Part I: Six Packages, Six Journeys, One Big Wooden Door

80 81 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince 1st Projection previous times the group had to stop on her account, TJ and Fang were not annoyed. Instead they huddled close to her. TJ encouraged her, telling her how much he admired her courage and confidence. His words were echoed by the rest of the team. “We’re almost there, Ana. But we can’t get there without you. We don’t want to go up to the top without our most favored member,” TJ said. Ana began to stand up, with the help of TJ and Pippa. They continued moving. They could feel the fatigue on their bodies from that last stop. They were moving as a team, but they were moving slower than before. Their minds willed them to take each and every next step. Their legs felt as though they were receiving delayed instructions from their brains. Yet they were moving. As a team. They were making progress. At this point in their climb, they were all looking down at their feet, ensuring that every step counted, that they didn’t drag their feet, or misstep, resulting in them falling over. The only one who had to garner the strength to look ahead was Fang, since he had to make sure they were still headed in the right direction. When Tumi, who was behind Fang, looked ahead to see how far they were, she saw Fang’s outstretched arm. It took her a moment to figure out why he was doing that. The joy that filled her heart when she realized they were at the top was unparalleled to anything she had ever felt. She snatched Fang’s arm and pulled herself towards him as hard as she could. A loud thud followed, as she fell to the ground lying on her back. The others followed in a similar fashion. When TJ got to the top, he gave Fang a big hug. They both proceeded to lie on the ground after that. Breathing heavily, they stayed in those positions for some time. Ana and Pippa cried. The emotion was uncontrollable, for all of them. TJ was the first to get back to his feet, not because he wanted to, but he was anxious to receive the next set of instructions. Was there someone waiting for them at the top of the mountain? Did they have to look for him or her? Was there a clue of some kind, another beacon perhaps? As he perused the area, first with his eyes, before any physical movement, he came across other successful climbers’ personal effects, left behind as a sign and proof of their accomplishment. Going back and forth, surveying the peak from left to right, he couldn’t see anything of significance that might lead them to the next step in their journey. In his state of exhaustion, he wasn’t as frustrated as he would normally have gotten in that situation. Staying in the same position felt relaxing, restful. Suddenly, he spotted something—the only thing that looked out of place on the mountaintop. It appeared subtle at first, but as he continued looking around, it became clear that it didn’t belong there. He slowly made his way over. He wanted to be certain it was something before he spoke up. His eyes were fixed on a part of the mountain, a part of the snow-covered rock, that wasn’t completely covered in snow. The closer he got to the rock, the more he began to see an outline of an image, what looked like the shape of a dagger. Once he was close enough to see the image, he heard a clicking sound on the ground. He felt the ground beneath him move slightly. When he looked down, he noticed he