The climb is hard. The mountain of clouds is no longer bouncy and soft. It is cold and slippery, like wet ice. The darkness is thick. It feels like a heavy blanket over their shoulders.
"I cannot see my own feet," Robbie says. He crawls on his hands and knees. He keeps the bag with the Blue Ball close to his chest.
"Stay close to me," Everett says. He holds the Red Sword of Daring. The blade gives off a small, flickering light. It looks like a single candle in a dark cave.
Suddenly, the wind changes. It does not just whistle. it whispers. The sound comes from the purple mist that swirls around their legs.
"Everett..." the wind hisses. "You are not a king. You are just a boy playing in the dirt. When you go home, you are nobody. Why do you try so hard?"
Everett stops. He looks at his sword. The red light becomes even smaller. He feels a weight in his heart. He thinks about his messy room and his math homework. He feels like a pretender.
"Audacia..." the mist whispers to the girl. "You think you are brave. But you are just loud. Without your shield, you are a scared little girl. You cannot protect anyone."
Audacia drops her shield. It makes a dull thud on the hard cloud. She looks at her hands. They are shaking.
"Robbie..." the voice sneers. "You are slow. You are a burden. Your friends do not want you here. You only carry the ball. Anyone can do that."
Robbie sits down on the path. He hides his face in his hands. He feels like he is a mistake.
Clara stands in the middle of her friends. She hears the voices too. They tell her that her rules are just words in a silly book. They tell her she is not wise.
But Clara looks at her notebook. The pages are blank in the dark, but she knows what is inside. She remembers the backyard. She remembers the hot sun and the sound of their laughter.
"Stop it!" Clara shouts. Her voice is small, but it is sharp. "Rule Number Seventeen!"
Everett looks up. "What is Rule Seventeen?"
"Rule Number Seventeen," Clara says, her voice growing stronger. " The voices in the dark are always liars."
She reaches out and grabs Everett's hand. She grabs Robbie's shoulder.
"Everett, you lead us because you care about us," Clara says. "Audacia, you are brave because you stay even when you are scared. Robbie, you carry the heart of our world because you are the kindest person we know."
The purple mist hisses. It does not like the truth.
Everett stands up tall. He grips the sword. The red crystal flares bright. It burns through the mist.
"I am a King because my friends are beside me!" Everett yells.
Audacia picks up her shield. She bangs it with her fist. "I am the captain! And I am not going anywhere!"
Robbie stands up. He wipes his eyes. He pulls the Blue Ball out of his bag. "I hope the voices go away!"
The rainbow light of the marble hits the mist. The whispers turn into screams and then fade into nothing. The air becomes clear.
Above them, the Palace of Light appears. It is made of white marble and gold pillars. It glows like a sun on top of the mountain.
"The Crown is right there," Everett says.
They run up the final steps. They do not listen to the wind anymore. They only listen to the sound of their own hearts beating together.