*******
"You thought I was dead?"
The voice felt surreal and was on a level more beautiful than divine. The world was a black void and yet Siege heard the voice as clear as daylight. The words echoed from all directions. Siege was unable to respond to. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, a strange force locked him away...
"You cannot defeat me!" the voice mocked. "I am all the elements. I will be there, rain or shine for I am the apex predator of all species on this Earth. I am the being that gives everything their powers. I am the Dragon Lord, Siege Damon. Even your parents were not able to defeat me... So how can you?!..."
"...No... You're nothing more than a simulation..."
*******
Siege opened his eyes and saw Laila kneeling over him. She held a leaf in one hand and a dark green paste in the other. He had no recollection of the events before waking up.
"What happened?" Siege asked, suddenly sitting up. He had a huge grin on his face although he was injured.
Laila jumped up from her kneeling position. She took a deep breathe. She frowned when she saw Siege looking so innocent. She had waken up just in time to see Apophis's body turn to dust. 'He's way stronger than be looks' she thought to herself. She knew she had to be careful around him.
"You really don't remember. You must have used a lot of stamina during that. I still don't know how you defeated that thing" she said, shivering. "I was tending your wounds. Thank you for saving my ass but I don't want to owe you any favors" she said, scowling. She reached for her T-shirt and started ripping a piece of cloth from it.
Siege smiled. There was a few questions he wanted to ask, but he was cautious of the fact that Laila couldn't remember anything before the start of the simulation.
A memory hung at the back of his mind. 'Was it a dream?' he thought to himself, thinking back to the voice. It had sounded like the voice of Apophis. It had sounded too deep and strong to be a voice of a human.
"What now?" he asked Laila, was was wrapping his leg with a piece of cloth from the T-shirt she was wearing.
"Not sure..." she responded, expressionless and hollow. "We haven't got any further instructions" she continued, standing up and cracking a few knuckles. Siege saw the pride in her face when he saw her face. She clasped her arm, a look of discomfort on her face.
"Are you okay?" Siege said, frowning.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Laila replied, sighing. "Look... I'm sorry for being so weak in that battle. I promise I'll do better next time" she said. Siege noticed how difficult it would have been to share something as such to a future enemy.
Siege smiled. "Oh, I was never fussed about that!"
(2 hours later)
Siege continued the remainder of the day walking in a state of suffering and confusion. Nothing seemed to be going the right way for him. He knew he had to work harder to be stronger. 'Laila could probably crush me in a one vs one...' Siege thought, as the two companions stopped in their tracks to rest for the night.
They were much further into the forest, and still no signs of instructions were heard. Siege wondered if the last trial required them to figure it out on their own, but he disregarded it. He knew that wasn't how the trials worked.
"I wonder how long we have to complete all three of our trials?" Siege murmured. He fell onto the grass, enjoying the sky of fire lighting up the clouds. He breathed in the fresh wind that gave him a burst of energy. He realized it had been so long since he enjoyed nature.
"You're asking me?" Laila replied with a laugh, sitting a few meters away from Siege. She crossed her legs and hugged her knees...
Siege didn't remember falling asleep. He didn't notice how tired he was until he felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. He heard a soft breathing next to him. 'Well, she's asleep. I should get some rest too...'
*******
Pain.
It was the only thing he felt when he woke up...
The world around him felt as if it was engulfed in pain.
As he lay helpless on the ground, a pool of crimson blood formed around him. His head was exploding in agonizing pain. The blood came as a shock to him. Before he could comprehend anything, his head fell back into a semi- conscious state of nightmares...
A cold, shaking hand covered in blood reached out to him.
"Siege Damon..."
*******