Rain stared into the boy's face, confused. He certainly looked alive, but something was different about him. He began looking through the boy's mind he had achieved a word from the Lexicon.
"You have achieved a word simply from this?!"
Rain had to double-check. He peered into the boy's mind and found it flooded with a bitter anger, but he ignored that for the moment. The boy had chosen Words. Rain took a moment to think but was interrupted by the boy's outrage.
"Simply!? Are you kidding!? I fought with my life on the line over something as ridiculous as a message on a wall? I don't even know the fucking rules!"
Rain realized the boy had not entered the maze in the normal way. After peering deeper, he saw a strange voice had guided him in. A confused, lost boy from a peaceful island Rain had never even heard of until now. He sat silently, his stubborn pride keeping him from apologizing. This was, after all, the only way a hero could be chosen.
Rain spoke to the boy sternly.
"You survived the ordeal and grew stronger from it. Even I cannot see what power your selection holds, but it certainly carries weight. It is from the Lexicon. You will grow to be the hero I need yet, boy.
You were gone a long time. The sun rises and so too our journey continues."
Adam looked down at the amulet. Even though the sun had risen, he was far too exhausted to continue. His body became sluggish, and he fell to the ground, completely drained.
"You have to let me close my eyes... So much has happened. I don't think I can keep going much longer. I need to rest a bit."
The amulet tried to vibrate to keep him awake. Words flowed into his mind, but slowly his eyes closed as the sunlight poured into the cave.
"I can no longer protect you. My power is all but gone-"
His words slowly faded and went silent as Adam's eyes drifted into nothingness.
* * *
Sophia had traveled many days to make it here. She fought countless beasts alongside two companions who had fallen before reaching the Labyrinth of Rain a great hero once said to herald the hopes of humanity. Her dark brown hair rested on her shoulder as she sat at the entrance, feasting on a rabbit she had hunted the day before.
She looked toward the ruined entrance: a grand marble gate with trims of gold, long since scavenged. The walls rose high, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other.
She walked up to the gate and beyond it. The sound of stone grinding against stone, and the screeching of beasts within the maze, did not faze her. She approached with the intent to clear it. After all, she had put everything on the line to reach this place.
"I'm finally here. Everything I worked for finally, I will accomplish it. For my family, my people, my city. For my friends."
Sophia had trained long for this battle. Her armor was disheveled, her cloak ragged and torn, but her sword remained sharp. Countless days of harsh travel and minimal food had brought her near death many times but she had made it. She had long forgotten the warmth of home and family.
She cupped water from her flask into her hand and looked at her reflection. Her golden eyes gleamed a mark of divine favor from the gods above. A mission chosen solely for her to complete. A hero's mark.
She walked into the gate to the sound of rattling bones. From the left, skeletal creatures began shambling toward her.
Her sword was drawn, alight with a bright blue flame.
The skeletons turned their heads toward her and lunged, limbs and claws sharpened like weapons.
She sidestepped them with ease, dispatching them with swift strikes. Her blade swung through their frames, reducing them to ash.
Dust scattered across the floor, but she did not stop. She pressed on down the hall. As she stepped on a stone tile, ancient sigils began glowing, and bolts of lightning streaked toward her. She ducked, and they missed by inches.
Farther down the hallway, the Siris Lizards, black-scaled, humanoid creatures waited. Their tongues flicked hungrily across their jaws. Drool dripped from their chins. They began hunting her, clicking their weapons against the stone as they approached.
Sophia's determination would stop at nothing. She pointed her sword at the beasts and whispered, "Burn bright, Aiphos."
The blade vibrated. Blue flames rose and manifested into dancing wolves that surged forward, burning away the creatures before her.
Sophia knew monsters filled every corner of this land. Then, a deafening explosion rang out through the maze. Birds and beastly screeches echoed in response.
She froze at the next corner. A second explosion rocked the labyrinth, and a stampede of creatures tumbled down the passageways. She considered climbing the walls but hesitated, not wanting to dishonor the hero Rain. This maze was flawed in every way.
Instead, she ran back to the gate, climbed the rubble, and reached the top of the wall. Massive plumes of smoke billowed from the center of the maze. Her curiosity and dismay overcame her, and she began jumping from wall to wall, headed toward the blast zone.
As she ran, she saw the horror of what the maze held: traps, monster dens, bottomless pits, puzzles. It felt like this place was never meant to be conquered.
Near the center, she reached a clearing. A young man lay inside a massive crater, white hair flowing in the breeze.
She stared.
A deep, stinging sorrow filled her chest. Thoughts flooded her mind. A painful question gnawed at her:
What if someone already accomplished what I wished for?What if I didn't make it in time?
She nearly fell to her knees. Everything she had worked for... wasted? She shook it off. She couldn't afford to falter now.
She climbed down to the boy's side.
"Could he be dead?"
She knelt and gently turned him over to check for signs of life.
Suddenly, a bright light burst from the amulet on his wrist, then quickly faded.
A voice echoed in her mind.
"Do not touch him."
She recoiled, stunned. The voice did not speak again.
Carefully, she reached toward him once more. His clothes were torn from the blast, but his body appeared mostly unharmed.
The voice spoke again deeper and more threatening.
"I said do not touch him, girl. I will not ask again."
She responded calmly, hoping the presence would listen.
"My name is Sophia. I am one of the few humans worthy of challenging the Trial of Rain. A great disaster threatens all races of this land. My companions and I were sent to retrieve the Sword of Rain and be chosen by him. A hero is needed, and I came to honor my people and the friends who died for this cause."
There was a long silence.
Finally, the voice returned, slower and heavier.
"The voice you hear is Rain. I have selected my champion reluctantly. This boy has received my blessing. My choice is made. The sword and all armaments I once owned now belong to him.
I know not where you hail from, young woman. But I had only wished you arrived first. Perhaps you would have been the one I chose."
A bitter pain filled her chest, but she remained composed. Quietly, she began dragging the boy to safety. She climbed the wall using a hooked rope and tied him to her back.
He was surprisingly light. Pale skin, soft white hair, sharp features, lean muscle. He didn't seem trained to endure a trial like this but clearly, he had.
She shook the thoughts away and focused. She traveled carefully, her eyes on the amulet. It was a gold chain and locket, set with a green emerald at its center.
They reached the exit before dusk. The boy stirred on her back, so she gently dropped him to the floor. He jerked awake, eyes wide, and began crawling backward.
"My name is Sophia Eneris of the Kingdom of Bant," she said. "I came to become Rain's successor. I failed but I have you now. You will come with me to help slay the demon haunting our lands. If you choose not to… you will die by my hand."
The young man looked up at her, his emerald eyes locked on hers. He slicked back his hair and let out a long sigh.
"When do I get to make my own decisions..."