The light pulsed and brightened incrementally. The sounds of creatures screeching could be heard as they slowly dispersed. The sounds of bodies rolling in the grass and the splashing of water faded before silence took over once more. The light that once blinded him diminished.
"What happened?"
The amulet hummed on his wrist, and words spilled into his mind like before. The deep and rich voice soothed Adam's fears and anguish. His anxiety cleared, and he remained calm now.
"The deed is done. Now for the oath that you have pledged. Due to the nature of our meeting, we skipped some steps in this most noble ceremony; however, I will not pain you with them. I will not explain my duty to you, Adam of The Federatio-"
Adam interrupted the amulet with his own words, out loud this time.
"How did you know that I have white hair and that I'm from the Federation… what even are you?"
The amulet hummed, and a feeling of irritation washed over Adam but it continued to speak to him.
"I am Rain, the last hero born of Humanity. The last hero of human lineage gifted with the Green Star prophecy. I am the wielder of authority and the legend riddled within the stories you read. I am a practitioner seeking to find the next h-"
Adam burst out once more.
"Wait. Wait, wait. So you're a spirit trapped… in an amulet and you're some sort of hero that's human. Looking to-"
The amulet hummed again, and an even greater feeling of irritation washed over Adam. He looked down for a second and played with his hair.
"Sorry."
The amulet continued talking in his mind.
"Refrain from interrupting me. I have very little patience for your curiosity right now. Once I finish what I must say, you may ask me two questions.
Now, to what I was saying: you are now under my patronage. However weak, frail, and even cursed to be disastrous, you are, I have chosen you to take upon this oath to the Green Star. You will become what humanity needs. Whether you like it or not, you will be hardened under my watchful eye.
I have two conditional rules under this oath to the Green Star and humanity.
One: you will obey my rulings. Cheating is no longer allowed and will be punishable by pain.
Two: I will put you under trial often. You will undergo things you may not like and may suffer from it, but it's all for the greater good of this world and what I believe will build you up properly. You will complete every trial I put you through."
Adam looked down and sighed once again. He felt delusional talking to someone in his head again; however, he had many questions for the amulet about his origins and more. But he contained himself for this moment and asked what he believed was necessary, accepting that this was the life he chose.
"My first question for you, amulet, is: Where am I?…And can I trust you with my life?"
The amulet did not answer for a second, but eventually reassurance flowed over the boy and it spoke once again.
"You, boy, are within my labyrinth. I am the last human hero, and this maze was built to challenge those worthy enough to earn my favor and pull my sword to achieve greatness. I do not know how you entered here or who guided you to this land. Maybe the gods themselves have finally answered from their prisons, I do not know. I will, however, make a man of you yet. You are not worthy of pulling my blade now, but maybe one day you will. Secondly, you can trust that I will guide you well, but your fate lies in your own hands. I once wielded great power, but this great power has diminished considerably in my weakened form. I am merely a consciousness trapped within an amulet. You will have to escape this labyrinth of your own will."
Adam had so many questions for the amulet but stifled his curiosity for now, hoping many of his questions would be answered later. Gods in prisons and Rain himself this was all quite overwhelming to him. Yet… it excited him more than anything to indulge in this.
Adam looked down at his wrist and spoke out loud to the amulet.
"I don't really like swords much; it isn't my style. However, my amulet savior, I will comply with your conditions and want nothing more than to find who spoke to me in my mind while I was imprisoned and to truly go beyond the lands I once came from."
Adam came down from the tree and began making his way to the exit, eager to begin his journey through the maze. He felt brave enough to do it; however, he couldn't tell if it was because he was ready or the amulet allowed him to be. Before he made it to the tunnel exit out of the sanctuary, the amulet spoke up.
"Wait, boy. Do not leave this place yet before scavenging through the unworthy. Though even I believe it is horrific to steal from the dead, you will not survive with what you have on you."
Adam frowned at the thought. He hated the idea of taking from the dead as well. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but silently he complied, slowly going back to the mounds of skeletal corpses lining the walls of this place.
He began searching through the dead. Most of what was here was unusable and far too gone to be of any use; however, he found a few items that could provide some aid. He pulled a tattered cloak from a pile; it was dyed black and had a faded green star painted at its center. He pulled strange crystal orbs, three of them exactly and some empty flasks. He examined some good weapons; however, he had no use for them. Weapons practically hated him after all, or maybe he just hated using them.
Adam looked down at Rain and asked him about the crystals and cloak. The amulet tended to hum before giving an answer, and so it did.
"The cloak is from those who attempted to pull my sword those undeserving who perished. The orbs are those powered by the lexicon. They carry a word within them, and upon shattering, the effect will reveal itself. Only the one who imbued it would know what they do… It is quite strange to see these."
Adam looked down to the ground and found himself thinking.
"I assume that we are both here in partnership because you need something from me? And I can somewhat fill some sort of role you need me for…"
The amulet remained silent for several moments before answering.
"I believe our partnership would only work if I am as honest as I can be with you. Truthfully, you are the worst and least eligible candidate of them all…It has been a long time since anyone has come to my labyrinth, and truthfully, I believed no one else would come… You are not the one I was looking for, but someone needs to take the mantle which I could not give readily."
Adam began crawling through one of the exits, taking an alternate route in case there were more lizard men waiting. He wasn't upset by the amulet's words; he himself did not see the worth it was looking for. He began crawling and talking to it as he went.
"Well, thanks for saving my life. I have things I'd like to do, so I guess this works out for both of us?"
He continued crawling through the tunnel and found a light on the other side. After exiting, he found himself in a vast, destroyed section of the labyrinth where a great battle had ensued and remnants of skeletal humanoids remained. Large claw marks and blackened sections of the walls appeared in several sections of this massive battlefield.
Adam crouched down and watched momentarily before going out to check the place more. Dusk slowly began to fall, and the light that flooded this massive cave diminished as night approached. Adam slowly crept alongside the rubble before a massive roar bellowed out within the labyrinth. Adam ducked down and waited as massive vibrations thudded throughout the maze. He peered over a column collapsed from a section of wall, and fear struck him.
In the enclosed corridor of white walls and fallen debris, there resided skeletons that prowled in the darkness haunting images of these humanoid creatures slowly walking through the corridors with their dull red glowing eyes, a sign of some sort of magic that remained within them or perhaps something more.
Adam ducked down in front of the column once more and clutched at the amulet.
"Amulet, or… Rain, can you please tell me what to do? Where do I go?"
Adam whispered to the amulet, but it did not respond, remaining completely silent.
Adam sat there for a moment and stilled his heart, waiting once again for time to pass. He thought perhaps it would be better to stay in the tree area, but it felt unsafe knowing that these creatures could come in and know where he was. He felt alone and in the dark. The sound of bones shambling through the left side of the passageway frightened him. His heart fluttered and a ball sat in his throat, but he had to move.
He collected himself and slowly began crawling through the passageways, little by little making his way through the hall to the right where it seemed empty. The walls were etched with messages left behind by others who had come through this hall, small messages written in various languages but preserved here in history. Adam ran his hands along the parts he could read, remaining low to the ground and crawling beside the wall since debris was no longer available.
Messages in the language he could read spoke out with motivational messages and hundreds of names etched along the walls:
"Don't stop now. You made it this far! Come on, it was you who found your way! I was never afraid of who I could be, it's just what it takes to walk the road."
Lifeless skeletons remained resting near these walls; it seems a couple of these people found themselves.
Adam continued creeping along and running his hands along the walls. The sounds of shambling bones fell quiet, and he came to a clearing with a large bridge where a bottomless pit fell into a darkness that unfolded before him. A large figure stood idly on the other side.
"Perhaps a statue?"
Adam pondered while staring ahead into the darkness; he could see very little but remained vigilant.
Adam glanced at it, and before he stepped forward, he looked around and found himself staring across. There was some sort of stone warrior placed upon the other side. Its head kept shifting as he moved, as if it could be watching him. No, it was watching him.
He slowly crept over to the walls and found himself staring into messages once again, written on the walls. These were messages from many different people. He looked over and found a message he could read:
"Beware of the moving knight, he beckons challengers and not travelers."
The moment the words were read and played out in his mind, the amulet roared out in anger that filled his head. It was an irrational and impulsive anger.
"CHEATER! YOU CHEAT THESE TRIALS LOOKING AT MESSAGES OTHERS LEFT BEHIND!!! YOU DAMN YOURSELF AND YOU WILL SUFFER ITS PUNISHMENT."
Adam was confused for a moment. He did not realize this was against the rules but at that moment the knight had stepped off his platform. It stared directly at him and it raised its massive blade and moved forward….