Arion, made his way down the steps approaching a golden door before him. The door was adorned with the sun and bright rays of the god of light.

“Curious,” muttered Arion, the decoration gleaming in the bright yellow of the flames either side of the door. He pushed the large golden doorknob, with the door creaking loudly onto a well lit circular room with four mirrors surrounding the edges in the same shape. A beam of light came from a large hole in the ceiling, to which Arion would not see the origin. As the beam hit the floor of the room it split off in different directions towards the mirrors, striking them all simultaneously.

Arion stalked around the room looking at each reflection in the mirrors, with nothing staring back at him.

“Step into the light and see yourself” said a disembodied voice from all around him.

“What does that mean though?” Arion talked to himself aloud. Looking at the ray of light and realising that the door behind him had disappeared, he thought the words of the voice over in his head.

“Step into the light,” he thought. “The light that could kill me or do absolutely nothing to me.” He extended his staff into the light, willing it not to burst into flames. The top of the staff broke through the light with a sizzling sound and disappeared into the light. Yanking the staff out of the ray, Arion examined the staff that had now sprouted a branch.

“Interesting.”

Arion took a finger and entered the beam of light. He took the finger out and stared at it in amazement. The skin on his finger had gotten clearer with the wrinkles of age having disappearered.

“So it makes you younger, great!” Arion thought excitedly out loud. “Well I can’t go anywhere so lets see what happens, even if it does make me a child.” He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped into the light.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked at the closest mirror to see a reflection of himself staring back and coming towards him, almost coming through the mirror.

The mirror shattered and before him was himself from what seemed to be a couple of years ago.

“Hello,” he quizzed. The light permeating his mouth and entering his very being. He felt the warmth like an aura within and surrounding him, when suddenly his reflected self slammed into his body. Memories flooded his brain, showing him the decisions he had made since he started on his quest. Firstly, when he was tasked to find the herb of separation and his decision to finally become a fully fledged wizard. Then it showed him how he came to possess his staff and the power it had granted him. The friends he had made and the decisions behind the ones he had lost, and finally, his interactions with Elara. With each memory, a further mirror cracked, one by one, until all of the light was now focused solely on him. With the beam pouring into his mind, the voice from earlier asked him,

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“Are you content with the choices you have made? Have you walked in the light?”

Even though he had second guessed himself for the past couple of years, he had come to the conclusion that he had made peace with the decisions he had made leading him to here and he would not change them.

“I am,” he said confidently, closing his eyes and lifting his head towards the light.

The beam of light became stronger and more intense and he could feel a slight caress on his cheek.

“I am glad you are content with the decisions you have made. The voice soothed.

The mirrors put themselves back together, breaking in reverse and once they were whole again, the floor began to shudder. Falling to his knees, Arion held onto the floor as it began to move downwards below the floor and into another room.

“Ah a lift! I wonder what’s next?” Arion wondered.

The lift stopped in a similar room to the first, with this this room not showing any other aspect than the light from the ceiling and the lift that Arion had just descended on.

The room transformed into a large grassy field, oak trees surrounding it with the light illuminating a sword now showing in the centre of the room, the beam of light now translucent. The sword was long and rapier like with an elaborate pommel and guard.

“Your past decisions have been tested but what about your future ones?” said the voice from around him. A hand came out of the light and grabbed the sword, almost coming from nowhere, as a young boy stepped from the beam to stand before him.

“You’re going to die now wizard, the dark always prevails.” Said the boy with a gurgling sound, blood dripping from his lips.

“Lovely,” said Arion sarcastically. “Surely you can’t be serious?” he directed to the origin of the light.

The boy started to thrust at him with the sword, Arion stepping back each time, again and again. “I will not hurt a child.” He shouted with conviction. Arion backed into the trunk of a tree, looking around him for any escape possible.

“Nowhere to run now,” said the boy venomously as he stabbed as he continued to stab at the wizard. Arion managed to block a few of these strikes but he was finally assaulted by the blade, deep in his shoulder.

Arion screamed in pain, blood dripping from the wound and down the blade protruding from his body.

“I will not hurt a child,” he shouted, almost as a mantra now to keep his morals true.

“Oh dear, it looks like I’m causing you so much pain though,” taunted the boy as he twisted the blade, causing another shout of pain from Arion.

“I don’t care,” Arion panted through the pain, staring into the black abyss where the child’s eyes should have been. “Those that walk in the light are better than mere men.” Arion grabbed the boy’s shoulder, “I forgive you, even if you kill me.” The boy smiled slyly and pulled out the blade. “Get it over with,” Arion whispered, closing his eyes.

The blade came down in a swishing motion and Arion could feel the wind coming towards him. As it touched his cheek, he felt a warmth surround him and the wound he had received from the boy. He opened his eyes and noted that the boy had vanished into thin air and a staircase constructed downwards in the middle of the room had appeared.

“The morals of the light are not easy or simple but they are just and good” said the voice surrounding him. Arion’s wound then began to heal and within a few moments, it was as if it was never there.

“Thanks,” he bowed to no one in particular but he felt that this was the appropriate action in light of the help he received.

He sauntered towards the stairs looking down the open hole that contained them and not seeing to the bottom except for the first bend of the steps descending downwards.

“Onwards and upwards,” he chuckled at his own humour and with a testing foot on the first step, he made his way to the next trial of the light.