SILVER'S POV
I wiped away my tears and forced a painful smile.
Whatever plans the cannibals had for me would now be twice as cruel once they discovered I had used an artifact to neutralize almost all the power in the four chains.
I had almost succeeded. My escape had been within reach.
So why had I let confidence overwhelm me? Why had I made the foolish mistake of losing the ring to the carnivorous Herb D?
Another wave of tears streamed down my face.
This time, I didn't stop them.
Maybe crying would make me feel better.
Who was I trying to fool?
Nothing could ease the pain of knowing I would soon die in a strange land, the worst place imaginable to meet my end.
Nothing could erase the fact that I had thrown away my only chance at freedom.
Maybe... just maybe... it would hurt less if I accepted my defeat. Accepted the fact that my death was inevitable.
Perhaps I should start thinking about my final words... the last insults I would hurl at the cannibal tribe before they killed me and feasted on my flesh.
Or maybe...
Just maybe...
I should try to make the impossible possible.
After all, there was a saying:
When one door closes, another opens. Sometimes we stare at the closed door for so long that we fail to notice the one standing wide open before us.
But how could that possibly apply to me?
Maybe the ring was the closed door...
Yet no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see an open one.
Or perhaps I hadn't truly looked at all.
Even now, I was still drowning in regret, mourning the chance of escape I had lost.
What if... there was another way?
Who was I kidding? I had no other magical artifact capable of neutralizing the remaining power in the fourth chain.
Then it hit me.
My necklace.
The necklace that had been glowing ever since I stepped into this temple.
It was still glowing.
And maybe...
Just maybe...
It was the miracle I needed to escape.
My necklace... the one my late grandmother had given me.
It couldn't possibly possess magic. I had always believed it was nothing more than an ordinary necklace.
Yes, this was the first time I had ever seen it glow...
But it was still ordinary...
Wasn't it?
Then again, I had believed Zoah's ring was ordinary too.
I had been wrong.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
This necklace wasn't ordinary either.
There was only one way to find out.
Ignoring the pain shooting through my body, I stretched my hand as far as I could and, after several agonizing attempts, managed to slip the necklace from around my neck. It rested in my trembling right hand.
Bending forward, I brought it close to the chain around my left ankle.
I closed my eyes and silently prayed.
Please...
Neutralize the chain.
Seconds crawled by.
One minute.
Two.
Three.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Nothing.
Not even the faintest reaction.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
What had I expected?
My grandmother had been an ordinary human. How could an ordinary necklace contain extraordinary power?
Frustration consumed me.
I hurled the necklace onto the floor.
"Whoever came up with that ridiculous saying about one door closing and another opening is a liar," I muttered bitterly. "They're all lies."
"Arrrgh!"
My scream echoed through the temple.
I no longer cared if the cannibals heard me.
Death already had my name.
"I hate you, Zoah!" I shouted.
"I should never have met you!"
Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they were false.
I didn't hate him.
I only hoped pretending to would somehow ease the pain.
Tears welled in my eyes.
I closed them, waiting for another wave of despair to consume me.
Then...
I felt it.
My left ankle suddenly felt...
Light.
Free.
My eyes flew open.
The chain was gone.
Instead, my glowing necklace was wrapped securely around my ankle, while the broken chain lay on the floor where the necklace had landed.
My breath caught.
It had...
Swapped places with the chain.
The necklace hadn't simply neutralized the magic.
It had replaced the chain entirely.
Hope exploded inside me.
One ankle was free.
Now all I had to do was free my hands... and my remaining ankle.
I reached down, trying to untie the necklace from my leg.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Six attempts later, it refused to budge.
"So that's not going to work,"
I whispered.
My gaze shifted to the discarded chain.
An idea formed.
It was reckless.
Dangerous.
Possibly suicidal.
But a dangerous plan was better than no plan at all.
Straining every muscle in my body, I reached down and grabbed the chain.
With all the strength I had left, I swung it toward Herb D.
The carnivorous plant snapped onto it instantly.
Crunch!
Its razor-sharp jaws crushed the chain with terrifying ease.
The moment it bit through the metal, I flung the remaining piece away.
My right hand was free.
My heart pounded.
One more.
As soon as the creature finished devouring the chain, I extended the chain binding my left hand toward it.
It attacked again.
Another bite.
Another broken chain.
Freedom...
Or so I thought.
Without warning, the monstrous plant lunged at my exposed left hand.
Its jaws clamped around my wrist, trying to swallow my entire arm.
Pain exploded through me.
I wanted to scream.
I couldn't.
The cannibals would hear.
Using my free hand, I pulled with every ounce of strength I had, but nothing worked.
Even striking the creature with the remaining chain failed to loosen its grip.
Then...
It suddenly released me.
The plant collapsed onto the floor, motionless.
I stared in stunned silence.
The necklace.
It had saved me again.
I didn't know how.
I didn't care.
Within moments, the necklace freed my remaining ankle as effortlessly as before.
I was free.
Completely free.
Now came the hardest part.
Escaping.
Unlike Zoah, I possessed no supernatural abilities. I couldn't disappear into thin air.
The trapdoor was my only option...
And it was incredibly risky.
Just as I was considering my next move, I felt it.
A presence.
Someone else was inside the temple.
My heart stopped.
Slowly, I turned toward the intruder who had caught me attempting to escape.
My eyes widened.
No...
It couldn't be.
It was Zoah.
He had come back for me.
In that moment, I realized the truth.
He had never abandoned me.