The air around Elysara was dense with the choking scent of decay, her legs barely able to support her weight. She clutched her stomach, a sharp, unrelenting pain radiating through her body. Each breath was a struggle, her chest heaving as she fought to remain conscious. Her vision blurred, and her head pounded, the effects of the poison coursing through her veins.
She stumbled forward, her surroundings shrouded in swirling mist. The voice returned, its tone as cold and detached as ever:
"You are both poisoned. Death is close at hand."
Elysara froze. "Poisoned?" she croaked, her voice rasping as if the poison had reached her throat.
"Yes. You and another have been marked by the venom. Only one antidote exists. To claim it, you must prove your worth."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. She didn't know who the other was, but the thought of someone else suffering alongside her added a cruel weight to the trial.
The mist shifted, revealing a narrow path lined with jagged rocks. In the distance, she could make out a faint glow—a beacon calling her forward.
Elysara stumbled forward, each step a monumental effort as the poison took hold of her body. Her arms were covered in raw, blistering burns, the red welts deepening into angry, weeping wounds that oozed with every movement. The pain was unrelenting, spreading like fire beneath her skin.
Her breaths were shallow and uneven, each one a fight against the suffocating tightness in her chest. It felt as though her lungs were being squeezed by an invisible vice, the air wheezing through her throat in desperate gasps.
Aureth wasn't faring any better. Her once-steady hands trembled violently as she clutched at her side, where a patch of skin had cracked open, blood mingling with the burns. Her breaths came in short, choking gasps, each one a visible struggle. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, and her lips were tinged with blue. Her once-commanding voice was now a whisper, hoarse and raw.
The mist around them seemed to feed on their agony, swirling closer, its oppressive weight pressing down on their weakened forms. Their surroundings faded into an endless void, the mist obscuring everything but the pedestal holding the antidote.
"Only one may drink. Prove your worth or perish." the disembodied voice echoed, cold and devoid of emotion.
Elysara staggered, her knees buckling as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She clutched her chest, the poison gnawing at her lungs, making every breath feel like glass slicing through her insides.
Her vision blurred, but she could make out a faint figure moving ahead.
"Who's there?" she called, her voice trembling and weak.
Aureth froze at the sound, her hand instinctively reaching for the staff she carried. She couldn't see through the mist, couldn't recognize the voice through the distortion of the trial's magic. "Show yourself!" she demanded, though her voice cracked under the strain.
The two figures began to circle one another, each trying to ignore the burning pain that coursed through their bodies. Elysara clutched a dagger in her hand, the blade shaking as she raised it defensively. Aureth held her staff with both hands, though her grip faltered under the weight of her weakening arms.
"I don't want to fight," Elysara rasped, her voice barely audible.
"Then leave," Aureth shot back, her tone sharp but trembling. She took a faltering step toward the pedestal, her breath hitching with the effort. "The antidote is mine."
Elysara's dizziness worsened, her head spinning so violently she could hardly stand. She felt as if her chest were collapsing, her lungs screaming for air that wouldn't come. But she forced herself to move forward, her grip on the dagger tightening.
"No," she whispered fiercely. "I can't let you take it. I need it to live."
Their movements grew frantic as the poison's effects escalated. Aureth's vision darkened at the edges, her breaths coming in shallow wheezes. Her skin felt as though it were being peeled away, each burn intensifying as the poison continued its relentless attack.
The second-degree burns that marred her arms and legs now deepened to the verge of third degree, the flesh red and raw, bubbling at the edges. The pain was excruciating, but it was the suffocating tightness in her chest that terrified her most. She clawed at her throat instinctively, trying to force air into her lungs, but the poison had spread too far.
Elysara was no better. The burns across her skin seared deeper, spreading like wildfire from her hands to her shoulders. The blistering agony made her hands shake uncontrollably, her grip on her dagger slippery with blood and sweat. Her breaths grew shorter and more labored, each one a desperate wheeze as her lungs struggled to expand. She coughed violently, doubling over as the air refused to come, black spots dancing in her vision.
"I can't... breathe," she gasped, clutching her chest.
Aureth staggered closer to the pedestal, her staff dragging on the ground as if it weighed a thousand pounds. She couldn't see clearly
—the mist twisted everything into indistinct shapes-but she could hear Elysara's ragged breathing. Something about it struck a chord deep within her, but the haze of pain and poison clouded her thoughts.
The disembodied voice spoke again, its tone mocking and cruel.
"Only one may live. Make your choice."
The words struck them both like a physical blow. They hesitated, staring through the fog, neither willing to make the first move. But desperation overruled caution.
Elysara lunged forward, aiming to block Aureth's path to the antidote. Aureth reacted instinctively, swinging her staff in a wide arc.
The blow connected with Elysara's side, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"Stay down!" Aureth shouted, though her voice cracked with exhaustion. She staggered forward, her breathing more labored with each step.
But Elysara wasn't done. She pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the agony that shot through her burned limbs, and grabbed a jagged shard of stone from the ground. She charged toward the figure in front of her, her vision so blurred by pain and poison that she couldn't fully see who it was.
The shard struck flesh.
Aureth let out a strangled cry, stumbling backward as blood poured from her side.
The mist recoiled slightly, and the figure that had been obscured for so long was revealed.
Elysara froze, her heart plummeting into her stomach. "No.." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Aureth?"