When the 3 Brothers entered the room, Cyo's and Jamie's orbs of light disappeared. The 3 Brothers' fear was now at its highest level. Cyo and Jamie couldn't even blink their eyes for fear. Cyo was now trembling and Jamie was vomiting nonstop.
Eray's fear was nothing compared to the others. It wasn't that he was too brave or stupid, it was just that he couldn't feel this unholy energy. He just put his head in his hands and waited for the end.
The door they had entered was slowly closing. It was pitch black. Finally the sound of the back door closing completely was heard.
Some time passed. Hours or minutes?
But a little further away from where they entered, a purple fire burned through the pitch darkness.
The fire grew and grew, until finally it was big enough to illuminate the surroundings. The place they entered was a large hall. The ceiling was not visible. It was as if it stretched into endless darkness.
The room they entered looked like a round arena. Then purple flames burned all around the room. Now, instead of pitch darkness, there were flames lighting up the place in a color they had never seen before.
An ominous sound echoed through the ground and the sky. Then the sound continued. It was an ear-splitting sound, reminiscent of screams. The flames that illuminated the surroundings were swaying left and right as if in the middle of a hurricane, but they were neither extinguished nor diminished.
"Something is talking," Eray said.
As soon as Eray said this, the noise of the voice diminished. Then it stopped completely.
- "S-something."
- "S-ssomething!"
- "Someting? Cheeky maggot"
The brothers were all frozen with fear. The voice kept talking,
"Maggots who don't even know my language. Dare to bother me?"
Whenever the voice spoke, the flames that illuminated the room would flicker.
The brothers could not even move their eyes, much less their bodies, out of fear. They could not move because of a purely animal instinct.
The voice continued to speak;
- "hmmmm.... Sons of Mete, the emperor and Diana, the do-gooder. Where are your parents? Did those wretched maggots send you to face me."
None of the brothers could speak. Instinct told them that if they spoke, they would be torn apart instantly. As the being spoke, a hot wind blew around them, as if a great beast was breathing down on them.
But now the opposite happened. A deep sigh. The brothers and the flame that illuminated the surroundings felt themselves being pulled upwards this time. The brothers didn't realize it at the time, but whatever this voice or being was, it was sniffing at a brother. It was a force so great that the brothers almost felt they would be swallowed up.
The entity continued to speak, "Seennn I don't know you, I don't know your smell, what are you?"
...
"The "empty" in the back who are you?"
Eray "empty" he knew he was talking about himself. Sometimes his siblings and his mother teased him with this word. "Empty." hollow, meaningless, rubbish, and other insults.
A fire burned inside Eray. But he felt an equally strong desire to respond. Eray, who until a second ago was holding his breath to live, felt a strong desire to respond. This was the will of the being.
Eray was a really smart boy. Not many beings would dare to do what he was about to do. Eray first stood up straight as if challenging the being. Then he bowed down to the ground and started to speak;
- "O great one, I am Eray von Logenjar. I am the 9th child of Mete, born of Luna, and these here are my own brothers. I apologize to you for my rude words a moment ago.
It is inevitable that we humble creatures will feel awe and admiration in the face of magnificent beings." Eray was still bowed to the ground, not raising his head.
There was no response from the being first. Then;
- "Hmm I didn't know that man and woman had such a smart child. If those damn maggots accepted my greatness and eternity, I could give them a magnificent life and power."
Eray was a little relieved, but only for a moment.
The Being said, "I am the Almighty, the bringer of the apocalypse, the lord and protector of the earth and above the earth, of water, air, fire, earth and darkness, of knowledge and all living things on earth. But I do not know you."
Eray, a little surprised and frightened, said, "I am not lying to you, my lord almighty."
The Being said angrily, "Ashaglik, no one can lie to me. Only the truth is spoken in front of me. I know lies, fear and anger and power..."
Eray's head was still down. Now his sweat was getting into his eyes and bothering him. But he didn't even dare to raise his hand to wipe it away.
The being continued, "I don't really care who and what you are. What surprises me is that something I don't know is standing in front of me. It doesn't really matter. A worm is always a worm, it may have been overlooked."
"Tell me. Why did you bother me?"
Cyo and Jamie couldn't work up the courage to answer. They were still in shock from the entity's question.
Eray jumped in to avoid further angering the being:
- "Your Highness. We three brothers learned some information from an old inscription that led us here."
The entity:
- "Inscription... What did it say?"
Eray: - "Great lord, the inscription directed us to this temple. It said that if we fulfill the wishes of the supreme being here, we will be granted a wish."
Eray was not lying but he was missing some information.
- "Hmmm what is your wish?"
Eray said, "Your Highness. As you, in your perfect wisdom, immediately realized, I have no mana and no magic power. I am indeed the only one in this world. If you, almighty lord, graciously grant our wish, I would like to have magic powers like my brothers and sisters or other creatures."
Creature:
- "So that is so..."
Eray never answered.
Creature:
- "You have to pass 2 tests to get a wish. You and your brothers. Do you accept this?"
Eray was a little more collected now. He could give more logical answers without shaking, so he jumped at the answer.
"Of course, God Almighty, that was our purpose."
The being did not speak for a while. Then...
The being:
- "I'm not asking you, do the other maggots agree to take the test for you?"
Eray did not answer, but he was sure that he had come here to finally break his cursed fate.
There was no sound again for a few seconds. Eray turned around and saw Cyo's expression. Despair and fear. His mouth was bloody from biting his lips.
Eray wondered if I wasn't scared like Cyo and Jamie because I couldn't feel magic power. Indeed, Eray couldn't even understand the fear his brothers felt. But this fear had nothing to do with feeling the power of magic.
The creature:
- "For the last time, Cyo and Jamie, the sons of that man and woman are your brothers." and at the end of this test, you will be granted a wish."
Cyo had tears in his eyes. He tried to stammer:
- "Kaa.. I refuse."
Eray was surprised. He was a little disappointed. But he couldn't say anything.
Then Jamie said a word too:
- "I... don't..."
Creature he said nothing, he waited.
Then Eray jumped in:
"Cyo, Jamie, please, we have to take this exam, we can do it together. You are a third class wizard, you have always been one of my father's favorites among the princes.
Cyo said, "No. We don't even know what this-this test is like."
Eray really had nothing to say. He could not know what he would face in the exam.
Then Eray turned to Jamie with hope again, "Brother, please accept this exam, I can get out of this hellish life. You will not have to be ashamed because of me. You are one of my mother's favorite sons, and among all the princes living in Avalon, the people love you the most. Please, we can make it."
Jamie looked at Eray in disgust and replied, "I will not die for a useless piece of trash like you."
Eray was disappointed. His brothers had always teased and insulted Eray, but it was his brothers who had convinced him to come here. To give Eray so much hope and now to give up...
Eray bowed his head, then looked up into the darkness where he thought the voice was coming from and said, "I can't take this exam either then." Silence continued for a while.
Then came a frightening laughing sound.
The creature:
- "Well, then you are free to go."
Cyo and Jamie took a few frightened steps backwards. When they realized they weren't going to die, they kept walking towards the door. As Eray followed them, the voice came again.
- "WAIT"
The brothers stayed where they were.
- "If you two don't want to take the test for your brother, you are free to go. But once the door is open, the test has to be taken. Your brother is "empty" he's staying here for the exam. If you don't want to help him, I'll let you go.
Eray was surprised and frightened, "I don't understand, Your Holiness. Am I not free to go?"
Creature:
- "You have understood correctly, maggot. If your brothers want to betray you, they are free to do so. I know it was their idea to come here, and although they have all kinds of tricks and betrayals in their heads, they do not have to take responsibility. This is your test, but they can only help you and help you pass it."
Eray said, "Cyo, Jamie please stay. It would be impossible for me to pass this test without my magic powers. No matter what kind of test I face, there is no way I can pass it."
Creature:
- "An "empty" like you impossible, YOU WILL DIE".
Then came another ominous laugh from the creature.
Eray said, "Brother, you heard me, there is no way I can pass this exam alone. If you help me, I can at least pass the exam. Otherwise I will die."
With an exasperated expression on Cyo's face, he said, "This is your test, you freak. You don't even have the magic power of an insect. Before you were born, our family lived happy and peaceful days. Our mother was Diana, the beauty of the world, the queen of goodness. After your birth, she became selfish and evil. Our family has never been the same. It's been 10 years of hell since you were born. We thought of killing you when you were a child. But if our father found out we killed you, he would destroy us. So die here and face the truth you deserve."
Eray was frozen when he heard these words. His body was trembling. Not a single word came out of his mouth. He was a boy who had just turned 10 years old and was condemned to a life he didn't deserve. After these words he started to cry.
"I'm sorry. Brother, please, please don't leave me here. I didn't want to be born like this, I didn't want to upset our mother, I didn't want to embarrass you."
Eray turned to Jamie with the desperation of a dying creature.
"Brother, please help...."
But Jamie only responded to Eray with an evil smile.
As the two brothers left the room, Cyo turned to Eray for the last time:
"This test, coming here with you. The whole point of us working to get your magic was to get rid of you."
Eray was surprised by these words. He fell to the ground and continued to cry as he began to better understand what the creature meant.
Cyo's last words were, "We knew everything that was going to happen here beforehand. We deliberately left the inscriptions we brought you incomplete. We knew about the test and the rules. This is the last time I will see you here and I hope you have a painless death, dear brother."
Then the two brothers left the room and the door closed behind them.
Eray continued to cry. He had never felt such intense sadness. Even the first time his mother beat him when he was a little boy, he had never felt so sad. Finally he stopped crying. In a final disappointment, he looked up in hope and said, "There is no way I can pass this exam without magic, is there?"
Presence:
- "NONE"
Eray, "Then take my life now."
Eray felt betrayal and despair at its most intense. The feeling of dying made his stomach ache and his head spin.
If he had a mirror with him, the shape and color of his face would have caused him a different kind of fear.
The creature:
- "The only emotion I felt from them all this time was fear, they were not surprised when they saw me like you were."
Eray continued to listen to the creature's words with tears in his eyes.
- "Humans, Half-Humans, Ghorts, Demons and many other intelligent species all look alike. Betrayal and passion, love, power...
Then the creature started laughing very joyfully.
- "There, that's what I like about werewolves. They're all the same, really. When one side gets a little stronger, it sees itself as a different species. That always amuses me. You are all the same kind of insect."
The creature turned to a distraught Eray on the floor:
- "Are you ready for the test."
Eray no longer had any desire for the test, nor any interest in magic. He had even lost the will to live.
Eray said, "I don't need any test. I don't want power, just kill me now and the pain will end here.
The creature:
- "Are you sure? If you don't take the test, you will die and disappear."
Eray: - "I'm sure."
There was no doubt in Eray's eyes. They were the eyes of a child who had truly given up everything.
The creature:
- "If that's what you want..."
Eray stared at the ceiling, into the endless darkness. A few more tears flowed from his eyes, which were now dry from crying, as he spread his hands to his sides, waiting for his death.
First a yellow fire appeared out of the endless darkness. Then a big sound, followed by two yellow eyes the size of a city.
Eray froze and then collapsed to the ground with a gasp.
He exhaled his last breath. A cold shiver ran through his body and his consciousness sank into darkness.
He was dead.
A lifeless little body. In the middle of nowhere. Betrayed in his last moments...dead.
The city-sized eye slowly disappeared. Then only one word was heard
- "First exam"
- "YOU PASSED"