I took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves dancing under my skin. "Okay, Eli. No big deal. Just a mysterious, ancient sanctuary built specifically for people like you—people destined to face grueling trials that might kill you. Easy-peasy."
As if on cue, the ground beneath my feet rumbled softly. Ahead of me, three archways lit up one by one, each carved with strange symbols and glowing faintly. Above each, words began to form in the air, shimmering like they were made of liquid light:
Body. Mind. Soul.
I blinked, taking in the sight. Well, that's not ominous at all.
"Great," I muttered to myself. "A grand tour of my worst nightmares. How thoughtful."
Before I could overthink, the first archway—the one labelled Body—began to hum with energy, pulling me toward it. The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and my breath came out in a thin mist. I didn't need Sebastian or Luna to tell me this was it. The first trial. Whatever happened next, I had to trust in the bloodline I barely understood and face whatever this sanctuary had waiting for me.
With one last glance over my shoulder—where no one was standing—I stepped forward.
---
The moment I crossed the threshold, the world shifted. The dim chamber around me dissolved into nothingness, replaced by towering stone walls. I blinked, trying to make sense of my surroundings. The air was thick, almost suffocating, and the walls seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, forming a vast labyrinth.
"Seriously?" I whispered under my breath. "A maze?"
The walls loomed high above me, jagged and ancient, made of dark stone that seemed to pulse as if alive. Every few seconds, the entire structure groaned, and the ground beneath me trembled, as though the maze itself was shifting. I glanced over my shoulder, but the entrance had disappeared. There was no turning back.
Taking a deep breath, I started moving, my senses on high alert. The air was still, too still, and it carried an unsettling silence that made my skin prickle. I picked a direction and began jogging, the sound of my footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
At first, it seemed manageable—just another maze. I'd run through obstacle courses in training, after all. But after the first turn, I quickly realized this wasn't an ordinary maze.
The walls began to move.
I didn't see it at first. One moment the path ahead was clear, and the next, the stone was shifting, sliding together as if to crush me. Panic flared in my chest as I broke into a sprint. The narrow corridor I was running down narrowed even further, the walls groaning as they pressed inward.
I barely slipped through the closing gap, feeling the cold stone brush my back. My heart hammered in my chest. This wasn't just about finding my way out—this maze was trying to kill me.
"Great," I muttered. "Just great."
I pushed forward, moving faster now. The walls groaned again, and the ground beneath me shifted violently, nearly throwing me off balance. Every twist and turn led to another dead end, another section of the maze collapsing in on itself. I could feel the weight of the maze pressing in on me, suffocating, as if it was alive and intent on swallowing me whole.
As I ran, the air grew thicker, heavier. My lungs burned with every breath, and my legs ached from the constant sprinting. The walls were closing in faster now, giving me less and less time to react. Every corner I turned was met with another section of the maze crumbling, forcing me to dodge and weave through the shifting stone.
But I couldn't keep this up forever. My body was wearing down, muscles screaming from exhaustion, and my mind raced, searching for a way out.
And then it happened.
I turned a corner and found myself in a long corridor, the walls groaning ominously. The ground trembled beneath my feet, and before I could react, the walls on either side began to close in—faster than before.
There was no way out.
Panic surged in my chest as the walls rushed toward me. I tried to sprint forward, but the path was too narrow, too fast. My vision blurred, heart pounding in my ears as the crushing weight of the maze bore down on me.
This is it. This is how I die.
Time seemed to slow. I could hear the grinding of stone, feel the cold press of the walls closing in, and in that moment, I felt utterly powerless. My legs buckled under the weight, and I collapsed to my knees, gasping for breath as the walls closed in.
But then... something stirred inside me.
It was faint at first—a flicker, a spark deep within. But as the pressure built, as the crushing weight of the maze threatened to end me, that spark grew. It spread through my body like wildfire, igniting every nerve, every cell.
Trust your bloodline.
The voice echoed in my mind, calm and steady, as if it had always been there. And in that moment, I understood.
This power, this energy—it had been inside me all along, waiting to be unleashed.
I took a deep breath, feeling the surge of power ripple through me. My vision sharpened, the walls that had once seemed insurmountable now appeared... slower. Time itself seemed to stretch, the crushing weight of the maze lessened as my perception expanded. I could feel the energy flowing through my veins, heightening my reflexes, giving me the strength to move.
With a burst of speed, I pushed myself off the ground. The walls were still closing in, but now I could see the gaps, the narrow spaces where I could slip through. Every movement was precise, calculated, as if my body was moving on instinct.
I darted through the narrowing path, the stone scraping against my skin as I slipped between the closing walls. My heart raced, but my body moved effortlessly, guided by the power coursing through me.
Just as the walls slammed shut behind me, I found myself in a new chamber—a dead-end.
No... not a dead end.
In the center of the chamber, a glowing pedestal stood, pulsing with energy. It radiated warmth, and as I approached, I felt the power within me responding to it. Without thinking, I reached out and pressed my hand against the pedestal.
The walls stopped moving.
The entire maze seemed to groan, as if in defeat, and the air around me shifted. The pressure lifted, and for the first time since entering the trial, I could breathe freely.
I stood there for a moment, catching my breath, my mind racing with what had just happened. The power I had felt—the surge of energy—was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
But I knew this was just the beginning.
The ground rumbled beneath my feet again, and the chamber shifted. The walls began to slide open, revealing a new path. The next part of the trial was waiting for me.
I had passed the trial, but barely.
The archway ahead began to glow—Mind.
I was still catching my breath, but the next trial wasn't going to wait. Steeling myself, I limped toward the arch, each step reminding me that this wasn't over. Not even close.
I stepped through the arch, and the world shifted again.
This time, I was in a vast, still lake. Blood-red water stretched endlessly around me, the surface eerily calm. There was no wind, no sound, just the quiet ripple of the blood lake as I stepped forward.
In the center of the lake stood a figure—a man cloaked in shadows, his eyes glowing with a cold, eerie light. His presence was like a stain on the peaceful scene, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"The trial of the mind," he said, his voice like a whisper carried on the wind. "You must answer wisely. There is no second chance."
Great. Just what I needed. A pop quiz in the middle of a nightmare.
He stepped forward, and the water rippled. "First question: What do you fear most, Cain?"
I swallowed hard, the blood in my veins turning cold. The answer was obvious. I feared what I didn't understand—myself. But was that the right answer? I hesitated, but the figure's eyes bore into mine, waiting.