The Plane

the light to be higher with every step.

“There is another challenge.”

Cold halted in her walk, looking around.

“I don't feel anything. Or see anything.”

“It's a different one. A... series of riddles. But not like the puzzle. These are easier, but compulsive, and we also have limited time. And there will be one without a solution; just one, and the answer for it is that there is no answer.”

“What happens if we can't solve one?”

“We'll die.”

“As usual.” Cold bit her lip. “How much time do we have?”

“Different for each one. I... I... I'll sense if we're about to reach a certain point; up until that point we'll be safe, after that it could end at any moment, and I won't be able to tell. And if it ends, we die.”

“When does it start?”

“In a few moments.”

“What... what happens if we guess wrong? Can we guess multiple times? And how do we guess?”

“Guessing wrong means we die. We can only try once for each. And... I can submit it, if we know the answer.”

“Alright. Alright.” Cold took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Was there anything else they could do for preparation? They were two, so... they should split the riddle somehow. But how could they split a riddle if they had no idea what

“Okay, I got the first one. What is the beginning of nothing, the middle of meaning, and the end of pain?”

The beginning of nothing... was nothing. The middle of meaning... could be anything. Or, what if meaning didn't have a middle? Was it both nothing? And the end of pain... was nothing? The pain which foreshadowed death? Was it nothing?

No, that wasn't good enough. Nothing and pain maybe, but nothing as the middle of meaning? If she was being this vague, surely she could justify a whole bunch of conclusions.

The beginning nothing. What was it that came before nothing? Was it everything, or anything, because everything would one day fade into nothing? But that didn't work for the other two.  Maybe something which could cause

“I got it.”

“What is it? Can you tell me without submitting it?”

“Yeah. It's grammar. The solution is the letter n.”

Cold quickly went through all three words.

“Yeah, that's it. Okay. Is there an advantage to submitting early?”

“No.”

“Alright. Okay. So, don't submit it yet. But do it if it's getting close.” Cold noticed her quickened breathing, and forced herself to stay calm once again. They had solved the first one. It was going well.

Grammar. Could that be a part of future riddles? Probably not as plain as here. But there was a way of thinking about things in a more abstract manner that had less to do