Leo stepped onto the last pillar, and this time, he found himself in a vast white space. For the first time, a voice echoed through the expanse.
"Welcome to the last trial. This trial will take you through three stages. If you fail, no harm will befall you, but if you succeed, you will receive a treasure that will make gods claw at their faces. Good luck."
When the voice faded, Leo found himself seated, a chessboard laid neatly before him. He glanced around, confusion flickering across his face.
Who am I supposed to play with?
{Relax, bro. You just appeared here. Who knows—your opponent might be a ghost}, Primo said.
Leo shook his head at Primo's antics.
Fortunately, he had enjoyed chess as a child. He used to watch and participate in tournaments. He wasn't a grandmaster, but he had enough experience under his belt to feel cautiously confident.
Then—a hand appeared above the board.
Leo jolted, his body tensing for a split second before he forced himself to calm down. No body. No face. Just a hand—pale and steady—hovering as if it had always been there.
It didn't take long for the realization to sink in.
So this is my opponent.
Leo closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again, a sharp glint flashed in his pupils.
He reached forward and made the first move.
A moment later, the hand responded, sliding a piece across the board with deliberate precision.
The final trial had begun.
Leo played three games against the hand.
Each match stretched on in silence, pieces clashing again and again until every game ended the same way—a draw. No matter how aggressive or cautious he played, the hand always matched him move for move, pawn for pawn, leaving the board locked in perfect equilibrium.
By the fourth game, Leo frowned. Primo decided to help. {The hand seems to mirror you. It knows your gameplay} he said.
{If you want to win, you need to improvise.}
So Leo improvised.
He abandoned safe openings, sacrificed pieces without hesitation, and played not for balance but for chaos. He experimented with a style he had never used before.
That was all he needed.
"Checkmate," Leo muttered as he knocked down the black queen with his white knight.
The moment the final piece fell, the hand froze. Then it slowly dissolved, fading into nothingness like mist under the sun.
The white space twisted.
Walls rose. Paths split. The ground solidified beneath his feet.
When the transformation ended, Leo stood at the entrance of a vast maze. Towering walls stretched endlessly in every direction.
"Oh, come on! What is a maze doing in a trial?!" Leo yelled.
{Well, you still have to complete it, so chop chop—start mapping}, Primo replied.
Leo steadied his thoughts. To complete this trial, only one thing mattered—
He had to reach the center.
Using skills he had learned long ago as a junior scout, Leo navigated the maze—marking turns, counting steps, and trusting his sense of direction rather than his eyes. Slowly but surely, the winding paths gave way.
At last, he reached the center. He exhaled in relief, thinking it was finally over.
Then the walls began to move.
Stone groaned and slid, corridors twisting and reshaping themselves before his eyes.
"NOT AGAIN!"
Leo's scream of frustration echoed through the maze as realization struck—he wasn't done yet.
He had to escape the maze.
Again.
He placed his palm against the wall and began tracing his path. He hit a dead end, turned back, and tried another route—only to hit another dead end.
Wait… this isn't supposed to be here. I passed through here not long ago.
Shaking his head, he assumed he was imagining things and took a different path.
That's when he noticed it.
The walls… were moving.
Thinking back, he realized he had spent roughly a minute retracing his steps before hitting the dead end—and it had been about a minute since he started the new route.
The realization hit him.
The walls shifted every minute.
He decided to wait, observe, and deduce the pattern.
On the fifth cycle, it clicked.
Timing his movements perfectly, Leo slipped through corridors just before they closed and cut across routes just as new ones opened.
With one final sprint, he burst free of the treacherous maze as the walls slammed shut behind him.
"Whew… that was close," he sighed.
The second stage was complete.
Silence followed.
Then darkness swallowed Leo whole.
He strained his eyes, but nothing answered his gaze.
A voice emerged from the void.
"You will be presented with three riddles. You are to unravel them all. Fail even one, and you fail everything."
Silence followed, heavy and expectant.
This was the final stage. [I burn without warmth,
Speak without a voice.
I map the heavens,
Yet I am not the sky.
I fall and grant wishes,
But remain beyond reach.]
Leo read the cryptic message and sank into thought.
Maps the heavens… falls and grants wishes… burn without warmth…
He drew in a deep breath.
"A star," he answered.
Silence.
Then the voice spoke again.
[I walk ahead of every step,
Yet I am shaped by the walker.I am a thread unseen,
Broken only by will.
I exist before the choice,
And after it.
I bind kings and beggars alike,
Yet bow to choice.]
This one was on another level.
Leo thought hard, drawing blanks—until it clicked.
Threads… threads of fate. Fate binds everyone, regardless of status. Yet your choices decide it.
A glimmer appeared in his eyes.
"You are fate," he said.
Silence once more.
Then the voice returned, bringing relief.
"One left," Leo whispered into the darkness. [I devour all things,
Yet leave no teeth marks.
I carry tomorrow,
Bury yesterday,
And never pause to breathe.
I move even when all else stands still.]
"Oh, this is simple," Leo said confidently.
"You are time."
[You pass.]
Leo released a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding.
It's all done.
A door appeared where emptiness had been—a lone, solid presence standing against the void. Its surface was plain, almost ordinary, yet it radiated finality.
Leo frowned.
"That's it? A door? No teleportation this time?"
{Well, you're done with the trials. Maybe that's the exit}, Primo guessed.
"That makes sense," Leo agreed. "Well… let's see."
He stepped forward and crossed the threshold—
into the unknown.