It seems like I'll have to be stuck with Liam and Kevin. If I were ever to die, I don't think dying with them is the most preferable outcome.
These two guys have been giving me some red flags. Kevin is aggressive for almost no legitimate reason, and Liam just seems like a little pussy. Neither of these traits helps with the current situation.
On the other hand, Julian is most likely far more powerful than all of us combined, and Chris doesn't seem like a bad teammate, at least from what I have observed so far.
This situation doesn't match what I know about Velmara's typical methods. Their reputation is based on precise execution and detailed planning, which contrasts with the uncoordinated resistance we've met. Julian has either received outdated information, or our location on the map is incorrect. But either way, the only option I have right now is nothing but to move forward with these irrelevant assholes.
We continue advancing through the changing maze until we reach a heavy door blocking a dead-end hall. A complex rune, which serves as a forger's seal, lines the frame with intricate details that display a faint mana pulse. As soon as I take my eyes off the symbol, it starts to change shape like it possesses awareness.
Kevin scowls at it. "A forger's seal. Isn't this just great? How do we even deal with this situation?"
Liam releases a nervous snort yet chooses to remain quiet while his eyes move around frantically as if he's anticipating something concealed within the walls to leap out.
I move closer to the rune and sense the same odd pull as my mana identifies its signature ahead of my conscious mind. I touch the seal with my hand and instinctively send a small flow of my energy through it.
A weak light emerges from the rune before it fades away, and the door opens with a squeak.
Although this gives me the worst vibes, it seems like stepping in is the only option.
I hate this, it feels like my fate is just being played around with by whoever built this place. A monster can come out anytime, and I wouldn't have any options but to fight it.
"We step our asses in. There's no other option," I tell the two.
After I step in, Kevin then follows me, and Liam steps in after a few seconds of hesitation.
The small room appears suffocating while its walls bear mysterious markings and symbols that time has partially erased. The moment we exit the room, a deafening slam echoes as the door slams shut behind us. I push back toward the door but find that it remains solid and unyielding.
"Great," Kevin mutters darkly. "We're all trapped."
Two additional doors suddenly materialize before us from the ground, which seem to have existed there since time immemorial. The carved words on them stand out sharply yet without any doubt:
TO LIVE
TO DIE
We stare at them in silence
Kevin's face twists into a sneer. "We won't be entering that one," he states as he indicates the "TO DIE" door.
He immediately begins to advance towards the door labeled "TO LIVE".
"Hey, just wait up, we don't know the consequences of choosing the wrong door," I tell him.
"So you think going through the 'TO DIE' door is the right choice?" Kevin says with some sarcasm.
"I just don't think it would be that obvious. I mean, any person would go through the 'TO LIVE' door, what if that's a trap?" I explain.
"Hey, just because you're the paragon doesn't mean you're right," Kevin says as he walks towards the door again.
Liam struggles to decide but ultimately accompanies them while saying under his breath, "No way am I dying here…"
The door opens with a click and swallows them both before shutting softly behind them.
I wait. Five seconds. Ten.
Silence.
No scream. No sound.
A cold shiver moves down my spine. Something's wrong, and I can sense it.
I return my gaze to the door marked "TO DIE." A sharp sensation sweeps through me as my instincts scream beneath my skin. The entire environment exists to challenge our perceptions by turning logic completely upside down.
At this moment, I'm 90% sure that the "TO DIE" door is the right answer. I am no Christian, but I have heard of the phrase "In order to live, you have to die."
There is just no way that whoever designed this made TO LIVE the right option.
"…Fine," I mutter, gripping my weapon tighter. "Let's test this theory."
I push through the "TO DIE" door.
…
The initial thing that Kevin and Liam become aware of when they enter is the silence. The silence is so intense that it makes each breath echo loudly. The room extends in length while its walls rise high and remain so dark that they seem to reach into an infinite upward space as the ceiling vanishes into obscurity. The edges of the floor glow with cold-blue lights that flicker and pulse gently as if they were veins.
Kevin says, "See?" yet his voice clearly shows signs of strain. "I told you that Julius was thinking too much about this situation."
Liam takes a swallow while his eyes nervously scan the vast empty space. "Y-Yeah I guess, but where are we?"
They walk cautiously deeper into the room. The door turns invisible by merging with the wall, which erases all signs of its presence.
Kevin shouts obscenities while spinning to hit where the door used to be with his fists. "Hey! Open up, dammit!"
Nothing. Solid wall. The faint blue light flickers once, dimmer now.
Liam's breathing quickens. "Something's wrong, Kevin. We should've waited—"
The illumination at the room's distant edge stutters and reveals movement.
From the darkness, a tall jagged shape starts to appear. Then another, and another.
Eyes started by glowing dimly but intensified into deep and animalistic burning. Dozens of them.
With their bodies distorted, the creatures advance toward the light as their limbs scrape and scrape against the ground. Kevin and Liam encounter the creatures' dark energy, which pulses powerfully and exceeds anything they have ever faced before.
Kevin's face pales, his bravado cracking. "No, no, no—shit—"
Liam stumbles back, panic overtaking him. He extends his hands, which emit mana sparks, but his magical attacks weaken under the fast, approaching, and relentless creatures.
Kevin unleashes a spell, but hits nothing as a monster slashes his side with a brutal, crushing attack. He releases a choked scream while his body collapses and blood spreads across the ground.
"Kevin!" Liam shrieks, but it's too late.
The room becomes a maelstrom of destruction where shadows rush down on them at a terrifying pace. The darkness consumes Kevin's final scream as it cuts off abruptly. The monsters overwhelm Liam as his magic briefly sparks before fading with the echo of his scream.
The dim blue lights emit their final pulse before fading to nothing.
The room stands still again, empty and waiting.