Alexander's eyes fluttered open. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was alive. His body ached like he had been trampled by a herd of beasts, and every muscle screamed as he shifted his body on the cold stone floor.
The fight with the illusions replayed in his mind, their mocking voices still scraping at the edges of his thoughts. He touched his chest, half-expecting it to be empty, but felt the steady beat beneath his palm. Not his heartbeat. Something more. A rhythm of mana pulsing through him, alive and unyielding.
He pushed himself up slowly, his ribs stabbing with pain from every breath. The chamber where he had fought was different now. The scorch marks from his flames still stained the floor, smokey scent faintly in the air, but the runes beneath him glowed brighter than before. He staggered to his feet, swaying, and watched as the runes spread outward in a spiraling pattern.
Then the voice returned, resonating through the chamber. It was the same deep tone that had spoken before.
"Strength of heart is the first step. But will you endure the weight of the world itself?"
The ground trembled. Alexander braced himself, but the stone cracked beneath his feet and gave way. He plummeted into darkness once again, his stomach twisting as if the fall would never end.
When he hit the ground, the impact drove the air from his lungs. He coughed, rolling onto his side. Pain bloomed across his body, and his stomach wound tore open slightly, warm blood seeping through his torn robes. He forced himself up on shaking arms, panting heavily.
This place was different. Narrow walls of stone towered around him, their uneven surfaces glowing faintly with veins of molten light. A labyrinth stretched endlessly in both directions, paths twisting into shadow. The air was hot, pressing down on him, thick enough to choke on. Every breath seared his throat.
Alexander wiped blood from his mouth and staggered forward. His footsteps faint, swallowed by the shifting corridors. Each step was harder than the last. His legs felt heavy, as if the heat itself weighed them down.
The labyrinth was alive. He felt it in the way the walls shifted when he looked away, closing passages and opening new ones. He heard the grinding of stone like a giant creature breathing. He was not just walking through a maze. He was inside something that wanted him to suffer.
He raised his hand and summoned a spark of flame to light the path. The fire flared brighter than he intended. He quickly pulled it back, his heart racing. The power had come from his chest again, sharp and explosive. Stronger, but unstable.
So this is what it means, he thought. My core really has changed.
The realization didn't comfort him. If he wasted energy, he might burn himself out of mana before he even reached the end of this place.
The air grew heavier the deeper he went. Sweat soaked his skin, dripping down his temples. His legs burned with exhaustion, his wound screamed with every step, yet he forced himself onward. The walls twisted around him, closing and expanding as if mocking his progress.
Then the labyrinth struck.
Without warning, the walls on either side slammed together, a crushing force rushing toward him. Alexander threw himself forward, landing hard on the ground just as the walls crashed shut behind him. Dust and rock splinters flew past his head. If he had been slower by a second, he would have been crushed into paste.
He scrambled to his feet, panic clawing at him. The floor beneath him cracked, glowing veins widening. He leapt back just as a spike of molten stone erupted where he had stood. His chest heaved. The labyrinth was trying to kill him.
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to calm down. If he panicked, he'd die here.
He remembered the days on his father's farm. Long hours carrying sacks of grain heavier than his own body. Plowing under the sun until his back felt broken. Working without rest because if he stopped, there would be no food on the table. Back then, he thought it was suffering without meaning. Now, he realized it might have been training for moments like this.
"I can endure this," he muttered, dragging himself forward.
The labyrinth roared to life again. The walls shifted violently, closing in from both sides this time. Alexander thrust out his hand and pulled at the core in his chest. Fire surged into his palm, hotter than any spell he had cast before. He aimed at the wall and released it in a burst.
The explosion rocked the corridor, blasting a hole through the stone. Shards rained down, heat almost burning his face, but he forced himself through the gap before the walls crushed shut again. He stumbled into the next passage, coughing and gasping. His arms trembled, drained from that single burst.
So much power, but it eats away at me, he thought bitterly.
This power isn't free.
He kept moving. The heat pressed harder, suffocating, making every breath burn. His body screamed at him to stop, but he remembered the villagers' pity, the sneers of the academy students, the illusions mocking him. If he gave up now, they would all be right. He would die as nothing.
His vision blurred from exhaustion, but finally, the passage opened into a vast cavern. The air was thicker here, oppressive, glowing red from molten cracks that spiderwebbed across the ground.
And then he heard it.
A low hiss that rumbled like boiling earth.
From the largest crack in the ground, something rose. A serpentine body of blackened rock and molten veins, each scale dripping with fire. Its eyes glowed with the fury of magma, and steam hissed from its mouth with every breath. The creature uncoiled, its body stretching longer than a house, and the ground shook as it slithered fully into view.
A Lava Serpent.
Alexander's stomach turned. He had read about them in the academy's bestiary. Monsters of heat and stone, capable of burning through entire villages. Even a team of yellow core mages would struggle to bring one down.
And he was standing alone before it.
The serpent's molten eyes locked onto him. Its hiss grew into a roar that shook the cavern walls, molten rock dripping from its fangs.
Alexander's hands trembled. He felt the fire inside his chest flicker, begging to be unleashed. His body was already weak, his mana nearly dry from the previous spell, but turning back wasn't an option.
He clenched his fists, fire sparking between his palms. His eyes burned with determination even as fear ate at him.
"So this is the next trial," he whispered.
The serpent lunged.
The cavern shook as its body surged forward, its maw opening wide, glowing with molten light. Heat slammed into him like a furnace. Alexander raised his arms, mana coming from his chest and flowing into his palms. He hurled it forward with everything he had.
Flames clashed with molten breath, exploding in a storm of heat and smoke. The cavern roared with fire.
And the trial of endurance had begun.