For a couple of minutes, I was left speechless, unable to form words as I watched the little boy smile at me with hearty amusement.

I looked around, trying to gauge the room I suddenly found myself in. It did belong to a child. The bed, the study table, the wardrobe, the mirror, all were crafted to a suitable height for a child to easily use and coloured to make them as kid-friendly as possible.

But the thing that stood out the most, was right in front of me, standing tall. A very familiar white door...Oh, glowing brightly as I remembered not too fondly. I turned around and looked at the boy who was sitting on the bed. I pointed at the door. "Are we on the other side?"

The kid smiled widely and nodded, his legs hanging from the edge, black bangs falling over his forehead.

"So is this my Dungeon Core?" I looked around the room. "Or are you my Dungeon Core? A mini-version of myself?"

But the child simply laughed. "I'm not your Dungeon Core." He then flicked a finger towards the other door. One that I had missed. A smaller, less white, non-glowing variant, standing towards the far right corner of the room. "It's on the other side of that one."

"Seriously?" I failed to keep the annoyance from lacing across my voice. "How many doors does this place have?"

The boy could only shrug. "Don't know. Maybe that's the last one you need to walk through to get all your answers? Or maybe there are more? Each having a bit of the mystery you're trying to solve. I have no clue."

Hearing it, I could only hang my head, breathe out a sigh and began moving towards the second door, ready to be just dobe with it all. But the child stopped me.

"There's no need to hurry, you know?" The mirth in his tone had disappeared, replaced by a vulnerability and softness I hadn't heard before. "The door is not going anywhere. You can come and sit with me for a while. Have some cookies and milk." He pointed at the small bedside table where a plate full of choco chip cookies and two full glasses of milk was.

For the first time since becoming a Dungeon, I genuinely felt hungry. The slight rumble in my belly told me it needed food.

But I ignored the feeling and looked at the boy and shook my head. "Sorry kid, I really need to find my Core. Maybe after I get it, I'll come back here and then we can have our treat." I smirked. "That is if you can hold long enough to not eat them all yourself."

But the boy merely scoffed, then looked at me and smirked. "Who do you think I am? A child? I can wait for you just fine." He shooed me with his hands. "But come back soon. The milk won't stay warm for long. And you do like warm milk. Don't you?"

I felt myself smiling as well. A memory floated in my mind. "Yeah, I think I do." I then turned to the door and walked towards it. Hands reaching for the steel doorknob. "Wait for me, will you? I'll be back soon."

But a sideways glance at the child, showed me the boy was frowning. A look of deep sadness in his eyes but upon seeing me looking at him, he quickly replaced it with fond amusement. "I will."

A bit confused, I still turned towards the door and grasped the metal doorknob then turned it. Unlike before this one did open easily and I stepped through.

#####

It wasn't another room where I ended up once I opened the door and passed through. Instead, I stepped right onto the middle of a road that was thankfully bare of any traffic but with rain falling down heavily.

I blinked, raised my hand to hide my eyes from the torrential downpour and looked around me.

Old stone buildings rose on either sides of the road, wiith lonely dark windows having no signs of life peeking through. There were a couple of lampposts on both left and right of where I stood, but the light eminating from them was low and dingy white.

No longer did I wear the yellow Mickey mouse t-shirt but a long trench coat that kept me safe from the rain and cargo pants with thick black boots that kept the mud at bay.

I stood there for a while, trying to make sure what I was seeing was indeed true. Then I looked back to the white door through which I had passed but as expected, it was no longer there. Only a brick wall stood tall with not a soul to serve my company.

This is getting weirder by the minute, I took the hat that somehow found its way into my hands and put it on top of my head to keep the rain at bay. Then I crossed the road and stepped onto the pavement.

Once off the lonely road, I looked to my left, then right, undecided where to go. Both ways appeared the same, filled with dingy darkness ready to swallow me whole.

It was then that I noticed a coin lying beside my feet. Shiny and new, it stood out against the wet old pavement, so I couldn't help myself but pick it up. To protect me from the rain, I then moved against one of the buildings and hid underneath its bare roof.

I think I've something to help me decide which way I should go. I gazed at the shiny coin. The carvings are etched on it. It was a penny. That will decide my future. I placed it on top of my thumb and tossed it in the air. Head for left turn, tails for right. I watched it turn and turn and turn until it landed on my open palm.

"Tails." Right it is then. I slipped the penny inside my pocket and began walking. My big black boots slapped against the muddy pavements.

#####

The only thing that stood out amongst the rows of tall lifeless houses was a small bar of sorts stuck between two tall tumbledown buildings. But unlike the rest of the street, or should I say, the rest of the town, it had light streaming out from its closed windows.

I stopped before it, unsure what to do. The rain was still coming down hard and I wanted to find some form of shelter that wasn't inside one of those creepy empty buildings. The bar was the only logical choice around here but still I hesitated.

None of this is real, a part of my consciousness whispered to me. But the feeling of wetness permeating the trench coat I wore and the pants that hugged my long legs begged to differ. Still, I took a moment to look at it carefully. Cautious before I dared to enter.

There was no name to the bar, or maybe there was but the boarding that had it was too old and decrepit for me to read it in the low light. The front space was wide and open for what I assumed to keep vehicles of transport or an open place to hang out with friends. But now, it was ghostly empty, with not a single sign that anyone had been here in a while.

As for the building itself, it wasn't anything special, much like the others in its row, save for being only two-storied tall. Tall glass windows adorned the outside but fog from within stopped me from noticing much of what was inside other than light emanating from within.

Let's do it, I took a deep breath and began moving towards the entrance. A big double door which I pushed wide open and entered.

It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light of the bar. There wasn't much lighting in the place other than a few bulbs that glowed near the corners. A long wooden counter laid to my right, with small tools for one to sit on. To my left were circular tables, each having their pair of wooden chairs. But no one was sitting on them. The bar, like its porch, was totally empty.

Except for the counter which had a lone bartender manning it with diligence.

She hadn't noticed me enter, busy as she was cleaning the bottles and arranging them carefully on the shelves behind the counter. From where I stood, I could see her long Auburn hair, streaming down her shoulders. She wore long white sleeved shirt, nicely tucked and blue jeans that hugged her lower form.

Deciding it was high time I moved away from the door, lest the woman notice me and think of me as a crazy stalker, I hung the coat and hat against the rack and walked towards the bar counter. My sloppy rain-soaked boots echoed against the concrete floor.

Upon reaching it, I pulled a chair and took a seat, right in front of the woman, who was now aware of my presence and turned around from the shelves to look directly at me. And good Lord was she pretty. Sharp features, big eyes, high cheekbones and soft tanned skin. The woman was the second beauty I met in quick succession. The other one being the girl from the Dungeon Committee. Must be my lucky day.

"So, what do you need?" She asked me, her eyes bored into my own. She had the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen. So for a few seconds I was left speechless until I controlled my emotions and somehow spoke. "A glass of water please."

#####