The cohort eventually found themselves back at the original area of the dungeon, with the statues representing different beings, along with the three tablets with the daunting riddles that lived there. The second tablet was now their focus.
Where end meets fang in stones' embrace, lies the key to Nothing's boundless space
Nothing's knowledge awaits in sacred tone
A stairwell stirs from shadows' trace, descending deep to where secrets are embraced
Shatter the guard that devours its own, thus awaking the steps to the empty throne
Tasim looked towards the tablet, then up at the statues, specifically the ouroboros, and laughed mockingly as Astrape and Anemone stood there stumped at what the answer may be.
"What are you laughing at? Help us out." Anemone scoffed.
"You ladies got this."
"Oh, whatever. Father, how about you help us?"
"I'm sorry, young one, but I need to rest for a moment, and if Tasim believes you can do it, then I believe in you."
"It's okay, Anemone. We can do it ourselves." Astrape spoke calmly.
Anemone calmed down from her slight anger at Tasim and then responded, "Thank you. You are right, we can do it."
"We can both just break it down, line by line. I believe in us."
"You're right."
Anemone stood, looking at the tablet, unaware of her surroundings, but Astrape was different. She read the fourth line, knowing they must destroy something, then examined her surroundings, and then she had an 'aha' moment, causing Astrape to let out a very light giggle as she looked to Anemone.
"Don't look at the first line, look at all of them."
"What does that even mean?"
Astrape stepped back, where Tasim stood, and cheered on Anemone, who was trying to understand the first line without looking at the entirety.
"Anemone, the fourth line," Tasim remarked as Astrape joined him.
Anemone looked towards the fourth line, then read it again, and again, her mind focusing on the word 'Shatter.' Then Anemone looked down at the ground and shook her head in disbelief.
"I'm a fool," she muttered before speaking aloud to everyone. "Someone, destroy that ouroboros statue, please.
"Congratulations, you did it." Tasim laughed jokingly.
"Don't make fun of me."
Tasim stepped forward, ready to destroy the statue, but then Astrape announced.
"I got it, don't waste your mana." Astrape jumped up, unsheathing her short sword and slashing at the stone statue of a snake that devoured itself, and it crumbled into pieces, raining debris onto the stone floor, thus shattering into dust and creating a small wave.
The moment after the statue was destroyed, a rumble was heard, then the tablets descended into the floor, into darkness, then the floor opened up and revealed a staircase. Eery echoes was coming from within the shrouded staircase. The cohort began to descend, one after another, Tasim again being the one to hold the torch and take the lead.
Astrape was following behind him diligently, keeping close and listening for anything that may lurk in the shadows, but all that could be heard was the cadence of their steps as they descended into the darkness.
Below was a room that was veiled in complete and utter darkness, which was barely pierced by the torch. Through the darkness, a large vertical obelisk stood, multiple, each that the cohort discovered had runic language imprinted on it, which none could decipher. This room turned out to be useless to them, but as each witnessed an obelisk, their bodies each flared up slightly: Tasims' left wrist, Anemones' side of her stomach, Father's chest, and Astrapes' inner thigh. Each marking that now covered a certain corner of their bodies began to expand.
Tasim looked to his left wrist and watched as the chain expanded. It soon became a cufflink and surrounded his entire wrist, then small branches trailed off in random directions, making it seem like the chain was an anchor, and small threads grew from it. As the threads grew up his forearm, he felt much more powerful, surging with energy, as he had just become a new, more powerful person.
Each person was going through a similar metamorphosis, as though a well of energy had been finally opened deep within, but Father didn't. He instead felt relief; he felt as though his leg was being held down at first, the same leg that was being corroded and eaten away by the necrosis, but now whatever was holding it down was gone. When he touched his leg, he could tell that the necrosis still adorned his leg, causing him to feel a tinge of anger, as he had hoped it would disappear.
"Do you all also feel a little bit stronger?" Anemone asked everyone.
"I do," Astrape replied.
"Mhm." Tasim nodded, though no one could see him as he was holding the torch away to try and decipher the texts.
"I gu- yes." Father said, stuttering as he decided to try and act happy.
"Okay, good, so I am not the only one. I wonder what it is from."
"I don't know, young one, maybe it's this room."
"It does feel different from the others."
"Mass amounts of mana do fill the air," Tasim interjected.
"Oh, how do you know? Mr. Smart guy?" Anemone joked.
"Because I am skilled in life magic."
"So what? You can just sense mana?" She asked slightly mockingly, but still not being serious.
"Yes, exactly," Tasim said dryly, and a long silence filled the air.
"…okay…" Anemone had no response; she instead just decided to give up on this room, as no one could decipher anything.
Tasim stood, eventually also giving in, but not before coming up with an idea.
"Astrape, do you still have that paper and quill?"
"Yes, do you need it?"
"Obviously.."
Astrape handed over the piece of paper and quill as Tasim began to copy some of the runes onto the piece of paper, then, as he finished a small section and the paper was full, he stored it in his ring, along with the quill in case he needed it.
"Anemone, would you be fine with us returning and resting?" Astrape said, turning her head away from Tasim's direction.
"Yes, we need to. Father doesn't look especially well. Let's end the expedition here and return, then get together some time to get the scrolls checked out."
The cohort eventually left the darkness-shrouded room, exited the dungeon, and made their way back to the city while the dark sky loomed overhead, stars twinkling in the sky, and a blood moon sat in view.
'What the hell were those runes in that first chamber?' Tasim looked to his wrist, which had the chainlink marking around it. He tried to hide his wrist as he thought. 'I need to go back and see if they have changed, or maybe find another way to look at them.' Tasim was at the back of the cohort while they began their return journey.
Tasim, beginning to test the marking, decided to see if it affected his magic. As he walked at the back, he summoned one small ball of water with his right hand, trying to gauge how he felt versus before and after to see how much mana he had spent. He pictured a vial filled with a purple liquid, then as he summoned the ball of water and shot it, it slowly shrank and was expended. He then did the same with his left hand, and his mana expenditure was half as much. The effectiveness of the spell was on par with his spells when he put all his focus into it, yet this time, he put barely any, and it still cost less mana.
He wanted to practice more, but he found that they were already back in the city. He split off from the rest of the cohort, making his way to a small, lonesome house where he was staying. One elderly man greeted him, one hand putting weight on his cane, while the other was on his back, which was bent forward. The other person was an elderly woman with blonde hair, grey eyes, and in her hand was a cup of tea, which had steam rising from its liquid.
"Hello, deary." The old woman's voice wheezed.
"Hello, ma'am. Please sit, don't stand for me."
Tasim lent one hand to the woman and helped her down to a stood that sat in front of a wooden island in their kitchen.
"Oh, thank you, deary. You're so sweet.
The woman sat down, and the elderly man picked up his cane, hitting Tasim's back.
"You're late, youngster. Thirty-eight hours. That's how long you were gone." The old man's body shook as he talked.
"I'm sorry, sir. The dungeon was more perilous than I had imagined."
"What did I say about calling me sir?" The old man hit Tasim with the cane again. "Call me, Master Chi."
"Yes, Master. I apologize."
The old man raised his cane again, ready to hit Tasim, but before that, Tasim blurted out.
"Master Chi!"
"Good. Now go rest, tomorrow, wake up, and we will do some training."
"Yes, Master..." Tasim turned to leave, but not before remembering to finish the elderly man's name. "…Master Chi."
The early morning sun peered through Tasim's window, casting a soft glow as he sat up, yawning. He looked around, his vision blurry due to just waking up and the addition of not having his glasses on yet. He reached over, grabbed his circular glasses, and put them over his eyes as he stood.
He walked around the bed he was lying on, fixing it up, and then opening his closet, he pulled out a white tunic, tossed it on the bed, then pulled out a pair of red trousers that fit loosely, which he again tossed onto the bed.
Tasim then stood, spreading the curtains and peering off into the lands. He rested on the side of the city; he could see fields of greenery; farmers were working diligently as Tasim was watching from his room. The women and men alike were experts in their crafts as they diligently plowed into the land, planting new crops.
The bright sun shone into his eyes as he looked around. The sunrise was breathtaking, though he only caught the final glimpse of it as the sun had risen above the ground. Tasim was actively dressing himself in the tunic and trousers as he heard a knock on his door.
"Get up, brat." Then a soft slap connected to clothing was heard outside that same door, then another soft voice.
"Dear, don't be so mean."
The door was then opened forcefully as the elderly man known as Master Chi entered.
"Hurry up, youngster. It's time for your first lesson in gardening."
"I can figure it out on my own."
"Don't you know who you're talking to? I'm not that group of friends you went off with yesterday, refer to me as-"
"They weren't my friends."
"I said refer to me as Master Chi." The man said before smacking Tasim with his cane that he used to walk. "And don't interrupt me, brat."
"Yes, Master Chi."
"Good, now hurry up."
The old man turned around to his loving wife, and she began to converse with him as they walked off.
"Dear, be nice to him."
"Niceness doesn't make people grow. You must go through hardships to find who you truly are. So I am putting him through these hardships."
"I know, dear." The woman kissed the man on the cheek before going to the kitchen, resuming her creation of an apple pie.
"I love you, honey." The man said, showing a side of himself that was foreign to Tasim.
The man exited his home, entering a small fenced-off garden area that was separated from the farm. The garden grew an assortment of herbs, vegetables, fruits, and other delicacies.
Tasim followed suit and found the man wearing different clothes than when he was beating Tasim with a stick; now he was wearing a straw hat, a sharp-looking white tunic that was unbuttoned from his chest and up, and his own brown trousers with a black belt that kept them up.