Crash!

Rocks fell from the ceiling, covering the entrance to the tunnel.

Startled, Riku glanced backwards and cursed—he no longer had a way to escape. He gulped. The whites of his knuckles showed as he gripped the hilt of his sword and ventured deeper into the tunnel.

Screech!

Riku ducked to avoid a colony of bats that were disturbed by the sound of rocks falling. After the sound of fluttering wings vanished, Riku raised his head and tried to determine the location the bats flew off in.

"Boy, give up on trying to find an escape route. It’s not possible.”

“But the bats?”

“Went to a huge cavern with a small pinhole-sized opening on the ceiling.”

"…”

“Keep walking, boy. There’s no other option left to us. If we die, we die. To be honest, if the voice had wanted to kill us, we would be dead by now. There’s no place to run. Let’s pick up the pace, it won’t do us any good if we kept the voice waiting for long.”

“Okay.”

Riku continued to venture deeper into the tunnel until he reached an empty cavern. He walked to the center of the area and gazed around. Surrounding him were five statues—all in different poses—on pedestals. Each had a snarl on their face, their weapons drawn as if facing down an enemy. Their blood-red armor was artistically designed with scales lightly etched on. Furthermore, the armor seemed to move with every breeze in and out of the cavern. It almost seemed as if the statues were alive.

“Dragic, do you know who they are?” Riku asked.

“No. Whoever they are, they are from a time long past. I don’t even know the names of the weapons they wield. The way the statues are placed it seems they serve a purpose—to intimidate all who find their way here.”

“Did we walk into a trap?”

“Who knows? As long as you don’t tick off the expert who told us to come here, we should be fine.”

“Okay. What should we do?”

“Idiot, don’t just rely on sight. Use your senses and you will see that not everything is as it seems.”

Riku separated his conscience from his body and gazed around the room. He noticed that a bubble surrounded him. He was disassociated from reality. The five statues he observed earlier weren’t on their pedestals—they took up positions around the bubble, their weapons placed in defensive positions.

“Dragic, I don’t fancy our chances if we have to fight.”

“Boy, I said it before, the statues only exist to intimidate. I doubt they would attack us—unless you do something stupid.”

“…”

"Look behind you.”

Riku turned and observed strange glowing white lights leading up to a small opening in the cavern wall. He reached out and attempted to touch one of the lights only to pull his arm back quickly. The bubble wall shocked him. Enraged, Riku returned to his body and swung Dragic at the wall—in an attempt to pierce through—only to cry out in dismay as his sword bounced off the wall and his momentum carried his upper body into the wall.

"HAHAHA! Boy, you have a one-track mind. It’s always attack first, worry about the consequences later.”

Riku’s eyes narrowed and he spat out, “Then what does the genius suggest we do?”

"No need to get testy with me.”

"Fine, I apologize. Can you please tell me what our plan of action will be?”

“That’s a little better. Anyhow, this barrier appears to have a glaring weakness.”

“How do we exploit this weakness?”

"Don’t be so impatient. Honestly, I wonder how your parents dealt with you. You don’t seem to have any manners.”

Riku mimed chucking the sword at the wall.

“Hold up, kid! I apologize for talking about such a sensitive subject.”

“Get to the point. How do we get out of here?” Riku asked.

“The bubble’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The bubble seems to be designed to repel primarily physical attacks. Perhaps if you use your magics, you might be able to break through.”

"You know that I suck at this right?”

“Well, which idiot decided to walk into the center of a cavern without inspecting it for traps?”

“Me…”

"Yup. Now get to work and break us out. I think the bubble is going to blow soon.”

Riku cursed. He retreated deep within himself and disassociated himself from his body. He observed that the red meridian lines bunched together whenever he attempted to harness his magics.

“Good, you are becoming self-aware. The sad part is—it’s unnecessary. The bubble is gathering energy. It’s going to explode. Hurry up, boy!”

“Ugh.”

Riku redoubled his efforts to harness his magics and with every continuous failure, he became disheartened.

“Sorry, Dragic. It has been a fun ride, but it appears our journey ends here.”

“Boy, why the fuck are you giving up? It’s not over yet.”

“I can’t do it, Dragic. I can’t seem to use magics.”

“Boy, I’m going to apologize beforehand for what I’m going to say next.”

“What do you me--?” Riku asked.

“You’re a useless as fuck master. I accepted you as my master because of the potential I saw in you, but I’m guessing it was only a façade. You have no talent at all. Maybe that’s why the staff accepted you then fell sleep after confirming you as its master. It was too embarrassed it decided a useless fuck like you is his master. After the events of the past few days, I have to say the same. You are a fucking idiot who pisses me off with his stupid questions. I really regret waking up for this.”

“Why you…” Riku angrily began.

“Kid, shut the fuck up. You are a talentless joke, who can’t even escape from a trap you got yourself into. You…” Dragic said and drifted off as he saw the transformation Riku was going through.

A shining halo of red light had appeared above Riku’s head. Dark, red, and black scales materialized across his body. His fingernails dug deep into his palm, drawing blood. Tattered black wings grew out of Riku’s back. Sharp incisors protruded out of Riku’s mouth. Swirl tattoos emerged above Riku’s left eye and drifted downwards to his chin. Riku opened his eyes and Dragic gasped. Riku’s left pupil had become a vertical slit. His right eye had become a pool of darkness—if one looked closely, they wouldn’t be able to see their reflection.

“My god, does the boy know his own origins? He seems to be either half-dragon or half-demon,” Dragic said.

Riku roared and the ensuing shockwave shattered the bubble he was stuck in.

“Haha! Very good, human! It appears I underestimated your origins,” a voice boomed.

Riku cocked his head to the right, trying to identify where the voice came from. Upon figuring out the location, he drew his right arm back, threw Dragic, and charged towards the small opening in the cavern wall.

“Human, you are millions of years too young to try and fight me!”