“Are you sure that I can have this? It seems so expensive,” Kai said as he put on the armour he received from Elara.

“If you’re so worried about how much it costs, you can pay me back after we’ve won the game,” she replied, tightening one of the leather straps.

The past few days, they had trained tirelessly. Kai could still feel the muscle aches in his body. A knock came on the door, and it opened. It was one of the arena servants. It was time for them to leave and for the first trial to start.

They followed behind the servant, their nerves almost palpable. As they neared the arena entrance, they started to hear the murmuring sound of the cheering crowd. They stood in front of the closed door.

“When the door opens, the first trial starts. I wish you luck,” the servant said before leaving.

Kai took a deep breath. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Elara said, her voice barely confident.

The door swung open, and they were hit by the cheer from the audience.

“Welcome, Challengers! To your first trial, and hopefully one of many to come,” the announcer shouted across the arena, his voice enhanced by Aetherbinding.

“And also welcome, honoured spectators and esteemed guests, to the opening of the Eternal Game’s Trial of Strength!” The crowd erupted in cheers. Smiling, the announcer continued, “This trial, designed to test the limits of your body, will be your first step on the path to glory and ascension.”

The announcer paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in. “Contestants, your journey begins with the first ring, the Shifting Maze—a labyrinth of shifting walls. These walls will move and change positions unpredictably and, if you do not move quickly, will crush you in their path,” he said, pointing towards the large stone walls in front of them.

“In the second ring, you must traverse the Gravity Wells. In these zones, gravity itself will be your weakness. Some areas will pull you down with tremendous force, while others will render you almost weightless.

“Next, you will confront the third ring, the Illusionary Cliffs. You will have to climb up the cliffs, which will play tricks on your mind, creating false paths and deceptive visions.

“Should you survive, you will come upon the fourth ring, the Lightning Fields. This zone is fraught with bolts of lightning that strike at random intervals. You must find the safe zones and navigate through the field.

“Finally, you will be in the last ring, fighting against your fellow contestants. Only 30 groups may advance to the next trial.” The announcer’s eyes swept over the contestants.

“Contestants, prepare yourselves! The Trial of Strength begins now. May the divine favour be upon you, and the strongest prevail!” With a grand gesture, the announcer signalled the start of the trial. A loud horn blared, and the contestants surged forward.

Kai and Elara ran forward as the maze opened for them to enter. They kept running through the long corridor of the maze until a wall suddenly shot out from the side. Kai grabbed Elara to stop her from running too far forward, barely stopping her from being crushed.

Two openings appeared at their sides, and they glanced at each other and went left. It led to a dead end. The walls started closing in on them. They were trapped. Kicking against the wall, hoping it would open, but nothing happened as the wall seemed to close on them.

Kai looked up. The walls were high, but they might reach the top with Elara’s abilities. “Elara, can you scale the wall?” he said, pointing upwards.

“I think I could. Why?”

“Throw me up, will you?” Kai said. Elara immediately understood what he meant. She crouched down, cupping her hands. The walls kept closing in, and their time was running short. Kai jumped onto Elara’s hand, and she threw him up with the help of her Aetherbinding abilities.

Kai shot upwards and barely got his hands on the edge of the wall. He mantled over the edge and looked down. “Quickly, get up, Elara.”

Flames gathered at Elara’s feet as the walls started to close in on her.

“You have to jump now!” Kai shouted, and before the wall could crush her, she shot up, using the wall as extra leverage to scale the distance. The wall closed in on the empty space with a loud bang.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

They were now on top of the maze as the walls below them moved irregularly. Kai looked around to see how the other contestants were doing. He saw a few other contestants also climbing on top of the maze.

That’s when he heard a blood-curdling scream. One of the contestants had got his leg stuck between two walls; it was being crushed to dust. “What are you standing around for? We have to move!” Elara shouted, snapping Kai out of his trance.

Quickly, they moved, keeping their balance above the moving walls, trying not to fall down. “I think I see a path, Elara. The walls move in a pattern. Follow close behind.” Elara moved aside, and Kai ran forward.

He jumped, turned left, jumped again, and turned right. He kept following the patterns he saw. Wall from the right, wall from the left, empty space. He navigated, turning around to check if Elara was still following behind.

“Kai, duck!” Elara shouted and immediately did as instructed, as a rock flew over his head. He looked at where it had come from. Other contestants had flung a rock at him with their Aetherbinding.

“I thought we could only fight in the final ring?” he said aloud, running towards the next ring.

They continued navigating the maze from above, avoiding the unpredictable movements of the walls below. As they neared the edge of the labyrinth, they spotted the entrance to the next ring. Kai and Elara exchanged glances and jumped down from the maze’s top, landing at the entrance to the second challenge.

The second ring was a vast open area with floating platforms and heavy steps. Elara took the lead as they jumped towards the first platform. As they landed, their weight immediately became crushing, and they could barely move.

But when they took their second step, their weight suddenly shifted, and they were weightless. Their movements became awkward as the constant switching of pressure on their bodies made them sick.

With a laboured voice, Elara said, “Maybe... we can use the weightless areas... to launch ourselves to the next platform.”

Kai nodded, too tired to respond. As they found themselves in a weightless well, they jumped upwards to the next platform until they got pulled down again by the immense force of the next platform.

They encountered another pair of contestants in the middle of the gravity wells. They had also figured out how to use the fluctuating gravity to their advantage, moving quickly through the zone.

“Let’s try to avoid them,” Kai said with a strained voice.

But it was too late; the other contestants had spotted them and were keen on taking out their competition. “We can’t avoid them now. Be ready for a fight,” Elara announced.

The gravity shifted again, making the platform they were on almost weightless. The other contestants used this to their advantage, launching themselves into the air with incredible speed. Kai and Elara braced themselves.

One of the opponents conjured a gust of wind, trying to knock Kai off balance. Kai anticipated the move and used the momentum to leap to another platform, narrowly avoiding a fall.

Elara engaged the other contestant in close combat, her flames clashing with the opponent’s water-based Aetherbinding. The intense elemental clash lit up the Gravity Wells, drawing the audience’s attention.

Kai spotted an opportunity. “Elara, push him towards the edge!” he shouted. Elara understood instantly, increasing the intensity of her attacks and driving the opponent back. With a final, powerful flame strike, Elara forced the contestant off the platform. They fell, caught in a gravity well that pulled them down heavily, disqualifying them from the trial.

The other contestant, seeing their partner defeated, hesitated. Kai seized the moment, using a feint to throw off their balance. Elara quickly followed up with a decisive strike, kicking the second opponent off the platform.

Breathing heavily under the gravity, Kai said, “Let’s keep moving.” They navigated through the rest of the gravity wells, using their combined skills to avoid the remaining traps.

They finally reached the entrance to the Illusionary Cliffs. The cliffs loomed largely above them, shrouded in a strange mist. Elara looked at the wall, trying to find the best parts to hold on to.

Kai took a deep breath. “This is going to be tricky,” he said, squinting at the cliffs.

Elara nodded as she looked up at the cliffs. “Let’s do this.”

They began to climb, carefully testing each handhold and foothold to ensure it was real. They did this by knocking on the hold before using it, ensuring it was corporeal. But the fake holds weren’t the only tricky thing about the cliffs.

As they climbed, the cliffs seemed to shimmer and shift before their eyes. The vertical cliff would change into an overhang, and gaps would appear where there weren’t any. When they were halfway up the cliff, they encountered another group of contestants. They were struggling with the illusions, unable to find a clear path.

Near the top of the cliffs, Kai noticed a particularly deceptive illusion. It was a real handhold. But when Kai knocked on it, he heard a hollow sound, almost like the rock was loose. He looked around for a different path and pointed towards a narrow ledge on the side. “We should go through there instead.”

They moved towards the ledge, carefully navigating it and avoiding any illusionary holds. Almost at the top, they stopped when they heard a commotion below. The contestants they had passed before had found the correct route and were rapidly ascending the cliffs.

“We need to move faster,” Elara urged.

Quickly, they moved forward, their hands and feet swiftly moving over the rock face. The summit was in sight, but the contestants were gaining on them. As they reached the final stretch, a sudden gust of wind, conjured by the pursuing contestant, threatened to knock them off.

Elara created a shield of flames to block the wind. “Keep going!” she shouted to Kai.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he neared the top of the cliff. He mantled over the top and looked down to help Elara. He held out his hand just as Elara reached for it, but the opponents launched an attack.

A burst of water struck Elara’s shield. She lost her grip and fell.

“No!” Kai shouted.