Irwyn awoke full of confusion, memories of the dream and his own mixing into a disorienting cocktail. A half-remembered mess that he wasn't completely sure had been real. Or at least wouldn't be if not for his surroundings. Wherever he was, it was not in the desert. With back a wall of crimson stone which radiated some of the purest Flame he could recall, inside a massive cubical chamber.

For a moment he thought he was alone, only to notice that Elizabeth was actually also present, clinging to him closely enough she had avoided his line of sight at first. The heiress was likewise on the ground, staring at Irwyn's face and giving him the time to regain his faculties.

"What happened?" Irwyn asked her.

"Before or after you snapped?" she retorted with a slight grin.

"Both," he frowned. "I think I had a vision… yet also did something semi-consciously at the same time. Probably I found what we were looking for, but it is all a blur."

"You honed in on a specific spot and then repeatedly approached it with progressively more insistence, all the while ignoring the rest of us," she nodded. "I decided to get the group to back away, then held on to you - which I think turned out to be the correct choice."

"Where are we?" Irwyn nodded. He very vaguely remembered something along those lines happening.

"I hoped you would know," she smiled ruefully. "One moment we were standing in the desert, you reaching your hand out towards nothing. The next, I was the only one conscious in this strange place. I decided to wait for you to wake up without exploring by myself. Not that there is anywhere to go yet it seems."

"What about the others then?" Irwyn couldn't help but worry. They had seemingly been left behind.

"The lot will be fine," Elizabeth shrugged. "Desir and Waylan know how to keep themselves out of trouble. Alice… can be convinced to listen to them. Sevrejo is still close enough to make the trek if they need any supplies. Depending on how long we are stuck here."

"Only one way to find out that," Irwyn nodded, then paused. "Are you wearing a different dress?"

"All our possessions vanished when we entered. You will not that your bag is gone, as is mine."

"I suppose it would be too much to hold onto," Irwyn sighed. He did not know what exactly Elizabeth carried, but there were presumably at least a few emergency weapons that surpassed what a Conception mage could achieve. Also, through sheer coincidence, Irwyn's propensity to burn his clothes resulted in his being made from his own magic and thus not vanishing. So were hers now.

Elizabeth remained clinging to him as he stood up. With his magical strength, she basically weighted nothing so Irwyn had barely even noticed again. Still, with her arms and legs around his torso, it was not exactly a usual walking position. Confused, he gave her a questing look.

"If I hadn't held on, you would have disappeared without me," she said slowly.

"That was never my intention. Sorry."

"I know," she nodded, but did not let go.

Irwyn briefly hesitated but decided not to argue. "How long was I out?" he asked instead, looking ahead. The room was empty for the most part, except for a seemingly dormant pillar of solid Flames right in the middle.

"Just a few minutes."

"Discovered anything not obvious in that time?"

"No. Just a big room with only one fixture and no exits."

So they approach the pillar… or perhaps monolith would be a better word. When his senses finally delved in, Irwyn realized that the structure was unfathomably intricate. Like a fabric with million million layers just to form each single fibre. And all of that woven again into perfect patterns within patterns, until they manifested something akin to a mosaic.

None of that was function, it was practically art. Except so needlessly complex that even Irwyn with all his affinity and power could barely interpret what it was trying to convey. Because when he, after much struggle, reconstructed the structure in his head, it seemed to be… a flickering candleflame.

"Are you getting this?" Irwyn had to question.

"Like a candle about to burn out?" Elizabeth needed a few more seconds but got to a similar impression.

Irwyn nodded. "What does that mean?"

"Symbolism of some kind. I presume we will need to touch it to learn more."

"Together?"

She just grinned at that and reached out. Irwyn had already walked close enough for that. He hurried to match her hand, touching the monolith at the same moment. The instant they did, something shifted within the structure. A reaction, but a gradual one, building up over several seconds. Feeling as much, Irwyn stepped away again.

Then the small pillar erupted. A mist of sorts surged upwards sparking into a fiery nebula which rapidly took over most of the room above certain height. It glowed with uncountable brilliant explosions, then was suddenly as if extinguished, dimming until parts became black. But that was not what actually happened. The Flame just began literally burning light to fuel itself, letting not a glimmer escape.

A moment later, the nebula moved again, gathering and coalescing. The room split into two sides with one drawing increasing cascades of brilliance while the other grew darker by the second. At the same time, the magical Flame began to condense in their respective halves, forming spinning spheres that drew more and more of the burning mist at every moment. One brighter than the side of Light, the other darker than the, presumed, Void it dwelled within. By the time Irwyn realized what was being depicted, the two objects were already whirling in a great circle overhead.

A Star and a Temzda, circling each other over that celestial background. Intentions, Concepts, Domains, and perhaps even Truths danced against each other in a display of marvel that took Irwyn's breath away. If the intent had been to awe them, Irwyn had to admit it had been somewhat accomplished. Yet it was not done. After spinning across overhead a total of nine times, all the nebula had been absorbed. Thereafter the depicted celestial objects halted, waited for an agonizing moment, then smashed into one another.

From that collision, a figure was formed in a twisting cascade. Androgynous and alien, the being would look almost human, if not for the fact that its body was severed in half. Like as if a person had been cut perfectly in two through the middle of their forehead, then the pieces had been moved several centimeters to either side, and the new gap filled in with shapeless power.

That stitching in the middle was, perhaps predictably, Flame. The separated halves were created of Starfire and Voidflame, only connected by that great burning divide. Able to coexist as part of one thing, despite being anathema, because of that connection. Clear reference to the tenuous relationships of the two mother Aspects, that much was clear. Which was only to be expected given what dwelled somewhere deeper within the place. As far as symbolism vent, it was rather blatant.

|| Challengers || unlike its form, there was nothing human to the voice besides language.

It was as if the infinite fusion within a Star's heart was compressed into mere sound. The echo of incomprehensible power mangled thousands times over so that it would become understandable by the likes of them. And still, the only reason it was not utterly unbearable despite that was because almost all of that majesty was drained into a Temzda's bottomless depth as soon as it passed the being's lips.

|| You stand against all odds here to battle for a final chance. As your Realm crumbles outside, the grace of Father Fate ushers you unto the last path of redemption. And to me, born unto this duty. Surmount the implausible, and earn a chance to save yourselves. As the Brothers had intended. ||

A strange speech with several details that were… off. It would have been one thing if the being - likely a unique kind of golem - spoke of challenge worthy of a prize, but this was different. It spoke as if the world outside was ending. And once that thought struck him, Irwyn quickly connected the dots from the other context in his visions.

This apparent trial was supposed to be impossible to find, unless under very specific and Fated circumstances. Those circumstances likely being a literal apocalypse, the whole Realm on the cusp of succumbing to the Rot. To give a prodigious few a fighting chance, presuming they could prove they would not squander such an opportunity. Except Irwyn just happened to be perhaps the only person in the whole world who could cheat those access conditions. And the trial was not prepared for that change in parameters, speaking the same prepared lines.

"I have a feeling this place was only supposed to be found under more… desperate circumstances," Irwyn slowly said. He could not deny the worry creeping up his spine.

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"So what?" Elizabeth shrugged without so much as a hint of fear. "It changes nothing. Challenge designed to be difficult? What is that compared to a war where a Truth bearing abomination could be dwelling behind any corner? Against a thousand insidious deaths that are designed to be unpredictable and insurmountable. A challenge is the easiest path to power I could imagine."

|| Your enthusiasm is noted. || the golem acknowledged. It was as of yet unclear how intelligent it would be. Most likely souled, but those could range for thoughtless door-openers to matching or surpassing people.

"What do we need to do?" Irwyn asked.

|| I will open a doorway and you will step into the next chamber. As soon as you do, the previous rooms will cease to exist. Each shall be in some ways more dangerous than the last. Reach the end of this gauntlet and in doing so reclaim hope. ||

"Very simple," Elizabeth nodded with a smile.

|| Straightforward. Not simple. But you will see. Or perish before you can. The first chamber awaits you both. ||

Then the golem disintegrated into those nebulas again, which after a mere moment vanished into thin air. They would certainly see it again later. While their vision was obscured by that spectacle, a large arch had opened right in front of them - though it was not possible to see a step beyond it. The strange darkness was not quite Void, or at least not in the way Irwyn understood it. Judging by Elizabeth's squinting, she could not see through it either.

"Should we prepare?" Irwyn wondered.

"What more is there to do now?" Elizabeth shrugged.

"You are still far from your next Carving, right? But perhaps I could proceed with mine."

"Not too far. But I don't think it will make a difference. If the first room proves challenging, we can re-valuate. And your next step is not a third Concept anyhow."

True. Irwyn was currently bearing two Concept until he merged Flame and Light into Star. Turning two into one would not make him stronger in the short term… and he had to admit that he was dying to learn what awaited them.

Elizabeth on the other hand was closing in on her own planned merger into Temzda, only lagging slightly behind Irwyn's vision-granted advantages. She would still need to spend days or even weeks idling as her soul recovered enough for the process. Holding themselves back for that long would be torture and - again - not actually make them immediately stronger.

She had a point about an engineered challenge. If it was designed, it would be possible for real people. That meant it would need to adjust to their level of power to some degree. And the two of them were most likely the two most powerful individuals in the whole Realm with just two Concepts. Even exceptional generational prodigies could not nearly match them.

Irwyn finally coaxed Elizabeth to stop clinging onto him and they moved forward, side by side. As they stepped through the arch, it was as if reality was visibly forming right in front of them. From a canvas of pure Flame, a world expanded. Because no one sane could possibly call what was manifesting a chamber.

While the outer walls and the skies above remained structured from pure Flame, the sheer area of the room they had just stepped into beggared comprehension. They stood at an elevated position on a hill, so Irwyn beheld the other edges. Therein stood snowcapped mountains, trying to portray being a high, cloud covered peaks… and also so far away Irwyn could barely even see them in all three directions. In all that area in between seemed to be mostly a jagged wasteland of rocky hills and cliffs.

They were not looking at some alcove. Before them sprawled an entire region.

|| Cull the horde. || Words coursed through their ears. It was again the alien voice of the golem that had guided them, just disembodied.

"This is too massive," Irwyn just gaped, too distracted to process their objective.

"The sheer area… but it looks wrong. I can see the foot of those," she pointed towards the faraway mountain.

"So?"

"It should be over the horizon from where we stand. Likely the whole mountain range should be."

"Does that mean anything?"

"I… don't know," she admitted. "If only we had an Alice right now."

"Federation Alice. I don't think the other would know," Irwyn quipped, getting used to the spectacle enough that he could begin to turn away.

Which was exactly when they got to experience what was meant by 'horde'. Burrowing out of the ground, small serpentine formations of rock surged. Monsters grown out of stone, no larger than a leg, yet so fast Irwyn had barely registered them before they were already impacting upon the barrier he always maintained.

Which cracked instantly, nearly shattering. It was a construct of nine intentions, yet it had almost been obliterated in the very first barrage of the battle. Not panicking, Irwyn instantly summoned a new defense, this time empowered by the Concept of Flame. He had not tested that application properly, but it would be orders of magnitude more powerful. Thankfully, Elizabeth would not be easily burned by any slip up on his part. The effect was immediate. The still charging rock-snakes hissed upon impact as they evaporated from just contact with the magic.

"Up!" Elizabeth commanded, holding onto him. A blade of Void magic had appeared in her hand, but she had not rushed out yet. Irwyn quickly followed the instruction.

If he hadn't, the hill spontaneously erupting into a massive maw would have likely fully caught them. Still, they didn't get out wholly unscathed, as while Irwyn's platforms moved at great speeds, that was from the perspective of mortal limits. The massive jaw snapped with the full speed of a Concept.

And there was no doubt that whatever was trying to gnaw at them had one. It was obvious the moment its magic became perceptible. Elizabeth had likely noticed it even earlier, not distracted by the other ambush. But even with her warning, they had not been fast enough - jagged rock teeth punched into Irwyn's barrier.

Irwyn's magic bent, but refused to break. He felt as though his very Soul was being compressed under the weight of mountains. No doubt something to do with the creature's Concept. Whether it was sheer weight or pressure did not really matter. The clash did. And the barrier was quickly losing ground.

Irwyn's Flame was not born as a tool of defense. It was meant to burn, an implement of annihilation. Incineration did not hold back mountains, not unless it could burn them to ash in their totality. This ambushing monster in the meanwhile was likely attacking from its best angle. If the damage was anything to go off of, it was perfectly adjusted to crushing with its jaw. The only thing that allowed Irwyn to maintain equilibrium was that he could keep pouring endless oceans of magic into his own spell to maintain it through the mounting pressure.

"Kill the big one," Elizabeth said, then rushed out of the barrier. Irwyn reacted in time, creating a gap for her to leave through which he then immediately closed afterward. It also meant that he could not move the platform from place. That was fine.

The jagged stalactite-like teeth on the monster were already melting at the points of contact, giving Irwyn an idea. The monster had been able to maintain them mostly whole while Irwyn was on the defensive, but that immediately became insufficient when he struck back. Maintaining his defense, he poured almost all of his remaining willpower into an attack.

A new mane of flame coursed over the rock in the blink of an eye and strived to cover its totality. His previous thought had not been wrong. If he had to incinerate a mountain whole, then he very well would. Irwyn had the mana to spare. And the moment he went on the offensive, the advantages were reversed. Now it was the monster's Concept that was unsuitable for defense.

Its pressure, or whatever the real guiding principle was, had no inherent advantage towards suppressing the spreading wildfire. That meant that the only option was for it to overpower Irwyn in sheer force on wholly even footing. Something it had failed to accomplish even when advantaged during an ambush. When their Concepts clashed, Irwyn won out in all of quality, affinity, willpower, and raw weight of mana.

The Flame thus ate through the surface rapidly. In a breath it reached the geodic marrow and burned through. The whole animated hill writhed and shrieked a strange rumbling scream as Irwyn boiled it from within. Until rock was sludge and sludge vaporized air. Thousands upon thousands of those smaller snakes burned to death alongside it as Irwyn razed the entire hill to the ground.

Because the monster had clearly dwelled quite deep. Even when accounting for some collateral destruction, Irwyn caused far more damage than he would have expected. While trying to focus almost entirely on the monster in front of him - especially important since Elizabeth was likely somewhere nearby - Irwyn still ended up turning the whole formerly elevated position into a crater, distinctly below even ground level.

It could have been done better. A proper spell would have given the counterattack structure. Allowed Irwyn to annihilate his foe even faster and more precisely. It did not matter that particularly battle, but it was an obviously wrong mindset to fall into. Eventually there would come a struggle that demanded every smallest advantage be used - and well.

He had been caught off guard before, but in the lul he had a chance to remedy that while waiting for Elizabeth. First was Empyrean Blood an old but potent spell. Without Star as a Concept it would be stuck where it already was at nine intentions… which seemed fine enough for the moment. Allowing Irwyn to draw more mana faster remained greatly valuable to him. Even if the amplification was comparatively a lot smaller to what it used to be.

That being said, the whole battle with the hill-sized stone monster had only taken perhaps six seconds. He didn't know where Elizabeth had vanished off to, and there were seemingly no more attacks coming for him… at least temporarily. Because even though there had been quite a few monsters, it did not live up to being called a 'horde'. More would be coming. Countless many more. Irwyn needed better spells to deal with that.

After few more seconds, Elizabeth reappeared, right in that spot where she had stood on the platform. It seemed that her ability to traverse through the Void was not limited where they were. The fact that she had passed through his Concept empowered barrier needed some investigation, but perhaps that came down to Elizabeth being much more resistant to Flame through both sheer affinity and possessing her own version of the Concept. Most other beings may well just melt by standing too close or within - which is why he had only done limited testing around their more squishy group members.

"The Void here is utterly separated from the rest," she commented. "Not surprising, but perhaps worrying. Definitely not a vector of escape - even at best merely evasion."

"What were you up to?" he asked, bringing the platform further up.

"I noticed another ambush and moved to destroy before it could be sprung. One of the small serpents had a Concept, pretending otherwise."

"There will be more," he nodded and shared his thoughts. It was actually kind of strange nothing else had attack them yet.

"Undoubtedly."

"Perhaps next time we could have the element of surprise instead," he pondered, then realized that magically amplifying his vision would help with that, so he cast the spell. "If I can spot…"

Then he paused, gaping again. With All is seen glimmering in his eyes, he could once again behold more than just the visual. Thanks to his prior practice, he already defined the parameters while casting to not let them overwhelm him for even a moment. Specifically, he sought to witness any monsters or similar beings, nothing else. And for the briefest moment, he thought his spell might have failed to activate. Only for his mind to catch up a split second later.

Because the landscape and monsters overlapped. Perfectly. Every single rock, jagged protrusion, or cliffside was alive. Every mountain. Beyond thousands, genuine millions of creatures dwelled below them, omnipresent as far as eye could see. Dormant as they, for whatever reason, did not overtly battle one another, creating an illusion of a normal rocky countryside. But once Irwyn saw it, there could be no denying the truth: The entire sprawling landscape was built almost entirely out of slumbering monsters.

"We might be in trouble."

Because he could see that those nearest to their previous battle were already waking up.

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