Chapter 10: Ordeal-2

[You must choose wisely.]

The Rune... as I would call it from now on, said.

I looked at both ways; they were dark, and I couldn't see anything there. And this riddle... am I supposed to find some kind of mirror?

And being wary of reflection?

"Hmm..." I looked around and - "fuck."

The moment I looked back, the path I came from was not there, as a stone wall was now inching just behind me.

This crescent plain is quite unsettling.

"How much is the expanse of this plain? Like, is there a world outside this chamber too?" I asked.

[Yeah, this is Middos's sanctuaries fallen rift where the Ordeal is happening. There's an endless world out there, but going there would mean losing yourself forever.]

...and I think that's what happened to my mother then.

"Still, that means there's a way to get into the Serakhshá." I chuckled, and -

"Wait a bit," I crouched down and focused on the slate again.

The slate was a rectangular piece of stone, its surface worn with age and covered in a fine layer of moss and dust. It lay on the cobbled floor, partially embedded in the ground, as if it had been there for centuries.

The etching on the slate was weathered and intricate, with lines that seemed to twist and turn, forming a complex pattern that hinted at hidden meanings.

But...

"So it's the left one, huh." I wiggled myself from one side to the other and tried to decipher what this meant.

The slate itself was half reflection.

"You read the front here, right?" I put the tip of my index on the center of the slate and brushed it on the left side of the inscriptions.

[Yes.]

When I looked at the slate closer, I could see the repeated inscriptions.

Like the message was too long to be translated into two lines, and the pattern was repeated.

Lastly, when I sat down, my shadow got halved. When I was in the center, only the left part of my body's shadow was cast.

And according to the riddle, it states that I should be wary of reflection, and this right side...

"Whoa!" I was thrown to my left, and my shoulder hit the wall. "Ouch." I winced.

Looking to the side, I saw another wall had come out of nowhere, blocking the right path and the half of the slate.

I got up and dusted myself off.

"Quite easy if you observe enough." I stepped into the left archway.

As I entered the left path, the chamber underwent a dramatic transformation. The previously dimly lit space seemed to come to life, and a soft, otherworldly glow emanated from the moss-covered walls, casting intriguing shadows that danced and swirled.

The path I walked on was a winding labyrinth of narrow passages that seemed to lead deeper into this mystical realm.

***

"How long will this take?" I asked, tired. I'd been walking for hours now.

[The first trial is comparatively easier, so this shouldn't take long, and the way you were able to get past the first problem, it shouldn't take much time.]

And this was the third time this fricking rune told me this.

I kept my walk going.

Never would I have thought that I would be in a situation like this. I'm not sure what this first serpent will grant me, but I am sure that at least I have something to look forward to now.

Getting back to the real world, I am sure that no one would believe what is happening to me.

Mythos, huh.

"You know what Mythos is?" I asked dumbly.

[Nope.]

This mythos is quite a puzzle in itself. According to Midoss, I should first look for Glacia's Tomb.

Which is quite challenging in itself because...

The goddess died and took a whole country with her, sinking the whole continent with her, which means that I have to find it in the eastern sea of Megla Empire.

[You should focus on here rather than what you'd be doing in the future.]

This Rune acts like a grumpy old woman or an old man; I don't know what its gender is.

After walking for a few more minutes, I somehow came in front of... a weird place.

The hole was an anomaly in the moss-covered wall, a stark contrast to the ancient stones that surrounded it. It was a perfect circle, about the size of a large shield, and it seemed to beckon with an eerie, bluish light emanating from the other side.

The edges of the hole were smooth, as if it had been carefully carved, and strange, runic symbols etched into the stone framed its circumference. The light that radiated from the opening was cold, like the ethereal glow of a moonlit night, casting an otherworldly aura in the dimly lit chamber.

The wind that blew through the hole carried a chill, ruffling my hair and sending shivers down my spine.

[Scared?]

"Why does this rune jump to conclusions?" I muttered, my voice tinged with irritation.

"I am cold," I said, my words more to convince myself than to respond to the rune. I was not scared, not at all.

I stepped near the hole and peeked inside, my breath forming a mist in the chilled air. And -

"Hmm, should I scream? Or is that too cowardly?" I talked to myself. Because this fricking was not it!

On the other side of the hole was a bizarre sight. It was nothing, like literally nothing, other than a seemingly endless void. A rope dangled down from the hole, its one end attached to a groove present right below the opening.

All I could see was a platform floating far away in the direction of the rope. I assumed the rope was leading there, but -

"Haha, no way you want me to go there, on this rope, right?" I chuckled dryly, my laughter echoing in the eerie silence. "Right?"

[...]

And this is all this rune said.

I looked for the snake, and it crawled back to my back, as if to distance itself from this unsettling challenge.

What kind of torture is this?

"Naw, not happening." I turned around, but -

There stood a newly formed wall.

I stood there, contemplating the treacherous path that lay before me. The overwhelming sense of isolation gnawed at my confidence.

The place's cold, unforgiving ambiance pressed in on me, making each breath visible in the chill air.

"Reminds me of the time Esme locked me in the cold room for the whole night."

The rope dangled like a lifeline from the void, tempting me to take a leap of faith. My heart raced as I imagined the precarious path I would have to traverse. The platform, floating far in the distance, was just a faint, distant speck against the darkness.

"Can I really do this?" I muttered, my voice quivering with uncertainty.

[You have no choice but to try.]

The text was devoid of any comforting reassurance.

With a resigned sigh, I crouched down and reached for the rope. The touch of it against my palm was cold, sending a shiver down my spine. I hesitated for a moment, my fingers trembling, before finally gripping the rope with firm resolve.

"Hup," The moment I took my first step onto the edge of the hole, I could feel the weight of my decision. The rope swung gently, and the emptiness below seemed to stretch infinitely. It was as if I was suspended between two worlds, neither here nor there, a lone traveler in the abyss.

The walk across the void was slow and arduous. The rope swayed unpredictably, and every step was a test of balance and courage. My gaze was fixed on the distant platform, a mere glimmer in the black expanse, and my survival instinct was the only thing propelling me forward.

***

Minutes turned into hours, and the cold seeped into my bones. My fingers ached from gripping the rope, and my legs felt like lead. Doubt and fear whispered in the back of my mind, taunting me with the possibility of failure.

".....haaa," I breathed deep as I couldn't turn back. I had come too far, and the only way was forward.

I regret it, I do, but can't do anything about it now, can I?

I was losing my consciousness, and even the sense of thinking, because of how exhausting this was. I tried to recall history lessons from the academy, then focused on the people I disliked from there. It gave me a bit of strength to push forward.

Soon, I drew closer to the platform. I could make out its details.

It was a piece of flat rock floating in the midst of nowhere with something on it, which quite didn't make any kind of actual shape for me to decipher what it was.

Finally, with my last ounce of strength, I reached the platform. I hauled myself up, panting and huffing, my entire body trembling from the ordeal. The rock was solid beneath me, and I could see that there was something placed on it, shrouded in a dark smoke.

"Fuck this, ugh," I paused for a moment, catching my breath. The frigid air continued to swirl around me, making me acutely aware of the vast emptiness that surrounded this floating platform.

And then I got up, looked at the smoke.

Extending my hand, it went through the smoke, and -

"Hm?" It touched something smooth and cold.

The smoke disappeared, revealing a small mirror.

Mirror?

It was a round mirror, a plain one at that, with no intricate details.

I stepped forward and looked into the mirror, and I saw my own reflection.

[Say it.]

The Rune indicated... say what?

"ɪmˈbreɪs ˈmaɪθoʊs." It was pretty obvious, but -

My voice clamped in my throat as I saw something coming out of the mirror.

It was for a split second, but I saw a hand - nails, too.

And then everything went black.

[Third Person View.]

With a gruesome, deliberate movement, the claw emerged from the mirror, and its sharp, bony nails gruesomely sank into Asher's left eyeball. The eye was plucked from its socket in a horrifying, slow tug.

"Aghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Asher's painful, gutteral cry echoed through the chamber, his voice twisted with sheer agony. The torment was etched in every strangled note of his scream, as if his very soul was being torn apart.

Before he could fully grasp the horrifying reality, the hand seized him by the hair, its grip cruel and unrelenting. It yanked him into the mirror with a powerful, inescapable force.

And with that final, nightmarish pull, the scene was left in eerie silence, devoid of any trace of Asher's presence.

***

[Asher Vaishè POV]

[Five minutes Later]

"Fuck this God." I cursed.