Spiral Danger

The third chamber and corridor were both easy to pass than the two chambers. We only had to balance ourselves.

The chamber was a wide space with a big platform at the center. To get there we had to balance ourselves on the small footholds that were scattered around the room. One foothold could only hold one foot so everybody had to be careful.

I noticed that each foothold had a character on it. I immediately took my notes and checked the last poem, the one that we had not used yet.

'Traps! Traps! Are his favorite

Be careful on where you step

Step on the wrong one then go splat

Just step on the correct one and you're safe

But guess what it is'

"Traps are his favorite." I muttered. A light bulb immediately lit on my head. "Guys! Step on the characters that spell Zhang Li Er's name!"

"Why?" asked Fa Xiao Min.

"The poem. It says Traps are his favorite and Zhang Li Er liked them! Plus he helped build the place!"

Everyone agreed. Those who could not recognize the characters for Zhang Li Er studied it a bit before proceeding on challenging the footholds.

Luckily my friends and I were dancers so balance didn't pose a problem. Even to Artemis and Jessa. Fa Xiao Min on the other hand as well as some of his men was totally failing at it. Some of them also stepped on the wrong foothold. Four of them had already fallen to their deaths. We were not sure what was down there though and I don't have any plans on knowing.

Once we reached the center platform I did a headcount and only thirteen of us were left.

"Zhang! Are you trying to kill us one by one? I already lost five men since we began this journey!" Fa Xioa Min complained.

"How is that my fault? You were the one who stepped on the trap that killed your henchman last time and it's not exactly my fault some of your men can't even balance themselves! If you didn't only drag us here in the first place, none of this would happen!�� I retorted. "What do you even want from this place anyway? It's supposed to be undisturbed."

"That's none of your business brat. Just get us to the main chamber and then let's get out of here."

I clicked my tongue and looked around. There were neither doors nor any forms of exits on the walls except for the one we entered from.

"So… the exit is probably here or down there." I looked around the platform then I noticed the different crests scattered around it. Some of it even seemed very familiar.

I headed to the center, careful not to step on any of the crests, and read the inscription that was written in Rexon.

"'Stand on the crests of the twelve champions and their leader, in the order of their birth with the leader last.' What the hell? The instruction is actually very straightforward."

"The instruction sounds like a direction for a written exam." Seven commented. "But what the hell does it mean?"

I was in deep thought. Crests of the twelve champions. The order of birth. It sounded very familiar. The instructions were also written in Rexon and from what I just found out, Liu Qing also spoke it.

I looked at the crests that seemed familiar.

'He's from the Agymista, that one is obvious. Liu Qing is a resident of Rexo Empire as well and he's probably close or one of the band of heroes that Artemis (Agymista's Artemis) led! If that's so…'

"Okay, I will need all your help!" I announced.

"What do we have to do?" Kyle asked.

"Just listen to my instructions and stand where I tell you."

We stood at the edges of the platform, the only place where the symbols weren't carved.

"Xander! Stand on the one with the snowflake!"

"How ironic." I heard him mumble but he stood there anyway. I heard a click when he did so and knew my guess was right.

"Artemis, stand on the one with circles connected to a line. The one on your left! Kyle, the one with the dragon. Jessa, the one with the unicorn head. Seven the one with a single water drop. Blake that thing that looks like a bright star! No! The one behind you! Calvin that one with a scorpion! You, henchman number one! Step on that one with a phoenix! Mister Fa the one that looks like a wolf's head. Just stop complaining already! Henchman number two that one that looks like an hourglass! Henchman number three that one with a circle inside a triangle! And you henchman number four that one that looks like a wind in a circular formation!"

Lastly, I stepped on the one with a triangle that had pentagrams on each tip and a spiral formation at the center.

The crests were the symbols Agymista's twelve heroes and their leader, Artemis.

With a series of clicks the floor broke apart, except for the edges and the symbols we were stepping on. One by one, in a reverse order, the crests huddled in one area, just to my left. We all stood there together.

"My gosh! That almost gave me a heart attack!" Calvin exclaimed.

"Guys! Look!" Xander pointed downward and I saw stairs.

Under the platform was an empty space with only narrow stairs as the path.

"It looks really… deep and dark." Blake commented.

"We'll have to go down." I said.

"No shit Sherlock." Artemis said and patted my shoulder. "No offense."

I only shrugged at her response.

"Dude, henchman numbers one to four?" Jessa glared at me. "Your naming sense sucks."

"Sue me." I returned a glare. "Let's all be very careful. One wrong step and you will go all the way down. And I'm pretty sure there's no cushion down there."

As we trudged down the stairs, I suddenly noticed Seven's strange behavior. I tapped Artemis who was just in front of me. I told her my observation and looked at Seven's direction as well. She suddenly jumped down just in time to catch Seven's hand. It turned out he fainted.

"Shit!" Xander exclaimed. "I thought he had it under control!"

"What do you mean Xander-ge?"

"Back in the corridor. He got himself pricked with this suspicious crystal that was growing out of the wall. He said it was nothing! It must be poisonous!"

I looked at the dangling Artemis that was holding on what looked like a small gap on the wall. And since they were basically under us, neither the rope nor us could reach them.

"""ARTEMIS!"""

"WHAT?! Can somebody just get us up ASAP?! He's so damn heavy and I'm slipping!"

***

I was slowly brought down with a rope and harness to Artemis and Seven's location. She was trying to wake Seven up but it was futile. Whatever poison or fluid that entered his bloodstream must've been a potent one.

"Can you swing to my direction?" I asked.

"I… bloody can't!" she responded in English.

"I'll swing to yours then." I looked up. "Hold it firmly!"

I started swinging towards them. "On my count! Let go and I'll catch you!"

"What? Fine!"

"Okay! One… two… three!"

Artemis let go of the gap and I caught her hand on time. Holding both their weights though was very taxing for my thin arms.

"Okay! Pull us up!" I looked up and saw the ones left above that they were struggling in holding us.

I suddenly heard a whistling sound and I saw something hit the rope we were hanging on.

"Shit!" I cursed in English.

"What do you mean shit?" Artemis questioned.

My eyes widened as the rope started unraveling. I realized that we did not have the time to be pulled up and that some sacrifices might have to be made.

"Kyle!" I called. "Lead them to the main chamber! You know what to do!"

"What are you talking about?" he yelled back.

"The rope! It won't hold us for long!"

"What do you-"

"Just promise me! We���ll meet there!"

The rope snapped. I heard a scream (which might've been me) and I felt weightless. We plunge into the unknown abyss.

I didn't know how long we fell or where we landed but I was sure I fainted along the way because I started dreaming again.

I was standing inside a room. In front of me was a screen and I can see a shadow that was changing.

"So, what's your name?" asked a girl's voice from behind the screen. "And how old are you this year?"

"Liu Qing. I'm ten this year."

"I see. I really messed it up then." I heard her sigh in disbelief. "No I'll have to find Deia. If she's here that is."

"Who's Deia? And who are you?"

"My name's Hauria Celestine. I'm actually in the middle of time-travelling, but something happened so I got derailed and I landed here."

A girl that wore the traditional female Han clothing stepped out from the screen and she looked really good at it.

"You're not a citizen of the Han Empire, yet you look like one."

"I'm half or is it quarter? Anyway, one of my ancestors was Chinese or rather a Han, my grandfather too was Han. Happy?" she scoffed. "Do you know a shaman or a witch nearby?"

"Uhm… No, not really."

"Don't you have shamans here?"

"Well we do, but-"

"Never mind. I'll find one on my own. Thank you for the help."

The girl, or rather, Hauria walked out of the room then I woke up.

I woke up gasping. I immediately looked around and realized that I was in another chamber. I looked to my side and saw Artemis and Seven who were both unconscious.

"Where am I?" I asked myself.

"You're in a chamber not that far from the emperor's chamber." I yelped when I noticed the young man, who looked younger than me, that was sitting behind me.

"Who-"

"I found you falling, so I scooped you guys up then brought you here. Ah, that kid's poison is not that deadly but I already gave him an antidote for it. This is why you should really be careful in unknown narrow spaces."

I studied the young man. He was wearing armor with a strange dark green color on it, but its designs were befitting that of an ancient Chinese general. His hairstyle though made me think twice, it was that of a modern one, a barber's cut. He had black hair and milky skin. The longer I stared at him the more familiar he seemed.

"What is it?"

That one too. He spoke in standard modern Mandarin.

"You look a lot like someone I know. Speaking of, I wonder how they are." I said.

I scooted closer to my unconscious friends and tried to wake them up.

"They should be on their way to the main chamber. They do have one of my descendants with them to act as the guide." he replied.

'Descendants? Wait…'

"That's it! You look like Calvin!" I yelled.

The young man and Calvin did look alike. From the unruly black hair, milky white skin, dark brown eyes and even the prominent cheeks which Calvin boasted to where his high notes came from.

"I believe it's Kim Shi Young."

"His stage name and nickname is calvin."

"Oh… I see."

"So… who are you? No offense. I'm thankful you saved us and all, but it's just I don't even know your name."

"That's just fair. I'm Liu Fen, Emperor Yue's younger brother, former sixth prince of the Western Han Dynasty as well as the former commander of the Imperial Guards."

"But-but- you- you're here. And your hairstyle is-"

"Oh that. I do have to adapt to the changes you know. If there is one constant thing in this world, that's change. And maybe me. And besides, human civilization changes too often."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see."

I abruptly stood up but a wave of nausea overwhelmed my senses and I stumbled forward. The man, Liu Fen, caught me.

"You're still not well. You should rest."

He placed a hand on my head and I suddenly felt drowsy. Before I could even ask what he did to me, darkness claimed me.

When I woke up again I oddly felt refreshed. I left the spot where I was lying and searched around. Unfortunately, I found no one. I immediately panicked because I remembered that Artemis and Seven were with me. And there was Liu Fen too.

I walked on the path littered with glowing green crystals and found myself on a riverbank. I could smell the fresh water that was flowing underground. At the bank, I saw three silhouettes. I went closer and saw that the silhouettes were Artemis, Seven and Liu Fen. They were laughing around a bonfire.

"Is it even advisable to light a fire? We're underground you know." I said the moment I got closer.

"It's magic you don't have to worry about that." replied Liu Fen. "By the way, you can just call me Fen."

"You sure? You're Calvin's great-a hundred times grandfather." Seven answered. His voice was filled with humor.

"You told them?"

"Of course! They are Calvin's friends."

"One question though." interrupted Artemis. "How are you still alive? I mean, if you're really Liu Fen as in Emperor Yue's brother. That's scientifically impossible."

"There are things not even Science can solve Artemis and it's not because of it why I'm in this situation but it was because of an experiment why I'm in this situation."

"What do you mean?" I asked and joined them.

"Hauria-jie and Li Er-ge were very fond of experimenting different kinds of potions. My brother and I, and even Shen Yu and Yixing would suffer at it." he smiled. "That time, it was supposed to be a polyjuice potion like the one in Harry Potter, and my brother and I were the test subjects."

"Polyjuice potion." Artemis snickered.

"Yes. Anyway Qing-ge turned into a child while I fell into a coma. The effects lasted for about a week. When I woke up, it was already a day before my marriage date but nevertheless, I felt fine. It was after a few years that we noticed I didn't change, physically." Fen smiled bitterly. "I was already twenty-six and I already had two kids but I still looked sixteen. People started to notice and even my wife became apprehensive at me, so I decided to hide my face behind a mask and stay in the shadows more. We even had to fake my death at some point so people would stop getting suspicious. It was the most painstaking decision of my life."

"Magic." I muttered.

"You could say that. Hauria-jie said that it was a dormant skill sleeping inside me from my mother's clan. The potion was technically a poison to me so it got activated. It reconstructed my body and I was able to wield magic like Hauria and I became immortal."

We just stayed silent. It wasn't like we had anything helpful to say. The guy was stuck and had been around for two thousand years.

"I'm used to it now, don't worry. Hauria-jie said someone will be able to rid of the gift and I'll be able to live and age normally. I just haven't found that person yet."

"You'll find him… or her. You've got a lot of time in your hands you know." I said jokingly.

"True." he suddenly sighed. "We should start moving. All three of you have recovered already. We need to leave this place before they find us."

"Who? Our friends?" Seven asked.

"No. Something else. Something scarier than that creepy thin man that abducted you. If your friends followed Calvin and Kyle followed your advice they should be safe. You guys on the other hand are on the wrong path.

"What do you mean?"

"One of Qing-ge, Hauria­-jie and Li Er-ge's experiments were strange creatures. Even Shen Yu participated in it by providing the poisons that made them even more dangerous. Except for the correct path to the main chamber, every other path is littered with those creatures. Some of them actually eat humans, so we have to go."

The three of us looked at each other, and then agreed to leave.