Chapter 36- Fallen and Found

Measured Movements

Cyrus’s POV

The endless spiral of stairs finally gave way to a faint glimmer of light. Hope surged through me, giving my aching legs a second wind. Beside me, Liam’s labored breathing matched my own. We’d been climbing for what felt like hours, each step a battle against exhaustion and the maddening darkness.

“Almost there,” I grunted, more to myself than to my unwanted companion.

Liam’s response was a breathless chuckle. “Your observational skills never cease to amaze me, demon slayer. Whatever would I do without your astute commentary?”

I bit back a retort, saving my breath for the final push. The light grew brighter, beckoning us forward. With a final surge of effort, we stumbled into a vast, brilliantly lit cavern.

The sudden brightness was like a physical blow. I squinted, raising a hand to shield my eyes. As my vision adjusted, I took in our surroundings. The cavern was enormous, its ceiling lost in shadows high above. Crystalline formations jutted from the walls, refracting the light into a dazzling array of colors. It was beautiful, in a way that made my skin crawl with unease. Nothing this breathtaking came without a price.

My legs trembled, muscles screaming in protest as I leaned against the rough cavern wall near the entrance. Liam didn’t look much better, his usual poise shattered by exhaustion. His chest heaved as he gulped in air, sweat glistening on his brow, making him look almost mortal for once.

“Well,” he panted, attempting to regain his usual smug demeanor, “that was… invigorating. I haven’t had a workout like that since… well, never mind. You mortals and your delicate sensibilities might not appreciate the comparison.”

I rolled my eyes, too exhausted to rise to his bait. “Save it, Tinkerbell. We need to—”

The words died in my throat as I turned back towards the entrance. Where the staircase had been moments ago, there was now only solid rock. A chill ran down my spine, the implications sinking in like lead weights.

“Liam,” I said, my voice tight with barely contained panic, “tell me you’re seeing this too.”

The Fae turned, his eyes widening as he took in the sealed entrance. “Well, shit,” he muttered, all pretense of nonchalance evaporating. “It seems our gracious hosts are keen on discouraging early departures.”

I ran my hands over the smooth stone surface, searching for any hint of a hidden mechanism. Nothing. We were well and truly trapped.

“Can’t you use your magic?” I demanded, rounding on Liam. “Open it back up like you did with the first entrance?”

Liam’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. “Oh yes, because I’ve been holding back this whole time, just waiting for the perfect moment to show off.” Despite his sarcasm, he closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. I watched as a soft green glow emanated from his palms, spreading out across the cavern walls. After a few moments, the light faded, and Liam opened his eyes with a frustrated sigh.

“Nothing,” he growled. “No hidden passages, no magical portals. We’re well and truly trapped.”

“Then what good are you?” I spat. “Some all-powerful Fae you turned out to be.”

“More use than a glorified exterminator with delusions of heroism,” Liam shot back, his usual playful tone edged with genuine anger.

We glared at each other, the tension crackling between us like live wire. It was Liam who finally broke the silence, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “As thrilling as this little tête-à-tête is, perhaps we should focus on the task at hand? Unless you’d prefer to die here, trapped with the object of your oh-so-obvious resentment.”

I took a deep breath, forcing down the anger. He was right, as much as I hated to admit it. We needed to work together if we had any hope of getting out of this.

“Fine,” I growled. “What do you make of this place?”

Liam’s eyes scanned the cavern, his earlier exhaustion seemingly forgotten as he slipped into what I could only describe as ‘scholar mode.’ “Fascinating,” he murmured, moving towards one of the walls. “These symbols… they’re a blend of various magical traditions, it seems.”

I followed his gaze, taking in the intricate designs etched into the stone. To me, they looked like a child’s scribbles, but Liam traced them with reverent fingers.

“This wall,” he explained, his tone surprisingly free of condescension, “seems to represent the cycle of life. Birth, life, death. And over here…” He moved to the opposite wall. “Sun, moon, earth. Celestial symbols.”

“Great,” I muttered, eyeing the wall scribbles with all the enthusiasm of a cat facing a bath. “A magical Rorschach test. How does this help us get out of here? Tell me, Liam, do you think the artist left us an ‘Exit’ sign in their mystical finger-painting, or should we start looking for the gift shop?”

Liam shot me a withering look. “Knowledge is power, my dear remedial student. Remember the sign at the entrance? This cave is connected to Zalmoxis, a Dacian god. They had a complex belief system, intimately tied to the natural world and the cosmos. They believed in life after death, you know. These symbols might be more than just decoration.”

I was about to make a scathing retort when something in the center of the cavern caught my eye. Three large boulders, each roughly the size of a small car, sat within a circle carved into the ground. From that circle, a straight line led to three more circles, spaced out at varying distances.

We approached cautiously, and Liam bent to examine the carvings more closely. “Interesting,” he murmured. “The three outer circles are labeled ‘sun,’ ‘earth,’ and ‘moon’ in that order. And the boulders… they’re inscribed with ‘birth,’ ‘life,’ and ‘death.’”

“Well,” Liam said, a smirk playing on his lips, “this is clearly part of our trial. I’d wager we need to map these stones to the correct circles somehow. The question is, which virtue are we testing here? Humility? That would be a challenge for me, I admit. Or perhaps it’s chastity? That might be more your speed, demon slayer.”

I ignored his jab, placing my hands on one of the boulders and pushing with all my might. It didn’t budge an inch. Sweat beaded on my brow as I strained against the unyielding stone, my muscles screaming in protest.

“Having trouble there, muscles?” Liam smirked. “Perhaps you should stick to stakes and silver. Let me show you how it’s done.”

He waved his hand dramatically, green energy swirling around the boulder. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sound like a deflating balloon, the magic dissipated. Liam’s smug expression faltered, replaced by one of genuine confusion.

“Well,” I said, unable to keep the satisfaction from my voice, “it seems your parlor tricks aren’t quite up to snuff, Your Highness. Any other bright ideas?”

We spent the next hour debating various configurations, each of us advocating for our own interpretation. Liam insisted on a Fae-centric view, while I argued for a more human perspective. Neither of us was willing to concede ground, our frustration mounting with each failed attempt to move the stones.

Finally, more by accident than design, I discovered the trick. My hand barely brushed against one of the boulders as I walked past, and I felt it shift ever so slightly.

“Liam,” I called, excitement creeping into my voice. “I think I’ve got it. Watch.”

I placed my hand gently on the boulder, applying the barest amount of pressure. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, it began to move.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Of course,” he breathed. “Patience. It’s a test of patience.”

We looked at the distance the boulders needed to travel and groaned in unison. At this rate, it would take hours to move them into position.

“Well,” Liam said, a wry smile on his face, “I hope you didn’t have any pressing engagements scheduled for today.”

I snorted. “Fresh out, I’m afraid. Looks like we’ll have to make do with your sparkling conversation.”

As we began the painstaking process of moving the boulders, we debated the correct order. Liam argued for moon as birth, earth as life, and sun as death, while I insisted on earth as birth, sun as life and moon as death .

We were so engrossed in our task that we almost missed the ominous rumbling. The ground began to shake as we pushed the first boulder, labeled “birth,” past the “moon” circle.

“Stop!” Liam shouted, his eyes wide with alarm. “We’ve gone too far!”

We scrambled back as a deafening crack split the air. A fissure opened in the ground, right where we had been standing moments before. Heart pounding, I watched as the crevice widened, threatening to swallow the misplaced boulder.

As suddenly as it had begun, the shaking stopped. The fissure remained, a gaping wound in the cavern floor, a stark reminder of the price of failure.

“Well,” Liam said, his voice shaky despite his attempt at nonchalance, “I suppose that proves my theory. Moon represents birth, clearly.”

I glared at him. “Or it proves we need to be more careful. We nearly got ourselves killed!”

Liam’s eyes glittered with triumph and something darker. “Oh, come now, Cyrus. Admit it. I was right. Just like I was right about Kate.”

I tensed, not liking where this was going. “What are you talking about?”

“Well,” Liam drawled, his tone infuriatingly smug, “Kate and I have gotten quite… close during our time together. You should hear the way she moans when—”

I whirled on him, my fist connecting solidly with his jaw before I even realized I’d moved. Liam stumbled back, his eyes wide with surprise and a hint of satisfaction. He’d gotten exactly the reaction he’d wanted.

“Touched a nerve, have I?” he taunted, rubbing his jaw. “Poor Cyrus, always a step behind. Do you really think she’ll choose you over the wonders I can show her?”

I lunged at him, blind with rage, when suddenly the ground began to shake again. We froze, the very real threat of death cooling our tempers instantly.

As the tremors subsided, we stared at each other, the gravity of our situation sinking in. “We can’t afford to fight,” I said, hating the words even as I spoke them. “Not if we want to get out of here alive.”

Liam’s usual smirk was replaced by grim determination. “Agreed. A temporary truce, then.”

I held out my hand, forcing down my revulsion. “Fine,” I muttered, while mentally looking forward to the first chance I’d get to break that truce.

We turned back to the boulders, our earlier antagonism replaced by focused determination. I carefully stepped around the fissure, mentally praying that the ground would not crumble under my feet. We had to get this right, or we might not get another chance.

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s think this through logically. You said that the Dacians believed in life after death, right?”

“Yes, and they were sun worshippers,” Liam replied. “The sun was a central figure in their mythology.”

I paced back and forth, my mind racing. “So, if we consider the Dacian beliefs, maybe we’re approaching this all wrong.”

Liam furrowed his brow in concentration. “Where are you going with this?”

“Well,” I said, the pieces slowly falling into place, “what if the sun represents life, not just in a daily cycle, but in their entire cosmology? It’s the source of life, growth, and rebirth.”

Liam’s eyes widened with understanding. “And if the sun is life, then… the moon could be birth? Many cultures associate the moon with new beginnings and cycles.”

Excitement built as I continued, “Exactly. And earth… well, we all return to the earth when we die. It’s a common thread in many belief systems.”

“So you’re suggesting moon for birth, earth for death, and sun for life?” Liam asked, a hint of respect creeping into his voice. “It’s certainly not how a Fae would arrange it, but for a human-based trial… it makes sense.”

As we approached the circle where we had pushed the “birth” boulder too far, the fissure in the ground loomed ominously. My heart raced, recalling our near-fatal error. The jagged crack seemed to mock us, a silent threat promising dire consequences for any future missteps.

“We need to move this back first,” I said, eyeing the dangerous crack in the floor. “And carefully. One wrong move and we might end up buried alive.”

Liam nodded grimly. “And once we get this one in place, we’ll have to maneuver the others around it. This just got even more tedious.”

With agonizing slowness, we inched the “birth” boulder back towards the “moon” circle. Each movement was a test of willpower, the stone responding only to the gentlest touch. Liam, ever the picture of Fae grace, lasted all of five minutes before his patience wore thin.

“This is ridiculous,” he hissed, shoving the boulder with both hands. It didn’t budge. “Why won’t you move, you oversized paperweight?”

I smirked, despite our dire situation. “What’s wrong, Your Highness? Not used to things resisting your charms?”

Liam’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Oh, I assure you, my charms are quite effective. Just ask Kate. She was particularly responsive when I—”

“Finish that sentence,” I growled, “and I’ll show you just how ‘patient’ I can be while strangling you.”

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a Fae curse. We resumed our glacial pace, skirting the fissure with painstaking care. Every time Liam’s impatience got the better of him, the boulder would lock up, bringing us to another frustrating halt.

“I swear,” Liam grumbled after his fifth failed attempt to speed things up, “if I ever meet the sadist who designed this trial, I’ll introduce them to some truly creative Fae punishments.”

“Save some for me,” I grunted, fighting my own urge to just shove the damn thing into place. “I’ve got a few choice words for them myself.”

Finally, we positioned the boulder so that it just barely sat inside the “moon” circle. There was a soft click, and the stone settled into place.

We both let out sighs of relief, but our respite was short-lived. Now came the real challenge: moving the remaining two boulders into their correct positions while navigating around the first one.

“This is going to take forever,” Liam groaned, eyeing the circuitous path we’d have to take.

“Better slow than dead,” I reminded him, positioning myself next to the “death” boulder.

The process was excruciatingly slow. We had to constantly adjust our path, sometimes backtracking when we got too close to the fissure or the other boulder. By the time we finally clicked the “death” boulder into the “earth” circle, I was drenched in sweat and my arms felt like lead.

As we approached the final boulder, the one marked “life,” tension crackled in the air like static electricity. This was it. If we were wrong, if this didn’t work, I had a feeling we wouldn’t get another chance.

“Steady now,” Liam murmured as we guided the stone forward. “Nice and easy.”

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Each movement felt like an eternity, the weight of our lives pressing down on us with every inch gained. My arms ached, muscles screaming in protest, but I didn’t dare ease up. Too much was at stake.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, we positioned the “life” boulder at the edge of the “sun” circle. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, with a sound like a great gear turning, the ground began to rumble. I tensed, ready to pull back, but Liam’s hand on my arm stopped me.

“Wait,” he said, his eyes fixed on the boulders.

Before our eyes, the stones began to glow. Soft at first, then with increasing intensity, until they blazed with an inner light that hurt to look at directly. The rumbling grew louder, the entire cavern seeming to shake with the force of it.

Just when I thought the vibrations would tear the cave apart, everything stopped. The silence that followed was deafening.

Slowly, cautiously, I opened my eyes. The boulders had sunk into their respective circles, their surfaces now flush with the ground. And there, in the center of the cavern where the line connecting the circles had been, the earth began to rumble and shift.

“We did it,” I breathed, hardly daring to believe it.

Liam’s laughter echoed through the cavern, a sound of pure relief and exhilaration. “Indeed we did, my stubborn friend. It seems your human perspective has its uses after all.”

I turned to him, a retort on my lips, when a grinding noise drew our attention back to the center. Two stone pillars were rising from the ground, ornate symbols etched into their surface. Between them, a shimmering vortex of energy crackled to life, its edges rippling like disturbed water.

“Well,” Liam said, eyeing the portal with a mix of curiosity and apprehension, “shall we see where this leads?”

I nodded, steeling myself for whatever came next, as we approached the portal. I could feel the hum of magic emanating from it, making the hair on my arms stand on end. With one last shared glance, we stepped through.

The moment we crossed the threshold, reality seemed to fold in on itself. It felt like being stretched and compressed simultaneously, my senses overloaded with conflicting information. For a terrifying moment, I felt like I was being pulled apart, my very atoms scattering to the winds. Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over.

We stumbled out onto shifting ground, gasping for air. As my vision cleared, I became aware of an intense heat surrounding us. Hot sand stretched in every direction, seeming to go on forever.

“What the hell?” I muttered, shielding my eyes from the glare. That’s when I noticed it – more sand, trickling down from somewhere high above us.

Liam looked up, his expression tightening with concern. “Oh, this is not good,” he said, his voice strained.

I followed his gaze and felt my stomach drop. Far above us, barely visible through the falling sand, I could make out a curved glass surface.

“Are we… are we in an hourglass?” I asked, disbelief coloring my tone.

Liam confirmed my suspicion with a grim expression. “It appears so. And if I’m not mistaken, we’re in the bottom half. Which means…”

“Which means we’re running out of time,” I finished, watching as more sand poured down around us. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. We’d just passed a test of patience, only to find ourselves quite literally racing against time.