A bald woman wearing orange robes pursed her lips as she clutched her wooden staff to her chest. She was with a group of eight other people, but she stood at the back, a clear distance between herself and the rest of the members. In front of the group, there was a temple made of obsidian blocks with a massive gate of golden metal that could easily accommodate a dragon. In order to enter, one had to give up thirty days’ worth of food and water. The group only needed to survive for a few more days, so there wasn’t a need to attempt the trial, but everyone other than Miranda had insisted on attempting it. The guide had even warned them that it was very easy to lose their lives inside, but human greed knew no bounds.
The group members placed piles of berries, stacks of meat, and cans of water in the designated location, a circle with runic symbols scrawled inside of it. When the required amount had been reached, an ominous rumbling came from the temple, the golden metal slowly rising into the obsidian block like a medieval castle gate. Black mist leaked out of the entrance, flooding over the group and food alike. A shiver ran down Miranda’s spine, and she weighed the benefits of entering the temple against the risks within her mind.
Miranda’s group members readied themselves and advanced into the temple. Miranda steeled her nerves and clutched her staff even tighter. She took a step towards the temple, but the sound of flapping caught her attention. A shadow fell over her, and she raised her head. Her eyes bulged at the dragon barreling down towards her, and she sprinted into the temple, covering the distance faster than an Olympic gold medalist. This was the first floor! Why was there a dragon here!? Perhaps she had gotten in way over her head when she agreed to join the tower. She knew those people in black robes were sketchy when they recruited her!
“What’s up, Miranda? Why are you running?”
Miranda glanced behind herself. The exit leading to the outside world had been sealed off by a wall of black mist, so it was impossible to tell if the dragon was following her. Miranda might’ve lived as a monk, but she still knew some important survival rules. She didn’t have to outrun a predator to survive; she only had to outrun her companions. People often said the scariest thing was the unknown, but Miranda discovered that wasn’t true. She’d rather face whatever lay ahead in the temple than struggle for survival against a dragon.
“Wait! We have to stick together!”
Miranda ignored her group member’s shout and dashed into the corridor that lay ahead. There were multiple paths to pick from, causing a faint feeling of hope to blossom in her chest. Normally, running into a maze by herself would’ve freaked her out, but now, she saw the maze as a shelter, one that could save her from being caught. She passed through a narrow opening and came face to face with a humanoid puppet. It had a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
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“Get out of my way!” Miranda shouted and swung her staff as hard as she could, knocking the puppet’s head clean off. She kicked its tumbling body aside and continued running, leaving her companions behind in a stunned stupor. Wasn’t she a pacifist? Wasn’t she a peace-loving monk? A thousand different thoughts ran through her companions’ minds, but one genius figured Miranda’s behavior out.
“She wants to monopolize the rewards for herself!”
“What? She did absolutely nothing to help us survive!”
“After her!”
***
Stella snorted while laughing. “Did you see the look on that woman’s face when she saw you?”
“No,” Vur said and blinked. Stella’s torso was sticking out of his snout; her field of view should’ve been similar to his, so how did she see something he didn’t. Maybe she installed some sort of eyes on his body that allowed her to see all around. It wouldn’t be the first time she modified him to make herself comfy.
“Well, it was pretty funny,” Stella said and nodded, wiping at her eyes with the white cape she was still wearing. “Actually, maybe it’s because of the way she was dressed. She was bald and wore orange robes; I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Didn’t we see something like that on Earth?” Tafel asked. “I think I saw it in one of the churches books. There were depictions of monks.”
“Well, Vur and I didn’t see any churches on Earth,” Stella said. “All we did was go around, make statues, and help cure people.”
Kim Hajun stumbled over the flat ground. He barely caught himself, and he whirled around to look at Vur’s group. “Wait. Did you say Earth? You built statues and helped people there?”
“Yeah. Well, I mean, Vur built the statues and helped people,” Tafel said. She blinked before raising an eyebrow. “By any chance, are you from Earth?”
Kim Hajun gulped as he stared at Vur, scrutinizing his features. “Are you … Feathered Serpent?” His eyes widened as he looked Vur up and down. “I swear I’ve seen photos of your statues before.”
Vur tilted his head. “You know me?”
“Oh my god,” Kim Hajun said and clutched his head with both hands. “You’re Feathered Serpent. The conspiracy theories were true. Aliens did visit Earth in ancient times, but they were actually beings from another dimension.”
Tafel blinked. “Hold up,” she said. “Ancient times? What do you mean ancient times? It hasn’t even been that long since we’ve been to Earth. Do you know Thomas Müntzer?”
Kim Hajun’s eyes widened, and he whirled towards Tafel. “You were the demon that terrorized Europe’s nobility and led the peasant uprising? There were reports of strange things happening around that time period five hundred years ago.” Kim Hajun examined Tafel from head to toe. “So, the texts really did mean a literal demon.” Kim Hajun closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before fixing his expression. “Sorry. I lost my composure.” His gaze landed on Stella. “Did you say the woman was bald and wearing an orange robe?”
“Yeah,” Stella said and nodded. “Instead of hair, she had a bunch of tattoos on her head.”
Kim Hajun’s eyes narrowed, and his hands clenched into fists. “I see.”