John arrived at the end of the tunnel only to see that he was right to fear. He regretted not taking the mask from the altar.
 
A lava river stretched out before John, a wide and seemingly endless flow of molten rock that flowed and bubbled in shades of orange and red. Smoke rose from the surface, thick and choking, filling the air with a hazy mist that made it difficult for John to see. The heat was intense, making the air shimmer and waver like a mirage. As he approached the edge of the river, he saw that the surface was dotted with a few small rocks that bobbed and floated on the flowing magma, carried along by the current. The sound of the lava was a constant roar, like an angry beast bellowing in pain. John could feel the heat radiating from the river, and he knew that one misstep could mean certain death.

John groaned in silence. He even peered back into the tunnel, wondering if he should have just stayed there in the safety of the safe zone. Yes, he didn’t have anything to eat or do there, but he didn’t have to jump over rocks floating on a river of magma either.

“Stop procrastinating…” John told himself then tore a piece of his shirt, rolled it into a ball, and threw it onto one of the rocks floating on the magma river. He sighed in relief when the piece of cloth didn’t instantly burn down into flames.

“It feels like false hope really.”

Sighing John tore more strips off his shirt and wrapped them around his hands. Yes, he will most likely be jumping on top of the rocks. But what if he slipped, and ended up burning his hands when using them to keep balance? Preparing for the evitable was John’s new mantra into going into the trials.

John could either wish for a heat resistance potion from the empty potion bottle or wish for an air-breathing potion. One would help him negate the heat radiating from the magma, which was bad but not at a level that he couldn’t take it and the latter would allow him to breathe normally even in the smoke-filled space without which he had minutes before suffocating to death. He was dying either way. Only, he might die if he fell into the magma, but otherwise, he could tolerate the heat, but he would definitely die from the smoke.

John wished for an air-breathing potion.

A translucent blue liquid suddenly appeared in the bottle. It was like a cloud floating inside the bottle.

John would have loved to compare the potion with those he had wished previously, but the smoke was already stinging his eyes and filling his head with nonsense. He hurriedly uncorked the bottle and drank the potion, which had a slightly bitter smell and a refreshing taste.

Within a few seconds, he felt a sensation of freshness in his lungs and throat, as if he were breathing pure, clean air. At the rate the potion s disappearing in his body he knew he had about half an hour of time to complete the trial.

The weightless cloak fluttering behind him, John waited for a rock to appear on the lava river and then jumped. It was hot and uncomfortable, but he balanced himself. He thought he would be able to hitch a ride to the end of the river on top of the rock. How wrong he thought. In less than ten seconds, the rock was bobbing up and down, sending waves in the thick deliciously red magma, sinking into it like T-900 going to sleep after saving John in terminator 2.

“Whoa… WHOA!” John exclaimed as the rock started hissing and fizzling, getting out of control.

The cloak proved a big help when he decided to abandon the ship and take anchor on a passing rock. He was able to make an effortful yet easy jump from his rocking bucket and onto another, shorter (meaning even less time before he would need to jump again) through timely rock.

He glanced once at his sinking place of solace before he chose one of the larger rocks floating near him and hopped onto it as soon as it came close enough. The sequence continued. He didn’t wait for the rocks to start sinking anymore. That was a recipe for disaster and started hopping around like a squirrel running from a predator atop the tree branches. It was like a game of hopscotch, but with his life on the line.

John's heart was pounding, and his palms were sweaty. One wrong move, and he would fall into the river of magma. The smoke in the air made it hard for him to see. Yet he kept going. His muscles strained as he propelled himself from one rock to another, trying to avoid the scorching liquid. His clothes were already drenched in sweat and ash, and his eyes stung from the smoke. The end was nowhere in sight.

As he moved forward, he noticed the rocks were getting smaller and more spaced apart. He had to jump further and with greater precision. One misstep and he would fall into the river of lava, being consumed by its fiery depths. He thanked god he had chosen the cloak. He would have turned into roast duck long ago without it.

John's fear started to subside as he developed a rhythm in his jumping, anticipating the trajectory of each rock. He felt like he was dancing with the lava, moving in sync with its movements. It would have been nice, though troublesome, but nice indeed if he could reach the end of the trial in this fashion.

It was not to be.

John was continuing his treacherous journey across the lava river, jumping from one rock to another when the magma started bubbling at one place where the rocks passed. The bubble would expand to a certain size and then burst, exploding hot molten magma all over the place. Nothing escaped from its jubilant play. The sound of the bursting bubbles was like laughter in John’s ears, the river mocking him for his pathetic try to get through it.

The bubbles forced John to speed up and sometimes slow down, abandoning some rocks that flowed close to where the bubbles were forming, forcing him to go for more difficult options. Just when John crossed that area and thought he was across the most difficult part of his journey, he came across a geyser of hot liquid magma erupting from the center of the river, reaching all the way up to the ceiling and splashing magma everywhere. It would erupt from time to time, destroying platforms in its range.

John had to keep jumping back to previous platforms because he couldn't time when it would be safe to cross the geysers.

When John thought nothing worse could happen he came across the monster of the trial. Or one could say the monster introduced itself to him.

John couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the golden fish swimming in the magma. He was both surprised and confused, wondering how a fish could survive in such a dangerous environment. But then he realized it was no ordinary fish, it was the monster he had to face.

The goldfish was small, no bigger than the size of John's head. Its scales shimmered in the dim light of the magma-filled chamber, reflecting the orange glow of the lava. It swam effortlessly through the thick, viscous liquid, its fins rippling gracefully behind it. Despite the harsh conditions of its environment, the goldfish seemed to be unscathed, as if it were immune to the intense heat and toxic gases that surrounded it. Its eyes were wide and alert, darting around the chamber as if it were aware of its surroundings.

John knew he had to act fast before it disappeared again. He spotted a floating rock nearby and made a daring jump toward it, narrowly avoiding a burst of magma from below.

He landed on the rock and saw the fish swimming nearby. For a moment he wondered why it didn’t run away, but knowing it was the monster of the trial, he guessed it might be attracted to him the challenger like its predecessors.

However, when John called forth his Grimoire and fired a homing missile at the fish, it was quick to move and dove under magma before the missile had even finished forming. John watched helplessly as the missiles sped toward the magma and then disappeared in a flash of light upon striking the river surface, causing not even a ripple.

John looked around and saw the fish appearing again on the river surface not so far away from him. He knew it was aware of him as if stayed a safe distance from him. John wanted to go after it, but there were no rocks floating near it and his rocky boat were starting to rock, ready to sink.

He moved to another floating rock.

The fish looked at his theatrics and then swam toward the area where the bubbles were blowing and bursting magma everywhere. As if mocking him to follow if he dared.

John scoffed. He had to go. But how?

Then John decided to see if he could burst the bubble with a homing missile before they form. He acted as if he was attacking the fish. It dove under magma when john released the homing missile. He didn’t care the missile struck the blowing magma bubble causing it to deflate.

It worked!

John smirked when he saw the goldfish appear on the river surface, looking at him, taunting him. It was an intelligent monster for sure, but it was a monster after all.

“God Damn it!” John stomped in a show of anger and then jumped one rock closer to the place where the fish was swimming.

Another bubble started forming and John fired another homing missile at it. He didn’t forget to act all angry when the missile missed the fish. It looked smug. Perhaps he saw the fish smile or maybe it was the smoke getting to him. Whatever the case, he was getting closer to catching it and that was all that mattered.

Finally, John jumped onto the last rock between him and the goldfish. He was still nowhere near the fish. The fish knew it too and turned its back to him.

There were no rocks between them and the one on its way was too far away. But John had a plan. The homing missiles might have gone through a spectacular failure, but he had another spell in his quiver. He called forth his Grimoire. The fish grew vigilant. Then the Grimoire glowed for a few seconds before the light dimmed and it disappeared once again.

It was by this time the rock platform also ran out of time and started bobbing, sizzling, and sinking.

John stood in his place, staring at the fish. The fish stared back as if asking him if he wanted to die.

Then everything happened very quickly. One half of the platform suddenly sank, but as it went down it seesawed another platform made out of stone spikes out of magma river, right underneath the fish.

Horrified the fish tried to get back into the magma river, but the magma flowing down the platform took it along. On the other side of which, John was waiting with his Grimoire fading behind him. Before the fish had time to react, the homing missile struck its head, following which a stone spike grew from the platform and skewered it alive.

John quickly recalled the stone spike. He broke it from the rock when it was a meter in length and broke it when it was a meter in length, the fish still flailing at the end of it and then hopped toward another rock platform, away from the sinking ship.

As soon as the goldfish died, the entire magma river started to rumble and shake, and the geysers began erupting more frequently and forcefully. The bubbles in the magma grew larger and more violent, causing the floating rocks to bob and sway dangerously. John could feel the heat intensifying, and the air around him grew thick with ash and smoke. He knew he had to move quickly if he wanted to make it out alive. With a heavy heart, he continued to leap from rock to rock, dodging the geysers and avoiding the bubbling magma. The ground shook beneath him, and he could feel the heat burning his skin.

John felt the heat intensifying around him. He knew he needed to get out of there and fast. Thinking quickly, he looked around and spotted a small alcove in the wall. It was a tight fit, but he knew he could make it.

With all his strength, John ran and jumped towards the alcove, just as a geyser erupted behind him. The heat and force of the eruption pushed him forward, and he narrowly missed hitting the rocky wall. He stumbled into the alcove, panting and sweating profusely.

But his relief was short-lived, as the rumbling continued and the magma river began to rise. John looked around frantically for a way out, but the walls were smooth and there were no handholds. He was trapped.

Just as he was about to give up hope, he noticed a small opening in the ceiling of the alcove. His eyes shone brightly when he saw the light barrier covering the opening. Without hesitation, he throw the fish through the dead goldfish through the opening, then jumped up and grabbed onto the edges of the opening, pulling himself up with all his might.

It was a struggle, but John managed to hoist himself up and crawl through the opening. As he emerged on the other side, he found himself in a new chamber, filled with cool air and soft, blue light. He lay on his back, gasping for air and trying to calm his racing heart.

He lay there for a while before getting up. He saw the dead goldfish and sneered.

“Who’s the boss now, huh?” He whispered tiredly, then picked up the fish and started walking toward the bonfire. Excited to see what it would taste like. Also, wondering if the fire would be able to cook it since even magma couldn’t shave an inch off its scales.

Whatever the case, it was his dinner now. Doesn’t matter if he ate it cooked or raw. Let his improved stomach handle the problem of digesting it. If he could digest tones then he should have no problem digesting a fish, right?