“Peeing on them,” we say simultaneously.
The platform shudders for a moment before it speeds up, rotating around and raising up enough for me to see the safe house a few platforms down in the distance. Ryker races up the ladder, but the next platform tilts and knocks him off. My breath hitches for a moment before Ryker falls easily into Knots’ arms while airborne for a brief moment before landing on JP’s platform.
“How in the hell are we going to get off of these things and make it to the safe house while we’re on a demonic tilt-a-whirl in Satan’s toilet?” Lynx grumbles.
“I have no clue, but we only have a few minutes to figure it out,” I point out, indicating the ticking clock. We have ten minutes left, and with the floor swirling with colors, I can only guess we’re in for another fight.
Once the color stops on a brilliant yellow, the ground begins shaking as human-size daisies pull themselves out of the ground. They could almost be cute if it weren’t for their menacing stalks covered with sharp thorns. Their leaves become hands and feet, and their petals flare with their anger like that one dinosaur that spits acid before it devours its prey. Talk about intimidating.
“We have to fight measly plants?” Lynx scoffs.
On cue, the plants shake out their hands into razor blades.
“Lynx, have you ever considered just shutting your mouth?” I sigh, reaching for my glaives.
“And deprive the world of my awesomeness? No way.” He gives me a wink before turning into a creature that can only be described as an armored battle otter the size of a wolf. He’s ablack shadow as he runs toward the first group of daisies and uses his claws, teeth, and tail to slice through them. I don’t have long to admire his work before a mob of enemies is on me.
Even with the knowledge of where to cut and how to move, I can’t keep up with the overwhelming amount of flora. I cut down one, and two seem to appear in its place. Small cuts and knicks get through my defenses while I try to keep my footing as the floor tilts and my concentration slips on my shield, slowing down my progress.
Fuck. When will this stop?
‘Lynx, I can’t keep up!’I cry out, knowing we’re running out of time and I’m being no help.
‘I’m coming, Rez. Just hold on!’he tells me.
But I glimpse him between a few daisies and watch as more enemies pile onto him, and my heart sinks. I’m mentally exhausted, but they keep on coming. A chime rings, and afterward, ticking from a clock rings out the seconds. I turn around to attack another daisy and glance up at the clock. Two minutes left and at impossible odds.
I want to believe I’m strong and not scared, but this is our lives on the line, and this time, it’s not a game. If we fail, we don’t pop back up in some graveyard to try this level again. If we fail, we spend eternity here and become Beleth’s fucking puppets. I’m all for playing video games, but not for my entire afterlife.
The ground jerks, making me lose my balance and fall to the floor. I only get a moment to look up before green distorts my vision, and I see the glint of a razor's edge of a leaf aiming for my neck when it jerks and evaporates in a blink, and the ground stops moving. I’m momentarily stunned as I look around and try to figure out what the hell just happened.
“Rez! Hurry!” Lynx yells and hauls me up against him, helping my balance as the pentagram slams back into place, becoming whole once again.
Our feet are pounding the level ground before I know it and racing towards…Reaper! My baby is standing next to the lever I spotted when we first came in, and he’s barking at us furiously as if urging us on.
How the hell did he even get up there?
Better question: why do I even care? He just saved our lives, and here I am contemplating the why behind it. I must have been hit in the head by one of those flowers. I urge my legs to move faster and dig deep, willing myself just to keep moving even though my body wants to collapse.
Just a little further.
I catch sight of JP and Ryker piling through the front door of the safe house with Knots wrangling a hyper Reaper in the rear with only a few seconds to spare. The truth hits me as the last seconds on the clock tick by, and Beleth’s sinister laugh rings out throughout the cavern. We are too far away to make it.
With only one second left on the clock, I rip my hand out of Lynx’s grip, push all my energy into a shield, and throw it out.
‘I love you, Lynx. Please take care of each other.’With that last thought, I propel Lynx like a torpedo into the safe house without me right as the buzzer blows, and my world goes black once again.
CHAPTER 35
Sometimes You Need a Robot
Levi
With ten minutes on the clock, my group shows up to an empty cottage. It’s easy to see that we’re the first ones here, and the anxiety in the room is so palpable that I choke on it.
Thankfully, my powers have grown substantially since I first met Rez, and it’s easy to reach out and touch someone’s emotions now. The only issue is I’m becoming low on magic, and I haven’t found a source to pull from yet. I really don’t want to use it all up in case I need it for an emergency, like how we needed it in the maze, so for now, I can only dampen everyone’s anxiety, not completely take it away.I wish it were that effortless to do the same with my own anxiety.
The Road of Worth isn’t just physical and mental fatigue: it affects us magic users probably the most since we don’t use our magic that often in our day-to-day lives. That’s something I might have to talk to my father about since even I am suffering from fatigue. With rest though, I will gain some of my magic back. Now I understand why Beleth respects perseverance on hislevel. I almost wanted to give up, and I wasn’t the one doing the heavy lifting; that was Zeke. This has not been an easy course.
