As reality settled after the Trial of Memory, the world around them changed. The Eternal Garden was no longer as it once was. The trees had grown strange branches that twisted in impossible directions, as if searching for a lost order. The shadowy figures had disappeared, but their whispers still lingered in the wind.
— We have changed something, — Emiren whispered, touching the trunk of the Silver Tree.
— But was it for the better? — the Fireborn gazed at the new branches, which shimmered, reflecting countless possible futures.
— We must find out, — said the Voidborn. — And to do that, we need to move forward.
Before them, a new path unfolded. It was neither straight nor logical—it seemed to lead in all directions at once. This was the Labyrinth of Distorted Time, the second trial that awaited them.
Entering the Labyrinth
As the Creators stepped inside, the space around them shifted. Shadows expanded, forming corridors that changed shape with each passing moment. The walls of the Labyrinth were made of translucent layers of reality—sometimes they could see glimpses of the past, sometimes fragments of the future.
— Time flows differently here, — said the Watery, touching one of the surfaces. Ripples spread from his fingertips, and for a moment, he saw himself—but not as he was now. This was another version of himself, one who had made different choices.
— Be careful, — Emiren warned. — The Labyrinth can make you lose yourself, not just in space, but in time.
Moving further, they noticed the path splitting into three different directions.
— It’s a trap, — said the Fireborn. — Each of these paths could either lead us to the exit or deeper into the abyss.
— Or perhaps each path leads to its own truth, — the Voidborn countered.
With no other choice, they split up.
The Path of Burning Echoes
The Fireborn stepped onto a road engulfed in flames. But these were not ordinary flames—they were made of memories that once burned with passion. He saw battles that had been won and lost, love that had turned to ashes in its own desire, rage that consumed those who could not control it.
— These… are my own echoes, — he whispered.
The further he walked, the more he felt the fire reaching for him, trying to pull him into its inferno, to make him burn in his own past. But he stopped.
— I am not just what was. I am what will be.
The flames parted before him, and the path opened further.
The Path of Frozen Reflections
The Watery found himself in a vast hall made entirely of crystalline mirrors. Every movement he made was reflected countless times, each reflection shifting, as if searching for the real one.
— Which of us is the true one? — whispered the reflections.
He saw himself—and yet, not himself. Versions of him that had made different choices, lived different lives. He felt his own essence beginning to dissolve, becoming just another reflection among many.
— No. I am not just a reflection. I am the choices I make.
He reached out and touched the nearest mirror. It shattered, and the path continued.
The Path of Silent Void
The Voidborn stepped into absolute darkness, a place with no form and no time. Here, there was nothing—not even thought. But this was the most dangerous place of all.
He felt his own essence begin to fade.
— If I am nothing, then what separates me from this void?
The answer came from within.
— Choice.
He created himself anew—and the darkness withdrew.
Reunion and Exit
When the three met again, the Labyrinth began to collapse. It could no longer hold those who had defined their own essence.
A light appeared before them.
They had passed the second trial. But the third still awaited.