Brian and Serdna emerged from the short corridor into a larger room, instantly assaulted by an uncomfortable hum that crawled under their skin like a swarm of insects feasting on their nerves. The source of the disquieting noise was unclear, but it filled the space with an unsettling presence.

"Ugh, what is that sound?" Brian muttered, rubbing his ears as if to dispel the invasive hum. Serdna merely shrugged while his eyes scanned the room for any possible danger.

This room was also adorned with engravings on its left and right stone walls. On the left, a divine being wielded a staff, casting a spell that caused a vast array of creatures to follow its command. Brian leaned in closer, studying the intricate details of the carving with an analytic eye. “This staff must hold some sort of power over living beings. Could be useful if we ever need to control a crowd, or worse yet, a horde of enemies,” he mused, already concocting strategies in his mind.

Turning his attention to the other wall, Brian noticed a six by six grid of tiles carved into the stone. Humanoid figures stepped along a particular path, while those who deviated from it were depicted with their hands over their ears, obviously in pain. The final image showed a figure lying dead after having stepped on three incorrect tiles. His brain quickly deduced that the path in the engravings must be the safe one to cross, just like in the previous room.

"Hey Serdna, same deal," Brian said, pointing out the pattern to his companion. Serdna looked at the engraved path and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we got this," Serdna replied, his voice tinged with apprehension. "Let's memorize it quickly and keep moving. We don’t know how long this freaking dungeon is."

Together, they stepped in front of the grid, their eyes locked onto the engraved path. With a shared nod, they began to traverse the dangerous tiles. Brian moved with precision, ensuring each step was accurate. Serdna followed closely behind, ready in case something went awry.

As they moved further along the grid, the insidious hum remained ever-present, gnawing at their minds like a relentless itch. They tried to ignore it, focusing instead on following the correct path. Each cautious step sent sweat rolling down their cheeks. Their progress was slow but steady, and they eventually found themselves nearing the edge of the tiled floor, freedom tantalizingly close.

"Almost there," Brian attempted to maintain his composure as his hands shook. "We've got this, Serdna."

Mere steps away, Serdna's foot accidentally touched a wrong tile, and the hum intensified like a swarm of hornets closing in for the kill. Blood oozed from their ears as if they'd been punctured by those same stinging insects. The pain was unbearable, searing through their skull with an intensity that threatened to consume them.

"Shit," Serdna hissed, clutching at their bleeding ears. "I messed up, Brian."

Through the corner of his eye, Brian caught a glimpse of Serdna speaking, but he couldn’t hear him over the painful cacophony. When he turned to face Serdna, Brian realized he could understand him by reading his lips with his Chronal Gaze. He also suspected that Serdna could likely hear him just fine with his Auditory Core, assuming its power was similar to that of the Oculus and Olfactory Core. "Focus!" Brian snapped, his own ears throbbing in sympathetic agony. "We don't have time for mistakes."

They continued navigating the treacherous grid, the hum a relentless tormentor sending jolts of pain through their heads with every step. Brian gritted his teeth, determined not to let the agony break his concentration. He could almost taste freedom as they drew closer to the end of the tiled area.

Just as Brian was about to make the final leap, he momentarily winced—the pain felt like hot pokers being jammed into his eardrums—and he stumbled. His foot landed on a forbidden tile, and the hum intensified tenfold. The headache it induced felt as if a thousand tiny hammers were pounding away at his skull, each blow conspired to shatter his very thoughts.

Blood poured from their ears, cascading down their necks and staining their clothes in a macabre waterfall. They screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the unbearable hum, which seemed to be laughing at their pain.

"Keep moving!" Brian shouted. "We can't stay here!"

Holding their breath, they successfully sprinted across the remaining tiles, their vision blurring as the blood loss weakened them. Finally, they stumbled into the next corridor, frantically navigating the tight hallway and heaving a sigh of relief as the malevolent hum vanished behind them.

Objective: Finish the maze - 2/3

Brian and Serdna emerged in another room, its immense size dwarfing the previous chambers. The nine by nine grid spread before them like a chessboard of doom, each square a potential source of agony.

"Damn it," Brian muttered. "This is probably even more dangerous than the last one."

"Wait a second." Serdna drew his lyre and played a soft, refreshing tune. The calming melody felt like it stirred Brian's valtite molecules, nudging them to repair his body.

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As Serdna strummed, warmth spread in Brian's ears, soon replaced by a cold sensation, ending with a tickling feeling as Serdna finished his last strumming the strings.

And just like that, the pain in his ears was gone, his eardrums felt completely restored. The pain had been so severe that Brian hadn't even noticed that sounds were muffled until his ears healed completely.

"Wow, this feels great," Brian touched his ears, surprised at the relief. "If only your music could wipe the blood stain from my face too, there would be no complaints."

“You are complaining?” Serdna chuckled.

“Sorry, I messed up my joke.” Brian admitted.

Without skipping a beat, he endeavored to find a solution for the next challenge. He studied the engravings on the left wall, which depicted the divine being triumphant. The creatures of the land, their eyes now glowing with that same ethereal hue as the staff, had been pacified.

"Looks like this is the endgame," Brian mused darkly. “These rooms keep getting worse, let’s hope this is the last one."

They inspected the walls on the right side, a complex nine by nine grid was etched into the stone, accompanied by images of humanoid figures attempting to cross. It looked like the previous engravings, but here some tiles were cracking and breaking away over time.

"Time's not on our side," he said as he processed the information. "We might have to move quickly on this one. And if we step on the wrong tile... well, we've already had a taste of that."

"Alright," Serdna said weakly, the blood loss taking its toll. "Let's just do our best, okay?"

Best seemed like an impossible standard in this hellish place, but Brian nodded anyway.

It would be very difficult to memorize the correct path through the tiles of this new nine-by-nine grid. Without time constraints, they could certainly commit it to memory. However, a strange feeling told Brian they didn’t have that luxury.

With shaky hands, Brian hastily sketched the safe path onto a piece of parchment. Sweat beaded on his forehead, mixing with the dust from the dungeon, creating muddy streaks down his face.

Serdna nervously peered over his shoulder. "You got it all, Brian?" Serdna asked, his voice wavering. Sensing their growing tension, the dungeon responded by sending the first tile on their path cascading into the abyss below.

"Shit," Brian muttered under his breath, eyes widening. "We need to move. Now."

Brian decided to take the lead, focusing all of his valtite energy onto his oculus sight. The world seemed to slow down around him, the collapsing tiles appearing to fall in slow motion. It might not amount to anything, but hopefully it gave him an extra nivosec to react.

Serdna bit his lip but nodded, following Brian onto the treacherous grid. Tiles crumbled away behind them the moment they stepped off. Desperate to keep ahead of the collapsing floor, Brian focused every ounce of his valtite energy into his oculus sight, sharpening his reaction time. The world around him blurred, the dungeon's menacing growl fading into the background as his mind raced.

"Keep up, Serdna!" Brian shouted over his shoulder, trying to sound confident despite the cold sweat prickling down his spine.

"Doing my best!" Serdna replied, his voice strained. He trailed behind Brian, each step just barely escaping the collapsing tiles beneath him.

Brian looked back and noticed Serdna cutting it too close, with the tiles descending into the darkness less than a nivosec after he stepped off each one. “Let’s move faster.”

“I was going to say,” Serdna’s voice was more frantic and high-pitched than usual.

Brian wasn’t sure if his jumping power would be enough, but if he didn’t try Serdna was surely going to fall before they reached the end. So Brian started leaping two at a time. It ended up being just fine, he continued confirming the path with his parchment. But it allowed Serdna more time to leave the collapsing tiles behind.

The tiles continued to fall one by one, and fortunately, it seemed the unsafe tiles were always the first to drop. However, what they hadn't anticipated was that the interval between the collapsing tiles was gradually decreasing.

With only two rows left until the edge of the grid, the tiles disintegrated even faster, threatening to swallow them whole. Panic gnawed at Brian's insides, but he shoved it aside, making a split-second decision to head straight for the end.

"Here goes nothing," he thought, stepping onto the closest tile that would take him to safety.

But it was the wrong tile. A throbbing pain shot through Brian's skull as the familiar hum intensified.

Since he had leapt two tiles at a time, he lost his place in his own sketch. There was no time to carefully analyze the safe path on the parchment. Adrenaline surged through him, and he leaped towards the last row, just barely avoiding the collapsing tile beneath him. His heart skipped a beat as he landed on a safe tile by sheer luck.

"Fuck," Brian gasped, his breath ragged. "Serdna, don't follow me, go left instead!"

But Serdna had already stepped onto an adjacent tile, also choosing wrong. Blood poured from his ears as the humming reached a crescendo. Summoning all his strength, Serdna jumped towards the last safe tile Brian had used.

"Come on, grab my hand!" Brian silently urged, watching his friend's desperate leap.

As if time itself had slowed down, Serdna's feet left the collapsing tiles behind, and for a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't make it. But Brian lunged forward, grabbing Serdna's wrist in a vice-like grip. He pulled him to safety just as the final tiles crumbled away into nothingness.

"Christ," Brian panted, shuffle-running to the corridor in an effort to leave the demonic hum behind. "Serdna."

Serdna, still catching his breath, managed a weak smile. "I'd say we made a great team just now."

“We have cheated death once again,” Brian snorted. A twisted smile crossed his lips as he added, "You owe me one."

Objective: Finish the maze - 3/3