"Fuck!"

  Although the lantern fell, Masa Ed was able to catch it in time and secure it safely before it landed on the floor and probably get damaged.

  'Thanks to my ancestors I am sharp. Wait...'

  As he is now looking at the ground with a blurry vision, he suddenly realized he has stopped staring at the eyes of his reflection. And there and then, he froze as an overwhelming dread that reached his spirit seized him, thinking he has failed and he is about to welcome his mysterious savage reflection that might torture him before killing him.

  Unable to move his muscle, Masa Ed sweated all over that is back was drenched in it, and with his eyes shaking rapidly, he forcefully fought back against the eerie and chilling sensation that he is feeling deeply. And raising his head a short second later, he realized the door in front of him has been mysteriously replaced with a dark entryway that likewise leads to someplace eerily dark, meaning he barely succeeded.

  "Fuck!"

  Thinking fast, Masa Ed turned to the lantern secured in his hold, going for its knob as fast as he could, since he knows he only has three seconds before the door returned.

  'Left or right.'

  Jittery and hasty—not knowing the direction to turn the lantern knob in order to turn it on, he just turned it in one direction and quickly passed through the entryway before it vanished, stepping into the dark place behind it that lit up dimly thanks to the lantern in his hand that favored him, meaning he was lucky since he wasn't sure the direction that he turned its knob is the right one that will ignite it.

  "Haaaaa." Masa Ed exhaled deeply softly and silently, feeling pleased and relaxed after the great ordeal he just overcome, even though his fairly swollen and strained eyes still irritates him greatly.

  "Where is this place?" Curiously with his vision that is still somewhat blurry, Masa Ed starts looking around at the eerily quiet corridor he found himself.

  The orange flame of the lantern he lifted illuminated him up as well as his immediate surroundings, so he was able to see the walls of the corridors that extends in both directions and a door with number 31 figure on it.

  "Number 33."

  Quickly realizing the drill, he hurriedly check the door to the right of door number 3, but finding number 12 figure on it, he became confused.

  "What?"

  Anyways, not thinking too much about it, he moved on and check the one to its left, but what he saw on it was number 45 figure, which he absolutely did not expect giving the look of surprise on his face.

  'They are definitely not in order.'

  Thanks to quick thinking, Masa Ed turned around to face one end of the corridor that is lantern illumination couldn't reach; and it was then he realized the brightness of his lantern has decreased compared to earlier when he appeared in the corridor, which is the time he first noticed the lantern illumination.

  'I get it now. Its a question of, can I find room 33 and answer that person's question before the lantern goes out.'

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  After subconsciously processing all his recent observations, arriving at a conclusion, Masa Ed proceeded; choosing to move along the corridor in the direction he turned to, while checking the numbers on the doors at his two sides and on the corridors opposite walls, one after the other, looking for the one numbered 33 that leads to room 33, as fast as he can, and as careful as possible, so as not to miss it.

  "23—34..."

  ...

  "5—43..."

  ...

  "11—7...”

  "The numbers are just too random. And how long is this corridor... I still have one other side to look at if I don't find room 33 before reaching the end." Looking left and right at the numbers on the doors, Masa Ed whispered under his breath, feeling like cursing out loud.

  Despite the lantern brightness that has gone down considerably, Masa Ed chose to stick to that direction and see it to the end if there is one, before checking the other direction that is behind him that might has room 33 beyond the door that he first saw, which is door 31.

  'Is this a test of luck? Or is there a trick at play here?'

  Doubting his approach, Masa Ed with the help of his lantern dimmer than ever barely noticed a black wall in the distance with like four more doors left to go—two on each side, one facing the other, and one after the other like usual on the corridor's opposite walls.

  "This is door 32 and door 3."

  Finally reaching the last pair of opposites doors, therefore the end of the corridor that is the black wall, Masa Ed look first at the door to his left, then at the one facing it, which is at his right.

  Masa Ed paused, contemplating if he should try a trick that came to his mind or turn around, running to the point where he appeared and start looking for door 33 among the doors in the opposite direction that he is yet to explore. However, glancing at the globe of his lantern and noticing how weak the burning flame it protects has become, he shook his head dismissing the idea.

  'If I turn back now, am not certain I will find room 33 before this lantern goes out... I am not even sure it exist...'

  Like he is squeezed between the walls of dilemma and has chosen to push against one to find a way out, Masa Ed concluded to go with the idea that sprung up in his mind. And unlike you will see him do ever but has done once since he woke up, he prays to divine entities and not just his ancestors he certainly trust a lot to watch over him and favor him, for he is about to do something not only tricky but very bold and dangerous, that if he fails, he thinks might get him butchered alive by the human butcher the nameless idiot mentioned or get him to experience something far greater than it and far more horrible.

  "Ancestors and several Divine beings watching from your thrones, have mercy on this poor soul and deliver him from the clutches of evil. Amen."

  Having said his prayer quickly and not wasting much time, Masa Ed went towards the door that has number 32 on it and slowly start peeling the gold metal plate that is the figure three that makes up the number 32 on the door.

  Having carefully removed the metal plate, Masa Ed tensed up, expecting something he also pray not to happen, happen. However after a short moment, realizing nothing strange is going on or will happen, he quickly run to the opposite door, which is the one with number 3 on it.

  "Ancestors and Divine beings, I pray you do not forsake me... I pray you watch my back and see this through to the end... I pray you be my strength and every enemy lurking around waiting to eat my flesh and drink my blood, I pray you make them fall asleep till I leave this den of evil..."

  While murmuring prayers under his breath, Masa Ed tensed and anxious, slowly and carefully positioned the sticky side of the figure 3 metal plate on the door number 3 close to the one already on it. And although his hands like his entire jittery body that is shaking from overwhelming fear of the unknown that reached the depth of his soul, grabbing hold of him tightly, made things a bit trickier and longer; Masa Ed after less than a quarter minute was able to get the metal plate to stick next to the one already on the door in a way it reads number 33 exactly just like the others doors with double digit numbers on them.

  "Great!"

  Masa Ed became happy for himself, even though he is still anxious and apprehensive of a possibility of great horror approaching him, since he has done something the instructions of the nameless idiot did not include.

  However, moving on after checking his lantern flame that is barely still alive, Masa Ed raised the knuckle of his balled fist towards the door about to knock it as instructed by the nameless idiot.

  "Please work." He muttered.