I think I know where the mangaka for Magi gets his inspiration. I am hereby going to make some shocking predictions. Bear with me.
That made no sense did it? Ah well, I'll keep my secrets just like Izaya does...~fufu
Disclaimer: I don't own Magi!
The First Dungeon Bael
This was the First Dungeon.
Sinbad kept his eyes closed, but his ears open. The 'patrol' had passed by one more time, creating more screams for the large group that he had come with. And then, there had been silence.
There must be a pattern to this, he thought.
Truthfully, the strange chaos in the dungeon should have thrown anybody off. But Sinbad had a strange affinity for unusual and chaotic things, and he felt that the dungeon was more of a puzzle than a trap. What was the patrol for? Why such a random and haphazard way of killing intruders? The dungeon was becoming more mysterious by the minute.
And he had been here for a long time.
Days, maybe? Or perhaps weeks? There was no way to tell. There was always the misty morning light that shone on this place, and no change. He had not heard any screams in a long time. The patrol had come by more than fifty times, and Sinbad had sometimes escaped them so narrowly that he could feel his death in the next breath he took...
But that didn't scare him. No, this was an adventure far exceeding his expectations.
It turned out that the dungeon wasn't actually all moving stones and corridors. The entrance that everyone had been dumped into was actually the outer part of a huge stone structure with overgrown gardens and beautiful sculptures. The gardens were full of strange, sweet berries that seemed to fill Sinbad's stomach up just as well as a full meal. He had hesitated a little before putting one in his mouth, but the shiny red color had just been too interesting.
As he had wandered through the twisted black vines that dug their shoots into crumbling stone walls, he sometimes came across treasure. A golden bracelet. A ruby earring. They were scattered throughout the entire structure as if they had been lost in flight, or dropped accidentally. What kind of civilization had been lost here? What had made them disappear? Where had they gone?
And most importantly, how was he to get out?
They had come in through the eastern wall, which had only one opening into the inner part of the building. Sinbad had taken the time to explore the entire wall, and concluded that it was about a kilometer long, surrounding...surrounding what?
Was it a building? Sinbad opened his eyes a crack, and stared at the hole in the ceiling above him. The rubble was still around him, leaned over and scattered. They were big chunks, about twice the size of his adolescent body. They had been weathered by nonexistent wind and time.
He had been hiding here since the last patrol, keeping his senses alert. If he fell asleep here, it would be dangerous. The ceiling above him did not seem too stable, especially with that gaping hole in the middle. And yet, around him grew all sorts of shrubs and plants and berries. This was a garden. A garden inside of a building? The notion seemed ridiculous to him. And yet, none of the foliage had been crushed. There had not been a 'patrol' here for a long time. Instead, they were growing all over the stones. Almost strangling the stones, it seemed, in their desperation to reach soil. They seemed to move, the way they were shaped, the way they grew...
Wait, in fact, they were moving!
Sinbad shot up, fully awake now. He jerked his arm out of reach, rolled out from under the shade of the large boulder, onto his feet. In an instant, the garden was completely transformed from a peaceful haven into a trap.
Surrounding him were five large vine monsters, each with at least four tendrils that rose into the air and moved, snapping like whips. They were reaching for him. Vines also made up their bodies, twisting together to make a huge mass. It moved like a living being. Perhaps it was one. Sinbad had never seen something so strange, but this entire dungeon was strange.
It was time to get serious, if he wanted to get out of this danger alive.
With a sharp movement, knives appeared in both of his hands. They were sharp and useful, although they seemed tiny in comparison to the huge monsters. With Sinbad holding them, however, his entire aura of danger was added to the knives. He was an enemy not to be taken lightly.
The first monster to make a move toward him was fast, but Sinbad was faster. In a flying leap, he had swung his entire arm around and slashed off the monster's head.
Within seconds, he stood alone, in the midst of a ruined garden sizzling with the remains of those who had the audacity to attack him while he was sleeping.
From above, below, somewhere, he heard an enormous chuckle.
