~ 60: The Night of Blessings and Curses - Part 5 ~

The situation got more difficult as the width of the trenches increased. Now it became totally impossible to cross with both of us on the rope.

"What hell lies ahead now excluding this wide trench?" I asked miserably. "If we can't cross separately, we would have to die."

That invisible magic responded by throwing the two of us to either side of the path. We fell quite badly on our behinds and were then rubbing the soreness off our tailbones at having found the answer.

"Then it's your turn, Lest," Lucas stated. "Best of luck. You'll get through it."

I took in the encouragement and said, "I will meet you on the other side."

With that, I took a jump as long as I could after skidding off the edge. The bad start made me catch the rope below the land level, arising the same difficulty I had the first time I had sprung away from it.

This time, the rope fell away after five complete swings. It gave me lesser time to think and more anxiety.

The rope fell and jumped right when I started to fall, earning myself a place close to the fire. I was barely a metre away before I became cooked. I had heard Lucas's yelp when the fall started. He was possibly leaning over the edge precariously. I just hoped that the invisible magic didn't throw him into the fire beneath.

I was lucky enough to have few well-placed branches this time. Some good and strong roots peered out of the soil, giving me a solid foothold wherever I went. The number of branches fell short at the top, but the curved roots helped me reach the flat earth with minimal effort.

I sat down, away from the path to give Lucas enough space, while rubbing the soreness out of my arms and legs.

'So this would be another situation where you couldn't warm up,' I told myself as I watched Lucas grab onto the next swinging vine. 'If only those magical hands were a little merciful.'

I hastily stood up and did a few stretches as he landed smoothly with hardly a sound coming from his feet.

"Just how do you do that?" I asked with awe. "I can hardly land without injuring myself, let alone making a sound."

"Comes with great experience," he answered with a grin. "Let's quickly finish up our business here."

From what the eye could see after climbing up a tree, we had another two trenches to cross at most. And since I wasn't a long jumper like my partner, I decided to give my idea a shot.

"What do you think you are doing?" asked Lucas as he watched me touch and pull all the ropes. "Are you playing with them now?"

"Keep watching," I responded with confidence, hoping this would help me get through it.

There were three ropes stationed since the previous round which meant that any of them had to be used. And most certainly, according to my assumptions, only one of them had been firmly fitted while the other two were fraudulent.

"You should get going," I told him. "Though I doubt the middle one will be the right one this time."

"I planned that out already," he said. "But I have to make the jump to the middle one first if I have to get through this channel full of lava. I want to see how you do it with your approach."

He took his leap, jumping onto the middle one, which immediately broke off. And like a skilled monkey, he sprung onto the vine on his right. He landed as softly as ever but so close to the edge that I was frightened of him falling as he fell back slightly. Until the next step secured his stance, my heart didn't stop racing.

From the tree I hung onto, it would be easy to jump onto the rope on the right as it was the right one. The only trouble was the branch breaking before I could leap off. So I made a rope out of the vines like I had when we were near the pit, and put the noose on a sturdy branch. Then I took the dangerous leap without looking down to not fear what was below.

It seemed like I had grabbed onto the wrong rope for it snapped two seconds later, despite it being the one that held Lucas firmly. My reflexes were a second late to kick-off, letting me grab onto the middle rope halfway down. That rope also fell off, making me plunge sharply below until I caught the left rope.

I was stuck with my foot close to a fire bubble and the time running short. Fortunately, the rope I had used on the tree had come with me as I was clutching hard onto it whilst making the cautious spring.

"Celestine!" I heard him roar from above as I held both the ropes in my hand. I could not look at him or even answer him as the heat choked the air out of me.

It was nearing the last swing and I still hadn't let my rope grab a branch. I threw it in the nick of time and changed my position. But in a haste, I had thrown the rope on the wrong branch. I had climbed only a few metres towards it before it cracked. The fall was inevitable, like as though it was destined.

"Lest!" was the last call I heard from him before his dagger penetrated the earth wall.

I had completely forgotten that his wild and strong dagger could give me a hold. I used the other hand and my feet to find good hold while I used the dagger to find a tough spot to help me mount.

The effort to ascend was great for I lost out my strength and held the hold long enough. It seemed like I would fall again as I had no energy in my quivering arms and legs to make the climb.

The last few seconds recorded in my brain told me that a rope had dropped for me. A voice said to hold it, which I absent-mindedly did, and I was hoisted up. As I touched the land, my body was in familiar hands as I blanked out from the intense exposure to heat.