Kai felt the sharp whistle in the air—death speeding toward him. The projectile was fast, precise, aimed directly for his spine. His body reacted before his mind could process the danger.
He twisted sharply, muscles screaming in protest, barely avoiding the weapon. It grazed past his shoulder, ripping through his sleeve, slicing into his skin just enough for pain to flare.
Not deep enough to kill.
But deep enough to remind him—he was still prey.
The warrior didn't slow.
Kai stumbled forward, heart hammering, Rico panting beside him.
The exit was close—just a few more steps. But the assassin was faster, closing in with each second, his blade gleaming in the dim light of the maze.
Kai gritted his teeth.
He had no choice.
If they ran, they wouldn't make it. If they fought, they would die.
They needed something else.
Then—an idea.
Kai grabbed Rico by the wrist, pulling him hard toward the collapsing pathway on the right.
"What are you doing?!" Rico gasped, struggling to keep pace.
Kai didn't answer.
The assassin followed.
And then—the ground beneath them groaned.
Kai had seen the patterns in the maze, the way the traps triggered under pressure, how the stone shifted just slightly before giving way.
He had calculated the moment.
The very instant the warrior lunged forward, Kai threw himself and Rico to the side.
A heartbeat later—the floor collapsed.
The warrior barely had time to react. His momentum carried him straight into the death trap, his eyes widening as realization struck.
Then—he fell.
Downward.
Straight into the abyss below.
Kai and Rico hit the ground hard, breath knocked from their lungs.
Silence.
The only sound was the distant echo of the warrior's body disappearing into darkness.
Gone.
Kai exhaled sharply, his pulse slowing, the raw burn of exhaustion settling into his muscles.
They were alive.
The exit loomed ahead, bathed in eerie golden light.
Rico sat up, shaking his head, staring at Kai in disbelief. "You—"
Kai didn't let him finish.
"Move," he muttered, dragging himself to his feet.
They had survived the maze.
But the test wasn't over yet.
Not even close.
Kai staggered forward, the weight of exhaustion pressing into his limbs like iron shackles. His breath was shallow, each inhale scraping against his throat, but he refused to falter.
The exit loomed ahead—massive and imposing, bathed in a golden light that spilled into the remnants of the maze. Beyond it lay the unknown, the next phase, the next challenge that awaited those who survived.
Rico walked beside him, shoulders tense, his breaths uneven. Kai could sense the disbelief radiating off him—he had nearly died, and Kai had saved him, despite everything.
"You didn't have to do that," Rico murmured.
Kai didn't respond.
Words felt pointless now. What mattered was survival.
The light at the end of the Maze of Death wasn't golden. It was bone white, pulsing in eerie silence as if holding its breath for what approached.
Kai and Rico stumbled through the final corridor, their bodies broken, their minds scarred. Behind them lay the corpses of beasts, shattered illusions, and friends who never made it past the second trial. Only a handful survived. Of them, only two reached the last threshold.
Their feet crunched over fractured stone as they stepped into the clearing—a circular platform etched with runes far older than the Celestial Gate itself. The Gate rose before them, towering and radiant, suspended in open air like a god watching from above. But something was… different.
"This is it," Rico breathed, voice trembling with awe and exhaustion. "We did it."
Kai didn't respond. He couldn't take his eyes off the Gate. Unlike before, its energy didn't shimmer with warmth. It burned cold, the runes along its border pulsing like a heartbeat—his heartbeat. It was waiting for him.
Elders and Elementalists stood in the distance, watching. Word of their survival had already spread. Lady Aurora stood closest, robes still and eyes wide—not with pride, but with unease. Something about the Gate felt wrong.
Kai took a breath and stepped forward.
The runes blazed.
The Gate responded.
For a moment, triumph swelled in his chest. The power he was denied, the gate that once rejected him—it opened.
And then it took him.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, his body arched, seizing violently. A blast of invisible force cracked the platform, hurling Rico backward as Kai collapsed at the Gate's mouth—eyes wide, unmoving.
"Kai!" Rico shouted, scrambling to his feet.
But Kai's body was already still.
No cry. No breath. Just silence.
The Gate stood aglow, unbothered, gently drawing Kai's lifeless form into its light until it vanished—gone, as if he never existed.
Chaos broke behind them. The observers erupted into confusion. Aurora didn't speak. She stared at the Gate with a pale face and whispered, "This was never meant to happen."
Rico dropped to his knees, fists clenched and eyes wet. "He passed… he won… why did it take him?"
But the Gate answered only with silence.
For a breathless moment, there was silence.
Then the murmurs started. Confusion spread like wildfire through the gathered crowd. Some of the elemental scholars looked to Lady Aurora for guidance—answers. But she stood motionless, her eyes wide, the light of the Gate flickering across her stunned expression.
"This… this should not have happened," whispered Elder Marion, his voice brittle with disbelief.
"He passed the trials," muttered another. "He survived the Maze. The Gate opened willingly…"
"And then claimed him," Aurora finished, her voice quiet, as if the words were too heavy to speak aloud.
The elder circle broke protocol for the first time in generations, stepping forward, examining the area where Kai had fallen—where he should have stood victorious.
"There's no scorch mark. No residue. No magical recoil," murmured Elder Thalis, inspecting the stone. "It took him completely."
"But why?" demanded Rico, still kneeling, clutching the bloodless ground. "Why him? The rest of us survived!"
Aurora's gaze stayed fixed on the Gate, the runes now dimming, the golden light receding. "The Celestial Gate is not just a path," she murmured. "It is a living seal. It chooses… and sometimes, it keeps."
The elders fell into disarray. Some argued it was a flaw in the Gate's design. Others insisted it was the result of tampering, some ancient force reacting to Kai's presence. But no theory made sense.
And in that moment of uncertainty, as debate and fear rippled through the high council, one truth emerged:
Kai was gone.
Taken by the Gate.
And no one—not even Aurora—knew why.