The door loomed in front of them like a sentinel, cold and imposing. The symbols carved into its surface seemed to shift in the dim light, their meanings elusive, as though they were meant to be understood only by those who had made it this far. Ethan could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, the weight of the moment pressing down on him like a physical force. They had come too far to turn back now. They had to go through this door.
Violet, standing just beside him, shifted uneasily. Her eyes, which had been sharp with determination moments ago, were now clouded with doubt. "Do you think this is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "The final trial?"
Ethan didn't have an answer. He could feel it in his gut, the unmistakable pull of something monumental waiting for them on the other side of the door. Every part of him screamed that they were close — too close — to the end of this horrific game. But he wasn't ready. He wasn't sure anyone ever would be.
"I don't know," he said, his voice rough, almost strained. "But we're not going to find out by standing here."
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, to calm the frantic pulse of adrenaline racing through his veins. Every step in the maze had been a battle of willpower, a test of endurance. But this — this felt different. This was no longer just about surviving. It was about overcoming the deepest, most primal parts of themselves.
Violet hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Together, then."
Without another word, she reached for the door, her fingers brushing the cold steel. As soon as she made contact, the door shuddered, the symbols glowing faintly with an eerie blue light. The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed through the hallway as the door slowly began to open, revealing a darkness so deep it seemed to swallow the light around them.
Ethan and Violet stepped forward into the void, the air growing heavier with each step. The darkness around them was oppressive, suffocating. It felt like the walls were closing in again, pushing them toward something they couldn't yet see. There was no sound, no movement. Just the feeling of being watched — always watched — by something unseen, something unknown.
Then, a voice echoed out of the darkness. It was deep, resonating, almost reverberating in Ethan's bones. The voice was familiar, yet foreign. It was the voice of the billionaire — the orchestrator of this nightmare.
"Congratulations," the voice said, the words rolling over them like a wave. "You have made it this far. But the journey is far from over. The final trial begins now."
Ethan's heart skipped a beat. The final trial. This was the moment he had been dreading, the culmination of everything that had happened. He wasn't sure what to expect — or if he was even ready for whatever was to come next.
The voice continued, its tone dripping with malevolence. "You've survived the maze. You've survived the physical and emotional trials. But there is one final test that awaits you. A test of survival, a test of your will to win."
Ethan felt a cold chill run down his spine as the air around them seemed to grow even colder. The darkness was closing in, and he had the distinct feeling that something was about to strike.
The billionaire's voice grew louder, more mocking. "You've been given the chance to win a billion dollars. But what is that worth if you can't even make it to the end? What are you willing to sacrifice to win?"
The ground beneath them suddenly shifted. The maze had been cruel, but this felt different. The floor was moving, shifting beneath their feet, forcing them to keep moving. The walls around them began to stretch, and the darkness seemed to deepen, as if it were swallowing everything in its path.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet gave way, and both Ethan and Violet were plunged into darkness. For a moment, everything went black.
Then the world snapped back into focus.
They were no longer in the maze.
They were in a massive arena, the walls towering over them, an endless expanse of concrete and steel stretching as far as the eye could see. The atmosphere felt different — heavier, more suffocating. Above them, strange floating lights hovered in the air, casting eerie glows across the arena. It was a place built for spectacle. A place meant for the eyes of a million viewers, for the eyes of the billionaire who controlled this game.
Ethan's breath hitched in his throat as he took in his surroundings. The arena was empty, save for the two of them. But that didn't make him feel any safer. This place felt like a trap. It felt like the calm before the storm.
A mechanical voice boomed through the arena, the sound reverberating off the cold walls. "Welcome to the Final Trial. You are now the last two standing."
Ethan's eyes widened in shock. Last two? Was it really just the two of them now? How had the others fallen? How had they all been eliminated?
"The rules are simple," the voice continued. "You will face each other in one final challenge. But there is a catch. You must decide what you are willing to sacrifice to win."
A pause.
"If either of you chooses to sacrifice your opponent, the survivor will walk away with the grand prize — one billion dollars. If you both choose to sacrifice, only one will be allowed to leave. But there is another option — an option that will test your true resolve. If neither of you sacrifices the other, you will fight to the death, and the last one standing will not only win the prize… but a power beyond human comprehension."
Ethan's heart pounded as the words settled in. A power beyond human comprehension. What was that supposed to mean? Super strength? Telekinesis? Invisibility?
It didn't make sense. It couldn't make sense. But the maze had always defied logic. Nothing about this game made sense anymore.
Violet was silent beside him, her face unreadable. She was calculating, analyzing, trying to figure out what this twist meant for their survival.
Ethan looked at her, his mind racing. The choice was theirs. The stakes were higher than ever. And if they didn't make the right move, everything they had fought for would have been for nothing.
The voice returned, its tone eerily calm. "Time to decide. Choose wisely."