Just as the representatives from both sides prepared to face their first challenge, the guardian's greatsword suddenly drew a strange circle of light in the air. As the light spread, a door appeared on the ground, clearly a portal to an unknown space. An ancient and mysterious aura filled the air, as if pulling everyone into another dimension.
"You are about to enter a world where virtuality and reality intertwine, and every step you take here must be taken with caution." The guardian's voice seemed to come from afar. "Here, the real enemy is not each other, but the fear and greed within your own hearts."
As soon as the words were spoken, Sofia, Jerry, and Nova stepped into the circle of light first, followed closely by the opposing team. Among the onlookers, a young soldier whispered, "They're really brave. If it were me... my legs would have given way."
Another, slightly older soldier shook his head and sighed: "Hopefully this trial will bring some unexpected changes. If we just keep fighting, it will only make things worse."
Within the circle of light, the four heroes had arrived at a dark, dense forest. The surrounding scenery was blurry, as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze. Sophia frowned and looked around. "Everyone be careful, this place looks very unusual."
Jerry nodded and held his sister Lala's hand, comforting her, "It's okay, your brother is here, don't be afraid."
Lala looked up and smiled. "Actually, I'm not that scared. As long as we're all together, that's all that matters!"
Just then, a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, carrying a faint sound of laughter. The group stopped and listened intently, discovering the sound was coming from their left. "Let's go!" Nova said firmly, leading the way, and the others followed.
After walking along a path through dense trees for a short while, a clearing suddenly appeared, where an ancient temple stood under the moonlight. A little girl sat in front of the temple, holding a gleaming mirror and laughing at it. "Hey, look here!" she waved excitedly at the four visitors. "You've come to play a game, haven't you? How about playing hide-and-seek with me? But the rules are decided in the mirror, okay?"
Ai Deng stepped forward, squatted down, and looked at the little girl curiously, asking, "What's going on? Is this challenge to find you? Or do we need to solve some kind of puzzle?"
"Aha~ It's all true and not entirely true," the little girl blinked mischievously. "The key is whether you can face the secrets hidden in the deepest corner of your heart. Everyone has something they don't want to be exposed, right?" With that, she turned and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Meanwhile, Nova noticed fragments of a map on the ground with strange symbols engraved on them; this might be one of the key clues to finding the truth. "Let's quickly piece this map together; maybe we can find clues related to the secret the little girl spoke of..."
Just as the group was engrossed in solving the puzzle, the opposing team quietly approached and discovered their presence. One of the men, named Karl, sneered, "Heh heh, since that's the case, why don't we merge our teams and find a way out together? After all, this is a matter of life and death!"
However, before he could finish speaking, Lala, who had been quietly observing the situation, suddenly pointed to a huge ancient tree not far away and shouted, "Look! There's a face on it...it seems...to speak!" Sure enough, when everyone's gaze turned to it, the surface of the tree trunk began to writhe and transform into the shape of a human face, emitting a deep voice that warned, "Be wary...don't easily believe what others say...the real trial is yet to come..."
At the sound of the human face's warning, the surrounding air suddenly froze, as if time had been paused. Everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment. Lala gripped Jerry's hand tightly, a hint of fear in her eyes.
“It says…don’t trust others too easily,” Aiden said in a low voice, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards Karl and his men. Karl clearly noticed this, letting out a cold snort and a sly smile appearing on his face: “What? Scared? Don’t worry, we have no hostility.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Nova picked up the map fragments and began piecing them together on the ground. Her movements were swift and focused, and in no time, the entire map revealed a complete picture: the entrance to an ancient labyrinth hidden deep in the forest, leading to an unknown land.
Sofia glanced at the map in Nova's hand, then turned to the opposing team and said, "Alright, since you've proposed finding a way out together, let's go together. But if you find anything amiss, I won't hold back!"
“Of course, likewise!” Carl grinned. “As long as we can get out of here, we’re all friends.”
So the two teams temporarily lowered their guard and headed towards the legendary maze entrance according to the map.
After traversing forest after forest, a massive stone tablet gradually came into view, inscribed with mysterious characters and complex runes. "It seems this is indeed the entrance to the labyrinth," Sophia murmured, touching the strange characters to try and glean more clues.
Just as they were carefully examining the stone tablet, a passerby—a middle-aged man who looked like a traveling merchant—suddenly approached from a short distance away: "Oh my, it's quite a rare sight to see young people wandering around in the forest so late at night."
Seeing the curious look in the other person's eyes, Jerry explained in a friendly manner, "Hello, Uncle, we are participating in a very important trial activity."
"Oh! A trial?" The merchant's tone was full of excitement. "This reminds me of a legend from many years ago. It is said that only those with a righteous and courageous heart can unlock the secrets of the labyrinth's depths and obtain immense power as a reward!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present gasped. Nova was especially excited: "Really? Doesn't that mean if we succeed we can..."
"Hehe..." Before he could finish speaking, the merchant interrupted, "But you must be careful—never lose yourself in that power, or you will face an irreversible fate! Alright, kids, I'm leaving now. Good luck to you all~" With that, he disappeared into the night.
As the mysterious figure left, the surroundings seemed to grow even more eerie. Suddenly, Karl stepped forward and said to everyone, "This is getting even more interesting. But I think we should hurry inside; who knows what might happen next?"
Just as everyone was about to step into the maze, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the depths of the previously silent path. Several pairs of eyes instantly snapped to attention, drawing their weapons in preparation for any potential new threat…
"Wait!" Sofia shouted, stopping her companions' impulsive actions. "No matter what challenges we face, remember that unity is our greatest source of strength." After saying these encouraging words, she took the lead and stepped into the unknown...
What kind of deity is hidden within this secluded and winding passage, and what does the future hold? It leaves much to the imagination...
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