Lanert and Alice adapted to the ancient maze. While their belly rumbled or their feet sponged, Lanert and Alice rested. Lanert chose the crossroad with blue petals as the location for rest.
As they kept moving, Lanert hummed non-stop. He can't wait to see what awaits them at the end of an ancient maze.
"Lanert, you realize there was always upstream and downstream for every river, right?"
"Uh-huh. You want to visit Timbert River, like last summer?"
Alice loves to play in the crystal water with other students of Mahesh Crown. She became a new Alice while consuming her time with another girl, a cheerful Alice that was like a summer breeze, away from cold winter.
"What a nice idea," Alice answered. "But that is not what I mean." She opened the water skin and washed her throat before offering the rest of the water to Lanert. "Are you sure you followed the right path?"
"It's worth trying." He gulped honeydew. Lanert wasn't sure about his choice; it was a fifty-fifty chance he chose the wrong way. He had no clue which one he should follow, but whatever he chose, there were only upstream and downstream on the river.
"I think we took the wrong way," Alice worried. "We should turn back. We waste our time."
"How could you know we were on the wrong way, hmm?"
There was a short silence before she answered with an unsure voice.
"Women have a sharp insting." She answered.
That is not even a reason, to begin with. "So do a Man."
"But man, insting is blunt. Remember when we were trapped in the sewer?"
"Clearly." But back then, that was a cat's fault, not him.
"Remember what you said back then?" Alice recited her memory. "We must follow the downstream river to get out from here. Trust me. Man's insting was sharped."
Back then, they followed the stream and met the waterfall. Lanert told them to jump, and they almost fell into a deeper hole. Luckily, Alrich arrived and took them out of the sewer system.
"Do you remember, if you follow my intuition, we didn't need to get rescued by Alrich. Admit it. Man instinct was some time, dul."
"Here we go again." Lanert, stop moving. He had something better to do. "So women always have a sharper mind and instinct?"
"Yeah. sometimes"
The wall moved and created a new path for them. They kept tracking the blue petal.
"Let us bet, then." Alice challenged. "If I were right, I would win."
"Then what do you want if you win?"
"Nothing. Just admit that sometimes women are better than men."
"I never said men are always better than women. I just said, you—"
They stopped at a dead end. At right, left, and front, there is a wall. They realized this was the palace they started.
"Look, women's instinct was right after all." Proudly Alice said.
They turned and kept backtracking on the mossy path they were already passing many minutes ago. The path becomes longer with every deride Alice makes.
"Okay, you win. Stop being salty."
"I am not even start," Alice murmured, something combined with annoying deride.
A moment later, after resting, they made it to a strange room too wide to be another path.
The air was heavy with the smell of death. Their step echoed. They came at another dead end, with no moving wall, nothing except an abundance of mushrooms, roots, and veins.
"Weird, there is no door." Alice rubbed the wall. "Same wall, just not flat."
The whole wall circled a wide room that reminded Lanert of a plate. The wall has been damaged. There a cracks and craters formed from the violent impact. Seven emblems of elements glowing on the circle wall represent seven elements.
Fire emblem, glow red. It represented the Pyro, the fire element renowned for destruction rage.
Blitz thunder emblem, glow purple. It represented the Electro, the electricity element renowned for the fast strike of death.
Drop water emblem, glow blue. It represented the Hydro element, renowned for its pure wound-healing ability.
Leaf emblem, glow green. It represented the Dendro element, lord of the green and forest.
Wing emblem, glow teal. It represented the Anemo element. The breeze that brings happiness and tornadoes that bring destruction.
Snow emblem, glow cyan. It represented the Cyro element. The beautiful cold bite of death. The protection of a thick layer of the iced wall.
Stone emblem, glow gold. It represented the Geo element. The most robust mountain that withstands everything.
"What is the meaning of this?" Alice murmured as she touched one by one element on the wall. "It does nothing?"
Lanert recited an old language carved on the wall, glowing pure white. "Those who relied on strength would lose. Those who relied on the mind would be defeated. To prevail, use both."
"Riddle?" Alice commented as she focussed on the words on the wall.
"Perhaps."
Rambles lie beneath the wall. Vines and roots grew, and many bones lay beneath them. There were shields, swords, axes, and many old armors.
"It appears many passed the first test," Alice commented as she checked the rubble.
"Be careful. We don't know anything about the bones." Lanert raised a bone next to the rusty sword. The bone became dust. "It must have aged very long."
Lanert found a sizable circular outline on the floor. There are no swords, spears, shields, or even bones in armor suits, lied only mushrooms or vines that grow inside the circular outline that forms an arena in the center.
Lanert couldn't see what was in the circle's center. It is too dark. He uses an orb to enlighten the center. Dried blood tainted the floor. He found something at the center of the room.
"Found something, Lanert?"
"Yeah. Stay alert, Alice. We don't know what would happen here." As Lanert stepped onto the circle, he kept vigilance on his surrounding.