Chapter 3: The First Trial
The moment they crossed the stone archway, the world split apart.
Light swallowed them whole—white, blinding, endless. Emily felt her feet leave the ground, her stomach twisting violently as if she were falling and rising at the same time. Voices whispered all around her, overlapping, indistinct, filled with urgency and warning.
Then the light vanished.
Emily slammed onto hard stone, the breath knocked clean out of her lungs.
She gasped, coughing, fingers digging into cold ground as she struggled to sit up. Her head rang, vision blurred. When the world finally steadied, she realized something was terribly wrong.
She was alone.
"Alex?" she called, her voice echoing unnaturally.
No answer.
She pushed herself up, panic creeping into her chest. The place she stood in wasn't the forest anymore. Massive stone walls rose around her, stretching impossibly high into darkness. Strange runes pulsed faintly along the surface, glowing and dimming like slow breaths.
The air felt heavy—thick with pressure, like the moment before a storm breaks.
"This isn't real," she whispered. "This is just… some illusion."
But deep down, she knew better.
Alex hit the ground rolling, instinctively springing to his feet. His surroundings shifted constantly, walls moving as though alive. A massive corridor stretched before him, lit by floating orbs that flickered erratically.
He clenched his fists.
"Okay," he muttered. "Trial number one, right? Bring it on."
The moment the words left his mouth, the corridor trembled.
From the shadows ahead, something emerged.
It looked like a reflection of himself—but wrong. Its eyes were hollow, its movements slightly delayed, like a distorted mirror. When it spoke, it used Alex's own voice.
"You always rush in," it said calmly. "Always touching what shouldn't be touched."
Alex's jaw tightened. "Get out of my head."
The reflection smiled. "You brought them here. If they die… that's on you."
The floor cracked.
Alex lunged forward.
Jake landed hard, pain shooting up his arm. He groaned, pushing himself upright—then froze.
He stood in the middle of an open arena. Stone pillars circled him, each carved with scenes of battles, betrayals, and fallen heroes. Above, the sky churned dark and red, clouds spiraling unnaturally.
A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere.
"Strength alone does not win wars."
Jake scoffed. "Yeah? Tell that to the people who lost."
The ground shook.
A massive shadow rose before him, taking the shape of a towering armored figure. Its eyes burned crimson as it lifted a weapon twice Jake's size.
Jake's heart pounded.
"Figures," he muttered. "Guess I'm fighting."
But as he raised his fists, another voice whispered softly—seductive, persuasive.
"You could be stronger."
Jake hesitated.
Sarah awoke kneeling in darkness.
No walls. No ground. Just endless black.
Then light bloomed.
Vines of glowing green spread beneath her hands, forming paths, trees, flowers—all growing rapidly, responding to her presence. She gasped as the darkness recoiled, retreating from the living light.
"This place…" she whispered.
A voice answered her—not aloud, but inside her mind.
"Create, or be consumed."
Sarah swallowed, gripping her sketchbook tightly. She opened it with shaking hands and began to draw.
As her pencil moved, the forest responded—branches growing, roots forming barriers, flowers blooming defensively. The darkness hissed, pressing closer, testing her resolve.
Fear crept in.
What if she stopped?
Matt crashed down onto metal flooring, sparks flying as strange mechanical structures rose around him. Gears rotated in the walls, glowing with magic-infused circuitry. Symbols flowed like code across transparent panels.
His breath quickened.
"This is…" His eyes widened. "This is brilliant."
A voice interrupted him.
"Logic will not save you."
The machinery began malfunctioning. Panels shattered. Energy surged dangerously.
Matt scrambled to stabilize the systems, fingers flying across invisible interfaces. "Come on, come on—there has to be a pattern!"
But the systems resisted him, responding unpredictably.
Then another voice—quiet, malicious—slipped into his thoughts.
"Or perhaps… control should belong to someone else."
Back in the shifting corridors, Alex staggered as his reflection struck him hard, sending him into a wall.
"You're reckless," the reflection sneered. "You don't think. You just act."
Alex wiped blood from his lip, breathing hard. "Someone has to."
The reflection paused. "And when that gets them killed?"
Alex roared and charged.
Emily wandered deeper into the stone maze, her heart hammering. Each turn led her to visions—her friends injured, screaming, lost. Her hands shook as she pressed them to her temples.
"No," she whispered. "These are lies."
A figure appeared ahead—an old woman with knowing eyes.
"Knowledge is power," the woman said softly. "But knowledge comes with fear."
Emily swallowed. "I won't run from it."
The walls began closing in.
Jake ducked as the armored figure's weapon smashed into the ground, cracking stone. He rolled, narrowly avoiding another blow. His muscles burned. His breath came ragged.
"You're losing," the whisper returned. "Accept help."
A dark glow crept toward his hands.
Jake hesitated—just for a second.
Sarah screamed as the darkness lunged, tearing through her forest creations. Her pencil snapped.
"No!" She pressed her palms to the ground, feeling the world respond.
Life surged outward violently, pushing the darkness back.
But it cost her.
She collapsed, gasping.
Matt shouted as a surge of energy knocked him off his feet. Sparks flew dangerously close.
"Stop fighting the system," the voice urged. "Let me guide you."
Matt clenched his teeth. "I don't trust you."
The machinery began collapsing.
The world snapped.
Light burst through every trial simultaneously.
Emily screamed as the maze shattered.
Alex's reflection dissolved into smoke.
Jake fell to one knee, the dark glow retreating—but not gone.
Sarah collapsed among wilting vines.
Matt lay breathless as the systems shut down.
They were thrown together violently, landing in a wide stone chamber.
Together.
Alive.
Barely.
The Guardians stood waiting.
"You have passed the first trial," the tallest one said gravely. "But understand this—each of you was tested differently."
Alex glanced at Jake, something uneasy twisting in his gut.
Jake avoided his gaze.
"The darkness has touched one of you," the Guardian continued. "And it will return."
The ground trembled again.
A roar echoed—closer than before.
"Rest," the Guardian said urgently. "Your next trial will not give you time to prepare."
The chamber lights dimmed.
And in the shadows beyond the stone walls, something smiled.