Severa chopped off one of the beast's legs with her machete and carried it, along with some dry branches, into the temple. The sun had already set by the time she arrived, and only then did she realize how long she must have slept.

Using the dry branches and the flint she carried, she made a fire to cook the beast's meat. The smell of smoke and roasting meat filled the room pleasantly, casting more light than the faint rays seeping through the door's crack.

The ceiling was even higher than the tall, narrow door, but unlike the building's hard exterior, it had soft, rounded shapes. Carved into the walls were figures of beasts Severa had never seen before, all appearing as weak, bulky creatures that did nothing but chew leaves their entire lives.
Across from the door, another relief was etched into the wall, but it was so eroded that its depiction was unrecognizable. Next to it were two gates. Under the right gate was a staircase leading down, while behind the left gate seemed to be nothing but large, rough chunks of stone, suggesting it hadn't always been that way.

Severa stuffed the last piece of meat into her mouth, which tasted surprisingly better than it looked. Curious, she approached the descending staircase. She followed it down, spiraling several meters into the ground.

The firelight was no longer visible, and at the bottom of the stairs, there was nothing to see or feel. After walking forward a meter or so, she felt walls on both sides, within reach of her outstretched arms. These walls were rough, less carefully carved than the grand hall above or the temple's exterior.

A few meters ahead, the stone surface transitioned to wood, and her hands brushed against an iron lever. Apparently, there were doors on either side of the corridor.
Continuing on, she noticed a door every four meters or so; five doors later, the corridor ended, and she found herself in an empty space again.

Amused and intrigued, Severa navigated the dark maze, mentally mapping her surroundings. As she adjusted to the darkness, she grew more confident, soon almost sprinting through the long corridors.

After a while, Severa noticed she could now see the walls, not just feel them. A dull green light glowed along the walls, making the doors visible. Each door looked the same: wooden with iron handles and large locks, and at eye level, a small window barred with iron grilles. Severa had an idea of what this might be. Sylvamarius had no dungeons, but she had heard travelers describe them in Finemici's capital.

Following the light source, Severa reached a T-junction. There were no doors on the opposite wall, and light streamed equally from both directions. She turned right, arriving at another T-junction. Here, it was clear that the light came from the left path. Turning left, she soon reached a crossroads. On the left, she saw a silhouette of one of the doors against the far wall.

She approached the door cautiously, unlike her earlier hasty steps, and peered through the small window.

A woman hung from the wall, her hair silver and her skin wrinkled. Her eyelids were lowered, and her hands were bound together above her head against the wall. Despite her pressed hands, a bright green light shimmered between her palms.

Her head drooped downward, with long, matted gray hair obscuring her face. Her white, tattered dress made her pale skin appear even whiter. She was so pale that Severa was convinced she must be dead. Only the tips of her toes touched the ground, and her body hung motionless, possibly for years. This temple seemed abandoned for ages. Everything in it was decayed and dusty. How could her body still be in such good condition? And what burned in her hands? Was it protecting her or keeping her alive?

Severa couldn't see the woman's chest rise or fall, but something made her doubt whether she was truly dead.

"Hello?" she hesitantly called out.

She gasped when the woman's head suddenly moved. With a slow motion, she lifted her head. The gray hairs slid to the side of her face, allowing Severa to see her face more clearly.
Her lips were dark, like bruises, while the rest of her face was deathly pale. Green flames danced in her empty eye sockets, and Severa stepped back.

The woman's mouth twisted into a crooked smile. "Hello, stranger," her voice sounded childlike, but anything but friendly.

Severa wanted to turn around, struggling not to scream. Her whole body trembled, and it felt as if all the air had escaped her lungs.

"Don't go, I haven't had any visitors in ages," her voice was sickly sweet, eerily so.
Something seemed to pull at her, as if an invisible force drew her toward the woman, preventing Severa from walking away.

"W-What are you?" she blurted out. She didn't want to talk to this monster. She couldn't remember ever seeing such a hideous human. It couldn't be human.
"What am I?" the woman said, sounding offended but giggling again. "Wouldn't you rather ask who I am first?" The green flames in her eye sockets flared up as her head tilted slightly downward.

Severa mustered all her courage. "I don't care who you are, and actually, I don't care what you are as long as you stay here," she said flatly. As if fighting gravity, she tried to turn away from the door, but it still held her in its grip.

The woman chuckled. "Is that so? If you didn't come for me, then what are you doing here? This place is literally deserted," she said with an unpleasant grin.

"That's none of your business. Now, let me go," Severa insisted, convinced that it was the woman who was exerting this strange pull on her.

"Let you go? I'm the one chained here. You're free to go wherever you want."

Severa took a deep breath, preparing for another attempt to break free from the woman.
"Or maybe you're not so free; are you on the run? You seem... helpless," the woman said, feigning sympathy. Severa doubted she meant it. She felt the woman was trying to manipulate her, either with words or with that inhuman, even unnatural energy burning within her.
Severa hesitated, uncertain whether to answer. But before she could decide, a loud crash echoed. Everything shook, and stones crumbled from the ceiling. Soon after, a roar penetrated even these deep dungeons. It was the Pyroraptor.

"Looks like you're in trouble," the woman teased, seemingly reading the fear in Severa's eyes.
"My problems are none of your business," Severa snapped, turning around and finally finding the strength to break free from the woman. Perhaps it was just her curiosity that had kept her there, but now there was no time for curiosity. The army had arrived. How had they found her?

"I would love to make it my business. If you free me, I promise no threat in Himaya will be too great for you. I can protect you," she coaxed, like candy dangled before a child. But Severa was no child anymore; she didn't need protection, especially not from this grotesque creature.