We soon left the library, Chlora because she was pouting at her poor knowledge of this unknown language and I from the mere shock received from the Sun Gods legacy.

We slowly descended down passageways and tunnels before we reached a small room, hidden from sight in the passage way.

As we entered I noted the surroundings.

The walls were sanded, a mundane mustard yellow and had several inscriptions carved and etched deep within. The language was unnoticable but there was a playful image below.

I was calmly examining the scriptures when with a poof the light was gone.

And I was surrounded by utter darkness and a silence that swallowed my emotions wholeheartedly.

"Chlora." I said, trying to keep my patience within.

"Got a light?"

I could hardly see the outline of Chloras face but I did see it scrunch up uncomfortably.

"It... won't work."

I sighed before my frustration started to surface along with the new layer of sweat on my brow. I irritatedly pushed my hair that went slightly over my eyes and stuck to my forehead due to how hot it was in this room.

"Agh. Any luck Chlora?"

I felt a shake from her head in the darkness.

"Well."

I thought about what ought to be our next choices thoroughly.

"We should just leave if magic isn't working. No point in recklessly going forward."

"O-kay."

Feeling for anything in the darkness I finally felt a flat solid wall.

Progress.

I then looked closer.

This wall was of a mundane black, it felt waxed and smooth.

Was this always here?

No.

No it was not, I concluded.

I attempted to break through it yet the most progress I made was by clawing this mysterious textured wall apart. My fingers left stretch marks which were soon gone as the walls now empty gaps were flooded by a black liquid that soon solidified to become a waxy,strange and ominous texture.

Irritated once more due to my wasted efforts, I began forming my strongest attack.

Why? To let out stress, I assume and to see if we truly were trapped here.

The sound of lightning crackling grew as a small sphere of white grew larger and around it strange red strands danced manically. The ball of madness got so large that it engulfed my being, I could barely see the edge of my silhouette like hands from my position.

A world-energy store had already been formed from instinct and fired with but a blink.

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Boom.

CHRHCHRCK.

The sound of lightning crashing formed as my attack bounced off the wall and back at me.

I found myself facing my own attack essentially instantaneously.

I managed to instinctively form 2 barriers with materialisation but found them slowly losing out to this force of nature, of my creation.

Luckily, Chlora noticed something was wrong and stood in front of this frenzied behemoth that was a lightning shock-blast.

She held it back before it slowly dispersed and grew smaller and fizzled out into tiny red snakes on the ground.

Bzzt.

The last of my attack was gone.

It was only by looking at the floor that feeling came to my feet. I realised the floor was covered in an extremely light yet noticeable layer of some liquid. It was just enough so that my foot could slide with ease.

I then revolted when I recognised the smell.

Blood.

The ground was covered in a sickly amount of blood and it was slowly seeping through the soles of my shoes.

I then realised that the entire room was slowly being occupied by these small smears of blood that gradually increased in number.

It was after 2 minutes had passed that I was assured the blood was rising. The entire first 3 centimetres of the floor were covered in blood. Now one could actually feel the liquid properly as their every movement was within it.

I was puzzled on how to escape.

No exit.

Will drown.

Can't use fire magic for light, for clues.

I then remembered the scriptures from earlier. A metaphoric lightbulb appeared above my head.

I looked at the scriptures, sure enough it was 2 people in a room as a red liquid rose. The shading technique proved the colour was red and more likely than not, blood.

In the 3 images carven, in the first the two men are puzzled as the water is by their feet.

In the second, the two men are almost drowned as the blood is to their necks. They then prayed silently.

I fit my fingers through the carved gaps so I could feel the images in the darkness.

In the third, only a red box could be found. The blood had fulfilled its duty. The cycle then repeated.

I then noticed on the fourth line down, a change. One of the men has now received red hair. The other man is still identical to the first image.

Below the image was an image of 4 boxes. Each had a strange assortment of symbols aligned to it.

I lightly gripped my own hair. After fumbling and feeling the images for around 5 minutes, the blood was nearing the waste area. The blood was sickly warm and I almost threw up knowing where it had come from.

Chlora merely stood still pondering life as per the usual.

I realised that the way out must be connected to the red-haired man, for that was the last image. I thought of any connection I could make with my feeble mind.

Ah. From the book before. The red lightning. The red-haired man.

Was it connected?

I tried putting a miniscule amount of red-lightning into the blood. Nothing.

I cursed silently.

This wasn't even a puzzle anymore. Just a silly game of wait for death as you try your best!

I decided I might as well use every resource.

The blood pool reached the waste. Bringing in another wave of shivers to a whole new set of nerve-receptors.

I found 4 boxes.

The first had 3 strands of green hair, or at least it looked green in the miserable lighting.

The second had 6 strands of blue hair. I think.

Next, the 3rd box had 1 strand of white hair.

The last box had nothing.

I pieced the puzzle in my mind.

I see. So, the red-haired man passed with his partner because they needed another hair sample of a unique colour? Or did it have to be red?

I felt my eyes tear slightly as I lightly pricked off 3 hair samples.

The blood reached halfway to the armpits, just passing the belly button level.

My fear and concern started to rise astronomically after nothing changed, even after putting my hair sample in the box.

Wait. I looked at the hair.

Was this just an equation?

3+6=X+1

So, I just need 5 more?

I bit my lip down tight as I pricked 5 more samples. I placed them in the box. Nothing happened.

Desperately thinking, I looked back at the image. Fumbling with fingers and almost slipping in the blood pool. Never to rise again I feared.

The blood passed our shoulders.

The boxes had but a few seconds before they too would be flooded.

I lay facing upwards in the blood-water as I waited for death.

The end?

The sound of gears turning sounded all around me as the blood slowly but surely waned downwards. I was in shock of what was happening when I noticed a blood-soaked Chlora standing by the boxes. Her hand doing a good ol' thumbs up. She smiled briefly.

I was dumbfounded.

"Oi."

I tapped her shoulder lightly.

"H-how did you do that?" I was more astounded than ever.

She shrugged her shoulders lightly before talking in her usual slow yet sharp demeanour.

"I guess... I read on the right side of the library."

I was left to scratch my head in wonders as our now red-dyed bodies traversed further down the passage-ways.

Deeper into the Empire of the Sun.