The Cipher: Locks and Keys

Lucien stood in front of Glacier, who lounged comfortably, a gaming console in his hands, the soft hum of the screen illuminating the dark room.

“They’ve started,” Lucien began, voice steady, “but there’s one problem.”

Glacier didn’t look up, a faint smirk on his lips as if he had already predicted this. “Let me guess... the cave's radiation?”

Lucien nodded. “The WCM will be dispatched soon. It's only a matter of time.”

Glacier finally paused the game, his icy eyes narrowing in thought. “Which team?”

Lucien hesitated. “It looks like it’s Pinnochi’s team. Team Alpha Strike. Threat containment and all.”

Glacier’s smirk returned, seemingly unbothered. “No need to worry. Rades has decided to assist. With him backing us up, nothing’s going wrong. And between Lockey and Pinnochi? They’ll handle it.”

Lucien shifted on his feet. “Who knows... they might’ve already entered the cave by now.”

Lockey and Pinnochi moved through the cavern’s winding passage, their steps echoed in the eerie silence. The walls around them pulsed faintly with some unknown energy, giving the place an otherworldly glow.

“What the hell…” Pinnochi muttered, his voice bouncing off the stone. “This feels weirdly easy.”

Lockey didn’t reply, but his thoughts raced. Five minutes in and not a single trap has been triggered. Something wasn’t right.

Their path opened up into a vast chasm. At first glance, it looked like a waterfall — but there was no water, just a gaping abyss. Darkness swallowed the bottom, and the longer Lockey stared, the more unsettling it became. The sheer drop seemed endless.

Pinnochi let out an incredulous laugh, stepping closer to the edge. “Don’t tell me we’re supposed to jump down there.”

Lockey, eyes narrowed in thought, crouched down and picked up a small stone. Without a word, he tossed it into the void, both of them listening for the sound of it hitting the bottom.

Silence.

No splash. No thud.

Pinnochi crossed his arms, glaring at the dark pit. “Great. First, no traps, and now this? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Lockey, still focused, felt a prickle at the back of his neck. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed the very same stone—the one he had just thrown—falling from above, looping back into the pit. He blinked in surprise, watching the stone repeat its endless fall, defying logic.

“What the…?” Pinnochi stared, then groaned. “So if we’d jumped, we’d just come out of one tunnel only to fall right back into another. Like some cursed loop.”

Lockey stood up, scanning the surroundings. This place wasn’t what it seemed. It was messing with time or space—or both. His sharp gaze fell on an odd shimmer near the cave wall, just faint enough to miss unless you were looking for it.

Pinnochi, still frustrated, asked, “So, where do we go now? This is a dead end.”

Lockey, eyes narrowing, stepped closer to the shimmer. “Maybe not.” His hand brushed the wall lightly, testing its texture. There was a faint shift, like touching the surface of water.

“A hidden path,” he murmured.

Pinnochi’s brows raised in surprise. “You really know your way around these things, huh?”

Lockey didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to face the shimmering distortion, ready to see what lay beyond.

Inside the cave, eerie symbols lined the walls, with a hall stretching deep into the shadows.

Pinnochi hesitated, his brow furrowed in concern. “Let’s think this through. How do we know this thing isn’t endless?”

Lockey glanced around, tracing his fingers across one of the carvings before stepping forward. “The moment we entered, everything became a loop. We don’t have a choice but to explore it.”

Pinnochi took a step back, arms crossed. “You go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

Lockey sighed briefly, turning toward him. “I wonder how you’re useful at all.”

Pinnochi bristled. “What did you say?” he snapped, but Lockey was already disappearing into the dark hallway.

Pinnochi’s heart raced. Sweat formed on his brow as he heard faint whispers, his nerves on edge. “It’s fine... Ghosts aren’t real, right?” he muttered, trying to shake the feeling.

Looking around, a creeping realization struck him. He'd left the one person who seemed to understand this place. "Wait a second. He got us this far, and now I’m just standing here? He probably knows how to break this curse," Pinnochi muttered to himself. Shouting after Lockey, he bolted down the hall. “Hold up, dear navigator! Don’t leave me behind!”

Meanwhile, deeper inside the cave, Lockey moved cautiously. “As expected,” he murmured, staring at a mark he'd scratched into the wall earlier. He’d been walking in circles. The hallway looped endlessly.

He glanced around, trying to pierce the darkness ahead and behind him. “No turning back now,” he said, his voice calm, though his eyes betrayed concern.

Pausing, he examined the wall more closely. There were ancient inscriptions detailing a story—a man who had walked this same hallway 99 times before finally breaking free. “Walking the hall 99 times… In a place where time and space are distorted, by the time I break this loop, centuries could have passed.”

He scanned for more clues and came across a warning. The hallway had been built to trap thieves seeking the King’s treasures. "No escape for intruders," it read.

Lockey’s mind raced, formulating a plan. Drawing his Key of String, he prepared to use its cutting power. With one swift motion, he slashed through the hallway.

For a moment, the walls seemed to ripple, but then everything paused. His attack had no effect on the stone. Instead, it triggered something worse—the death traps.

Behind him, he heard the roar of fire rushing toward him, and in front, a swarm of deadly snakes slithered his way.

With precise movements, Lockey unleashed a technique, cutting through everything in his path—both the flames and the snakes. The power of his Key left nothing untouched.

As the smoke cleared, Lockey stood still, letting his breathing calm. He sat down on the cave floor, legs crossed. “You can’t destroy the hallway,” he muttered, contemplating. “Breaking a loop… how would that work?”

Lockey pondered over potential solutions. “Loops are self-sustaining, like time feeding into itself. Scientifically, it’s about disrupting the pattern—perhaps altering the space-time structure. Technologically, hacking the loop’s mechanism. Spiritually…” He closed his eyes. “Maybe it’s about facing what you fear, or surrendering to the loop in order to break free.”

Opening his eyes, he stood. “Guess I’ll have to give one of those a try.”