The trio plummeted into an endless abyss, their screams swallowed by the void. Amira clutched Alex’s arm with an iron grip, her other hand desperately reaching for Aros, who held his staff tightly, its faint glow the only light in the darkness.
“What now?” Alex shouted, his voice barely audible over the rushing wind. “Are we just falling forever? Because honestly, I’d prefer a solid floor at this point!”
“Stop panicking!” Amira snapped, though her own heart was pounding. “Aros, do something!”
Aros closed his eyes, focusing through the chaos. The runes on his staff flared, casting light into the void. “Hold on!” he yelled, the glow intensifying as he muttered an incantation.
The air around them shimmered, and suddenly, the sensation of falling ceased. They found themselves suspended in midair, their bodies slowly descending until they landed on a solid, glass-like surface.
Alex collapsed onto his knees, clutching his stomach. “I’m never doing that again. Never. Someone invent a universal elevator already.”
Amira scanned their surroundings, her pulse still racing. The darkness of the void had given way to a strange, fractured landscape. Floating shards of what looked like a shattered world hovered in the distance, each piece glowing faintly with its own unique light.
“What is this place?” she asked, her voice hushed.
Aros rose to his feet, his staff dimming slightly. “The waystation has brought us to the final stage of its trial,” he said. “This is the Shattered Path—a liminal space between dimensions. It exists to test not only our resolve but our unity.”
“Unity?” Alex scoffed, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Yeah, because nothing screams ‘team bonding’ like getting chased by a cosmic horror and falling into the void.”
Amira ignored him, stepping closer to the edge of the platform they stood on. “Look,” she said, pointing.
In the distance, a massive, glowing gate stood suspended in midair, its surface pulsing with energy. The gate seemed to be the only exit from the fractured landscape.
“That must be the way out,” she said.
Aros nodded. “Indeed. But reaching it will not be easy.”
As if on cue, the shards of the shattered world began to shift, rearranging themselves into a series of floating platforms that formed a precarious path leading to the gate. Each platform glowed with a different color, and some shimmered ominously, as if unstable.
“Of course it’s not easy,” Alex muttered, eyeing the unstable platforms. “Why would it be? That’d be too convenient.”
Amira stepped onto the first platform, testing its stability. It held firm beneath her weight, though it pulsed faintly with blue light. “We don’t have a choice,” she said, glancing back at the others. “Let’s go.”
Reluctantly, Alex followed, muttering under his breath about his ongoing misfortune. Aros brought up the rear, his staff glowing faintly as he studied the path ahead.
The journey across the Shattered Path was treacherous. Some platforms crumbled the moment they stepped off them, while others shifted unexpectedly, threatening to send them plummeting into the void below.
At one point, Alex misjudged a jump and nearly fell, only to be grabbed by Amira at the last second.
“Maybe lay off the snacks,” she teased, pulling him back onto the platform.
“Very funny,” Alex grumbled, clutching his chest as he tried to catch his breath. “I’ll have you know, I’m perfectly aerodynamic.”
“Sure you are,” Amira said, smirking.
As they continued, the platforms began to glow more brightly, their colors shifting unpredictably. Aros stopped suddenly, his expression grim.
“What is it?” Amira asked.
“These platforms are attuned to us,” Aros said. “Each color represents a challenge we must face. If we step onto the wrong one…” He trailed off, his meaning clear.
Alex groaned. “Fantastic. So now we’re playing Twister with our lives on the line.”
Amira shot him a look. “Focus, Alex.”
Aros studied the platforms carefully, his staff glowing brighter as he murmured another incantation. “The blue platforms represent wisdom,” he said. “Green is courage. Red… is sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Alex asked, his voice rising. “I’m not a fan of that one.”
“Neither am I,” Amira said. “But if it comes to that…”
Aros nodded solemnly. “We must choose wisely.”
The trio carefully navigated the path, stepping onto platforms that glowed with colors attuned to their strengths. Alex begrudgingly admitted that Aros’s guidance was invaluable, though he still muttered complaints under his breath.
As they neared the gate, the platforms grew more unstable, forcing them to move faster. The air around them hummed with energy, and the void below seemed to ripple, as if something was stirring within it.
Then, just as they reached the final stretch, the shadowy entity from before reappeared, rising from the void like a living nightmare.
“You dare defy the trials?” it roared, its voice shaking the very air.
“Oh, come on!” Alex shouted, throwing his hands up. “Can we get a break for five seconds?”
The entity extended one massive hand, and the platforms ahead of them began to crumble.
“We’re out of time!” Aros shouted. “Run!”
The trio sprinted toward the gate, the platforms disintegrating behind them. The shadowy entity lunged, its massive form looming closer with every second.
Amira reached the gate first, turning back to help Alex and Aros. “Hurry!” she yelled.
Alex jumped onto the final platform, narrowly avoiding the entity’s grasp. “I swear, if I survive this, I’m retiring!”
Aros was the last to reach the gate, his staff glowing brightly as he turned to face the entity.
“What are you doing?” Amira shouted.
“Go!” Aros yelled, raising his staff. “I will hold it off!”
Before they could protest, the gate flared with light, pulling Alex and Amira through.
They tumbled out onto solid ground, the air around them cool and still. For a moment, neither of them spoke, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Then Amira sat up, her eyes wide. “Aros,” she said.
Alex looked back at the gate, which had already begun to fade. “He stayed behind,” he said, his voice tinged with disbelief.
As the gate disappeared entirely, the shadowy figure’s roar echoed faintly, leaving them in silence.