The night passed; morning came, and Ezra stirred restlessly in an unfamiliar bed. Across the room, Milo silently sorted his gear. Ezra understood. They would leave together for the second layer in the coming hour.

His old clothes lay crumpled by the bedside, and his second and only pair fit loosely around him. Last night, when cleaning up, Ezra discovered more than just his hands were stained with blood.

“Camila’s party leaves in the next hour. She asked if we wanted to go with her.”

It was too early for pity. Ezra yawned and threw the sheets off. “Thanks, but I think we can make it on our own.”

“Are you sure? They’re capable people and would make valuable allies. They were the first to pass the test.”

“Do you want to switch parties?”

Milo looked offended and chucked a glow rod into his backpack. “Do you remember Mrs. Walwick?” A look of confusion crossed Ezra’s face, but Milo continued. “We were only eight, but that hag of a teacher was always talking about how the eleventh layer was a hoax to build up a labor force on the higher layers. I just ignored her ramblings, kept my head down, and waited for the lecture to begin. But one day, you bit back. Maybe it was from a place of anger or frustration, but every word out your mouth that day were things I was too scared to say.” Milo chuckled and gripped a folded shirt in his hands. “Do you even remember what you said?”

“Not a word.”

“I don’t remember everything, but I do remember one thing. You told her the reason sky-seekers sought the top was so they didn’t have to listen to brain-dead teachers like her.”

Ezra smiled as the memory flickered across his eyes. “I didn’t think I was that ruthless as a kid.”

“Oh, I could tell you a million other things you said when we were in primary school. I almost pity the women.” The room got quiet again, and Milo stuffed the shirt into the leather bag. “But that was the day I first took notice of you. You weren’t tied down by the rules or expectations of others.” Milo sighed. “And that's why I’m not switching parties.”

“I’m sorry about last night.”

Before Milo could respond, Ezra was already off the bed, out the door, and on his way to the bathroom across the hall.

“That idiot. I was the one who was going to apologize first,” Milo muttered. After all these years, Ezra was still that same little kid.

Before they left, Camila extended another invitation. Ezra could see the guilt behind her eyes. In a way, she felt responsible for Owen’s death. After all, it was her bird that landed at his feet. Maybe Owen would have accepted her offer, but to Ezra, she was just another reminder. As she left, Ezra felt it wasn’t right to leave it like this.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, the words almost catching in his throat. “The test was chaotic. None of us knew what would happen. Everyone was determined to win.”

She turned back, her eyes glistening with tears. “That means a lot. I’ve been wondering if I’m really fit to be a sky-seeker. Failing five times puts those kinds of thoughts in your head.” She sniffled and brushed the freckled bridge of her nose. “And after yesterday, I couldn’t sleep. The horrible things people did to each other. Is that really what a sky-seeker is? I can’t become that. I can’t be that cruel.”

“But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way,” Milo said. “A sky-seeker hunts for the top, not other people’s throats.”

Ezra stared at the ground and shuffled his feet. His mother's words echoed in his mind. We seek the beauty that has yet to be seen. Lifting his head, a realization struck him. Was she even after the top? “Sky-seekers make their own rules. Be the one you wish to be, and others that share your dream will follow.”

Camila whipped the moisture from her face and regained her confident composure. “You know I hope we meet each other again. Maybe once I become a Voyager, you won’t turn down my offer.”

“Not if we become Voyagers first,” Milo retorted.

Camila laughed and turned to rejoin her party. With a wave, she shouted back, “May your journey be blessed by the infinite sky.”

As her voice faded in the distance, Ezra glanced back at the trainee building. The massive entrance sloped down to the much smaller back door they had exited. Rigid stone walls wrapped around the snake-like building, leaving no room to spot Deepburrow. Ezra wished he could glance back at his hometown one more time, but this was a sign to look forward.

Ahead, gray caverns rose in loops that looked like a gigantic drill had been pushed into the ground. The flutes of such a drill provided thin yet sturdy pathways curving towards a glowing mist.

“I guess the only way is up.” A smile danced on Milo’s lips.

He knew it was a bad joke, but Ezra couldn’t help but smile back. “I suppose it is.”

And with that, they took the first steps on their journey to the top.

Halfway up the twisting hollowed-out pillar, the air felt thicker, and moisture clung to their every pore. The mist still hid what lay above, but its ethereal tendrils seemed ready to wrap them in its mystery. Splotches of green appeared on the pathway now and again. A patch of moss growing in a fissure of stone, a bush poking out of the boulder-strewn path, or a twirling vine hanging from a ledge above was more life than Ezra had seen in his entire lifetime. One of the first memories he could recall was his mother taking him to a garden. He had no idea where it was today or how his mother had found it. Plants rarely grew in Deepburrow, and those that did were gnarled ugly things. It was a small garden containing less than two dozen different plants, but that little patch of green always made her happy. So he was happy too. He wondered what sights his mother had seen beyond the mist and the sights his father would never get to see.

“Milo, are you going to miss your sister?”

The silence stood for another moment as rushing wind whistled across the rocky walls. “Of course I will. I already am. Yesterday, I even thought about dragging her to the testing center with me. But that wouldn’t do either of us any good, so I said my goodbyes.” Milo chewed his lip in thought. “It won’t be forever though,” he added. “We’ll return one day.”

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Every sky-seeker had a chance to return to lower layers, but what happens when they pass the eleventh? Ezra had no clue what stopped people from climbing higher, and he wondered if whatever it was would stop them from returning. If he even wanted to return. “Yeah, perhaps I’ll get to see Albert again.”

“That guy from the explosives team?’ A confused look crossed Milo’s face.

“He visited me a few times when I was in the hospital.” The light faded from Ezra’s face. “He probably doesn’t even know Owen’s dead.”

Milo paused and then prodded with another question. “What about your father?”

“I visited a few days before I left.”

“Aaaaand, how’d that go?” Milo was already sure he knew the answer.

Several words had passed between them that day, but only the last ones stuck in Ezra’s mind like an itch he couldn’t scratch. “He told me to be careful.”

“Hey, that’s nice at least,” Milo said in a cheerful tone.

“That’s the problem. He’s never nice. He’s always just apathetic, and the day I decide to leave, he suddenly cares.”

“Do you care about him?”

“I…well I want to,” Ezra stammered. “But he doesn’t make it easy. You know he never came to visit while I was in the hospital.” Ezra pressed his lips together and tightened his jaw to scowl before letting all the tension go. “When Mom was around, he cared about me. She made us stick together. She cared. Until she cared about something other than us.”

“I should’ve never said what I did last night. I’m sorry about that.” Milo took a deep breath and stared at the approaching white mist.

“I’m sorry for…”

Milo cut him off. “Nope. You already apologized this morning. Don’t try and one-up me. We’re even now.”

“Uh, well, thanks, I guess.”

Milo chuckled. “You were never any good at accepting apologies. Were you?” Ezra opened his mouth to utter a retort, but Milo cut in again. “But I accept your acceptance of my apology.” He pointed to the sky. “Look, we’re almost there.”

Before Ezra could dwell on Milo’s words any longer, he gazed at the puffy and shimmering cloud. Out of pure wonder, he stuck his hand in the mist. Chilled air wrapped around his fingers, and droplets of water clung to his skin.

“Watch this,” Milo said. He set his backpack down, crouched, braced himself for a sprint, and then took off with explosive force. Within seconds, he disappeared into the thick fog. Ten seconds, then twenty. Then, an entire minute passed. The sound of wind swirled through the cavity of stone.

“Milo,” Ezra called a tinge of anxiety in his voice.

Suddenly, Milo burst from the thick haze as the cloud’s tendrils retracted to their original form. His brown hair drooped like the hair of a wet dog, and the rest of him was completely damp. Flipping the strands of his hair back, a few specks of water slapped Ezra’s forehead.

“Refreshing,” Milo exclaimed as he took in fresh air. “You should give it a try.”

“I think I’ll pass. You’re soaking wet.” Ezra wiped the water from his forehead and cast judging eyes over Milo’s sopping clothes.

“You’ll have to pass through eventually. So come on, stop being a worrywart.”

“It’s not about me. It’s our equipment.”

Milo tapped his forehead. “It’s times like this you should be glad to have a genius on your team.”

“And who is this genius?” Ezra raised an eyebrow, provoking a response.

Milo shook his head in disappointment. “Why do you think I took my backpack off before running in? Of course, I was thinking about our equipment! And we won’t have to worry about it if you use a special item of yours.”

The realization came to Ezra, and he felt like an idiot. He pulled the Thorin sphere from his pocket. “Now it won’t absorb the whole bag. We have to take everything out and store each item separately.”

“You didn’t tell me about this.”

“I thought the self-proclaimed genius of our group would know.”

Milo glared at him with a sharp stare before accepting the situation. “If you say so,” he shrugged.

Both of them sat down and started unloading their bags. Cooking equipment went in one pile and rations in another. Other items included rope and various traversal equipment, tents, a whetstone, and some backup weapons such as daggers and a foldable quarterstaff.

“I didn’t realize Owen bought so much stuff,” Ezra said, pulling a spatula out of his bag. “He really did have this all planned out.”

“Perhaps this is just his way of keeping the drop oath.”

“Yeah, maybe it is.” Ezra grinned, thinking of Owen watching them from the top. “Alright,” Ezra pushed himself up, “let's get this started.”

He approached the pile of cookware and tapped the Thorin-sphere against the pan on top. The whole pile disappeared, and Ezra stared, wide-eyed, at the empty ground. Quickly, he navigated to his inventory, hoping everything was there. An icon in the top left corner appeared. The picture looked like various pots and pans with kitchen utensils in the background. When he tapped the icon, the label ‘cookware collection’ appeared along with the option to drop, store, and delete.

“What’s the issue?” Milo asked.

“Nothing, I just didn’t realize it could recognize a collection of items.” The icon glowed in Ezra’s eyes as he tried to puzzle out how this was possible.

“Seems like even you don’t know how that thing works.”

“I never claimed I did.”

Milo threw the last item from his backpack into the rations pile. “Let’s finish this up. We need to make it to the second layer before nightfall.”

Ezra nodded and began collecting the rest of the items.

Soon, they were on their way. Before entering the mist, Ezra felt like he should hold his breath, but Milo assured him that wasn’t necessary. As soon as he entered the billowing haze, cold air, and thick waves of moisture washed over him. Only a few paces ahead, the ground was completely obscured. Ezra touched the wall of wet rock to orient himself and began making his way up.

Time seemed to pass differently in the never-ending mist. Only a dim glow signaled what time of day it was, and even that glow felt like a trick played by their eyes. Occasionally, the cloud was so thick he could no longer see Milo. Ezra would call out and within seconds would get a noise back. Each noise was different than the last and seemed to be how Milo was entertaining himself. The humidity had long soaked beneath his clothes and now drenched his skin. Every gust of wind made him shiver. Because he was cold or nervous the breeze would be strong enough to knock him off, Ezra could not choose. He kept his breath steady despite the thick air trying to choke him.

Light continued to fade until Ezra was mentally prepared to use his other four senses to navigate. Not that his sight had been very helpful so far. He called out again and this time got back a high-pitched whistle. A few minutes later, the glow of day became green and then blue. A purple light moved through the cloud until the other two colors returned. The mist was thinning, and Ezra turned to see Milo only a few paces behind him. The unnatural display of light put Ezra on edge. He equipped a sword from the Thorin sphere.

Coming out of the mist was like witnessing dawn at midnight. A brilliant display of lights filled his vision, and Milo audibly gasped behind him. Before them, a forest of fluorescent lights stretched as far as they could see. Trees with massive canopies arched over their heads. Segments of luminous material flowed from their roots and pulsed gently in the leaves. Ferns, bushes, and clustered grasses clutched to the base of each tree, giving off a warm glow that ranged from magenta to dark orange. Vines hung from branches like long lamps guiding the way forward.

A creature, unlike anything Ezra had ever seen, paused on the dirt road. Its black eyes reflected the living land around it. The animal’s ears curled, and the orange and purple spotted fur on its back stood up. Its front legs tensed, and then it shot off into the undergrowth.

The scent of fresh soil and flowers he had long forgotten filled Ezra’s breath. For his ears, the hum of nature's light sang a song more pleasant than the electric sounds Ezra was used to. Like a distant choir, the earnest voices of the forest welcomed the new travelers.

Everything was more vivid than any story he had been told. Upon taking it all in, Ezra only had one thought. Mother, is this the beauty you sought?