Near the World Tree, dozens of worms were biting chunks out of the one who dared hurt it. The monster contorted and tried to shake them off, but it accomplished nothing.

“This way,” said Veronika leading the group to a certain spot at the base of the tree. Its shape was similar to the magical beanstalk from folklore. It twisted around itself creating a clear winding path the youths could follow.

Unfortunately, it was incredibly abrupt and they couldn’t poke the bark either. Just in case someone slipped, Finn was made to climb first followed closely by Rachel and Alric.

“Move it kid, or I’ll drop you off the tree.” Veronika wasn’t in the best of moods, especially since her friend was at the very bottom of their formation. “There’s a hiding spot at the halfway point. We need to get there while the worms are still busy.”

The guardians’ jaws weren’t made to bite into their own, so they were taking their time dismembering the traitor.

‘Why the halfway point and not just above the creatures’ reach?’ While thinking this, Alric had a sense of foreboding. This round had been one giant deathtrap. It was like Amon was purposely trying to get everyone killed.

Unbeknownst to him, that was the last thing the demon wanted. On another planet, inside a giant purple room surrounded by screens, their host was sweating buckets while biting his claws.

More than 100.000 contestants had died in the first couple of hours since the round began. Another 200.000 perished while trying to climb the World Tree, and as of now, only a single team was likely to succeed.

Seeing Alric and the rest struggling up the trunk, he was secretly cheering and wishing them luck. Of all the live-streams still operational, theirs was quickly rising to the top.

Of course, the group's situation would change if they did not hurry. Fortunately, by the time the wailing stopped, everyone managed to reach the safe spot. There was a pocket of air in the middle of the tree created by the bark’s layers not coiling around each other properly. Nym was waiting inside, and so long as everyone squeezed together like a sandwich, they could hide with him.

“Ok, this is definitely the time for answers,” Alric decided when his arm went numb. Instead of spreading on the trunk or continuing the climb, Nym and Veronika insisted they wait here.

“Speak,” said the elf in his irritating sagely voice.

“Why are we here?” Timofey asked first. Veronika had restored some of his mana, so his wing was healed and he could once again fly.

“Look outside, but do not lean forward,” said the pompous elf. Everyone’s eyes gazed downwards towards the endless canopy of the forest and... the sea?

“We’re on an island?” Alric blurted out. Beyond the land mass they were on, water stretched out in every direction. More surprising, there were three other islands the teens could see on the horizon. Each one had their own world trees, with the one in the middle being significantly larger.

“Yes, but that’s not why we’re here.” While barely stretching his arm, Nym pointed towards the ground.

They were too high up to look directly down, but they could see the edge of the clearing which the worms had inhabited. Further on, there were only grey beanstalk trees all the way to beach.

“Look,” the elf insisted. A bit later, Alric’s eyes finally caught on to something unusual. On top of the forest, there was a tiny shadow traversing the canopy. It was difficult to spot given their distance, but once he found one, others became evident as well.

The youth wanted to say how it didn’t look too threatening. However, he immediately swallowed his words. ‘They’re small from here, but what about up close?’ Though scared of discovering yet another nightmare, the youth reluctantly lifted his eyes.

In the clear sky above the island, bat-like creatures were gliding in the middle of the day. They had six limbs: a pair of legs, arms, and wings. Although they lacked eyes altogether, they travelled in flocks while inspecting the forest. On rare occasions, one of them would open its jaws before taking a nosedive into the canopy. Seconds later, it returned with a struggling creature between its claws.

“The sky guardians,” Nym muttered while everyone else was giving him the stink-eye.