Simon Says: Don’t Laugh!

Ryo edged forward, torch crackling in his hand, while the temple corridor stretched ahead like a never-ending prank tunnel. The arched ceiling of purple stone was carved with mocking faces that seemed to track his every step.

Perfect—hallway designed by the Joker, he grumbled inwardly as the others followed close behind.

Yuna shuffled along clutching her rag doll. Gumi-chan had perched on the girl's hood like a bouncy pom-pom, shifting from mint-green to pink each time a board creaked. Sugi, Chio, and Doi kept their chipped weapons ready. Toru brought up the rear, whisper-prayers that sounded more like growls.

A high-pitched hum rippled through the walls, and the compass quivered on Ryo's chest. Letters flashed across its glass:

[Compass] Trap detected: prank floor in 5 steps.

"Everyone freeze," he ordered. "Floor ahead wants to be hilarious at our expense."

Sugi shrugged. "How bad can a stone prank be?"

Ryo tested the flagged tile with his boot, then stepped back. Instantly the slab sank a few inches and—FWEEE!—a shower of multicolor confetti mixed with glitter rained from hidden ceiling ports, punctuated by a trumpet squeal. The paper scraps crackled, ignited, and ricocheted like tiny flares down the hall.

"Ah… flaming confetti. Totally normal," Ryo muttered, brushing sparks off his tunic. "Good thing it wasn't an Indiana-Jones boulder. Trickster god loves carnival, I guess."

[Compass] Wisdom I — 58 min remaining.

"Thanks for the countdown, magic Siri," he grumbled.

They moved on, hopscotching suspicious tiles. Every twenty steps the compass pinged mini-alerts—[Compass] Tattletale brick or [Compass] Poison breath (just kidding)—and Ryo disarmed each gag with quick thinking or improvised hero lines. If I earned a yen per 'fun test,' I'd have paid off my mortgage—oh wait, I'm dead, he mused.

Toru paused by a relief: a grinning sun with its tongue out. "Breeze here," he murmured.

The old man prodded the edge; a stone depressed, click—a side panel hissed open, breathing stale air. Beyond lay a circular chamber, dimly lit.

Ryo raised the torch. The floor was tiled in bright colors; at the center stood a dry clown-shaped fountain. Above an inner arch, runes wriggled like streamers.

[Compass] Hall of Laughing Mirrors. Recommended reading.

Time to flex Wisdom I. Ryo held the torch to the runes; letters reshuffled like auto-subtitles:

"Only one who laughs with the reflection may pass unburdened."

"Reflection… mirror?" he muttered.

"There's no mirror—just that creepy fountain," Chio said, pointing.

Yuna stepped forward, Gumi-chan bouncing on her hood. Peering into the clown's gaping mouth, she found a sooty mirror. "It's dirty," she diagnosed.

Gumi-chan slid down her braid, flopped into the bowl, and covered the glassy disc. Blorp!—the slime cleaned it sparkling-clear. Light flared, reflecting the party… with a twist: every image sported a bright red clown nose.

A burst of canned laughter wheezed from the fountain base; the colored tiles rotated and rose into stairs leading to the inner door.

"That easy?" Sugi asked, scratching his cheek.

"Easy but humiliating," Ryo said, eyeing his virtual nose. "Let's move before it gets creative."

They hustled up the steps; noses vanished past the threshold. Something else changed: Gumi-chan shook like a wet dog and spat out a gleaming marble of glass into Yuna's hand.

"Look, shiny!"

[Compass] Mirror Fragment acquired (1/7). Wisdom affinity +5.

"Sounds like a collectible," Toru observed.

"Everything's a collectible lately," Ryo groaned. "If it fixes the compass, fine."

The corridor narrowed. Dark jester lamps dangled overhead. A faint hee-hee-hee drifted near—no prerecorded track this time.

"Quiet," Ryo whispered.

The torchlight seemed to collapse inward as gray-violet smoke seeped from the walls, shaping hazy silhouettes. Laughter swelled to a raspy chorus. From the mist emerged lanky black figures in white smiling masks—the Laughing Shadows.

The bandits fell back. "This was not in the contract," Sugi squeaked.

The shadows mimicked every move with a one-second lag. Ryo lifted the torch; his clone raised a violet-smoke torch. Yuna tugged his sleeve; a mini shadow tugged likewise.

[Compass] Reflective entities detected. Tip: don't imitate—innovate.

"Innovate, huh…" Ryo raised his right hand high. A copy did the same. He cracked his arm down like a whip and yelled, "Panic kick!"

The shadow tried a kick—no floor beneath; it destabilized and poofed into purple sparks. Sugi clapped in confusion; every shadow clapped—then several exploded.

"Reverse Simon Says!" Chio exclaimed.

"Everyone—do nonsense!" Ryo ordered.

Toru helicoptered his staff, Yuna butterfly-flapped, Sugi did a drunken chicken shuffle… shadows mirrored each absurdity and dissolved in fits of muffled cackles. A dozen silly gestures later, the hall was clear, miasma retreating.

Ryo slumped on a wall. "I'm a clown—but breathing."

"That was fun," Yuna giggled while Gumi-chan chirped happily.

[Compass] Protection I — 45 % → 65 % (team coordination).

"You level me up by making me ridiculous," Ryo muttered. "Hope that pays off someday."

The corridor ended at an octagonal chamber. A massive compass relief filled one wall—each cardinal point a laughing face in different poses. Before it, on a cracked lectern, rested a purple-leather tome stamped with a jester-compass sigil.

The compass throbbed violently:

[Compass] Major artifact detected: "Book of the Broken Paths." Warning: reading is irreversible.

Toru's eyes narrowed. "Legend says whoever opens it gains knowledge—at the cost of memories."

"Great," Ryo sighed. "Learn something useful, forget my bank PIN. Not that I need ATMs here, but still."

"We… could leave it," Sugi offered.

Stone faces rotated, glaring. An iridescent breeze urged the book open.

Compass showed 65 % Protection; Wisdom still active. If I lose memories, please take my old job interviews, Ryo prayed, reaching out.

"Try this first," Toru said, handing him Yuna's mirror fragment.

The shard shone. It reflected torch and compass, fusing them in the gleam. Ryo pressed it to the tome's cover; the book swelled and flipped pages until it stopped at a blank sheet.

Words etched themselves:

"He who walks without a map walks without end. Align the points and straighten the laugh."

The letters curled into a tiny compass pointing at Ryo's chest; the shard embedded in the cover, sealing it.

[Compass] Book read: progress 1/3. Laugh aligned.

The giant compass relief rotated, faces snapping into correct N-S-E-W order. A resonant clack—floor panels parted, revealing turquoise-lit stairs descending.

Compass glowed:

[Compass] Protection I complete. Bonus: Guard Instinct +5 %.[Compass] New destination: Stone Guardian Chamber.

Guard instinct—five percent. Just enough to die slightly slower, Ryo thought.

Behind him Gumi-chan bloooped shyly, glowing blue; Yuna hugged it.

"Down we go," Ryo said, "before the décor wants a rematch."

One by one they vanished into the shimmering stairwell. Ryo felt his mind intact—only a vague childhood image of avoiding a swing set blurred at the edges. Entrance fee in minor memories, maybe.

Yuna's voice echoed: "When we find Mom, I'll tell her Gumi-chan saved the day."

"And that we nearly stepped on her thinking she was an owl," Ryo joked.

And pray tomorrow I still remember my name, he added silently, as turquoise shadows swallowed them and the temple's mocking whispers faded behind.

End of Chapter 7.