He took a deep, nervous breath as he stood before the small golden door, which was only a few inches taller than him. He reached out, gripping the smooth, oval handle. 

‘This is the only way.’ 

His grip tightened as he closed his eyes briefly, exhaling before turning the handle and stepping inside. 

“Tsk!” The moment he took a few steps, the door shut loudly, and his body was immediately hit by a powerful blast of cool wind. He instinctively raised his right arm to protect himself, his grip on his dagger tightening further in his left hand. 

The gust of wind was powerful, like a never-ending swirling tornado determined to blow him away, but he resisted and pressed on, the end of his chain dancing with the wind behind him. 

“Ar!” It was hard to move as he was barefoot, and the water from his damp pants slowly flowed to his feet, making them wet and the floor feel slippery. 

‘Damn it!’ He had to raise both arms and hide his face behind them as the powerful wind pushed him back with great force, hurting his eyes and making them water. 

‘I can’t… see!’ 

“Gtsk!!” He was pushed back and lost his balance, falling to the floor. He was vulnerable and had no footing on the smooth surface, so the gust of wind slowly began overpowering him. 

The tension between his wet body, the chain coiled around his waist, and the smooth floor irritated his skin as he was pushed back, his feet almost touching the closed door. 

The swirling wind glowed a faint, light blue, appearing determined to prevent him from passing or seeing what awaited on the other side—but it only made him more determined. 

“Ga!!” He slammed the dagger deep into the smooth, navy floor. The floor cracked as the dagger sunk in deep. 

Fallen kept his head low as he gripped the dagger’s hilt tightly with his left hand and used his other hand to undo the chain's coil around his waist. 

He could barely hear the familiar clank of the chains as his heart pounded, his grip tight. 

The second he finished undoing the coils, the long chain was immediately swept by the powerful wind, swirling as it was knocked back. 

‘Come on!’ 

Fallen grunted as he struggled, switching his grip on the dagger’s hilt from his left hand to his right. 

Sweat dripped down his face but was quickly blown away by the wind as his hair scattered back, now dry. 

It was hard to switch grips because of the dagger’s hilt design, which felt rough and uncomfortable beneath his sweaty palm. However, he managed to switch and quickly went to grab the swirling chain with his freed left hand. 

‘Come on!’ he yelled internally as he struggled to get a grip on the chain, which swung and flung in all directions. 

His poor sight and having to lower his head weren’t helping in the slightest. He moved his arm around, trying to get the chain to coil or get caught as he felt the pure pressure of the wind against his skin. It felt as though it was about to rip off and send him flying back, before he finally felt the chain slap against his arm as it got caught. 

“Tsk!” It stung. 

He pulled his arm down, rotating it and coiling the chain into a thick, cold, and uncomfortable bundle that reached his elbow while leaving some links free where it connected to the dagger hilt to help with movement. 

He could feel and hear the tension in the links as they clanked slightly. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best he could do.

“Ar!” He quickly pulled the dagger from the hole it was embedded in and slammed it into the floor ahead, immediately inserting his left fingers into the open hole and pushing himself forward. 

He kept at it: pushing, pulling, slamming, inserting, pushing, pulling, slamming, inserting, pushing as the wind slightly got stronger. 

He could feel the tension in the floor rising as he sensed not just the movements of his blade and himself, but the movement of someone—or something—else. 

‘Ga! The heart has to be here somewhere… one of these rooms!’ 

“AHHH!” He screamed as the pressure and direction of the wind suddenly shifted; instead of pushing him out, it was now pulling him in with greater force. 

He hadn’t pulled his dagger out from the floor yet, so it was still embedded deep. The chain coiled around his forearm as he floated in the air, getting pushed back while he tightly gripped the links with both hands, flapping in the air. 

“Arg!” He felt his body being swung around in the air by the powerful gust as the chain slowly began to irritate his skin. 

‘Damn it!’ 

He was helpless. All he could do was hold on, and nothing as the wind did whatever it wished with his body. The chain was coiled tightly around his forearm, and the dagger was embedded deep into the floor. 

‘Damn… it!’ his voice cracked as he kept his eyes shut, a tear seeping out before quickly getting blown away. 

‘…!’ 

His body stiffened.