We thought the dungeon couldn’t get any darker, but somehow, the oppressive gloom thickened as we ventured deeper.  Jay-Jay was practically skipping ahead, brimming with the confidence of a kid who thinks he’s invincible—despite being terrified of a guy in a jester hat. Meanwhile, the rest of us were silently hoping we didn’t run into another oversized monster.

“This place is like a never-ending maze,” Sabrina muttered, her eyes darting around warily. “How do people in these worlds even survive?”

Alice grinned, clearly enjoying every second. “Because they’re built different. Just like us now.”

Jeanna groaned, rolling her eyes. “If by ‘built different,’ you mean ‘slowly losing our minds,’ then sure, we’re totally the main characters here.”

As we rounded another corner, Jeanna stopped dead in her tracks, staring down a long corridor lined with twisted, thorn-covered vines. “Okay, hold up. Why does this look like a setup for some steamy, forbidden romance?”

Sabrina blinked. “What?”

Jeanna stepped forward, gesturing dramatically at the dark, ominous hallway. “You know—mysterious guy from the shadows. Dangerous, but irresistibly handsome. He grabs you by the waist, presses you against the wall, and whispers, ‘This is madness, but I can’t fight it anymore.’”

Alice burst out laughing. “Oh, for the love of—Jeanna, we’re in a death dungeon. Why is your mind still on shirtless dudes?”

Jeanna gave her a mock glare. “I’m just saying, this is the kind of place where the romance happens. Dark, dangerous... you can practically hear the heavy breathing.”

“Yeah, except here it’s the monster breathing,” Sabrina said, shaking her head. “We’re definitely going to end up eaten if you keep daydreaming about a love affair.”

Jeanna shrugged, completely unbothered. “A little danger adds spice.”

Jay-Jay tugged on Jeanna’s sleeve, his face scrunched up in confusion. “What’s forbidden romance?”

Jeanna knelt down to his level, looking deadly serious. “Forbidden romance is when two people fall in love, but they’re not supposed to be together. It’s all very dramatic and steamy.”

“Like when a princess falls in love with a knight?” Jay-Jay asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Jeanna’s smile widened. “Exactly! Except, you know, sometimes there are more... adult details.”

Sabrina quickly intervened. “Okay, let’s not dive into those details, yeah?”

Jay-Jay gave a reluctant nod, still looking intrigued. “Sounds complicated.”

“Oh, it is,” Jeanna replied with a knowing nod. “Complicated, dramatic, and totally worth it.”

Alice sighed, pushing past them and taking the lead again. “Well, while you guys are fantasizing about dangerous romances, I’ll be finding the portal that’s going to get us out of this cursed place.”

The corridor led us into another cavernous room, and at the far end, we spotted it: the portal. It was glowing with an eerie, shimmering light, framed by jagged rocks and swirling energy. The sight of it was almost surreal, like something straight out of Alice’s action-packed dungeon novels.

“There it is,” Alice whispered, her eyes wide with excitement. “The portal.”

Jeanna, naturally, was unimpressed. “Well, it’s no mysterious lover in the shadows, but I guess it’ll do.”

Sabrina gave her a gentle shove. “We’ve got bigger problems than your love life right now.”

As we cautiously approached the portal, Jay-Jay suddenly stopped and frowned. “Uh... guys? There’s something wrong with it.”

Alice narrowed her eyes, inspecting the portal closely. “What do you mean? It looks fine to me.”

“No,” Jay-Jay said, shaking his head. “Look at the way it’s glowing. It’s... flickering.”

We all stopped and stared. Sure enough, the portal’s light was pulsing irregularly, as though it was struggling to maintain its connection to wherever it was supposed to lead.

Sabrina let out a frustrated sigh. “Of course. Of course it’s malfunctioning.”

Alice looked more annoyed than worried. “Okay, no big deal. We just need to stabilize it.”

Jeanna raised an eyebrow. “And how do we do that? Tap it like a TV remote?”

Alice rolled her eyes. “No, we just need to... uh... figure out what’s wrong with it first.”

“Solid plan,” Jeanna said, smirking. “Very detailed.”

Before Alice could respond, the portal flickered violently, sending out a shockwave of energy that knocked us all off our feet. We tumbled backward, landing in a heap as the portal’s light dimmed and then surged back to life.

“Well, that’s definitely not good,” Sabrina muttered, wincing as she got back on her feet.

Jay-Jay, who seemed far more excited than concerned, ran toward the portal. “I’ve seen this before! It just means the portal’s unstable. We need to find something to power it up.”

Jeanna raised an eyebrow. “And where exactly do we find a power source in the middle of a death dungeon?”

Jay-Jay pointed toward the dark corner of the room, where a pedestal stood. On top of it, a glowing crystal hummed with faint energy.

“There!” he exclaimed. “That’s probably what we need.”

Alice was already moving toward the pedestal. “Okay, we grab the crystal, power up the portal, and get out of here.”

“Or,” Jeanna said, looking skeptical, “we grab the crystal and summon something horrible that eats us alive.”

“Optimism, Jeanna,” Sabrina muttered, following Alice. “It’s what’s keeping us sane.”

The closer we got to the pedestal, the louder the crystal hummed. It was giving off an intense energy, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Alice, ever the brave one, reached out and grabbed the crystal without hesitation.

The moment her fingers touched it, the dungeon trembled. The walls shook, dust falling from the ceiling as the crystal’s light intensified.

“Great,” Jeanna said, backing away. “We’re totally summoning something.”

Alice quickly pulled the crystal free, cradling it like a trophy. “Relax, nothing’s coming. We just need to—”

Before she could finish, the ground beneath us rumbled violently, and from the shadows, a massive figure began to emerge. It was easily twice the size of the monster we had fought before, its eyes glowing with a deep, menacing red.

“Okay, I stand corrected,” Alice said, her voice shaky. “Something’s definitely coming.”

Jeanna groaned, throwing her hands up. “Can’t we just have one normal dungeon? No monsters, no creepy glowing eyes—just a nice, calm stroll through some ruins?”

Sabrina pulled out her weapon, her eyes wide with panic. “Yeah, well, welcome to Alice’s dream dungeon.”

The creature fully emerged from the shadows—a towering, armored beast with blades for arms and a face that was nothing but a gaping, fiery maw. It let out a guttural roar, shaking the entire room.

Jay-Jay, of course, was thrilled. “Yes! A boss battle!”

Jeanna, not missing a beat, muttered, “Still no abs. What a letdown.”

With no other choice, we braced ourselves for another fight. The monster lunged at us, its bladed arms slicing through the air as we scrambled to dodge. Alice, holding the crystal in one hand and her weapon in the other, was desperately trying to figure out how to activate the portal while simultaneously avoiding being skewered.

Sabrina and I managed to distract the beast long enough for Alice to rush back to the portal. She jammed the crystal into the base of the portal’s frame, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then, with a deafening crack, the portal roared to life. Its light flared, bright and steady, illuminating the entire chamber.

“We did it!” Alice yelled, her voice echoing through the room.

But the monster wasn’t about to let us go that easily. With one final, earth-shaking roar, it charged at us with terrifying speed.

Jeanna, ever the quick thinker, grabbed Jay-Jay by the collar and made a mad dash toward the portal. “I’m too hot to die in a dungeon!”

We all followed, racing toward the glowing light as the beast’s shadow loomed closer. Just as it was about to reach us, we dove headfirst into the portal, the world around us dissolving into light and sound.

For a moment, everything was chaos—flashes of color, roaring winds, and the feeling of being pulled in every direction at once. And then, just as suddenly, it all stopped.

We landed in a heap, groaning as we tried to untangle ourselves. The air was crisp, fresh, and for the first time in what felt like forever, we weren’t surrounded by darkness.

Sabrina lifted her head, blinking at the bright sunlight filtering through the trees. “We made it...”

Jeanna, sprawled out next to her, groaned. “Next time, we’re doing this in one of my books. I want romance, not trauma.”

Alice chuckled, though she still seemed a bit disoriented. “We survived. That’s what counts.”

Jay-Jay popped up like nothing had happened, beaming. “Can we do it again?”

We all groaned in unison.