The third and final gate stood before me, pulsing with soft gold and pale blue light. Its glow wasn't harsh like the first portal, or cold like the second. It flickered like a candle in the dark — alive, but fragile.
The Guardian stood beside it, arms folded behind his back. He looked at me with a different expression than before. Not pity. Not pride. Just calm understanding.
"You've done well to come this far," he said. "But understand — the final test is not about endurance or self-worth. It is about choice."
"What kind of choice?" I asked.
He tilted his head slightly. "One you must make alone."
I stared into the swirling light, heart pounding. After everything — the mountain, the illusion of my absence — I was nearly there. One more step.
I took it.
I emerged into a cavern.
It was massive. I couldn't see the ceiling. The walls disappeared into shadow. All around me was darkness, save for one thing — a small flame dancing atop a stone pedestal in the center of the room.
It wasn't ordinary. Its light shimmered gold and blue, twisting and moving like it was breathing. It didn't warm the cavern, but it pushed the shadows back just enough to give me a view of what surrounded it.
People.
Dozens of them.
They were huddled in the dark corners — silent, shaking, cold. Their faces were half-hidden in the gloom, their eyes wide and hollow. Some of them reached toward the flame, arms trembling, but none dared come close. Others simply curled up against the stone, whispering things I couldn't hear.
A soft voice filled the chamber. Not loud. Not commanding. It came from everywhere and nowhere.
"Welcome, Musuko. This is your final test."
The flame pulsed in rhythm with the voice.
"Before you is the Light of Release. It will warm you, heal you, and grant you passage to your reward — what you sought most in life."
I stepped closer, feeling the heat on my face now. It wasn't just warmth — it was comfort. Peace. Home.
"But," the voice continued, "the flame is limited. It holds enough energy to carry only one soul to the next world. You may take it for yourself and leave. Or… you may share it with the others."
I looked again at the people in the dark. Their eyes met mine. Some were old. Some looked young. None spoke. But I could feel their pain. Their longing.
"If I give it to them," I asked, "what happens to me?"
The voice didn't answer.
I swallowed hard.
It would be so easy.
Just reach out. Take it. The reward I'd fought for. The peace I'd earned. After everything — hadn't I deserved it?
But as I stepped forward, my eyes drifted to a girl in the shadows. No older than ten. She clutched her arms tightly around herself, shivering. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. Her gaze was locked on the flame.
I turned away.
But I couldn't forget her face.
I reached out and touched the flame.
It didn't burn me. Instead, a small thread of light extended from it — like a ribbon — coiling down my arm and pulsing gently. I turned to the girl and walked toward her.
She didn't flinch.
I knelt and extended my hand.
The light unraveled from my fingers and wrapped around her. Her eyes widened. Her shaking stopped. And for the first time since I arrived, I saw her smile.
The ribbon faded from my hand.
The flame at the pedestal shimmered — and grew.
I stared.
It was… brighter.
Stronger.
I looked back to the pedestal, stunned. The flame, rather than dimming from what I'd given, had swelled.
I stood slowly.
I understood now.
I moved to the next soul. An older man, clutching his chest as though holding in grief. I offered him the light.
It reached for him. He gasped. Then, peace.
And again, the flame grew.
One by one, I walked through the dark. Sharing the flame. Spreading the warmth. Each time, the pedestal's light expanded, reaching higher, stronger — until it lit the entire cavern. Shadows fled. The cold vanished.
The people — no, the souls — stood tall now. They looked at one another. They smiled. Some began to cry.
The flame was no longer a flicker.
It was a beacon.
I walked back to the pedestal.
And the voice returned.
"You have given freely, expecting nothing in return. The light you shared became the light that freed you."
The cavern around me shimmered, fading like morning mist.
I stood once again in the Guardian's house.
He waited for me at the table. Two cups of tea sat between us.
"You look tired," he said.
I smiled, weakly. "A little."
"But whole."
I nodded.
"You passed the third gate. And with it, you have earned your reward."
"I stared into the tea, my hands warming slowly around the cup.
"I still want the reward," I said quietly. "But... something feels different now. I don't feel like I'm chasing it the same way I was before."
He looked at me, interested.
"What changed?"
I let out a soft breath. "Helping them — it filled something in me. I still want to move on, to find peace... but there's a warmth in my chest now. Something quiet, steady. It feels like joy."
The Guardian gave a gentle smile and lifted his tea.
"Then perhaps," he said, "you are ready for what comes next."
We sat in silence.
Outside, the sky beyond the Guardian's windows shifted. Not night. Not day. Just light.
The kind of light that only comes after choosing to help someone else.
End of Chapter Four – The Flickering Flame