trouble - evnne

14

Tiot was not having a good time. They were unlucky enough to enter a dungeon similar to the SS-class dungeon that Evnne and Onepact tackled, dark and sticky. "Well, it could be worse?" Woojin timidly suggested, "We could have gotten...fire or something."

Minseoung was staring at the black, slimy surfaces wordlessly, his features contorted in distaste. It was a cramp cavern, with a thin, long pathway, the walls reminiscent of the texture of the brain. There was a faintest glow emitting from the walls, between the cracks. Other than that, they were basically bathed in darkness.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'd love a bit of fire right now," Keonhee lamented as he shifted on the uneven surface, every step eliciting a disgusting squelch due to the gross texture.

"Just our luck," Junhyun sighed, unusually serious, arms akimbo and sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, "By the looks of it, we only have one option. Straight ahead, into that pathway."

Minseoung hummed in agreement, then nearly flinched out of his skin when he felt a hand tug on his shirt. "Woojin, you good?" He asked, recognising the youngest as he pressed against his senior meekly. In the limited light, Junhyun managed to shoot a look at Minseoung. Their youngest was known for having a slight fear of the dark, due to a chaotic raid that involved a dark and claustrophobic dungeon interior.

"Let's get moving," Keonhee urged, "We don't have much time."

"I think I just stepped on something metal," Junhyun suddenly said, but after a beat of silence he didn't follow up.

And so they cautiously made their way through the pathway, Minseoung leading (he didn't want to but his teammates all unanimously picked him to go first). Woojin clung to the oldest, head hanging low, his breathing erratic.

They walked in silence, until Junhyun broke it, remarking, "I sure hope it doesn't get smaller."

"You're gonna jinx us," Minseoung groaned, but they pressed forward. And indeed, after some more walking, the walls did seem to start caving inwards. "Hey, it almost feels alive," Keonhee grimaced, "Like it's listening to us and doing exactly what we don't want."

At the rear, Junhyun twisted to look in the direction they came from, only to realise they've made it so far down the passage that behind them was pure darkness.

The youngest's breathing became more laboured, his grip on Minseoung slipping as he faltered. Minseoung immediately whipped around to support him, murmuring, "Woojin, just breathe, yeah?"

"I'm gonna try something stupid," Junhyun announced, gritting his teeth. He spread his arms, letting his hands press the two sides of the slowly constricting walls. "What are you-"

Before Minseoung could even finish, Junhyun created a sphere of ice around them, which expanded, pushing against the dark walls. "Is it fighting you?" Keonhee asked, his hands joining the ice sphere to force the walls outwards. "A little," Junhyun replied, looking rather at ease, focusing on creating more breathing space for them.

"Push harder," Minseoung all but demanded, his free hand extended, unable to brush the ice sphere due to how far Junhyun and Keonhee managed to collectively expand it.

And finally, they burst through the tight tunnel, ice shards littered about, remnants of the black, slimy walls limply flopping. The surroundings were blindingly bright, causing them to squint as they adjusted to the change in lighting. When they finally recovered, though, they were taking in a painfully unexpected sight.

"What the fuck."

"Language," Minseoung chided on reflex, eyes focused on scanning the strange surroundings. They were in a strange, wide space, seemingly endless. Everything was glaringly white and it was unnerving, as though they were in a dreamscape. Scattered about the area, some on the ground, others suspended in mid air, were various objects, a circus tent, large metal hoops, announcing stands and a colourful variety of masks and costumes.

Keonhee discovered a small metal plaque on the ground, stooping down to inspect it. "Coulrophobia," He read outloud, pronouncing the word carefully, his voice laced with confusion.

"A type of phobia?" Minseoung asked, taking a peek at the plaque, looking out of place. Woojin shivered lightly, observing the surroundings warily. Only Junhyun stayed put, frozen in his place, as though dissociating.

"Are they picking our fears?" He suddenly wondered.

"What."

"First it was Woojin. Looks like it's my turn," Junhyun said grimly.

"You're scared of the circus?" Keonhee asked, tactfully trying to stifle a laugh.

"More precisely, clowns. Bad experience when I was a kid, but dungeons don't usually have clowns, you know?"

"If you're afraid of clowns, why do you always act like one?" Woojin seems to have regained a bit of cheek and could manage such a snarky comment.

"Wow, excuse you."

"Let's get through this," Minseoung suggested, "If we stay here for too long, this will become our grave."

"I feel incredibly uneasy!" Junhyun announced, his voice tight.

Keonhee opened his mouth to form a quick retort, but swallowed it when a particular form began to descend from its floating position a couple metres in the air. It was a big circus tent, a conventional one of red and white stripes and a silhouette full of personality, topped with a metal piece. It expanded as it fell, becoming the size of a huge room by the time it landed softly before them.

"Cute," Minseoung scoffed lightly, then lifted the tent flap and ducked in, his teammates following closely behind.

an: tell me why it took 14 chaps for me to realise electricity and lightning are not synonymous. like yes i knew they were different things but how did it just come so naturally to interchange them :"))