Chapter 6: The First Test

The dawn broke pale and cold, a stark contrast to the fire that burned in Kenny’s chest. He arrived at the hidden training grounds Thalos had designated, a remote location deep in the Whispering Woods. The trees loomed like ancient sentinels, and the air was heavy with morning dew. Kenny’s breath came out in visible puffs as he approached a towering structure that hadn’t been there the day before: The Labyrinth of Steel.

The labyrinth was a towering maze of shifting metal walls, bristling with traps and patrolled by holographic guardians that were programmed to show no mercy. Its purpose was simple but brutal: test the adaptability, awareness, and combat efficiency of anyone who dared enter. Kenny had spent the night wondering what Thalos would throw at him next, and now, he was looking at it.

Thalos waited at the entrance, his arms crossed and his cloak trailing on the ground. The morning light glinted off the thin scar on his cheek, giving him an even more intimidating appearance. He studied Kenny with an expression that revealed nothing.

“Are you ready?” Thalos asked, his voice a monotone that offered neither comfort nor threat. “Once you step inside, the labyrinth will adapt to your every move. It will exploit your weaknesses and challenge your strengths.”

Kenny swallowed, his nerves buzzing. He knew this was a test, a way to push him beyond his current limits. There would be no mercy, no easy wins. But he had come too far to turn back now. “I’m ready,” he said, more to convince himself than Thalos.

Thalos raised an eyebrow, but his expression remained impassive. “We’ll see.”

He stepped aside, and the entrance to the labyrinth groaned open, metal grinding against metal. Kenny took a deep breath and stepped inside, the door slamming shut behind him with a deafening clang.

Immediately, the labyrinth came alive. The walls shifted, closing in and then widening unexpectedly, creating pathways and dead ends that shifted like a puzzle. Kenny had only seconds to adjust as the floor beneath him began to rotate, sending him stumbling forward.

He caught himself, summoning a holographic shield just in time to block a burst of energy darts fired from a hidden alcove in the wall. The shield pulsed with light, deflecting the projectiles, but the impact reverberated up his arm. Gritting his teeth, Kenny lowered the shield and pressed on, knowing he couldn’t afford to stay in one place for too long.

He took a sharp left turn, nearly skidding into a pit filled with holographic spikes that glistened like molten silver. “Great,” he muttered, his heart pounding. “This place really wants to kill me.”

Above him, the ceiling groaned, and a holographic guardian dropped from the shadows: a metal automaton with four spider-like legs and eyes that glowed an ominous red. It clattered forward, its movements unnervingly fluid for a machine, and lunged at him with razor-sharp limbs.

Kenny reacted on instinct, diving to the side and conjuring a plasma staff. He spun the weapon, using it to vault over a low wall, but the guardian followed, relentless and unyielding. It lashed out, and Kenny barely managed to block the strike, his arms straining under the impact.

“Come on,” he whispered to himself. “Think, don’t just react.”

He remembered Thalos’s words: Every threat in this labyrinth has a pattern. Learn it, and you can survive.

Kenny focused, his eyes narrowing as he studied the guardian’s movements. It had a rhythm—a pattern. It attacked, then paused to recalibrate before lunging again. Summoning every bit of courage he had, Kenny feinted to the left, drawing the guardian’s attention, then sidestepped to the right, aiming his plasma staff at the creature’s vulnerable joint.

With a burst of energy, the guardian shuddered, its movements glitching. Kenny didn’t waste the opportunity. He jabbed his staff into the opening, and the guardian exploded into a shower of light and data fragments. He exhaled, relief washing over him.

But the labyrinth wasn’t done with him.

The floor beneath his feet dropped, and he plummeted into the darkness below. He twisted in mid-air, barely managing to land on a narrow ledge that jutted out from the wall. His knees buckled, and he gasped for breath, his body trembling from the fall. Above, he could hear the walls shifting again, as if the entire maze were alive and determined to crush him.

“Stay focused, Kenny,” he muttered, forcing himself to stand. His hands were raw from gripping his staff, and his heart raced, but he couldn’t afford to rest. Not here.

The narrow corridor he found himself in was dimly lit, with holographic runes etched into the walls. They pulsed with an eerie blue light, and as Kenny moved forward, he realized they were counting down.

“Great,” he said, his voice echoing off the metal walls. “A countdown. Just what I needed.”

He sprinted, his legs burning with exhaustion. The countdown reached zero, and the corridor erupted in a cascade of holographic flames. Kenny threw himself forward, rolling out of the inferno just in time. His back hit the opposite wall, and he let out a strangled laugh, half-mad with adrenaline.

The labyrinth twisted again, and Kenny stumbled into a clearing—a circular chamber with a ceiling that stretched impossibly high. In the center stood a new challenge: a holographic construct of a warrior, its armor gleaming like molten obsidian and its eyes burning with simulated fire.

The construct raised its weapon, a massive two-handed holographic axe, and charged.

Kenny knew he was outmatched. The construct was faster, stronger, and designed to be merciless. He barely had time to dodge the first swing, the axe carving a crater into the floor where he’d been standing. Sweat poured down his face, and he gritted his teeth, trying to find an opening.

He needed a plan, something clever, something Thalos would respect.

He noticed that the chamber walls were lined with holographic runes similar to the ones in the previous corridor. They glowed whenever the construct swung its axe, pulsing with energy. Kenny’s mind raced. The runes respond to its attacks. Maybe…

The construct swung again, and this time, Kenny didn’t dodge entirely. He rolled just close enough for the axe to strike the runes. The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, and the runes erupted in a burst of light, momentarily stunning the construct.

Seizing the moment, Kenny conjured a spear of plasma energy and launched it at the construct’s chest. The spear struck true, and the warrior construct shattered, collapsing into a pile of digital shards.

Kenny sank to his knees, breathing hard. His body screamed in protest, but he had done it. He had survived.

The labyrinth dissolved around him, and he found himself back at the entrance, where Thalos waited. The older warrior’s expression was unreadable, as always, but there was a hint of something—something like approval—in his eyes.

“You did better than I expected,” Thalos said, his voice still as harsh as ever. “You adapted. You learned. But you are still far from ready.”

Kenny forced himself to his feet, wiping sweat from his brow. “I’ll get there,” he promised, his voice steady despite his exhaustion.

Thalos nodded, his cloak billowing in the morning breeze. “Rest, then. Tomorrow, we will train your mind as well as your body. A true warrior is more than their reflexes.”

Kenny swallowed, knowing that the hardest trials were yet to come. But he had faced the labyrinth and emerged stronger. He could face whatever came next.

As he made his way back through the forest, the sun finally broke through the trees, casting golden light over the world. For the first time in a long while, Kenny felt hope—a fragile, flickering thing, but real.

He was getting stronger. He was learning. And with each step, he was coming closer to his dream of becoming a true hologram warrior.

But in the shadows of the Whispering Woods, unseen eyes watched him leave, and a new danger began to stir.