Chapter 76: The Castle of Doors
Arthur and Aziel went from room to room, door to door, their confusion mounting with each impossible transition. Every doorway they passed through led to someplace unexpected, the castle’s interior shifting and rearranging itself in defiance of all natural laws. If they were in the bathroom and walked into a bedroom, then turned around and went back through the door they had just come from, they wouldn’t end up in the bathroom but somewhere else entirely—a library with towering bookshelves, a conservatory filled with withered plants, or a dusty study with maps spread across ancient desks.
Time passed as they wandered through the ever-changing maze. Their initial curiosity had long since given way to frustration and fear. The constant physical exertion of supporting Aziel’s weight had left Arthur’s muscles burning with fatigue, and Aziel’s injured foot had begun bleeding again, leaving small droplets on ornate carpets and polished stone floors.
They were now covered in sweat, standing in a huge dining room with intricate paintings adorning the walls—scenes of hunts and battles, feasts and celebrations. A massive table dominated the center of the room, stretching nearly the entire length of the chamber. It was set for a feast that would never come, tarnished silver plates and goblets arranged before each of the dozens of high-backed chairs.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Aziel yelled, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling, outwardly frustrated as he slammed his fist against the dining table, causing the nearest plates and goblets to rattle discordantly.
Arthur lowered him into one of the ornate chairs, allowing his companion a moment’s respite from the constant movement. The wood creaked beneath Aziel’s weight, releasing a cloud of dust that danced in the candlelight.
"I don’t know," Arthur sighed, running his hands through his sweat-dampened hair, "but it seems we’re stuck here. Doors here lead to a different room every time you go through them... it doesn’t make any sense, this isn’t possible. I—I don’t get it."
Arthur’s eyes were wide as he stared at the floor, sweat dripping off the tip of his nose as he racked his brain desperately trying to make sense of any of it. The laws of physics he had understood from their realm meant nothing in this place. Spaces connected that shouldn’t connect; rooms existed where they couldn’t possibly fit within the castle’s exterior dimensions.
Aziel shifted in his seat, the pain in his foot momentarily forgotten in the face of their bizarre predicament. His brow furrowed in thought before a spark of hope lit his eyes.
"Okay, well by that logic, if we go through enough doors, we should eventually end up back outside, right?" he suggested, his voice lighter than it had been moments before.