Final Breath of the Stars — Part 3
He may have succeeded in taming the beast, but his second trial is bound to defeat him.
Click here to read part 2.
Alexander was positively winded after his petrifying encounter with the wounded monster. The adrenaline rush his body urgently shoved onto his every nerve was now flushing itself out of his system, and he was left feeling a thin layer of sweat glistening across his skin, and his body temperature significantly dropping. He felt cold, his teeth clattering against each other as his knees wobbled while he tried to walk through the forest.
It was not actually cold — Alexander was just already fatigued after the first trial, and he was subconsciously praying for a break before he was thrown into the second trial. His bravery was tested, and he was now left to wonder whether his next trial put his strength, or his kindness to the test.
The mist swallowing the forest seemed to finally clear, leaving Alexander with an overwhelming sense of numbness as his gaze traveled across the deserted space, pin drop silence being agonisingly deafening to him.
It was as though the forest wasn’t truly a natural creation. The forest was not born from nature — it was crafted by the stars to run its cruel trials on mankind. Alexander squared his jaw angrily at the revelation, and he forced himself to trudge his way aimlessly through the dense trees and foliage.
He glanced up at the sky, now as dark as mankind’s most daunting and dreadful nightmares, and he gulped. He could see the stars hanging from the dark carpet above, twinkling tormentingly at him, and he bit back the urge to scream up at them. How could he have ever, for one moment, looked up at the sky and appreciated the stars’ beauty, silently wishing they could hear his heart’s troubles and console him without him knowing? How could he believe that they were a man’s friend, and not foe?
Suddenly, a spark could be seen in the sky, as though it were dazzling fireworks in the pitch black sky — but it was not. Alexander watched in confusion as the spark descended closer to the forest he was in, and before he knew it, the trees in the distance were lit on fire, and his eyes widened in mortification. It was not very far from where he was stood, trembling.
His heart leapt to his throat, his ears dulling and his vision blurred. His mind was trying to shut out this petrifying image in all forms possible, determined to protect him by covering it away from his line of vision, but Alexander forced himself to blink repeatedly until he was entirely aware of the dire situation at hand.
Alexander sprinted in the opposite direction of the forest fire, urging his legs to propel him faster to safety, and he gasped as he felt his muscles strain to keep him going. He glanced behind him briefly, just for a fleeting moment, and he wished he hadn’t. The fire was getting closer to him, as though it was so starved, it quickly ate every tree in its wake, aiming for its biggest feast of all — Sir Alexander, the noble knight.
Panting, Alexander reached a dead end of a tall, intimidatingly looming cliff, trapping him on the ground with the blood-thirsty fire fast approaching him, and he craned his neck up to gaze at the top of of the cliff. Clenching his jaw agitatedly, he realised that this was his second trial.
He must have the strength to climb the top of the cliff with a forest fire chasing him unforgivingly.
Wasting not a second more, he gripped the stone, and began to climb his way up. Every moment was precious, ultimately determining his fate. He urgently needed to apply all his strength if he wanted to make it out of this sweltering mess alive. He could feel the flames almost licking the soles of his feet covered by his boots, so painfully close to swallowing him whole, but Alexander refused to succumb to his terror and surrender to the stars.
Alexander yelled out incoherently, striving to climb even faster, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so — he was already at his limit, and this was the best he could do. With the furious fire’s flames fighting to scorch Alexander, he couldn’t help but momentarily lose focus when he felt the heat lick the soles of his boots, causing him to momentarily lose his footing.
Alexander yelled in shock, the rubble falling into the unforgiving orange fumes of oblivion, and causing his feet to dangle while his hands clutched onto the rock firmly. But the wind had a different thing in mind, howling horrifyingly and causing his body to swing, and one of his hands slipped.
His arm muscles strained to keep him stable, and he screamed in frustration and determination, his blood pumping through his veins urgently. Gritting his teeth, Alexander swung himself deliberately, and his other hand clutched the rock once again. Firmly setting his foot on the rock, he was able to balance himself once again, and hurry up the cliff before the fire could catch up to him.
As soon as Alexander made it to the top, he rolled himself onto the flat surface and panted breathlessly. The fire could not reach him up there, and Alexander shut his eyes, his mouth wide open as he gulped large breaths of air, his chest rising and falling rapidly and his heart almost bursting through his ribcage. He could barely register the fact that the fire had indeed slightly burnt his feet, and part of his calf; what mattered was that he survived.
Alexander finally fluttered his fatigued eyes open, and peered over the edge of the cliff curiously. The fire below was still crackling and dancing wildly, as though screaming in a tantrum for not capturing him, and he exhaled in disbelief.
He was so close to giving up.
Alexander was extremely shaken up by what he’d just endured, feeling the need to get up and get his final trial done with, but his body refused to move at all. He needed to recover from this – and so, with a gentle nudge from his mind, Alexander closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment to rest, drifting off into a well deserved sleep.
The stars above shrieked lividly at his success, in complete shock by his survival, but surely, surely he would not pass his final trial.
They would make sure of it. And once the stars make up their minds, there’s no going back.
