The Detective Jr.

"How did you find out about my plan, Nicholas?" I asked, as we walked toward the portal connected to Sophia. He grinned and replied, "Skye, your team leader came looking for me and told me to join you."

"I see. Anyway, be careful. My hometown is a fallen world, so there could be danger," I warned them, though I kept quiet about the fact that my birthplace was in a completely different place.

When we arrived at Sophia, we found ourselves in a ruined city. The sky was a blood-red, and there was no sign of life. After exploring for a bit, we came to a fork in the road. I turned to the group and said, "Let's split into two groups. If anything happens, signal us."

They agreed, and Nicholas and I went left while Dylan and Raven went right.

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Dylan and Raven walked down the eerie, silent road. "Do you think there might be ghosts here?" Dylan asked with excitement. Raven rolled her eyes and replied, "No, ghosts don't exist."

Dylan shrugged, his eyes scanning the desolate surroundings. "You never know. This place feels like it's hiding secrets," he said, lowering his voice. "What if we find a lost soul? Or worse, a vengeful spirit?"

Raven gave a small smile but remained calm. "If there are spirits, they probably have better things to do than bother you."

Dylan pretended to be hurt, placing a hand on his chest. "You wound me, Raven. I'm just trying to lighten the mood. This place is creeping me out."

As they kept walking, the silence grew thicker. Raven stayed alert, watching the crumbling buildings and the shadows in the corners of her vision. "Stay sharp," she warned. "We don't know what we're up against."

Dylan nodded, now sensing the danger. "Yeah. So what do you think happened here? Why is everything so... dead?"

Raven stopped, staring at a distant structure. "It looks like a stronghold. Maybe we'll find answers there."

Dylan squinted. "Or maybe we'll find trouble. But hey, what's an adventure without danger?"

Raven glanced at him. "Let's hope we don't regret it."

They approached the stronghold cautiously, the air feeling heavy. A sudden gust of wind sent chills down their spines. "Did you feel that?" Dylan whispered.

"Yeah," Raven said, her senses alert. "Something's wrong."

Just then, Raven noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned, it was gone- just a shadow, or maybe her imagination. "Let's split up," she suggested. "We'll cover more ground and meet back here in ten minutes."

Dylan hesitated, glancing back at the stronghold. "Are you sure? This place feels... off."

"That's why we are checking it" Raven said firmly. "We'll be fine. Just keep your signal flare ready."

Dylan reluctantly agreed, heading down a side corridor. "Alright, but if I find a ghost, I'm blaming you... It feels like I am just looking at the death way..."

Raven smirked and watched him disappear into the darkness. She steeled herself for whatever came next.

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As Raven explored the stronghold, the atmosphere grew heavier. Soon, she entered a large chamber. Her lantern illuminated the room, revealing an army of robots standing motionless. Some were broken, with sparks flying from their bodies. Others appeared to be recharging.

"Whoa," Raven whispered, stepping back. She'd heard of machines from other realms, but nothing like this. The robots seemed connected to the ruin of the world.

Meanwhile, Dylan had wandered into a different room, filled with broken machinery. "What are these things?" he muttered, inspecting a rusted arm.

Hearing Dylan's voice, Raven hurried to him. "Stay close," she warned. "We don't know what these machines can do."

She entered his room, her eyes widening at the sight of the broken robots. "This is incredible," she said, "but also creepy... I wonder if Linxi knows about these things..."

Dylan nodded, clearly fascinated. "Do you think they were built to protect this place or to attack intruders?"

Raven frowned. "I don't know, but they look abandoned or something went wrong. We need to be careful. They could still be dangerous."

Suddenly, a loud clanking sound filled the air as the dormant robots came to life. Their red eyes glowed menacingly. Raven instinctively stepped in front of Dylan, her wind magic swirling around her in defense.

[Alert! Intruder! Eliminate Danger!!]

The siren went off as the robots started attacking them. "Get ready!" she shouted, summoning a gust of wind to knock the nearest robot off balance.

Dylan quickly summoned fire magic in his hands. "What do we do? Can we fight them?"

Raven looked for an escape route. "We need to find their control center. If we can shut them down, we might learn what happened here."

One of the robots lunged at Raven, and she used a powerful gust to push it back. But it quickly regained its footing.

Dylan dodged a robot that attacked him. "What now?" he asked.

"We need to split up! Or melt them idiot!! You have fire magic!!" Raven called out. "I will distract them while you look for the control panel!"

Dylan nodded, adrenaline pumping. "Right! But there are so many robots!! Will they even fall for the distraction?!"

"Just run, you goofball!" Raven yelled.

They dashed in opposite directions. Raven used more wind magic to take down another robot. Dylan spotted a raised platform with flickering screens and buttons at the far end of the room. "Raven! I think I found it!" he shouted, running toward it as robots closed in on him.

"Hold on!" Raven called back, fighting off the robots as best she could.

Dylan rushed toward the raised platform, his heart racing as robots closed in around him. He reached it, his hands flying over the flickering screens and buttons. With a quick press of a large red button, the robots froze in place. Their glowing red eyes dimmed, and their metal bodies became still.

But the victory was short-lived...

The ground beneath them trembled, and a loud rumble echoed through the stronghold. The walls groaned as cracks spread across the structure. "We've got to go!" Raven shouted, her voice sharp with urgency.

Before Dylan could respond, the floor beneath them split open with a deafening crack. A massive hole yawned in the ground, its dark depths swallowing everything in its path. The building was collapsing.

"Raven, we need to get out of here!" Dylan shouted, panic rising in his chest.

As the floor buckled, Dylan stumbled, nearly losing his balance. He was about to fall into the abyss when, in a blur of movement, Raven lunged forward. She grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back just in time. Her strength pulled him out of the danger zone, but the collapse was relentless.

"Go! Run!" Raven yelled, pushing Dylan ahead of her.

With the building falling apart around them, they sprinted through the crumbling corridors. Dust and debris filled the air as the walls and ceiling continued to shake. Raven's heart pounded in her chest, but she kept pushing Dylan forward, her wind magic creating gusts to propel him faster.

They were almost at the exit when a massive chunk of the ceiling fell, blocking their path. Raven didn't hesitate. She used all her power to summon a fierce gust of wind, pushing Dylan out of the way just as the debris crashed down behind him.

"Dylan, go!" she shouted, her voice strained with the effort.

But as the dust cleared, Raven felt the ground beneath her shift. Her eyes widened as she realized she was standing on the edge of the abyss. The force of her wind magic had sent Dylan to safety, but it had also propelled her too close to the edge.

Before she could react, the floor beneath her feet cracked wide open, and Raven was pulled toward the gaping hole. "No!! Raven!!" Dylan shouted, but it was too late.

With one final, desperate cry, Raven stretched out her hand to grab the ledge, but she couldn't hold on. The abyss swallowed her whole.

"Damn it!" Dylan cried, reaching for her, but the darkness took her from him.

He stood frozen for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest, before forcing himself to move. He couldn't stay there. Raven had saved him, and now it was his turn to survive- no matter the cost...

_To Be Continue_