The atmosphere hung thick with tension as we ventured deeper into the dungeon. It felt like a world apart from the surface, where we’d already faced too many surprises for one day. And now, here we were, marching straight toward another disaster.

Jay-Jay, naturally, darted ahead as if he’d been born for this, bouncing with excitement like a kid headed for a playground instead of a life-threatening dungeon. His boundless energy was doing nothing to help our nerves.

“I swear, if this kid leads us straight into a trap, I’m throwing him at the monsters,” Jeanna muttered, crossing her arms with an exasperated huff.

Sabrina, ever the optimist, nudged Jeanna playfully. “You know you love him. He’s too cute for you to hate forever.”

“He’s trouble with a capital T,” Jeanna grumbled, though a hint of a smirk betrayed her usual gruffness.

We crept through the dungeon, following the flickering lights of the glowing crystals embedded in the walls. The mood remained light thanks to Jay-Jay’s impromptu commentary. “See, the moss on the walls means this place is old. Like, super old. My brother told me—”

Jeanna cut him off with a side-eye. “Does your brother ever stop talking?”

Jay-Jay puffed up proudly. “Nope. He’s a dungeon scout! Knows everything about these places.”

“Great,” Jeanna deadpanned, though she didn’t hide the amusement in her tone, “we’re following the kid version of a death manual.”

As we reached the heart of the dungeon, the temperature noticeably dropped. The light from the crystals dimmed, and shadows crept across the ancient stone floor. The air felt thick—alive even. Jay-Jay stopped suddenly, staring at the large, ominous door before us. Its surface was etched with glowing symbols that pulsed faintly in the gloom.

“This is it,” Jay-Jay whispered dramatically, his wide eyes glued to the door. “The portal.”

Alice was practically vibrating with excitement. “Oh, this is it! This is just like chapter twelve of The Hero’s Descent! The portal, the boss fight—everything is perfect!”

I shot her a look. “Let’s hope this ends better than your usual death-heavy fantasy books.”

Jeanna quirked an eyebrow, eyeing the door with a mischievous glint. “You know, if this portal spits out some hot warriors, I won’t complain. We could use some eye candy along with all this doom.”

“Priorities, Jeanna,” I muttered.

Jay-Jay, ignoring the banter, whispered, “But there’s a big boss behind the door. My brother said so.”

“Of course there is,” I sighed.

Without waiting for a vote of confidence, Alice strode toward the door, placing her hand on the symbols. The runes shimmered brighter, responding to her touch with a pulse of energy. “Here we go!” she exclaimed. “Get ready for anything!”

The door groaned open, revealing a massive chamber. Rubble littered the floor, and at its center stood a towering stone archway—the portal. It shimmered with an otherworldly glow, the kind that makes your hair stand on end.

“Well, there it is,” Sabrina murmured. “The portal.”

But before we could step closer, a low growl echoed from the shadows. A monstrous figure emerged—a hulking beast with glowing eyes and razor-sharp claws that scraped menacingly against the stone floor.

Jay-Jay’s eyes went wide, and just as he opened his mouth to scream, Jeanna clamped a hand over his face. “Nope. Not today.”

I sighed, drawing my sword. “Well, here we go. Time for that big boss fight.”

Alice’s grin widened. “This is it! My moment has finally arrived!”

Sabrina groaned, unsheathing her sword. “Great. Could’ve done without the monster, though.”

As the beast lumbered closer, Jeanna, still holding a squirming Jay-Jay, smirked. “If we don’t get some treasure out of this, I’m going to be seriously disappointed.”

The heavy door creaked open, and we stepped through, the air around us thick with magic. The dungeon had led us deeper than I expected, and each step felt like we were walking straight into Alice’s blood-soaked fantasy novels. Jay-Jay was in front, practically bouncing with excitement.

“I swear, this kid’s got more guts than us,” Jeanna muttered, rolling her eyes.

Sabrina glanced around at the walls, which pulsed with an eerie light. “Does anyone else feel like we’re being watched? It’s like the dungeon’s alive.”

“You’re just paranoid,” Alice said, waving a hand dismissively. “I mean, yeah, it’s creepy, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Classic dungeon crawl.”

I wasn’t convinced. The deeper we got, the more it felt like something was waiting for us, like we were walking straight into a trap.

Jay-Jay came to an abrupt halt, his tiny hand pointing to a massive stone archway at the end of the corridor. “That’s it! That’s the portal!”

The archway was covered in intricate runes, glowing with a pale blue light that shimmered in the darkness. The whole room felt like it was humming with energy, the kind that makes your hair stand on end.

Sabrina’s eyes widened. “It’s beautiful…”

Jeanna, however, was less impressed. “Yeah, yeah, it’s a glowy doorway. Can we focus on not dying?”

Alice practically ran to the archway, her eyes wide with excitement. “This is it! A real, honest-to-goodness portal to another world!”

I groaned. “You’re saying that like we haven’t already been dragged into one weird world.”

Before anyone could respond, Jay-Jay tugged on Sabrina’s sleeve. “My brother says there’s a guardian here. We have to beat it to open the portal.”

A ripple went through the group. Jay-Jay rarely mentioned his brother, but whenever he did, it was with an odd certainty. We never pressed for details, but now… now it felt important. Sabrina exchanged a look with Jeanna, her face pale.

“A guardian?” she repeated, her voice low. “Like… a monster?”

“Yep!” Jay-Jay nodded enthusiastically. “But don’t worry, I can make lots of noise! That’ll scare it away.”

Jeanna let out a low laugh. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

Just as she said that, the ground rumbled, and from the shadows, something huge and horrifying stepped forward. Its body was made of rock and metal, a grotesque figure with glowing red eyes. It let out a low, echoing growl, and I instantly regretted every decision that led me to this moment.

“Jay-Jay!” I yelled. “You were supposed to warn us earlier!”

Sabrina’s hand shot to her sword, eyes wide. “What do we do? We can’t fight that thing!”

Jeanna grinned, cracking her knuckles. “We do what we always do. Wing it and hope for the best.”

Alice, already halfway through some kind of battle stance, shouted, “Alright, this is my moment! I’ve read enough of these to know the trick!”

“You’d better be right!” I yelled, as the creature roared and charged at us.

We scattered, dodging out of the way as the beast slammed into the wall, sending chunks of stone flying. Jay-Jay stood his ground, clapping his hands over his mouth to muffle a scream.

“Jay-Jay, you’re supposed to be loud!” Jeanna yelled, grabbing him and hauling him back behind a rock.

Sabrina was swinging her sword wildly, but every strike bounced off the monster’s metal plating. Alice, meanwhile, was darting around, trying to get a better look at the runes on the portal.

“There’s got to be a trick to this thing!” she shouted over the chaos. “If we can just activate the runes, maybe it’ll open the portal and suck this thing in!”

“I like that plan!” I yelled back. “How do we do it?”

“I don’t know! It’s a dungeon, figure it out!” she called, clearly thrilled by the challenge.

Meanwhile, the beast turned its attention toward Jeanna, who was holding Jay-Jay. The thing let out a guttural growl and lunged, but Jeanna, to her credit, didn’t even flinch.

“Alright, you oversized hunk of scrap metal!” she yelled. “Come get some!”

Jeanna threw a massive chunk of rock straight at its head, knocking it off balance for a moment. It stumbled, giving Sabrina the chance to dive in with another swing.

“That’s it!” Sabrina cried. “We’re wearing it down!”

“No, we’re pissing it off!” I corrected, dodging as the beast turned its attention back toward me.

Meanwhile, Alice was frantically working on the runes, muttering to herself. “Come on, come on… I know this… it’s just like that one chapter in Dungeon Lords…”

“Any day now!” I shouted as the creature’s claws missed me by inches.

Finally, there was a bright flash of light, and the runes on the archway flared to life. The portal hummed, a swirling vortex of blue energy suddenly appearing in the center of the arch.

Alice grinned triumphantly. “Got it! Now, let’s see if this thing does the trick!”

“Great! How do we get the monster in there?” Sabrina yelled, struggling to keep the creature’s attention.

Jay-Jay’s eyes lit up. “I know! Loud noises, remember?”

Without waiting for anyone to stop him, he took a deep breath and let out the loudest, most high-pitched scream I’ve ever heard. The beast froze, its glowing eyes flickering for just a moment.

“That’s it!” I shouted. “It’s distracted!”

Jeanna, Sabrina, and I worked together, pushing the monster toward the portal as it stumbled from the noise. With one final heave, we shoved it into the swirling vortex. There was a deafening roar, and then silence.

The portal snapped shut, leaving us all panting in the now-quiet dungeon.

Jay-Jay grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “Told ya loud noises work.”

Jeanna collapsed against the wall, laughing. “Okay, I’ll admit it. The kid’s got guts.”

Alice was still buzzing with excitement. “That was amazing! We just beat a dungeon boss!”

Sabrina looked over at the now-dormant portal. “So… do we go in? Is this our way home?”

I shook my head, still catching my breath. “Not yet. There’s more we need to figure out. But we’re getting closer.”

Alice, staring at the now-dormant portal, felt a growing unease. This place, this magic, was everything she’d ever dreamed about in the stories she loved. But something about it tugged at her—her practical side warred with her sense of wonder. Could they really trust it? Was this the answer, or was it just another trap waiting to spring? For the first time, she didn’t know whether to be thrilled or afraid.

And with Jay-Jay’s cryptic mention of his brother, she knew this journey was far from over. The deeper they went, the more questions piled up—and the fewer answers they seemed to find.