In Bloom (Twisted Wonderland x OC)

68: The Rose, The Witch, and The Octopus

As we made our descent through Tartarus, a draft of cold air blew towards us from the seemingly bottomless pit below. I was told each tower in Tartarus had twelve levels, but it was never specified how many floors made up one level. With each exhale, my own breath could be seen in front of me. By acting as a giant freezer, the thousands of phantoms the underground prison housed would remain in one place.

Now, with Ortho as the new control tower for S.T.Y.X., who knew when we would see a phantom headed our direction.

Just like when Rook, Epel, and I first arrived in the Land of Grief, the same gut twisting feeling rose within me. I wanted to get out of this treacherous place as quickly as possible.

Still, no matter how much my subconscious yelled at me to bail, I would not abandon my friends. We all made it this far and we had a job to finish. We had to reach the Underworld before Idia and Ortho unleashed the phantoms.

"Cassie?" Azul tapped me on the shoulder, " You okay? Is the cold getting to you?"

I shook my head, "The uniform Malleus gave me is keeping me quite warm, so I'm alright." I was about to ask Riddle how he felt but noticed how far ahead he was from Azul and I. The two of us quickly caught up to him, "Riddle! You can't go off by yourself."

"Going off on my own? It's your own mistake for being slow," Riddle continued walking down the steps, "We don't have time to chat leisurely."

"We're not chatting. Considering our situation, the first thing we need to do is understand our surroundings," Azul said.

"Take the lead and you will win. Come in late, and others will win. If you take action before others, you'll be in an advantageous position," Riddle stopped in his tracks, "It's standard, is it not?"

I murmured, "Not exactly in this scenario."

We lacked both the luxury of time and familiarity of our environment. The only thing that was certain were the types opponents we were bound to face. Question was: when would the phantoms decide to make an appearance and would we be ready for them?

I promised to Malleus I would be careful and that I would return safely home. There was nothing that would make me break my word, even two squabbling dorm leaders.

Azul scoffed, "As expected from Riddle Rosehearts. Those who get appointed as dorm leader within the first week of enrollment sure are different. They can also embody the expression 'Haste makes waste.'"

Maybe I should've gone with Pomefiore or Leona and Jamil.

The sight of a pair of metallic doors not too far from us brought me a sense of relief. I pointed out, "Guys, look!"

As soon as we stood in front of the elevator, the doors parted.

Azul stopped Riddle before he could step inside, "This could be a trap."

"We have no other way down. Besides, this is the shortest route," Riddle tried to walk forward again, but Azul held him back.

"If you mean by the shortest route to annihilation, then by all means, let's go inside."

I intervened, "Well, this is a trap we're going to have to anticipate. Still, Riddle's right, there's no other way down."

According to the map, the elevator would bring us to one of the lower levels of the tower. From there, we would need to pass through one of the many phantom asylums of Tartarus before we reached the hangar where the Thunderstorm Spear could be found.

Prior to our departure, a S.T.Y.X. staff member warned us about one of the three most dangerous phantoms, the Magma Titan, being kept at the bottom level of the tower.

I prayed that we would not encounter such a beast during our journey.

Knowing we had no other alternative, we all stepped inside the elevator. We watched as the doors shut behind us and felt ourselves slowly moving down. While I allowed my body to hum with my magic, I clutched tighter onto my sword's handle, preparing myself for whatever surprise attacks may be thrown at us. I also noticed Riddle and Azul tightening their grips on their wands.

The lights went out.

Ortho's cheerful voice rung, "Welcome to Tartarus: The Cursed Dungeon!" a projection of the humanoid displayed in the center of the elevator, "It's nice to see you, Riddle Rosehearts, Azul Ashengrotto, and Cassandra Vitale!"

I folded my arms, "It's not nice to see you, Ortho."

"My goodness, have you all had a friendship breakup already?" he pouted, "The adventure hasn't even started."

I swallowed, "I don't even wanna know what kind of adventure we're dealing with."

In answer, a video game and a controller appeared in front of us.

Azul examined the game, "We played this not too long ago."

"Wait a second, you all...played video games?!"

Riddle nodded, "When a phantom was released in the facility and all five of us along with Idia and Ortho were in a room, we played video games to pass the time."

"I recognize this game," Azul pointed at the screen, where a skeleton held onto an oar floated on a raft on a river, "It's the one where you couldn't pass the first level, Riddle."

"Oh? Is fighting phantoms easier for Riddle than playing a video game?" Ortho's teasing made the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader's face redden with anger.

"Even if I don't clear the game, I'll get us out of here!" Riddle's magic began to increase, "I'll magically break down this door!"

"Wait just a moment!" I stood in front of Riddle, blocking his aim, "If you use magic here, we could end up in big trouble."

"Cassie's right, you could potentially cause damage to the inside of the elevator without proper control," Azul added, "I'm sorry for not wishing to go down together in a place like this."

Ortho asked, "Who's going to play?"

"You mean to say you're not going to let us out unless we clear the level?" I asked in annoyance.

"Bingo!"

After they discussed amongst themselves, Azul volunteered to be the one to clear the game.

The Octavinelle Dorm Leader picked up the controller and pressed 'Game Start.'

Though I had faith in Azul's abilities, I could not help my nerves going into overdrive. My heart pounded harder against my chest and I held on to my crystal. My eyes went between the swift movements of Azul's fingers on the controller and the screen, where he guided the skeleton along a river to dodge the incoming rocks in his path.

Azul nearly reached the end when the screen became red and the words 'Game Over' were displayed.

Ortho's sinister little giggles sent goosebumps down my arms, "You were so confident! It was so funny seeing your look of panic," he then sighed in disappointment, "I guess I can't allow your adventure to continue."

With those as Ortho's final words, the video game system disappeared, his digital projection faded, and the elevator abruptly stopped.