, raspy voice spoke from around us. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had any visitors.”

We all scanned the room for the source of the voice but couldn’t find any in the small crystal room. My vision instantly shifted to infrared to look for where they could’ve been, but I couldn’t see anything. Then I switched back to visible light and saw a globe of shadow magic growing and descending from the ceiling.

Killa pointed at it. “What is that?”

The globe of shadow magic landed on the floor, exploded, and engulfed us. I instantly shifted my vision to terahertz mode, but all I saw were us three. This is really not good.

“Here I was thinking that they locked me in this horrible little room and forgot about me.” The raspy voice laughed.

“I told you it could be a prison,” Killa said as she backed into a wall.

I kept looking around, but I couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was coming from as his voice echoed off all the walls. “A prison for what? There’s nothing here.”

Shadara backed up with us, her eyes darting around the room. “Where are you? Show yourself!”

The voice chuckled. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”

Both Shadara and Killa shrieked and flinched as they looked to the center of the room.

I didn’t see anything. “What’s there? I don’t see anything.”

The voice hummed. “You don’t see this? Curious, very curious. None of you know who I am, and yet, wandered so innocently into my prison cell. You move around like you can see in my darkness, but you can’t see what I’m showing the other two? How is that?”

I squinted. “That’s because I’m built differently.”

Orange, since this magic feels similar to my shadow magic, can I get rid of it, move it, or something?

You can certainly try.

Orange’s lack of certainty wasn’t lost on me. But I tried anyway. Instantly, I regretted my decision.

Pain like I had never felt before ripped through my body. It felt like lightning coursed through every fiber of my being. Every nerve ending in my body felt like it was being burned with a hot poker. I couldn’t think—I couldn’t move. It was all too much. My body dropped to the ground in a heap.

“Ah, ah, ah. Don’t even think about using my magic against me,” the voice taunted. “That was supposed to be just a little shock to disrupt you. Curiously, you have quite the reaction to a simple spark.”

That wasn’t a simple spark. And it looks like I can ignore pain as long as it doesn’t involve electricity. My augments say I’m supposed to be able to handle minor shocks just fine. But if it was a minor effort for him to make, I hate to see what he can do if he does try.

“Now it’s been a long time since I’ve had a fresh meal…” His voice trailed off. “What are you doing?”

Four tentacles grew from the ground in the center of the room. They spun around like a fan.

“No, stop that!” The panic in his voice was clear.

I could feel the shadow magic around me being pulled into the center of the room towards Killa’s magical tentacles. She’s destroying the magic? Oh, that’s right. Her class lets her do that.

For twenty seconds, the voice screamed in panic, as if desperately trying to escape from the swirling tentacles that dragged the mystical darkness down like water swirling down an open drain. I reverted my vision back to normal once all the darkness was gone. In the center, just above the tentacles, was a small red-furred racoon with a large, fluffy tail.

The tentacles instantly clutched the racoon into a death grip. I turned towards Killa to congratulate her, but her eyes were unfocused and her face was melting while she moaned. A violent scream cut short came from the racoon as all the tentacles penetrated his orifices. I could hear the bones and flesh tearing inside the creature, and I could see blood pouring out of its mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Slowly, his body grew more and more bloated until it exploded.

Pieces of the racoon went everywhere. I was too shocked to comprehend what I just saw. I could only stare blankly at the spot where the racoon once was. I didn’t know what to say, or if I wanted to say anything. Killa melted to the floor. I was too horrified to help her. I just sat there, staring blankly at her body.

Shadara looked at me with wide eyes. “Please tell me I didn’t just see what I thought I saw.“

My mind started to slow down. The only thing I could think about was what Killa had just done. The tentacles she created vanished as she slithered her slimy body towards the pieces of the creature. Piece by piece, she consumed them until there was nothing left.

“Killa?” I whispered. “Killa, are you okay?”

She stopped and slowly reformed her body. The slime woman walked over and helped me to my feet. With a smile, she said, “I’m better than okay. I’m fantastic.”

I was shaking as I stared at her. “You just killed him. You destroyed his magic and exploded him from the inside.“

Killa shrugged. “So? It was either him or us. So I did what I had to do. And I have to say, I’m glad it was him.”

Shadara looked at her. “But what was with that face you were making? I’ve never heard you make a sound like that before either.“

Killa gave us a wide grin. “I didn’t destroy his magic; I consumed it.” The way she put extra emphasis on ‘consumed’ sent a shiver down my spine. Shadara had the same reaction. “And better yet, it felt so amazing, it's indescribable. Is this what it’s like to taste the food that you eat? I want more.”