“Hi,” Dev said uncertainly. “I’m not doing much, just practicing. What do you need?”

  “What will we need for the desert?” She asked.

  Dev let out an internal sigh of relief, answering, “Just your regular supplies and some food. It might take us a couple of days to find them.”

  “And you’re sure you’re okay with us joining you?”

  “Yeah,” Dev answered.

  She sat down. “So, what were you working on?”

  ‘Oh bleep. She’s going to ask a bunch of questions that we’ll have to stick to, and Justin isn’t even here, so we don’t know what he’d say. Elluvian, could you handle this? I’ll try and fish him out.’

  ‘Sure,’ Elluvian said, assuming control of their body.

  Dev dived back in and rushed to where he’d found Justin’s soul.

  ‘Justin! Can you hear me? We need you outside as quickly as possible.’

  He quickly emerged. ‘Is he here?’

  ‘No,’ Tae said.

  ‘Beep. I’m going to try again.’

  Diving back down, Dev instead grabbed his axiom again, carefully only using a single wave this time to not risk attracting Terra’s attention by losing control.

  Dev quickly rolled the wave over the area, feeling it snag once more on what should have been Justin’s soul. He rolled over it a few times for good measure.

  ‘Justin. We need you out. Elluvian is going to have to start committing to something if you don’t get out soon.’

  Dev exited again. ‘Is he here, yet?’

  ‘No, still no sign of him.’ Tae said.

  ‘Beep. Elluvian, don’t commit to anything you don’t have to. We have a fire affinity and are looking to explore it. If they ask about the trials, let me jump in.’

  Dev tuned back into the real world, hearing as Elluvian finished his explanation on what practice Dec had been working on.

  “So you’re able to feel your soul?” Terra asked. “Can you teach me?”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t know how,” Elluvian answered. “I stumbled on it during the ascension.”

  “Oh? Did you get an axiom?”

  “I’d rather not say,” Elluvian answered.

  “Well, I comprehended an aspect of fire. It’s kind of cool, I can feel any open flames around me.”

  “Yeah, that’s cool,” Elluvian said.

  An awkward silence descended, so Dev stepped in. “Hey, we should probably gather some of the fruit from around here before we go. Last time I showed up, they were practically taste starved because they didn’t have any spices in the desert. Bringing in some outside food will probably make us fast friends.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, then fluidly stood up. “Okay, then. What should we grab?”

  “Everything, probably. I don’t think they’ll refuse any of the non poisonous ones. Maybe we should bring some sticks as well. I doubt those are easy to come by either.”

  “Cool. I’ll get fruit with the others, you get sticks?”

  “Sounds good.”

  She walked away, and Dev let out another internal sigh of relief. ‘Thank the gods I was able to get rid of her without committing to any details. Elluvian, you know plant stuff, right?’

  Elluvian sighed. ‘Yes, you could say I know plant stuff.’

  ‘Then could you take charge of gathering good straight sticks while I try and find Justin?’

  ‘Yes, though I’m not sure what would help in a stick. I’m probably no better for construction sticks than Tae is.’

  ‘Well, hopefully, I’ll find Justin soon and he can take over. If he spent so much time camping, he surely knows what campers need.’

  Dev dived down several more times, trying to reach Justin, but he still hadn’t shown up by the time the desert became visible in the eastern sky.

  “Is everyone ready?” Dev asked the three people joining them. “We all have tents and provisions?”

  “Yes,” the boy, who Dev had learned was named Ethan, said, exasperated. “Just like last time you asked.”

  Dev was confused for a moment, before realizing that Elluvian must have asked the same question when he wasn’t watching.

  ‘Sorry,’ Elluvian said. ‘I should have warned you.’

  ‘It’s fine. Have you said anything else to them?’

  ‘Just instructions on what to get.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Shifting his backpack onto his back, Dev quickly found Preston.

  “Okay, we’re setting off now,” Dev told him. “Remember, the ocean islands should be here in twenty four hours.”

  “Bye,” Preston said. “And thanks again for your help. I spent most of the trial trapped in the blizzard, so I had no idea what was out here.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “No problem.”

  Dev led the way to the edge of the island, where Elluvian helped him limber up in preparation for the run. After that, they only had to wait for a couple of minutes before the light show started.

  As soon as the lights reached their feet, Dev started running, shouting as he did so, “Go! We need to make it at least halfway across before the bridge ends.”

  They ran across, none of the others even hesitating. On reaching the other side, the other boy, Ethan, fell onto his knees and retched.

  ‘Strange that he made it so far.’ Elluvian commented as Dev looked away. ‘I would have expected anyone with so weak a constitution to have failed out sooner.’

  Dev looked to Terra. “You think he ate some of the bad berries?”

  “Yeah,” she sighed.

  ‘I just hope he didn’t stick any in his bag.’ Elluvian said. ‘Indigestion wouldn’t make a good peace offering.’

  “Well, once he’s up, we’re heading east. There aren’t a lot of convenient landmarks, but I’m on the wrong part of the island’s curve relative to the sun. I think it’ll be an hour before we turn inland.”

  “Okay,” she said. She readied herself but remained otherwise quiet, perhaps having realized his refusal to answer questions.

  After a couple more minutes, Ethan got up, wiping the vomit off his face.

  “Okay,” Dev said. “Time to get moving. I want to be there before they start cooking.”

  Dev led the way to the top of the dune they were on, then began walking along it just as he’d done with Axel, but considerably calmer.

  It was during this portion of the trek that Justin returned, screaming in their ears and talking a mile a minute.

  ‘That was awesome! It’s so cool, its got pistons, and gears, and fuel, and, and, and, everything!’

  Dev winced. ‘Could you turn the volume down? And where were you? It’s been hours!’

  ‘Sorry! But it’s so amazing. I doubt your soul is this cool. If it was, you’d never leave it!’

  ‘But we asked you to leave it. Multiple times!’ Dev said, frustrated.

  ‘Oh. But I didn’t hear you?’

  ‘And you didn’t think to step outside?’

  ‘I was having fun!’

  ‘And now you won’t be having fun,’ Elluvian said. ‘Since you have the fire affinity, you’ll be taking charge for most of the Apollo inheritance.’

  ‘Okay,’ Justin said in a sulky sounding voice.

  ‘What was so awesome about your soul?’ Tae asked.

  ‘It’s an internal combustion engine! And I think it’s fully functional. It’s not hooked up to anything, but it’s running just fine, even without fuel. Are souls constant, or are they adjustable?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Dev said. ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, It would be nice to be able to do a tune-up.’

  Dev laughed. ‘I doubt that your soul can take wear and tear from its ordinary operations.’

  Looking around, Dev decided that they were likely close enough to the correct location to begin moving inland.

  “Okay, I think we are close. We need to move inland. Everyone keep an eye out for any oases. Even if we don’t find the correct one immediately, we might be able to get directions. Any questions?”

  “Yes,” Clair said. “Can you tell us about the Apollo trials?”

  “I meant about the traveling, but yes, I can answer any questions you have.”

  “Good,” she said, “So, what are the trials about?”

  “I only went through the introduction, but they are about all the domains associated with Apollo. Except plagues. So there’s fire, healing, music, archery, and more.”

  ‘So what do we start with?’ Justin asked.

  “The beginning of the trial is a registration and an affinity test,” Dev said aloud. “It asks your name, age, gender, and a few more things.”

  “Next is the archery test. You’re given a bow and arrow, and you have to try and hit as many targets as you can.”

  “What if we fail the test?” Terra asked. “Are we punished? I’ve never shot a bow before.”

  “It uses the result to customize the cultivation techniques it gives you. I don’t think it otherwise punishes you.”

  “Okay, what’s next?”

  “Next is the temperature gauging test. You have to gauge the temperature of a metal ball based entirely on feel. I expect that this one is fairly easy with the right aspects.”

  “How accurate?” Ethan asked.

  “To the nearest degree.”

  “That’s rough.”

  They continued asking and exchanging questions for several hours, as Dev got both Justin and his traveling companions filled in on the details of the test.

  It was only random chance when they saw the oasis. Clair had turned to look at him and ask a question, when she suddenly stopped. “Hey, is that the oasis we were looking for?”

  Dev looked behind him, and between two of the sand dunes west of them, he could see trees peeking up out of the ground.

  “It might be,” he said. “Come on, let’s go check. Worst case scenario, there’s nobody there.”

  He made an about face, leading the way to the oasis. After a few more minutes of walking, he was able to see much more clearly, where a large group of tents had been erected near the watery haven.

  “That looks like it could be the right place. It’s bigger than before, but it’s been several days, and they might have picked up some extras. There’s no way we’re the only stragglers.”

  “I just hope they let us in,” Terra said, “I’d hate to have come this far for nothing.”

  “They’ll let us in,” Dev reassured her. “We aren’t carrying eighty pounds of fruit for nothing. Now, look alive. I think we had perfect timing, as I see another group approaching from the east.”

  ‘Justin, feel free to jump in wherever.’ Dev said. ‘Since you’re doing the tests, you should be in charge and be the one they get to know.’

  ‘Okay, just get us through the introductions, then I’ll take charge.’

  As they walked closer, Dev could see the moment when the other group saw them, as there was some sudden milling about, then Dev saw someone step forward, the rest of the group shadowing them a few steps behind.

  Squinting, Dev smiled when he saw a flash of familiar blond hair. Taking a few more steps forward, Dev shouted, “Will! It’s good that I found you! We nearly missed the oasis!”

  Dev saw him pause, then quickly move forward. “Dev? Is that you?”

  “Yeah! I brought friends,” Dev shouted. “And more food! Permission to rejoin camp?”

  “If you really brought food, of course!”

  Dev’s group quickly joined with the Apollo group.

  “We brought a bunch of fruits from the jungle island,” Dev said, grabbing a couple of small, dark fruits off the top of Ethan‘s bag. “And I see you’ve expanded the group. I’m surprised you still recognize me. I was only here for a day.”

  “You are the only person who left after day two on the islands. Did you find what you are looking for, or are you leaving soon?”

  “I think I found part of what I’m looking for.” Dev said carefully. “But I might be leaving in a few days to go searching again. In the meantime, do you mind if I stay with you and go to the Sun God Trials with you?”

  “Of course,” Will said. “Do you mind introducing me to your companions?”

  “Oh, of course, that was rude of me. This is Terra, Ethan and Clair,” Dev said, pointing at them each in turn.

  “Nice to meet you,” Will said.

  Just then, June pushed her way over to him. “What did you bring? It’s nearly impossible to make something worth eating from what we have here. We don’t even have salt!”

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Dev said to Will. He stepped away from the group, then returned to grab some more food from Ethan’s backpack.

  “So, we’ve got some fruit, I don’t remember what all of it tastes like, but it can’t really be worse than unseasoned meat, can it?”

  ‘You don’t really know proper outdoor cooking, do you?’ Justin said. ‘Step aside, I’ll take it from here.’