The scene seemed like something out of a dream: the smell of freshly served meat, spices dancing in the air, steam rising lazily from the rice. Matt remained motionless, his fingers around the plate trembling ever so slightly.
"Darling... Is something wrong?" she whispered, gently wiping his damp cheeks with a folded handkerchief.
Matt blinked, as if waking from a deep thought, he smiled, forced.
"No, it's just that... I get emotional seeing what I didn't have before," he replied, feigning lightheartedness. Ninya smiled back at him dazzlingly, her white teeth contrasting with the blush that was beginning to rise up her neck.
"Then... then..." she murmured, squeezing herr arm with both hands and hiding her face in his shoulder. "Could you... give me a kiss?"
The barely audible plea enveloped Matt in a confusing warmth. He looked at the food in front of him, the fork halfway down, the fot still hot. His lips curved slightly, a smile broken inside, then he shook his head, pushing that thoughts back into the abyss from which they had emerged.
It's still noon outside. The "Closed" sign hung crookedly above the door.
"Closed..." Hiyama muttered, frowning, he walked to the entrance and pulled on the handle. Locked. A flash of mistrust crossed his eyes.
"Did something happen to Sir Matt?" he wondered aloud.
He remembered well: Matt used to open at dawn and close late at night. But lately... Late openings. Sudden closings. Sometimes Matt didn't even open. Hiyama narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling fluttering in his chest.
He clicked his tongue and resumed walking urgently.
"I better not be late..."
Further ahead, at the main door of Re-Estize, five female figures waited impatiently. They were elegantly dressed, except for one, whose air defied any pretense of delicacy.
"Late," Evileye muttered with her arms crossed. Lakyus responded with a gentle pat on her head, her smile faint.
"It doesn't matter, we must leave now, Sir Hiyama," Tina said with a smile.
Without another word, the group set off. Time later, the kingdom landscape was left behind, and before them stood the entrance to a cave, dark and silent. Inside, a floating spiral of green smoke swirled slowly, as if waiting.
"Is this...?" Tia stepped forward, her eyes wide at the floating spiral.
"Strange... I like it," Gagaran laughed, licking her lips as she watched the pulsating glow of the smoke.
Evileye leaned forward slightly, her eyes fixed on the spiral. Her gaze showed not fear, but fascination, she had never seen magic like this before.
"A dungeon that shouldn't exist in this world," Hiyama explained, ruffling Tina's hair with a light hand.
"Hey!" Tina exclaimed, jumping back with red cheeks. "Who gave you permission to touch me?"
"Hehehe... you made me do it," Hiyama replied with a crooked smile, "Got a problem with that?"
"So, you're finally showing your true colors, pervert..." Evileye muttered, rolling her eyes in disgust.
Hiyama ignored the comment, his expression turning more serious.
"This portal... is transport magic, touching it will take us straight to the dungeon, inside the dungeon there will also be one like these, touching it will make us leave, look at this beautiful spiral as if it were a door"
Lakyus frowned, but didn't hesitate, she stepped forward and touched the spiral, her body disappeared instantly. Evileye was next. Then Gagaran, Tia, and finally Tina, who gave Hiyama a hard look before crossing over.
"Be careful in there," said a voice inside his mind, Kel'Thuzad, "The Forgotten One... may be an avatar of C'thun, that thing is dangerous"
Hiyama licked his lips, and then he touched the spiral.
Inside the dungeon the walls black as obsidian, were covered with incomprehensible engravings. A vast hallway stretched out, with ceilings nearly thirty feet high.
Tia spun on her heels, looking at every detail like a child at a spectacle.
"It's horrible! But the way we got in... was wonderful," she sang, fascinated.
"No enemies for now," said Hiyama, advancing without pause, "Maybe a stray anomaly, but nothing serious until we reach the fifteenth floor."
His voice echoed off the stone walls, drowned out by the weight of the mystery that surrounded them.
Before taking the next step, Hiyama reaches out and gently ruffles Tia's hair.
"Hey! Now with my sister? How disgusting," Tina growls, glaring at him as she follows closely behind.
Gagaran's hoarse laughter bursts out loudly. Lakyus flashes a discreet smile. Evileye simply watches, silent. Tia, for her part, lowers her head without saying a word.
Evileye tilts her head slightly trying to see Tia's expression, however, she gives up trying after a few seconds, "Maybe I should take off the mask," she thinks, after all, she can't see clearly with that mask.
Descending several more floors, the structure of the dungeon is revealed: each level like a huge stone hall buried in the earth, connected by sturdy staircases at the end of each floor.
On the tenth level, a pile of whitish bones appears in a corner. The skeleton is that of a colossal creature, with ribs as large as a tree trunk.
"That was the Sasquatch I killed the first time I came here," Hiyama murmurs, his finger pointing at the remains.
"Weren't you supposed to have killed the Sasquatch in the fifth level? Ah, forget it, And what did you do with the rest?" asks Tia, raising an eyebrow.
"I used it all, nothing was wasted," Hiyama continues to lightly stroke Tia's head, after all, he thinks in his mind, "I'll do it until she gets angry."
Two levels below, Hiyama stops abruptly in the middle of the stairs.
"Stop," he says quietly, his gaze fixed on the darkness of the floor below.
Tina is about to move forward when a firm arm pulls her back. Hiyama keeps her close, alert.
"Do you hear that?" he whispers.
The others stop, alerted by his tone. Silence reigns. Then, between the stones and the echo, muffled voices filter through:
"The lord still needs more sacrifices to finish the portal..."
"I don't doubt you, but, Why attract the enemy like this?"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
"In a bad mood again? Maybe pain will calm you down."
A dull thud, then another, the sounds of a fight erupt, fists clashing, muffled growls.
Hiyama descends stealthily, his hand tracing symbols in the air. Magic envelops him, showing him what lies below. He smiles.
"A fight?" How appropriate, Hiyama says as he descends the stairs, the girls walking carefully behind him.
"Two Sasquatch," he murmurs, as if savoring the words.
Evileye descends a little further, watching closely, the Blue Roses follow her silently.
"They look like a couple of huge bears," says Tia, her eyes sparkling. "That fur looks so soft... Do you think they would make a good coat?"
Before anyone can say anything else, Hiyama steps forward. His staff glitters, his robe fluttering with a greenish glow as he rises into the air, cold word slips from his lips: "Imprisonment."
Two beams of green energy materialize, enveloping the creatures, chains cling to their limbs, forcing them to fall to their knees, one of the beasts roars:
"Enemy!"
The voice is silenced instantly, a spell has sealed its mouth.
Hiyama descends, landing in front of the two motionless colossi. He examines them as if they were museum curiosities.
"Two Sasquatch wandering alone... they must feel very safe here," Hiyama murmurs as he slowly descends to the floor
The Blue Roses' gazes turn to him, tense, a shared memory dawns on them: Renner, the princess had gathered them privately to warn them.
"That man always seems annoyed... and it's not just that. People who get close to him start to feel something strange in their heads. I think Hiyama is a wizard... a very peculiar one."
But their distrust did not come from that. According to Renner, what was truly disturbing was the speed with which he had risen through the ranks.
"Hiyama is hiding something."
The girls watch Hiyama for a moment before walking towards the Sasquatch, always with calm faces, and being cautious deep in their hearts.
"That spell was impressive," Tia comments, approaching the furry prisoners.
"What kind of magician are you, exactly?" Tina asks, keeping her eyes on him.