► Trials ◄

As they entered the cave, multiple spots along the wall lit up. It got so bright that you could think, the sun was shining underground. 'Are those magic stones?' Vox wondered. 'Wow, I think you are right. It's the first time, I'm seeing one and there are a dozen of them' Shoto was awestruck. 'I guess this treasure must be something amazing if they made such an effort, or this could be a test' Vox contemplated. 'Whatever it is, we will soon find out' Shoto said excited. As their eyes adjusted to the brightness, they noticed some carvings on the wall a few meters ahead of them.

"You, who are in possession of the map, have reached your destination. Only those, who have touched the map, are able to see the entrance. So, I'd like to congratulate you. You are either the chosen ones or thieves. Ahead of you lies a treasure of great value. But be warned. Everything comes with a price. Only step forward if you are confident."

'A price, huh? This sounds quite dangerous' Vox worried. 'I hope, it only means for us to show our worth. Like mastering some trials or something' Shoto stated. 'I hope so, too. Let's be careful. If it becomes too dangerous, we should turn back' Vox suggested. 'Yes. Let's do that' Shoto nodded.

So they slowly kept going.

They were about to reach the end of the cave, as they heard some kind of mechanism. Suddenly, a path opened in front of them. They gave each other a brief look and went in. Right after stepping inside, the wall closed behind them. 'I guess. There is no turning back...' Shoto frowned. Vox also frowned while looking ahead 'At least the path is not too narrow for us to fight, if a situation accurs. The moment, he said that, the walls began moving closer. 'Is this a joke? Vox, I think you jinxed it...' Shoto panicked. 'We need to move. Run as fast as you can' Vox pressed. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them with the walls closing in on them in an alarming speed. It was now too narrow to run next to each other, so Vox ran behind Shoto.

Soon, they reached the end of their path and came to a halt in front of yet another wall. 'What... now?' Shoto distressed while panting heavily. 'Maybe... we have to... find a loose brick and press it. Can you see something?' Vox panted behind him. 'Let me search' Shoto frantically tried to find a loose brick in the wall. 'Shoto? Any time now!' Vox was getting more and more anxious. 'Got it!' Shoto shouted. He found the brick, they were searching for, and pressed it vehemently. At that moment, the walls stopped moving. But, before they could even celebrate, the floor underneath their feet vanished.

'Shoto!' Vox instinctively grabbed Shoto and tried to cushion his fall with his own body. It wasn't a long fall, so everything happened so fast that Shoto had a hard time realizing what just happened. But he got a grip of himself pretty fast as he felt Vox lying under him. 'Oh no! Vox?! Hey, can you hear me?' he panicked. 'Urg...' Vox groaned. 'I-I'm fine. My bag cushioned the fall, but I bumped my head slightly' he frowned. 'What?! Let me see your head' Shoto demanded. Vox complied and bowed his head so that the other could see the spot that got hit. 'Phew. There's no blood, just a little bump. But you shouldn't move yet. Just in case' Shoto said relieved. 'Maybe, we should take this opportunity for a little break and drink some water' Vox suggested. 'Good idea' Shoto agreed and started rummaging in his bag. Vox did the same, but soon realized that everything in his bag was wet. 'Oh no. My water bottle broke. It must have happened from the fall...' he frowned. 'Here. You can have some from my bottle. There's still plenty.' Shoto offered. 'Are you sure? We don't know how long we have to stay in here' Vox hesitated. 'That's exactly why you should. We are in this together, so we need all the strength we can get. And do you really think, I would deny you some water after you just risked your life for me?' Shoto scolded. Vox raised his arms in an apologetic manner, 'Ok ok. I got it. Thank you' he smiled.

While they rested, they observed their surroundings. 'I can't believe it's still this bright in here. The person, who built this cave must have been an amazing person' Shoto said. 'Or filthy rich' Vox laughed. 'Yeah, maybe.... When you are feeling better we should go that way. It seems like their's another path' Shoto pointed towards the end of the path which led to a left turn. 'Ok. But don't let your guard down. We don't know what to expect next' Vox cautioned. 'Alright. I'll take the lead' Shoto stated.

After a ten minute break they continued. Before following the new path, Shoto cautiously peeked around the corner and slowly stepped forward. Not much later, they had to turn right and reached a spacious room. Vox stepped beside Shoto to get a better look. When observing the room, he noticed small gaps between the bricks. 'Shoto, take a look at the walls. Don't you think this looks a little suspicious?' he asked. 'Now that you mention it. Yeah, something's off about this. Wait, I have an idea.' Shoto started rummaging in his bag and got a piece of paper out. He scrunched it up a little and threw it a few meters ahead of him. A click sound could be heard and right after, multiple arrows shot out of the walls from both sides. They only shot through the area, the paper crumb was tossed through. 'Alright. Seems like this is a job for me' Shoto stated. 'What do you mean? I can also do this' Vox disagreed. 'Who is the one that bumped his head not long ago, heh? Shoto smirked.

'Fine. But don't try more than you can handle' the demon gave up. 'Yeah, yeah' the other responded, while raising his arm and slightly waving his hand. He approached the traps in front of him while cautiously observing them.

Then he gripped his dagger out of the shaft of his thigh strap and took a defensive stance, before dashing through the traps. The arrows came rushing towards him in an incredible speed, but Shoto either managed to dodge them or he deflected them with his dagger. He was in complete focus, showing athletic abilities like no other. With the finish line already in sight, Shoto pressed forward even faster. The last few traps got activated. With swift moves, he deflected another arrow that came from the right side at the height of his hip while dodging another one aiming for his left foot. Suddenly he noticed another arrow flying towards his head. Since he was still in the middle of dodging the other arrow there was not much time to react. By a hair's width, he managed to dodge it, leaving but only a scratch on his cheek. Then he took one last step and reached his goal. Panting heavily, he turned around to wave at Vox, who was watching intently and with worry painted on his face. 'Don't come over yet. We don't know, how many rounds of arrows those traps can shoot. I'll search for something that may deactivate them' Shoto shouted. In return, Vox nodded. He was still worried since that was a really close call and who knew if there were any more traps lying in wait for Shoto.

Eyeing the walls, Shoto noticed something that looked like a lever, so he flipped it over. Another clicking sound could be heard and it became quiet for a second. He relaxed for a moment, but suddenly heard a sound from above his head. Before he could even react, he was suddenly trapped inside an iron cage. 'Shoto!' Vox shouted and started running towards him, disregarding that the traps my still be active. To his luck, they weren't, so he rushed over. He came to a halt in front of the cage. 'Are you alright? What the hell is happening?' he worried. 'Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little surprised. I think something else moved in this room. Can you go and check?' Shoto calmed him down. 'On it. We'll get you out of there in no time' Vox said and started looking around.