"Congratulations, You passed the test"
"What test?"Arynx asked galaxies still spinning in his vision - fading.
"The first rule of being a Collector - 'Never obey a warning that isn't yours to verify.'
A collecter must see past the instructions and judge reality for themselves. I instructed you two to stay in the jungle but you disobeyed me and came here anyway.You knew you could not get a chance like this again. Excellent "
"So what would have happened if we had stayed there?"Arynx asked starting to feel alright again.
"I would have left you both there, simple as that.But i knew you wouldn't do it when i saw you both fighting that Mordgris.
The way Viritius blew the bear up and how Arynx jumped in the way of Viritius hitting the tree knowing he will probably get hurt
Both of you have the potential to be great collectors,otherwise I wouldn't have asked you two to come with me."The man said briming with a smile.
"Great , being a collector sounds cool"Viritius said in his usual cheerful tone.
"Yes but it comes with many dangers ,though the rewards are just as good and now that you both have gained my approval -
My name is Draven Vael, mostly known in the world as 'Saber Ghost' bestowed upon me by the 'Echelon' - Council of collectors ,
but you both can call me Draven.
"K ,Mr.Draven , So where are we?"Asked Viritius.
"This place is called the lattice - created by a Astryx - grade Luminox, its like an alternate reality of time and space created by a luminox to protect itself from us humans, Every path there is a challenge you must clear, a level,and on the end is the Luminox itself "
That was when Arynx noticed it, they were on a stone path floating on nothing in space, all around he could see stars and galaxies - millions and millions of them - behind them the path was broken and if he took even a single step back he could fall into nothingness and ahead was he could see the path going on and on as if it was infinite.
"Astryx - grade Luminox?"Viritius asked while Arynx was still being amazed by the beauty of the lattice.
"Yes, there are grades to every Luminox its
Ember - Grade Luminox - The Lowest
Tempest - Grade Luminox
Omnis - Grade Luminox
Astryx - Grade Luminox
Dominion - Grade Luminox - The Highest
The Luminox that makes a lattice are Omnis and higher grade.
The more the grade the more harder the challenges become and the harder it is to get the Luminox."Draven told them.
"So how do you know its an Astryx - grade Luminox?"asked Arynx.
"In Luminox that make a lattice you can tell by the colour of the portal which grade it is
Green is Omnis,Blue is Astryx and Red is Dominion , though i have only ever been in one Dominion - Grade Lattice."Draven answered.
"So how did you found the portal?Did you search the whole area?"Draven asked them.
"Well yeah,but we couldn't find it so i mimicked you and yelled 'Unbounded gaze' and i could see a path to the portal"Viritius replied.
"You used 'Unbounded Gaze'?Draven replied completely stunned.
"Its a skill most people learn after months of practice.You truely have great potential". Draven said again admiring Viritius.
Viritius smile became more brighter hearing this.
"Well lets see what this Luminox has to offer"said Draven and they started to move forward.
After sometime Arynx started to hear a sound from behind,he stopped and looked back.
The world behind them was no longer still,The path behind was crumbling,falling,racing towards them.It was coming for them .Fast.
He heard Viritius yelling "Run".
But as he took the first step forward there was no stone beneath him-no floor , no support, no warning.A chunk of the path in front of him had fallen into the void below.
Luckily for before he could fall into it Draven caught Arynx by the coller of his shirt.
He said smiling"So that's the first challenge, huh?"
And then instinct took command — they ran.
Arynx was unraveling. Panic clawed at his mind, wild and shapeless.
Another step vanishing behind them, the void biting closer, closer — frantic breaths colliding with madness.
Without Draven, they wouldn't have lasted the first minute.
Again and again, whenever the path erased itself at their heels, Draven yanked them back — saving them not once, but a dozen times.
After two breathless minutes, Arynx saw a circular platform, hovering ahead like a final answer carved in stone and light.
But the collapsing path had reached them, roaring forward in a cataclysmic rush.
For a heartbeat, Arynx did the math — they wouldn't make it.
He took one more stride toward the impossible…
Then a jerk — not of fear, but of activation, slammed against his stomach.
Space snapped, folded, and recompiled.
In a blink — no more falling path, no more distance, no more doubt —
they stood on the platform, the void left shuddering behind them.
Not by chance.
Not by strength.
But by the Collector himself - Draven Vael.
As they reached the platform it started to move upward.
"Whew, that was close" Viritius said standing up on his feet.
The platform rose up for sometime then stopped in front of another path then they saw it -
A building standing at the end of the road —
too symmetrical for nature, too calm for a trial, too beautiful for a ruin.
Vines curled around polished pillars like emerald serpents, sunlight kneeling on its architecture in quiet reverence.
No cracks. No dust. No decay.
Just impossible elegance, suspended in the breath of the jungle as if the world had built it gently, by hand.
But that was not what shocked Arynx.
There was a man lying just at end of the path,his body was slashed up in all places by with blood flowing out.He could lose his life at any moment.
When he saw them he yelled " Be careful swords will come at you from all sides"
"I see" said Draven and he started to walk calmly towards the man .
One step,two steps , Arynx watched petrified waiting for swords to come at him
But the Draven reached the end without a single scratch on him.
He touched the man lying on the ground , took out bandages from his cloak and started treating the man who was shocked by what he just saw.
"How did you do that?"he asked
"Its a challenge that feels like danger.
The air howls and flickers as if a million cuts rush past you, but there is no physical attack.
The Luminox is testing out our courage posture — the one who fears the cut is the one who gets mentally slashed by regret-memory visions.
I want both you to just calmly walk down the path.Don't even think of running.. and don't let fear take control of you body."said Draven.
Viritius took the path first,he calmly walked the path with a determined look on his face.
He reached the other end safely and let out a sigh of relief.
Then it was Arynx's turn -
As he took the first step a chill struck him first — not on skin, but behind the ribs.
The wind didn't push, it spoke in motion — screaming past him in razor-thin currents, invisible but undeniable, like a storm made of intentions instead of weather.
His heart tried to sprint but his legs were trying to calm it down,moving very slow.
His instincts begged for defense. For reaction. For steel.
Every nerve sharpened, wired tight… waiting for an attack that never came.
That was the worst part.
It felt like standing inside a battlefield without enemies, without rules, without walls — just the fear of being cut, rehearsed on repeat in his mind.
But as he kept walking, something shifted.
The panic didn't fade — it condensed, crystallizing into cold awareness.
A strange calm carved itself around his fear, the way a swordsman stands still inside a hurricane out of respect, not bravery.
He felt small, not weak.
Exposed, not targeted.
At last he reached the end of the path
He didn't collapse, didn't cheer — even though every part of him wanted to roar in triumph.
Instead…
He smiled.
A smile that said:
"I lived through something I still don't fully understand."