William sat on the bed, his eyes reflecting the warm light of the fire. A strange sense of peace washed over him… as if he was truly resting for the first time in his life.
He spoke in a calm tone, eyes still closed:
"I don't remember the last time I felt something this beautiful… it's like it's cleansing the negative energy from inside me."
Then, in the same tone, he added:
"But even so, I'm still thinking about how to get out of this horrifying hell… how ironic. Now I'm actually wishing to return to that world… life is funny like that."
He extended his hands toward the fire to feel its warmth, then muttered to himself:
'I feel like my old self is dead… and now I'm wearing the skin of someone I don't even know, as if it's completely normal. Especially in battles—it's like my body moves on its own, like I'm not the one controlling it.'
He placed all five fingers over his face and continued:
'Man, since when do I talk to myself like this? Like a lunatic having a chat with the wall…'
William lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He held his sword close to his chest, clutching it gently…
'There's no weapon better than a sword. And no magic better than darkness… it's like these two things were made for me.'
A soft smile crept onto his lips as he spoke in a quiet tone.
He glanced slowly, eerily, at his right hand before speaking in a cold, questioning voice:
"I've killed two people… the first was innocent, but I don't know why I pulled the trigger. The second one deserved it—for survival. But in both cases… I feel no fear, no sadness. It's like I've accepted it."
A strange sound echoed through the room, like ticking… William sat up partially and looked around… only to see the crimson clock in the corner of the room. The time left to leave was six minutes.
He stared at the clock with irritation and muttered in an annoyed tone:
"This damn clock… looks like I won't be staying here much longer."
He stood up, strapped the sword to his back, slid the gun into his pocket… and before heading to the door, he gave the bonfire a tired look.
His body turned toward the door, and he opened it slowly. William stepped into the next area, which was a grand hall inside a royal castle. A spiral staircase led upward.
There were five crimson clocks on the ground floor, and another five on the first floor. All of them moved counterclockwise.
"What the hell is this?" William asked with a puzzled tone.
He stepped forward twice and stood at the center of the hall, then spoke to himself curiously:
"Is this place a puzzle or what? I don't understand the presence of so many clocks."
"Welcome, sorcerer William Gideon… to the second trial."
A mysterious, eerie voice spoke.
William's eyes widened as he turned around… and saw Alastor Vayne standing behind him. William gave a disturbed smile:
"Man, does your voice change with every new area we enter?"
Alastor's head moved slowly, like a puppet's, before speaking in a deep voice:
"There's no need for jokes, Mr. William… You're now in a beautiful and brilliant puzzle. But with every move you make, you will inch closer to death."
William's expression grew more confused, his eyes slightly squinted:
"A puzzle?"
"As you heard, Mr. William… a puzzle. You simply need to find the correct clock among these. The longer you take, the more the ground beneath you will collapse…"
Alastor laced his fingers together, his tone dark and cryptic.
Then he added with the same voice:
"Time is not on your side, Mr. Gideon. You'll need to focus very carefully."
William was a little frightened by the strange nature of the puzzle. He asked Alastor Vayne in a curious tone:
"There must be some kind of hint, right?"
"A hint? No need for that… All you need to do is remember some numbers or things you saw when you first entered the Crimson Dream…"
Alastor Vayne snapped his fingers and disappeared from the place, laughing darkly as his echo rang through the air…
"Time is like a sword—if you don't cut it, it'll cut you."
William scratched the back of his head, clearly annoyed, then grumbled:
"Damn these cursed puzzles… all I want is to get out of this disgusting hell."
He placed all ten fingers on his face and spoke in a more composed tone, trying to calm himself:
"Relax… relax. I need to focus to get out of here… From what I understood of his useless hint. But… what were those numbers that appeared at the beginning?"
He placed his index finger on his chin, squeezing his memory hard…
His eyes suddenly opened wide as he remembered something important.
"That's right. When I woke up in the room, I saw the number five. That must be a clue—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a group of demons emerged from the ground like water… William grinned sarcastically and spoke in a sharp tone:
"Looks like this place doesn't respect time at all. Let's dance, demons."
One of the demons lunged toward William, trying to slice him in half. But William leapt into the air and fired a dark magic bullet that exploded its head.
Another demon launched a magical wave from its scythe, aiming to strike William. But he conjured a shield of darkness to block it.
Then, with a swing of his darkness-infused sword, William unleashed a magical wave that killed two demons at once.
Only two remained… they attacked from opposite sides—left and right—trying to confuse him. But William slashed to the right and launched a wave of dark magic to the left, killing them both simultaneously.
William smiled and remarked sarcastically:
"Smart move… for a bunch of demons."
Just as he finished speaking, a portion of the floor cracked. He looked back, his face tensing, and muttered:
"Tsk. No time now… I have to hurry."
"Now… where was I? Right, I was thinking about the number five in the room… That's clue number one."
He walked a bit to examine the clocks, which all displayed the number five. He went upstairs—same thing there.
He put his finger on his chin again:
"Looks like five is correct, but they're playing dirty tricks by making all the clocks show the same time… I need to figure out the next number."
William walked steadily, deep in thought, until something struck him.
"When the demons first appeared in the Crimson Dream… there were ten of them. Does that count too?"
He moved to inspect the rest of the clocks, but all of them were stuck at five.
"Hmm… alright, let's set ten aside for now. What about those words that fell from the sky? Should I count them as individual words or just as one single event? Let's include it as one."
"That gives us ten plus one plus five. That makes… sixteen."
He went again to inspect the clocks, but still—no change. All of them stuck at five.
Frustrated, William muttered:
"Damn… this cursed puzzle. Where did I go wrong? I have to recalculate everything."
He strained his memory once more until he recalled something important.
"The demons were ten, the words count as one, the man in the house is one, and the crimson lamp is also one."
Then he continued:
"So if we add it all up… that's thirteen. Add the five from before and you get eighteen."
William looked at the clocks again and noticed a group of them now showed the number eighteen, while the others still showed five.
William stood between being happy and unhappy at the same time. He spoke in a calm tone:
"The puzzle just got harder. I need to find the last number—the decisive one."
As he thought, half of the floor suddenly collapsed. William looked around, startled and afraid.
"Damn it, there's not much time left… I have to find the last number."
Then he continued speaking:
"Does the arena count? But there are too many people there… I don't think it's part of the calculation. Damn it, my brain isn't working properly anymore."
Deep in thought… something suddenly crossed his mind.
"If I exclude the arena and focus on the room with the Bonfire… will that count?"
"So now the total is eighteen, with the Bonfire considered as one, do I add it?"
As he kept thinking, all the clocks shattered—except for two that appeared near the gate. William was stunned and hurried over to check them.
Each of the two clocks held something different.
The first clock showed the number eighteen. Inside the Bonfire, a bloody sword was planted upside down.
The second clock also showed eighteen, but the numbers were inverted. The Bonfire there had a sword standing straight inside it.
William didn't know what was going on… he just stared at both clocks, confused about which one to choose.
"Damn it, I don't know which one to pick. At first glance, they all seem wrong. But… if I look closely at the second clock, it might be the right one," he said with a deeply worried voice, trying to solve the riddle.
As he pondered, the rest of the floor collapsed. Only a small piece remained, the one he was standing on. He looked down into the deep abyss, terrified by the sight.
"It seems like time is running out."
William stood before the two clocks, his breath quickening, the abyss beneath him breathing like a beast waiting for its prey.
He looked at the first clock… The Bonfire was upside down, the bloody sword driven into it.
Then he looked at the second… The sword inside the Bonfire was straight, but the numbers were all inverted.
He placed a hand over his heart and stared at the second clock.
"Bonfire… it's the only thing that made me feel safe in this hell."
"When it was burning, I felt at peace… No, it can't be upside down, it can't be reversed. That feeling has to stay the same."
He closed his eyes, raised his sword, and struck the second clock with full force.
Silence followed… then the ground shook violently. The gate opened, and the floor began collapsing beneath him.
William ran and jumped through the gate at the last second, sweat pouring from him, his heart pounding fast… but his eyes held a rare kind of peace.