The group trudged through the snow, their faces chapped by wind, their boots sinking deep into the white crust. The explosion behind them had turned the world silent for a while — only the hiss of the wind filled their ears now. Texan carried Gumbo close to his chest, wrapped in spare cloth. Himmel unfolded the weathered map they'd recovered before the collapse.
The parchment fluttered violently in the storm, but Himmel's eyes darted from mark to mark, tracing the jagged valleys and peaks drawn in faded ink.
"Wait," he muttered, squinting. "Look here — this ridge, and the curve of that riverbed."
Texan leaned closer, his hair stiff with frost. "You're saying…"
"We made it," Himmel said, tapping the edge of the map. "This whole range we crossed — that's the same valley we were captured in. We're on the other side now."
Recon tilted his head back and laughed breathlessly, his breath forming a ghostly cloud. "All that fighting, freezing, and nearly dying — and we ended up exactly where we wanted to be."
"Yeah," Himmel said, rolling the map tight and tucking it into his belt. "Now all that's left is to keep moving. Whatever lies past this snow, it's unclaimed territory."
Gumbo snorted softly, as if agreeing, his tiny horn glowing faintly through the cloth.
By midday, the snowfall thickened into a full storm. The world turned white and shapeless, the ground invisible beneath the blur. The wind screamed like a living thing, tearing at their clothes and forcing them to lean forward just to move.
"Visibility's dead," Recon shouted over the gale. "We need cover or we're done!"
"I see something!" Texan yelled back, pointing through the storm. A jagged outline jutted from the cliffside — a cave mouth, half-buried under layers of frost.
They stumbled toward it, snow collapsing around their legs, until the wind broke behind the stone entrance. Inside, the air was dry but bitter cold. Frost lined the walls in delicate crystal webs.
"Cave's deep," Himmel said, as he struck for fire on the flint and his steel. He gripped his makeshift torch and looked deep into the cave. "Could go a few miles in."
"Better than staying out there," Texan muttered, shaking ice from his hair.
They ventured deeper, and soon the air changed — warmer, tinged with something… old. A faint hum carried through the stone, rhythmic like a beating heart.
Then they saw it: a massive iron door embedded in the wall, runes carved across its surface and faintly glowing blue.
Recon blinked. "Is that what I think it is?"
Himmel grinned faintly. "A dungeon."
Texan laughed once, rubbing his arms. "Lucky bastards like us finally catch a break."
"Or a death trap," Recon muttered.
"Either way," Himmel said, gripping the handle, "we'll find out."
The door creaked open, the air inside heavy with age and dust.
The door was slowly opened by Himmel, slow and steady bracing themselves for danger. They stepped into a stone corridor that forked after a few paces. A faint mechanical hum echoed through the walls. Torches flared to life automatically as they entered, their blue flames casting a cold light.
To their left was a sealed doorway marked with strange sigils. Himmel ran his hand across them — they glowed at his touch. Without a word, he stepped through. The door closed behind him with a heavy metallic slam.
"...Himmel?" Texan called, pounding on the door. "Himmel! You good?"
"Yeah!" Himmel shouted from inside, his voice muffled but clear. "Stay there — I'll look around!"
The room was circular, lit by soft gold light. In the center stood a stone table with four squares etched into its surface. To the right — three levers protruded from the wall. Himmel frowned, tracing the carvings with a gloved hand.
"Four squares… three levers," he muttered. "Looks like a pattern test."
Meanwhile, Texan and Recon found themselves in a mirrored chamber on the other side of the dungeon. The air here smelled faintly of pollen and damp earth.
Four containers rested on pedestals, each holding a different flower suspended in glowing liquid: one red, one blue, one yellow, one green. The petals pulsed faintly as if breathing.
"Flowers?" Texan said, raising a brow. "What kind of dungeon decorates with flowers?"
Recon shrugged. "Probably not just for show. Look — they're labeled." He pointed to runes carved under each container. "Color-coded. Maybe they match something Himmel's doing."
Texan tilted his head. "What do we do with them?"
"Not sure. Let's keep looking."
They pushed through a narrow corridor and entered another chamber. Four stone pedestals stood in the center, each beneath a glowing light of matching colors — red, blue, yellow, green.
"Well, that's convenient," Texan said. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Recon nodded. "Put the containers on the pedestals."
They carefully placed each container onto its corresponding pedestal. As the last one settled, a deep click echoed, and a series of gears whirred from inside the walls. The containers locked in place, light shifting wildly between colors until finally freezing again.
Back in Himmel's room, the table lit up — each square glowing in a different hue. From left to right: red, blue, yellow, and green.
"Alright," he said quietly. "This has to be linked to them."
The colors shimmered, rotating in a swirl of light until they changed order: green, red, yellow, and blue.
"What the hell…" Himmel rubbed his chin. "They're moving…"
He studied the levers. Each one had markings beside it — diagonal, horizontal, circular.
"Let's see what you do." He flipped the first lever. The colors shifted diagonally: now blue, yellow, red, green.
He flicked the second lever — the hues swapped horizontally, forming yellow-blue, green-red.
"Interesting…" He flicked the final lever. The colors rotated clockwise.
He stepped back, watching them settle: red-blue-yellow-green.
"That's it," he said with a grin. "Back to the start."
The door behind him released with a deep clunk, then slid open.
Himmel stepped out and found Texan and Recon staring up as the flower containers rose into the air, glowing brighter. The glass cracked and dissolved into motes of light, leaving the flowers themselves floating freely.
Each one radiated a different energy — the red flared like firelight, the blue shimmered with a cold, flowing calm, the yellow hummed faintly with sparks, and the green pulsed with slow, living warmth.
Texan's eyes widened. "They're… alive."
Recon nodded slowly. "I can feel them."
The air vibrated with magic, the hum of the dungeon deepening.
Himmel stepped closer, gaze fixed on the yellow flower. Its light danced in his eyes. "Electricity," he murmured. "I can feel it in my veins." He reached out and plucked it. The petals dissolved into golden threads, swirling around his hand.
Texan took the green flower next. The light spread up his arm in vines of emerald glow, the smell of fresh earth filling the room.
Recon reached for the red one. Fire pulsed against his skin, harmless but alive — it coiled around him like a spirit recognizing its host.
The last flower, blue and faintly crystalline, hung in the air. It radiated an aura of stillness.
Texan looked at it, then at Himmel. "We'll talk about who gets that one later."
"Agreed," Himmel said, still watching the yellow glow fade into his palm.
Then he noticed something behind the pedestals — a narrow archway leading to a small chamber. "There's something else."
The room beyond was small, silent, and perfectly circular. In its center rested a single chest, old but intact, covered in a thin layer of frost. Himmel approached slowly, resting a hand on the lid.
"Careful," Recon warned. "Could be trapped."
"Only one way to find out."
Himmel lifted the lid. A soft glow filled the space — inside lay a watering can, faintly shining with runes that pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. Its water shimmered like liquid starlight.
"A watering can?" Texan said, confused. "That's… not the treasure I expected."
Himmel smiled faintly. "Maybe it's what we need, not what we want."
He took it gently and poured a small stream of light over his flower. The petals pulsed once, then burst apart — dissolving into radiant energy that spiraled into Himmel's body. His eyes glowed briefly yellow before returning to normal.
He gasped softly. "It's… inside me now."
Texan, watching, raised his brows. "No way." He grabbed his flower, closed his eyes, and focused on the energy of the earth. The green light obeyed, swirling up his arms and merging into his chest.
Recon followed, flame coiling around him until it vanished into his skin. When he opened his eyes again, a faint ember glowed within his pupils.
Texan stretched, grinning. "Okay. I feel strong. Like I could punch a wall."
Recon smirked. "You already do that when you're angry."
Himmel chuckled quietly, the faint hum of electricity crackling between his fingers. "Whatever this dungeon was… it was testing us. And it just chose us."
The three stood together, the dungeon walls glowing faintly in response — as if acknowledging its new heirs.
Outside, the storm raged on. But inside, for the first time in weeks, the three felt warmth — the warmth of new power, and the sense that something greater had just begun.