Hunters: Tales Of The Perfect Humonculus

[Chapter Four] Etre (part one)

Fray was walking through the dark hallways together with Sera. The silence was deafening even with the occasional moans and loud beating of a heart. It bugged him. The heart beat sent chills down his spine. The hallway of the tower was wide. The candles which were hung at the wall provided them a dim orange glow. It was only enough for them to see what was around them. Thousands of eccentric paintings were glued to the wall. They seemed too realistic, to the point where they looked as if they were alive. It was as If they were staring at them.

“Those are the pictures of Aurammer and his adventures.” Sera said as she stared at the paintings, particularly the large landscape painting showing a tall tower. “It’s the clock-tower, back when it was just newly built.” The clock-tower shiny, contradicting its current rusty appearance.

“It sure looks brand new.” He said. He stared at a man with a bulky body and pointed ears. His mustache was thick, but it wasn’t curly. “Who is he?” He asked as he stared at Sera, who was also staring at the same picture.

“Aurammer himself.” She answered. “Let’s get moving. I don’t wanna stay here any longer…” Her voice trailed off. It was quite surprising since it was highly unlikely of her to be scared.

“You scared?” He asked.

“Not scared… it’s just… this place feels creepy. I can smell the foul odor of the dead.” She stuttered.

He didn’t ask any further. He knew that what she was saying was true. The smell lingered around his nose. It was so bad that he felt like vomiting.

They continued to venture through the wide corridor until they reached a tall, large French door. “This is it.” She said as she put her palm to the door.

“It’s done? Are we already here?” He asked in surprised tone. He did not expect the maze to end so fast. Moreover, it didn’t even feel like a maze.

“Quite the opposite actually.” She faced Fray. “This is just the start.” She smiled.

She opened the door. And though it seemed as if it was unmovable because of its size, it actually opened up pretty easily. They entered a wide, white room. It was very spacious since there was no furniture around. But what shocked them was thing that was placed in the middle of the room. It was another room. It seemed cramped since the area it took was very small. Its door was made of metal. It was all plain except for the circular marking at the middle.

“What the…” Fray said. His jaw dropped.

“Like I said, it’s just the beginning of maze.” She grinned. “It’s starting to get exciting.” She no longer looked scared and she was now her usual self.

Fray approached the door first. “Shall I open it?” He said as he looked at Sera.

Sera gestured for him to continue.

Fray touched the doorknob hesitantly. He was afraid that he might be suddenly electrocuted upon touching it. But he was not, the knob didn’t have any traps. What surprised him was the sight of what’s behind the door. It was a dead-end. It was just another plain room. It’s area was only enough to fit a single person.

Fray raised an eyebrow at Sera. “What do we do now?”

Sera approached the room, but she didn’t enter. “It’s a puzzle.” She eyed the cramped room, as if she was waiting for something to pop out. “There should be something here that could help us move forward… maybe a button of some kind…” She said as she searched in and out of the room.

Fray noticed the circular marking that was etched on the door. “Is this it?” He asked.

Sera examined the marking. She touched it, only to find that it was not the thing they were looking for. “No. It’s not a button… but it might’ve been the key to a puzzle…” She said as she felt the surface on the marking.