Author's Note: I deleted the old chapter 4 and replaced it with this one. Didn't like where that one was headed, so I decided to stick to the old outline. 

Chapter 4: Castle

“Ugh…”

Groaning on the ground was little Solomon who had lost consciousness as soon as they reached the bottom. His head still groggy, Solomon gradually woke up. And as he lay on the ground, he looked around him, scanning his surroundings. Beside him he spotted the twins lying asleep on the ground. “Looks like we all fell asleep when we hit bottom,” thought Solomon to himself as he slowly stood.

“Brrr…

The surrounding air chilling Solomon, he let out a brr as he lightly shivered. The air from his mouth, a visible cloud of white.

“Is this… the bottom?”

Clouds of white shrouded the area, and on the ground where Solomon and the twins had lain asleep was the drawing of two dragons entwined around a clock with their tails in their mouths. Solomon found the drawing to be curious, but he quickly turned his head away when he heard the sound of barking.

“Woof! Woof!”

It was Grumpy. Somehow, Grumpy had also managed to reach the bottom of the abyss. A fact that slightly surprised Solomon. But nevertheless he was glad to know that the twins’ dog was safe and sound.

Grumpy was barking there in front of something. But due to the fog’s veil, Solomon couldn’t quite make out what it was. Curious, he walked towards the strange object Grumpy was fussing over. And as the fog’s veil was lifted, a giant door stretching over thirty feet tall and ten feet wide stood on the other end of the fog’s veil.

“*Gasp…”

A resounding gasp echoed throughout the foggy land as Solomon’s breath was taken away by his surprise. “A door made for giants,” he thought. Certainly, a door of such gargantuan proportions could only be appropriate for another similarly sized giant. However its size was not the only thing that caught Solomon’s attention. Strange patterns were engraved all over the majestic door. Patterns reminiscent of dragons and the strands of time, reminding Solomon of the mark on the ground. Leading him to believe that this place must have something to do with time and dragons. “Perhaps the ruins, or perhaps even the home of a dragon that rules over time,” thought Solomon as his fantasies grew wild, unhindered.

But more than any of these childish thoughts was a feeling tugging at Solomon’s heart. A strange sensation he had once felt before. Yes, that same sensation he felt when he first found the portal that lead to this world.

In truth, any normal person would by now be shaking in their boots were they to find a situation similar to that which threw them into this hell hole. But to Solomon, things were quite different. The scenery before him did not send him into a whirlpool of fear, no. Instead it sent him into a dilemma.

Solomon wished for one thing. Ever since he was but a toddler, Solomon’s always had but one wish. A wish he carried with him throughout his life. And even until now it is a wish he still carried. And that wish is to learn magic and master it. Not the kind of magic that the magicians of the likes of David Blaine would show on television, which were but illusions, performances to entertain. But true magic of the likes only to be conjured by fictional wizards and sorcerers to be shown on fantasy films in the theaters. Feats simply impossible for the physics of the known human realm or for the powers of humanity. To control the elements. To will the world around one’s self. To create impossible geometry, castles, and towers out of thin air. That was the wish prayed under the light of the stars. But it was an impossible wish. A mindless, unfulfillable, childish wish. Yet right now, a flight of stairs leading to that very dream has just been laid out before him.

Yet Solomon’s feet were unmoving. They were not moving towards that door. They were frozen still, standing there as if the road to his one dream was not dangling before his eyes. His eyes locked onto the door, but what he saw reflected within in his mind was not the door, but the twins.

In Solomon’s obsession for magic, he lost himself in a trance and mindlessly walked through that door in the cottage. Even if the twins say it’s not his fault, Solomon knew better. Regardless of what the twins say, the truth is that Solomon entered the door. And it was because he entered the door that all of them entered it, leading them to become trapped in this world when the door was shut close. The guilt of that sin tugged at Solomon’s heart. And the fear of repeating another tragedy ceased him from moving.

Traces of regret lingered in his heart as he looked up that door one last time before he bid farewell to his only dream. But as that longing gaze that was very much like that of a lover to her beloved met with that majestic door, a look of shock found itself in Solomon’s face.

That giant door began to bulge as if it were filled with water. And in a heartbeat that door blew up, filling the whole world in blood and darkness as a voice echoed, “Bring the boy to ME!” And another, “No!” The flood of blood and darkness swirled into a whirlpool as it swept Solomon away. And with the flash of a light, the boy suddenly found himself in a room with countless doors floating, the ceiling stretching upwards endlessly, and a gallant figure in white armor walking towards him as-

“Solomon!”

Suddenly, Farah’s face was point blank his.

“AHHHH!”

“AIEEEE!”

He shouted, she shouted.

*Pow!

And the other one kicked him.

“What are you shouting for!?” asked, the kicker.

“Well, you startled me!” replied the kicked as he rubbed his right side, a little sore from the kick.

“You were standing there, dazed, so we thought to snap you out of it!” shouted the other one who’s finally stopped screaming like a banshee.

“I was… dazed, you say?”

“Yep, stood there like a statue.”

“We’ve been calling your name for a while now actually.”

“Take care of us? More like we need to take care of you.”

Scolded by the twins, Solomon flushed red as his eyes fell on the ground in shame. But midway, that glance caught in its path Grumpy wagging his tail, standing there besides the twins and him. And immediately, for reasons unknown, Solomon’s face turned pale as he recalled the image of the adorable canine, as his eyes stared on the ground.

Solomon quickly shook that sensation off, thinking to himself, “I must have imagined it.” His eyes were brought back up when Farah spoke.

“So. Where are we this time?”

“A giant’s residence from the looks of things, sis. Possibly, a castle.”

“Well, the door’s open and all, and there’s nowhere else to go so… shall we?”

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Farah’s words echoed at the back of Solomon’s head, bringing his eyes back to standing level where he was greeted with the giant door, open. “Suddenly opening or closing by itself… this is just like that time,” he thought. The scent of the blood that flooded his mind just moments ago, caused dread to appear on his face. Dread not for himself, but for the twins, believing that this was some sort of trap carefully laid out in some sort of sick hobby to plot against him and the twins. Solomon did not want to see the twins hurt any further. To him, their very existence here was his fault. And that guilt greatly tugged at his heart. If the twins were to ever die in this world, then Solomon would surely be unable to forgive himself.

“Solomon, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

Having noticed that Solomon was standing still, Sarah called out to him. His countenance still pale, Solomon nervously suggested not to enter the castle.

“How about we not go inside, guys? It’s…”

“It’s what?” Asked Farah

“It’s suspicious…”

“What is?” Asked Sarah this time.

“When I woke up, the door was closed. And now the door’s open. It’s as if it’s inviting us. Isn’t that obviously a red flag!?”

Apprehensive, Solomon shouted. The twins clearly felt the fear in his voice, but they could not make fun of him for it. Still, Farah shot down Solomon’s proposition.

“Unfortunately, we can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“It’s cold out here, the fog’s thick… Even if we don’t move we’ll end up dead. This is the kind of world we’re stuck in.”

The word “stuck” bore a hole through Solomon’s chest. And Sarah, being quite perceptive, noticed Solomon’s anguish.

“Don’t mind it too much.” She said. “We’re here already, so let’s just do our best to survive. Since we can die either way, then the best path’s clearly to keep on moving, right?” Said Sarah as she patted Solomon at the back.

With the twins resolute in their decision to enter the suspicious giant castle, Solomon had no choice but to agree with them as he followed them inside. Like this the twins led, Solomon followed, and the dog trailed last.

Exactly as the gigantic entrance had implied, they were greeted by an equally large hallway that stretched a sizeable distance forward, as soon as they entered the castle. Dragon statues could be seen lined up on either side of the hallway, and a long, red carpet was rolled over the hallway’s floor.

“Looks like you were right, Solomon. They really were expecting us.”

“And quite a grand welcome too. They’ve actually rolled out the red carpet for us, sis.”

“As they should.” Replied Farah as the twins broke into laughter.

The twins found the castle’s decorations and Solomon’s paranoid comment coinciding to be hilarious, and they poked fun at it with teasing comments. Aside from the red carpet rolled out on the floor, there were also candles on either side, burning with dark purple flame. Lighting the whole stretch of the hallway in dark purple. With the flames’ color itself being dark, the hallway was only dimly lit. That otherworldly lighting coupled with the medieval setting dyed the atmosphere, eerie.  

The group continued to walk onwards without talking, and eventually they found themselves in another hallway. Three giant doors on either side. And a flight of stairs leading to a large statue of two dragons entwined around a clock with their tails in their mouths. Then from there, was a staircase on either side leading to the upper floors. This hall was also lit by purple flames, with the fire burning from the candle lamps attached to the walls.

The group’s curiosity was piqued by the strange dragon statue at the end of the flight of stairs, so they climbed that and walked towards it to examine it.

“What a peculiar statue,” remarked Sarah.

“Indeed. Don’t you think it’s similar to the pattern that was on the ground we were sleeping on a while ago?” agreed Farah.

“Rather than similar, isn’t it exactly the same thing?”

“Now that you mention it… I wonder if this statue’s supposed to mean something.”

Solomon also found this statue interesting. In fact, he found the pattern back where they slept to be just as interesting. Only, Grumpy’s barking had taken his attention, and he ended up forgetting all about it after the strange vision he saw and the succeeding events. Now that the symbol was right before him again, Solomon couldn’t help but ponder on it as he tried to interpret it. And at Farah’s question, he voiced his thoughts.

“A dragon eating its own tail is a symbol popularly known as Ouroboros.”

“Ouroboros?” Asked Farah.

“Yes, it’s said to be a symbol of eternity. And the soul of the world.”

“But that’s with one dragon, right? There’re two of them in this one.” Inquired Sarah.

“True… It’s curious. Why are there two? Moreover two dragons that are entwined around a clock…”

Pondering, Solomon’s brain was on fire. And as he took a deep breath, he continued,

“Did you two notice that the entrance to this castle had patterns reminiscent of time and dragons?”

“Actually, the door was already wide open when we came to, and we saw you standing there, dazed. So… no.”

At Farah’s answer, Solomon walked towards the statue and started fumbling around as he voiced out his hypothesis.

“This is just a guess, but considering that this statue here seems to have something to do with the concepts of eternity, soul, and time. I think this whole castle might have some kind of secret regarding those three things. And with its obsession on dragons, especially the statues lined up in the previous hallway, there might be a dragon here that rules time.”

After Solomon said that, the ground suddenly rumbled.

*RUMBLE…

With Solomon currently being atop the statue, the sudden tremor pushed him off of it, and he ended up falling to the ground with a thud. All the while, the twins were panicking at the earthquake.

*Thud! “Ow...”

“What’s going on!?”

“An earthquake?”

Then all of the sudden, a violet magic formation appeared below the staircase, at the center of the hallway. And from it, appeared a giant figure of around fifteen feet high. White skin, muscles bulging in every corner, a shaved head, a half-naked body, and one eye… Seeing that, Solomon muttered,

“Cyclops.”

*ROARRRRR!

With the bellow of that roar, the short reprieve of the group ended. And the game of cat and mice resumed.