Campione Scumbag in Mash-up Anime

"So, we turn the wheel three times?" Yuki took charge. "But to which symbol?"

Not answering immediately, Ren studied the clock puzzle again. "The short hand is at 7, the long hand at 12. Time moves backward. If 7 o'clock moves backward, that means…"

He thought about how a clock would rotate in reverse. "Maybe it refers to a symbol that appears at night."

"The Moon!" Yuki exclaimed. "We turn it to the Moon symbol! Then three times!"

She quickly turned the wheel to the Moon symbol. Click. Yuki then rotated the wheel three times clockwise (or counterclockwise, depending on the interpretation of 'backward').

*RUMBLE!*

After the third turn, a low rumbling sound came from the wall beside the wheel. A large panel slid aside, revealing a narrow, dark corridor.

"We did it!" Yuki jumped with excitement. "Let's go, Ren!"

They both entered the dark corridor. It smelled of damp earth and moisture. After a few steps, the corridor opened into a larger room.

The room resembled a cave, with realistic-looking stalactites and stalagmites. In the center was a small pool with murky water, faintly glowing from its base.

"A pool… this must be the 'Hell's Blood Pool' from the temple's story!" Yuki pointed, then frowned. "But it's not bloody, just murky."

Meanwhile, Ren shone his flashlight into the pool.

At the pool's edge was a series of buttons with the same symbols as on the wheel: Moon, Sun, Star, Cloud. Next to them was a small screen, seemingly waiting for input.

"This must be the code from 0417!" Ren realized. "The numbers 0, 4, 1, 7. But how do we connect them to these symbols?"

Yuki examined the pool more closely. "There's something shiny at the bottom! But the water's too murky to see clearly."

Hearing that, Ren looked up. On the cave's ceiling were small slits emitting faint light. He aimed his flashlight at one of them.

When the beam hit the slit, a reflection struck the pool, and the water briefly cleared, revealing a small statue at the bottom. The statue had four arms, each holding a different symbol: Moon, Sun, Star, Cloud.

"A statue at the bottom!" Yuki shouted excitedly. "And its four arms are holding the same symbols as these buttons!"

"0417… maybe it's the order of buttons to press. But what about the symbols?" Ren looked at the statue again.

Near each arm of the statue were Roman numerals: I, II, III, IV. The first arm (I) held the Moon, the second (II) the Sun, the third (III) the Star, and the fourth (IV) the Cloud.

"Yuki, let's match 0417 to this order!" Ren suggested. "The number 0… there's no 0 here. Maybe 0 means we skip a button in sequence?"

"Or maybe 0 means an empty button?" Yuki guessed, staring at the row of buttons. "There's no empty button."

Suddenly, Ren noticed another clue on the cave wall, nearly invisible. A small carving: [Empty means return to the start].

"Empty means return to the start…" Ren muttered. "So, for 0417, 0 might mean the first button (Moon), then back to the start, then 4 (Cloud), then back to the start, then 1 (Sun), then back to the start, then 7 (no 7)."

"That doesn't make sense." Yuki shook her head. "Besides, there are only four buttons."

Not giving up, Ren examined the small screen next to the buttons. A digital timer showed 15 minutes remaining.

"We're running out of time!" Yuki started to panic. "Ren, focus! We need to find the connection!"

Closing his eyes briefly, Ren tried to piece together all the clues. The number 0417, the symbols on the statue, and the phrase 'empty means return to the start.'

"This might not be a sequence of numbers. It could be the frequency of pressing the buttons!"

"What do you mean?" Yuki looked at him, confused.

"The number 0 means the Moon button is pressed 0 times, 4 means the Sun button is pressed 4 times, 1 means the Star button is pressed 1 time, and 7 means the Cloud button is pressed 7 times!" Ren suddenly realized.

"That makes sense!" Yuki exclaimed. "Let's try it!"

Yuki quickly pressed the buttons: Moon (0 times), Sun (4 times), Star (1 time), Cloud (7 times).

*RUMBLE!*

After the final press, the small screen flashed green, and a loud rumbling sound echoed. The water in the pool rapidly drained, revealing a large gap at the bottom, complete with stairs leading downward.

"Another secret door!" Yuki shouted gleefully. "You're a genius, Ren!"

"Yeah, I know."

"You're not humble at all, Ren."

They descended the slippery stairs, which led to a final room that looked like the temple's core chamber.

The room was smaller, with a large statue in the center surrounded by stone pillars. On the statue's chest was an oddly shaped hole.

"This must be where the artifact goes!" Yuki guessed.

On a small table beside the statue was the final puzzle: a series of geometric shapes to fit into the hole on the statue's chest.

There were six different shapes: circle, triangle, square, star, heart, and question mark. Below them was a written riddle: [To find the hidden, look to the stars. The number of angles will guide you].

"Number of angles?" Ren muttered. "Circle 0, triangle 3, square 4, star 5…"

"But what about the heart and question mark?" Yuki asked. "And there are six shapes, but only one hole in the statue!"

Ren looked up again. On the room's ceiling was a star projector casting star patterns on the walls. One pattern shone brighter than the others, with a faint symbol in its center.

"That symbol…" He moved closer. It was a representation of a constellation, and in the middle was a faintly glowing triangle shape.

"Triangle!" Yuki exclaimed. "That must be the answer!"

Ren grabbed the triangle shape from the table and tried fitting it into the hole on the statue's chest. It fit perfectly.

*BEEP!*

Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded, and an exit door behind the statue swung open. A large spotlight illuminated the exit path.

"Congratulations! You have successfully escaped the Curse of the Twilight Temple!" The staff's voice announced over the speaker. "Your time: 58 minutes 32 seconds! Well done!"

Yuki squealed with joy, jumping excitedly several times. "We did it, Ren! We did it! That was so much fun!"

Ren gave a faint smile, feeling the lingering thrill. He hadn't expected an escape room to be this enjoyable. Moreover, he appreciated how Yuki, despite her childish demeanor, was surprisingly adept at solving puzzles, even if she panicked a bit.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

They stepped out of the Escape Room, back into the brightly lit lobby. The bustling noise of Shinjuku greeted them again, but the aura of excitement still surrounded Yuki.

"After burning so many brain cells, I need a sugar boost!" Yuki declared energetically, wiping her forehead as if truly mentally exhausted. "Let's get something sweet! What do you think, Ren?"

"No problem." Ren replied casually, though he didn't feel his brain was as fried as Yuki claimed.

With that, they set off through Shinjuku's streets again, this time with a clear goal: finding the nearest bakery or dessert shop.

Yuki led with enthusiasm, her eyes scanning every storefront they passed, searching for signs of the sweet delights she craved.