Red as Ruby

Chapter 36

The moment our ragtag group stepped into the center of the labyrinth, a heavy silence fell over us like a thick fog.

Before us stood a gigantic sphinx, its regal and mysterious aura sending shivers down my spine. I couldn't help but gawk at it, my jaw practically touching the ground.

"Whoa," I breathed, taking in the sight before us. The sphinx seemed to be made out of amethyst, its entire body shimmering with an ethereal purple glow. It was both beautiful and terrifying at once, like some kind of divine creature that had been plucked from the heavens and placed here just to mess with us.

"By the gods," Caelie whispered, her voice barely audible against the still air. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I," Damien agreed, his usually stoic demeanor cracking as he stared at the creature in awe.

"Is this what we were meant to find?" Anwen asked, her voice trembling slightly. Kalara remained silent, her eyes locked on the sphinx with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

As we continued to gaze upon the magnificent creature, I could feel something inside me stirring. It was like the sphinx was calling out to me, beckoning for me to come closer. The others seemed to feel it as well, because, despite the fear that clenched my heart like a vice, we all stepped closer.

"Stay close," I murmured to the others, my voice full of determination even as my knees threatened to buckle beneath me. Together, we approached the great beast, our steps slow and measured as if we were traversing a tightrope between life and death.

"Welcome, travelers," the sphinx's voice reverberated through the chamber, deep and resonant. Its amethyst eyes seemed to pierce into our very souls. "You have come far, yet your journey may only continue if you prove your worth."

"Prove our worth?" Anwen echoed, her voice wavering.

"Indeed," the sphinx replied, its stone visage betraying no emotion. "To pass beyond this point, you must solve my riddle." It paused for a moment, allowing us time to process the task at hand. "Fail to do so, and dire consequences await you."

"Riddles?" Damien grumbled, his face darkening. "What a ridiculous way to test our worth."

"Be quiet," Liora chastised him gently. "We'll solve it, whatever it is."

"Very well," the sphinx intoned. "Listen closely, for I will say it but once." We all leaned in, straining to catch every syllable of the enigmatic challenge. "I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?"

The riddle hung in the air like an impenetrable fog, leaving us all grasping for answers. We exchanged bewildered glances, trying to make sense of the cryptic question.

"Cracked, made, told, and played," Kalara muttered, furrowing her brow as she attempted to decipher the riddle. "What could it possibly mean?"

"Perhaps a puzzle of some sort?" Anwen ventured, though her tone suggested uncertainty.

"Or maybe something more abstract?" Liora added, her eyes darting around the room as if searching for hidden clues.

"Whatever it is, we need to figure it out quickly," I thought to myself, feeling the weight of the situation grow heavier with each passing second.

As my mind raced through countless possibilities, I couldn't shake the feeling that the answer was just out of reach, like a word on the tip of my tongue. I knew I had to dig deeper, to push past the obvious and see what lay hidden beneath the surface.

The sphinx's riddle echoed in my mind as the group exchanged uneasy glances. "I am something that can be cracked, made, told, and played – what am I?" The question seemed to hang in the air, heavy with the weight of our fate.