When Nathan reached the top, he immediately noticed that two group members had disappeared.

“Mara? Chad?” He turned in a circle.

Emi and Bjorn glanced around.

“It’s just us,” Emi said.

Nathan looked back at the stairs and saw that they’d disappeared. He tapped his hand against the stone.

“I’m getting real tired of this place,” Nathan said.

“There’s nothing to do about it,” Bjorn said. “Trust our allies to take care of themselves. Let’s take stock of our own situation.”

Nathan grunted in an affirmative and stared around himself.

They were in a wide-open room. Up ahead, Nathan could see blocks and doors with gears and pulleys. But right in front of them, before they could get to any of that, was a massive, wide-open chasm.

“Are we gonna have to jump that?” Nathan said. “I hope not.”

Emi walked over to a pole that was sticking out of the ground.

She frowned. “It’s a Bridger. I’ve seen this before—but it looks like it doesn’t have a fuel source.”

“A Bridger?”

“An artificial magic bridge.” She held her hands over the pole. “Hold on, I can fix this.”

Her hands glowed and a flickering translucent bridge appeared over the massive chasm. She took her hands off and nodded.

Nathan looked at her, then back at the bridge. “Is this safe?”

“It should hold up…” she trailed off. “Actually, have Bjorn go first.”

“Why?” Bjorn said.

“No reason.”

“…if it’s all the same to you, I think Nathan and I should go together.”

“Oh, I’m sure that isn’t necessary.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and walked straight across the bridge. He turned around and glared pointedly at the two. Emi sighed and followed behind while Bjorn waited till she was at the end of the bridge.

The bridge flickered.

And then it disappeared.

Bjorn jumped forward, hands outstretched for the ledge. Nathan reached his own hand out and grabbed Bjorn. With a single twitch of his legs, Nathan pulled back as hard as he could, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a messy heap.

Nathan’s heart beat in his chest. “That was way too close.”

Bjorn pushed himself up. “Yes. Too close.”

He glared at Emi.

“It’s lucky that Nathan managed to catch you,” Emi said.

Bjorn scoffed and stood to his feet. He marched ahead. Nathan stared at Emi.

Did she actually try to…?

“What is it?” Emi said.

“Nothing.”

A door sealed the way ahead. Connected to the door was a wire linked to an odd balance scale. One side of the balance had a metal block and the other side was a platform with ropes, the whole thing held together with dozens of complex pulleys.

Bjorn approached it slowly. “What is this?”

“Another test,” Emi said. “And I think I know what it is.”

Nathan turned toward her. “And what would that be?”

“I need to stand underneath the metal block,” she said. “And pump it full of magic to make it heavier.”

Nathan grimaced. “How do you know that you have to be underneath it?”

“I’ve seen this before. It’s an ancient exercise used among elf mages—banned, actually. I’m not sure how it’s here… but that’s what it is.”

Nathan stared at the pulleys.

“Alright, explain how this is going to go.”

“I’ll start with a light amount of magic. It’ll tell me a general idea of how much weight the counterbalance needs, I’ll tell you how much weight is needed, and then I’ll slowly increase the amount of magic I’m putting into the weight. This’ll help us get closer and closer to the true balance.”

“What happens if we mess up?” Nathan glanced at the massive weight.

“If it’s too low or too high when I have that much mana going into it, then I get crushed.” She pursed her lips. “Don’t let that happen, please.”

She took up position underneath the weight and held her hand up. The weight turned a bright white and started to fall toward her slowly.

“It needs a lot more weight,” she said.

Nathan walked over to the platform and put three steel cubes onto it. Bjorn walked up and dropped three more.

The weight glowed brighter and became heavier, dropping just above her head.

“Too much, too much!” she said.

Nathan scrambled forward, grabbed two of the steel boxes, and tossed them off the platform. The weight stabilized.

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Emi stared up at the weight, her face pale. She blinked her eyes together and took a deep breath, then faced toward Nathan and nodded.

“I’m going now,” she said. “We’re close, I can feel it.”

The weight flashed and grew brighter. It lowered toward Emi.

“Too little weight, one more cube,” she said.

Nathan reached out for a cube and put it on… right as Bjorn put on another.

The weight sailed toward Emi’s head. Nathan jumped into the air and knocked a cube off the platform. The weight stopped just short of hitting Emi’s face and creating the world’s thinnest elf.

She stared up at it, eyes twitching. Her head tilted mechanically toward Bjorn.

He didn’t make a single facial expression. Nathan stared between the two of them.

This is ridiculous.

A moment later, the door clicked open. Emi slipped away from underneath the weight with a quick movement of her feet. She glared at Bjorn.

“You tried to kill me.”

“You did, as well.”

Nathan’s eyes flickered between the two of them. “Why on earth would you two do that?”

“I won’t get an opportunity to kill him once we’re separated,” Emi said. “This is my only chance.”

“I’m simply retaliating,” Bjorn said.

Nathan grimaced. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but randomly murdering your teammates is a bad thing.”

“We’re not teammates,” Emi said. “We put it aside, but I think that it’s about time we finish that battle we had.”

Bjorn grunted. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Emi’s staff appeared in her hand from her inventory. Bjorn pulled out his war hammer and gripped it with both hands.

A droplet of sweat rolled down Nathan’s back.

Shit. I shouldn’t have ignored this!

“Both of you stop right now,” he said.

“Why?” Bjorn said.

Emi’s staff lit up with a glow. “This is inevitable. I wish I could listen to you, Nathan. But this fight is long overdue—“

“The Harrowed Hand!”

Both of them stopped.

“I need your help,” Nathan said. “Both of you. If we want them deleted from the world, I need both of you to help me. Please, can you at least put it aside until we kill Vince?”

Emi’s eyes flickered between Bjorn and Nathan. Bjorn’s jaw clenched.

Nathan’s hands wrapped into a fist. If they didn’t want to settle their differences peacefully, he’d make sure neither of them would be killed, at least.

Finally, Emi sighed and put away her staff. Bjorn clicked his tongue and threw his war hammer back into this inventory.

“Thank you,” Nathan said. “And please, no more killing each other. I’m asking you, sincerely.”

“For now,” Emi said.

Bjorn nodded. “For now.”

Nathan nearly slumped over from relief.

They continued walking up to the last section. It was a maze of platforms and bridges over an endless yawning abyss. Waiting for them in the distance was the stairs.

Nothing too difficult.

Right as Nathan was about to step forward, something caught his eye. A black flicker. He gasped, and darkness passed through his vision. It disappeared in a flash, he stumbled backward and pawed at his eyes. In a few seconds, the disorientation disappeared. It was like nothing had happened.

“What was that?” he said.

“I-I can’t see!” Emi said. “Nathan, I can’t see!”

“Calm yourself.”

Everyone turned silent at Bjorn’s statement.

“Just as the last test was an exercise from your homeland,” Bjorn said. “This final one is from mine. We must make it to the end relying on the directions of whoever can see. If we make it to the end, our vision will be restored.”

Nathan blinked. “I can still see.”

“You will have to direct us where to go, Nathan,” Bjorn said. “Our lives are in your hands.”

Nathan’s fingers twitched. “No pressure.”

He took a deep breath, scanning the maze ahead. Had it gotten more complex since last time?

He shook his head. He had to focus.

“Nathan,” Emi said. “I trust you, but please don’t let me fall into the giant pit.”

“You won’t fall,” Nathan said.

“If I fall, it’s because the elf pushed me.”

“I already said I wouldn’t do that anymore!” Emi said.

“Neither of you are falling!” Nathan took a deep breath. “Now come on, grab onto each other or something so you don’t wander off.”

Bjorn’s massive green hand found itself on Emi’s shoulders. She yelped.

“Watch it!” she said. “You’re going to crush my spine!”

“Man up.”

“I’m a woman!”

Nathan sucked in a breath through his teeth and released it out through his nose.

Why did I say I would miss them again?

He rubbed his temples. “Bjorn, please take one step. Emi, take three steps. We’ll start slow.”

They awkwardly shuffled together across a thin platform for a few seconds.

“A-are you sure this is the right way?” Emi said.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Nathan said.

As they inched across the walkway, Nathan caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. Shadows, similar to the ones that stole his friends’s eyesight. One shadow passed through a platform and the platform disappeared with a flicker.

“Don’t panic,” Nathan said. “But some of the floor may disappear under your feet.”

“Disappear!?” Emi said.

The first shadow dive-bombed toward Bjorn’s side.

“Take a step, Bjorn!”

Bjorn moved. A moment later, the shadow passed through the stone he’d been standing on and it vanished from view.

“Can someone explain what’s happening!?” Emi shouted.

Nathan’s hand shook for a split second before he forced them to stop.

No time to panic.

“They’re hitting the platforms,” Nathan said. “We need to move. Now!”

They sped off in a jog, all three of them. Their footsteps clattered against the stone. Behind them, the shadows continued picking away at the stone. It was getting closer and closer with each step.

But up ahead, there was a glowing section of floor.

Safe zone?

“Keep moving!” Nathan said. “I think we’re almost in the clear!”

Emi’s foot slipped.

Before she could fall, Nathan grabbed her thin frame and put her in his arms with a quick motion.

“N-Nathan!” she squeaked. “What are you doing?”

“This is so much easier,” he said. “Just hold on!”

The shadow dived right for Nathan’s foot—

He jumped right into the glowing section of the floor. The shadow hissed and flew backward, seemingly unable to enter the glowing section of stone.

Nathan breathed deeply.

“Nathan… can you let me go?” Emi said.

Oh, he was still holding onto her. He unwrapped his arms.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No, it’s fine,” she said.

Bjorn raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting.

“So we’re safe here?” Emi said. “We reached the end?”

“We’re more halfway through, I’d say,” Nathan said.

“Oh.”

Nathan squinted his eyes as he looked up ahead. “We’ll have to do some jumps, it looks like.”

“Oh.”

“If you want, I can just carry you there?” he said.

Emi flushed a bright red. “I… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad—“

“Me as well,” Bjorn said.

“That’s a good idea! I bet my strength’s high enough to pull that off!”

Emi’s head drooped. “Oh…”

After some finagling and positioning, Nathan had Emi underneath one of his arms while he gave Bjorn a piggyback ride.

Nathan cracked his neck to the left. “Should’ve just done this from the start.”

“We look utterly ridiculous,” Bjorn said.

Emi’s body slumped in Nathan’s hold. “I hate everything about this.”

Nathan took a deep breath…

Then ran out of the safe zone.

Immediately, he heard the shadows rushing toward the stone slab he was on. He clenched his thighs and jumped into the air.

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods!” Emi said.

Nathan fell, the impact sending a jolt on his spine. “This is probably terrible for my back.”

“I think we have bigger concerns than your back,” Bjorn said.

Nathan tilted his body and looked back. The shadows were coming around for another attack.

Nathan broke off into a spring. The staircase wasn’t too far. He just had to reach the end. That was all he had to do. Reach the end.

He jumped again. Behind him, the slab disappeared.

Almost there.

A shadow went for the slab he was about to jump to. Another one soared toward the slab he was on.

He hurried his footsteps and pushed every single bit of Strength he had into his legs. He jumped over every single platform, soaring through the air… before he crashed into the staircase.

“Ow!”

“Damn it!”

They tumbled over the steps. Nathan felt the sharp edges dig into his sides. Behind him, the shadows tried unsuccessfully to get to them—but they were blocked by an invisible barrier.

“I can see!” Emi stood up and twirled around. “I can see again!”

Bjorn blinked his eyes together. “That was just as awful as the last time.”

“Last time?” Nathan asked.

“I told you, this is a training regimen from my homeland.”

“That’s one hell of a training regimen.”

“It was designed for the elites of our army, of which I was one.”

Emi’s eyes flickered with an emotion Nathan couldn’t detect before she looked up at the stairs.

“Let’s head up. One final floor.”

Nathan stared upward.

“One final floor. Time to get the Pandora.”