Tip toe… tip toe…
Their footsteps echoed faintly, swallowed quickly by the cube's eerie stillness. Room after room, the trio moved in silence, the atmosphere pressing down heavier with every step.
"We've been walking for thirty minutes now," Nara muttered. "Still no sign of the demon…"
"That's strange," Code said, scanning the color-coded walls. "A caster shouldn't be able to leave their domain. They're the source of the anti-tenzen, right?"
"Exactly," Nara replied. "But this—this feels wrong. It's like we're walking in circles… through an infinite loop of rooms."
They turned left again—yet another dead end. The fifth, to be exact.
"This is the fifth time we've had to turn back," Nara sighed, rubbing his temples.
But then—
Hina stopped.
"Uh?!" Code nearly jumped. "Hina? Why'd you stop like that?! You're creeping us out."
She didn't respond. She didn't move, and she didn't blink.
Instead, she slowly brought her hand to her chin, her eyes locked on something just to her right. A faint mark—barely visible—etched into the wall.
Without a word, she approached it, gently pressing her hand against the surface.
"What's she doing?" Code asked, voice low.
"No idea," Nara replied. "I don't like that look in her eyes though…"
Hina traced the scratch, her brows furrowing.
"…This mark…"
Her memory raced back—
She had etched that mark herself. Quietly. Casually. Back when she first scanned this room.
But now—they were here again.
"We returned to the starting point. That should mean we completed the loop… but something's wrong. Back then, there were three dead ends before we circled around. Now there were four."
Her fingers trembled slightly against the wall. Not out of fear—but realization.
"This… doesn't line up," she whispered.
"It should be three dead ends. But this time… we hit four."
That wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't poor memory. And it definitely wasn't just bad navigation.
It was intentional.
These rooms… the identical patterns… the same colors repeating…
It wasn't a loop.
It was a cycle in motion.
Her eyes widened—click. The pieces locked together in her mind like a machine coming to life.
"This whole time…" she muttered. "I thought we were looping through fixed rooms… but the configuration—it's been changing."
She turned slowly, her gaze now focused on Nara—who was walking straight toward her.
"No—wait…"
"Hina?" he asked. "What's going on?"
Then it hit her.
"This is a Rubik's cube…!"
Her voice was low but urgent, words tumbling out like a dam breaking.
"It's not just shaped like one—it functions like one! The entire structure is rotating, shifting compartments behind our backs. That's why the room count didn't match—because the cube itself is solving... or scrambling!"
"W-What?" Code stepped forward, confused.
Hina's breath hitched. She took a sharp step back.
"We're not in the same room!!"
"Quickly—RUN!"
But she was already too late.
The walls began to tremble—vibrate—groan. The floor beneath Code and Nara started to move.
Clack. Clack. Click.
"What's happening?!" Code yelled, trying to maintain balance.
The room around them tilted—spun—rotated.
And then—
CLATTER!
The space they had occupied was gone - replaced by an empty chamber.
They had vanished.
"SHIT!!" Hina slammed her palm into the wall. Her voice echoed with fury—and frustration.
"I should've seen it… I should've—"
Her fist tightened.
"The rooms weren't just meant to disorient us. They were shifting silently... waiting for the right moment to split us up."
The cube had moved.
***
Clatter! Clatter! Bang!
The building shook violently. Code and Nara found themselves in the same cube room—only now, Hina was gone.
"Hina... she's gone!" Code gasped, eyes wide.
"We've been split up," Nara muttered, trembling. "M-maybe the demon's trying to pick us off one by one and eat us." He let out a nervous laugh.
"O-oi!" Code shot him a look. "Don't say creepy stuff like that."
He clenched his fists. "Hina's down there doing her best. We can't lose," he said, though doubt snuck into his chest like a cold wind - until Nara tapped his back.
"You're right," he nodded, forcing a grin. "No fear. Hina's solving this mystery. We just have to keep going."
"Yeah!" Code affirmed, nodding.
The two pressed on, walking cautiously through the cubic rooms. Eyes sharp. Muscles tense.
And then—
Clack!
Nara stepped on a tile.
The block depressed into the floor with a soft thunk.
Both of them looked up.
And froze.
The ceiling had opened—and an arsenal of weapons hung above them. Swords. Knives. Spears. All pointing down.
"Shit! There are traps too?!" Nara shouted.
Click! Clang! Clang!
The weapons rained down in a deadly downpour.
But Nara and Code were already moving.
Swoosh!
Nara spun and ducked, dodging between blades like he was dancing through death. Code tumbled and weaved, metal slicing air mere inches from his face.
After a harrowing few moments, the rain of weapons ceased.
They leapt into the next cube.
"Haah... haah..." Code panted, one scratch on his arm, but nothing serious.
Nara dropped beside him, untouched but winded.
"There are actual traps in here?" Nara wheezed.
"They're probably meant to split us up," Code replied, scanning the room. "We need to stay sharp."
"Haha," Nara chuckled. "You sound just like Hina."
"Uh—?!" Code jolted, cheeks going red. "Wh-what are you even saying?!"
He turned away, flustered.
And that's when his foot landed on something.
Clack.
"Uh-oh," he muttered.
"Don't tell me...!" Nara's eyes widened.
The ceiling opened again—but this time, it wasn't weapons.
It was a massive boulder.
CRASH!
"EEEEEK!" both of them screamed as it slammed into the ground, shaking the entire floor.
The boulder didn't stop.
It started rolling straight at them.
They instinctively hugged each other.
Behind them? A field of blades.
In front of them? A speeding rock of doom.
"This is bad! What do we do?!" Code cried.
"We stop it!" Nara yelled, heart pounding—but his eyes gleamed with fire.
"O-okay!" Code nodded, bracing himself.
The boulder rushed forward, seconds from crushing them.
Then—
Fwoooosh!
Flames exploded from Nara's palms as he clapped, taking his stance.
"Suuuuuuu...!"
Code entered his flow phase, eyes glowing faintly. He took his battle pose—right fist pulled back, left arm raised defensively, one leg behind.
"Here it comes!" Nara called.
"Yeah!" Code exhaled.
BOOOOM!
"Crimson Burst!" Nara roared, unleashing a stream of fire that collided with the boulder.
The fire exploded on impact—but the boulder didn't stop. It kept rolling, flames swirling around it, pushing Nara back.
"Hnnggh!" Nara growled, digging his heels in.
"Code! Now!!"
"Got it!"
Code pulled his fist even further back. Tenzens swirled in his veins, spiraling into his knuckles.
He let out a sharp cry—
CRACK!
His punch connected.
The boulder cracked... but still rolled forward.
The duo gritted their teeth.
They were inches from the blades.
"I'm not dying here!" Nara yelled, blasting out more fire.
"Neither am I!!" Code shouted, reinforcing his tenzen. With a final cry, both of them poured everything into one last attack.
CRACK! CRAAAACK!!
Shards split across the boulder.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The rock shattered into chunks, flames scattering them across the room. The rubble hit the floor with a final clatter.
"Haah... haah..."
"We... did it," Code whispered, smiling weakly.
"That was way too close," Nara muttered, looking at the bed of weapons behind them.
They caught their breath, sitting quietly.
Then Code stood up. "Yeah. We really need to be more careful."
Nara nodded. "We could've been demon food back there."
He chuckled. "But... that double attack? That was kinda sick."
"It was," Code admitted, flashing a small grin. "If we practice, we could turn that into something huge."
Code walked backward, grinning—
And stepped on another tile.
Clack.
His smile dropped.
Nara's eyes widened. He knew what that meant.
"Whyyyy did I walk backwards?" Code groaned internally. "What's wrong with me...?"
"Code, slowly lift your leg," Nara instructed, inching forward.
But Code extended his hand, stopping him.
He raised his foot—carefully.
And regretted it instantly.
This time, the walls opened on both sides.
No weapons.
No boulder.
Just—
WATER.
A massive torrent surged out from both openings.
"NARA—!!" Code screamed as the water slammed into him, knocking him off his feet.
"CODE!!!" Nara lunged to grab him—
But it was too late.
The water swept Code away into the right passage.
Then—
SLAM.
The wall on the left closed instantly. The one on the right remained open... but the water was gone.
And so was Code.
Nara ran to the doorway.
But there was nothing.
No Code.
No water.
Just silence.
***
TBC