Aiden stared at his old friend.
And then, he smiled.
"I miss you," Aiden said. "And you are probably right. If I had to choose between living a life of normalcy and watching the world burn," he paused and smiled. "I would choose the latter."
Nail stared at Aiden, and then dissolved to nothingness.
"But if it could bring you back, I would choose anything," he muttered.
The world shattered, and Aiden opened his eyes once more.
Aiden found himself standing in the clearing, with the tree of bonds in front of him. The elf-looking man remained on the ground, mumbling and muttering to himself.
"I stand so far away, and the dream I had was so…" Aiden couldn't find a word to describe it. "This trial is not for me."
Aiden knew that approaching the tree would reveal more of his memories — ones he wished to forget, involving Ronnie or his mother. Many of those memories poisoned his sleep, and he had no desire to face them.
As for the elf, Aiden abandoned him. It was his own mistake that he had fallen for this strange illusion, and he would stand to suffer the consequence — if he could regain sanity.
The last of the desires was the blue Rise, the one that Aevur used to conquer the world and his inner desires. Aiden followed the blue trail until he found a group of monsters gathered around.
"You all found a statue!" Aiden called out in surprise. The monsters turned toward him, letting out cries of recognition. "I knew you would do it. Let's go inside and see what this one has."
The monsters circled around him as Aiden walked into the clearing.
A bright light shone as soon as they turned around the corner.
It was a star held by a statue, bright enough to blind them. And beneath the statue stood an altar with steps in every direction.
The star was not only bright, but the heat was unbearable here. It was a miniature sun, reminding Aiden of the one that Aevur had on his chest.
Aiden shielded his eyes, and realized that a figure stood at the bottom of the stairs. It was a sole figure against the blinding light.
"Borin," Aiden muttered, and his voice prompted the young man to turn. His skin had been scorched, and his eyes were bleeding. "What are you doing there?!"
"Who is there?!" Borin called out and waved his hand. Fire erupted from the ground, and Aiden barely dodged it. "This statue is mine!"
Aiden steadied himself while staring at the young man with pity. He could barely see his figure, but he could tell… Borin would not survive another step toward the statue.
"You will kill yourself," Aiden called out softly. "This is not what you think it is!"
"Is that… you?" Borin recognized him. "You would never understand, with your underhanded ways and lack of empathy," the young man turned toward the star. "This is my destiny."
"It's no destiny."
"My people need this to rise once more," Borin told him. "I will be the seeker to rise above all others, and prove to the world that we are not an inferior race! We deserve more than caves filled with embers, and more than jobs as slaves in mines!"
"You will die seeking that star," Aiden said, but his voice was far from imploring. "I don't stand to gain anything if you retreat now."
"I know you want this too," Borin said, turning toward him with bleeding eyes. "I won't let anyone have this!"
Borin took the first step up the stairs. He howled in agony as it burned through his skin. The second step was enough for his skin to vaporize, but that made the third step easier — there was no more pain to feel.
Aiden watched as the young man took one step after the other, until he finished them all. From his viewpoint, he could see that Borin lost half of his flesh — but there was more.
Borin lost his vocal cords and could no longer scream, but he didn't cease moving forward. He moved one step at a time until he was in front of the statue and touched it.
Then, the light exploded in every direction. The star descended toward Borin, while Aiden had to shield his eyes. It began to fade, and Aiden could see the result of the star fusing with Borin.
And then, he remembered what Dylan said.
"The Maze doesn't test your strength—it tests your hunger. Most fail because they want to."
Aiden now understood the real test behind this trial — it was never to reach the statues.
The goal was to avoid them.
If not…
★ [You have received a twisted wish.] ★
[Desire Fragment: Borin Earthhand]
[Type: RISE]
[I wish to rise above all others and save my people.]
[Release the twisted wish: eliminate the monster.]
[Reward: Starflame (Unique)]
[Failure: TERMINATION OF CHARACTER: Aiden Valero!]
[Time Limit: 65 minutes to fulfill the wish before failure triggers.]
Aiden looked with a pained expression as the flaming figure now turned toward him. Borin was no longer the same person Aiden knew, but a creature of broken flesh and searing flames.
A groan leaked out from Borin as he took a step forward. Flames burst in every direction, burning through the clearing. The moment a flame touched anything, it never died down.
Aiden turned his hands into fists as he stepped forward. The monsters looked too scared to advance, but Aiden did not blame them.
"You can retreat," Aiden said without looking back. "Thanks for the help so far."
Aiden reached the bottom of the stairs, while Borin looked down from the edge. Despite not knowing the man, Aiden felt a little regretful that he hadn't seen the signs sooner — and stopped him, if possible.
"But I don't think I could've stopped you," Aiden addressed the flaming creature. "This test was never about strength — but hunger. Your hunger was for recognition… and it made you fly too close to the sun."
The creature — as if understanding his words — howled with rage as it jumped through the air. It turned into a descending star while Aiden took a stance and glared at him.
"I hope it was worth it."