Zero and Orrin kept going forward, but the corridor stretched on endlessly.
"Hey street rat, you're getting slower." Orrin adjusted his glasses. "Those hits you took from the double-beak are beginning to affect you."
"Yeah… I guess." Zero sighed. "Hopefully the examiners have something to heal me with after we pass this phase."
As they kept going, they eventually came across a stone wall in their path.
"You're joking! What the hell is this!?" Zero said.
"Oh calm down! There's probably a way past it!" Orrin started inspecting the stone wall.
"Yeah, no shit!"
"Hey…" The voice was weak, like it was from an old person.
Zero and Orrin looked confused, thinking they were the only ones in the dungeon.
"Over here!" The old man shouted from the cell on their right.
The old man had no hair on his head besides a few long white strands. His skin was rough and he was missing a few teeth. His remaining teeth were either yellow, black, or broken.
"Uhh… who are you?" Zero asked, looking at the old man.
"That's not important, young one." The old man was sitting at the end of the cell, but he stood up and sat down right in front of the bars. "Look at the top right corner of that stone wall."
Orrin raised his head, and there it was. A keyhole.
"Just great! A keyhole! Where the hell are we supposed to find a key in this place!?" Zero was frustrated.
"Do not fret, young ones. I have the key right here." The old man opened his right hand, and the key was right there.
"Really!? Thanks!" Zero reached out to grab it.
The old man quickly pulled his hand back.
"Not so fast, young one! You'll have to play a game first!"
"What game?" Orrin asked, looking down on the old man.
"We'll play three rounds, one of you will play." The old man started explaining the rules.
"I'll move the key around in my hands, and you'll have to guess which hand holds the key. If you win two of three rounds, you win. Simple, right?"
"And what's the catch?" Zero knew something was up.
The old man didn't say a word, but a smile crept onto his face.
The old man slowly raised his left hand, which started to grow bigger.
Suddenly, the old man's hand went into his arm, and the giant arm split open at the end. There were rows of sharp teeth.
"If any of you young ones lose… I'll feed you to this guy." The old man was smiling like a madman.
Orrin swallowed. "That thing's big enough to swallow a person…"
"Orrin, I'll play…" Zero said, looking at the old man.
"If that's what you want…" Orrin said, clearly stressed.
"Well, come on then, young one! Sit down!" The old man looked awfully happy.
Zero took a deep breath before kneeling in front of the cell.
The old man turned his left arm back to normal before starting the game. "Watch closely!"
The old man started moving the key between his hands. He was relatively fast, but slow enough for Zero to keep up.
The old man suddenly stopped. "Now… which hand holds the key?"
Zero didn't hesitate. "Your left hand."
"Haha! Very good! Now watch this!" The old man started moving the key between his hands.
Excellent! Now he only needs to acquire one more win! Orrin thought.
But, this time, the old man did it unbelievably fast.
All Zero saw was a blur, his eyes couldn't keep up.
What kind of old man is that fast!? Zero was panicking.
Zero wiped the sweat off his forehead before the old man stopped.
"Now… which hand holds the key?" The old man was grinning ear to ear.
Zero swallowed, fear consuming him. "Your left…"
"Wrong! That's too bad!" The old man said.
Zero started breathing heavily, not being able to focus properly due to the fear of losing.
"Hey! Focus!" Orrin said.
"Final round…" The old man started going even faster than before.
His hands were moving at an unbelievable speed.
But, Zero noticed something about the blur he was seeing.
He's only seeing the blur of his hands, not the grey blur he saw last round for the key.
"Now then… which hand holds the key?" The old man was getting ready to transform his left arm.
Zero spoke confidently. "The right. Now hand the key over."
"It seems you win! Now take the key!" The old man extended his right hand, giving away the key.
Zero grabbed the key, but as soon as he turned around, the old man went for his head.
The old man's giant arm was right behind Zero's head, hungry for food.
"Zero! Move!" Orrin pushed Zero out of the way, barely grabbing the arm's jaw, forcing its teeth apart.
Saliva leaked out of the arm's mouth, its teeth ready to dig into Orrin's flesh
"Orrin!" Zero raised his leg high, and kicked the arm with full force.
"AAARGH!" The old man screamed in pain, his arm retreating back into the cell. "DAMN BRAT! YOU'LL PAY FOR BREAKING MY ARM!"
The old man's right arm started to transform.
"Zero! Quick! Insert the key!"
The old man started bending the cell with his right arm to break out.
Zero inserted the key into the keyhole, and the wall came down.
"Orrin! Come on!" Zero said.
"Oh no, you don't!" The old man stepped outside the cell, using his right arm to attack the running Orrin.
But Orrin made it past where the wall stood, so did Zero.
The old man disappeared.
"We did it, Orrin…" A smile started forming on Zero's face.
"Yes, but, look ahead… where are we supposed to go?"
Standing before them were several paths in a circular room.