The next chamber wasn't vast — it was endless.
The ground was smooth, like polished glass, and from it rose a single staircase of glowing stone that disappeared into mist above. Each step shimmered faintly, carved with swirling glyphs that pulsed in rhythm to something none of them could hear.
No monsters. No traps. Just the stairs.
David squinted. "That's it? A staircase?"
Mira frowned. "Feels wrong. The air's thick."
Daniel placed a hand against the first step. Warm. Alive.
His lightning flickered in response — faint arcs tracing over his fingers before vanishing.
"This place… it's watching us."
He stepped up.
At once, the step glowed brighter, threads of energy wrapping around his leg like invisible vines. It didn't hurt — it read. His pulse, his aura, the flow of power through his veins. The glyphs brightened, as if tasting him.
Mira and David followed cautiously. The stairs shuddered under their weight, glyphs shifting colors — from blue to gold to black.
"Be careful," Mira muttered. "It's reacting differently for each of us."
They climbed slowly. Ten steps. Twenty.
At first, it was just pressure — the kind that made their skin prickle. Then it became resistance. The air thickened until every movement felt like wading through liquid.
By the thirtieth step, Daniel could barely lift his leg. Lightning sparked around him instinctively — the stairs feeding on it, measuring its rhythm. He gritted his teeth. "So this is the test… it's reading our control."
Mira's shadows rippled around her like smoke. Each time she pushed them outward, the glyphs dimmed — the staircase rejecting her corruption. "It's rejecting darkness."
David planted his foot firmly, his aura glowing gold and earthen. "Then balance it. Don't force the shadows — guide them."
She exhaled sharply, closed her eyes, and tried again. Her aura thinned, wrapping tighter around her like a second skin. The step accepted her presence this time — barely.
They pushed upward.
Forty steps. Fifty.
The pressure became brutal now — not spiritual, but physical. Daniel's bones creaked. His lightning flared erratically, and the glyphs around his legs began to spark violently in response. Too unstable. He tried to suppress it, but each attempt made it worse.
Then — a small voice brushed his thoughts.
> "Master… you're fighting it wrong."
Ember. Still half-asleep, tone muffled with drowsy concern.
> "Don't push the current. Let it move through you."
Daniel inhaled slowly. He stopped resisting — and the wild arcs around him softened. Lightning began to flow smoothly, curling with a dancer's grace instead of raging against the pull.
The pressure lessened slightly.
"Good," he muttered under his breath. "Thanks."
> "Mmh. I'm… going back to sleep now."
He smiled faintly and kept climbing.
By the sixtieth step, Mira was trembling, David's light flickering wildly as he struggled to balance his dual affinity. "I can't—"
"Don't stop," Daniel said, voice steady. "The higher we go, the more it reveals."
He surged forward, lightning spilling from his heels, sparks scattering against the glyphs. The stairs lit up under him like a storm of mirrors. Every step became harder, heavier, hungrier — but also clearer. He could feel the rhythm of the energy now, the pulse of the world matching his own heartbeat.
Seventieth. Eightieth.
The stairs began to hum, reacting only to him now. Mira and David had stopped far below, gasping for breath. They could go no further.
Daniel pressed on alone.
Ninety.
Every nerve in his body burned. His muscles screamed. Lightning tore from his back in bright arcs that struck the mist above — and were absorbed by it. The staircase glowed brighter, the glyphs flaring white-hot as if feeding on his essence.
He roared and forced one last step—
The entire chamber flashed.
Then silence.
When the light faded, Daniel stood at the top, trembling but alive. The staircase beneath him glowed faintly, runes settling into calm gold. Lightning still crackled around his frame — no longer wild, but pulsing evenly, rhythmically, under his full control.
Down below, Mira shielded her eyes. "He made it…"
David exhaled a laugh, half disbelieving. "That idiot… he really reached the top."
Daniel looked down at them, exhausted but smiling faintly. Ember stirred on his shoulder, half-opening one sleepy golden eye.
> "You didn't fall. I'm proud."
He chuckled weakly. "Me too, little one."
The staircase dissolved into light, leaving only smooth air beneath him. Daniel landed softly beside his friends, the glow in his eyes fading.
Mira looked at him carefully. "You feel… different."
"Maybe."
He flexed his hand — the lightning obeyed perfectly, flowing across his fingers in precise lines.
"I think it wasn't just a test of talent. It was a lesson — control through harmony."
David nodded. "Then let's hope the next one doesn't kill us for learning too slowly."
Daniel smirked. "We'll see."
They turned toward the new door that had appeared beyond the fading light — silent, waiting. The trial of talent was over.
But the storm in Daniel's soul was just beginning to evolve.