“Hah, hah, hah. I’d give that one… an eight outta ten.” The staff user supports himself on his staff. He gives a thumbs up to the sky.

“Cayden! Cayden! Are you hurt? Is everything ok?” Phoebe runs over to me. She seems frantic as she scans over my body.

“Hey, I’m all good. Nothing to worry about. See? No injuries.” My regeneration’s already kicked in. The burns on my arm have already formed a thin membrane on top of them. If I peel that back then there’ll probably be fresh skin underneath.

“Are you two done with your lil lovey-dovey act? You think I’m some sort of joke do ya? Don’tcha know I’m your enemy?” I forgot this guy was still here. His accent is so thick, it’s almost hard to understand him.

“If you don’t think I’ve got any fight left in me, you’re sorely mistaken. I only helped you so I wouldn’t hafta search your ashes for the medal.”

“Medal? Is that what we’re supposed to find?” Phoebe takes out a golden medal from her pocket. On it is the insignia of Bloody Springs, a jet of crimson liquid coming out of the ground.

“Yah! Now hand it over. My hands are getting antsy over here.” He eyes the medal in Phoebe’s hands. His eyes flicker back and forth between it and the bow in Phoebe’s other hand.

“Is there any way that you won’t try to take our medal?” The staff user places his hand on his chin. His mouth forms into a grin that takes up much of his face before he stretches out his hand.

“Sure. If you get me another medal, then I promise on my own grave I won’t touch you or the girl. I’ll give you til the count of ten.” Are you kidding me? Where the hell would I find a medal at this point. He’s just trying to make us give away our medal now.

“10. 9. 8. 7. Come on. I haven’t got all day to be standing around with you.”

My mind spins as I try to figure out how to stop him. It’s impossible for me to make a medal out of thin air. I can’t move too much since my regeneration is still fixing up my body. Looking at Phoebe right now, I don’t think she has any energy left after firing that shot.

“6. 5. 4. 3.”

I haven’t gotten enough time! My body still needs to recuperate. I wish I knew what we had to search for before I arrived here. Maybe I would have found a medal on my way here.

“2. 1. Alright. That’s enough of that. Gimme the medal before things get frisky.”

“WAIT!” In her hands is her bow. She’s aiming an arrow at the staff user. He drops the smile on his face. His face morphs into a scowl. His eyes close into slits only revealing the slightest amount of light. Veins pop out on his head. He grips his staff hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“Lil Miss. I don’t know what you plan to do with that thing, but know I can easily escape from here before you even get a chance to fire an arrow.”

“We’ll help you obtain another medal. We already have one and we still have extra time for the trial. We’ll help you find one and you can go on your way. Disagree and I shoot a hole between your eyes.” Phoebe… I can see that her hands are shaking. Hahaha. I’m letting a little girl save me. What a great hero I am.

The staff user stares down the end of the arrow. The tension between us three is present on everyone’s faces. The staff user finally raises his hands in resignation. “You make a hard bargain, but guess I’ll hafta agree.”

He extends his hands toward us. I get up and extend my own hand. Phoebe still has her bow raised. It’s drawn and ready to shoot.

“So since you and I are cooperating now, I guess I’ll hafta say sorry to you for before. My name's Shay.” His previous hostility towards us vanishes. I can’t read his expression even when I’m this close to him.

“I’m Cayden. This strong body of mine… that’s what’s going to help me become a hero!”

“Do you introduce yourself to everyone like that?” Phoebe lowers her bow, but not before throwing another glare at Shay. “Well what are you two waiting for? We have to find that medal before the sun goes down.”

I look up at the sky. The sun is already two thirds of the way down. I’d say we only have a few hours left. Me and Shay quickly pursue Phoebe as she raises her speed.

“I’m glad you're okay. I didn’t expect to be stuck in the toilet. Pretty funny right?” Phoebe stays silent. In fact, I think she sped up her pace. Is she mad about something? “Look, I’m sorry for not being there at the start of the trial. It was my responsibility to arrive on time, but I disappointed you.”

Phoebe pauses her steps. “Mhm. Ok.” She continues to walk after saying that. Shay punches my arm lightly. “Oof. That’s gotta hurt. Maybe you should check on your girl after this trial. She’ll be like a bull seeing red if you leave her like that.”

“It’s not like that. She’s actually just a friend. I met her recently. It started off with a misunderstanding so I don’t think we’re too close.” An arrow lands between my feet. I barely saw Phoebe move.

“A lily as pretty as her with a personality like the wildest beast! Just look at you. Perfect match! I’d give her a ten outta ten if it wasn’t for my Natalia.

“Natalia? Someone like you has a girlfriend? I would have never imagined…”

“Hoho! Natalia’s not a girl. She’s my staff right here. It’s body is made of yew from the North. The crystal on top comes from the condensed core of a Frost Weasel. It took a month to make and cost me a pretty penny.” He’s rubbing his staff… really weirdly. It’s kind of making me uncomfortable.

“Oi. Oi. Don’t you go looking at my Natalia like that! She’s one of a kind!”

“Alright. Alright. It’s like you think that staff’s actually alive.” The last part only comes out as a whisper. Although he has some quirks, I think he’s actually a nice guy at heart. It’s a far cry from how threatening he was before.

We continue walking on as the sun descends. The tension between us three continues to decline as we get to know each other better. All previous enmity between us seems to have vanished. I actually would have liked to meet Shay sooner in these trials.

TIK TIK. TIK TIK.

Our conversation is cut short by the peculiar sound. It’s not a loud noise, but it seems to have a pattern to it. Almost like waves by the sea.

We pay no mind to it as it doesn’t seem to closeby, but as we move forward the noise grows in intensity. Sounding like a low roar at this point. We’re all battle ready at this point. Shay’s staff is out. Phoebe’s nocked her bow. My gauntlets have formed.

As I look over the horizon, I notice the ground seems to be moving. Mounds of dirt seem to move towards us. I catch glimpses of something pinkish within the dirt.

“Cayden. We have to go. Now.” I look back at Phoebe. Her eyes reflect a horror I’ve never seen before on them. Even when the salamander nearly killed her, she never looked this terrified.

“What’s the problem? Should I be worried about the moving ground? We can just move away from that right?”

“Cayden. Listen to the girlie. Leaving now is better than facing what’s coming to us. Damn. I didn’t think they would put us in danger like this. Bloody Moles? Are you kidding me.” Their words cause my tongue to be stuck in my throat. I can feel the hairs on my back stand erect.

We quickly head parallel to the waves. They both said outrunning it is impossible so we should instead try to find its edges while we still have distance. While we were searching for its edges I noticed some deer-like animals running away from the wave.

One of the animals looks to have been injured. It slowly limps before beginning to stop altogether. The wave overtakes it burying its body in a mound of dirt. When the wave passes by, all that’s left of the animal is some of its flesh and bones sticking out of the ground. The sight causes me to tremble. What the hell…

As we continue onwards we finally find the end of the wave. It’s boundary is located at the forest entry. Some force seems to be stopping it from entering. We promptly head into the forest.

Just before I can follow the two, I notice two figures dashing away from the wave. I watch as one of them trips and falls to the ground. The other continues to run back without looking at their partner. Without thinking I rush over to them.

“Cayden? What are you doing?! Come back here!”

“Are you trying to kill yourself Cayden? Leave the two. You can’t make it in time.”

I ignore the two. My mind doesn’t hesitate. My body uses Corvus’ footwork to propel itself toward the two. As I get closer I see they are a girl and boy duo. The boy is the one thrown back. The girl is running as fast as she can without caring about her partner.

I rush forward and grab the girl. “What are you doing? Let go! Let go!” I hold her tightly without letting go. She continues to beat her fists on my chests. It’s always the same with these girls…

I head to the boy near the wave. Getting closer to the wave makes my hairs stand on end. Like a tsunami. It looks like it could consume a whole town. My legs feel like jelly. I throw away those thoughts. Come on Cayden! There’s still another person to save!

I reach the boy and scoop him up. The wave’s nearly reached us by now. The sound of the moles are deafening. I can see their pinkish noses now. It contrasts with their dark bodies. Like stars in the night sky.

I burst with energy at the precipice of death. My fear fuels my speed as I dash to the tree-line. I can see Phoebe and Shay standing there. They both take shots at the oncoming wave, but it’s ineffective. It’s like throwing a cup of water at a burning house.

The wave of moles look like the jaws of death. It seems to be teasing us as mounds of dirt are thrown at us. My body is starting to tire out. I still haven’t recovered from my previous battle.

The wave finally reaches us. The girl begins to wail and scream as the moles get close. The boy seems emotionless to his oncoming demise. My mind overworks itself trying to find something, anything to get us out of here.

The girl can cry no more. Her eyes have already dried up. All she can do is glare and shout at the man carrying her. She planned to let her familiar stall the wave while she runs. She didn’t expect someone to come out of nowhere and ruin her plans. She could only accept her fate.

Before the girl can utter another word, she feels herself flying through the air. She watches as the man who carried her throws her familiar into the forest. The man is promptly overtaken by the black wave.

“Cayden!” She hears another voice calling someone's name. Is that the man’s name? Cayden?

She lands on another person. They groan in discomfort. “Oi! Would you get off me!”

She feels heat coming from right next to her. Flames dance on the body of the girl beside her. They seem to be under her command. They form into fiery wings outstretched behind her. She rockets into the air leaving a trail of yellow sparks.

A bow appears in the girls hands. It is unknown whether her eyes are red from her transformation or from rage. An arrow appears in her hands. She releases it into the dense crowd of moles. The moles sense the threat approaching them, but are too late to react. Many of them are consumed by the flames.

Phoebe falls from the sky. She lands on Shay much to his displeasure. He throws her off of him. He checks the aftermath of the girl's attack. The wave has already dissipated from her attack. A large circle of burnt grass is all that’s left.

“Is… he… there?” Phoebe struggles to utter those words. She hopes his figure is present. She hopes that his ability had let him survive. She hopes that man that saved her could still walk alongside her.

“Phoebe… I could only find… this.” Shay comes back with a bloodied and blackened piece of cloth. It looks to be of cheap, but durable material. It most likely comes from someone’s bag. Phoebe’s tears flow. The exertion of using her ultimate technique twice in a day saps her of all the energy she has left. She loses consciousness. Her last thoughts are on the boy who saved her life.