Kent

As I plummeted towards the ocean and rocks that were just outside of the cliff, I summoned every ounce of will I possibly could to change.

My body started to grow, lengthening out and stretching. My nose was stretched out too, leaving me with a snout instead of a normal human face. My arms became more like legs and tapered off into claws, as did my legs. Scales popped up all over my body, and eventually I fully shifted into a dragon.

In reality it only took about 3 or so seconds, it just felt WAY longer when your body was changing in such dramatic ways. Brock was now comfortably seated on my back and I was lazily gliding on the wind, a perk of my dragon form, it couldn’t do much else.

As I drifted slowly towards the ocean, Minya and Drake came soaring over the cliff face. Thinking fast I pivoted getting directly under them.

Minya landed with an *umph* and I heard Drake groan from having his momentum so soundly stolen, before getting off of Minya’s back and sitting on mine.

As I floated back towards the nearest land that could be accessed from the ocean, I noticed a cave inside of the cliff wall.

I tried to speak to the passengers on my back.

Hey guys, should we go in that cave? I asked telepathically, surprising both me and everyone on my back, Drake almost fell off before Brock grabbed his shirt.

Minya looked at the cliff wall, soon spotting the cave. “Yeah, let's do it. It’s far better than going back onto the island with that Thing.” She said venomously.

I just floated over, entering it without much fanfare. The cave entrance was just barely wide enough for me to squeeze through, and Brock had to duck to avoid hitting his head.

I settled down on the cold ground before lowering myself so that everyone could get off.

They all climbed off and started to look around.

The cave was pretty large, about 100 feet across in all directions, and had a surprisingly high ceiling. There weren’t any stalactites or stalagmites, but there were the occasional patch of moss and some jutting rocks that could almost be called stalagmites.

I quickly shifted back and looked around, shushing them before looking up straining to hear if the Night-Mare was gone. They quickly understood and joined me, listening as well.

I could hear the faint patter of footsteps and a dark laugh. “Well, it looks like the road ends here.” The demon above us said to himself, “A shame, I was just starting to have fun. Time to go find the others.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

I heard the pattering of footsteps trail off until I couldn’t hear anything. I waited for a few more minutes before it felt safe to talk again. “He’s gone.” I told them softly.

“And he’s hunting the others.” Minya added.

Drake sat down heavily, head in his hands. “How could everything go so wrong?” he asked the air around him. “How could we not see what he really was? Why is he so powerful? We should be closer to his level of power.” He said, staring at the floor.

Brock shook his head. “He is almost double our level. The fact that we could even escape him is a feat worthy of praise, we didn’t fail, we will come back stronger than ever.” He told Drake firmly. “He will not stop us until our hearts no longer beat.”

At that, he got funny looks. “That's a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I asked him, a slight smirk playing across my face.

Brock snorted. “Death is only temporary, glory is infinite.” He said sagely.

Minya looked at him, smiling softly. “When did you become so wise?” She asked him.

Brock smiled. “When I met Plikt, Plikt is a smart dude. He knows so much random stuff that just makes sense. You know?” Brock said, grinning stupidly.

“No, I don’t.” Minya said, sighing. “Why do I even bother with you? Sometimes it feels like you are smart and competent, other times you are dumb and utterly useless.” She tells him.

“She’s right, you do change between dumb brute and smart army soldier.” Drake adds, grinning mischievously.

I decided to bail Brock out before he started to get ganged up on. “Okay guys, stop bullying Brock, let’s try to figure out how to get out of our current situation.” I tell them to look around the room and we all spread out looking for anything of importance.

Just as I thought that it was just a normal cave, Minya called out. “Hey guys! I think I found something!” She said excitedly, near the back of the cave.

We all rushed over and found a keyhole in the rock face. “What is it?” Brock asked, brow furrowed.

Drake looked at it. “I think it’s a keyhole, is there a key around here?” He asked, looking at all of us. Me and Minya each shook our heads, but Brock thought for a second before also shaking his head. “I only found this weird shaped wood.” He said holding up a piece of wood that looks almost exactly like a key.

Minya just smacked her forehead dramatically. “Brock, this is why we were making fun of you. You are more oblivious than a worm who lives under a dump.” She told him.

Brock looked confused. “What does that mean?” He asked her.

I was the one to respond. “It means that you should get some brain cells in that thick skull of yours.” I told him to walk over to the wall and gestured for him to give me the key.

He looked sad, but still gave me the key.

I took it and tried to put it into the wall. It was a perfect fit.

I turned the key and the stones rattled before a loud clunk and the wall shifted.

It didn’t move per say. It just seemed to shake and I heard a grinding noise. When it all died down however, the wall was still there.

“Huh, I thought that the wall would open up into another room.” I confessed in confusion.

“It is,” Drake said. “Look at the wall, it moved back a couple of inches, I think we just have to find more slots, that is what the key did, it is like a trial of some sort.” He told us all, glancing around to see what had changed.

There was a gaping hole in the middle of the room now, and stairs were curving along its sides.

Welcome a voice boomed out from the stairwell, to the Trial of the Gods.