Siel lay heavy over Molly’s saddle, eyes closed as she focused her energy on healing. Sam wasn't in much better shape.

  Physically, his wounds were nearly closed, bruises fading from deep purples to sallow yellows. Spiritually, he was suffering. For the first time since he formed it, he felt he’d truly pushed his [Mana Network] to its limit.

  Skill after skill, fight after fight. Never before had he needed such a sustained force of will. Cold tremors wracked his body, while simultaneously, sharp jolts coursed through his muscles.

  He felt sick, and he knew that Siel wasn't much better off. She’d used her skills almost nonstop in each engagement. Her manipulation of the vines alone would have left his network scorched. They’d used everything they had in the last encounter; he wasn't sure how they were supposed to survive whatever came next.

  Sam once again found himself staring up at the obelisk rising high overhead. The square was hotter than he remembered, faint lines rising from the paving stones in waves. The air shimmered, and he winced as they crossed the open courtyard, thankful that his boots didn't have rubber soles.

  They reached the obelisk, and the tugging in his gut from the quest gave a final jolt, then faded. He did a lap of the object and found that a new shape had appeared on the far side, above where he’d inserted the initial token. It perfectly matched the stone [Temple Key] that they'd received from the guardian.

  “Should we wait, or do I just go for it?” he called, poking his head around the obelisk.

  “Go. We don’t have time for anything else.” Siel’s face was paler than normal, but her features were resolute.

  “Alright, here goes nothing.” Sam inserted the stone key, stepping back as it was absorbed into the obelisk. For a long moment, nothing happened. He glanced around, wondering if he’d missed something. The air of the plaza continued to rise in temperature, the sweltering heat verging on volcanic.

  Then the air shifted, stirred, and began to resolve into a set of floating stairs. Sam blinked and realized that he wasn’t actually viewing it with his physical eyes. The staircased warped as though viewed through running water, sandstone vibrating with a strange iridescence.

  Each step was intricately carved, covered with hieroglyphs and images of gods and mortals. The stairs rose up into the air, seemingly suspended on nothing as they wound in a wide arc, finally attaching themselves to the cliff face high overhead. The final door that the Guardian had crawled through was gone, replaced by a portal made of shining gold. It too rippled with heat, and Sam wondered whether all of it was merely a mirage brought on by prolonged fatigue.

  “You’re seeing this too, right?” he asked, licking his parched lips.

  “No.” Her brows furrowed, following his gaze, but clearly not having any success. “What do you see?”

  “Our next test,” Sam replied, shaking his head. He was reminded of a certain scene in an old Indiana Jones movie. “A leap of faith,” he muttered, eyes lingering on the platforms suspended hundreds of feet off the ground.

  He quickly described the scene to Siel, realizing that her [Nature’s Eye] couldn’t detect the inanimate nature of the stairs. If they were to climb them, he’d have to lead them every step of the way.

  “I don’t think Molly is going to be able to make some of these jumps,” he said, craning his neck and trying to judge the distance between some of the floating platforms.

  “The skill is on cooldown. If I store her, I won’t be able to bring her back out again.”

  Sam shrugged, fighting through the stinging pain in his eyes from his own skill. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. We can’t leave her, and there is no way she’s climbing this blind.”

  Siel gritted her teeth and slowly lowered herself to the ground, wincing as she braced her injured torso. “I don’t like the idea of going into the final quest without her, but if you say she can’t do it…” She shook her head and patted the boar on the snout. Molly let out a low huff as she was whisked off into Siel’s pet pocket dimension.

  “Alright,” she said, forcing herself upright. “Lead the way.”

  The first few flights went by without incident as Sam led Siel steadily upward. Despite the fact that she was seemingly stepping on nothing, she managed to keep her composure as the ground grew more and more distant. Sam wasn’t sure he’d be able to do the same, as his stomach lurched each time he took a step.

  Eventually, the stairs reached the point where they had to jump between each platform. The first few were easy enough, with Sam able to physically lift Siel to the next foothold. After the first few, however, she was forced to leap completely blind.

  “I’ll catch you, just aim for my feet,” Sam said, trying to suppress the stress in his voice.

  Siel took a deep breath and shook her head. “My body is screaming at me not to do it. It is like standing at the edge of a thermal vent and being told to jump in.”

  “It’s safe, apparently.” Sam wished he sounded more confident. So far, none of the steps had been trapped, and every one was extremely stable. He kept expecting the next one to give way beneath him, but it seemed that wasn’t the true crux of the challenge.

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but instinct is a powerful thing.” She gave herself one final head shake before jumping forward.

  She landed unsteadily, feet sliding on the uneven stone. Sam grabbed her and pulled her close, jerking back and nearly losing his balance. The two of them teetered precariously for a second before stabilizing.

  “Sam,” Siel said, face inches from his chest.

  “Right, yeah, sorry.” He let go, surprised at the flush rising on his cheeks. They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Despite travelling together for weeks, they were rarely that close.

  “I'm not sure if this is going to work,” Siel said at last, eyes flashing upwards to rest on the golden gate.

  “It's taking too long,” Sam agreed, heart plunging as he saw they had less than 15 minutes until the quest timed out.

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  “What if you get to the door by yourself?” Siel offered. “Maybe it will pause the quest timer?”

  “Or it will leave you here stranded,” Sam replied, shaking his head. “Forget it. We do it together or not at all.”

  He shook his head, skull pounding from the effort of sustaining [Arcane Eyes] through his already frayed network.

  If only there was a way to show her what I could see… The thought popped into his head unbidden, but it made him pause. He’d tried sharing his skills once before, and it had gone miserably. Forcing mana into someone else was like trying to block a river with a tennis racket: it was an exercise in futility.

  In the end, he’d been able to use [Apostate] as a shield, but it had been more of a blanket than anything else. It hadn’t actually interacted with Siel in any meaningful way.

  [Arcane Eyes] was a slightly different proposition. While he would need to get her to activate the skill, it was highly targeted. He didn't need to flood Siel’s entire network; he just needed to get it into her eyes.

  “I want to try something,” he said, voice hoarse.

  “I'm listening,” Siel responded, eyes narrowing.

  “Turn off [Nature’s Eye]. Heck, turn off everything that's not a healing skill. As much as possible, I need you to remove the defences around your eyes.”

  “Around my…” she cocked her head, face shifting from confusion to understanding.

  “Alright,” she said after a few seconds, “give it a shot.”

  Sam fought through the pain and pushed [Arcane Eyes] outwards, away from his physical body. The skill resisted much more aggressively than [Apostate]. Sam figured it was never intended to be used the way he was trying to use it.

  He locked eyes with Siel and pushed, willing her emerald green eyes to open just that little bit further. At first, nothing happened. Seconds marched by, and Sam wondered if he was being stupid, as sweat dripped down his brow.

  His mana pushed against an unseen barrier, even as he knew the sylvan was fighting to lower her barriers. Time hung, the pressure building, before it finally snapped, and he felt his mana flow out, like water filling a cup.

  Siel gasped, head turning as she looked around, then down at the stone beneath her feet. “Is this what you see all the time?” she asked, a smile dancing on her lips. “It's beautiful. I had no idea the world contained so much magic.”

  Sam let out a chuckle, the needed mana falling to a trickle now that the connection had been established. “This is pretty exceptional, to be fair. Normally, it's not quite so dramatic.”

  Siel laughed and leaped to the next platform, making it look easy despite her injuries. Sam struggled to keep up as they climbed the final stretch, coming to rest at the foot of the massive gate.

  Sam cut off the skill and let out a sigh as the weight of his fatigue once again hit home. Whatever was beyond would undoubtedly be their biggest test yet, and he’d never felt less prepared to face it.

  “Nine minutes,” Siel said quietly, eyes unfocused as she checked the quest status.

  “Let's just hope it's enough,” Sam responded, placing a hand on the gate. It swung open without a sound.

  Beside him, Siel gasped, and despite everything that had happened since being dropped on the Spire, nothing could have prepared him for the view beyond.

  The night’s sky spiralled overhead, covered in a flurry of blazing nebulae. Pinks and golds and purples were overlaid onto the deep, dusty blue. The firmament was pierced with thousands upon thousands of stars, each vying for attention as they sparkled and pulsed with radiance.

  Underfoot, the stone once again became sand, and in the distance, a great pyramid rose to touch the heavens. The structure was impossibly tall, its very structure defying all known laws of physics.

  A single path wound through the dunes, coming to rest at the foot of the Great Pyramid. Not wasting any time, they set off at a brisk jog, weapons in hand as they prepared for an ambush.

  To Sam’s surprise, none came. The desert was silent save for the gentle murmur of wind and blowing sand. It would have been peaceful if it weren't for the impending countdown hanging over their heads.

  As they crested the final dune, the base of the pyramid came into view. A massive Sphinx rested at the end of the path, and Sam knew without inspecting it that it was alive.

  The creature was flesh and blood, not the stone monuments he was familiar with from Earth. The creature had the body of a cat and the head of a woman. Her face was imperious as she watched them approach, her gaze settling on him with mild confusion.

  “Halt, mortals. Come and be judged by Bast. By she who reaps and sows. By she who protects the hearth.”

  The sphinx’s voice was deep and mellifluous. It rang in Sam’s ears as well as his mind, and he noted that the creature’s lips never moved.

  “How are we to be judged?” Sam asked, stepping forward, shield raised.

  “Not by a feat of arms,” the sphinx replied, waving a gargantuan paw. Sam’s items disappeared into his inventory, and he stood there dumbstruck, staring down at his empty hands.

  “No. Your final trial will be one of conviction. For while Bast is a protector of family, she is also the goddess of devotion.” She lowered her looming head to Sam’s eye level. “She will test yours. Are you ready, mortal?”

  Sam set his jaw, taken aback by the sudden change. Taking a breath, he gave a slow nod. “I'm ready.”

  The sphinx gave a long exhale, a warm breeze ruffling his hair. In an instant, the desert disappeared, and Sam found himself standing among the stars he’d seen reeling overhead.

  In front of him, a cat-headed woman sat in a simple wooden chair. In a way, she was an inversion of the sphinx, her feline eyes narrow as she inspected him.

  “Why have you entered my temple, Samuel Lin?” The woman’s voice was warm, though he thought he could detect the hint of a growl lurking beneath the surface.

  “I didn't have a choice,” he said simply. “We’re running out of time in this War, and we need the spira. Every day I'm worried that we won't have enough.”

  “Is that all? Is it only a matter of currency?”

  Sam pondered that for a moment, another answer bubbling up in his chest. “I guess not. I guess I want to get stronger.”

  Bast leaned forward, hands resting in her lap. “And why is that?”

  “To protect my party. I don't want anything bad to happen to them.”

  “A noble cause,” the goddess replied, head tilting. “But not the only reason. Answer me truthfully. Why do you desire strength?”

  Sam opened his mouth to disagree when a jolt of pain erupted from his pinky. He glanced down at the stump, forcing back a hiss of discomfort. Another answer materialized in his mind, and he could feel the truth of it in his bones.

  “I want to get even,” he said, voice little more than a growl. “I want to tear this place to the fucking ground.”

  The goddess gave him a small smile. “I cannot help you with the latter, for the Spire is as much a part of the universe as any element on your periodic table. I can, perhaps, help you get revenge.”

  She waved her arms, and a surge of power flooded Sam’s limbs. His injuries were washed away, and he could feel his [Prototype Cor] solidify and condense.

  “I could give you power. I have no love of Zetos, and it would bring me joy to see him lose.”

  “Just lose?” Sam asked, giving voice to a thought he’d never mentioned to anyone.

  Bast frowned, cocking her head. “Zetos is a god, boy. You could no more harm him than a gnat could kill a great Sand Worm of Gh’rghulis. I could give you victory, would that not be enough?”

  Sam considered it for longer than he cared to admit. The power coursing through his veins felt good. Would it really be so hard to get some help? Did he really need to go it alone?

  Once again, his pinky throbbed, and the all-too-familiar anger began burning in his chest.

  “No,” he said softly.

  “What?” Bast replied, cat eyes going wide.

  “While I appreciate the offer, my answer is no. I'll do this my way or not at all. I swore I wouldn't worship any of you gods. Even if I could, even if the Arbiter allowed it, I wouldn't do it. We’re all just pieces on a board to you, as much as you claim to care about us. I saw what you did to your former worshippers. Do you call that love?”

  He stopped, not intending to go that far. His stomach plummeted as the goddess's power was withdrawn, his limbs once again flooded with fatigue.

  “Apostate indeed,” she hissed, showing her fangs. “Not many mortals would dare speak to me thus.” She rose from her chair, loose dress flowing around her, jewelry catching the light of the stars.

  “I will give you one last chance to recant. One final chance to change your mind.” She stepped forward, feet suspended on nothing as she walked towards him, outstretched hand transforming into a feral claw.

  “Will you worship me, Samuel Lin?”