Nameless King

Wain and Erza did what the Spirits wanted them to do. They stepped onto the platform and began dancing under the flowers' rays of light. Wain, unlike Erza, moved unskillfully. Dancing always seemed to him a pointless activity, so Erza dominated, and he had to follow her.

The spirits sometimes helped Wain move correctly, but at these moments, Erza was speeding up sharply. It was as if she did not even want Wain to have a chance to be first.

"Great! Now the final movement!" Spirits exclaimed.

Erza smirked. She stepped close to Wain and gripped his arms tightly. Erza was about to toss him high up and gently catch him. It was very important for Inerian to show her superiority.

"Not so fast." Wain smiled as he abruptly took a step back.

Erza lost her balance for a moment, so she ended up in Wain's place. He tossed her up and gently caught her.

"That's much better. Don't you think so?" Wain approached Erza.

"Shut up!" She stepped away from him.

"Beautiful dance!" The spirits exclaimed, "Since you have passed our trial, it is time to receive your rewards."

The spirits turned into hands, with two small objects on their palms, but their value was enormous.

"What the fuck!" Ern exclaimed as his eyes went wide.

"Looks like even White Spirits can give a valuable reward. Ern, you were too cocky." Alas said calmly.

They were two small Soul Pearls, they were the size of a fingernail, but it was still a rare treasure.

"Are you serious...?" Erza muttered.

The spirits were silent, they only moved the pearls closer to them.

"Thank you." Wain took the pearl.

He moved it into the ring. The Ring of Damned could hold the energy of the Soul Pearl, and Wain could absorb it at any moment anyway.

The spirits disappeared, as did the barriers. The place began to look like a glade again, not a dance floor.

"For some reason, I felt a sudden urge to take a few tests. Soul Pearls...it's an incredible reward." Ern muttered, "It's amazing that Spirits can give such things away. I wonder how powerful this area is then?"

"It doesn't matter. The important thing is that this place lives up to our expectations, at least for now. Come on. We need to move toward the temple." Wain pronounced.

...

They encountered no further obstacles on their way to the temple. The dance wasn't anything dangerous, but it did show them that some challenges could be non-threatening and not involve combat skills, but still have some pretty valuable rewards.

"Well... We're here." Ern smiled, "Honestly, I thought that someone was bound to attack us when we got here."

"There's probably a challenge waiting for us inside, too." Alas muttered.

"Let's see it." Wain approached the entrance.

He stood in front of the massive stone gates and put his palms against them. Wain used a lot of force but could move the slabs. He slowly opened the gate and stepped inside.

"It's even better here than in the woods." Ern smiled.

There was a special atmosphere inside the temple. It was calm and majestic. In the center of the temple was an altar around which two streams slowly flowed. There was a blue flower growing on the altar. It looked strange, as if it was transparent.

'This is definitely it!' Wain said inwardly.

He was sure this was the flower Sven had asked him to bring. He simply had no other option.

"Would it really be that easy?" Erza hesitated.

"Of course not!" A powerful voice suddenly rang out.

Whooooooosh.

A purple Spirit with red wings appeared above the flower. Its aura was even stronger than the one Ern was fighting.

'Red Wings!' Ern said to himself.

"I guess I must pass the test to get the flower, right?" Wain asked.

"Yes." The Spirit flapped his wings, "But, you're not the only one. All of you."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly the temple shuddered as the exit was blocked. Space warped, and they found themselves in a strange place.

Wain and Erza were standing on a huge, soaring blue flower. Ern and Alas were a few feet away from them.

There was nothing around, just a vast blue sky and slowly flowing clouds.

"What was that...?" Ern muttered puzzledly.

Whooooooosh.

The Spirit appeared before them.

"The rules are simple. Two people must be left on each flower at the end if you want to pass the trial. If even one of you falls, the trial will fail." The Spirit said.

"Sounds simple enough." Alas muttered.

"Okay. Let's just do it." Wain shook his head.

"Good. I'm glad you're ready." The Spirit disappeared.

Two magical circles appeared in the distance, and powerful wind streams came crashing down on them. It happened unexpectedly, so Erza didn't have time to prepare. The wind blew her off the flower, but Wain grabbed her arm at the last moment.

Even a very strong wind was no obstacle for Alas. He calmly withstood it. Ern stood as if he had stood still. The wind fluttered his clothes and hair violently, but he did not move a single step.

The next stage was an attack by several phantoms. Their aim was not to wound or kill, the phantoms tried to throw them off in every possible way.

Wain, Erza, Alas, and Ern handled this easily. Erza dealt with all the phantoms herself, she was angry that at the previous stage, she was the only one who couldn't hold on. Alas and Ern each dealt with an equal number of phantoms.

"Sounds like you make a pretty good team, doesn't it?" Wain smiled.

"Maybe. It's going pretty well so far." Ern nodded.

"So, what's next?" Alas asked.

Immediately after his words, two magical circles appeared high in the sky, and a loud murmur of water was heard.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Ern muttered.

Whoooooosh.

Streams of water emerged from the magical circles. It was two massive waterfalls that came crashing down on them.

"Shit!"