Door of Wisdom

The punch was mere inches from striking Hiroshi when suddenly—

GRRRK!

The walls of the maze shifted with impossible speed, sliding into place and blocking the path between Hiroshi and Yataro. The dark, suffocating force of the Tyrant’s Domain slammed against the stone, only to be cut off by the maze’s own unpredictable magic.

A scream tore through the corridor.

“AARGHHHH!!!” Yataro roared, his voice echoing in the collapsed pathways. The sound carried pain, fury, and disbelief all at once.

Hiroshi’s heart raced. He realized the walls behind him had vanished, revealing a straight path to the exit.

“Now’s my chance!”he thought, determination burning in his chest.

He surged forward, every muscle tensed, his body propelled by desperation and adrenaline. The dark pressure of Yataro’s Domain still lingered, tugging at his senses, but light—blinding, golden, pure—beckoned ahead. It was the first glimmer of hope in the suffocating blackness.

He ran. Hard. Faster than he had ever dared.

By the time he reached the exit, his body teetered on the edge of collapse. He nearly stumbled, his legs giving way in exhaustion, but two firm hands caught him before he could hit the floor. Shinzo and Krooke had grabbed his shoulders, steadying him.

Hiroshi gasped, chest heaving, his eyes wild. Panic clawed at him as he tried to regain control.

“We… we need to… to… reach her!” he stammered between breaths. “Reach… Ryumi…!”

Shinzo’s hands still holding him, his expression tense, asked sharply, “Calm down, calm down! What happened?!”

Hiroshi’s words tumbled out in a rush, panic-stricken. “Tyr… Tyran… TYRANTS! TWO OF THEM!!!”

Krooke’s eyes narrowed, realization dawning as he pieced together the fragments of sensation he had felt while waiting. “So it wasn’t a hallucination… it actually happened…”

Shinzo blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”

Krooke’s jaw tightened, voice low. “While we were waiting for him, I felt vibrations… faint hints of strong auras… and…”

Shinzo leaned closer, prompting him. “And…?”

Krooke’s fingers twitched, a mix of irritation and awe in his tone. “Seki. Those Tyrants must have used their Seki. I sensed two distinct ones.”

Shinzo’s eyes widened slightly. “And maybe one was Domain Seki… the place got dark for a minute.”

Hiroshi took a deep, shuddering breath, regaining his composure. “Yes… you are correct. It was Domain Seki… but not both of them used it.”

Krooke and Shinzo exchanged uneasy glances. “Then… who used the second Seki?” Krooke asked cautiously.

Hiroshi’s voice was quiet but steady. “Me.”

Both Krooke and Shinzo blinked, stunned, before shouting in unison, “WHAT?!”

Shinzo’s jaw dropped. “So… you’ve unlocked Seki?!”

Hiroshi simply nodded, a flicker of grim determination in his eyes. “Yeah.”

Krooke leaned forward, curiosity replacing some of his shock. “Can you tell me what they looked like?”

Hiroshi’s gaze darkened, recalling every detail. “Yes… one was a man, short, blue-haired, wearing an open sleeveless coat. The other… a woman, dressed like some Arabian dancer, and she had a white snake.”

Krooke furrowed his brow, trying to recall what he had sensed. Meanwhile, Shinzo’s lips moved in a murmur of recognition.

“Yataro and Jinah…” Shinzo whispered, almost to himself.

Hiroshi tilted his head. “What?”

“That man,” Shinzo said, voice firm, “is Yataro—the Tyrant of Darkness. And the Arabian dancer woman? She is Jinah, the Tyrant of Poison.”

Krooke smirked faintly, impressed. “Seems like you’ve read your books.”

Shinzo scoffed. “Well… sorry, but instead of being a bookworm, I’m a soldier. I’ve seen them personally in many places, especially when we were spying on them.”

Hiroshi’s eyes widened. “Spying…? HRA also did spying…?”

Krooke raised an eyebrow. “What’s HRA?”

Shinzo waved a hand dismissively. “Let’s skip the questions for now. We just need to focus on reaching Ryumi—and run as fast as we can.”

The three of them approached the next door. It wasn’t a normal door. The surface appeared translucent and fleshy, like a living membrane stretched across the doorway.

Hiroshi hesitated, placing a hand gently on the surface. The moment his skin touched it, flames licked across the membrane, burning it away harmlessly, and revealing the next chamber.

“What?!” Hiroshi muttered, confused.

They stepped into a room vast beyond comprehension. The walls were darker than charcoal, swallowing the little light that spilled in. The air was heavy, thick with age and unspoken power.

At the far end of the chamber stood a giant, ancient door. Its surface was carved with strange, intricate patterns, but what drew the eye first were the eight dragon heads that perched on the upper areas of the walls—two on each side—each staring down at them with hollow, empty eyes as though measuring their worth.

The room was silent. But the silence felt alive.

Shinzo rubbed the back of his neck, looking around nervously. “So… what are we supposed to do here exactly?” he asked, voice tinged with unease.

The room responded almost immediately. The walls trembled, a low, grinding sound echoing through the vast chamber. The giant door at the far end creaked ominously, and from its edges, orange glowing lines began to flow toward the center. They twisted and curled, weaving together until a face emerged. One eye was wide, googly, and gleaming with joy; the other was tightly shut, as if scared. Half the mouth curled into a cheerful smile, while the other half drooped in sorrow.

A deep, resonant voice echoed from the door. “Welcome, O’ survivors of the maze. I am Chiemon—the door of infinite wisdom.”

Krooke stepped forward, his usual arrogance tempered by respect, and spoke solemnly. “O’ door of wisdom, let the path of our journey be open, and allow us passage.”

The door’s eyes twinkled and shifted slightly, considering. “You shall only pass when you answer riddles of mine.”

Hiroshi instinctively stepped forward, Shinzo close behind him. “How many riddles?” Hiroshi asked, voice steady but cautious.

Chiemon’s expression shifted. The happy eye blinked twice rapidly, and the sad side frowned deeper. “One per head.” he replied, his voice carrying a strange mix of mirth and menace.

Shinzo’s grin was thin but determined. “Then let it begin.”

The door’s expression darkened, and the eight dragon heads mounted on the walls came to life. Their mouths opened slightly, and Chiemon’s deep, rumbling voice spoke again. “The first question is for the Flame-demi god.”

Hiroshi froze. “Huh?! How do you know who I am?”

Chiemon’s eyes—both halves of the door’s strange visage—fixed on him. “I know everyone in this universe. Every secret, every memory, every regret,” the door said, a deep chuckle rumbling through the chamber. “Here is your riddle:

Time kneels mute before my sight,
Gods grow old beneath my light.
No oil or ember fuels my flame,
Who am I? Even darkness trembles at my name.”

As the riddle echoed, the dragon heads exhaled a green, glimmering goo that dripped and slid down toward them. The substance was thick, slimy, and ominously cold.

Shinzo recoiled. “What the—SLIME?!”

Krooke’s eyebrows shot up. “Hey! You didn’t tell us about that!”

Shinzo gave him a sharp, judging look. “Didn’t you say you read about this place in the books?”

Krooke threw up his hands defensively. “That doesn’t make me an all-knowing entity!”

Shinzo shrugged. “Fair enough…”

Chiemon interrupted, voice echoing with impatience. “The slime will keep falling, and it will suffocate you if you do not answer in time.”

The slime had already begun to rise, pooling at their feet, cold and sticky.

“Hiroshi! You better answer in time!” Shinzo shouted, panic in his voice.

Hiroshi’s eyes narrowed, analyzing each line of the riddle. “Time kneels before it… which means it never dies. Even gods grow old beneath its light…”

The slime reached their calves, clinging to their legs and chilling them through their clothing.

“Which means it is eternal… and a light source,” Hiroshi continued, his voice calm but urgent.

The slime now crept past their knees, thick and slimy, making it harder to move.

“No oil or ember can fuel its flames…” Hiroshi muttered, voice rising with realization. “Which means it is a fire source that lasts forever without any fuel…”

Shinzo and Krooke’s eyes darted around frantically. Panic flickered across their faces as the slime crept past their waists.

“Even darkness trembles before it… which means it is…” Hiroshi paused, his gaze flicking upward to the glowing lines that formed Chiemon’s face.

Shinzo’s voice was urgent, almost desperate. “Hiroshi…! You better hurry!”

Then, a spark of realization hit him. His eyes flickered bright, the same fire that always burned in him now flaring stronger. “I… GOT IT! ETERNAL FLAMES!”

The door’s face brightened, and the dragon heads stilled. A few residual drops of slime dripped from their mouths, but the dangerous flood halted instantly.

Chiemon’s voice carried a tone of satisfaction, tinged with amusement. “Correct answer.”

Small, circular pores appeared in the floor beneath them. With a hiss, the slime drained away almost instantly, disappearing into the stone as the pores sealed shut, leaving the floor spotless.

Chiemon’s face shifted again, the happy eye sparkling with mischief while the sad eye narrowed in anticipation. “Now, it’s time for the smart engineer to be tested.”

Shinzo straightened, a glint of determination in his eyes. “I’m ready,” he said, voice calm but confident.

The door’s pattern glowed, and Chiemon spoke, each word carrying weight like a cosmic decree:

“I shine where cosmic oceans churn,
I storm where lightning’s legions burn.
No chain can bind my celestial fire,
What am I? Who surges through space like a boundless pyre.”

As the riddle’s syllables faded, green slime began to drip again from the eight dragon heads. It hissed as it fell, thick and sticky, pooling around their feet.

Shinzo rested his chin on his right hand, eyes narrowing, lips pursed like a scientist contemplating the universe itself. “So…” he murmured, “cosmic ocean is the universe… filled with stars, filled with plasma. And lightning strikes… contain plasma too.”

The slime reached their ankles, a chilling reminder that time was short.

He continued, almost thinking aloud. “But plasma can be contained, bound… if we speak of the unbound form… it must be…”

The slime barely crossed their calves, allowing them enough mobility to pace nervously. Shinzo’s eyes suddenly lit up, a flash of insight cutting through the chaos.

“Plasmatic Energy!” he declared, voice echoing across the chamber. “You can contain plasma, but never its energy!”

Immediately, the slime ceased its fall. A few drops lingered on the floor, dripping lazily from the dragon heads’ mouths.

Chiemon’s face twisted into a pleased expression, the happy eye practically beaming. “You were quick! Correct answer!”

With a hiss, the slime drained into the floor through tiny pores once again, leaving the chamber eerily clean.

Shinzo straightened, chest puffed out, a self-satisfied smirk tugging at his lips. “Sometimes… my genius is… it's almost frightening,” he said, voice dripping with theatrical pride.

Krooke groaned audibly, rolling his eyes in pure exasperation. “Ugh… please stop showing off, Einstein. You’re cringing everyone here.”

Shinzo ignored him, letting a small, smug smile linger.

Chiemon’s glowing face shifted once more. The joyful eye dimmed. The sorrowful eye widened, trembling as if burdened by ancient grief.

“Very well,” the door intoned, its voice lowering into something grave. “It is now the turn of the cursed child.”

Shinzo blinked, genuinely startled. “Cursed… child?” he muttered, then slowly turned his head toward Krooke. “You mean… Krooke?”

“What?!” Hiroshi exclaimed, eyes snapping to him.

Krooke didn’t react. He merely stepped forward.

“Begin,” he said flatly, his voice stripped of emotion.

The glowing on the door lines pulsed, and Chiemon spoke again—each word cutting deeper than the last.

“They kneel for power, deaf to whispered cost,
And rise as kings on all they’ve lost.
Loved names are paid where blessings burn,
What deal grants might—then makes you yearn?”

The dragon heads roared.

This time, the slime didn't pour normally.

the thick, viscous green waves crashed down at twice the speed, splashing violently against the stone floor.

Yet Krooke didn’t move.

He didn’t think. He didn’t breathe.

His eyes went distant—empty—as if pulled backward through time.

Then—

A scream.

A woman’s scream.

Krooke’s pupils widened. His breath caught. Tears welled instantly, blurring his vision.

The world around him dissolved. he saw some sort of a vision.

He saw it again.

A dimly lit room. White walls. A hospital bed.

A woman lay there—pale, trembling. A child cried somewhere nearby, small and helpless.

Beep.

The heart monitor flickered.

Beep…

The woman’s chest rose weakly.

Beep…

Her hand twitched.

Beep……

Her heartbeat slowed.

Beep………

The sound stretched—thin, fragile.

Then—

BEEEEEEEEEEP.....!

Flat.

Gone.

The child’s cries grew louder as hands lifted him away from her lifeless body.

Krooke tried to shout, but for some reason— he couldn't

the memory shattered like glass.

Reality slammed back into place.

The slime had already reached their waists.

“KROOKE!” Shinzo shouted, panic cracking his voice. “What the hell are you doing?! THINK! We’ll die!”

“Hurry up!” Hiroshi barked, fear leaking into his tone. “Answer it!”

No response.

Krooke stood frozen, trembling.

“They kneel… for power…” his mind whispered.

The slime surged higher.

“Deaf to the whispered cost…”

It climbed to their chests.

“They rise as kings…” Krooke thought, fists clenched. “On all they’ve lost…”

“KROOKE!!” Shinzo screamed, desperation raw in his voice.

The slime crept toward their necks.

“Loved names are paid…”

Tears streamed freely down Krooke’s face.

“Where blessings burn…”

The slime brushed their chins.

“KROOKE!! PLEASE!” Shinzo begged, his voice breaking.

Hiroshi’s fists tightened.

His hope collapsed.

“The deal that grants… might…”Krooke thought, choking.

“And then makes you yearn…”

The slime reached their lips.

Hiroshi closed his eyes.

Shinzo did the same.

Accepting death.

And then—

Krooke screamed.

“THE FAUSTIAN BARGAIN!!”

To Be Continued...