Voices appeared behind me one after another.
Turning quickly, I was met by them. The Apparitions.
Grouped up and huddled together hundreds of small shells appeared in the pit. But these snails were different from the ones that I had seen from my previous trial. Their shells were smooth, rounded and orange.
I didn't recognize them.
"Brother," they called out simultaneously as they appeared. 'Brother?' I questioned myself as I watched their translucent bodies float upwards into the air. "Brother. Brother. Brother." they continued to chant like broken records before they began to rotate around my body.
The sound of chittering soon joined the noises as I turned my gaze from above me back towards the orange ground.
Ants.
Just under ten of them appeared and joined the floating bodies around me. 'Is this another trial where I have to fight?' I questioned as I backed up from their sight. But my intuition told me that it wasn't. They didn't emanate any pressure and I didn't sense any danger. Still, I remained cautious as I backed up even further. But as I moved, they followed me no matter I slid.
After a few seconds, I just gave up and watched the scene unfold before me.
Materializing from the orange coloured sparks and flames, more bodies appeared from almost nothing as screeches filled the air. Spiked-shells. Numerous spiked-shells appeared and floated into the air as they lined up behind the ones with the smoothed shells.
Like a slowly whirling around me like I was at the centre of a whirlpool, they continued to screech out as they joined the chorus above me.
"REEEEEE" a louder screech was bellowed out by another apparition as it materialized and joined the cacophony of voices.
'Wait... I know that snail.' I thought as recognized him. 'The leader of the Spike-shelled snails...' I confirmed as his large shells joined the one above me.
But it didn't end there. Next came the Frostfangs. Larger and towering over the other insects, the male Frostfang, the juvenile Frostfangs and the hatchlings that I had slain appeared and joined the apparitions that circled me from above. Their characteristic greys and whites were replaced by hues of orange, but I recognized them.
I didn't just recognize the Frostfangs or the Spike-shelled snails, but all of them now.
The souls of the dead.
Before I could think about my situation anymore I heard a loud boom. Appearing like it had dropped on top of the pit, the shell of the ancient snail dropped atop the pit and sealed me in.
"Child." the snail called out as my suspicions were confirmed.
With the final figure making its appearance, the rotating bodies that floated above me stopped and seemed to lock into place.
Each ghostly apparition stared down at me as I did to them.
...
"Repent." the first snail called out from above me as I looked at the snail... it was probably one of my siblings that had died in the early days... the first sibling that died of hunger - the one that I had decided to leave behind...
"Repent..." another snail replied. As if each apparition had an order they called out one by one until the ancient snail spoke.
"Repent, child." she shouted as my world shook.
"How?" I questioned the beings out loud. I knew that the trial was about to begin... but I still wasn't sure what it was all about.
Seemingly like they heard my question, the apparitions began to move. Whizzing through the air, they placed themselves on the path that I had taken down into the pit itself. Lined up as if they had a specific order... or in their order of death, they placed themselves equally - orange blips in the path upwards.
'Is this the trial?' I asked as I continued to watch them assemble themselves, but I was soon greeted by a tiny voice.
"Come and repent." a snail beckoned from the base of the path.
'Repent, huh?' I questioned as I approached the start of the winding path that led upwards as I continue to pant through the heat. 'How is this repenting?' I questioned as I reached the first apparition.
But before I could even think or react, it charged straight at me. The moment it touched me, I felt my body begin to burn from the inside out as its body merged into mine.
And I was brought away to a memory... to repent.
...