Time seemed to freeze while Jenny watched the burnt rabbit in horror. 

A glob of glowing goo splashed on the door near them. 

Jenny looked back. She couldn’t see the flames she’d spread at the tunnel entrance, and the burrowers had invaded the temple room. In the few moments she observed, more and more monsters spilled from the tunnel. 

Jenny set her shoulder, firmed her resolve, and threw herself at the door. Her shoulder hit the metal with a dull clang. Heat assaulted her unprotected face and hands. 

The door didn’t budge. Worse, the heat was unbearable. It buffeted Jenny’s face. Her singed hair mingled with the reek of burnt meat. 

Jenny took a step back, frantically looking around. Had this all been in vain? Had Biscuit been hurt like that, only for them to die, trapped? Beneath the growing fear and panic, anger burned in Jenny’s mind, as hot as the door in front of her. She again thought back to the events of the past few days, back to the desperate flight which landed her here. Her mind fixated on those two scumbags, Ferdinand and Gregory. 

Jenny’s eyes fell on dark, rusted iron loops near the door center. 

Another glowing glob of goo hit Jenny’s shoulder from behind. Two others splashed against the door. Jenny didn’t look back; stepping forward again, she grabbed one of the rings, the hot metal sizzling in her hands. Jenny pulled. 

Ponderous and creaking, the door opened. 

Jenny didn’t look inside. She turned around only to face a horde of burrowers grouping up near the pillars. Jenny grabbed the bag and her spear, throwing them through the open door before approaching Biscuit. Jenny hissed at the heat on her face, but that was nothing compared to what her pet suffered. She kept Biscuit touching the door until they were both inside. The ember light of the doors’ enchantments flickered back to life once she pulled Biscuit away, and Jenny fell back. 

Something vast, old, and indifferent pressed against her mind. She tried to resist, but whatever it was, her resistance was futile. 

Yuki lost grasp of her surroundings and the things happening around her. The world had turned into fire and agony. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t feel her paw anymore. She breathed fire and torment. 

Gentle hands gripped her, and the warm palm somehow made things worse. Yuki didn’t react, she couldn’t. If she stopped focusing, the spell would collapse; she knew it. This was the only chance they had. Then she was far away from the heat and slapped into the cold, unforgiving, incredible inviting ground; she soon passed out. 

… 

Yuki woke up to a sore throat, infernal headache, and blurry eyes. The more she blinked, the more her eyes stung. Yuki closed them, resting for a while. There was some good news; at least she was alive. 

“Status.” 

The landing page showed up, and it was red all around with a few splotches of orange. Her hind legs weren’t all that injured, but everything else was, which was concerning. Aside from some mild discomfort, Yuki wasn’t in pain. She pushed herself up, her movement sluggish; strange. The only comparison Yuki could make was a floaty feeling, as if she were in a dream. 

Yuki sniffed the air; and sensing no magic, she opened her eyes, finding herself in a cavernous room illuminated by a gentle glowing light. She couldn’t see walls, ceilings, or even where the light came from. Fog obscured her surroundings. The only distinct features were five massive stone pillars, partially concealed by the swirling mist. Each bore a symbol painted in different colors, the same symbol that she’d seen in the temple room. 

A golden grasping hand. A black wide-open eye. A light blue hand wrapped in bandages. Two people embracing, surrounded in soft pink. A raised sword against a bold orange background. 

She hopped closer and around the pillars. She couldn’t say what the floor was made of, especially as it was also hidden beneath the fog. Each pillar had an indent at what would be waist height for the average person, the contents of which were far too high up for Yuki to see. Finished with her inspection of the pillars, Yuki wandered, stepping into the fog she blinked in surprise, finding herself facing the strange pillars again. 

“This isn’t real.” She spoke out loud. It made some strange sort of sense. Her landing page displayed a lot of hurt, but she felt fine. 

“Hello?” Yuki called out. Where was Jenny? Was the woman alive? “Jenny?” 

Yuki collapsed back, trying to think. She was tired, thirsty, and badly hurt; but she was alive and trapped in some weird dream scenario. Yuki thought back on the many clues they’d ignored. The burrow holes, the burnt skin where the tunnel opened into the forge room. They needed to do better if she and Jenny wanted to stay alive, Yuki thought before sniffing the air again. This screamed illusion or magic dream, but she smelled nothing. 

There was one more test she could do. Yuki settled on her hind legs, waved her paws, chanted the words, and pushed power into [Regeneration]. The power didn’t move, the spell didn’t work, and no vanilla scent. Yuki slumped on the foggy ground again. 

What was she supposed to do here? Was this one of those strange esoteric stuff about colors and emotions? In the before; Yuki had a net denizen friend who was super into that. The friend judged everything based on colors, Yuki had read about it to keep up with them, but she only remembered the basics. Purple for spiritualism, deep blue for confidence, and yellow for joy. 

Yuki glanced at the symbols and colors again. The grasping hand she was pretty sure was something selfish, the eye for fear or panic, the bandaged hand she had no idea, sacrifice maybe? The couple could be love, affection, and the sword, courage or duty. 

Was this a magic test or something? A dungeon puzzled behind the magic door? Those things happened in games, right? But the most crucial question. If she was to be defined by something; could she pick something else? 

Yuki glanced at the golden grasping hand. Power was what she needed. She snorted. “Imma magic bunny, for god’s sake. In the name of love and friendship!” She cackled and hopped toward the pink pillar.