[Evelyn's POV]
"What is this place?" My eyes open up wide as I see the starry sky above my head and the white marble floor beneath our feet. The land stretched across as much as the sky did, and the more I tried to see the horizon, the farther it seemed to reach.
Turning around, I saw that the gate where we came from no longer existed. My heart sank with each passing moment, wondering what our next step should be. It was as if we were thrown from a gloomy place to an oblivious one. An ominous feeling rose in my heart as I stood there.
"Welcome Travelers."
Though, as if waiting for us, a voice resonated in our brain, making us look around, trying to figure out where it came from. The voice was melodious, with a metallic note in it. It didn't seem human, but for some reason, it felt all too familiar.
"Who is it?" I questioned as I turned around in circles, trying to locate where the voice came from, but nothing was present as far as I could see.
"I see that 4 have come this time. You must be confused about what is going on, but do not worry. For I shall explain the rules of the trials to you before diving you deeper into it."
The melodious voice continued ringing in our ears, while the 4 of us stood there waiting there. Cautiousness coloured our faces while we wondered what exactly was going on.
-RRRRRRR!!!!
-RRRRRRR!!!!!
Slowly and slowly 10 gates, similar to the one which we came from, appeared all around us. The gates were positioned around us in a circle, each of them being more odd than the other.
"These are the 10 gates of Equi, which were meant to test the might of the mortals. It is to prove their worth in front of the Goddess of Balance and earn her blessing."
The voice then began explaining everything in detail about the gates and their purposes.
This place wasn't created by the Dark Mage but a Forgotten Goddess, the Goddess of Balance. It is said that she held the power equal to the True Gods but was banished because of certain reasons which were not told.
During her prime, decades before she fell, she created this space to test out mortals who could follow her path and gain her power. Mortals who held the power to go against the demigods without any external help.
Though after her imprisonment, this place was cut off from her, making it go functioning independently.
The purpose of this space was to bring people from various places and give them the trial until a true successor appears. And only the one who has passed all the 10 trials will be able to get the blessing. Earlier, the Goddess handpicked the mortals. Now it brought in people randomly.
However, there were certain rules which one must follow before giving the trials. That too depends upon how many people are present at the time of the trial.
"Since there are 4 of you, the Trial's difficulty would be set to Grade 4. Now, are there questions or should I explain about the individual trials?"
The voice echoed after furnishing an explanation about the place.
"If this place was a trial, then why was I captured in the previous space for over so many decades?" The dark mage spoke out first, making me a little shocked. He was a prisoner? Such a strong mage?
"That is because, at a minimum, a balance must exist before the trial must start. When the darkness and light got in harmony, it paved the path to the trial. It's like this, the first person to come would stay here for an infinite time until another person of the opposite nature and triggers open the gate."
"What if it's not the opposite of nature?" Oriel asked this time.
"The second person will lose his or her existence in 15 days from all times and spaces."
The answer appeared
'What…. Kind of an absurd condition, is that?' My eyes turned wide open. So we were a few days away from oblivion?
"The Gods are as ridiculous as always, I see," The Dark mage spoke with a furious face. A chuckle escaped his mouth, but it wasn't one of joy.
"Do we absolutely need to clear the Trials?" Oriel was the next to ask the question.
"At least 1. At the edge of the trial, you will find two gates. One to go back here and another outside of this place. This place is not as cruel as it seems."
"What if we fail?" Adam spoke out, this time with a serious look.
"You die. There is nothing more to it than that."
The answer was bone chilling, but looking at the expression of those three, it seemed like they already expected that much.
"Now to explain the 10 Trials. Each trial is focused on a single aspect of nature. Starting from left we got, Strength, Speed, Wisdom, Light Mana, Dark Mana, Mana Control, Defence, Skills, Endurance and the final trial that tests everything at once."
"Light mana and Dark Mana?" Oriel was shocked, and so were we. How can one person use both powers at once? Doesn't that make this challenge impossible?
"You don't have to use a different mana. Two can take a test, while one does nothing and the other completes it. Though the difficulty increases depending upon the number of people who take it."
'So he was asking us to work together?' I thought as I looked at the Dark Mage
"Impossible," Oriel spoke with disgust as he looked at the Dark Mage. His eyes turned to the gate with the Light Magic.
"I guess. There isn't much left to talk about," the Dark Mage spoke as he moved towards the Dark Magic Gate.
'Ah! So we have decided to get out of here. It's a waste, but I can understand..' I thought as I began moving towards Oriel who had reached the light magic gate.
I guess we three will be taking the test together. Though I wonder if Oriel is powerful enough to take all of us out of here. The difficulty does increase by 3 folds.
And the answer to it was given by Oriel's next sentence
"I will be taking the Trial. Alone," he spoke as he moved into the gate without even giving a second look to me.
"Huh?" And I stood there blankly looking at the gate where Oriel left through.