Here it was. The final trial. The last set of signs stood before each door.

There was no poetry, no riddles or tricks. The one on the right read:

One shall live, if the other shall perish.

And on the left, it was written:

One shall perish, for the other to live.

Two signs. Two choices.

"Let me." Impulse started, stepping towards the doorway on the left.

"No! Remember the false lava? And the maze? I would have been stuck there forever. Look, whatever comes next, you deserve to get the final reward." He grasped Impulse's shoulder and pulled him back, beginning to take his place.

Impulse frowned as his friend opened the door, "No... no this isn't right..."

Bdubs turned and smiled, "I'll see you on the other side, ok? We'll share the prize, whatever it is!"

The door swung closed of its own accord, the latch clicking with a sinister finality.

Impulse turned away. His footsteps tapped across the dusty wooden planks. The right door lay open before him. Impulse reached out and touched the gnarled wood. The whorls of a knot entranced him, and for a moment he became distracted by the natural detail in the wood. He shook it off, and pulled open the door.

Inside, he was met with a foreboding sight.There was glass between them, making it easy for Impulse to see Bdubs in the other hallway. He waved cheerily, unaware of the sobering sight Impulse beheld. Looking above the stone near Bdubs' head, he saw a tunnel, filled with sand. He knew that if the rock was removed, it would mean a long and painful death for his friend.

He spun around, inspecting the compartment. Behind him sat a chest. He peeked inside cautiously, finding an odd amount of levers in the chest. He grinned, placed one on the wall and almost flipped it.

What if there's redstone in the wall... what if it drops the sand?

He glanced back at his friend. Bdubs' normally cheery face was shrouded with perplexion. He gestured at the lever Impulse had placed and mimed pulling it.

Impulse pointed at the ceiling and wiggled his fingers in the air, trying to symbolise sand falling. It took a few tries, but eventually Bdubs caught on. The blood drained from his face and he slid to the floor, leaning against the locked iron door.

After a moment. Bdubs straightened. He looked over at Impulse, and smiled sadly. He nodded, pretending to pull the lever again. Impulse shook his head again.

No. I am not going to be responsible for killing my friend. Not after we came all this way together...

As if reading his mind. Bdubs put his hand against the glass, and pointed at the lever again. He breathed on the glass, and used his finger to write out a message.

Go win for me, ok?

The cool of the glass seeped into Impulse's hand as he too placed it on the glass. Bdubs removed his hand and leaned against a wall, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he was about to suffocate. He took out a torch and inspected the flickering flames absentmindedly. Impulse grasped the lever. Its smooth cloth-wrapped handle pressed into his hand as he shoved it downwards. With a soft click, the stone slid open, and the sand cascaded down onto his friend.

Impulse turned away as the sand reached Bdubs' middle. He didn't want to watch this. The path ahead lay open to him now, the iron door unlatched.

Impulse let go of the lever, and strode slowly into the final area. As he did, he thought he faintly heard the yells of his dying friend. He didn't turn back.

~ ⬩ ⍑╎ᓭ ⬩ ~

It was suffocating. Bdubs gasped for air as sand pressed in around him, pouring over his hair, his clothes, everything. As dust piled up around him, he noticed Impulse walking away, heading into the final room. He smiled. He smiled.

He did it!

Just as he was about to resign to his fate, he remembered something. As the sand continued to pour around him, he stuck a torch into the sand. Any sand that fell upon the torch dissolved into items, which Bdubs picked up. As the last bit of sand faded away, Bdubs cried out in triumph. He had survived. Now, to find a way out.

For a moment, he fiddled with the door, and realised it was still locked.

After a few seconds of thought, he decided to refrain from breaking the glass.

I still want to play somewhat fairly...

Eventually, he turned his attention to the sand he had collected. Technically, he hadn't mined it, so he could use it without feeling like he was cheating. Maybe the only way out was... up?

"Woah..." Bdubs mumbled as he emerged from the narrow sand chute. He was standing in a tunnel, the floor made of glass. He glanced down at it. It seemed to lead from the outside of the temple. However, when he checked, the hallway seemed to drop off into midair with no staircase.

He explored the other way, but before he reached the end, he found something else. In the dimly lit hallway, two glowing, violet eyes stared out at him from the dark. The eyes widened, and the person - at least, he thought it was a person - turned, and began to run down the hall. It left a couple of shining lavender feathers in its wake.

Bdubs gave chase, hollering after it, "Wait! Are you the one who has been making the puzzles? The one who caused the crater?"

The mysterious figure ignored him and exited through an iron door. Bdubs followed. He was going to capture this strange individual, the culprit he assumed was responsible for the strange events on the server.

~ ⬩ ꖎ𝙹ᓭᓭ, ⬩ ~

Bdubs was dead. He was the one who had invited Impulse on this crazy trip, and now he was dead. Impulse sat down on the floor of the dimly lit room, stunned. A spiral staircase led upwards, growing ever dimmer, illuminated only by the occasional redstone torch. He was going to share the winnings, it was only right. His eyes slid closed as he processed what had just happened. Then, faintly, he heard a familiar voice.

"Bdubs? Are you-"

And then a creature landed right in front of him.

"What the-"

"GET IT!" Roared Bdubs, pushing past him and giving chase to the feathered figure, which was already fleeing up the spiral stairs. Impulse took a moment to register.

Bdubs isn't dead? How did he survive? And what is the thing he's chasing?

He shook himself. What he should be doing now was helping Bdubs. They could discuss what had occurred later. He loaded a crossbow and equipped his chestplate, preparing for a fight. He was glad he thought to bring them. He rarely carried spare armour. Hefting his sword out of his inventory, Impulse joined the chase.

Up the stairs they went. Bdubs swung at the person several times with his sword, but missed. In a particularly shadowy bend on the stairs, it turned, striking Bdubs with its fist. Bdubs fell back, but Impulse caught him, and they both hastily resumed the chase.

Finally, they reached the top of the staircase. A dark hall met them, the round ceiling encased in gloom. The figure turned, and Impulse hesitated, seeing the glint of a smile, the dim red glow of a torch reflecting off of teeth. The figure placed some iron, and held a small gourd in his hands. Bdubs didn't hesitate. He took the opportunity to swing at the stranger, and as he did, it placed the gourd.

Bdubs sword collided with a clang. The noise resounded through the chamber, like a bell tolling in the night. A thud shook dust from the ceiling as an enormous iron golem shuffled towards Bdubs. A high-pitched, crazy laugh tore from the mysterious figure's lips. Instead of running, it sat, watching with glee as Bdubs was chased by the iron golem.

Bdubs held his shield up, and Impulse swept in to the rescue, slashing at the enormous golem. His feeble weapon barely left a dent at first, but after a short time, cracks began to appear all along the beast's arms and torso.

"IMPULSE MY SHIELD IS GONNA-"

CRACK.

THUD.

And Bdubs was launched across the cavern. His face contorted with pain for just a moment, before he dropped to the ground. Slowly, his limp body dissolved away, leaving only his items, hovering just above the ground, and a few glowing orbs. Impulse stared in horror, but he couldn't look for long. The golem came for him next. All the while, the stranger just laughed, and watched as he fought the golem.

After many minutes, Impulse emerged victorious, his clothes bloodstained and his body bruised. The stranger seemed disappointed. It turned away, sprinting towards escape, but Impulse followed. Bdubs could have survived, but this stranger had killed him. It had watched and laughed as Bdubs died. Impulse growled.

I'll get it for ya, Bdubs.

He rounded one more bend, and was blinded by bright sunlight. A huge, open balcony with a chest in the middle awaited him. At the very edge, the cloaked figure stood. In the light, glimmering feathers encompassed the stranger. A red hood and cloak covered everything else, making it impossible to identify. It crouched, and spread its beautiful, silvery wings. It shook them out, preparing to take off. I

mpulse let out a yell, and loosed an arrow from his crossbow. It arced through the air with a buzz and hit the person right in the leg. The figure cried out and fell, over the edge, plummeting towards the ground far below. Impulse laughed harshly in triumph. It was a hard, joyless sound.

He sprinted to the edge, hoping that the arrow had pierced it's wing, but it was not to be. He saw it gliding away, wings glinting like stars. He felt something slippery beneath his boot, and discovered a feather. Upon its silvery surface, a splat of blood was visible. The red was swirled with a bright purple, as if it was laced with magic. He shook his head in confusion. He needed to tell the others.

But first, the prize.

He propped open the chest and sighed. The rewards were not worth the gruesome death of his friend, but it was still good loot. A beacon, along with a stack of diamond blocks, four stacks of iron ingots, two stacks of quartz blocks, and six stacks of logs all sat inside the chest. Luckily, he had brought shulkers. If he hadn't, he might've had to go through that whole tower again. He shuddered. Never again.

He realised that his communicator had been buzzing incessantly for some time now. Worried messages flooded the screen in response to the death of his friend.

Bdubs was slain by Iron Golem

ᐸMumboJumboᐳ Oh dear...

ᐸcubfan135ᐳ What happened?

ᐸFalseSymmetryᐳ I don't know. Where is Bdubs anyway.

ᐸTangoᐳ Not sure. Thought he was with Impulse.

ᐸRenthedogᐳ Where is Impulse?

ᐸTangoᐳ I think they were going to do the new challenge or whatever it is.

ᐸZombieCleoᐳ Ohh so that might have been part of a puzzle or something?

ᐸGoodTimeWithScarᐳ Yeah!

ᐸGoodTimeWithScarᐳ The last one killed me several times!

ᐸMumboJumboᐳ No one else died Scar.

The keys clicked as he responded, keeping it brief.

ᐸimpulseSVᐳ Everyone, we need to arrange a serverwide meeting.

ᐸimpulseSVᐳ I have a new lead.

...

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