You could hear footsteps echoing through the dark and humid corridor. The air was heavy, clinging to the skin, and the ground glistened with wet patches made of multiple liquids no one could identify. Two voices broke through the silence, shouting at each other back and forth.
"Can't you just get off my back??"
Karma's voice thundered down the hall. Rita looked one second away from punching him.
"«Get off your back»?? ME?! You're the one who keeps whining!!"
"I'm not whining! I'm just stating facts!"
They were fighting again—loudly, pointlessly—over something so unimportant neither would remember it later.
After walking a bit more, they finally reached another room. Their arguing halted as both of them stepped inside and took in their surroundings. This room was lit and quite large, almost like a dining hall. A big wooden table—one of those kings would have for themselves—stood in the center, resting on a dirty red silk carpet.
Countless paintings covered the walls. Most had lost their colors, or were ripped, shredded, barely holding together. Only one painting stood out: the one at the far end of the room, untouched, perfect.
Karma and Rita slowly approached it, eyes drifting from the table to the ruined frames, until they arrived before the last painting.
"Whoa…"
Karma let it slip without meaning to. They both staring, speechless, at the beautiful piece of art in front of them.
It was a painting of a stunning woman in a blue dress, gazing at the moon from what seemed to be a balcony. She looked lost in thoughts, the moonlight illuminating her snow white skin.
"This is… beautiful.."
Rita muttered, her eyes glued to the woman's face.
Eventually, they managed to tear their eyes away and focus. The room may have had light thanks to the glowing stones stuck to the ceiling, but it lacked something far more important, an exit. There was no other way out except the corridor they came from, and going back wasn't exactly an option.
Karma spoke first:
"So.. what are we supposed to do now?"
"I don't know, there must be a way to continue.. a puzzle or something?"
He scanned the room for any clue—anything that looked like a mechanism or a riddle. But after a careful look, he found nothing that could help them.
"It doesn't look like it.."
"You barely looked around!"
Rita snapped, annoyed by Karma's lack of effort.
"Because there's barely anything to look for!"
He answered louder, frustration showing. Rita was about to retort, but stopped herself. She sighed and sat down on a chair.
"Let's think this through… there's clearly something wrong with that painting."
"I.. guess there is yes.."
"We should probably try to study it a bit harder."
Rita leaned in again, eyes tracing every element, squinting occasionally to make sure she missed nothing. But ultimately, nothing about the painting besides the girl looking longingly at the moon seemed meaningful.
Frustrated, Rita suddenly punched the table, making Karma flinch just as he was about to make a sarcastic comment.
"Um… Maybe there is something behind it..?"
He suggested cautiously. Rita gave him a tired look, but moved to help him. Together, they lifted the painting off the wall—and to their surprise, there was something hidden behind it. A message, carved in Latin:
Rita skimmed the inscription, then looked at Karma expectantly. He sighed before speaking:
"It says, «Paintings, are.. a reflection.. of past things.. put them together to… find the correct.. truth..? That locked.. the ones before you here..». Kind of… poetic? I think."
She thought about it for a while, trying to grasp the meaning. Karma reread the words silently, checking if he made any mistake that could change the meaning.
Finally, Rita spoke:
"I think we need to study the other paintings."
"..but how? Most of them are not really in their prime anymore."
"Well, firstly, we can also take them off the wall and check if there is anything behind them…"
Karma looked unconvinced, but eventually helped anyway. He checked the paintings on one side, she checked the ones on the other. Behind each ruined canvas, they found a word. In the end, they had six:
– Love
– Comfort
– Beauty
– Danger
– Passion
– Longing
"Okay.. so there's definitely something… I guess you were right… we just have to find out what to do with those words now.."
"It said to «put them together» right..?"
Karma glanced again at the carved message.
"Yes, it did… where are you trying to get at?"
"Well then we probably have to find a word that links with all the other, right?"
"… that's a bit far fetched…"
"It's really not.. Plus, it's our best shot.."
Karma still didn't look convinced, but she was right, it was their only lead.
So they thought. And thought. One word after another, minutes slipping by, then half an hour. Eventually, Karma gave up and decided to take a break, exhausted from everything that had happened.
He cleared part of the carpet, lay down, and tried to sleep. But he couldn't—not with Rita pacing and making noise.
"Can you stop?!"
Karma snapped, glaring at her.
"We can fucking continue after taking a break.. we've been up for way too long now."
Rita didn't argue this time. To Karma's surprise, she simply obeyed, sitting down quietly.
He finally began drifting off—until Rita started moving again. Enraged, he jolted upright and yelled:
"When the hell will you shu—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Rita was crying. Trembling. Trying desperately to be silent. She hid her face when she saw him look, but it was too late—he'd already seen the tears.
Karma went still. He never thought he'd see her cry. Rita always acted so strong, so unaffected. Even when scared or disturbed she'd push through it. But now… that Rita was nowhere to be found.
"What the- are you- did something-"
He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't form. So instead, he stood and sat beside her.
They stayed like that for a while, silence filling the room, until Rita finally whispered:
"I- i can't take this anymore.. it's all too much.. all of this.. this situation… I-i-i don't know what's going on..!"
That's when it hit him. Rita, for all her strength, was still just a college student—barely an adult thrown into something far too big.
He reached for her and hugged her gently, whispering things like "it's all going to be okay.." and "you'll be fine."
After a long moment, she pulled away, wiping her tears.
"You better not talk about this to the others.."
"Sure.. no one will know.. you can trust me.. the amazing Karma never lies after all!"
She stared at him blankly, showing absolutely no reaction.
"Um… you could say something… I'm trying to cheer you up here."
He muttered awkwardly. Finally, she laughed—quietly, but genuinely.
"You are.. so dumb you know?"
"Hey! You should show a bit more respect towards your elders you know.."
"Why? How old even are you?"
"I'm turning 25 this year."
"25?! You barely look 18!"
"Well thanks for the compliment-"
"No, I'll stop you right there this wasn't a compliment."
"…"
Karma opened his mouth to fire back, but stopped. Something clicked.
"..Fire.."
"What..?"
Rita blinked, confused by his sudden shift.
"The word, I think I have it, it's Fire! The fire of love, the warmth it gives to others, its beautiful colors, its destructive nature, the burning passion and desire! It has to be it!"
Rita's eyes widened as she connected the dots. She immediately ran to the inscription and yelled:
"FIRE!"
She waited, expecting something—anything—but the room stayed perfectly still.
"I don't think it's worki—"
"You probably need to say it in Latin."
Karma cut her off. He gently moved her aside and, in a calm voice, said:
"Ignis."
The room trembled instantly. The ground beneath them split open, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.