May hesitated. "Um, I'm good at talking! I could help you reason with the dragon!" I shook my head and turned again to walk up the stairs. "Just find Saniel." I didn't wait for her to answer this time and continued to climb. By the time I was halfway done, I was out of breath completely and was on the verge of collapse.
Despite that, I forced myself to push on until I made it all the way back up to the top. I dragged myself over the last step after two hours of labor, and I laid there for a moment to give my lungs a break. Once I was ready I stood back on my feet and walked into the chamber again. The dragon was there like I expected, and I picked up my sword from the ground where I dropped it before as I approached him.
The dragon was the first to speak. "Back to try again are you? I hope you thought of a better answer as you climbed back up here." I slid my sword back into my sheath and held my fists at my sides. "I misinterpreted the question. I am a warrior, an unstoppable being that can and will conquer my enemies without fear." The dragon waited a moment to answer me. "Not even close." Another wave of magic pushed me down a different hole in an instant. "Ah!"
I maneuvered through another set of obstacles that this tunnel held, and I came out the other end at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later. I sat up again and couldn't contain my frustration. "Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!" I stood up, however, and started to walk up the stairs again. After an excruciatingly longer amount of time, I made it back to the top of the horribly long staircase despite my suffering. I could barely breathe and my feet were killing me from hours of relentless movement, but I walked into the chamber without showing a hint of weakness.
"I am a knight!" The dragon shook his head. "No you're not." Again I was pushed down another tunnel, and again I climbed up the endless stairs of doom. When I entered the room again the dragon seemed impressed. "Huh. Usually by now the intruder has either given up, died from the tunnels, or from dehydration." By this point, I couldn't hide how tired I was anymore. "Well, I, I am- a symbol, of strength!" The dragon sighed and lay down on his mountain of treasure. "Seriously?" Magic took me off of my feet and once again I fell into another hole and had to start over.
I somehow managed to get to the top of the stairs again for the fourth time, and I shakily walked back inside. Before I could give my next attempt to the dragon's question, I unexpectedly heard something behind me. I turned around to face the entrance and my eyes widened to see May hobbling over to us. She held herself up by the carvings in the wall as she walked on one foot. "May?!! What are you doing here?!!"
She hopped into the chamber and turned to me. "I want to help. Didn't you notice me climbing up the stairs? You passed me a bunch of times." I stared at her blankly when the dragon noticed her obvious injury. "Oh my gods! Your leg is at a right angle! That's so gross! I can't look at it! How did you climb all those stairs looking like a prime rib?!" I nodded and crossed my arms. "Yes. How did you?" May raised her fist in the air with enthusiasm. "Because I believe in myself!"
The dragon shivered in disgust and continued to try and turn away. "Ugh! I can't stop looking at it! Make it stop! Make it stop! I can't concentrate with that in the room!" Suddenly, a beam of gold magic made its way from the dragon's claws through the air and surrounded May. She gasped as she glowed brightly, and as the light faded her wound disappeared.
She slowly placed her newly healed foot on the ground in surprise and jumped with joy. "I'm all better! Thank you so much, Mr. Dragon!" The dragon sighed as he put down his arm. "My name is Yang. And I only did that so I could concentrate." His comment didn't make her smile drop in the slightest.
"Thank you so much, Yang! You have no idea how hard it was trying not to scream from how painful that was! We're going to be best friends now!" Yang raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. "What?" I gestured to May as I returned my attention to him. "As you can see, you made a mistake. Now can I continue trying to pass this stupid test?" Yang rested his chin on his arms that were crossed in front of him. "Very well."
I dropped my hand gesture and replaced it with a determined fist. "I am a leader!" Yang groaned. "Try again." He flung me back into another hole and I was out of sight in a split second. May then stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Yang's tail. He lifted her in the air and shook his tail fiercely, yet her grip was too tight to be cast off.
"Something tells me you do this often." He stopped shaking her and she raised her head to face him as she held on. "Please don't make Dedrin go through this again, as my new best friend, that wouldn't be very nice." Yang closed his eyes with irritation. "I'm just doing my job. He's the one who's choosing to put himself through hell."
I climbed again and again without hesitation and yet came more failures.
"I am courageous!"
"Try again."
"I am whatever I choose to be!"
"Try again."
"I am the chosen one!"
"Okay, now you're trying too hard."
As I climbed the mountain for the eighth time, the sky was the dark of night, and stars began to appear in the sky. I had no idea how I was going to pass this test, nor did I know how I was still alive. But I would not allow myself to quit no matter what. Even if these were my final moments, I would rather spend them climbing these stupid ass stairs than giving up.
I couldn't breathe anymore and I was drenched in sweat as I pulled myself to the top stair and May quickly came to pull me the rest of the way onto the floor once she saw me. "Great news! I convinced Yang to let you have some water!" I could barely move and was too weak to respond. May quickly pulled me onto her lap and took a canteen the size of a gallon from beside her to pour in my mouth.
Words could not describe how phenomenal it felt to have water run down my throat after all that torture. I regained some of my strength instantly and raised my hands to hold the canteen myself. I chugged the entire gallon in a matter of moments and sat up slowly after I was done. I regained consciousness and realized what May did for me. I looked off to the side and brought myself to say, "Uh, thanks." She smiled brightly and stood up so she could help me on my feet.
My legs gave out from under me as I stood up, but May caught me long enough for me to regain my footing. "Ah!" She didn't expect me to fall either and barely held me up by wrapping her arms around my waist and face-planting in my chestplate. I heard the clank of it and couldn't help but laugh a little as I shifted my weight to a pillar next to me. May was relieved with my laugh instead of offended like I expected. "That's good to hear. My father always said, 'If you can laugh, you'll live'."