Kaios stood before a grand stage, his loud panting filled in the air, echoing through the surrounding of his.
The clock had already stepped into overtime— it was now past one minute and fifty-four seconds of its mark. Two lives were flickering side to it, visible to Kaios, reminding each time the torments that was awaited for him.
One of them was nearly extinguished, its bar was reduced to but a faint red at the bottom, showing that it still exists.
Kaios had cleared the island just before it was vanished for good— escaping its trials by a slight breath, and thankfully being spared from the torment of starting over all that hellish cycle of tests.
As some time passed, and his pantings came to an end, his breathings regulated, then his gaze finally landed upon the stage before him.
The stage in front him was like a court of a monarch, carved in obsidian and gold. It was draped with ancient but regal banners all around, while birthing a sense of authority and reverence upon the onlookers.
Kaios walked slowly toward it, his shoe was dragging faintly acrossed the furnished floor, lingering with slight pain from his last run.
Then a sudden glimmer came fluttering down in a soft blur. It was none other than the chibi little fairy— Clement. Her tiny transparent wings humming like bee, scattering dusts all around from it, which were shimmered under the ray of light.
She hovered in front of his face, both of her hands were clasped behind her back. He could also see her cheeks being puffed with mischief.
"Well, well, look who finally made it," she chimed, her sharp voice teasing him.
"Heh..heh crawling barely past the finish line, dragging yourself like this. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought your race changed to that of a crawler in mid trial."
Kaios brows twitched, as he heard this tiny fairy mocking him, while watching his sufferings throughout the minigame.
When Clement saw the expressions of Kaios her tiny giggle filled in the air, still— there was a warmed tone in this mocking of her.
Clement then approached him, and pressed her small legs against Kaios's cheek lightly.
"Hmm.. honestly, if you keep crashing into walls like that Kaios, many will believe it was some ritual of yours." She said while grinning from ear to ear.
Kaios exhaled a loud air through his nose, giving a restrained sigh. His purple eyes flicked toward her, unamused but not totally dismissive. "…You're awfully loudmouth for someone so small."
As Clement heard it, she stuck her tongue out at the reply, while spinning in mid-air. "And.... you're awfully stubborn for someone who nearly fell down by a fake step! Oh, don't glare— your purplish eyes are already scary enough."
She spun again, sprinkling glittering dust everywhere. "But still… congratulation, Kaios. Your grit is commending, not many could withstood what you did."
This time, there was a word of sincerity behind her playful tone, which she covered it quickly, then with another grin. "Though....try not to break all your bones next time, okay? I'd hate to waste my congratulatory to someone, who was unconscious, when the trial will end."
Kaios shook his head faintly, as a half-suppressed sigh escaped from his mouth— And whether it was from the amusement or exasperation, even he couldn't say.
"Okay enough of that, can you first reverse these on me?" Kaios asked Clement, while pointing at his torn, ragged clothes as well as the state of his.
"Oh, I forgot about that....just a sec." Clement giggled as she snapped her fingers.
Click..
As Clement's snap echoed, a soft bluish glow enveloped Kaios. He was shimmering like liquid moonlight surrounded him.
Then his worn out clothes began to restore itself, stitching seamlessly woving them anew. And the parts, those were too ruined to recover, were materializing conjured from the nothingness.
The stains of blood soaking to him and his clothes evaporated into the mist, leaving not a single trace behind.
At the same time, his wounds also started to knit together due the glow. The bruised were faded while the torn fleshes closed.
His skin slowly regained its previously
Slightly dark skin and tanned hue. In the span of second, he was now standing without any slight blemish. If someone saw him right now, they will not believe that he had ever taken those hellish trials.
Gradually the bluish glow upon the Kaios subsided. Kaios scanned, but when he saw the result, he could only manage to mutter one word.
"Impressive..."
When the Clement heard this from Kaios, her chest puffed, and chin upped.
"That's right you should be grateful to Clement. I am great, i am benevolent, i am su..."
Before she could dragged him into one of her endless rambling, Kaios's voice cut in.
"Enough, I get it. There is no need for you to blabber about it for an hour."
He then clapped his hands, releasing a small vibrational echo, which rippled through the air. This pulse startled Clement one her mid-sentence, throwing her rhythm enough to stop the flurry of words coming out her mouth.
When Clement felt that, she started fuming, "Hmmph....you ungrateful brat..."
Before she could talk back any further, Kaios changed the subject, "Enough of that, tell me about the next minigames."
Clement stop whining as she heard it, "Ahh.. yes, the second game."
Successful, Kaios said in his mind as he saw that Clement forgot that.
Well, he can stop her using other method, but it's his throw back at her for mocking him before.
Yes, Kaios was this petty at his core.
"Second game... Second game will be more fun than this one." She said without any thought.
But the moment Kaios heard it, a sense of foreboding rose within him. He knew that anything she considered fun would, without a doubt, bring a load of torment for him.
"How so?" Kaios asked, while inside in his mind a repeated monologue was continuing.
Please be something simple, please be something simple.....
"What I can tell you that, its upon yourself. There will be hints, if you follow it rightly, you will pass, otherwise fail." Clement said with a thoughtful expression.
"That's it, is there nothing else?" Kaios probed further, in hope to get any other information related to it.
Clement thought for sometime, as she heard Kaios, before shaking her head violently, while clutching it.
"Ah..its too complex. Here you read the rule for yourself." Saying this she waved her hand, materialising same holographic screen in front of Kaios.
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Mini Game 2: Breach of Mirrors – Trial of Choices
Test Focus: Test perception, abstract reasoning
Life Limit: 3 Lives
Mini Game Map: A corridor containing semi-infinite mirrors, that shift and distort reflections; platforms appear only when "seen" or interacted with them.
Timer: A translucent hourglass floats beside the participant; time drains faster when choose the incorrect paths or the false reflections are followed.
Objective: Traverse through the mirrored corridor and reach the exit without being trapped or struck by your own reflected projections.
Rules of the Trial:
1. Participant may only use personal abilities; alloys(only the provided), artifacts (only the provided), or external tools are prohibited.
2. Platforms, paths, and hazards appear only when the participant interacts with them— through the movement, gaze, or any intentional action.
3. Any incorrect or hasty actions may cause reflected versions of the participant to materialize as obstacles or hazards.
4. Falling or colliding with a shadow projection costs one life, and the participant restarts at the last stable reflection zone.
5. Life decreases gradually if the participant wanders or hesitates too long in areas with unstable reflections.
6. Certain mirrors create temporal echo zones, where the past movements repeat and it must be anticipated or avoided.
7. Strategic actions, like projecting intention or adjusting motion, can solidify safe paths temporarily.
8. Completion of game requires navigating all reflection zones, predicting hazards, and using insight to manipulate paths within life and time constraints.
9. Depletion of all three lives results in the failure of the trial.
Victory Condition: Reach the corridor's exit with at least one life remaining, also having navigated and manipulated the reflective hazards successfully.
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A/n: read the Author's thought.