We continue exploring the hall. It seems to have once been used for rituals, but there isn’t much left.

  Putting myself in a meditative position, the Qi around me funnels into my abdomen in a vortex.

  Once everything settles down, and no more Qi flows in, I sense that the stone-sized core within my abdomen has grown a little bit larger than before.

  With Qi enhancing my senses, they reach out in a spherical space around me. I push the size of the space to its limits, which has also grown a bit.

  Within this space, I am able to pick up all the minor details and subtle differences.

  My senses are also much more versatile, able to pick up a larger spectrum of light, sound, smell, taste, and tactile sensations. My body also has greatly enhanced balance, proprioception, and interoception.

  There are strange mechanisms behind the wall carvings, as well as an empty space behind the wall at the back.

  We walk over and try to push the wall; it’s not movable. Bailey reflexively grabs my arms.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t break the place,” I reassure him. He gives an awkward chuckle and releases me.

  My gaze snaps back to a painting on the wall. “Bailey, stand back,” I instruct, reaching out to touch the carving. There are mechanisms behind the red moon; it can be rotated.

  I turn it slowly, a distinct click echoing through the vast hall.

  Suddenly, the ground beneath me transforms into quicksand, trying its best to swallow me whole. I leap out of the way just in time.

  The ground returns to normal after a couple of minutes.

  Okay, so there are traps for doing this…

  Bailey rejoins me, shaking his head. “Aye, that’s a bust.”

  “Any clue what I did wrong?” I ask.

  Bailey starts examining the painting with me. He runs his fingers over the red moon, tracing its grooves.

  “That moon looks a bit peculiar. The markings are all wrong. If you turned it… about like that…” He rotates the moon’s image roughly thirty degrees.

  We quickly step back, bracing for traps. No clicks, no quicksand. Good.

  Next, my attention lands on the depiction of an Adamantine ore. This one seems designed to be pressed. I oblige, a couple of times, another click confirming the action.

  The air above me shimmers, then erupts in a torrent of flames.

  These probably aren’t ordinary flames, though. As quickly as it begins, the inferno vanishes, leaving behind the distinct absence of my clothing.

  Indestructible body, yes. Indestructible wardrobe, not so much…

  Bailey joins me again, holding out some new clothes. I explain to Bailey that I’d pressed it seven times last time.

  “Try four this time,” Bailey suggests. “There are four altars upstairs, so maybe four’s the magic number.”

  Knowing the flame trap was particularly nasty, I tell Bailey to stand well back. I slowly press the image: one… two… three… four… Nothing. No searing jet of fire; my new clothes are safe for now…

  The last thing that catches my attention is the depiction of Nyotha. It looks like it can be pulled down.

  So I do, pulling until a click echoes, and instantly sharp icicle spears shoot out from the walls. They still can’t pierce my body, of course.

  “That’s new,” I mutter to myself. “How could there be ice here, especially after all this time? Well, it’s still no match for my resilience, I suppose.”

  Bailey rushes over to join me, his eyes wide with concern. “That looks like some kind of elemental magic trap,” he observes.

  “I’ll be… I’ve never seen anything like it. Come to think of it, those last two traps weren't exactly ordinary, either.”

  “I pulled it down last time, trying to make it look…rooted,” I explain to Bailey. “That didn’t work.”

  Bailey squints at the wall painting, then places his hands on the tree. Before I can stop him, he grips the edges of the image and pulls it straight out. The trap doesn’t trigger!

  “Just didn’t seem right, somehow,” Bailey says. “The image…it looks out of place. Like it doesn’t belong in this painting…or even in this world.”

  A quick glance upward reveals the keyhole we’re missing: an empty slot high on the wall, directly above us.

  "I'll handle this one," I say, a confident grin spreading across my face. With a nimble leap, I ascend the wall, my body effortlessly navigating the vertical surface.

  Carefully, I place the tree image into the slot.

  Click. The wall at the end of the hall develops a thin slit.

  We hurry over and shove the section of wall inward and slip through.

  Another long hallway stretches before us, also decorated with wall paintings.

  These depict what look like Tieflings? Well… demonic-looking people, at least. Are these supposed to be ancient Luthraks?

  “These are supposed to be Luthraks?” I ask Bailey.

  "No, nothing I recognize… these folks… I’ve never seen their like," Bailey stammers, clearly perplexed.

  “So, Luthraks don’t look like this?” I ask, thoroughly confused.

  "No… they’re much like us, really, 'cept they've got the same dark skin as these folks. But no horns, and their faces are… well, different," Bailey clarifies.

  As I cautiously step into the hallway, the floor tiles remain solid. “Maybe I’m being too paranoid,” I mutter. I take another step, and a volley of bullets whizzes past.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Of course. Because why wouldn't there be a trap in a hallway full of ancient paintings?

  I march ahead of Bailey, acting as a human trap detector. Bailey trails behind, his device and mask clutched in his hands, carefully following my footsteps.

  As we proceed, I trigger a veritable symphony of traps. They come in all elemental varieties: water, thunder, wind, and fire. I narrowly dodge the jet of flames this time.

  Should have packed more spare clothes…

  The painted eyes on the walls watch our every move, their gaze heavy with ancient malice.

  The end of the hallway quickly approaches, revealing another doorway. Thankfully, this one isn’t locked.

  I go through first, with Bailey close behind. We find ourselves in a cavern containing a massive, bizarre machine. And it's still running… cranking and turning with a slow, rhythmic motion.

  “It’s been runnin’ the whole time…” Bailey breathes, his voice filled with awe.

  Bailey and I examine the machine closely. It presses directly against the wall, scraping and pushing.

  Wires snake into it from underground, and a thick tube leads off somewhere into the depths of the cavern.

  We follow the tube deeper into the cavern.

  Ssss…ssss…SssssSsss

  An intense hiss echoes from the cavern ahead. Bailey and I slow, and I motion for him to dim our lights. We peer around the next bend.

  The tube opens into a larger chamber containing what was once a conveyor belt system, now a rusted, skeletal mess.

  From the tube’s opening, however, flows a steady stream of fine, glittering particles, accumulating into a sizable mound.

  A large, golden, slug-like creature coils atop the dust pile, surrounded by hundreds, maybe thousands, of smaller versions, all nestled within and around the glittering heap.

  "That's more like a Geodyte, a young'un. But that pile of dust over there..." Bailey whispers, his gaze fixed on the mound.

  “Why are they all clustered on it?” I ask, squinting. The dust has a distinct orangey-gold, almost copper-like sheen.

  “That dust has Adamantine in it. Not much, from what I can see, but there’s a bit there,” Bailey murmurs, pointing toward the pile.

  So, a massive pile of treasure, and those are the dragons…

  We carefully retreat from the chamber, retracing our steps back to the great hall.

  “So, what now? That’s the Adamantine source back there, and that machine…it’s been running for who knows how long…” I say to Bailey as we settle down to chew on some more dry meat.

  “Must be made of some powerful stuff. Nothin’ should last this long, ‘specially without any upkeep,” Bailey muses, working his way through a particularly tough piece of meat garnished with a few green caviars.

  Bailey and I agree, the best option is to go around the Geodytes. If we don’t disturb the nesting area, the Geodytes probably won’t attack.

  Probably. It’s not exactly a guarantee, but it’s better than risking another encounter with Kavriades or slaying all the Geodytes for no reason.

  After a good rest—and Bailey carefully stowing his remaining caviar—we gear up and head back to the dust pile nesting area. We crouch low, carefully circling the mound.

  We’re almost around it when… “Achoo!” Bailey sneezes. Of course. Just our luck.

  The massive slug notices us, but instead of attacking, it just stares, guarding the pile like a dragon and its hoard.

  We slowly back away, keeping our distance until we’ve almost made it all the way around. That’s when I slip, stumbling a couple of steps closer to the slug. I think I’m in the clear, but then my hair flares up again!

  Oh… this isn’t going to end well…

  The iridescent strands plunge into the Adamantine dust pile. The pile’s sheen vanishes in seconds.

  Preparing for the inevitable tug of dimensional travel. Instead, I feel an odd aura forming around me.

  A deafening screech, like nails on a chalkboard amplified a thousand times, pierces my eardrums.

  The giant slug, which now looks less like a slug and more like a very grumpy, very large, very slimy snake, is joined by a whole bunch of smaller versions. We're officially surrounded.

  Many of the surrounding slugs begin to glow with an eerie, internal light, then abruptly turn a shade of brown and drop lifelessly to the cavern floor.

  Immediately after, a sudden, powerful gust of wind whips through the cavern. The gust intensifies into a swirling whirlwind that whips around us.

  "What do we do now...?" Bailey’s voice wobbles a bit as he nervously waves his gun around, trying to find something to shoot amidst the chaos.

  "Are we supposed to...shoot the wind? 'Cause I don't reckon this gun can do that." Another batch of slugs glow, then meet the same fate as their brethren.

  Instinctively, I sense a subtle shift in the atmosphere surrounding us. I instantly grab Bailey and shove him out of the wind’s circle.

  The moment he’s clear, flames erupt from thin air, engulfing me in a fiery tornado. I’m not harmed, but my clothes… they’re once again turning to ash.

  The aura around me seems to be concentrating around my still-glowing, iridescent hair. My hair feels… strange.

  For the first time, it’s like it’s become a part of me, new, very sensitive, very numerous limbs. Strange sensations travel along the strands, as if they’ve sprouted their own nervous system.

  That’s new… I’ve gotta do something fast! Or Bailey’s toast! Literally!

  Transformation! The sea serpent form flashes through my mind – the one time my hair shifted into that massive creature.

  As the memory surfaces, the iridescent strands instinctively extend, writhing and coiling around me. A split second later, the familiar, scaled texture of the alien sea serpent takes over, and I'm in its complete, massive form.

  My vision snaps into the sea serpent’s body, the cavern floor suddenly a long way down.

  Fragments of the serpent’s reawakened memories swirl within me. While wrestling control of this colossal form, I realize I can now channel the Qi into every strand of my hair.

  Along with the alien sea serpent’s memories, I gain complete control over this oversized body.

  Is this what it feels like to be in an Eva?!

  This serpentine body, while not exactly built for land travel, is surprisingly agile. I whip my tail, sending a powerful gust of wind that breaks apart the flames.

  As the smoke clears, I see Bailey staring at me, his jaw dropped in astonishment.

  He’ll get used to it… eventually.

  I quickly scoop him up—“swallowed” him, technically—and hold him gently inside my mouth, before snaking past the stunned slugs and lumbering deeper into the cavern as fast as this oversized body can manage.

  Another deafening screech rips through the air, and thousands of the small slugs light up in a dazzling display.

  A massive blue lightning bolt erupts from thin air and zaps us. Good news: apparently, I'm not a great conductor. I press on, unfazed. Bad news: Getting struck by lightning will not do the trick.

  The gargantuan slug, however, moves with shocking speed, once more blocking our path.

  That doesn’t deter me. I body slam it against the cavern wall. The impact shakes the entire cavern. The slug squishes, then rebounds, sending me staggering.

  It shrieks again, its voice echoing through the tunnels. This slug is surprisingly resilient.

  I quickly follow up with a swing of my tail, smashing it against the rocks above the slug. Jagged shards rain down, piercing the slug. Many of the smaller slugs are crushed in the rockfall.

  Swarms of the remaining slugs swarm over the larger one, glowing and pulsing, channeling various elemental attacks into the broken rocks, shattering them further.

  They then begin sealing the large slug’s wounds, rapidly healing it.

  Before it can recover, I turn and lumber deeper into the cavern. A large underground river appears before us, flowing into a partially submerged tunnel.

  Looks like Lady Luck’s finally decided to join the party!

  Without hesitation, I plunge into the water. The slug pursues us to the riverbank, screeching in frustration, before halting at the water’s edge.

  In a final, desperate attempt, another massive bolt of lightning streaks after us. It fries many of the smaller creatures in the water. Fortunately, we emerge unscathed.

  This form is made for swimming. I keep my head—and Bailey within—above the surface as much as possible.

  The current even helps push us along. Sensing ahead, I find an area of solid ground and swim toward it. I don’t stop until we finally reach it.

  With the echoes of the slug’s screech still ringing in our ears, I scramble onto the shore.

  The moment we’re both on dry land, my sea serpent form dissolves, and my hair returns to its usual long, silver strands. The cavern's darkness envelops us.