Chapter 74
Seventy-four
Iland on my feet in what appears to be another antechamber.
This room, however, is free of monsters, fire, and smoke.
I take a moment to inhale the clean air, sliding down to the floor to rest, pulling my bandana with me as I go.
The exhaustion feels set in my bones, zapping the life out of me.
I’m covered in sweat, blood, and beast guts; fortunately, I’ve grown used to the smell.
There’s no sign of my friends or the moonstone.
I don’t see any other doorways in this room at all.
Only four walls of large cobalt blue stones and a single orb light floating overhead.
I sigh, giving myself a mental pep talk.
There can’t be much more after this. I’m so close, and giving up is not an option. I need to finish this.
Patience wearing thin, I stand and assess the room, finding…
absolutely nothing. Did they teleport me to the wrong room?
There’s no way; everything with the Kosmos is intentional.
It's time to tap into my mental fortitude and put this brain to work. If there’s nothing in this room, then there must be something already here.
I need to work with what I have. Curiously, I tap the floor, looking for loose stones.
Finding no cracks, I examine the walls. I give each stone a gentle push to see if it yields.
Finally, one stone shifts slightly. Re-energized, I grasp the stone, prying at the edges to loosen it further.
I probe and wiggle, repeating the motions until I’m able to grab and pull.
Holding the slab, I crouch slightly to find what has been left behind. In glowing, bolded script, part of a message is etched into the wall that the brick had been against. Squinting, I make out:
Forged in trial, I rise above.
Through flame and grit, proving what I’m made of.
Relief and hope flicker to life in my chest like a living, breathing thing. The words are part of a riddle! With a renewed sense of purpose, I set out to find the remaining word clusters.
I slip my dagger out of my pocket, attempting to pry the stones using the thin blade, but find that the rocks require more grip.
I groan as I tuck the dagger away, realizing I’m going to have to do this the hard way.
The pads of my fingers rub raw as my brittle nails break off, prying stone after stone.
Four more stones come loose after I make my way around the room; the task is consuming and daunting.
I take a step back, examining my work and the openings with the contained riddle.
Thankfully, the riddle appears to be intended to be read from left to right.
I take my time at each hole, reading the script repeatedly until I have memorized the puzzle.
Muttering the phrases aloud, I consider the words.
What’s greater ahead than left behind?
Tested and true, a fate-willed design.
Forged in trial, I rise above
Through flame and grit, proving what I’m made of.
In the dark without a crown,
a new light is born; a star renowned.
A price paid in blood and breath;
I dance with cosmos and conquer death.
I wield power unmatched by those before.
Who paid the price to become so much more?
Goosebumps line my flesh as the weight of the words sinks in. Beyond any doubt, I know that this rhyme refers to me, to the humans, to my friends. I’ve paid the price, but at what cost? Lenny? My life back home? My innocence? Was any of that worth what we gain in the end? I’ll make sure it is.
Is the room sentient? Is someone listening? No one communicated with me like they did during the first riddle. Knowing the answer as surely as I know myself, I clear my throat, ready to relay the solution. Who paid the price to become so much more? I fucking did. “The Celestial Champion.”