"In order for the others in your group to survive, you must decide who to sacrifice."
Lily's scream tore through her chamber. She slammed her fists against the translucent walls. Her bow clattered to the floor as she kicked at the barrier, each impact sending ripples through the surface but yielding nothing.
"Let us out! We're not playing your game!" Her voice cracked, tears had begun streaming down her face. When exhaustion finally claimed her rage, she slid to the floor, bow clutched against her chest.
She sat there in silence for some time, realising she had no choice but to make a decision. Her trembling hand hovered over the screen as she thought it through once more, tears dripping down her face. "I'm sorry." Her finger moved.
Victor's face contorted into one of fury that none of them would have recognised. "Of course," he spat, voice trembling with rage. "Team-building through betrayal. Who wrote this, a corporate therapist?" He paced about in his prison.
Then, abruptly, he stopped. His face crumpled for just a moment—a flash of vulnerability—before hardening again. He already knew who he would pick. His finger tapping the screen.
Ethan's roar shook the very air of his chamber. He charged at the wall with his shield, bouncing off with almost no reaction from it. Undeterred, he retrieved his axe and swung it at the wall, over and over, until his arms quivered from exhaustion. "I'll tear this place apart!" he bellowed.
"I'll bring the whole Spire down!" He continued his efforts for some time, leaving him panting and spent, he sank to his knees.
"I hate this," he growled. He looked at the screen, his breath hitching. "But... if someone has to—" He slammed his fist into his palm. "It won't be them. Not if I can help it." His finger trembled as it touched the screen.
Sam's panic manifested differently—a frantic, manic energy that had him tearing pages from his notebook, scribbling equations and diagrams only to throw them away moments later.
"There has to be a way out, a loophole, a flaw in the system." His voice rose.
"I could be wrong, maybe this is all symbolic. A projection of guilt? An illusion?" He collapsed to his knees, surrounded by scattered papers, hands pulling at his hair.
"Too clean," he whispered, voice hollow. His hand trembled violently as he reached for the screen. "Stop overcomplicating things," he choked out.
"You know who you'll choose. You've known since you read it." He tapped the screen.
AJ's form rippled he didn't react as violently as the others, had he tried to escape? Of course but he quickly gave up.
He knew they couldn't break out but he also felt that this was merely a test, not a death sentence. He decided to provide an honest answer all the same, with one swift motion his vote was cast.
Walter struck his cane against the barrier once, twice, three times—each impact causing ripples to spread across it. When nothing changed, he closed his eyes.
"No one ever said we would all survive," he murmured, voice thick with emotion. He leaned heavily on his cane, shoulders slumped with the weight of understanding.
He shut his eyes and pictured them—each of them. Their faults. Their brilliance. The future he wanted for them. He exhaled a breath that seemed to carry decades of weariness.
"You guys will be ok," he whispered, making his choice.
The blue screen flickered back to life, and the walls between them dissolved like morning mist. They stumbled into the central chamber, dishevelled and drained, searching each other's faces with desperate eyes.
The choices were displayed for all to see—Walter had received five votes. Ethan had voted for himself.
Lily's bruised hands were trembling violently, Sam's pages of torn up equations as well as the faint wetness in his eyes. They each held back their emotions but it was still obvious that they weren't calm at all.
AJ moved closer to Walter, he seemed to be the least affected but that all relied on his belief that no one would actually be sacrificed during this trial.
"I don't believe they'll really take you from us. I refuse to accept it." His voice spread out, his words helping to settle the others' roiling emotions.
Walter looked around, taking them all in. The corner of his mouth twitched upward in an attempt to smile, but it crumbled almost immediately.
His voice, when it came, was rough with emotion but steady. "I trust you AJ but even if I am sacrificed for you guys I have no regrets."
The others stared at him, their faces unclear, there was some remorse and grief yet also hints of hope.
He paused, eyes meeting each of theirs in turn. "Take care of each other," he said, the words carrying the weight of a final command.
Before anyone could react to his words the screen flared.
"Votes cast. Trial complete."
"Proceed to the next floor."
For a moment, no one moved.
They all looked towards Walter, expecting something to happen. A minute passed, then two—still nothing.
Walter released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. His heart pounded from the stress, but relief washed over him like a wave.
Everyone sighed in relief, AJ was right.
AJ gently slapped Walters leg with a tendril as he spoke. "These tests are really fucked up. Glad you're still with us, old man."
Walter caught his breath, smiling faintly. "Yeah... seriously fucked up."
Lily nodded, a small grin creeping up her face. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Let's move. I don't want to give it a chance to change its mind."
The door ahead creaked open.
The only thing sounding out was the quiet shuffle of boots against stone as they passed through the archway and stepped into the main chamber.
Lily glanced sideways at Walter, her expression complex.
Victor rubbed his face, like he was trying to wipe away the entire last floor. Sam looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it.
The next set of archways waited, they held no surprises as the serpent, eye and two faced symbols each appeared.
They took a moment to breathe, they huddled together in a circle, a group hug if you will.
They then decided on the archway they wanted to go through. Due to Ethan's heavy persuasions they went through the serpent door.
---
They entered a vast chamber.
Towering stone pillars appeared before them, stretching up into darkness. Cracks ran through the floor and walls, vines and debris scattered everywhere. There was no visible challenge or task to accomplish.
Lily squinted upward. "I don't like this."
She didn't get an answer.
The ground trembled. A deep, hollow groan echoed through the space as something large awoke. Then a pillar cracked—and collapsed.
"MOVE!" Ethan bellowed, already charging forward as stone pillars shattered behind them.
The chamber erupted into chaos. Pillars cracked and fell like dominoes, debris raining down from above. The ground split beneath their feet in jagged fractures.
A huge reptilian beast that looked like a dragon with no wings came charging in their direction. There were no thoughts of fighting it, the only thing on their mind was escaping.
Ethan took the lead, carving a path through the chaos. He circulated his mana using the rise in strength and his shield to deflect debris and force his way through obstacles.
However, pushing himself that hard with the little regard he had for his own safety came with a price.
A large chunk of stone, sent flying by the large beast, went in his direction, it was going to hit him in the leg, likely crippling it.
Thanks to AJ's quick call Ethan managed to block most of the impact with his shield, though his leg wasn't completely spared.
He didn't stop running but his movements weren't as smooth as before.
They didn't defeat the beast. They outmanoeuvred it. Dodging, hiding, and misleading it just long enough to find the exit. Dust-covered and breathless, they exited the trial together, hearts pounding.
---
The 8th floor.
They had decided on the door with an eye. Before them was a stone table, on top of which they saw six goblets, each filled with a different liquid—some clear, some thick, some glowing faintly.
There was an inscription on the table that read: "Only one grants salvation. All others bring disaster."
Clues covered the room, scrawled across walls, ceilings, even on the goblets themselves. "The red one isn't safe." "The blue one is safer than the green." "Only a fool drinks the yellow." Some lines contradicted each other making it all the more complicated.
They argued, debated and ran circles around each other until their limited time pushed them to make a decision.
AJ volunteered to drink.
He chose the silver goblet it was clean and unassuming.
It was the right choice.
Probably.
His form flickered for a few moments afterward and his voice became slightly delayed, like his slime body was out of sync with itself. He waved off their concerns, despite that the others exchanged worried looks.
Whatever was in that drink hadn't gone down quietly.
They made their way back to the main chamber, the three archways and doors on a raised platform ever present, each marked with a symbol.
The eye and two faces were there again, but this time there was a scale, its balance clearly tilted to one side.
They paused, uncertain.
"A scale that's tipped," Victor muttered. "Unbalanced? Maybe as in unfair? I'm not sure about this one."
AJ moved forward, form still slightly twitchy from the goblet's aftereffects. "We've already seen what the other ones lead to, might as well see everything this place has to offer."
Their curiosity had won.
They chose the door with the tilted scale.
The door swung open with a slow creak, revealing a narrow passage lit by pale blue torches. A wave of air hit their faces as they walked in.
Ethan grunted. "It's a bit chilly in here."
The corridor opened into a circular chamber, similar to the ones before, just that this one was much larger than the previous trial rooms.
There was a strange sigil carved into the floor.
AJ stared at it curiously. "What's that about?"
Walter stood nearby, "Not sure, probably not anything good though."
Suddenly, the sigil flared.
A blinding light surged outward. Everyone staggered back as they shielded their eyes with their hands or arms.
The light died down, disappearing as quickly as it came.
Quietly the shadows in the room shifted on their own.
They twisted unnaturally, crawling across the walls and converging at the centre of the chamber. The darkness deepened, pooling like ink, thick and alive. From it, something began to rise.
First came the legs, jointed, spindly, spider-like legs extending out from the floor. Then the hulking body emerged, oily and shifting like a shadow given mass.
From it extended dragon-like wings, leathery and torn, the movements stiff as if they hadn't been used in centuries.
Then the head.
A wasp's grotesque face, chitinous and segmented, antennae twitching, mandibles clicking in anticipation. Its compound eyes glistened with uncanny intelligence.
A crocodilian tail slammed down behind it, the weight of it cracking the floor.
It stood before them—a stitched-together nightmare, as if the dungeon had reached into each of their minds and ripped out parts of creatures they fear and glued them together.
Walter stumbled back, face pale.
"No. No no no—" He turned away completely, unable to even look at the thing. "Wasps. Why did it—" He swallowed hard, the colour drained from his face. "I hate wasps."
Ethan didn't speak. He just stared.
The spider legs. The way they moved—fast, precise, and silent, it freaked him out. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing as his stomach churned.