A Strange Sight

Sigurd found himself flowing in the darkness of his consciousness. Only to feel a slow breeze graze over his laying body. Along with the mesmerizing scattered scent of the watered soil and the weaving, grass lit up around him. 

No sound or any kind of semblance to temper with his senses. No smoky smell of the factories, or the crazed sound of the city he was ever so used to.

It was peaceful around him. Yes, strangely peaceful. 

Something he never experienced before. 

For a moment, his body begged him to stay down. To not open his eyes and let reality reflect through his mind. Just to lay down and relish this peace for as long as possible.

Away from the continuous nitpicking of his orphanage warden. Away from his responsibility of feeding his brothers and sisters. Away from the chase and the chaser. Away from the constant fear of being caught and death.

To bask in a true sense of freedom.

But his peace of mind was very short-lived. As suddenly the strangely familiar voice whispered into his ear in an autonomous voice. Stirring him away from the pretty dream and his respite to the cursing reality.

[Challenger! We welcome you to the stairs of Liberation... We hope you have a warm stay.]

The voice was silent for a moment, before adding again.

[Challenger! Make your way to the center dome within the assigned time. For those who Failed to do so….. Penalties will be implemented shortly.]

Sig stretched his body on the ground, slowly opening his eyes after what truly felt like an eternity. And weirdly enough, It was strangely soothing with a sense of relief washing over him.

The bright light around blinded him for a quick second. Taking a seat on the ground, he quickly shook his head in exasperation, covering both of his eyes with his hands.

'...Sun?'

Sigurd looked away from the massive ball of fire shining in the distance. He had been acquainted with it for his whole life.

'...Wait!!!…How the heck am I still alive!?'

He slowly removed his hand from the face, taking a closer look at his body. Only to find it in a completely normal shape. 

Which obviously shouldn't be possible after being beaten to death. 

Strangely quirking his eyebrows, he stretched his hand and legs to feel them through. But, it radiated the feeling of coming as full of energy, somehow.

"....."

With wide eyes, Sig immediately stood up from the ground. His eyes coursed through the area surrounding him, prompting an even more baffling sight.

His eyes stretched at the giant meadows around him to the very end of his sight. The ginormous grassland with no living being in sight, and the burning sun shining over all of it.

'....Where am I?'

The place he remembered from his memories was full of industries and pollution. Places with trees and grasslands were usually only reserved for the wealthy ones of society.

It was strange, all too strange in every right.

The moment he tried to step forward. Following his action, a transparent box suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, with only a few golden words shining over it.

           [    Time remaining -  00:57:31     ]

'A timer of some sort.'

Sigurd suddenly took a deep breath. Trying to make any kind of sense of what was happening, all while standing in silence. Remembering what had happened to him, he retracted his actions in the memories. 

His eyes suddenly went wide, as he exclaimed loudly.

"...The stairs! I am inside the Goddamn staircase!"

Sig looked around himself with a scowl. Finally remembering what happened to him second by second. His close encounter with death and the unwarranted behavior of the mythical building.

Which for the first time rejected his wish. Unlike what it was doing and what it was supposed to do throughout history. He never once heard of a case where the mystery staircase had abducted someone against their will.

"Yes, that we all are, my boy! I'll say this is the work of fate."

Sig turned around in sudden urgency, hearing the strange answer to his question. He could've sworn, he saw no one around him just a moment ago.

"Also, we should run back to the central dome, kid….. Before it is too late."

A man came into view from the very left, standing only a few meters away from him. With a suited attire, his black hair glistened over his wrinkly face. He looked mostly on the older side, probably over his 40s.

Sig clenched his hand, as he slowly took a few steps back. He wasn't so sure about the unknown man. The whole situation just kept on getting even more puzzling to him.

"...Don't worry, kid. I am not here to kill you….. Though you are most likely going to die if you stay here."

He added with a bit of joy in his voice. Pointing a finger at the transparent box in front of Sigurd.

"The timer is ticking."

The man added the last bit in a stern voice, before going silent for a few moments, with an expectant look on his face.

        [    Time remaining -  00:53:39    ]

Sig looked at the ticking transparent clock in front of him. Before looking back at the strange man in front of him.

'...Is he waiting for my reply?'

The man was suspicious, to say the very least. A person appearing at the most convenient of timing to help him out was the biggest red flag. But if not for him, Sig couldn't see what he was supposed to do.

In a supposedly mystical place, which seemed more like a lucid dream than reality. The man in front of him was the only solid chance of getting any answer.

Also, Sig was not very eager to find out what was going to happen… when the clock finally hits all the zeros.

"....I will go."

Sig replied in a muffled voice. His senses were still telling him, it was a horrible choice. But for now, he didn't have any other way to survive, than to trust the man in front of him.

The man nodded silently and gestured to him to follow. As he started running at an abnormal speed, in the opposite direction from where Sigurd was standing. 

Sig shrugged before following the steps of the mysterious man. His eyes followed the man, as he ran after him with every bit of strength he had. Which wasn't much from the very start.

Due to his poor lifestyle in the slums, he never ate enough food to satiate his hunger. And whenever he went to steal the food, his priority remained on feeding his brothers and sisters at the orphanage. Which also took plenty of toll on him.

He was weak and frail in terms of the body for as long as he can remember. But, the reason for his survival so far, was his shrewd mind and meticulous planning. In acing every single one of his steals. 

After running through the whole of the ginormous grassland. Out of breath and staggering on his legs, Sig finally reached his destined location. He took an exhausted sigh and looked at the sight in front of him.

The central dome or what it really looked like from the outside, a city. It was surrounded by grasslands from every direction, while it stood in something akin to a ginormous pit in the middle of it all.

Sigurd turned to his side, to look for his travelling companion. Who for the duration of the whole run was barely in his view, due to his abnormal speed.

"Hey is this th-"

Sig stopped abruptly, his eyes suddenly stopping at their place as he found no one by his side. 

The strange man was not there anymore.

He quickly looked around the path to the city and then to the grasslands. Only to find nothing inside as long as his sight stretched. No human or any living being was in sight. 

However while Sig looked around himself in confusion, the overly familiar voice resounded again in his mind.

[Challengers! You have two minutes remaining.]

         [    Time remaining -  00:01:57    ]

Sig gulped looking at the clock and made a run for the city. His mind was still disoriented and brimming with questions. But the only problem was, there was just no one around him to answer them. 

His only plausible guess was - the man had already crossed into the city without waiting for him. Which sounded incredibly dumb too. Considering there was still plenty of distance between the city and where he was standing.

One question ignited another and a chain of questions formed in his mind, while he made his last run to the entrance of the ominous city.

Why wasn't he dead after that much injury? What are the stairs of Liberation in the first place? Could he ever return to his orphanage? What was this trial supposed to be? Who was that mysterious man and where did he go? 

Sigurd stood at the very corner of the city, breathing heavily in fatigue. He sighed, looking at the remaining ten seconds on his clock. He once again turned back in search of the man. Though like before, he was nowhere to be found.

".....What the hell is going on here?"

He let his step fall at the entrance of the city. At the same time, the timer in front of him stopped and disappeared out of his sight.

His mind rang with the mysterious voice.

[Challenger! We welcome you inside the central dome. The first trial will be starting shortly.]

The moment that Sig crossed the city gate, which felt strangely ominous for some reason. The mystery place once again rang through, this time louder than ever before. 

[The first trial had begun.]

It was then, he saw something unbelievable. Something blemish enough to take the ground away from his legs. The scenery was as though the hell itself has descended down before him.

Following the ominous voice, the view around Sig suddenly drastically changed. The massive grasslands everywhere around them were caught in the flames of red fire. 

The fresh air now smelled of blood, as every sense in his body begged him to run away. Warning him about the approaching doom, which surely wasn't too far away.

The sky turned blood red with only a few golden words, shining over them. 

[  I'm the fire that burns within,

When life's challenges begin.  

I'm the voice that whispers hope,

When you're at the end of your rope. ]

Sig looked at the crimson sky with fear lingering through his soul. It felt as though something was wrong around him. Something truly frightening made its way toward him.

"....W-Wh?"

BAAANNNGGGG 

But before he could see, understand, or ask about anything going around him. He felt a sudden impact on the back of his head. Dislodging any sentinel activity out of him.

He fell to the ground the very next second with a loud impact. His vision blurring with every following second. 

"Report to the Chief!! We have caught the intruder!"

It was the last loudest sentence he heard, before plunging into the abyss of darkness.