Beyond the Code
Seraphine stood with her back against the wall, looking at the beam of light in the distance. Her senses absorbed every detail, feeding them into her mind. Now was the time to calculate.
The light's intensity, its position, the number of steps, and the wheezing breath...
Every step was carefully considered, each stride approximately 0.5 meters, measured by the length of the book, because in a place without light, her eyes could no longer offer much help.
The room was divided into two parts: one safe and one dangerous. No matter how many sides the room had, Seraphine only needed to find the sword in the safe zone—where the creature couldn't reach her.
3 minutes. 10 meters. 12 meters. To the right.
A soft chuckle escaped her lips, though it held no humor—just the cold satisfaction of being one step ahead.
That creature had tender, smooth skin. Since she appeared in the room, the fragrance emanating from her delicate flesh had intoxicated it. In its life, it had never smelled such an enchanting scent. It watched. It waited. It despised her. There was no need to treat such fragile prey with respect. It didn't even conceal its observation, but openly "showed off" its craving. That captivating body, if fear took over, would it become more delicious? That fragrant blood, if despair arose, would it become warmer? It really wanted to know.
But she stopped, then turned back. That weak, white hand had been so close, just a few steps away. If only the chain would vanish, it narrowed its fiery red eyes, suppressing the saliva pooling in its mouth.
If only the chain would vanish…
It darkly pondered the prospect of placing the prey beneath it, its eyes continuing to follow the feminine human retreating, leaning against the opposite wall. Just a few short seconds later, she suddenly raised her head, her round eyes sparkling as if they held stars, her mouth moving to make some sound it couldn't understand. She locked eyes with it, unwavering, causing its tightly bound tail to twitch slightly, and its fangs to feel a bit itchy. The way that creature suddenly looked directly into its eyes, as if she could see through the darkness, see through everything without light. That made it wish it could immediately pounce and tear that small prey apart.
It wanted this chain to disappear. Immediately!
Looking directly into the eyes of the predator was a challenge.
"Got you." Seraphine leaned against the wall, after a few short seconds of contemplation, slowly raised her head to look in the opposite direction, and said with a smile.
Unable to determine exactly, but roughly identifiable.
Seraphine returned to the position of the light, looking into the darkness in front of her. She knew Murak was on the right side, relative to the door, very likely close to the wall.
The room had one side 10 meters long and two sides 12 meters long. It didn't matter how many sides the room had. She only needed to focus on the 9x10-meter safe zone she'd marked. If she couldn't find the sword in this area, the young woman suddenly lowered her eyes.
If she couldn't find the sword within this area, she—would get a little closer to that creature.
Just a little bit.
Because she didn't know the extent of Murak's "restriction," she wouldn't risk suffering the pain of losing an arm or a leg. The price for getting close to that creature wasn't just simply broken bones or being trampled until her lungs were crushed…
The bite force of 5200 psi – more than a fully grown Nile crocodile.
Seraphine brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, the light illuminating her beautiful features as if regretfully enveloping the magnificent flower below from the surrounding gloom. But that flower paid no mind. She stepped out of the illuminated area and crept along the wall to the left until she was one and a half meters away from the door.
Starting from 8 meters—a safe number for margin. Seraphine tucked a soft strand of hair behind her ear and bent down.
That creature suddenly made no more noise. Even its sticky, viscous gaze seemed to vanish into thin air, making the young woman feel as if she were the only one in this room.
Lonely. Lost.
Rustle!
Tearing the book, then placing the pages down—for the first time, her feet moved away from the wall, challenging her own senses.
10 sheets. 20 sheets. 50 sheets.
Seraphine didn't waver but continued to place the pages down. This time, the page touched the wall.
51 sheets of paper. Offset by 2 meters.
Not bad. Seraphine relaxed her tense facial muscles. Walking straight in complete darkness was almost impossible. Nine minutes had passed since Lord Zylorn's voice disappeared. Finally, she could comfortably stride confidently into the safe zone she had marked out.
Her light pink velvet slippers moved continuously without hesitation. The 'slap-slap' sound echoed continuously, sharply contrasting with her earlier silent movement. The two heads of the monster huddled together, gently touching, four eyes glancing at each other as if exchanging something. That human walked back and forth, her speed significantly faster. Every time she stepped on the thin, flat object on the floor, she turned away from it. Until the two heads felt so bored they wanted to stretch their claws and scratch the floor, she suddenly crouched down, and their gazes followed her small figure downwards.
Moving for almost half a minute, Seraphine stepped on something. She bent down and groped in the darkness. Her hand gently traced the sword from tip to hilt, then gripped it tightly.
It seemed that the great Lord Zylorn possessed an aesthetic opposite to that of humans, the young woman clicked her tongue. A sword without a scabbard was like a painting missing its colors.
"I vie to see it." Seraphine murmured.
After pulling and dragging the scabbardless sword towards the only light in the room, her blue eyes glanced at the inscription on the blade, indeed, "I vie to see it".
That was the code!
Both hands used force to try and lift the sword high. Seraphine felt her fine hairs standing on end. One side of her heart was excitedly pounding like a drum, while the other side of her brain was warning her that she should call the creature's name immediately. "Professional ethics" couldn't override reason in situations like this.
She knew the code, she shouldn't prolong the time any longer!
More than 10 minutes had passed.
But she desperately wanted to see that creature before leaving this room—an extraterrestrial being—terrifying, beautiful, intelligent—it had been her "companion" for so long in this desolate, lonely space.
This was worth it!
Seraphine, you'll have a chance to see them in the future.
No, if not now, then when? Are you sure you'll survive to reminisce about these extraordinary things?
The illustration from earlier flashed in her mind.
Her heart had won over reason.
The blade caught a ray of light, casting a faint beam that gradually sliced through the darkness, searching for a hint of color in the blackness. The room was finite. Moreover, the thing the young woman wanted to see couldn't move. So it was not surprising that after only a few short seconds, a pair of blood-red eyes was reflected in the young woman's blue eyes.
Two pairs of eyes suddenly met. One excited, one bloodthirsty.
Bright red pupils. Vertical black irises. Its eyelids, lined with weathered folds, were covered in tough, chromium-like scales.
The monster blinked its sharp, razor-like eyes as if it were friendly greeting its meal. Its enormous body, from head to tail, was tightly bound to the edge of the wall by black chains, preventing it from moving even an inch away from the wall. Its eyes met the young woman's large, round eyes. From within those fiery red eyes, Seraphine could see that it had excitedly thought of over 100 ways to "prepare" her. Her small hands still tightly gripped the sword, directing the light beam to continue gliding over the other head, which was asleep, then continued downwards, revealing rows of backward-facing thorns, curved claws like iron hooks… before slowly illuminating the tail.
The more she looked, the more her excitement diminished. Less than half a minute had passed, but negative feelings began to engulf her mind.
She had guessed correctly. It couldn't make any small movements, not even turning its body. The upper body of the two-headed monster, with its heads, necks, and forelimbs, was not only tightly chained but also confined within a cage. Her blue eyes continued to glance at the inscription on the monster's tail.
8 m 43 s.
8 m 42 s.
It was a countdown timer.
The light beam once again swept across the sleeping head. Seraphine put the sword down and leaned against the door. She quickly walked to the cage. The monster was so ruggedly terrifying, yet no fishy or foul odor emanated from its body.
The young woman stood there, just an arm's length away from the bars, staring at the sleeping head, letting the other head also stare intently at her. Or rather, more accurately, she was thoughtfully looking at a forelimb that the sleeping head was resting on, her mood gradually sinking.
Crushing a few pages of paper, Seraphine repeatedly threw them at the other head, using strong force and cursing.
"You bastards!"
"Your act is awful! Awful!"
"Beast!"
"Wake up!"
"Hey! Move your head!" The young woman used all her strength to throw a hard strike, commanding. The paper ball passed through the bars and hit the monster's eye socket. As if unable to suppress its anger any longer, its eyelid twitched slightly and opened. Vertical black pupils—characteristic of reptiles—coldly locked onto the figure of its prey. But it still didn't move.
"Can't you hear me? Hurry up and move your head!" Separated by a cage, Seraphine stomped her foot, her eyes watery, as if tears were about to spill.
"Move your head!"
That head still didn't move, letting one paper ball after another hit it. Its gloomy eyes looked at the human as if she were looking at a corpse. The other head had long since let out threatening roars, mixed with the young woman's noisy screams, making the gloomy space strangely lively.
After a while of provocation still didn't make the other head budge, the young woman ignored the angry roars behind her and staggered towards the light.
Black chains, black cage—this was the initial 20 minutes of absolute safety for humanity.
Liars!
It was all a lie!
With such a harsh challenge, how many humans would survive to enter the arena? 1000? Or 5000—out of over 200 countries, out of over 8 billion people. Would children and the elderly survive? Would the weak survive?
The weak like her.
The young woman suddenly became dejected. She slumped down, leaning against the door. The light shone on her features, shone on her figure. Utterly beautiful, and utterly delicate.
Seraphine bit her fingernail, frustration written all over her face. Beside her, the sword leaned against the door, catching the light and shining directly on Murak.
After the "encounter," the monster had abandoned the boring "silent" game. It opened its mouth wide, revealing saw-like sharp teeth, creating ferocious sounds. The whole room seemed to vibrate with each of its roars.
A high-level version of the Nile crocodile, and with two heads. Larger than described, it was almost 4 meters long, and its outstretched limbs could span over one and a half meters. Seraphine covered her ears, her eyes gloomy. There was a time when she was only an arm's length away from it, even though it couldn't move.
Had anyone ever faced a Nile crocodile barehanded?
Bite force up to 22,000 Newtons, terrifying speed, skin almost bulletproof.
If the prey still had the strength to resist and fight back, this assassin would excitedly perform the death roll—clamping down on the prey, violently rolling with terrifying force, tearing flesh, and breaking the bones of the unfortunate victim.
A brutal carnage machine.
She would have to stay in this room and be torn to pieces by it.
After observing Murak, she realized that all her previous speculations were meaningless. The appearance and behavior of this creature had completed the puzzle for this challenge. Even if the code was correct, if she couldn't step over the corpse of this monster…
Then she would still be torn to pieces by it.
Because the challenge wasn't the code. But something more abstract. It included intelligence and something she didn't have—physical strength.
Not one of the two. But both.
They wanted truly outstanding prisoners.
Die again? Seraphine slightly raised her chin, her eyes filled with melancholy as she looked at those sharp teeth and the enormous form. The monster also "friendly" bared its teeth in response to her gaze. Its claws—the young woman swallowed hard—were jet black and shiny, they must be meticulously sharpened very often. That creature would use that sharpness to stab her thigh, hold her tight, and then bite her slender waist, severing it. She would die slowly while watching and feeling her body being gnawed, as if a butcher were using a saw to cut off each part of the livestock he desired.
It would hurt like hell... Seraphine shut her eyes tightly and drew in deep, measured breaths, struggling to suppress the sudden surge of adrenaline flooding her veins.
Was there a way?
Was there any way?
"Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again…"
The murmured words echoed under the lazy gaze of the monster, smoldering until there was no other sound in the space.
Animals experience death instinctively, without the torment of fear or the anticipation of hope. Seraphine stared at Murak. Meanwhile, humans, with their complex thinking abilities and awareness of time, face death with a mixture of emotions.
"Amurda Byis Zylorn."
The monster's claws twitched slightly.
The room remained silent. Nothing happened.
Seraphine raised her head, her face devoid of emotion. She called out louder.
"The great scholar Amurda Byis Zylorn!"