《Cosmic Contingency》Chapter 18 - Labyrinth Of Beginning Part 1
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"Don't tell me that the creature from before is not even the trial?" Ortix can't believe that another challenge is waiting ahead of them. The creature already posed a threat to them and if this challenge contained enemies like that then it would most likely not end well for them.
"I believe so. That creature shouldn't even be here in the previous place." Seeing the wall in front, Cyziel could now theorize that this place was built by his people as a passage to get here and the creature from before should not be related to this trial. "We do not know whatever is inside it. I'll check it out first."
"No! We are going in with you!" Ru shouted indignantly.
"She is right. We can't let you go by yourself." Volus uttered.
"But-"
"No buts! I am the leader have you forgotten?" Vera was also displeased. "We are not as powerless as you think."
"Alright but stay close to me."
With everyone determined to stay together, Cyziel has no choice but to bring them with him. He, together with Lucia in his arms, were the ones who entered first and as soon as he stepped in the archway, the two disappeared. Everyone immediately got anxious and ran in.
What greeted the group was a large white wall similar to the one they saw outside but this time there was no archway in between. The floor and ceiling was also made with the same white material. The wall extends to a few hundred meters from both ways. There were two phrases written in the part of the wall in front of them.
On the near right was...
"For the powerful, wise and quintessential beings"
On the near left was...
"For the weak, innocent and flawed creatures"
It was just two simple phrases but strength was always relative and each of them started to think where they should go.
"Hey Cy! I guess we should go to the right. Right?" Ortix started to flex his muscles.
Volus shook his head. "It said wise. Do you think you are wise?"
"Are you implying that I am stupid?"
"Okay guys stop fighting. Personally, I am curious of the trial on the right but.. " Cyziel looked down on the person he was carrying.
"If you really want to go right then I won't stop you." Vera interjected. She actually do not want to separate and if she hadn't seen the creature from before then she would probably also want to go right. It is after all a matter of pride. "We could carry Lucia for you."
"No! We should stay together! We promised that didn't we?" Ru protested.
"Chill guys! I was just joking... If I was in my best state then I will probably go right." Ortix chuckled.
"Okay let's go left. We will follow Vera. I also do not know how long till my ring comes back so it might be safer this way." Cyziel actually felt a little down because he was always up for a challenge but he knew what was important right now.
Other than the trio of Cyziel, Ortix and Volus. Everyone else have never thought of going to the right. If Vera thought that she was weak then what about them? They know that they are also weak so they have no choice but to choose left.
Luckily, they chose left because a portal was waiting in the right corner. The portal was pitch black and behind it was a world of death which a few of them were actually already familiar with.
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The group continued left and as they reached the corner they saw a large statue with two large wings. They knew that it was not alive but it felt like that it was somehow observing them. Cyziel and Ortix momentarily looked at Volus and they can see that he was fixated on it.
Volus then touched it and he could feel that his fragmented souls were starting to heal and unite. Everyone felt the energy that the statue emitted and they felt that it was some kind of a miracle. They then surrounded the statue one by one and their wounds and strength started to recover.
Lucia has also woken up. She then smiled at Cyziel before he lowered her down.
"Are you alright?" Cyziel asked.
"Yes. I am fine." Lucia turned to the statue. "Its comfortable to look at. It contains the same energy that you got from me." Lucia then touched the statue and it seemed that the Divine energy she lost was being replenished.
Cyziel was bewildered. He also touched the statue but he could not feel anything. He was neither healed nor empowered. He even just wanted to absorb a little bit of Divine energy if Lucia was right but it was like he was ignored. Was it being bias against him? Or was he strong enough that the blessings in the left side of the path does not include him.
He just waited for the rest until all of them seems to be well recovered. He thought that it was at least not bad if Volus and Ortix would be able to fully recover.
"Vol. Ort. How do the two of you feel?" Cyziel asked.
"I think I am almost recovered. My soul feels complete." Volus uttered as his body flashed briefly which caused everyone to temporarily close their eyes.
"Stop that! You are going to blind us!" Ortix shouted. He then turned to Cyziel. "Starting now. You can hide behind my back." Ortix crossed his arms as he started laughing. A tattoo of an eye can now be seen in his forehead.
Finally, everyone was ready to leave. They thanked the statue before they went away. It was another long path but at least there was no enemies in sight. The only thing that they saw is another fork which contain another 2 choices.
In the left path...
"Past can change. A chance for new life."
In the right path...
"Future is inconclusive. Hardships you will have"
There was a large mirror in both the left and right which is blocking the path. The right mirror was showing them a hazy image that they could not understand what is within it. The left mirror was showing different images for each of them.
Ortix saw a red haired man sitting on a throne. There were a lot of female slaves serving him and a lot of guards staying close to him. That man was his father. Someone he wanted to surpass and take vengeance for being the reason why his mother died.
Volus saw an image of his world and unfinished towers being built. There are lots of people training and cultivating. Some are sparring or just having fun. Finally, he saw an image of his master on a dark room. There were both dead and living people that his master was using for experiments. Moreover, these people seemed to be his fellow disciples that were reported to have died on their breakthrough or from beasts outside their sects.
Cyziel saw an image of himself hidden outside of a temple. He was following some cloaked man as the man killed the people guarding the temple. He followed the guy to the temple unsure why would someone kill another in the forbidden area. He was discovered and they saw eye to eye. He finally remembered that the cloaked man also had golden eyes. As the man saw him, he immediately tried to run to the inner part of the temple where he saw a black spherical artifact floating in the middle of the room.
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Ru saw an image of a woman with a long black hair and hazel eyes that she doesn't recognize. She was not sure who the woman was but she was carrying a baby and left it crying in front of a house. The house was also something she has never been to.
Vera saw an image of a young boy that she met 3 years ago. It was the first time that a guy was actually not intimidated by her. Soon, the two got close. Other than Ru, he was the only friend she thought she had. It was not until the kid started asking questions about her parents. The kid requested Vera to get something from her parents and she thought that it was nothing but it was actually some kind of evidence that her parents obtained. After that, the kid vanished and her relationship with her parents got even worse.
Lucia saw an image of a room. There was a buff man and he was standing in front of someone who was kneeling down. He then decapitated the kneeling man. In the back of the room, she saw a woman being raped by another man. Afterwards, the man stabbed the woman to death. There were other people around and they were just laughing non-stop.
Jorak saw an image of the northernmost kingdom near the boundless ocean. He saw his parents with his twin brother. His brother was hardworking and he was lazy. During that time, his parents were in debt and slavery was not foreign to their race. They were forced to sell him away.
Draka was the only one who saw something not really bad. It only showed her the time when she was young and was being trained by her father.
"Do you guys plan to go left?" Draka could see the reactions of everyone and it was far from her own. "I have no plans of being a child again."
Ortix was gripping his fist and grinding his teeth then he looked at his two friends "Not me. I already promised that I won't live my life for vengeance. Of course, if I saw him again here then it is a different thing."
Volus closed his eyes. He was breathing lightly. "Controlling the lives and death of people is not something for us to play with. I will take what I have now."
Cyziel was currently frowning. "This mirror is irritating me. It didn't even finish what it wanted to show me. I wanted to know what happened there but I don't want to be some innocent kid again. But still, thanks to this I remembered something." He then smirked.
Ru was still confusingly looking at the mirror then she turned around smiling. "I give up. I don't know what this mirror is telling and if it is what I am thinking off then I don't really care. I am already happy with my current life."
Vera was emotionless as she looked at the mirror before turning around. "Hmph.. I know I made some mistakes before but at least I learned from it. Moreover, I don't think my parents would suddenly change and they can get angry as much as they want. They have always only cared about their reputation."
Jorak was actually smiling when he saw the image of him from 7 or 8 years old ago. "Well, I also wouldn't change anything of mine. I am also happy here and its not as if I want my brother to be here instead."
Lucia was the one who was the most affected. She has tears falling from her eyes and she was trying to look away. She did not say anything. She only ran towards Draka and Draka comforted her.
Everyone do not really understand what each other meant but they knew that they have no plans on living back on the past. Whatever they face in the future then they would just face it together.
"Let's go." Vera momentarily looked at Lucia as she stepped inside the hazy mirror on the right. Everyone soon followed.
Meanwhile, a loud roar could be heard inside the world in the left mirror. The sky of the world was dark blue and a permeating cold covered the entire land. In the middle of the world was a large creature with two horns and a pair of demonic wings. He was sitting on some kind of large bed. Its large feet were chained in the foot of the bed. Around him are bones and people who are in an eternal state of sleep. They were all smiling not knowing that they would die dreaming of the past.
The group continued through the labyrinth and they encountered lots of similar forks in the path. There were questions that even divided the group but they decided through numbers. There was even a question if they would like to fight as a team or as an individual. They obviously chose as a team. Fortunately, the enemies were really easy compared to the creature that they fought before.
This time another trial which was quite hard for them came, it was whether they would trust their own or trust the others with them. More specifically, it was Cyziel who had the hardest time. He has a huge confidence on himself. He grew up learning only to trust his own abilities. Fortunately, his time in Daraksta made him learn to trust other people's abilities so it was easier this time to convince him to choose to trust the others. As they opened the door of their choice, they were sucked it.
"What is happening? I can't see! I can't sense anything." Cyziel shouted. He was currently blinded and his powers were sealed. He felt powerless and didn't know what to do.
"Cyziel! Calm down! I am here." Ru shouted. She was currently lying on the ground a few meters away from Cyziel.
"You do not understand! I can't see and I can't use any of my abilities." He was starting to shake.
It was the first time that Ru was actually disappointed with Cyziel. "Have you forgotten that we chose the path to trust each other? So calm down! I can't also walk. My feet are currently paralyzed."
She was the weakest in their team. Before the fight with the scary creature, she might have also started to panic but now she realized that she needed to be strong. If she can't be strong physically or magically then at least she needed to have a strong will and determination. Otherwise, she won't be able to grow.
Hearing Ru's words, Cyziel was ashamed. He didn't really thought of relying on others. He was still thinking that he would try to carry any burden that the team would face. Unfortunately, the only thing that he have was power. Without it, it seems that he was actually nothing.
She is right. Am I really stupid? This is the second time that I got reprimanded today. First by Ortix and now by Ru. It really hurts being powerless. Cyziel shook his head. "Where are you Ru?"
"I am just a few meters in front of you. I could not stand so I am lying in the ground!"
Cyziel walked forward until his feet touched the arms of Ru. "Is this you Ru?"
"Yes. Was your sense of sight stolen? It seems we need to work with each other." Ru was appearing to be strong but she was actually quite relieved that she was actually not alone.
Cyziel kneeled down and carried Ru into his arms. "Are you okay? Did you not see anyone else?"
"Yes I am alright. I can't see anyone else but there is a path in front of us. Only that..." Ru worriedly looked at the path in front of them. "It is quite narrow."
In front of them was some stone path with no walls or handles beside it. It was possible to fall and looking below, it was like an endless chasm that its end cannot be seen. The path was made from stone blocks that are connected to each other.
"Then let's go slowly.. Just tell me the way." Cyziel smiled and looked down even though he can't see Ru.
"Alright... 10 steps forward"
Cyziel took 10 normal distanced steps as he was commanded.
"Stop! In front of you is now the narrow path. Okay forward again 2 steps."
The two were finally in the first block of the path then suddenly the path started to wobble.
"Cyziel Run forward!" Ru saw the block shake and it seems that it was going to fall.
"How many steps?" Cyziel anxiously asked as his right foot was already preparing to run since he felt the shaking on the ground.
"10 steps! 10 steps forward!"
"No...Another 5 steps forward!"
"Turn right! 8 steps forward!"
......
"Go faster or we would fall down!"
......
Move a little bit to the left or we are going to fall!
......
"Turn left! 20 steps forward!"
Ru started to inundate Cyziel with directions and commands. Without having any abilities to see, he could only trust Ru and for some reason he has already felt some sort of camaraderie with her even when the two just met. He was not sure if Ru was really just friendly and someone trustworthy or he really just learned how to open up with other people due to his experiences in Daraksta.
The dropping of the stone blocks got faster and faster as they went forward. As they reached the end, there was no other blocks in front. Instead, there was a solid ground a couple meters away from them.
"There is no path in front! You need to jump far forward but it is really far. It might be more than 70 or 80 meters away."
The block floors behind them have already disappeared. This means that Cyziel have no space to increase his momentum by running first but he still didn't think twice and he immediately jumped. Fortunately, he was still pretty strong even without enhancements and they landed a few 10 meters away from the edge. He could not accurately measure how strong of a jump he needed so he just hoped that it would reach and they would not hit something on the other side.
"That was close! I wouldn't want to do something like that again!" Cyziel complained.
They finally reached the other side and another doorway can be seen. The two immediately went in and the doorway behind them disappeared. The new location was spacious and the floor was solid unlike the previous one. It was also a bit dim. There is a row of faint lights hanging in the ceiling that originates from where they are standing to the end of the room but it was only enough to light up the center aisle of the room.
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8 175Albert's Summer
Albert is a middle school kid who accidentally found a way to step into the world of his favorite MMORPG. Inside the world of 'Deaths of the Gods', he meets an elven girl named Lily who asks him help to her find her origin. With his strong desire to explore and a need to go off into new adventures, follow Albert's undertaking as he lives the life of an adventurer inside the world of favorite game.
8 186Dream Theater
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8 164Unraveling Secrets
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8 153I'm Fine ✔
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