THE BLACKTHORN CODEX
Episode 38 — The Test of Time
November 16, 2023 — 10:55 PM
And as the Guardian disappeared into the shadows, their route through the city became a path of alert and strategy, where every corner could hide an attack and every silence a warning.
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November 16, 2023 — 11:15 PM
The Guardian's figure disappeared into the shadows, but his presence still weighed heavily. The Codex vibrated violently in Leander's hands. A new energy, roaring and foreign, emerged from its pages. Before they could react, an invisible force engulfed them, sucking Clarisse and Leander into a whirlwind of light and darkness.
They fell, or perhaps were thrown, through a tunnel of shadows and memories, where time and space merged. The city, the Codex, the Guardian, everything disappeared, replaced by a dizzying void.
A breath of hot wind. The scent of burning wood and gunpowder.
When they emerged, the world had changed. The sky was torn apart by burning planes and distant explosions. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Uniformed figures ran, screaming. Flames licked the streets of a Japanese city in 1945, ravaged by war.
"Where are we…?" Clarisse whispered, her voice trembling.
Léandre looked around: a mixture of chaos and destruction. The Codex floated beside them, absorbing the world's energy, vibrating like never before.
"The Guardian… it's a test," Léandre understood. "He doesn't just want to scare us. He wants us to die here."
Before they could react, a figure appeared in a ruined alley: a man in monk's robes, holding a thin blade engraved with ancient runes. His eyes were calm, but filled with power: Benjamin Borax.
"I see you," he whispered, "even across time and space."
"How…?" Leander asked, surprised.
"The Codex showed me your fall. I can guide you from a distance," Benjamin said, his voice echoing in their minds. "But you must follow my instructions to the letter."
Around them, the city trembled under the bombardment. Soldiers and ghostly figures appeared, created by the Codex as additional obstacles. The entity within Clarisse shuddered, ready to act, but Borax whispered a mental incantation:
"Don't let the shadow dominate you. Channel it, but don't lose your will."
A thin but glowing green barrier enveloped Clarisse and Léandre, protecting them from bullets and bomb fragments. The Codex, as if under external control, began tracing runes in the air, preparing their next jump.
The first test was clear: they had to cross this ruined city, avoid the traps, and find a specific point indicated by Borax, or the Codex would eliminate them. Every step was monitored by invisible forces, and the Guardian, remotely, analyzed their reactions, measuring their courage, cooperation, and mastery of the entity.
"It's not just a physical test," said Léandre. "It's mental... and spiritual."
"Yes," replied Clarisse. "And Benjamin is guiding us... but he can't do everything. We must survive on our own."
In the distance, a collapsed building seemed to be the point Borax had indicated. The Codex floated above it, casting a green light toward the roof. But the Guardian wasn't making their way easy: ghostly figures appeared, mimicking soldiers, frightened civilians, and shadow creatures.
"We must move forward... and stay together," Clarisse whispered.
They moved forward, the Codex vibrating and pulsing, absorbing the chaos energy around them. Benjamin Borax, from a distance, silently recited an incantation that bound them to his spirit, creating a protective, but fragile, net.
The Guardian watched every movement. This test would not end until he determined if they could survive both the shadows and themselves.