Masa Ed for the first time in his life felt great horror that reached the depth of the soul. One that did not just made him pee himself but froze in place unable to move a muscle to defend himself.
However, what he expected should happen next; the excruciating pain and the jet of blood that should follow his two arms that have been cleanly cleft from his shoulder, never happened.
Instead, after a blink he at first tried not to let happen... he discovered the reflective glass panel of the door that appeared on the wall after the paper that contains his riddle was plastered on it, contains only his faint reflection and nothing else that shouldn't be there or what he earlier saw that frightened and paralyzed him. It was like he imagined it.
'Was that my imagination?'
Still curious as to what he probably saw and what he definitely experienced, Masa Ed first look around him at the limited part of the corridor that is now illuminated by his lantern that mysteriously lit up, before feeling his pants that is really wet from pee.
"I really wet myself, unbelievable."
A man of great courage and strong heart, and as such, aware of this qualities he possessed, the fact he peed himself from fear felt unreal to Mada Ed that he has to sniff the wet stain he got little of it on his hand before he is certain its pee and not water one of the actors he suspects have been responsible for everything he has been experiencing got on his pants somehow.
"Its really pee. I am a fucking coward, that pen was right."
Self criticism, which is another one of his qualities... Masa Ed did not refrain from calling himself what his cowardly actions reflects or show. And at the same time, the word pen he mentioned reminds him of his ongoing predicament, so he quickly return his focus to the door that appeared strangely on the wall to examine it.
"Tch."
'This bastards just like complicating matters. Motherfuckers.'
Clicking his tongue in annoyance as he realized what is going on with the door that looked tightly shut, Masa Ed quickly picked up the pen and notebook, then also quickly carrying his lantern, he quickly opened the door that yielded easily and passed through to the other side behind it excitedly, thinking he should be free one way or the other.
However, what he saw at the other side of the door didn't just differ greatly from what he imagined, but it shocked him to the point he froze first before loosing his composure.
"What the hell?!?!?!"
Masa Ed screamed.
Describing what he saw... Masa Ed as he exit the door stepped on the 66 cm by 66 cm snow white marble landing of a stair of similar look that goes down into a sea of dense fog below him that seems to extend endlessly in all directions as he couldn't see where it ends. And what he saw exactly that surprised him is the bright moon in his left peripheral view and at what seems to be a very close distance to him that looks super gigantic like he is kind of very high in the sky, very close to it.
"Have I been abducted by aliens, and I am on their ship?"
Masa Ed turned to look behind him, expecting to see the door he just came out from, but what he saw was a snow white marble wall that extends from high above into the the fog far below and is inlaid with glittering gold in a pattern like a greek key pattern. And its this wall that is like the face of a square tower the stair landing he is standing on adjoins.
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'Thank my ancestors I have overcome my fear of height, but what's really going on here?'
As he turned back around with thoughts of what is going on in his mind, the notebook and white pen just like before suddenly broke free from his hold. And as both suspended in front of him—positioned midair—the pen like earlier starts writing on a page in the notebook after it opened on its own.
[Coward, you have squandered two minutes of the time you have to scale down the stairs. Now, read carefully, I won't repeat myself. Go down 33 steps, then turn to the right and go down 33 steps, then turn to the left and go down 33 steps, then turn to the left and go down 33 steps, then turn to the right and go down 33 steps, then turn left and go down 33 steps, then turn right and go down 33 steps, then turn right and go down 33 steps, then turn left and go down 33 steps, and finally turn right and go down 33 steps. Remember you have three minutes left to get out of here. And if you fall into that fog, congratulations, the creatures inside it will peel you from skin to bone and you will feel every moment of it. Goodluck, coward.]
As the pen ceased writing, the notebook closed shut, and together they flew back to Masa Ed who has been repeatedly repeating the directions he has to follow since he saw them. He already anticipated something like the instruction catching fire might happened like what happened with the nameless idiot message just after he saw the first instruction the pen wrote.
"Right, left, left, right, left, right, right, left, right... Right, left, left, right, left, right, right, left, right..."
After catching the notebook and pen, Masa Ed right away and while still repeating the directions picked his lantern and starts rapidly descending the steps that their surface is as large as their standing he was standing on—not forgetting to count their numbers accurately as the instruction instructed, and also making sure one of his steps lands him on the next step as he is certain there is a trick at play with the wording *step* that the pen used. In other words, he thinks since the pen did not distinguish between steps that he take and the steps of the stairs, he might as well satisfy both, pretty simple.
Moving on... A moment later, Masa Ed as he counted, completed 33 steps downward. And as he turned right on the step where he stopped—although with many more to go downward—he frowned as he became stumped on how to proceed exactly.
Should he continue to go downward sideways or should he step on the empty space he is facing, which also satisfy what the instruction says, and go down 33 steps on an invisible stair.
"Fuck! They won't just make things easy."
Masa Ed screamed out of frustration that comes from the dilemma the instruction presented. Also, he discovered the gigantic bright moon is once again occupying the left corner of his eyes like before he took the right turn, which he found a little out of place. However, ignoring it, he continued to engage his mind for the right approach from the two options he thinks he has been presented.
'Continuing down the stair sideways make more sense, but with the way this bastards have been doing things, I won't be surprised if its the wrong choice. But do I have a choice... there is even a fucking time limit... Wait...'
Masa Ed like he got an inspiration smiled and placing the lantern and notebook beside him on the step, he proceeded to knee down, before bending forward a little, supporting himself with one hand, thereby getting him closer to the edge of the step. Then with his other hand, he felt the empty space in front of him which is just after the edge of the step, trying to see if there is possibly a step hidden with the help of a strange gimmick he does not know.
"Great! Nothing is here."
Moving on... Masa Ed after concluding there is nothing to worry about anymore about his choice, stood up without forgetting to carry his lantern and take the notebook.
And after he carefully rethink everything the pen instructs in details, he took a deep breath and proceed to continue sideways on the steps downward in the usual manner of a step taken per step, assured its the right approach the vague instruction commands.
However, after he took that step that should set him on the next step, Masa Ed felt weightlessness as he together with everything he is holding plunged down to the depth that is the endless stretch of fog below, and its where a horde of millions of glowing frenzied creatures that look exactly like piranhas with their sharp unique set of teeth teeth crackling with electricity are waiting for him excitedly with literal flames in their eyes.
'Fuck! I messed up.'
