The Diamond Relic (UPDATED!!!), WBM Original, Chapter 3: Treacherous Endings

Chapter 3: Treacherous Endings

The jungle swallowed us whole.

It wasn’t like the quiet, manicured forests back home on Diamond Island. This one was alive. The air buzzed, vines curled around ancient stones, and somewhere far off, something growled.

“Okay, new rule,” I said, swatting a bug the size of a cupcake. “If it buzzes, hisses, or stares, we walk faster.”

“Or run,” Zircon said, eyeing a flower that just… blinked at her.

Onyx, of course, looked thrilled. “Come on, it’s not that bad. It’s kinda… fun.” He grinned and brushed past a fern taller than me, sunlight flickering across his face.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Can you blame me?” he said, glancing at me. “I mean, the view’s pretty great.”

I blinked. “The—what?”

“The forest,” he said quickly, smirking. “Obviously.”

Zircon groaned. “If you two start doing whatever that is while I’m sweating to death, I’m throwing Doodles at both of you.”

“Doodles is innocent!” Onyx protested, clutching the rubber chicken protectively.

“Doodles is terrifying,” I said. “That thing squeaks in my nightmares.”

Madison led the way, moving like she’d grown up here, which she had. “We’re close,” she said. “The first trial is through those ruins.”

The “ruins” turned out to be a crumbling stone temple covered in vines and carvings of strange animal-like symbols. The air shimmered faintly around it, like heat waves off hot pavement.

Hauyne traced a rune on the wall. “This place used to test your bravery, wisdom, and loyalty. Three challenges. One for each quality the old Alliance valued most.”

“Cool,” Onyx said. “Which one’s first?”

As if in response, the ground shifted.

“Uh,” I said, “was that supposed to happen?”

The floor cracked open beneath us.

Zircon screamed. Hauyne yelled something about grabbing onto something, but there was nothing to grab.

We slid down a slanted tunnel of sand, shouting and tumbling until we landed in a pit of golden dust.

“Ow,” I groaned. “Please tell me everyone’s alive.”

“Define alive,” Zircon muttered, spitting sand.

“Better than dead,” Onyx said cheerfully, brushing off his shirt. His hair was full of sand, and somehow, he still looked annoyingly confident.

I sat up, coughing. “Where even are we?”

Madison scanned the walls. “The first challenge—Bravery.”

From above, sunlight filtered through cracks in the ceiling. The air was heavy, still… too still.

Then the sand moved.

“Oh no,” I whispered.

Shapes rose from the ground—long snouts, wide jaws, and glimmering, scaly eyes.

“Sandigators,” Hauyne breathed. “Half sand, half—”

“Monster,” Zircon finished. “Perfect.”

One of them hissed and lunged, and I swear my soul left my body for a second.

“Run!” Madison shouted.

We bolted. The pit sloped downward, sand shifting under our feet as the sandigators surged behind us.

“Not to panic anyone,” Zircon yelled, “but they’re faster than they look!”

“Not helping!” I yelled back, grabbing Onyx’s arm as the ground caved near my foot.

He caught me, steadying me against his chest. “Whoa there, Princess.”

I looked up, face burning. “I told you—don't call me that!”

He grinned. “Right, Emerald.”

We locked eyes for half a second too long, until Zircon yelled, “Less gazing, more running!”

We scrambled toward a stone doorway ahead. Madison threw her weight against it, and it groaned open just enough for us to slip through.

The moment we did, the door slammed shut, cutting off the sandigators’ roars.

We collapsed in a heap, gasping. My hands were shaking.

“Okay,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “That… was definitely not a team-building exercise.”

“Actually,” Onyx said, smirking, “you did great. You even screamed in style.”

I threw a handful of sand at him. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

I blinked. “Did you just—”

Zircon rolled her eyes and clapped her hands. “Alright, let’s move before I die of secondhand embarrassment.”

We stood and took in our new surroundings. The room was circular, lined with old murals of heroes holding glowing crystals. In the center was a pedestal covered in vines.

Madison approached cautiously. “This is the second challenge—Wisdom.”

The pedestal shimmered, revealing four glowing paths leading in different directions. Above them, carved words read:

“Only the pure of heart may walk the true path. Choose wrong, and face the fall.”

“Oh great,” I muttered. “Riddles. My favorite.”

We studied the paths. One glowed red, one blue, one gold, one green.

“Green for Emerald?” Onyx said with a wink. “Seems fitting.”

“Or maybe that’s exactly what it wants me to think,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

He smirked. “Wow, you really don’t trust me, huh?”

“Not when ancient death traps are involved.”

We debated for what felt like forever before Madison finally said, “It’s the gold one. Look—the runes for courage repeat near it.”

I took a deep breath. “Alright. Gold it is.”

We stepped onto the glowing path together. The air shimmered—and suddenly we were weightless.

For one dizzying second, I thought we were flying. Then I realized the ground had disappeared.

We fell again—straight into darkness.

---

When I opened my eyes, the world was spinning. We were on solid ground again—sort of. It looked like we were inside a giant crystal cave, with glowing blue stalactites and pools of light reflecting off the walls.

Everyone groaned around me.

Hauyne rubbed her head. “That was the third challenge. Loyalty. We passed… I think?”

Madison nodded, still dazed. “If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have survived the fall.”

“So basically,” Zircon said, “we just got rewarded with a near-death experience.”

I laughed weakly. “Seems about right.”

Onyx stood beside me, brushing off his shirt again. “Well, at least we made it. Barely.”

Then, softer—“You okay?”

I looked up at him. His usual grin was gone, replaced by something gentler.

“Yeah,” I said. “You?”

He smiled. “Better now that you’re not in a sandigator’s mouth.”

I snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” he said, eyes sparkling, “but you smiled.”

Before I could respond, a loud crack echoed through the cave. The ground shook, and a massive stone door began rising in front of us, revealing a tunnel lined with glowing blue vines.

Madison grinned. “The next chamber. We’re getting close.”

Onyx glanced at me and gave a crooked grin. “Ready, Princess?”

I sighed, hiding my grin. “Stop calling me that.”

“Never.”