Chapter 35: Entering the Glass Purgatory

Stark stared at the four other 'Domination' users that were with him in this trial.

"Seriously? Only guys here…? Man this is gonna be a sausage party…!" a muscle-head with black hair held his forehead, laughing out loud.

"Shut up, we aren't here to have fun," another boy with short white hair replied, he seemed to be of the extroverted type.

[These are the other participants of the trial, stay together to increase your chances of survival or… go alone (not recommended)]

"Can we at least introduce ourselves," a green-haired boy adjusted his glasses and smiled, "We were waiting for the last one before doing anything after all."

"Who cares about that, all of us are gonna die anyways, this is a death difficulty trial…" a nervous looking boy finished, he had short red hair and a burn scar on his right cheek.

Stark raised an eyebrow, this wasn't what he expected, but it seemed like they were all just like him, although their aura indicated that they weren't clueless either.

'The 5 most promising new 'Domination' class users,' he remembered this panel, meaning that in this small clearing with the mirror in the middle were the domination users with the most potential to be the strongest, maybe some of them were stronger than him…

Just as he thought of that… a panel appeared above the mirror, and all the guys looked at it.

[5 minutes to enter the 'Glass Purgatory' before 'Skeleton Revival']

"The skeletons are gonna wake up probably," Stark spoke for the first time, pointing at the skeletons at the feet of the pillars, their eyes were shining, giving their owners an unnervingly lifelike appearance.

"Well then let's introduce ourselves quickly, code name is Dreamer," the glassed-man spoke, referring to himself with the code name he was given in the void, just like Stark.

"Oh~ We're doing that?" the white-haired one spoke, "then my name is Hero!"

"Chosen," Stark introduced himself too.

"Orasio…" the nervous boy added.

"Just so you fuckers know," the muscled man, who was much older than the rest, looking at least twenty-five years of age, talked, "I am not your friend and I will never be, this is just a temporary alliance to get out of this shit-hole, the name's Boxer by the way."

[2:38 minutes remaining before the 'Skeleton Revival']

The atmosphere in the clearing was tense, all the boys looked at one another.

[Participants: Chosen, Dreamer, Hero, Orasio, Boxer]

"Let's go, then," Dreamer advanced toward the mirror in the middle of the clearing, after all it seemed to be the most obvious way to get inside the 'Glass Purgatory'.

The others followed closely, and after a few seconds, they found themselves in front of the glass that reflected their appearance perfectly.

But this wasn't all they saw: in the reflection, a huge doorway leading to a long corridor could be seen, looming over them.

"What the?" Orasio turned around, but of course, there was nothing behind them.

It was inside the mirror.

"I guess that makes sense," Hero put his arm forward and touched the glass, but nothing happened.

They expected to be able to pass through the glass to begin their descent of the 'Glass Purgatory', but even entering it was a difficult task it seemed.

[1:32 minutes remaining before the 'Skeleton Revival']

They tried many things in thirty seconds, which seemed like hours for them: hitting the glass, rushing toward it, slowly reaching it, activating their aura, but none of it worked.

Stark stared from afar with a blank expression, he had noticed that even though the boys had activated their aura, they never went as far as to show their powers, probably all cautious as they couldn't trust anybody.

"Let me try something," after analyzing for a bit, he decided to act.

[22 seconds remaining before the 'Skeleton Revival']

Making way for him, the others allowed Stark to place himself in front of the mirror.

And so he did something illogical: instead of heading toward the mirror, he went backward all the while keeping his eyes on the glass showing the corridor.

Soon enough, he was engulfed by the walls of the mysterious hallway, entering the 'Glass Purgatory'.

[Only those who observe the world with eyes of glass will find their way into the Purgatory]

The explanation appeared as soon as the puzzle was solved.

[7 seconds remaining before the 'Skeleton Revival']

"HOLY SHIT," realizing that he was onto something, the others repeated his actions.

And so just like that, they were able to enter the 'Glass Purgatory'.

[0 seconds remaining before the 'Skeleton Revival']

[Skeleton Revival]

The hundreds of skeletons in the clearing began to stir, their empty eye sockets glowing red as they slowly rose to their feet, their bones creaking and cracking with each movement.

But luckily for the five participants, they managed to get away from that place, and so the skeleton monsters were left standing aimlessly as no opponent was in their view.

Soon enough, they all crumbled back.

***

Back to the five boys, they found themselves inside the corridor they only were able to see from the mirror's reflection.

"Nice thinking my guy," Boxer patted Stark's back.

"…" Stark didn't answer, instead just looking ahead, the corridor was long, with torches illuminating the path.

The torches cast flickering shadows on the walls as the five boys walked cautiously down the corridor.

Each step echoed ominously, making them acutely aware of the oppressive silence surrounding them.

Hero kept talking, possibly to enlighten the mood, but it was no use: they all knew they were in the face of death, and only themselves could save their skin.

Surprisingly enough, they didn't meet any monsters or horrors for the ten minutes they were inside the hallway, it stretched on endlessly, so nothing surprised them.

In the distance, they saw a blue light.

"FINALLY," Hero jumped in joy, "I was getting tired of these stone walls, i'm kind of claustrophobic…"

"…"

But as they approached the source of the blue light, their excitement turned into dread.

[Welcome to the 'Colossal Paths', good luck participants]

The corridor opened up into a vast chamber, and at the circular center rested an eerie statue under a pillar of light.

There were no walls limiting the room, the darkness ahead made it feel like it went on infinitely.

But thankfully, at the center of the room, three paths converged: flights of stairs led to three gargantuan glass-faced effigies with massive mirrors under them, inviting the participants to enter.

These were the 'Colossal Paths'.

The five boys got out of the hallway and went down the stairs toward the center of the chamber, reaching a statue.

[The Sphinx]

Such a name appeared above the statue, almost as if it was informing them of its name, light poured out from the face of the sphinx, a contorted grin visible and a ghastly aura enveloping the stone beast.

"I guess that's it," Dreamer advanced to examine the Sphinx, then pointed at the three paths, "Look at the forehead of the effigies."

And just as he said, there were numbers displayed on them, heading from 1 to 3.

Which meant…

"We need to complete all the paths and head back here," he pointed at the Sphinx's forehead, where three pearls could be seen, meaning that each time they completed a path, a light would manifest in that pearl.

And so just like that, the participants understood what they needed to do.

[5 participants alive]

But they didn't know... that only one could come out alive, since this is how the [Domination] trial works.