Gigantic Dragon Rider

Time was hard to judge in this inner chamber.

The stone absorbed most waves of perception.

Any reference point brought in from the outside—the angle of the light, changes in temperature, certain physical sensations of his own—had all lost their function as coordinates for time here.

Ron knew clearly that he had been sitting here for a long time.

But he had not even fully unraveled the First Floor.

He placed the Rubik's Cube on a corner of the low table, got up to move around a little, then sat back down and continued.

The puppet had not left. It sat back down in that chair, turned sideways to him.

It did not look at him or speak. Occasionally, it turned its head toward the entrance leading deeper into the inner chamber.

It glanced over, then turned back again.

Ron pressed down the faint impatience rising in his heart and continued his deductions.

Paradise had collapsed. He could sense it.

The puppet suddenly moved. It turned from the chair to face him.

"You have a scent of absurdity on you, and a chaotic aura from the Great Abyss."

"There are many gatekeepers in the inner chamber. Different visitors correspond to different gatekeepers."

It tilted its head, and at that angle, the knothole happened to face Ron. "I'm not deliberately making things hard for you, you know."

The puppet's tone carried a very well-measured innocence.

"You chose to bring all these auras in with you. Since you chose to come this way, of course you have to face the corresponding rules."

"The rules are like this, so just endure them."

Ron set down the Rubik's Cube he had been clutching on his knees for who knew how long and met the puppet's eyes.

The puppet shifted slightly to the side, voluntarily