Miko:

The Aeternae shifted out of the way of Maleki’s strike, which he used to reposition so that I was in his peripheral view. “Miko! Are you okay?”

“I’m alive, just burnt. There are pressure plates in the braziers, but I chose the wrong one.” I yelled.

He yelled back in a demanding tone, “No! Don’t hurt yourself. I just need a moment to beat this thing, and then I will find the right one.”

The Aeternae acted while Maleki was distracted, and he was barely able to bring the shaft of his weapon to catch the bite it lunged with. Saliva dripped from its mouth, and Maleki pushed his palms in alternate directions to spin the neck of the beast. It folded onto the ground from the maneuver and unleashed its tight grip on his weapon, shaking off the failed assault in frustration. My brother was getting lucky and starting to look increasingly more tired from the effort.

I had to try again. What else can put out a fire? Of all the depicted elements left, air was the next best choice. We need air to breathe, and cold or fast winds can extinguish a forest fire on their own. I got to my feet with a grunt, now wielding a non-functional leg and a burnt one. My hand gripped the side of my leg as I pushed through the next platform to get to the one that showed the man surrounded by winds. My eyelids shut, and a tear rolled down my cheek, knowing what was coming next. Again, I gathered what was left in me and isolated all my weight into my previously good leg. The searing began instantly, covering my leg as it traveled down to the pressure plate. When it settled at the bottom, I waited for the click as the same spot in my leg burned even further into a second-degree burn. I laid back on the platform after pulling my leg up and slammed my fists against the stone floor in pain. An inescapable pain, one you could not run from. I instinctually clawed my fingernails into my thigh beneath where I was burned to distract myself from the spot that hurt — a failed trick.

Ten seconds passed, and a high-pitched whistle sounded out as the fire intensified again. A new visible blue hue could be seen on the rim of the spikes of flame. I failed again. With all this reading and dedication to knowledge, I couldn’t even figure out this puzzle. I have to earn this! I can’t let Maleki do this alone. Damn! My leg burns ferociously, unlike any pain I have ever felt. I just want to stay down and give up.

Maleki doesn’t deserve an end like this, though. Think, you damned idiot! What’s different in this forsaken room? All of the murals show people in their natural environment with what seems like elements of some kind. One of the murals didn’t show an element; it was just a man with his hands comfortably behind his back. That mural must purposefully be missing the element because it would be redundant; his element is Agni!

I just have to get over to his platform, but there’s one between us. The line of flames covering the floor and sectioning off the stone plates had risen higher, almost entirely blocking Maleki and the Aeternae from view, except for their heads. I tackled through the first fire in my way, as whatever hair might have existed on my arm being burnt into black char. I itched at my skin from the searing pain — one more to go. I hobbled quickly and jumped as high as possible in this lame state, catching the fire mostly with my bum leg. This felt right. Accept the fire. “There is power in expectations.” Nomen had given us the hint already. The other elements lie, but fire burns expectedly. Water can boil and drown you, but we need it to drink. The ground shakes, shifts, and crushes, and we comfortably build upon it. Air can be hot and cold or carry you away in a tornado, yet we need it to breathe. But fire — fire burns. Heat and flames are a constant state, never changing. We cook our food and warm our homes with it because fire is predictable, like the cruelness of the beast.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Plunging my leg into the fiery pit, I felt the plate, the heat, and all the sweet things that go with it. Another scream belted out of me as the last bit of air escaped my lungs. The pressure plate clicked, and I dragged myself forward with my good arm, scraping against the grooves in the floor to find a place to pull. My eyes blinked, and the world started to fade. Blackness encompassed me, and I began to pass out.

“Miko!” My brother yelled passionately through the silence of that dark place I was in. “You did it!”

I begged the world to let me back in, and my eyes opened to the room shifting and shaking. The plates collided together, and the fire in the room leveled out to just a level low enough to provide light. The beast hissed, finding the temperature change not suiting. I got to my feet and began to rummage through my bag, my vision still cloudy and my head pounding from fighting the loss of consciousness. Found it!

The beast was still interested in a meal, or perhaps just the fun of the kill, and pushed Maleki with two swift attacks with its claws and then a strong chomp with its long canines. Maleki stepped back, avoiding the first strike, then met the Aeternae’s left claws with his scythe, cutting the beast firmly. His blade was out to the side, unable to be brought back in with the timing of the beast’s third attack; he instead let his left hand carry the full weight of the scythe, which allowed it to fall when his right hand was removed. His palm and fingers folded into a fist, and he made an unexpected move. His body lunged at the enemy, and his fist came out wide, collapsing into the Aeternae’s eyesocket and stunning the foul creature. The distance had been closed, and despite the shock, the Aeternae was inches away from Maleki and dragged its horn down against his body, cutting his chest and upper bicep.

I stood tall and pulled my good arm out behind me as far as possible without locking my elbow. With a swift rising movement of my arm, arcing down from a high position, I spun and threw the weapon Grandfather gave to me at the start of this whole journey. Resistance and air ignored this circular disc, and despite my lack of strength, it moved through the air quickly. The disc found a target in the Aeternae’s ribcage. Bellowing out from the pain as blood poured out its side and from the culminated injuries where Maleki’s scythe cut it open. Beastly eyes stared back at me as the neck of the Aeternae swiveled and angled to look at me directly. Before it could move, Maleki stood tall throughout the previous strike against him and pulled with all his might upwards against the Aeternae. A second later, the bulk of the horn slid off the creature and hit the ground with a thud. The beast looked down, recognizing what had been done, and stunned with rage. Before it could act, Maleki’s shoulders had reached their maximum extended height, and the scythe had hit the end of the swing. Maleki’s wrists turned ever so slightly, and then the force of his shoulders and knees buckling brought the snath and scythe right over his opponent’s neck. An unclean cut, proof of his uncertainty and inexperience with the scythe as a weapon. The Aeternae panted and huffed from the mortal wound. It limped back to its chamber, and I watched with sadness. I participated in the beast’s death, but Maleki bore the weight of this earned kill. One he had not walked away from unharmed. I walked over to embrace him, and two thuds could be heard. The first was the beast’s as it fell lifeless, and the second was my brother’s as his knees hit the ground, his hands rested in his lap.

My pace quickened, ignoring the injuries I had sustained. I fell close to him, pulling his neck into my shoulder. “You’re bleeding badly, Maleki.” Warm blood trickled from his chest and back, covering my hands and clothes. Footsteps entered the chamber, and I was too tired to look at their creator. In my heart, I knew they were Nomen’s, which my ears confirmed hearing the unique softness of his steps.

“I will retrieve the bandages from your bag and do the rest. You may relax.” Nomen said in that soothing voice.

I did not argue, nor did I move. Instead, I listened for my brother’s breaths, feeling them shorten along with his heart rate.