“What do you mean we’re trapped?” Cole asked.

“Try going back,” Kate replied. “You’ll see.”

Turning to their one exit, Cole didn’t notice anything different from before. Torch in hand, he decided to test Kate’s statement.

“I guess I will. You coming with, Lucy?”

“I’ll stay here,” Lucy said.

“Suit yourself.”

Taking the sole exit, Cole made his way towards the other room. It’d taken them a couple minutes to reach this new area, but Cole saw no sign of anything preventing their return. Continuing to walk straight, Cole failed to see any kind of light in the distance. The torches were shining brightly as they left, so he should have been able to see something by now. He trudged along, waiting for them to come in view.

Soon enough, Cole saw a blue light in the distance. He wasn’t sure why Kate had thought they were trapped. Could it be that Cole solving the puzzle also opened the way for Kate?

As he approached, Cole realized his mistake. The blue light didn’t emit from the torches in his starting room, but from the cave he’d just left.

“Satisfied?” Kate asked as Cole reentered the room.

“Yeah, I think so,” Cole said. “Sorry for doubting you.”

“No worries.” Kate yawned. “We’re gonna be stuck together, so we may as well try to get along.”

“Agreed,” Cole replied.

He was happy that Kate was so ready to work with them. Lucy began tapping on the walls, probably looking for some kind of clue. Kate got up, brushing the dirt of herself. She was a few inches shorter than Cole, with brown hair that reached her shoulders.

“I’ve already checked all around this place,” Kate said, looking over to Lucy. “Trust me. I tried everything.”

“You never know,” Lucy replied, tapping away.

“That’s fair,” Kate said, “but this is what I’ve tried so far…”

Kate went on to explain how thoroughly she’d examined the room. Breaking or otherwise damaging the walls didn’t seem to do anything, nor with the ceiling or floor. She’d tried the same when going back into the passageway, but that yielded an identical result. This was emphasized by Kate’s use of amplify magic, the only magic she said she knew. After rattling off a slew of other ideas she’d tried, Cole had been convinced.

“Wow, you really did try everything,” Cole said, surprised by Kate’s thoroughness.

“I told you.” Kate shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to wait. Maybe we need more people before going to the next area.”

“True.”

Cole hadn't thought about that option, but it did make sense. IQ hadn’t mentioned other people being in the trial, but since there were, they might have to wait for more groups to get past their own starting areas. In which case, they could be stuck there for a while.

“How long have you been here?” Cole asked.

“A few days.”

“A few days?!”

“Well, I’ve slept in this cave twice now,” Kate explained. “I’m not sure how long it’s actually been since I got here.”

Yikes, Cole thought, looking around the room. It didn’t seem like Kate would have very much to occupy herself with, so Cole felt kind of bad for taking so long in the first area of the trial. All he could see for potential entertainment was whatever Kate had in her bag.

“What’re your names?” Kate asked, raising an eyebrow. “I already told you mine.”

“A, sorry,” Cole replied, “I’m Cole, and this is-”

“Lucy.” Lucy interrupted, glancing over to Cole with an almost disapproving expression.

“Well, it’s nice to meet the two of you,” Kate continued, smiling excitedly, “Since we’re going to be in this together from now on, we may as well share our resources.”

Reaching next to her, Kate unlatched the straps on his backpack. Reaching in, she pulled out a half-eaten loaf of bread.

“This is the last of what I have. What about you two?”

“Uh,” Cole said, “we don’t have anything.”

“You mean you didn’t bring any food with you?” Kate asked, shocked by the notion. “How new are you two to all this?”

“This is our second… third trial,” Cole admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “We’re a little new at this.”

“You don’t say…”

“I just ate,” Cole said, trying to smooth over the conversation, “so you don’t have to bother sharing if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine. We’re all training for the same thing, anyway.” Kate said. “Us adventurers have to stick together.”

She began dividing the bread into three pieces. Reaching her arm out, she insisted that Cole and Lucy both take one. Lucy eagerly took the piece directed to her, but Cole couldn’t help but feel bad. He’d just scarfed down a plate of food before entering the trial and wasn’t even hungry.

“I’m fine, really,” Cole said. “Keep it for yourself, just in case.”

“Don’t worry so much,” Kate replied. “I’ll be fine.”

Before Cole could argue further, he saw Lucy finishing her piece in his peripheral vision. She’d begun to eye the piece being passed to Cole, making her way to intercept.

“If neither of you want it,” Lucy said, “then I can take it.”

Cole looked over to Kate. She seemed hesitant but still passed the piece over to Lucy. Kate invited Lucy and Cole to take a seat in front of her. She explained to them how she’d decided to enter The Tower, along with how excited she would be to reach the second tier. Becoming an obsidian adventurer would be “cool,” but Kate had set her sights on becoming diamond rank. The Tower only got more perilous the further you went, and she was already struggling enough.

Lucy and Cole sat around for hours listening to Kate talk at length about what her plans were for when she finally succeeded in beating the first and second tier. She’d come from a relatively poor family and planned to buy them a new home as soon as she could raise the funds. Cole gained respect for Kate as she openly went on talking about her family. The fact she was willing to risk so much to help them live a better life was inspiring to him.

“That’s about it,” Kate said. “What about you two? How’d you come to enter The Tower.”

Oh crap. Cole thought to himself. He’d been listening so diligently to Kate’s story that he didn’t think to come up with anything for himself. All Cole could think of was waking up in a strange bed with a weird man knocking him over.

“Our Guildmaster sent us here to train,” Lucy replied, locking eyes with Cole.

“You two are in a guild?” Kate asked excitedly. “What guild? I didn’t think you’d both be gold rank!”

“We’re not allowed to say,” Lucy replied.

“Aw,” Kate said, trying to mask her disappointment. “Sorry for prying. I just got to silver rank before entering The Tower. I’ve never even entered a guildhall before since I get all my quests from my town.”

“It’s fine,” Cole said, trying to act confident. “We all start somewhere, right? I think it’s great you’re doing all this to help out your family. You should be proud!”

“Thanks,” Kate replied, looking away as she itched her cheek. “You two must have been on some pretty fun adventures together, though. Is there anything you can tell me about that?”

“Uh,” Cole said, looking away from Kate's piercing stare, “Maybe tomorrow. I think Lucy and I are a little tired. Isn’t that right, Lucy?”

Lucy nodded approvingly. Cole couldn’t tell if she agreed that sleeping was a good idea or if his plan to avoid the question was a good idea, but he went with it nonetheless.

“Oh, sorry, I’ve been keeping you up,” Kate said. “I think I could use some sleep, too. I’m still pretty tired from before I’d taken a nap.”

“No worries,” Cole said, getting up from the ground. “Well, sleep tight, everyone.”

“You too,” Kate said, smiling at Cole.

Moving near the room’s entrance, Cole sat with his back against the wall. He hadn’t been awake long enough to feel all that tired, but that's never stopped him before. Besides, it would have been strange for him to propose sleeping and not actually try to sleep.

Lucy walked to the opposite side of the entrance, taking a seat near Cole. Considering how easily she’d been “woken up” before, Cole didn’t imagine he’d have to worry about others entering the room without her noticing. After finding a comfortable position around the coarse cobblestone, Cole closed his eyes, ready to continue the trial whenever the opportunity arose.

 

***

 

Chink, chink, chink.

Cole groggily woke up to an odd sound, along with a slight chill. He’d managed to fall asleep pretty easily and was a tad annoyed as his eyes fluttered open. Cole caught a glimpse of Kate standing over him with an insidious expression on her face.

“Kate?”

Kate jumped back at Cole’s sudden words, making her fall back in surprise. In doing so, she dropped the knife she’d been clutching.

“What’s that for?” Cole asked, rubbing his eyes. “You looked so angry.”

“I was…” Kate said, looking off to the side, “sharpening my knife.”

“Over here?” Cole asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Kate stuttered, quivering as she forced out a smile, “Th-The lighting is better over here, with the torch and all. It’s a pain in the ass, but what can you do?”

But why so close? Why is she acting so afraid?

Pushing himself upright, Cole felt an odd coolness along his chest. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but there was definitely something strange going on. Rubbing around his chest, Cole felt a small patch of ice filled with tiny grooves. His eyes continued to adjust to the torchlight as he looked to the knife.

A sickening realization popped into Cole’s mind as he continued to feel over the jagged grooves. Kate had been so kind to him. Why would she attack? Had he bled at any point since entering the cave? Cole wanted to deny Kate’s attempt at a silent assassination, but all he could think about was how angry she’d looked when he’d awoken.

Now regarding Cole with a furrowed brow, Kate slowly reached for her dropped blade. Cole turned to Lucy for assistance. She laid limp against the cobblestone wall, her posture incredibly slouched. No…

“Lucy, are you okay?” Cole asked.

No response.

“Lucy?!”

“I already checked,” Kate said. “She’s dead.”

Cole’s eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. But she’s so strong. How-

“I can’t believe you saw through my plan.” Kate continued, further narrowing her eyes as she regained her confidence. “You even used the opportunity to get rid of your partner. You demons really are heartless.”

“You’re wrong,” Cole replied, clenching his fists. I need to get Lucy out of here, now!

Cole got up from the ground, watching closely as Kate flipped her knife around her fingers.

“If you couldn’t even kill her,” Kate said, “I guess you’re not that strong either.”

Kate paused before opening her mouth to continue.

“Zzz.”

Cole snapped his attention back to Lucy, seeing her mouth move slightly as her loud snore interrupted Kate, echoing around the small room.

“What the hell!” Cole yelled. “You had me worried sick.”

“How?” Kate asked in disbelief. “But you ate both pieces. I even checked your pulse. You should be dead!”

Lucy grinned, peeking open one of her eyelids. Shoving against the ground, Lucy shot up to her feet. Reaching into the pouch tucked under her back, Lucy produced two pieces of bread.

“You mean these?”

“Impossible,” Kate said as her jaw dropped. “I saw you eat them.”

“You can’t trust everything you see,” Lucy replied, turning to Cole with an air of disappointment. “I’m surprised you haven’t learned that yet.”

Cole turned away. Even after everything that happened, he had a hard time seeing everyone he met as a potential threat.

“Ow!” Kate yelled.

Cole turned back to see Lucy’s fist firmly planted against Kate’s stomach.

“So, you tried to poison me,” Lucy calmly stated, punching Kate in the face, “twice.”

Kate fell to the ground, coughing profusely. She brought one hand to cover her cheek, the other still restrained by Lucy.

“You want a turn?” Lucy asked, waving her hand at Kate. “She tried to kill you, too.”

Cole took pause at the idea. Isn’t this a little much? Nothing actually happened...

“No.” Cole hesitantly replied.

Lucy let go of Kate. She immediately retreated back, obviously rattled. Lucy crouched beside her, red blood dripping down Kate’s cheek.

“Now,” Lucy said, “why’d you try to kill us?”

Kate’s eyes snapped back and forth between Cole and Lucy. It was as if she was asking, “which of them is supposed to be the demon, again?”

“My trial wasn’t to ‘find an amulet,’ or whatever.” Kate finally replied. “My trial was to ensure the demon named ‘Cole’ would never be a threat to The Tower.”

“Wait,” Cole said, “what?”

“I entered the trial with the sole task of killing you.” Kate continued, looking Cole dead in the eyes. “Since you’re a demon, the trial didn’t bother me. After all, IQ told me to do it herself.”