They approached the central temple of the Kingdom and searched around for any signs of life, but so far they found only silence and the echoes of their footsteps.
"Even I didn't know they had something like this down here," said Issen. "It must have taken hundreds to build it."
"It was an Alchemist."
"Yeah? And how do you know that?"
"I still possess memories from my previous life, before I awoke. It is interesting. I too am the work of the Lords and the Alchemists. The one who built this temple may very well be the one who created me."
"You are a human who lives and breathes as we do," said Bethryl.
Ashar opened part of his robe and revealed a blackened chest with an engraving over his heart. Nothing about the flesh beneath resembled that of a human being. It looked instead like a sinister imitation.
"It is already too late for that," said Ashar.
They approached the entrance, where a massive circular stone door stood embedded in the temple wall. Around it were four carved statues. It did not take long for them to realise what it was: a puzzle left by the temple's creator.
"Do you understand it?" asked Maereth.
"It's the Trial of the Four Truths," said Bethryl, her eyes lighting up.
They looked closer and saw an inscription above the door:
"Four truths shaped the Higher Being.Three will open the gate.One will destroy the seeker.Choose the truths that guide the One Beyond."
Each statue had a stone pedestal with a phrase carved beneath it, along with a handprint socket where Axiom energy could be infused. Ashar studied them closely, trying to understand what each statue represented.
"I know what it is," said Issen. "I saw it back when I was a kid. It's strength, knowledge, dreams, and love. That's how it was taught to us."
"That's what they taught us in the Academies," said Bethryl.
"That is incorrect," said Ashar.
"Ah, shut up," said Issen. "What the hell else could it be?"
"This is not the work of a rural settlement, nor is it the work of a teacher. An Alchemist created this. The secret will not be what you were ordinarily taught. We have to think about this."
He waved his hand at the group, and all except Issen stepped back, leaving Ashar alone to examine the puzzle.
"How are you feeling?" Maereth asked Bethryl.
"Tired."
"Soon we'll get inside and find what we need to recover. So don't worry."
Bethryl stared straight through her. Maereth looked down.
"I remind you of someone, don't I?" Bethryl said.
"What do you mean?"
"This is why you are being so nice to me. There is someone in your past who left you in pain, and you are seeing that former life in your interactions with me. For some reason, I can see it."
"I… I think you're tired, Bethryl."
"I can see how once in your past you—"
"Bethryl."
A hard exchange of stares followed. Then, all at once, Bethryl's power vanished and she returned to her normal state.
"I'm sorry," she said. "You're right. I am tired."
Meanwhile, Issen and Ashar continued arguing.
"I'm telling you!" said Issen. "That's what it is!"
"If we follow your reasoning," said Ashar, "this door may release something that will kill us all."
"I'm sick of you. You think you're some kind of genius now, standing above the rest of us."
"Wait a minute…"
Ashar read the inscription again.
"Higher Being… of course. This is a puzzle about the Higher Self."
"Higher Self?"
"The path from First Tier to Second Tier. This Kingdom was designed as a training ground. Now I understand."
Ashar examined the statues again. There were four.
The first was the Mystery: a man whose body was cracked and fragmented.
The second was the Stone: a figure standing calmly within flames, completely without expression.
The third was the Mask: a man whose face changed repeatedly into different forms.
The final statue was the Lover: a man writing a poem while a woman's face watched from afar.
The door would open only if three statues were activated. If the wrong one was chosen, the door would unleash an Axiom ability that could easily reach the Third or even Fourth Tier. In their poisoned state, a single mistake could kill them.
"I can't read all the engravings," said Maereth.
"You don't need to," said Issen. "It's the Lover statue. I know what I'm doing."
Ashar shoved him aside.
He activated the Eye of Sophia and stared at the carvings. The others could not understand the puzzle completely because hidden within the stone were Axiom engravings only visible through his ability.
But Ashar no longer needed to read them.
He already knew the answer.
He approached the statues and infused Axiom energy into the Mystery, the Stone, and the Mask.
He deliberately ignored the Lover.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Issen shouted.
The statues slowly turned their heads toward the gate. Their eyes began to glow faintly.
The circular stone door split into three massive rotating rings. The rings shifted apart, revealing a descending spiral staircase that led into the depths of the Kingdom.
"Damn bastard," muttered Issen.
The logic of the puzzle was tied to the creation of the Higher Self, and Ashar recognised it as part of the process used to create the Faceless Ones.
The Lover statue was a trap. In the Abrahamic path, a Faceless Soldier must be stripped of emotion entirely.
The true path consisted of Mystery, which was the ability to remain unpredictable; Mask, which was the ability to change personas; Stone, the ability to remain detached at all times.
Ashar could not remember whether he had once been trained through such a process or if he had simply been born this way.
They entered the Kingdom, Ashar walking ahead while Bethryl and Maereth followed at the back.
As they walked deeper into the ruins, Bethryl's eyes lit up again with vision.
"It won't save you."
Maereth glanced at her, half-lost in thought.
"Doing all this for Kareth," Bethryl continued quietly. "It won't save you."
Maereth stopped walking.
"No matter how hard you try," Bethryl said, "he will always be there."
Maereth smiled faintly and placed a hand on Bethryl's shoulder.
"Bethryl," she said softly, "if you keep speaking to me like that, I'll kill you."
Bethryl lowered her head and continued walking into the depths of the Kingdom.
Behind them, Maereth remained still for a moment, feeling the air around her shift, as if some long-awaited judgement was finally drawing near.