Lu Na shielded her eyes with her arms. The blinding light lasted only a short while before it faded. She looked around and saw her home again.

  Lu Na was sitting in her favorite seat within the main hall of the Lu compound. Everything looked exactly as she remembered it before she left home. She hadn’t thought about how much she missed it ever since she left on her journey with Sun Ren.

  But this couldn’t be what she held most dear.

  There were days she couldn’t wait to leave the Lu compound. There were so many things she wanted to do and she felt that this was the place that kept her inside. Her father feared that someone would hurt her. Her second mother feared someone would kidnap and ransom her.

  “Big sis Na Na, let’s go play!” a scrawny boy shouted behind her.

  When Lu Na turned, she saw her younger brother, but he was a toddler. He looked like he did back when he was three and super adorable. He still had those chubby cheeks that have disappeared from his face as he grew older.

  “What, Lu Yang? Play where?” Lu Na asked. She had a feeling that this was a memory of hers or something the Xia device was trying to show her as the most dear.

  “With Lu Man. He’s playing around the pond again. I want to play too!” Lu Yang pulled at Lu Na’s hand, yanking her toward the courtyard.

  Lu Na allowed her younger brother to pull her, but the moment she stood up he disappeared.

  “Lu Man. Where did you go?” Lu Na looked toward the courtyard but didn’t see him. She tried to walk to the courtyard, but she couldn’t move.

  No, this wasn’t real.

  “Come on, you Xia device. Show me what I hold most dear. I don’t have time for this.” Lu Na wanted to shout and scream.

  “Is that how you address your father?” Lu Tien asked. Her father walked into the main hall, dressed in light blues and greens. His face was stern, the same face Lu Na had always remembered stuck to his face like a bad stink. She didn’t know what she ever did to make him have that face every time he saw her.

  “No, father.” Lu Na bowed her head. Even if she knew this wasn’t real, she couldn’t help her old habits. Not that being polite would hurt her, anyway.

  “What’s wrong?” Lu Tien asked. He lifted Lu Na’s head by her chin. His piercing gaze reminded her how much he used to look at her like that, used to care for her.

  “Father, I fear I am lost in the labyrinth. I fear that I’m trapped and will fail this test. I fear I’ll die here.” Lu Na couldn’t stop herself from talking. This was the first time she ever said anything true to her father. But this might be the last time.

  “No Na Na, you’re not lost. You have your friends. You have your inventions and those little tricks you play on people all the time. You’re intelligent and you will be fine.” Lu Tien released Lu Na’s chin. He smoothed out his robes and walked toward the courtyard. “Please get ready for dinner.”

  Before Lu Na could reply, hoping that this wasn’t just another dream, her father had disappeared. Despite her father’s indifferent attitude toward her, Lu Tien had taken care of her and showed her many kindnesses that most other fathers wouldn’t have shown their daughters. It was like he was trying to keep her caged within her home while allowing her to fly around.

  Most of the Young Misses Lu Na knew around the city didn’t have half the privileges she had. Maybe she should stop being so hard on her father.

  Yet he couldn’t be what she held most dear. Lu Na loved her father, but not enough to prize him above all else.

  The main hall shifted like a puff of smoke. The scenery changed and the main hall disappeared.

  Lu Na was now drifting in the middle of a void where she couldn’t see anything around her.

  A bright orange light shone in front of her. It was the size of a candle before it grew larger and larger until it was all Lu Na could see. She had to shield her hands again with her arms. Why is the Xia device trying to blind her?

  “Na Na, finally. I can talk with you.”

  Lu Na put her arm down to see a phoenix spirit talking with her.

  “Mother?”

  “No, I’m not your mother. She’s still stuck in the nexus. I am her spirit. You can call me Feng. I came at her request to help you break through this final challenge.”

  Lu Na tried to bow, but since she was hanging in the middle of the air, she didn’t know which way to bend.

  “Thank you for your help with the Wintersweet Sect.”

  “That’s old news. Look, the Xia game master is devious. He will try to trick you while telling you the truth. For the last challenge, he told your mother to give up the thing most dear and she couldn’t. Even if she knew that what she saw wasn’t real, she couldn’t do it no matter what. That’s why she’s trapped in the nexus. You mustn’t be fooled. Whatever you give up won’t be real.”

  Lu Na nodded.

  “Thank you for your advice.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Feng screeched like she was in pain. Blood red tears rolled down its face.

  “I can’t stay any longer. Remember, give it whatever it wants!”

  Just as quickly as before, the phoenix spirit disappeared in a puff of smoke. The main hall of the Lu compound came back. Lu Na stood on solid ground again.

  The game master appeared in front of her in the main hall.

  “That pesky phoenix is still trying to interfere. No matter, that should banish her for the next thousand years.”

  “Venerable game master, it is nice to see you. Are you here to help me with my challenge?” Lu Na cupped her hands and bowed at the waist.

  “Oh no, I’m only here to stop that spirit from interfering. Well, that and to tell you that your time is running out. What is your answer? What are you willing to give up to solve this challenge?”

  The game master waved his hand, and Lu Na’s family appeared before her. Her father, her younger brothers, her older brother Fengxian, her mother and even her second mother were there. They all smiled at her.

  Sun Ren stood in her beautiful butterfly dress from the last night they had back in the Lu compound, surrounded by her women bodyguards all dressed in red.

  Finally, Nugua stood at the center of them all, smiling at Lu Na with those wicked sharp teeth. Her hands held onto the yellow wards that Lu Na has made.

  “So what will you give up?” the game master asked.

  “There’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?” Lu Na asked back.

  The game master frowned.

  “That stupid phoenix told you, didn’t she? Well, there’s no reason for me to hide it from you. Whatever you decide to give up, the labyrinth can’t take from you directly. It will worm its way into whatever or wherever it needs to be to take it. Take your mother, for example, she gave you up and now here you are.”

  “What?”

  The game master looked surprised.

  “You didn’t know? The previous contestant, your mother, reached the same stage you are in. She will give up anything and everything in order to get the Xia device. You were among those things.”

  “But it wasn’t enough.”

  The game master smiled. The infuriating, self-satisfying smile that Lu Na hated with every passing moment. Why do all ghosts have that? First Zi Xu, now this guy. Was it all they practiced as ghosts?

  “Oh no, that’s never enough,” the game master said. “The labyrinth is hungry for more, much more than that.”

  That gave her an idea. Lu Na thought for a moment. What was something she held dear? Something that was large enough for the labyrinth to gorge itself on.

  The monkey king came to mind. Before, he was merely a myth in history until she actually met him. If the stories were even half true, then the monkey king caused a lot of problems for cardinal beasts. It caused large swaths of destruction and upended the entire world within the story.

  What if Lu Na did something similar and promised the labyrinth the results?

  “I know what I can give up to the labyrinth. I give up my sense of peace and safety. I promise the labyrinth and the Xia creators here and now that if I get whatever prize it offers, I will bring it the chaos it so desires.”

  There was dead silence in the volcano. It was saying something as ghosts surrounded them. Even the bubbling lava below seemed muted.

  “That’s the first time I heard that answer,” the game master said.

  “Was that the right answer?” Lu Na asked.

  The game master laughed.

  “No. Not even close.”

  The entire crowd jeered at the answer. They began booing and throwing things at the game master.

  The game master turned toward the crowd and waved his hands. The entire crowd of ghosts froze in place. The debris and items that they threw also froze in midair.

  “Your answer doesn’t align at all with the labyrinth. And since I’m being generous, I’ll give you another chance. I’ll give you a different question to answer: If you had the power to subjugate all spirits, what would you do?”

  The air around the volcano changed. It became cooler, as if someone opened a window within.

  “I would seal them all away so that they wouldn’t harm humans anymore.” Lu Na answered without thinking. It was how she felt ever since she found out what they did. To take human life essence to form their powers meant they lived miserably short lives despite having unnatural power. It also meant that people could no longer abuse their spirits in order to overpower others.

  “That’s not bad. But what does you partner have to say about that?” The game master shot a beam of yellow light into Elder Hen from his hand.

  In seconds, Elder Hen sat up, scratched his head, and looked around.

  “What happened?”

  “Welcome back,” the game master said. “Since it was my fault for forcing you to use the remaining spirit energy, you had to escape the previous platform, I thought I’d give you back some. You and Young Miss Lu have made it to the last challenge. All you have to do is answer a simple question and the labyrinth will determine if you’re worthy.”

  Elder Hen stretched and yawned as if he just had a nap.

  “I’ll answer whatever you want, venerable ghost. I just wish I had some water or something.”

  The game master made a fist with his right hand. A large bowl of water appeared in front of Elder Hen. As far as Lu Na could tell with her spirit vision, it was pure water. How did he do it with no spirit technique? More importantly, how did he do it as a ghost?

  Elder Hen nodded his thanks before drinking the entire bowl of water.

  “Aren’t you afraid he might poison it?” Lu Na asked.

  “If he wanted us dead, he could have at any time. There’s something preventing him from killing us. Isn’t that right venerable ghost?” Elder Hen wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Why else revive a dying man?”

  “You are perceptive for a child,” the game master said. “He is right. I can’t outright kill you. Anyway, back to the final question of the game. If you both agree, then you two will be judged based on your answer.”

  Elder Hen stretched a little more, cracking his neck and knuckles.

  “What is it?”

  “What is the true danger of spirits?” the game master repeated.

  “That’s it? They kill humans for their energy. That’s not a secret. In exchange, we get magnificent powers. It’s a fair trade.”

  “Oh sorry, wrong question. Lu Na already answered that. The actual last question is: If you had the power to subjugate all spirits, what would you do?”

  “That’s an easier one. I’d use it to reform the world to make it better for the next generation. And if you’re talking about all spirits, then I would make sure they are of more use to humans. For the cost of our life essence, it’s the least they could do.”

  “It seems that your answers don’t match. Talk among yourselves and come back to me with your united answer.” The game master conjured a table with wooden slats on it. He took one and began reading from it.

  “What did you say, Young Miss Lu?” Elder Hen asked.

  “I’d seal them forever so they would stop endangering humans. That would be the best way.” At least that’s what Lu Na thought. Without such a powerful imbalance in the world, there would be less suffering by those in power.

  “We can’t do that. That would take away all those opportunities for people.”

  “And who’s to say that the spirits would allow you to seal them away,” the game master added.

  “I thought you were leaving this decision to us,” Lu Na said. “Elder Hen, do you believe that having these powers is worth more than your own son? If he never developed these powers and bonded with Bifang Niao, he would have lived a normal, healthy life.”

  Elder Hen didn’t respond. How could he? From what Lu Na could tell, he had already lost his son. What would he give to have him back again?

  “No, I would give up my son if it meant prosperity for everyone. I still think spirits are a tool for good in this world,” Elder Hen said. He clenched his left fist and his horse spirit appeared. “I can’t let you make the wrong choice. You’re too young. I’m sorry Young Miss Lu.”