Cyrus Solaris
Sitting in the dull, cool hut of the test isle, I calmed my breath and visualized my astral body stepping out of my mortal shell. My astral body floated next to the members of my cluster. Everyone's astral body glowed with a different ethereal color, matching the color of their aura.
It amazed me how dazzling astral projections looked. I had only been a Starbound for a short period of time, so I never got to see other Starbounds' projections before they changed in the astral realm or rift to mimic what we appear like in the physical realm.
The mirror-like astral tech swirled as a portal of a nexus or rift would.
Our proctor couldn't see us while we were in our astral projected forms, so his voice went up a few octaves as he spoke."You may go into the machine; once you do, I will provide you with further instructions," the proctor said, swiping his tablet a couple of times.
Sora took the lead and floated into the portal. Everyone followed suit after her, with me bringing up the rear.
As soon as I crossed the threshold, I could immediately feel a drain on my cosmic energy. It was like suffering from heat stroke in the desert lands outside the capital of Arthenos.
Shortly after, all of our astral bodies were no longer floating; our astral feet now touched a hard, rocky surface.
"Are they gonna turn on the lights?" Voen asked.
Then a very small spark of electricity illuminated the space, revealing Sora's light blue astral body, as a loud voice echoed through wherever we were taken.
"Now that you've all arrived, I'll explain the test. You'll be given an assortment of items. Your group must choose carefully if you intend to escape.
There will be four zones. At each one, you may select only one of five items. The others will be lost permanently.
Choose wisely.
Along with that, one member of your cluster will not be allowed to use their node abilities for the entity of the test."
Everyone exchanged a glance. I prayed to Solaris, hoping that it wasn't assigned to me.
"Also, each zone has a time limit to mimic how some astral rifts have time limits for Starbound to conquer them."
"How much time do we get for each zone?" Nerena asked, her teal astral body leaning against what I would assume is a cave wall.
"You have three minutes to decide on the item and clear each zone, and before I go, the member who isn't allowed to use their node abilities is Mira."
When the proctor's voice faded, the environment shifted. Pixels around us transformed into a prison cell. The room was dimly lit, its walls bare and gray.
The cell was small, compacting the six of us in the space like sardines.
"Anyone else hear that?" Voen asked.
"None of us can hear like you; just spit it out," Mira said, her nostrils flared, as she tried to bend the bars on the cell door.
Then the timer manifested above our heads, along with five items that appeared on the ground before us.
The selection was full of mundane objects: bolt cutters, ramen and water, a notebook, prison guard uniforms, a guard whistle, and a ring of keys, coupled with the faint tick of the timer.
180 seconds. 179 seconds, 178 seconds, 177seconds, 176 seconds.
"The bolt cutters look like the best choice here," I said, reaching for the item.
Sora swapped my hand away.
"What was that for?"I asked, rubbing my hand.
"That wasn't the best choice."
160 seconds. 159 seconds, 158 seconds.
"Why not? With the bolt cutters, we can force our way out of pretty much anything here."
"But what if force isn't the best way to escape?" Sora shot back, analyzing the items."
Taking a deep sigh, " Then what would you recommend? Time is running out, and fast."
She paused for a while, then looked to the rest of the cluster.
"I think we should vote on what we pick."
"I'd rather not be responsible for any of this," Jace said, yawning.
It was weird seeing him without a cloud.
Sora shrugged off his comment and looked to the rest of the cluster. "How about everyone else?"
"I think the guard whistle would be perfect," Voen said, scratching the back of his head.
"Why would we pick that?" Mira shouted.
120 seconds. 119 seconds, 118 seconds, 117seconds.
Nerena took a step forward. "Let him explain his reasoning at least."
Her statement surprised me. She normally didn't talk much.
"Thanks, Nerena. Back home, I would use instruments like that to lure people in and lull them into doing what I needed them to. Maybe we could do that with a guard around here."
I gave Voen a blank stare and made another advance for the bolt cutters.
Sora swiped my hand away again.
"Just because you don't like his idea doesn't mean you can make a choice for everyone."
"Look at the time," I shouted, pointing at the timer floating above us.
85 seconds. 84 seconds, 83 seconds, 82 seconds.
Her brows furled.
"Nerena, what do you think?" Sora asked.
"The book,"
"Of course, squids picked the book," Jace said, starting to edge toward the ramen and water.
I stepped in between him and the food. "If I can't act on my own, neither can you."
He tried to move me out of the way. "Dude, I'm hungry; I didn't eat breakfast."
"Jace, you know it's virtual, right. You can't eat it anyway." Voen said, tilting his head slightly.
"Get your brother, Sora," I said, staring at her.
10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds, 7 seconds.
Then Sora's astral form glowed, and faint sparks traveled towards everyone.
I began to feel like my choice didn't matter as much to begin with.
"Well, I think we should go with the keys. There are many of them on the rings; it could help unlock this cell, and potentially other things." Sora said, making her way towards the items.
For some reason, I didn't feel the urge to stop her.
5 seconds. 4 seconds. 3 seconds.
Sora grabbed the keys and fumbled with them until she found the right one to unlock the door.
The timer froze, and a voice echoed through the virtual prison.
"You have cleared the first zone."
All of the items dematerialized, and our team walked through the doors. Now, our team was tasked to figure out which hallway to take for zone two.
But before our cluster moved, Nerena walked up to Sora.
"You know I don't like it when you do that."