Sephir and Sraptor stepped into the next hall. It looked much like the waiting area where they had first arrived, and Anna, the guardian of the trials, greeted them at the door.
"Greetings, Lady Sephir. Sraptor. Please wait here for the other contestants to finish their trials."
There was one clear difference. This hall had seven entrances, counting the one they had just come through.
Someone had beaten them here. Chrys, the Champion of Wisdom, stood near the center with his guide, Apollo. He came over as soon as he saw her.
"So you made it, fellow competitor." He adjusted his glasses. "It looks like we'll have four more joining us for phase two at most, plus the returnees."
"Four?" Sephir said.
"Look above the entrance you came from. Each one carries a rune. Yours and mine now show emeralds. Most of the others show topaz — yours turned from topaz the moment you stepped through. But two of them show ruby." He let that sit for a second. "Which likely means those champions failed their trial. Or are no longer with us."
Sephir was impressed. "You truly deserve to be the Champion of Wisdom."
"You flatter me, my Lady. You arrived first after me, and phase one tested wit and wisdom above all else. Your performance impressed me."
Before she could answer, another voice cut across the hall.
"Anthyyy, I am so tired right now! Please carry me, Anthy."
Darlyn, the Champion of Love, dragged herself out of her doorway with her guide close behind. Anthrax did not budge. "Please understand, my Lady. I cannot defy the rules of heaven for your personal convenience."
They stepped clear of the door, and the topaz above it turned emerald. Chrys chuckled. Sephir smiled, a little embarrassed on Darlyn's behalf. Sraptor only shook his head.
"It seems the new Champion of Love is a handful for my fellow angel."
Chrys turned back to their situation. "There's one more thing you may have noticed, my Lady. This hall has a single exit. No connecting halls like the last waiting area. We're all gathered in one place with no path to choose between — which tells me phase two will put every one of us in the same contest."
Sephir thought it through. It made sense. In the last hall they had been able to pick their route. Here there was nothing to pick.
"You are wiser than me, Chrys."
"And you are kinder. You even remembered my name." He smiled. "I doubt our newest arrival will manage the same."
Right on cue, Darlyn spotted them and wandered over. "Huh! Who are you two?"
Chrys shook his head. Sephir laughed. Darlyn introduced herself and stuck out her hand, and Sephir shook it warmly. "Nice to meet you too, future Goddess of Love."
Darlyn brightened. "Hey! She's not so bad, Anthyy! I like her!"
Another voice rang through the hall before she could go on. Blaire, the Champion of Flame, strode in. "Phew! That was tough to burn through, right, Agni?"
"For you, my Lady," her guide said, "I shall burn this world."
Blaire told him to calm down before somebody took him seriously.
Darlyn pointed at her. "Look, Anthyy! Another baddie." Then her face changed, and she smiled. "But doesn't that mean more competition for us? I don't like any of them, Anthy. Except this lady. She's nice!" She pointed at Sephir.
Chrys, still bemused, sighed. "Ugh. How did you become the third to complete the Wisdom Trial of Death?"
"He's a bad bad baddie, Anthy," Darlyn said, with a whimsical smile. "I don't like him."
Anthrax shook his head. "My Lady. Please behave with some maturity among your fellow champions. It does not suit a future Goddess to act this way in public."
A loud thud came from the last topaz entrance. Then an explosion, and two figures were thrown out onto the floor.
"Argh! I hate these puzzles," Augustus growled, picking himself up. The Champion of War brushed himself off as his guide rose beside him.
"I agree, my prince," Demitry said, "but such are the rules of heaven. And look — we did make it through."
Anna moved to the door opposite the seven entrances as the two of them joined the group.
"We have our final five champions of phase one, here with us. Congratulations on coming this far in the Trial of Death. There will be no further eliminations unless you make a poor choice. Those of you remaining must now decide whether to continue this year. If you would rather not, you may enter phase two directly next year. If you wish to go on, form a line by the entrance. If not, remain here until the participants have gone. You will be guided out of the trial hall later."
With that, phase one ended. Every champion took a place in the line, ready for the far harder trials waiting on the other side of the door. In this intricate game of light and shadow, their fates hung in the balance, and not one of their destinies had been written yet.