Trial Five: The Tower of Endless Stairs
"Climb."
The word wasn''t spoken aloud, yet it echoed within their minds. A simple command, yet one that carried the weight of an unseen force.
They stood at the base of the Tower of Endless Stairs, a monolithic structure that twisted beyond sight, its endless steps spiraling into a sky that had no horizon. The mere sight of it was dizzying, as if looking at something not meant for human eyes.
The rules were simple:
"Climb, or fall."
---
The eight remaining candidates stood together, breathing in the moment before the ascent.
Ryan, the ever-enthusiastic overseer, stretched his arms behind his head and grinned. "Alright, little monsters. You made it this far. Congratulations! …But don''t get too comfortable."
Franklin cracked his neck. "Tch. Didn''t think we''d be getting a break."
Elyria rolled her shoulders. "Some of us could use one."
Ryan chuckled. "Oh, don''t worry. This next trial? It''s all about endurance. You don''t need to fight." He smirked. "Just climb."
His words should''ve been reassuring.
They weren''t.
Zoren''s gaze lingered on the tower''s endless steps. "...What''s the catch?"
Ryan''s grin widened. "Who, me? Hiding something? Now that''s just offensive."
Nobody believed him.
Ryan laughed and waved them off. "Okay, okay. I''ll tell you one thing—this trial isn''t about how strong you are. It''s about how far you''re willing to go. Some of you won''t make it. The ones who stop climbing?" He clapped his hands. "Gone. Just like that."
Silence settled over them.
They all felt it.
The weight of knowing that two of them wouldn''t make it.
It was different from the last trial. Back then, they fought to survive. But now? Now, it was a battle against themselves.
No enemy to punch. No clear battle to win.
Just the climb.
Ryan waved them forward. "Alright, then! No more stalling. Get climbing, kids."
Elizabeth, as always, was the first to move.
She didn''t hesitate.
And so, the final ascent began.
---
Step.
Step.
The moment Aiden placed his foot on the first step, a crushing weight slammed onto his shoulders.
"Ghkk—!" Franklin exhaled sharply, gripping his thighs. "What the hell is this?"
Ivar''s breath was already fogging. "The stairs are resisting us."
Elyria clenched her jaw. "Resisting? It feels like we''re carrying the damn world."
Zoren tensed his muscles, forcing himself forward. The weight dragged him down, each step heavier than the last. It felt as if the air itself was crushing their spirits, testing their resolve.
Elizabeth moved ahead without a word.
Her hands trembled. Her shadow flickered.
But she never stopped.
She made it look easy.
And that made it worse.
Because it wasn''t.
The first hundred steps felt like dragging mountains with each foot forward.
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And yet—this was just the beginning.
---
The pressure remained, but after the first hundred steps, something unexpected happened.
The weight stabilized.
Not that it got any easier, but at the very least, it wasn''t getting worse every second.
For now.
Ryan hadn''t said anything about a time limit. So, despite their exhaustion, a strange thing happened.
They started talking.
"What''s the first thing you''re gonna do after this trial?" Franklin asked, breaking the silence.
Elyria snorted. "Survive it."
Franklin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. But after that?"
Aiden hummed, thinking. "Eat."
Ivar smirked. "Same."
Elizabeth, still walking ahead, spoke for the first time in a while. "Rest."
Zoren glanced at her. "You actually sleep?"
She shot him a look. "Of course I do."
Elyria grinned. "Yeah, but do you sleep like a normal person or do you just sit in a dark corner like some shadow demon?"
Elizabeth gave a deadpan stare.
"...Maybe both."
Franklin barked out a laugh. "Creepy."
For a moment, the tension lessened.
They were all exhausted, but this small moment felt real. It was a reminder that they weren''t just warriors in some endless trial.
They were people.
That thought lingered at the back of their minds, unspoken.
And then—
The stairs shifted.
And the trial truly began.
---
Step after step—the stairs morphed beneath them.
Some became soft as sand, pulling them down like quicksand.
Others turned sharp as knives, cutting deep if they stepped wrong.
And then—
The illusions began.
Aiden blinked.
The stairs vanished.
Instead—he stood on a battlefield.
Bodies. Blood. Smoke.
Ivar''s voice screamed his name.
"IVAR!" Aiden''s breath hitched as he ran forward—
But the battlefield melted away.
He was back on the stairs.
"That was—"
His voice caught. His fingers trembled.
Zoren''s voice snapped him back. "Don''t fall for it."
Aiden exhaled sharply. "Yeah..."
It wasn''t real.
But it felt real.
And that was just the beginning.
---
One of the candidate paused.
His chest rose and fell in uneven gasps.
"Wait. Wait. I can''t—" His eyes widened in horror.
His mother stood before him.
She was crying.
"Come back," she whispered. "You don''t have to do this."
His body shook.
He hesitated.
And in that single moment—
The stairs crumbled beneath him.
His scream echoed as he was swallowed into the abyss.
The staircase reformed instantly.
As if he had never existed.
They didn''t stop climbing.
---
The air turned poisonous.
The stairs burned.
Their bodies screamed.
But they kept moving.
And when the last survivor took their final step—
The sky shattered.
The stairs collapsed.
And before them—
The final trial awaited.
---
"Your worst fear is not what you see—but what you already believe."
A deep, steady hum filled the chamber.
It wasn''t loud, nor did it fade. It was constant, like something woven into the very air.
The mist at their feet was thick, unnatural. It didn''t just obscure the ground—it swallowed it. No echoes of their footsteps, no sound at all. It felt like standing at the edge of a dream, where reality blurred and twisted.
Aiden tensed. "I don''t like this."
"Yeah," Franklin muttered, rubbing his arms. "Feels wrong."
Elyria cracked her knuckles. "What, scared?"
Ryan grinned. "Now, now. If they wanna be afraid, let ''em. This is a trial, after all."
Zoren remained silent, scanning the chamber. The walls stretched endlessly, vanishing into the mist. The place had no boundaries. No beginning. No end.
A single realization settled in his gut.
"This place isn''t real."
And then—
It arrived.
---
A towering, godly figure, its body shifting between existence and oblivion. One moment, it was light, glowing with the radiance of a dying sun. The next, it was shadow, a void that devoured the air itself.
It didn''t breathe.
It didn''t move.
Yet, the space around it warped, reality twisting in unseen ways.
The Titan had no face, yet they felt it watching them.
And then it spoke.
Not in sound.
But in thought.
"Step forward."
---
The moment it spoke, the chamber lurched.
Not physically—there was no tremor, no shaking.
But they felt it.
A pull. A shift.
A presence reaching inside their minds.
And then—
The world around them changed.
---
Elyria found herself in her hometown.
She didn''t even process how she got there.
The air was dry. Dust clung to her throat. The familiar market streets stretched before her.
She hadn''t been here in years.
And then—she saw them.
The bodies.
Scattered across the streets. Hundreds. Unmoving.
Elyria''s stomach twisted. No, no, no—
A body twitched.
Her breath caught.
Slowly, it lifted its head.
And it was—
"Elyria."
Her father''s voice.
But his eyes were missing.
"You left us," he whispered.
Her body locked up.
A single second of hesitation—
And then—
She was gone.
Vanished.
Like she had never been there.
---
Ryan watched her disappear.
His smirk didn''t fade, but his fingers tightened in his pockets.
"Well," he muttered, "that''s one."
Zoren''s eyes snapped to him. "What the hell just happened?"
Ryan exhaled through his nose. "This thing doesn''t fight with strength."
He tapped his temple.
"It fights with this."
Franklin''s face paled.
And then—he screamed.
---
He sat upon a throne.
Not by choice.
He could feel it beneath him—the weight of countless bones. The whispers of the dead filled the air.
"You did this."
"You wanted power."
"You thought you were different."
His hands trembled.
His own reflection stood before him.
"You always knew," it whispered.
And then—he was gone.
---
Aiden''s breath hitched.
The scent of blood filled his lungs.
He was on the battlefield again.
Corpses. Everywhere.
And in the center of it all—
Ivar.
His brother.
Lying in the dirt. Pale. Still.
Aiden froze.
He had seen this before. He had lived this before.
But this time—
Ivar''s lips parted.
"Aiden..."
Blood dripped from his mouth.
"You left me."
And then—
He crumbled to dust.
Aiden reached out—"No, NO—!"
But his hands grasped nothing.
And then—he was gone.
---
Nothing.
No people.
No voices.
No sound.
The world had been wiped clean.
And he was alone.
Completely, utterly alone.
His breath came ragged. "No, no, no—"
He tried to move.
But there was nowhere to go.
And then—he was gone.
---
Only Two Remain
The Titan loomed.
And now—
Only two were left standing.
Zoren.
Elizabeth.
The Titan rippled, shifting between them.
Zoren''s dark Core and light core pulsed inside him. He was ready to fight.
But he knew—
This wasn''t something he could fight.
Not with his fists.
Elizabeth''s gaze was steady.
She understood.
"This isn''t about winning," she murmured.
Zoren''s breath was heavy. "Then what the hell is it about?"
Her voice was calm. "Accepting."
The Titan laughed.
Or maybe it didn''t.
Maybe the laughter was just inside their heads.
"You think you can accept me?"
Its voice twisted.
Became their voices.
"You think you can accept yourself?"
Zoren stared.
At himself.
At the mirror of his worst fears.
And for a moment—just a moment—he believed it.
But then—
Elizabeth stepped forward.
"Enough."
She stared at herself.
Her illusion whispered—
"You don''t deserve to exist."
Elizabeth smiled.
"I know."
The Titan shuddered.
And for the first time—it cracked.
---
Zoren closed his eyes.
Breathed.
And whispered—
"I don''t care."
The Titan howled.
And then—
There was nothing.
---
The mist cleared.
The six who had vanished—returned.
Not broken.
Just—changed.
Ryan exhaled.
"Well, well."
He stretched his arms.
"That was fun, huh?"
No one answered.
Zoren clenched his fists.
And for the first time—he realized this trial wasn''t about strength.
It was about something much, much harder.
Enduring yourself.
---
To be continued.