(Sloppyly written, badly formatted adventure for Lance, don't read lol)
After hours of searching, Lance eventually discovered what he was looking for. a large, staircase upward. that seemingly stretched on forever.
"This must be the great stairs of infinity! exactly how the book had described!" Lance said
he took a step onto the staircase and immediately felt his knees give out. through some ancient magic, the stairs had been enchanted, so that the gravity of each stair was significantly heavier than the gravity of the planet itself. for a strength-based hero like King Tiger or Akari, this would prove an inconvenience, but for Lance.....
Lance could barely manage to crawl up the staircase, weakly lifting one arm over the other as he climbed. it took hours, days, months, but time acted differently on the strange planet. a year on the planet was only a few minutes for the rest of the dream world, extending Lances torture as he climbed higher.
"I....am the great....Lance Lafayette..." Lance muttered in between pants.
"This...is...NOTHING"
"To regain my glory....to become legendary once more....Ill do ANYTHING....even if it kills me" he said, choking on some blood that had surfaced in his throat.
after about 3 months of non-stop climbing, in which Lance nearly collapsed from lack of food or hydration he reached the top of the staircase. the only thing keeping him alive was his natural regeneration. the lack of basic food put him in a state of intense agony but did not kill him.
greedily, he took out the provisions he prepared for the journey, munching on them quickly as he limped. he had just completed the trail of strength.
ahead of him stood a Sphinx.
"
Hail Adventurer" The Sphinx said to the man
"You have cleared the trial of strength. now it is time for the trial of intellect!" The Sphinx bellowed.
"Answer my Riddles three, and I shall give you the key!"
Lance nodded.
"Someone of my intellect should have no problem with your riddles! do your worst!" Lance said confidently.
"So Be it"
"Riddle 1, Half-empty or half-full, they look the same. What are they?"
Lance thought for a moment.
"Glasses!" the man shouted at the Sphinx.
"a half full glass would look the same as a half empty one, since both have half missing!"
"CORRECT"
"Riddle 2 I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?"
"An Echo!" Lance shouted.
"The part about mouth and ears was a misdirection! it's not a person at all! Echos have no body, and can be carried with the wind!"
"
Correct!"
"Final Riddle. You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?"
Lance thought for a long moment, before responding.
"There were no single people on the boat because everyone on the boat was MARRIED!" Lance shouted.
"CORRECT"
The sphinx looked at Lance for a moment, before opening its mouth, revealing a golden key in its jaw. Lance used his telekinesis to remove the key and placed it in his pocket.
"Use that key on the gate up ahead. and it will take you to your next trial."The Sphinx said, before flying away.
Lance hurried over to the gate, using the key to unlock it and stepping inside. what he found was an empty room. seemingly devoid of anything. however at the center stood a man. it was....himself?!
"
This is your final trial. The trial of the ego, you must take on a doppelganger of yourself. should you succeed, you shall reach the treasure that you seek" a mysterious voice said, the noise echoing across the room.
"It's a shame I will have to kill someone as dashingly handsome as myself," Lance said, pulling several knives from his pocket. the clone responded in kind, pulling multiple knives from his pocket as well. immediately they faced off, knives and illusions flying everywhere as Lance began a fierce fight against himself.
They were evenly matched. every blow was perfectly parried on both sides. after all, they were both Lance, they knew each other strategies.
"To beat this man....Ill have to outsmart...even myself!" Lance thought. this meant taking a risk. doing something completely uncharacteristic of what Lance would usually do. He needed to be brave.
The doppelganger rushed forward and thrust his knife towards Lance's chest. Lance, knowing this was his chance, took the stabbing attack, the knife impaling his chest and just barely missing his heart. from his pocket, he grabbed a gun and pointed it at the doppelganger's head. with a quick flick of his finger, he pulled the trigger, and the Doppelganger head exploded. splattering Lances face and stomach with blood.
"You have passed the third and final trial, mortal. you have proven yourself worthy of obtaining our gift" The voice said.
Lance breathed a sigh of relief, before staggering into the next area.
he reached a small room. covered in ornate decorations. at the center of the room was a series of circles. Which Lance was able to immediately deduce was some kind of summoning ritual.
next to the circle, stood a small black book, which read the following
"
Offer the circle a sacrifice of something you hold dear. if the sacrifice is accepted, you will gain the power you seek"
Lance sighed. he didn't want to sacrifice anything. but he had come too far. he couldn't turn back now.
"...I sacrifice my fortune. all the money that was given to me, from the kindness of Rory and Kiara, I give to this circle."
The money flew out of Lance's pockets, falling into the circle with an audible plop before disappearing. yet...nothing happened. it was clear the circle still wanted more.
Lance hesitated...and sighed.
"I offer my hands to this summons, A magician pride a joy. no longer will I have hands of my own, only the hands my summon provides!" Lance said, tears rolling down his face. He treasured his hands above all else. without them, he wasn't sure if he could ever perform magic again. but....he knew he needed something to give them. and this was what was most valuable to him
The circle shinned a great crimson had Lance's hands were forcefully ripped from his body, their regeneration completely negated by the strange power of the circle.
"
Your resolve has been revealed, Magician! claim your prize!" The mysterious voice said, before fading entirely. a bright light flashed throughout the room, before eventually coalescing into a humanoid form.
