It took some convincing. I tried to be patient, reminding myself that the others had never experienced a dungeon. In the end, everyone agreed to leave the more obvious door alone. 

But that still left us with two options. One set of holes corresponding with the arms, one with the feet. 

 Four arms to fight, feed, and rend.

Four legs to skitter.

I frowned. “So, if I’m reading this correctly, the passage corresponding with the arms will probably involve something with combat. While the passage with the legs will require… movement.”

“Movement?” Sae asked. 

“Running. Jumping. Something that requires more than a little agility.”

Talia growled. “The arm passage reeks of death. Though the same scent is far stronger from the back passage.” 

Nick raised his hand. “Hate to be the one to put us in harm’s way and whatnot, but my Agility is not very high.” 

“Ours isn’t great either,” Sae said, including Jinny in the statement. I knew that wasn’t exactly true. Jinny and I would probably fare well in an Agility trial, but I had no intention of watching Nick do the Indiana Jones’ boulder run in heavy armor. 

“That only leaves us with one option.” Jinny turned towards the gaping holes in the wall, looking mildly nauseous. 

“I’ll go first,” Nick volunteered immediately. 

“It really shouldn’t be you,” I said to open air, as he continued striding confidently towards the wall. “You’re our primary source of defense and direct damage.” 

“It’s not the first time I’ve been shoulder—er. Never mind. Anyway, you can’t lead from the back, Matt.” He winked at me. I felt my stomach tighten. <Jaded Eye> hadn’t triggered when I’d revealed the openings, so it should be fine. But it felt uncomfortable, not being the one taking the risks. I wondered if that was my controlling side or something else. 

“He is truly your friend?" Talia asked, the mental suggestion tagged with bewilderment. 

”Is that so hard to believe?"

“Honesty. Charisma. The bravery to take things head on. He would make a fine wolf.” It almost sounded like she was gushing. 

I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. ”Pretty sure you’re not his type.”

“Whelp. It is just curious. He is your opposite. The light to your darkness.”

Talia was trying to get under my skin, and was partially succeeding. I walked away from her, accompanying Nick to the wall. The holes undulated slightly. “Go slow—“

Nick plunged his fist into the wall. The orifice immediately constricted, locking him in. 

“What is—oh fuck.” Nick threw his head back in a rictus of agony. 

Jinny and Sae cried out in alarm. 

Even Talia jumped back, letting out a low growl. 

I crossed my arms. “Are you fucking done?” 

His face shifted into a grin. “A little comic relief never hurts.” 

I turned to Jinny, who looked anything but amused. “Looks like he’s stuck. We’re going to have to take the arm off.”

“I’ll do the cutting,” Sae growled. 

“I’ll cauterize the wound when you’re done.” Jinny offered, her expression cold. 

Nick chuckled nervously. “Okay, okay, it was in poor taste.” 

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“Let’s get this over with.” I stuck my arm in beside Nick’s. Once again, the hole closed. The interior was frigid, and slimy, and immediately made me want to take a shower despite my armor taking the brunt of it. 

Jinny followed suit. 

Sae went last, pausing just before she slid her hand in. “I swear to god, if we all end up stuck here…” She trailed off, and stuck her hand into the wall. 

Immediately, the floor beneath us shifted. Talia jumped on just in time as the floor pivoted, the wall tearing loose from the flesh that bound it as we rotated one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. As soon as it locked into place, the restraints were released. 

“Does anyone else feel…” Jinny trailed off with a grimace. 

It hit me just a second after her. A wave of rage so intense it billowed in my gut, creeping up my neck. My hands balled into fists reflexively. More than anything, I just wanted to hit something, it didn’t matter what—

I swapped into <Born Nihilist> immediately. I could still feel the anger radiating beneath it. But it was safely locked away beneath the tranquility of the title. I tore off my left gauntlet and looked at my arm. There were two tiny marks there, like a spider-bite. 

“God dammit. We’re dosed.” 

Jinny was either impervious because of her title, or her stats were high enough that she could easily shake the effect off. She was talking to Nick in a low voice, and while he sounded raspy, he was listening. 

Sae, on the other hand, was giving me a look that I could only interpret one way. Like she wanted payback. 

I ducked under a brutal haymaker. She wasn’t even bothering with the Wing Chun anymore. 

I reached out to her with <Suggestion.>

Stop. Think about what we’re doing, why we’re here.

“You made me look like an idiot.” She seethed, swinging her arm in a vicious backhand that narrowly missed my face. 

“And I promise you a rematch—” I stopped mid-sentence to shift out of the way as a foot lashed out at my head. “When we’re safe, and away from here.” I didn’t care that she would likely win, so long as it squashed this idiotic beef between us. 

Jinny caught her arm and hauled her back. “Enough.” Sae struggled against her.

And then an animalistic growl froze us all in place. It had all happened so fast I hadn’t even had time to take in our surroundings. Talia stood a few feet into the chamber, her hackles raised. Green torches came to life, illuminating the area in pairs as they toggled on like stadium lights. 

Before us was a black bridge, made of the same material as the previous room. There was no liquid accumulated on the floor in this chamber, and it was easy to see why. At the unguarded edges of the bridge was an endless void. Beyond the bridge was a circular platform, maybe fifty meters across with a large hole in the center, rotating slowly like a gothic carousel. 

Only instead of horses, there were blurry humanoid figures holding weapons. 

“Do we stay or go?” Jinny asked, her voice panicked. 

I waited, tense. The bridge was a bottleneck. If we stayed here, our mages could fire at the figures as they crossed. But only if they played by the same rules. I stared at their feet. They were walking against the movement of the carousel and heading towards us, but something about it seemed off. As if they weren’t really touching the ground. 

I watched one at the far edge as it moved closer. They were heading in a direct line, not heeding the bridge at all. It reached the edge of the circular arena, took one step off. 

And levitated. 

“Matt,” Nick said, still panting. 

“I see it. No choice. Push. Now.”

Nick charged forward, his shield arm held high, everyone else following him into the breach. I reached to the nearest blurry figure with <Suggestion,> attempting to impart hesitation and terror. 

A thousand minds screeched back. 

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