Clang!
With one final click, both gates swung fully open.
The pilgrims poised to enter immediately surged through the gates. Fierce heat struck them in the face, but not a single bug wanted to fall behind.
Yet there were far too many bugs hoping to enter the Flame Capital. Their endless procession stretched from beneath the Blazing Gate all the way into the Wilderness.
If they were allowed to charge through like this, the trial would surely become a complete mess.
Fortunately, the Walker had anticipated this. He had been silently counting the pilgrims entering the gate.
Once enough had passed through, the flame Walker swept his spear again, activating the power of Soulfire once more.
A long wall of fire instantly rose from the ground, separating the gate from the bugs outside.
Soul magic was not something one saw in the Wilderness. The seemingly miraculous sight frightened many bugs into stumbling backward.
"The number admitted to each trial must not exceed the prescribed limit."
The Walker's voice rang in every bug's ears again, drawing a chorus of agreement.
So that was it. There was a limit to the number of bugs allowed into each trial.
Once they understood this, the remaining bugs grew less anxious. They peered over the wall of fire at the first group of participants.
They watched from afar, hoping to learn something from that group's experiences that would help them later.
The pilgrims inside the wall of fire had already passed through the gate. The first stage of their trial was the Cinderstone Path, paved with scorching stones.
The stone-brick pavement ended there, replaced by a long stretch of loose stones heated until they were scalding.
At the far edge of their vision, the pilgrims could just make out another stretch of stone-brick pavement.
One