At first, when they had arrived, it filled them with an awe that lifted their gazes. It felt like they had entered into a whole new land. The sky was illuminated with constellations they each had never seen before.
The architecture and statues that existed dotted the landscape. Each and every statue depicted humans posed in different manners, with weapons and armor, each unique. The structures themselves felt massive in comparison to them. It felt as if the land had met the sky, gazing into this world. Before the two was a massive staircase of white stone that led straight up to a behemoth temple dotted with bronze braziers lit with fires.
Adam looked over to Sophia.
"Have you ever gazed at something so beautiful before, Sophia? I have never witnessed anything this beautiful in my entire life, and the more I find myself in situations like this, the less I regret the decisions I have made."
Sophia looked over at him and stared for a moment.
She didn't feel the same joy that he had felt. It was a gut wrenching anxiety that wracked her, a nervous, tense feeling that she couldn't shake loose. It was as if the world was bearing down on her. She saw a world too heavy to look at. Her eyes, and slowly her head, would fall to her feet as she attempted to gaze up longer than a short few moments.
This place, in her eyes, was a death sentence. But they had no way out of their situation. Going outside to make an attempt to run would inevitably end in their death. Waiting outside in that damp cellar would starve them over time. In here felt like their best chance, but even this felt like it was merely death.
"Are you insane? This place is no place for dreaming, Adam. Imagine how many people have died failing this place?"
He looked up in wonder at the history this place held and looked back at her with emerald eyes widened with a smile.
"I would have loved to meet every single person. Imagine what dedication it takes to know death is waiting on the other side, and the bravery it takes to come meet it face to face."
She began looking around as best as she could, but muttered under her breath as she looked around.
"Insanity befriends ignorance."
As she stared down at the ground, she found herself seeing remnants of those who had come before her. Messages were inscribed into the ground of the temple. It seemed that many people scratched messages into the ground for themselves or even for people coming in next maybe even for the goddess herself.
The surrounding area was decadent with fires and verdant growth, well trimmed bushes, and beautiful trees that produced beautiful golden leaves.
These signs were in languages she couldn't understand but looked to hold some similarities to the language of today, the shared tongue etched into all of our minds.
She turned back to where they had come in from and found Adam slowly climbing the stairs to the temple above. As he climbed the stairs, the heads of many different statues turned toward him. They slowly changed their pose to point at Adam as he continued upwards.
"ADAM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!"
She ran over before stopping at the very first step and looking down at it. She couldn't find the will to take it. No matter how much she lifted her leg, she couldn't do it. Her body couldn't move forward, and she fell to her knees. She looked down at her hands that were shaking.
While she was looking down at the floor, Adam found himself looking forward, gazing in wonder. Every step was light, and he practically bounded up each one with ease. His curiosity drew him ever so closer to the top. Truly, nothing mattered at this point other than what was waiting for him.
A sharp voice in his mind dulled the world of color for a moment, and he stopped in his tracks. The amulet hummed with annoyance.
"Adam, you cannot do this alone. You aren't capable of doing anything alone right now. Turn around and help Sophia. For some reason, she is incapable of climbing the steps. You need her to finish this."
His anger and resentment continued to bubble. This bitter taste that was left in his mouth never felt pleasant, but he calmed himself down and looked to the constellations above, finding the resolve he needed to hold his patience.
He slowly turned around and came back down to the first step and stretched his hand out to her.
She could hardly look up at him, but when she did, all she saw were the emeralds hidden beneath his hair. They stared like daggers. His gaze was so cold it felt as if her heart would freeze over. Reluctantly, she grabbed his hand and felt as if the weight that once prevented her was suddenly lifted.
As they walked forward, a sickly sweet scent loomed throughout the air. The sound of fires crackled, and the last step revealed a golden fire painted onto that very last step.
Beyond the last step, there remained three podiums sitting in the center of this beautiful marbled room, with ash from incense laying about. Quills and empty-paged storybooks remained opened and fluttered in a wind that did not exist. A statue of a beautiful goddess looked down at the three podiums. She had a soft smile and gentle eyes. The sculptor had taken a great many details, as if they had met the goddess. A beautiful gown and sculpted collarbones, hair that flowed down her back to her feet. She stood upon a pile of books and held a fire in one hand.
Many helmets rested along the path toward the podiums. Sophia looked down to the floor, respecting those before her. Leaving your helmet behind was an oath to many knights within this land. It meant you had failed, and you leave behind a faceless oath for the next warrior to carry. It was an honor for the knights of Bant to adopt the helmets of their predecessors. She placed her hand on her heart and whispered a farewell to the knights of old that once tried and failed.
Adam found himself gazing out into the temple, walking around, looking at the helmets and the fires, gazing out into the marble architecture. It was a sight to see, and beyond even that, his gaze looked over to the statue. That woman looked unpleasant to him. She reminded him very much of the woman who dropped him into a maze. In his mind, he could only imagine her prancing away with no care in the world, and the thought made him frown.Rain spoke again into his mind.
"Let us focus on what's ahead and not fall to distractions."
He rolled his eyes and walked over to the podiums to look closer at the books that remained resting upon them. The titles of each were listed as follows:
The Rise
The Collapse
The Reforged
The statue of the goddess spoke up as he looked closer at the books.
"Three books containing three challenges. Three challenges written throughout history. Live them and succeed them. Grow from them or rot in them. Rise to the occasion and be blessed by Mystis."
The amulet hummed once more with enthusiasm.
"Let us wait for Sophia. She is mourning the lost knights from this great trial. Are you prepared to enter?"
Adam answered with no hesitation.
"Yes."