Drops of sweat form on my forehead and begin to slide down toward my eyes, but I can’t do anything to stop them. The stinging sensation is only momentarily painful, however, the blurriness forces me to stop my climb until I can blink my eyes clear. As I cling onto the stone wall with my body hugged directly against it, my eyes start to wander down before I force them upwards. I never knew I was afraid of heights until I started The Climb.

The only thing I can hear right now is my own rough breathing which is surprisingly helpful in calming me down. I take a few deep breaths to calm down my breathing and rub my palms against the stone hand holds to dry them of sweat as much as possible. My mouth feels dry more so due to nervousness than actual thirst. When I reached The Pit’s ninth and final level, I found the pool of clean water in one of the caves like Hawthorne told me about and quenched my thirst before the final leg of The Climb.

It seems that naturally forming pool of water is what kept the forgotten slaves here alive over the millenia. It also looked like the place where the Savior lived because I saw countless earthen tools scattered around the pool of water. Most of them were crudely made with others showing signs of improvement and it looks like he had to practice an untold number of times before he could achieve the level of craft he did to make the various tools I saw on the bottom level. It appears a lot of people made the climb up to the ninth level in the past just to steal the best tools from his cave but decided not to finish the final leg.

It’s a bit odd because with how the delivery system was made to only go to the bottom level, it intrinsically forces people to stay near the bottom level. No one in The Pit that I saw lived above the first level because even just climbing up and down a single level was an arduous chore and they had to do it for each delivery. Only those truly paranoid of the other residents would opt to torture themselves with daily climbs. Wouldn’t it make more sense to make the deliveries at the ninth level to encourage people to climb up?

If everyone was forced to live on the ninth level, I’d be willing to bet more people would make the final climb to the surface. Maybe with how the platform and the lift is built, it’s only possible to deliver to the bottom level. Fuck, I’m stalling. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I slowly exhale it and force my eyes open before shouting to myself, “You can do it! You can do it! You can do…”

My words trail off as my eyes wander down and I realize that if I slip here, I’d die instantly. The night I got here, I didn’t really get the chance to see how deep The Pit was with Gavin rushing me into the lift. Even when I reached the bottom, it was hard to tell how far down I was just by looking up. But now that I’m making The Climb, this fucking hole has to be at least 2,000 feet deep. Fucking elves, man.

Once the trembling in my knees stops, I carefully find the next hand hold and continue my climb. I clear my mind of everything and focus solely on where to put my hands and feet next. I don’t think about how far up I am, I don’t think about how I’ll be smashed into meat paste if I fall from here, and I certainly don’t think about my plan becoming more plausible and finally solidifying itself with Uda’s information. No, there’s only my hands, my feet, and the holes in the stone wall the Savior so graciously made for me.

…

My whole body is drenched with sweat and my limbs feel like they’re on fire. The wounds on my shoulder, thigh, and left flank have been throbbing for a while now but I won’t let them break my concentration. My fingers and palms were cut up some time ago and my sweat is seeping into those cuts but nothing’s going to stop me now. I am the greatest climber the world has ever seen. Once I get out of here, I’ll make sure my renown as a master climber spreads throughout the Alaulin continent.

As I make the next climb, the muscles around my abdomen burn in agony and a groan slips out of my lips. But when I look up, I can see the ledge and exhilaration fills me. No. It’s too early to celebrate. Empty everything inside me and focus on my hands.

After another three minutes, I’m right below the ledge and I reach up to grasp a hold of it with all that I have. Horror consumes me when I realize I have to pull myself up and I can’t just simply climb anymore. Making the decision, I kick off the final set of foot holds to get as far up as possible and scramble to try and get my foot onto the ledge. I barely manage to get it up there and struggle to raise myself onto the ledge. Only a few seconds pass but they feel like an eternity to me. How the fuck did so many people manage to climb out of The Pit?

Gritting my teeth and clenching my jaw, I finally raise myself onto the ledge and I immediately start rolling away from The Pit. When I come to a stop, I’m staring at the blue sky above me and it has never looked more beautiful. As I’m gasping for air, I hear someone clapping their hands next to me. Looking over, a strangely familiar looking man with a crooked nose is standing there, clapping his hands and looking at me with a smile on his face. He stops clapping and reaches out his hand to pull me to my feet before wrapping me up in a big bear hug, not seeming to mind my sweat drenched rags or the dirt covering me from rolling around at all.

I’m bewildered by what’s happening but I quickly reciprocate with a few pats on his back. Before I set everything into motion, it’s best if I act like I was cleansed down there. After a moment, he releases me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, saying, “A wonderful day. A new brother traverses the Trial of The Pit and joins the fold. What is your name, brother?”

Looking into his eyes, I reply, “My name is Isaac, brother. Might I know your name?”

“You can call me Brother Yoel. I don’t know if you remember, but I was there the night you arrived a couple of months ago. I wouldn’t be able to mistake that distinctive hair color for anyone else in The Pit. When I was sending you down in The Vessel, I had a feeling I’d see you again soon. Tell me, what insights regarding the world did you have during your trial?”

A flare of rage rises up in me when I hear he’s the one who sent me down there but I quickly snuff it out, afraid he’d notice it. He’ll get what he deserves in due time. But what the fuck was I supposed to learn in that hellhole? Should I act grateful for being sent down there? Should I start praising the Savor for lifting the veil from my eyes?

After a moment of introspection, everything that I’ve experienced the past two months runs through my head and I accidentally blurted out, “I’m not too sure brother. The Pit is a horrible place and I almost lost my life multiple times in the short time I was down there. I had the misfortune of meeting some of the worst people humanity could have possibly produced. When you remove people from civilized society and throw them into a pit where only the strength of one’s fist matters, they become beasts.

“Most are able to accept the reality of their new environment, choosing to keep their heads lowered as they trudge through life like sheep. Others refuse to accept their reality and isolate themselves from everyone else, unable to shake off their paranoia and weariness towards their fellow humans. The worst will lose all traces of the civility they’ve spent their entire lives learning and resort to their baser instincts, a return to nature if you will. But even with all this, the good inside of people still finds ways to shine through. A grizzled veteran taking a child under his protection, a pair of brothers saving the life of someone they just met because he gave them a promise, a brother… stabbing the one who saved him in the back, knowing full well what that meant but doing so regardless because his sister’s life was on the line… That’s what I’ve learned in The Pit.”

Silence ensues as I’m lost in my feelings. Maybe I shouldn’t have said all that but I couldn’t help it. Right before I started The Climb, I visited the graves of everyone that was involved that night and as I stood before the grave of the woman’s brother who stabbed me in the back, writhing with rage, I almost dug up his body in spite. I don’t think I’ve really been betrayed by anyone before, not that I can remember anyways. Going through that experience really touched a nerve somewhere in me and even two months after his death, I still couldn’t let it go.

But at the last moment, it was Jonathan who stopped me surprisingly. For the first time in the two months since I met him, he actually opened his mouth and said to me with his quiet, hoarse voice unaccustomed to talking, “I’m not asking you to forgive him. What he did was unforgivable. All I ask is that you see it from his eyes. If Jonas’s life was on the line, I’m pretty sure I’d do the same thing. Maybe it’s just sympathy from one brother to another, but I understand why he did it.”

When I heard his words, my heart shook. As a brother, huh? For some reason, I could empathize with that. Having a sibling is such a precious-

I’m broken from my train of thoughts by Yoel saying, “Brother Isaac, you have no idea how happy I am.” Huh? He continues with, “The whole Trial of The Pit was made to uncover the true nature of human beings. The kingdom, all kingdoms rule from thrones built from countless bones and grievous lies but they create contradictory rules they expect everyone to follow without question. The Fold created The Trial to uncover the truth behind human nature and the truth is, humans are devilish creatures but there is a light inside them that can be drawn out when they’re put through fire and adversity.

“But the kingdoms have deemed that innate nature dangerous to their rule and have created society and societal rules to smother that light and make us forget who we truly are. The Fold exists to return the world back to simpler, more honest times and hearing what sort of trial you’ve had, I’m glad to see you have been cleansed. Once again, let me welcome you back to the Rebirth Haven and into the fold.”

I have to force a smile onto my face after hearing him spew his deranged madness. All in due time, Brother Yoel, all in due time. Leading the way forward, he grabs my arm and starts heading to one of the houses nearby saying, “Come, come, let's get you out of those rags and into some better clothes. A brother shouldn’t be dressed in rags like those.”

Hearing his words, my ears perk up and I ask, “If I remember correctly, Brother Gavin told me when I arrived here that my belongings would be kept secure for my return?”

Looking back at me with a smile, he laughs, “Yes, yes, of course. I’ll help you find your things. I’ll be sure to notify Brother Gavin of your success as well and you’ll join his party since he was your discoverer.”

“Wait, what does that mean?”

“Well, The Fold has a policy where hunting party captains recruit everyone they find and bring back who manage to pass the Trial. In your case, since Brother Gavin brought you back, you’ll be under his care directly.”

Fuck, my plans.