Ezra stood up and brushed the dust from his back before pulling out his coat and putting it on. He glanced at the others. A short rest had helped, even if only a little.
"Are we moving now?" Aliya asked. She sat on the ground, fanning her face with a small hand fan she had taken out while resting.
"We should," Ezra replied, his eyes fixed on the door ahead.
The fact that we didn’t step straight into another terrain is already a relief.
He rembered how quickly the second part of the third stage had begun last ti. Too fast. No ti to breathe.
Bobby stood up, with Li following right after.
"Okay," Li slamd his fist into his palm. "Let’s finish this third stage already."
Bobby nodded in agreent.
"Ehhh?" Aliya narrowed her eyes. "Where is all that confidence coming from?" she teased.
"Get off my case," Li muttered, not looking at her as he walked closer to the door.
"I wonder what terrain this one will be," Bobby said quietly.
Forest first. Then fire. Ezra thought. Water maybe?
They all stared at the door, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Better to be safe," Ezra muttered. He took out one heat stimulant pill that Bobby had made for him and swallowed it. Then he pushed the door open.
Nothing seed strange at first. The tunnel looked just like the others they had passed through. But the mont they stepped forward, sothing grabbed at them from below.
Ezra stopped the mont his foot touched empty space.
"This..."
He swallowed hard and held his breath.
They were underwater.
He kicked upward and his eyes widened. The entire tunnel was subrged, water pressing in from every direction, dim light filtering through the stone walls. When he turned back, he saw Bobby flailing for a second, panic flashing across his face before instinct kicked in and he clamped his mouth shut. Aliya and Li reacted just in ti as well, their bodies stiff with shock as they adjusted.
Ezra swam back quickly, grabbed Bobby’s sleeve, then pointed forward. No words were needed.
They started swimming.
With Cognis reinforcing their bodies, holding their breath and moving through the water wasn’t difficult, but none of them dared to use too much. After everything they had already gone through, wasting energy here would be suicide. So, they swam steadily, muscles burning, lungs tight, the silence of the water pressing down on their thoughts.
Then...
A sharp cold crawled along Ezra’s back.
His body reacted before his mind did. He turned.
Behind them, the water had frozen solid.
Ice spread across the tunnel like a wall, and embedded in its center was the source.
A White-Stone Fish.
Its massive body was pale white, smooth like carved stone, as large as an adult great white shark. Two thick fins jutted from its sides, slicing through the water without resistance. Its mouth was lined with long, thin teeth, sharp enough to pierce steel. One glowing blue eye stared straight at them, calm and cruel.
But Ezra knew the real danger wasn’t its size.
Anything that entered the range of that eye froze—water, living creatures, everything. The fish would then move freely, devouring its prey before releasing the frozen space as if nothing had happened.
The sa thought passed through all of them.
I knew this was only going to get harder.
They swam faster.
Aliya pushed herself forward, veins standing out along her arms as she kicked harder. Bobby thrashed through the water, Cognis flooding his body to force speed into muscles that were already screaming. Li struggled to keep up, jaw clenched, refusing to fall behind.
Ezra moved smoothly among them.
The heat stimulant burned in his chest, dulling the bite of the cold water. His limbs felt lighter, faster.
Thank God I practiced swimming back ho.
Of course, it was in a hot spring where he learned how to swim, while his brother trained in the house’s swimming pool. Whenever Ezra wanted to practice, they would warm the water just for him, leaving him to train alone under the careful watch of the maids. anwhile, his brother swam freely beside their mother, guided by a personal trainer. Back then, it felt lonely.
Now, it was saving his life.
At last, the exit door ca into view.
But the White-Stone Fish surged forward.
Its speed exploded.
Too fast.
They couldn’t outrun it. Their Cognis hadn’t recovered fully, and they had already burned too much in the earlier terrains. Ezra felt the distance shrinking, the pressure behind them growing colder.
No ti.
He reached into his space bag and pulled out a full pack of beef jerky. Without hesitation, he sliced his pinky. Blood drifted into the water, spreading around the floating food. He shoved his finger into his mouth and kicked hard, swimming back toward the others.
They didn’t question him.
They kept moving.
Behind them, the water froze again.
The White-Stone Fish lunged toward the blood-soaked jerky, snapping down on it as the ice locked the area in place.
That was enough.
Ezra slamd his hand against the exit door. It opened.
They burst through.
Aliya tumbled out and landed hard on her backside.
Bobby crashed face-first onto the stone floor.
Li rolled onto his back, gasping.
Ezra landed on his feet, stumbling once before steadying himself.
They all sucked in air, lungs burning as water poured from their clothes.
"Hah... hah..." Li laughed weakly. "I hate water..."
Bobby stayed where he was, chest heaving.
Aliya wiped wet hair from her face, hands shaking.
Ezra looked back at the door.
Then he exhaled.
"That was crazy," Li said, breathing unevenly as he leaned forward, hands on his knees.
Ezra let out a slow breath. "So, it’s true... a White-Stone Fish hunts using its nose."
"It can’t, see?" Aliya asked as she stood up. She squeezed water from her hair, then tugged at her skirt in annoyance. "Ah... my leggings and clothes are soaked."
Ezra glanced up. Ahead of them, the door to the next section of the stage stood quietly, waiting.
"We should make a fire here," he said. "Dry up fast, then move on."
Li reacted imdiately. He pulled out wooden planks from his space bag, stacked them neatly, and lit them. The fla caught quickly, crackling as warmth spread through the small area. The group gathered around it without a word.
Ezra didn’t waste ti waiting. He swallowed another heat stimulant, then sat down and crossed his legs. His breathing steadied as he began circulating his Cognis. The others followed, closing their eyes, focusing on recovery.
Ti passed slowly.
The dampness left their clothes. The cold faded from their skin.
When Ezra stood, his joints cracked softly. Bobby rose as well, brushing dust from his back. Aliya shook her head, pulling off the bandana holding her hair as the last drops of water fell free. Li extinguished the fire and packed away the unburned wood.
"Alright," Ezra said. "Let’s go."
They moved to the door.
It opened without resistance.
The tunnel beyond looked normal—stone walls, dim light, but none of them relaxed. They moved forward carefully; senses sharp.
Suddenly...
Li jumped back; hands raised.
Lightning slamd into the spot he had just stood on.
"Ah!" Li stared at the ground, now blackened and faintly glowing. "Guys..."
The static charge prickled across their skin. Hair stood on end.
"We’re in the Lightning Terrain," Bobby said, his voice tight.
Aliya looked at Ezra. "Do we move slowly?"
"For now," Ezra replied. "Follow my steps exactly."
They nodded.
Ezra led.
Even he couldn’t tell which spots were safe. He wasn’t skilled enough to read the air or sense static changes even with the use of Cognis enhancent. He relied on reaction alone.
Sotis he stepped wrong.
Lightning struck.
He dodged instantly, shifting to the side and stepping onto safer ground. The others copied his movents without question, hearts pounding.
Every step felt heavy.
They all knew the pattern by now.
When the exit ca into sight, things would get worse.
And it did.
As soon as the exit beca visible, the lightning turned wild. Strikes ca without rhythm, tearing into the ground at random, no longer limited to set paths.
"It’s no longer about stepping on the right path," Ezra muttered. "Now it’s about surviving."
At the sa ti, Ezra and Aliya pulled out daggers. They wrapped their hands in cloth and hurled the blades forward.
Lightning sward the tal instantly.
The daggers glowed white, then red, lightning crashing into them nonstop.
"That’s our opening!" Ezra shouted. "Run!"
They sprinted.
Bobby let out a small cry as he saw the daggers lt under the strikes, tal dripping away.
"Run faster!" Ezra yelled. "They won’t last long!"
They pushed harder.
Lightning struck around them—close enough to feel the heat, close enough to burn the air. Bobby stumbled once but jumped aside just as a bolt slamd down where his foot had been.
Then...
They reached the door.
They burst through.
"Safe!" Li shouted, throwing his arms up.
Bobby laughed weakly. "Yeah... and we only have one more terrain left."
Aliya wiped her face and stepped forward. "Then let’s finish this already."
Ezra exhaled slowly as he faced the final door.
"This last part is the Earth Terrain," he said. "I wonder what kind of hell it’s hiding."
The others swallowed.
Ezra reached out...
And opened the door.
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