Stairs

Ri sat cross-legged on the shoulder of the statue as it walked out of the array.

It had been almost three days since Dyon had fallen asleep, but they had finally made it out to find the true test of talent.

In front stood a stair case spanning what looked like 99 steps.

Subdivided into 9 parts, reaching the end of each section meant obtaining a key to each of the 9 corresponding palaces at the very top.

Floating above these 9 palaces was yet another palace that Ri recognized immediately, 'that's the tomb for the wills who rest here…'

Everything still had vague amount of grey-blue fog floating around endlessly… but, the most striking feature was the pressure Ri could feel even from the first step. Pressure she could feel without even having stepped onto it.

In Ri's lap, Dyon still slept soundly, a faint smile on his face. His arms were still wrapped around Ri's waist as he occasionally nuzzled his nose into her torso.