First Trial

The stinging smell of metal was the first thing to reach Riven's nose. His stomach churned; the smell clung to the back of his throat. His eyes opened.

When they did, he found himself in a dim, circular hall, with two torches burning at opposite sides, flickering from side to side, though there was no wind.

Small gutters lined the stone floors, dug in a fine pattern. Dark red blood flowed through them. The metallic smell hit him once more, harder this time. His stomach churned harder, and the sight of blood almost caused him to throw up.

His breaths instantly got heavy, his throat closed, his mouth opened, sucking in air desperately. His eyes darted around furiously, his entire body already covered in sweat.

Then suddenly, the torches went out, and immediately fear gripped Riven. He felt like a massive danger was looking over his neck; his legs felt like noodles, buckling in on themselves.

A few seconds later, a spotlight came on, shining on something he didn't spot before. A massive iron maiden stood at the wall, standing at twenty feet tall.

Chains as big as an arm bolted this iron maiden to the wall, and large talismans were stuck to the chains and the iron maiden.

From the eyehole of the iron maiden came a red glow, and as Riven looked at this red glow, his heart screamed with fear, beating at an unbelievable pace.

[I have been waiting for you.]

Suddenly a voice sounded inside his head. Riven's expression twisted into one of horror. He tried to run away, but the voice spoke again.

[If you do not complete the trial, you will die.]

Riven froze. He didn't doubt the voice even for a moment. A power strong enough to pull him in through a book was surely able to kill him.

He slowly turned around to face the iron maiden. His body trembled as if he had cold water poured on him. All he could feel was fear, fear, fear.

[You have been chosen for my divine blessing, but first, you must complete a trial. Are you ready?]

Riven had no idea what he was getting into, but he understood that he needed to survive. He needed to get out of this place alive somehow, so he was going to play along.

"I'll do it... I'll do your trial. What is it?" he asked, his voice shaky. He clenched his fist hard as he forced out those words.

[You have made the right decision. Your trial begins: The Way of Faith.]

After the voice said that, the hall twisted and turned, shifting and changing, until Riven found himself standing in an underground cave tunnel, dimly lit with some blue crystals in the walls.

The air in the tunnel was stale and heavy; it made him feel claustrophobic.

Riven didn't know what to do. Out of fear, he had agreed to the trial without asking any proper questions. All he knew was that the iron maiden called it the Way of Faith.

Suddenly, Riven heard the sound of low growls coming from behind him. He turned around, looking deep into the darkness, and he saw red glowing eyes locked on him.

His heart leaped into his throat. He didn't bother to wait and see what the creatures were; he turned and took heel, running as fast as his legs could carry him. His feet hit the ground and echoed in the tunnel.

The growls soon became louder and more ferocious. He could tell they were chasing after him. He refused to look back, his eyes locked in front of him.

He had no idea where he was headed, but he knew he was heading away from the creatures. He kept running until he came to a fork in the way; the cave led in two directions.

A moment of uncertainty of where to follow hit him. It had only been for a split second before he chose right, but that split second mysteriously made the creatures cross over half the distance that was between Riven and them.

Riven could hear them closer to him now. He knew he had barely stopped, so how were they so close? He pushed the thought aside—he didn't have the time to worry about that now.

As he dashed through the tunnel, he came to another fork in the road, but this time with three paths. Like a normal human, he thought of which to enter for a split second before choosing the right.

Like the last time, the creatures got closer again after he made his choice. They were now too close for Riven to not be worried.

How can they move that fast? What am I supposed to do? Riven thought to himself. He gritted his teeth and pushed harder, running as fast as he could.

He saw a brighter light—the light at the end of the tunnel—and he pushed toward it. He came out of the tunnel only to see a massive cave with a chasm right in front of him, and nowhere else to go.

He forced himself to come to a stop, almost going over the edge. He looked down, and the chasm had no end, only an eerie darkness that sent chills down his spine.

The growl of the creatures returned his attention to what had been chasing him. He turned around, watching as the creatures stepped out of the tunnel and into the light.

They were black doglike creatures, with crimson eyes and spikes running down their spines. They had no tails and no ears. Their teeth looked like the blades of a chainsaw, ready to rip through flesh.

They slowly approached Riven, growling as they got closer. Riven took steps back, being pushed to the edge.

He didn't know what to do. He was thrust into this trial with no preparation, with no information, aside from the name of the trial.

'Wait, the name, the Way of Faith. Faith is unshakable belief.'

Riven's mind immediately started working overdrive. Every time he had doubted his decision for even a bit, the creatures came closer to him. Did this mean he was to remove all doubt and just move?

Riven knew this sounded absurd, but right now, he would rather take the leap of faith. Riven turned and jumped into the chasm.