A tempting tune

Skye continued to make her way forward through the maze, tentative steps gradually grew more and more confident, then even casual as she went. The passage of time felt... odd. With no way to see the sun, all Skye had was her innate sense of time to keep her oriented, and with all the passages looking exactly the same, there was no way to tell whether she was making any progress at all. The prospect had frustrated Liv to no end, but Skye was of a calmer temperament, and she found herself humming a relaxed melody as she went on. There didn't seem to be anything else down here, and if she was in no danger, then why stress?

I had been some time when Skye realized that her soft humming had been joined by another tune. This one was distant, with a lofty and round timbre which didn't sound quite like any instrument she had ever heard. It was round like a bell, but long, stretched out like the gradual pull of a violin. Just the sound of it alone was intriguing, but they way it moved--it too was entirely strange and beautiful!

"How odd," Skye mumble as she realized that she had, without even realizing it, began plucking the strings of her harp. There was no need for thought or tuning, as every string she pulled seemed to perfectly intertwine with the music that drifted through the air. Each note resonated with strange, complex harmonies, that even Skye herself didn't quite fully understand, but she couldn't deny their incredible beauty.

Her feet began to move of their own accord, guiding her through the identical passages, now with a sense of purpose and belonging. She had no idea where she was going, but she was certainly going somewhere! She could feel as each step drew her closer and closer to the music's core, and a sense of excitement began to build in Skye's chest, swelling higher in tune with the music's own rising energy.

She had no way of realizing it, but with each step she took, the melody's hold on her mind only strengthened. She had had no direction before, but now it was as if she had surrendered, given the external force of the music a foothold in her mind, and as she passed down the identical passages of the maze, turning left and right as the music demanded of her, it's tendrils wormed their way deeper and deeper into her psyche. Soon there were no more thoughts in her head, only the sound of this new, strangely beautiful song echoing endlessly.

Eventually, Skye came to a doorway. It was large, a pair of double doors that seemed to have been made of crystal or glass that were intricately carved with strange swirling symbols. She didn't recognize them at a glance, and a glance was all she got, as the music directed her forward, insisting that she push open that door and find what lay within. Skye barely noticed the way the very material of the door seemed to shudder and shake with each growing pulse of rhythm or the way the symbols seemed to dance, swirling around one another, combining and dividing, merging to birth new symbols in a mess of endless, self consuming chaos.

***

This chapter was co-authored by Mapron01(https://chyoa.com/user/Mapron01) Please check him out!