Nova made his way out of the narrow opening and met up with Adam, who had been keeping his distance from the wolves. The last of them lay motionless behind Nova. Even the large one Adam had struck with a rock was dead, its skull crushed during the fight. Nova had made sure none of them would get back up.
He glanced back at the rock he had dropped beside the bodies. He could still feel its rough edges pressing into his palm, and the skin across his bloodstained knuckles had begun to sting. Only now did he notice how badly his hands were shaking.
The excitement had not left him. His heart was pounding, and part of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of surviving five wolves with nothing more than a rock and a narrow passage. But his legs felt weak, and his breathing refused to settle. His body had been pushed far harder than he was accustomed to.
Adam stared past him at the bodies. "A-are you alright?"
"Yeah. Wonderful, actually," Nova answered, though the tremor in his voice made the claim less convincing. He took a breath and looked toward the corridor they had come from. "Cover me really quick. I need a minute."
"Cover you? From what?"
"Anything with teeth. Or anything else that decides we're having a bad day. Keep an eye on both ends of the passage and tell me if something approaches."
Adam hesitated, then nodded. "O-okay. I can do that."
Nova lowered himself against the wall and shut his eyes. There was no special power involved, no sudden return of the divinity he had willingly set aside. It was a breathing and meditation exercise he had discovered while studying at the library. He drew air in slowly, held it for a moment, and released it until his breathing began to follow a steadier rhythm.
It was surprisingly difficult. Every time he relaxed, he remembered the wolves forcing their way through the gap, the weight of the rock in his hand, and the terrible feeling of having only one chance to strike. His fingers tightened on their own.
They're dead. The fight is over, he reminded himself. So stop shaking already.
He continued until the tremors gradually eased. The ache in his arms remained, and his clothes were still covered in blood and sweat. Meditation did not erase exhaustion. It merely gave him enough control to think clearly again.
When he opened his eyes, Adam was standing a short distance away, looking down one corridor and then the other. The boy turned as soon as he heard Nova move.
"H-how did you do that?" Adam asked. "You were shaking a minute ago."
"It's an exercise I found when I was studying at the library." Nova rolled his shoulders, wincing when his muscles protested. "Helps calm your breathing. Apparently, mortal bodies are rather dramatic after a fight."
"The library?" Adam repeated, almost as though he had misheard him.
"Yes, Adam. The library. The building with books in it."
"I know what a library is." Adam frowned. "I just mean... why would you go there? Everything's digital now. You can find books online."
Nova gave him a disbelieving look. "You have never gone to one?"
"N-not really. I've read books, but they were all digital. I've never borrowed a physical one."
"That's unfortunate. Maybe you should go to the library more often. You're ignoring a perfectly good place to learn things."
"But it's the same information, isn't it?" Adam asked. "If I read a book on my phone, I still read the book."
Nova opened his mouth, ready to argue, then paused. Adam had a point, which was mildly irritating.
"Fine. You win that part," he admitted. "But there is something nice about finding an actual book, opening it, and discovering something useful when you weren't looking for it. I went there to learn about awakening, and now I know how to stop myself from trembling like an idiot."
Adam glanced at Nova's bloodstained clothes. "I think that's a pretty good reason."
"Exactly. See? Real knowledge."
"You said the information was also online."
"Adam, don't ruin my argument."
That earned a small laugh from him, and Nova smiled. He liked how much easier it had become to talk to Adam since they had first met. The boy still stammered when he was nervous, but he was no longer keeping his eyes fixed on the ground every time he spoke.
Nova pushed himself upright. His legs complained, but he could walk. "Come on. We still have a volcano to reach."
They had barely made it around the next corner when a girl's voice echoed through the maze. The announcement came from speakers hidden somewhere above the walls, loud enough to make both of them stop.
"Attention, contestants! To help you deal with the monsters, we have deployed supply crates containing weapons throughout the maze. You are free to use anything you find."
Nova looked up. "Now they tell us? I just spent the last several minutes beating wolves to death with a rock."
The announcer continued before he could complain further.
"We also have our first contestant through the exit! To keep the tournament moving, the maze will begin shrinking, and the volcano will erupt in exactly ten minutes. Anyone who wants to qualify should make their way to the center immediately."
For a moment, neither boy moved.
"Someone already passed?" Nova said, staring toward the distant volcano. "How in Father's name did they get there so quickly?"
He had spent far too much time finding Adam, fighting the wolves, and recovering afterward. The thought of someone crossing the maze while he had been struggling in a cramped passage was almost insulting.
"Shit. We have ten minutes. Move!"
Nova broke into a run, with Adam hurrying after him. They needed to be among the 128 contestants who qualified for the next round. Being late would mean losing before either of them even had a proper chance to compete.
As they ran, Adam remembered the man he had seen earlier. One moment the stranger had been in front of him, and the next he had disappeared down the corridor. Adam had thought it was teleportation until he noticed the movement. The man had simply been moving at an extraordinary speed.
Was he faster than sound? Adam wondered. Could anyone here move that fast?
"Adam!" Nova shouted from ahead. "Whatever you're thinking about, do it while running!"
"R-right!"
Adam increased his pace, nearly stumbling when his shoe caught on a raised section of stone. He recovered and followed Nova around another corner.
The maze no longer looked the same. A passage they had crossed earlier was narrowing behind them, and the walls ahead shifted with a deep grinding sound. Stone moved against stone as new corners appeared where there had been straight corridors only moments before.
"The walls are moving," Adam said, looking back.
"I noticed! Keep your eyes ahead unless you want to run into one!"
They turned left, only to find the corridor closing. Nova skidded to a stop, grabbed Adam's sleeve, and pulled him toward the right-hand passage just before the opening became too narrow to pass through.
The enormous walls seemed to lean inward as the maze contracted around the volcano at its center. Dust fell from the black stone overhead, and fine ash drifted through the air. The distant mountain began rumbling, a deep vibration they could feel through their shoes.
Nova's jacket flapped behind him as he ran. Sweat had plastered strands of hair against his forehead, and his chest burned whenever he tried to take a deeper breath. His body was still recovering from the fight, but he refused to slow down.
Beside him, Adam looked as though he had been dragged into a physical education class against his will. His face was flushed, and he struggled to keep his breathing even.
"Fucking hell," Nova said, turning another corner. "This doesn't feel like ten minutes. It feels like the thing's about to blow right now."
"M-maybe it's just the... dramatic build-up?" Adam managed between breaths.
Nova turned his head long enough to glare at him. "Adam, this isn't a movie. If we die here, there aren't going to be any credits at the end."
"I know! I was trying to make it sound less terrifying!"
"You're doing a terrible job!"
A sharp crack interrupted them. Part of the wall ahead burst inward, sending a rock nearly the size of a car tumbling across the passage. Nova threw himself sideways and caught Adam by the shoulder, dragging him clear as the rock struck the opposite wall.
Both of them stumbled. Nova felt a painful jolt travel up his arm, but he kept his footing. Red light shone through a web of cracks spreading across the damaged stone.
"Okay," Adam whispered, staring at the rock. "That was close."
"Too close. Run."
The air grew hotter with every step. It no longer felt like ordinary summer heat. Each breath scraped at Nova's throat, and waves rising from the walls made the corridor ahead seem to ripple. Adam's shirt clung to his back, soaked through with sweat.
Above them, the volcano roared again. The ground shook hard enough to throw them both off balance, and somewhere behind them another section of the maze collapsed.
Nova fought to keep his breathing under control. The meditation had helped earlier, but he was learning that calmness did not last forever when the world was trying to kill him.
Come on. We're almost there. Just a little farther.
He rounded another corner and stopped so suddenly that Adam nearly crashed into his back.
At the end of the corridor, directly ahead of the volcano's base, stood a door.
A perfectly normal wooden door.
Nova stared at it. The surrounding stone was dark and cracked by the heat, yet the door looked untouched. Its surface was clean, the brass handle shone, and there was not a single scorch mark on the frame.
"...Is that..." Adam began.
"Yes," Nova answered.
"It's just..."
"Yes, Adam."
"A door?"
"Yes, Adam. I can see it too."
For a moment, they simply stood there while the volcano continued rumbling above them. After everything the maze had thrown at them, the exit looked like something taken from an ordinary house.
"This is some cartoon bullshit," Nova muttered. "Who puts a wooden door at the foot of a volcano?"
Adam leaned forward to inspect it. "Should we, uh... knock?"
Nova slowly looked at him. "Knock? On the foot-of-the-volcano-death-door?"
"I mean, what if someone's inside?" Adam replied, sounding completely serious. "Maybe there's a person who tells us we've passed. You know, a 'Congratulations, you made it' guy."
"Do you think the Guild hired someone to stand behind a door inside a volcano and congratulate every contestant?"
Adam shrugged. "Maybe it's in the budget."
Nova stared at him, wondering whether Adam was trying to be funny or genuinely believed that. Before he could decide, another burst of heat rolled through the corridor, and the ground trembled beneath them.
"We are not standing here to discuss the Guild's budget."
He hurried toward the door. The handle was strangely cold beneath his fingers, despite the heat pressing against his back. Nova hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shoved it open.
White light poured through the opening, forcing him to shut his eyes. He heard Adam stumble forward beside him, and they crossed the threshold together.
The heat disappeared. So did the grinding of the maze walls and the roar of the volcano. The sudden silence felt almost unnatural after everything they had endured.
Nova opened his eyes, blinking against the light.
They had made it through the first stage.
Stage Two.