Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with the original 11eyes, 11eyes Crossover, 11eyes Resona Forma, the 11eyes anime, or the 11eyes manga. All rights belong to Lass.

Chapter 21: The Trial of Mind

As I passed through the door, I found myself back in the central room. I looked behind myself, only to find nothing but a blank wall. The door had vanished, as if it had never been their to begin with. I pondered this, for a moment, but figured it had to do with the magic of this place.

I walked over to the door that was set into the floor, where the red circle was still glowing. I knelt down, and then placed the red orb into the hole. It snapped into place with ease. Suddenly, the crypt felt as if it was shaking, like it was having its own personal earthquake. It did not last long though, as after only a few minutes it stopped completely.

In the same moment that the shaking stopped, the blue hole began to glow with a gentle blue light. The blue door swung open with a whoosh, just like the red door that no longer existed. I walked up to the door, taking a moment to gather my thoughts before walking through the door. My next challenge was the Trial of Mind.

(third person P.O.V.)

The first thing James noticed as he entered the first room, besides the fact that the door he had entered from had slammed behind him, was that he had not entered a hallway like with the Trial of Strength. He was in a very small room, if it could even be called that. At the end of the room were two doors, and resting beside each door was a statue. As James neared the statues though, he could not help but feel as if something was odd about them.

Once he was only about three feet from the doors, the statues began to rumble. Then, their eyes glowed and the parts that were meant to be mouths opened. The eyes turned their attention to James. At that moment, the left-side statue spoke. "He who would come to these sacred grounds," As the left-side statue went silent, the right-side statue spoke, "Where not even your hopes can be found." The left-side statue spoke again, "For you now face the Gate Keepers," Right-side, "Who shall become your soul reapers." Left, "Behind me, you see a door," Right, "And behind me you see, one door more." Left, "Beyond one door lies an endless maze," Right, "Through which you will spend all your days." Left, "But beyond one door is the path ahead," Right, "Through which you can avoid all this dread." Left, "But which door for you to take, is your decision," Right, "For that we need no premonition." Left, "But, to help you on your way," Right, "We shall give you something, of which you need not pay." Left, "You may ask the both of us a question's total of one," Right, "After which, your questioning is done." Left, "But be forewarned, as one of us speaks in nothing but truths," Right, "And the other in only lies." Left, "Do not let it be said you were not warned," Right, "So should you fail, it will not be us that are scorned."

After that, both statues went silent, but the glowing eyes remained on James. He looked at them, then the doors. He soon realized that this would not be something that would be easy to solve. He turned his back on the statues and began to think. 'Okay, so one door will allow me to move on my way, but the other will lead me to an unsolvable maze. These statues will help me, but I can only ask one question and then they are done. Why does this sound like it was used in a shitty movie?'

He continued to ponder how to go about asking his question. He could just wing it, as he had a 50-50 chance of getting it right. But, he did not want to take that risk. One of the statues would only tell the truth, but the other only lies. He could direct his question at both of the statues, but quickly dismissed that thought. Not only would he waste his one question, but it would only make the statues point at each other and accomplish nothing. He could ask one of the statues to tell him which door was the door to the correct path, as they both knew that was the path he wanted to take. But, that was again putting his chances of victory in the hands of fate, and without knowing which statue told the truth, he could not take the word of either as truthful. There had to be a way to solve this.

'Think, god damnit, think!' James screamed at himself mentally. He knew this problem had to have an easy solution. The hardest of problems always seemed to have an easy solution. The answer to this one had to lie somewhere in the statues. He began to examine all that they had said. 'Alright,' he thought, 'the first few were simply introduction, so I can dismiss that. They mentioned a maze, but what good will knowing that do me? They said that one always tells the truth, and the other only lies.' He let all that sink in for a moment, then it hit him. It seemed so simple, and yet it had to be the answer. With that, James turned so he was facing the statues. Their gaze had not once left him while he contemplated, but he ignored their stares. Instead, he walked forward until he stood directly in front of the left-side statue. James told it, "My one question is directed at you, and you alone." Both statues gave a nod of understanding, then he asked his one question. "Of these two doors, which of them would your counterpart take."

The statue did not hesitate to give an answer. It spoke plainly, "My counterpart would take his own door." With that, James gave the statue a nod of thanks, then proceeded to take the door of the left-side statue. This seemed to confuse the statues, as the left-side statue called out, "Wait, why do you take my door if you asked me of my counterpart's choice?"

James turned and gave the two statues a warm smile. "It's simple, really. Since one of you only tells the truth and the other only lies, this question was meant to tell me which door was the wrong one. You see," he pointed at the statue directly in front of him, "if you only speak the truth, then you would tell me that he would take the door to the maze, as he is a lier and would deceive me. But, if you are the lier, then you would tell me he would take the door to the maze, as you are a lier and would try to deceive me. By asking my question in such a way, then doing opposite, I have ensured I will take the correct path to the next room." The statues gave no reply, as the spell on them was defeated and they returned to their silent and immobile states. With that, James made his way forward.

(James's P.O.V.)

That had been a moderately difficult test, but I knew there were more to come. I knew I was correct in my choice the moment I walked through the door, as I came into another hallway. While this would not prove much, I just knew I was right. It only made sense that this was how to go about defeating those rhyming statues. I'm just glad I didn't let the rhyming get to my like some people would. They probably used that as a means through which they could anger and confuse those who came before them.

As I reached the end of the hallway, which only took about thirty minutes this time, I saw something rather odd. Once again, I saw the familiar chained grate. However, it was on the other side of the room. This was very bad, as the part of the room I was on and the part the grate was on were separated by a gigantic chasm. I looked down into the chasm, but could not see the bottom, if it even had one. I looked at the grate again, and began to think. 'How do I get over there?' I looked the walls surrounding the room, but there were no ledges to grab hold of. There was no way to get across without some sort of magical aid, but until the sun set, that was not happening. It was probably still morning, and I was not about to waste my time waited for the the sun to set just so I could solve one test. Besides, there was usually more then one way to deal with a problem such as this.

I looked around my side of the chasm, and for the first time I noticed a plaque set into the far right wall. I walked up to it and placed my hand against the plaque. I wiped some dust off of it, and began to read the hieroglyphs on it. They read, "Before you lies the Chasm of Deceit. All who have come before this place fall before the powers of the chasm. It lies, it deceives, it manipulates, it denies. However, have faith in the path ahead, and the way will become clear."

As I backed away from the plaque, I began to wonder just what kind of test this was. Whatever this was, how was it connected to the mind? Could it be an illusion, or perhaps something else entirely? Whatever this was, something just did not feel right about it. Almost as if it was far easier then I was making it appear. The plaque did say to have faith, but faith in what? I did not necessarily believe in God, and I sure as hell was not going to even try having any form of similarity with Johanna if I could help it. I walked up to the chasm and looked out at the grate that blocked my path. Maybe I just had to take a leap of faith? That could very well be the answer, but I did not want to fall to my death. Even if the fall might not kill me, who knew what sort of spells were on this place. And, if the pit truly was bottomless, I very well could just end up dying of either thirst or hunger (even if I needed little to sustain myself, I still had to eat at some point).

But, despite all this, I felt as if there was something about the pit that was calling out to me. Almost as if...it wanted me to take that step out, and have faith that the empty air would support my weight. I looked back the way I came, but immediately dismissed the very idea of going back. I couldn't leave the crypt until I completed the trials and got the fragment. I was not very keen on dying anytime soon, or losing the chance of going to whatever afterlife awaited me (if there even was an afterlife). Well, not until I got the chance to at least see Lieselotte. So, with nothing left to lose, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then, I stepped forward.

When I opened my eyes, I did not see the empty blackness of the pit as I fell. No, what I saw instead was a small path that covered the space between the two sides of the pit that twisted and turned all over the place. I guess it really was as simple as having faith in myself to take the step forward. I quickly and carefully made my way to the other end of the chasm, making sure not to lose my balance and fall. I almost did fall a few times, but managed to right myself before I would have joined any other unfortunate souls who had entered this place before me (if there were any).

Once on the other side, I walked up to the grate and touched the chain. It and the grate immediately burst into smoke at my touch, clearing the way to the next test.

Once again, the hall to the next room was not long. This time, it took only about ten minutes. When I entered the room, it seemed normal enough. Like with the test against the crystal, there was a single table in the exact center of the room. However, unlike the test with the crystal, this table had no chair. Instead, resting on the table were five vials of varying sizes, which were arranged in such a way that the largest was on the far left and the smallest was on the far right. Beyond that, the way ahead was clearly visible. But, there was no grate, or any other form by which the exit of this room was blocked. I raised an eyebrow at this, but simply shrugged and made my way to the exit.

(third person P.O.V.)

James made his way across the room, intent on leaving. After all, if he could leave without having to face some sort of test, why not take the chance?

However, that plan did not work. The moment that he would have passed the table, a green fire sprung up to block the way ahead. This surprised him greatly, as not a moment ago the way ahead had been clear. But, James simply sighed. He thought, 'Really, I was foolish to think there wouldn't be some sort of test.' Figuring that the test has something to do with the vials, he turned around and made his way back to the table. The moment he was in front of them, he simply said to himself, "So, what's your game?"

Suddenly, all five vials began to float above the table and began to circle James's head. Then, voices could be heard. They all sounded the same, yet at the same time seemed to originate from all the vials at once. The five voices that were one stated in a delicate tone,"He who would come this far, we welcome you. We are the spirits of the vials before you, and now it is time for you to face our challenge. Before you are five vials. Each of us carries within it a different substance. One contains the potion you will need to proceed. One contains a deadly poison that will rot you from the inside. Two among us contain harmless red wine. The last of us contains nothing. Be warned, for once you open one of us, the others will all vanish. You will only get one chance to get this right, but to help you, listen to our riddle. Perhaps you can use it to find that which you need." With that, the five vials spoke their riddle.

"Sometimes the answer is easy to see,

May you find that which will set you free.

A path ahead you wish to take,

Lest you place yourself in the hands of fate.

Like us, you can see the answer,

Even if you believe this is not quit simple.

Simply place your fate in our hands.

Take heed in the fact we will guide you on your way."

With that, the vials settled onto the table once more and were silent. James looked at each of the vials in turn, then began to examine them. He tried to determine the substances inside based on weight, so as at least to eliminate one of the vials. But, other then the black glass that the vials were made of, he could feel nothing. The test must have been set up in such a way so that someone could not be able to separate the vials in such a manner. Then, James began to think, 'Why bother with this test at all? I can just freeze the fire with the power of my black ice sword.' James summoned the sword in question and drove it into the ground. The blade cut through the floor like butter, and a thin line of black ice began to work its way toward the fire from that crack. When the ice touched the fire, the flames instantly froze over and became encased in the ice. James smiled as he sent away the sword, and began to make his way toward the path out. However, in only a few seconds after the fire froze, the black ice that covered it turned to steam and evaporated. The green flames danced in what seemed like triumph, almost as if they were mocking him for trying to cheat the test.

James quickly collected himself from his shock and turned back to the vials. If he could not take the easy way out, he would just have to try and solve this little riddle. He wrote out the riddle by scratching it into the floor with his flame sword, and began to examine what the vials had said. But, after nearly two hours of thinking, he had come to the conclusion that the riddle was nothing but random sentences stuck together. He looked over the riddle again, but something about it caught his eye. He had written it from top to bottom, just as most riddles and poem usually were. He saw something in each of the first letters of every line. Running down each letter they spelled out, S-M-A-L-L-E-S-T. "Smallest?" he whispered to himself, "Is that the answer?" James got up from the floor and looked at the tiny vial. It was barely the height of his fingernail, and half that size all the way around. Barely enough liquid could have been in there for one swallow, if there was even anything in there to begin with. But, what else did he have to lose? Like he was constantly reminded, both by himself and the tests, he could not leave without the fragment. So, he simply shrugged and grabbed the tiny vial. "I'm dead if don't do this anyway, so what do I have to lose?" So, with that, he pulled the tiny cork from the vial. Instantly, all the other vials vanished in a puff of smoke. He then raised the vial to his lips and downed the liquid inside.

The moment he did, a very tiny, high pitched voice spoke in James's mind. It stated with happiness, "You have chosen wisely. Now, make your way ahead. The Key of Mind awaits you." With that, the green fire vanished as well. James looked at the tiny vial in his hand, seemingly unrealistically small inside the palm of his massive hand. He then gently set it down on the table, and without a word he made his way forward.

(James's point of view)

When I entered the next room, it looked exactly like the room where I acquired the Key of Strength. There was a door identical to the one I entered through when I began this trial, and a stone pedestal that had a silken pillow on it with a glowing, ocean blue orb. As I neared the pedestal, a decrepit voice that seemed to belong to a withered, old man spoke from behind me. It stated, "You have done well to pass my tests."

Like with the spirit of the last magus, I turned. What stood before me was a blue, glowing outline. Like the last outline, this one had no recognizable features, yet it seemed to hunched over as if it had trouble standing straight, where the last outline held itself up rather easily. I asked it, "What was your name?"

Like with the spirit of Set, this outline took some time to answer me. When it did though, it was with delicate care, as if speaking at all hurt the spirit. "In life I was known as Hismar. I was once one of the three great magi of our long dead pharaoh, Atem. Tell me, for what reason do you with to claim the dark treasure that is within this place?"

I answered calmly, "As I told your fellow magus's spirit, Set, even though I entered this place of my own free will, I was tricked into coming to this place. A woman who goes by the name of Johanna tricked me into coming here so that I could take the fragment of the Emerald Tablet that you now guard."

Hismar regarded me for a moment, then he nodded his head in understanding. "I see no falseness in your words, child. Yet, as you know, I am the the final test before you may claim my soul that is the Key of Mind." I nodded in understanding, to which Hismar nodded back. Then, he asked me a single question, "If you are able to claim the dark treasure of this place, what will you do with it? Perhaps you will use its power to command an army of demons so that you may control the world? Or maybe you desire endless wealth?"

I shook my head at what he said. I told him, "I have no need for an army of demons, nor do I care for monetary wealth. With my magic abilities, I already have the power to summon a number of creatures who would serve me for the right price, and I refuse to use magic to gain wealth, as it is not something I ever saw as right."

Hismar gave no indication of approval, but simply asked, "Then, what would you use it for?"

I smiled a cruel smile when he said that, though Hismar seemed not in the least bit frightened by it. I told him, "I was tricked into coming to this place. The woman who sent me here wishes to see me dead, and if I do somehow manage to survive she will want to take the fragment that is guarded here from me and use it for herself. When I return to Index, and when I next see Johanna, I will summon the physical embodiment of all evil, darkness and unholiness: Lucifer. I will use the fragment of the Emerald Tablet as payment for his services, and after that I do not care where it ends up, so long as it remains in this world."

When I finished speaking, Hismar gave what appeared to be a begrudging nod. He stated, "Your reasons, while dark, are of good intention. I can see into your heart, and I can see the justified hatred you have for this woman, Johanna. You are of a good mind to put the fragment beyond the reach of humans and magi alike, as well as this evil woman you call Johanna, for some time. For that, you may take the Key of Mind and return it to its place in the Door of Truth. Continue on to the next trial, and may I wish you luck in your quest."

With that, Hismar faded away. I stood there for a moment, not moving or speaking. Then, I turned and grabbed the blue orb. Once again, I felt a revitalizing energy pass through me, but this time it did not really do much because I had no real need of it. Then, with key in hand, I made my way to the now open door, and stepped through.

And there you have it. I know this chapter wasn't filled with any action, but this is what I could think of. Tests that involve one's ability to think and have faith in their own self's was the whole target of this trial. As for the tests involving the bottles, if anyone has read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, then you will know where that test came from. In case that idea is copyrighted, then I will say I do not own it.

Please, leave a review. They make me feel like I am doing something right.