"Jason, go ahead and enter the portal." Amber said and stepped back.
"No, the moment I do that, Iktomi will try to kill you. Being alone in front of a beast like him is definitely going to kill you." Jason argued in a voice only audible to Amber.
Both of their guardians were currently out of commission so they couldn't talk to each other using telepathy.
"The same thing will happen even if I enter the portal. The only way to avoid conflict is if we both manage to enter a portal together." Amber countered.
"Wait…" Jason paused, an idea entering his mind. "What if we both touch the portal at the same time?"
"Huh?"
"Principal Albus never said that two people couldn't enter the portal at the same time." Jason pointed out.
"Uh, he did say that two people couldn't enter the same portal."
[ He did say that only a single person can enter a portal. ]
Both Amber and the system countered him. Jason could only shook his head, his eyes staring at the white pillar of light.
"Well, there is no harm in touching the portal together. Let's see what happens." Jason sighed.
Amber didn't see any harm either. Simultaneously, both of them placed their hands on the pillar. A pair of windows appeared in front of them, asking whether they wanted to take the trial.
The duo exchanged a glance. "Well, let's say yes and see what happens." Jason shrugged.
Iktomi, who had been watching the duo from far away, suddenly felt chills running down his spine. His mana flow started behaving weirdly.
'Butt he portal is still here. Why is this happening?' Iktomi frowned.
He knew that his life was related to the portals yet out of the two portals he was supposed to guard, only one of them was vanishing.
The spider looked at the other portal and much to his shock, the second portal's light was slowly fading away.
Iktomi launched himself towards the portals, his spider body spinning webs one after the other. He swung from one branch to other, his mana slowly vanishing from his body.
Iktomi landed in front of the second portal with the hope of stopping the one undergoing the trial but it was a wasted attempt.
No one was present near the portal.
"How…" those were the last words spoken by Iktomi before the portal vanished completely.
His mana flow also disappeared, his body vanishing alongside it. The domain beast vanished with both the portals.
***
"Another one of the twin portals has been used." Albus muttered outside.
He could feel the disappearance of the twin portals present in the expert zone. Since he was linked to all of them, he could tell how and when the portals were accessed.
All four zones present inside the trial had two twin portals. These portals were situated close to each other and could be entered individually.
However, they could also be entered by only a single portal. It meant that if two people were to race to one portal and place their hand on it, both of them would be able to take the trial with the help of the other portal.
These portals had personally been crafted by Albus for those who had teamed up or were fighting alongside one of their friends.
He had done this to make sure that the children got to know the value of companionship. Albus was also pleased to see that so far, the portals had done their job well.
Two pairs of such portals had already been used out of the total four that were present.
'So those two entered the portals. Its a relief that it was them who entered the portals.' Albus sighed in relief. 'Now I can at least tell the Syrward and Feuer family that their children are safe.'
***
'Well, that worked.' Jason thought with a smile.
He was currently standing in a small white room devoid of any objects. The room was quite small sized but since nothing was present inside, it looked quite big.
[ It was an Easter Egg I guess. It was quite cleverly placed since the two portals weren't that far from each other. ]
'Indeed. I am wondering what the Trial of fear is going to be about. Perhaps it will be about fighting one's fears.'
[ Perhaps… Host, there is something you should know. ]
'Hmm, what is it?'
[ Sancus's divinity was active for a few seconds inside your dream. Though it was for a short time, I was able to sense the divinity being activated inside you. ]
Jason blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the divinity to become active in this manner.
[ Maybe Amber's actions triggered something inside the divinity. It released a tiny amount of divine energy inside you before going back to its hovering state. ]
'Can I use the energy in any possible way?'
[ No, the energy is too little to be of use. ]
'Sad.' Jason sighed.
He waited for something to happen but the longer he sat there in a room, the weirder he felt. Suddenly, a random thought appeared in his mind.
'What if isolation or loneliness is one of my fears?'
[ That's kinda impossible since me and Hestia are there with you most of the times. Even when either of us aren't there, you know that we are still connected with you. ] The system pointed out.
'Then I just have to say that I can never be alone?' Jason questioned.
[ There's no harm in trying. ]
Jason agreed and said the same words aloud. A ripple of sorts went around the room. The ceiling slowly started cracking, spreading across the entire room.
Jason could see a bright night sky above his head as the room slowly cracked away. He found himself standing on solid ground in a familiar place.
On looking around, the silver-haired boy saw a manor in the distance, a manor he was very familiar with.
"Is that…" the words died in Jason's throat when he realized that the manor he was seeing was none other than the Syrward family.
Currently, his home was on fire.
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