Everyone stood tense inside the elevator. The loose attitudes that the youngsters had were gone, while Dylan was no longer attempting to alleviate the mood. Instead, he stood silent and expressionless.
"Um… how about you explain the exam for us, Master Dylan?" Aiden interrupted their ominous thoughts, and all eyes turned toward him.
Dylan stared at him for a short few seconds before smiling.
"A great seeker is the one who comes prepared," Dylan said while looking at Aiden. "Are you not a great seeker, boy?"
"If I was, I wouldn't need this test," Aiden said with a shrug, which made Dylan chuckle. "Furthermore, asking you is my preparation. You are the most knowledgeable person at the guild, are you not?"
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Dylan said, but he was smiling from one ear to the other. Then, his expression grew a little mysterious as he addressed everyone. "The Maze doesn't test your strength—it tests your hunger. Most fail because they want to."
It made no sense to them, but Aiden didn't want to push forward with his questions. He had a feeling that asking anything more would backfire instead of improving his chances.
As he turned toward Borin, Aiden noticed the young man clutching his fists — trembling while fiery veins glowed on his skin. The rest were nervous, but not as much as Borin.
Aiden wanted to ask the young man, but he hesitated since his Wishbound System might trigger a wish. The elevator arrived to its floor with a ding, and the eight spilled into a large hall with a black arch in the middle.
The arch was made of obsidian, a stark contrast against the white marble floor. Underneath the arch was a wall of darkness that reminded Aiden of the crawling edge.
"We are here," Dylan said. "Once you walk into this portal, you will find yourself in the maze — fighting for your lives. Survive and you might become the next seeker to rise."
The eight stood in front of the veil of darkness. Aiden knew that void could shorten distance, erasing it between two targets. He used it before in that sense, but it felt like a dream.
The other seven were less hesitant about moving forward. The humans were the first to jump forward, followed by the Shadowkin, the man with long ears, and lastly Borin.
Aiden remained with Dylan.
The man turned toward him.
His eyes squinted.
"What are you waiting for?" Dylan asked. "Your parents paid me a hefty sum to let you into this tour, but you have done nothing but standout all day."
Aiden turned toward the smiling guide who was no longer as pleasant to look at — his eyes were sharp, his mouth a thin line, and his nose raising in disdain.
"Go inside before the guild realizes the deal we made."
Aiden wanted to confess earlier, hoping that his noble intention to warn the Seekers Guild would pardon him. However, seeing Dylan show his true colors — Aiden knew that his message would never be received by the Guild Master.
"Thank you for your kindness," Aiden acted polite and hurried toward the gate.
It loomed over him, like a monster opening its maw.
Aiden's pace slowed.
He wanted to turn around and flee.
However, a hand pushed his back.
Aiden felt his feet leaving the ground as he soared toward the gate — and then there was nothing.
[---]
The grass cushioned his fall, but it didn't prevent him from wincing in pain as he slammed to the ground. Aiden spat the grass from his mouth and looked around, only to find himself surrounded by three high walls.
Each of the walls carried a lantern: red, blue, and green. Aiden studied them for a moment before turning his attention to the only exit: a giant metal door with some kind of contraption on it.
"There are words engraved on the door," Aiden observed, but did not approach the door yet. "And some kind of machinery. Is this a riddle?"
Before he approached the door for a closer look, Aiden observed his surroundings. The three lanterns seemed to correspond to each of the three desires: rise, bond, and rift.
The roofless chamber seemed to hold nothing else, and Aiden saw no hidden traps that might endanger him — not one he could see, of course. In the end, he advanced toward the door where he found the riddle.
[The fire breaks what once was bound.]
[The tide climbs where none have stood.]
[The root mends all that time has marred.]
[One path leads to ruin.]
[One path leads to longing.]
[One path leads to chains.]
[The worthy will choose with clarity.]
[The desperate will choose with haste.]
[The fool will chase what flickers.]
"I'm too old for riddles," Aiden muttered with a sigh, and observed that there were three dials on the door. Beneath each dial was a small light that was currently not working. "Am I supposed to find a pattern?"
There seemed to be no other way around it, and Aiden didn't have the courage to simply guess his way through it. If he remembered correctly, Aevur the Starbound was the first, Cirel was the second, and Zorin was the third.
It made sense for the riddle to test their knowledge about the Seekers Guild, but Aiden had a bad feeling about this…
"What about Vorun, the Silent End?" Aiden muttered with a frown. "It made no sense to leave him out. Dylan didn't mention the views of the Seekers Guild about this."
Aiden feared that there was a crucial piece of information that he was missing. It might be that Vorun was shunned by the Seekers Guild for some act, but it could be the exact opposite.
The Seekers Guild might use the general mistrust for the void against the students. If they don't see beyond simple truths and have no belief of their own, they might not become a good seeker.
Aiden returned to the riddle.
[The fire breaks what once was bound.]
[The tide climbs where none have stood.]
[The root mends all that time has marred.]
Rift.
Rise.
Bond.
[One path leads to ruin.]
[One path leads to longing.]
[One path leads to chains.]
None of them had good outcomes.
[The worthy will choose with clarity.]
[The desperate will choose with haste.]
[The fool will chase what flickers.]
"Hm?" Aiden frowned. The first and second line don't make sense. If one chose with clarity, why would the other choose with haste? What separates haste from clarity?"
After another moment of thought, Aiden smiled.
These were just traps meant to elude him from the real answer.
The issue isn't with the amount of time a person takes to choose, but whether they make a choice at all. If Aiden had moved the dials, they would have probably set off some kind of trap.
[The fool will chase what flickers.]
"This is different," Aiden muttered, before he turned to the lanterns. "Oh."
Aiden took a few steps back, and looked around. Sure enough, he found several large rocks on the ground. He picked one of them, weighted it in hand, and gave it the approval of a master.
"You will do."
And then, Aiden took the pose of a pitcher. He hurled the large rock toward the lantern in front of him. It whistled in the air before slamming into the blue lantern.
The lantern shattered.
Light escaped it.
At that moment, Aiden heard a cry from above. He looked at the sky — which was oddly dark with no stars — to see the outline of a giant bird diving toward him.
"Uh, I'm beginning to doubt my logic…" Aiden muttered, but there was no turning back. He picked another large rock and rushed toward the red lantern.
This time, he crushed it directly since he knew there was no harm in doing so like the lantern exploding. Glass shattered. Light scattered. And fire erupted from the ground.
Aiden leapt away as a giant crocodile of fire crawled out of the ground. The bird dove toward Aiden, forcing him to run again toward the last lantern.
The bird adjusted its course and flapped its wings.
Blades of wind rushed toward Aiden.
The salamander breathed out pillars of fire, shooting them at him as well.
Aiden ran, not fast enough to avoid a gash and a burn, but enough to land him at the last lantern. He slammed the lantern with his rock, and light flickered out of the room.
Darkness descended on the room.
The monsters disappeared all at once.
Aiden collapsed with his back to the wall.
He looked at the door.
Three lights were now lined together, as a fourth one appeared beside them. It was hidden in the light, but visible in the darkness — a paradox only befitting of the desire of never existing.
"I knew there has to be a catch," Aiden muttered with a weak smile. "I just didn't know that solving the riddle would hurt this much."