Micro rubbed his head and looked up to see the five shocked faces of Kel’s comrades looking down at him. Den’s was particularly alarming.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Den demanded.

“Where is the young master?”

“How were you able to leave before Kel?” Tae shouted at Micro, her voice unrestrained and tears streaming down the sides of her face.

“Something is different about the boy…” Another man commented, noting the aura pouring out of Micro.

“Tell me where Kel is, now!” Tae reached out and grabbed Micro by the shoulders. After an audible crack was heard from one of his shoulders, she released him, but her glare remained intense.

“Hmm…” Micro frowned, and rose to a sitting position.

“The turtle said I passed, so I couldn’t stay…”

“What of Kel?!” Tae’s voice trembled.

“The turtle said he would probably fail.” Micro replied, his frown deepening.

“It can’t be…” Den fell backward against the wall of the tunnel, his hand rising to his heart.

“No…” The rest of the cultivators became like puppets with cut strings, limply falling back in despair, cries of sorrow filling the cave.

All but Tae.

“You…” She seethed.

“You said he would probably fail… Correct?”

“Yes, that’s what the turtle said.” Micro confirmed, nodding solemnly.

“Then, he’s still alive, right?” Her reddened eyes narrowed.

“He is.” Micro replied as he stood up and stretched out his sore shoulder.

“Kel…” Tae’s face contorted as she looked spitefully at the glowing dungeon gate, its light still illuminating every crevice and corner of the tunnel, and casting dark shadows on the mourning faces of the cultivators.

Suddenly, Micro turned to walk back to the gate, clearly about to enter it. This time however, Tae and Den were both quick enough to grab him by the arms.

“What are you doing, boy?!” Den shouted.

“You would court death not once, but twice in a single hour? I don’t know what trick of fate brought you luck enough to escape, but even we dare not enter!”

“The ancient keeper of the Fire Turtle Dungeon may have spared you once out of pity.” Tae added, her grip tightening around Micro’s arm.

“But you would not be so lucky a second time.”

“I didn’t escape.” Micro corrected her.

“He kicked me out after I passed his test.”

“Lies!” Den shouted, but when he looked to Tae for confirmation, he saw her face pale with shock.

“He’s lying, isn’t he? There’s no way he-”

“It’s the truth…” She whispered.

“But how…”

“I pushed a rock down a hallway.” Micro slipped out of their grip after the shock of his announcement had settled in.

“It took a long time, but it was simple enough… I hope all dungeons are like that, actually. It was-”

“How long…?” The other woman asked in distaste.

“Hmm…” Micro’s eyes darkened slightly as he recalled the trial.

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean?” the woman snapped.

“A day? A year? More?”

“A lot more…” Micro frowned.

“This doesn’t make sense, I’m going in.” Tae said as she walked past Micro to the gate.

Den and the others tried to catch her, but she was gone. Micro was about to walk in after her, but Den grabbed him again and spoke through his tears.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“They’re gone, boy…” he sobbed.

“Nobody without a Turtle Art Card can leave the dungeon… Tae hasn’t received the same training as Kel… If he can’t do it… I don’t know how you escaped, but we can’t lose ourselves in grief… we…”

Micro began to feel awkward as the man’s tears fell to his arm, but he remained determined to leave.

“It’s fine, I have one here.” Micro declared as he held up the Turtle Art card for everyone to see.

“And my passenger is still in there.”

“The creature he had in his pocket…?” A woman asked.

“Was it such a valuable pet…?” Another man asked.

“But he has the card of the heir…” Den mumbled, loosening his grip at the sight of the card.

Micro breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped back through the portal. The weightlessness he experienced while being transported from the cave to the dungeon’s entrance was more enjoyable the second time, and he was ready for the ground this time. As the portal closed behind him, the first thing he noticed was Tae, running down the hall to where the great Turtle was located.

He followed after her, once again admiring the even surfaces he was walking on, and once again found himself standing before the giant, stone-like creature.

He saw Blue in the same place she’d been when he left, still snoring peacefully.

“Kel… Wake up…!” Tae cried, kneeling beside the motionless Kel.

“You trained so long for this, young master! Don’t give up!”

Kel’s breathing was shallow and his face was cold, but he was still alive as far as Micro could tell. Micro waved to the giant turtle as before, and this time it immediately took note of him.

“Excuse me!” Micro called out.

“I don’t want to leave them here.”

“Young one…” The turtle growled.

“This is a place where fate manifests… A place where cultivators transcend their weaknesses… You may not come and go as you wish…”

Micro frowned and tried to pick up Blue, but a spark appeared between her body and his hand that sent him flying a fair distance across the room. He rolled to a stop, then sat up and looked back at the turtle, not sure what to say.

“Sacred guardian!” Tae suddenly cried out, her aura exploding out of her.

“Let me trade my life for his! I’ll take his test!”

“You came here with resolve…” The turtle turned its head slowly to face Tae.

“You will face a trial.”

“Thank you, I will-”

“You will face your own trial.” The turtle clarified, leaving Tae speechless.

“The young man before you came with the same resolve… Do not dishonour him with such words…”

“But- But-” Tae stuttered.

“That boy… You let him go, didn’t you?!”

To her desperate pleas, the turtle just shook his head.

“That child surpassed the limits of the test itself…”

“You must have given him an easier test!” Tae shouted furiously, directing a rafeul aura toward the turtle.

“He said he just had to move a stone! Show Kel the same mercy!”

“The boy’s trial…” The turtle patiently replied.

“I tested his resolve…”

It looked over to Micro, its eyes glowing more than before.

“However…” It growled intensely.

“His was a test of diligence, a close friend of patience… He was meant to accept the passage of time and focus only on his destination…”

“So how long did it take him?” Tae snapped back.

“He passed the test quickly…” The turtle growled.

“However… The overseer of his test fell into a deep sleep… atop of the very rock the boy was moving…”

“But I never reached the destination.” Micro interjected, confused to hear he’d passed the test much quicker than he realized.

“Enough… Join him…” The turtle’s eyes glowed, and Tae collapsed to the floor.

“Oh, so she has to push a rock now?” Micro asked the turtle.

“You hold the key required to leave this place…” The turtle grumbled.

“Your will cannot be measured by this dungeon… Why have you returned…?”

“I came back for them.” Micro pointed at the pixie and the two cultivators.

“Didn’t you say Blue would be fine?”

“The old one is…” The turtle blinked for the first time since Micro had first met it.

“She is resting…”

“I see…” Micro shrugged.

“And Kel? And what about Tae?”

“They will fail… Despite their resolve…” The turtle replied coldly.

“They walk the path of the cultivator… Their fate is power… or death…”

“I can’t leave them.” Micro argued again.

“Your fate is not theirs…”

“Let me help them push the rock, then!”

The turtle paused for a while and looked intently at Micro, then nodded its giant head.

“I see…” Its voice almost sounded disappointed.

“As consolation for rewarding you insufficiently in your own trial… You may share their fate… Join them in their trial… if you so choose…”

As the turtle lamented Micro’s decision, the familiar sensation of falling into another world overcame Micro. He drifted through a dreamlike world of swirling shapes and colours until a new world began to form around him. Sand appeared beneath his feet, grain by grain, extending endlessly in every destination. Clouds of sand whipped by him as the world settled into existence.

When the dust and sand settled, he noticed a shimmering blue horizon to his right, along with the silhouettes of two familiar people.

He walked quickly over to join them near the water, and noticed the hot sun on his skin for the first time. It was uncomfortable at first, but relaxing after he got used to it.

“Hello, there!” Micro greeted Kel and Tae from a distance.

However, no greetings were returned. As he approached the pair of cultivators, he realized they were kneeling by an endless, beautiful blue ocean, free of waves or any imperfection at all, its surface like a mirror that reflected the cloudless sky. Beside them was a small turtle, resting peacefully on a pile of sand.

“The old man always loved the beach!” Micro continued as he came upon them.

“I didn’t like the salty air though, personally…”

“Impossible…” Kel suddenly whimpered.

“It’s impossible…”

“It’s okay…” Tae comforted him, her own face filled with sadness and resignation.

“I’m here… We’ll be together… At the end…”