The cracked white space in front of me is a portal.
In the novel, after finding the tree and marking it with his blood.
A portal was created next to the tree. The protagonist entered it and then he was teleported from here to a dungeon called the Dungeon of Nightmare.
This means all I had to do was touch this portal and I would be teleported as well. It was certainly intriguing.
I walked towards the cracked space and slowly reached out my hands towards the white area in the fracture.
The moment my fingertips touched it. My vision was completely covered with this white flashing light. Before I could react, the white light vanished and everything went dark.
Gradually, faint glows began to appear along the cave walls. At first, they were barely noticeable but as several faint glows started to lit up. It was not enough to remove the darkness completely but allowed me to see some meters ahead.
I slowly looked around me and just as I thought I was inside a cave.
This is exact same place where the protagonist arrived after he entered through the portal.
But it felt different reading about this place and standing here inside it was completely. My heart starts to beat faster. I realized it is not fear I am feeling it is excitement.
There was only a single path through the cave, so there was not any need to worry about choosing the wrong direction. All I had to do was keep walking. Even if I wanted to get lost, it would have been impossible.
After walking in the same direction for some time, I was met with a dead end. A large stone wall was in front of me and there was no way to move forward.
As I look backwards all the lights that were coming from the walls has disappeared. Now there is only darkness.
"If I remember correctly. It should appear any second now."
I continued walking toward the wall. Suddenly an enormous snake emerged in front me.
"A human dared to enter here. Return right now or I will kill you?" the snake glared at me.
I looked at the snake for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"Are you done? Just ask your stupid riddle and get rid of the wall. I don't have all day."
This snake is just an illusion type gatekeeper. As an illusion it can't harm, no matter how much he threatens. The only way to pass from here is to answer his riddle.
That also means I can not do anything to it as using force on it would be just useless and if try to forcefully break the wall behind this snake I will just force back to the starting point, the white leaf tree.
"Interesting, you don't look scared of me, human and you know of riddle. You're not just any fool who wandered in here without knowledge."
Surely that freaking snake looks scary but I don't know why I am not feeling scared. May be its because I already know that this snake is harmless or maybe some of Owen's fearless personality remained in this body. I could not tell which explanation is right and which is wrong.
But that snake sure talked a lot.
"There is only one riddle so do your best answering it but if you can't answer, you will be trapped here for eternity" the snake smiled.
Unlike the threats about killing me, this time, I knew it is not bluffing. But fortunately, I have read the novel so I knew the answer already.
"Go ahead." I replied.
"Good then here is your riddle, listen carefully and answer it. People cling to me when certainty is gone. I disappear when despair wins. I cannot guarantee tomorrow, but I give people a reason to reach it." It laughed clearly thinking I could not answer the riddle.
"Hope." I answered without any hesitation.
The snake blinked. For the first time since it appeared that smug expression of its disappeared.
"How did you know the answer? You didn't even hesitate. You didn't even think." It sounded confused.
I simply smiled there is no reason to answer him anymore.
"Now that I've answered your riddle, it's time for you to open the way for me and vanish."
"Very well. May fate guides your path." And with that snake's body dissolved in countless particles of light and disappear completely.
A glowing magic circle suddenly formed on the wall. The symbols on it starting to rotate slowly and with that a sudden long crack formed at the center of the wall and split into two. The two halves slowly move apart opening the way.
Without wasting any time, I start moving forward and the instant I crossed the doorway, every light disappeared. I was surrounded by complete darkness.
I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face.
"Guess there's no turning back now."
I continued walking.
***
How long have I been walking? I have completely lost my sense of time. It could've been an hour? Two? Three or perhaps several. It doesn't matter every minute feels the same to me. Only the sound of my footsteps was telling me I was moving. Then.
"Your soul is ours."
The voice was low and sounds like someone is speaking directly near my ear.
"Turn back..." another voice.
"Abandon hope" a third voice.
The one voice became two then two became ten and ten became hundreds. The voices started coming from all the directions at once.
'The nightmares await'
'You cannot escape'
'Surrender to fear'
'We will never let you leave"
'Join us in eternal torment'
'The end is near'
No matter what I cannot stop now. I have reached 'Whispering Passage'. This passage is filled with phantoms.
The moment a person stopped here due to fear for even a single moment. He will be lost forever. No matter what he will do he will never be able to escape.
And that's why these phantoms are here to make us stop for single moment and for that they whisper like this this in our ear. They can't hurt us directly but once we are lost. We became food for them.
But just like that snake, I am not terrified I little bit. Maybe it is because I already know that the snake is just an illusion and these phantoms cannot harm me or maybe some of Owen's fearless personality remained in this body. I could not tell which explanation is right and which is wrong.
Whatever the reason, the whispers felt almost childish.
They continued screaming into my ears, trying desperately to make me stop.
I ignored every single one.
***
After what felt like an eternity, the whispers gradually faded behind me, I reached in front of big entrance. It is a massive stone archway. It was simply a giant opening carved into the rock.
I stopped a few steps away. I couldn't see other side of it. So now the easy part was over.
The next challenge in this dungeon is a bit tricky. I have known everything through the novel till now.
I know what to answer the snake gatekeeper's riddle, what to not do in the passage. But I don't know what will happen in the next.
Next one is 'Nightmare Room'. Here we will meet our deepest and darkest nightmare and defeat it to proceed.