Meanwhile, back in the portal realm, Clause, Akapin, and Murasakiiro all waited for the others to arrive with the antidote. Akapin floated around the room nervously. Clause twiddled his thumbs and tapped his foot in session. Finally, Princess Murasakiiro closed her eyes and prayed. None of them had any idea how long it would take, nor did they know if the others would make it out unscathed.

“This is nerve-wracking,” Akapin murmured weakly.

“Why?” Clause asked. “They’ll do just fine; all we have to do is put a little more faith in them, you know?”

“That’s saying a lot coming from you,” Akapin replied.

“Well, I—”

“They seem to be taking a while...” Murasakiiro interrupted. The two stared at her, confused. “Oh, did I say something?” She said in a playful tone.

“Yes, you did.” Clause stated bluntly.

“Isn’t there something we can do while we wait?” Akapin asked.

“For them? Of course.” Murasakiiro replied.

She went to the other room and pulled out the blanket from under the Queen’s bed, revealing a hidden crevice with a ladder leading down. Before descending, she advised the two companions to follow her inside. Clause and Akapin weren’t sure at first, but reluctantly followed the Princess, regardless.

.-.-.-.

Heading over to the Queen’s bed once again, the Princess revealed another room hidden underneath. Floating pink bubbles danced and floated around the room; some even had images of pictures inside of them. However, it was impossible to distinguish them from so far away. In the center of the chamber, there lay a red cauldron with bubbling water inside.

“Wow, I had no idea there was another room under your mother’s bed,” Akapin said.

“Yeah,” Murasakiiro added. “It’s a very sacred room, something we only use for the last resort.”

“I say, what are these bubbles floating within the room?” Clause asked.

“These bubbles represent the worlds inside of them,” The Princess explained.

She plucked a bubble out of the air and dunked it into a cauldron, causing the water to shoot out like a geyser. The remaining bubbles moved to the center and formed a pattern, turning into rainbow colors.

The water in the cauldron stopped erupting and swirled around like a whirlpool until an image appeared at the water’s surface. Clause, Akapin, and Murasakiiro gathered around to look at the picture.

The image showed blood-red walls, dull gray flooring, torches along the walls, and piles of bones and skeletons in every corner.

Akapin nodded, impressed by the scenery. “No way. You can see places from afar and watch them...?” She turned to the Princess and asked excitedly.

“Mm-hmm.”

Clause shivered and grew petrified. “My word, is that The Scorching Tombs? Why are we looking at this terrifying dungeon?”

“I’m sorry, would you like for me to change it?” Murasakiiro offered. “Let me just change to another world—”

“No, wait, there’s someone in there. That person looks familiar...” Clause interrupted. He squinted his eyes and leaned over against the cauldron to investigate. The person on the floor was blurry, but he quickly recognized the black dress and gray hair. “Is that Glenda?!”

“Whoa, be careful!” Akapin and Murasakiiro shouted. “Don’t fall into the cauldron!”