The Void Knight lunges.
It doesn't move like a man. It moves like a force—a warping of space, a tearing of reality. One moment it stands across the riverbank, the next—its spear is already descending.
No time to think.
I react.
I twist away as the spear slashes downward, the sheer force of it splitting the earth where I stood. A crater. If I'd been a second slower, I'd be in pieces.
I don't stop moving. I roll, rise, and lash out with my knife—useless.
The Void Knight's armor is not metal. It's something else, something shifting, writhing, like a living thing. My blade barely scratches it.
It backhands me.
Pain. Stars explode behind my eyes as I go flying, slamming into a tree. My ribs scream. My vision swims.
The Void Knight stalks forward. Slowly. Controlled.
It's not in a rush. It knows I can't win.
Except—it's wrong.
Because I felt something in the river.
A piece of myself. A piece of my power.
I grip my knife. Focus.
The ember inside me flares.
The Void Knight lunges again.
And this time—I don't dodge.
I step forward.
The moment its spear comes down, I move inside the arc, pressing close before it can react. I slam my palm against its armor—and reach.
The ember in my chest erupts.
The world shifts.
For the briefest second, the Void Knight's armor shudders. Its entire body trembles, the shifting blackness ripping apart—
And I see.
For the first time, I see what's inside.
Not a man. Not a monster.
A void. A living abyss, swirling in darkness.
And now—it's open.
Now, it's vulnerable.
I drive my knife into its core.
A howl erupts, deep and unnatural. The shadows around us rupture, twisting in on themselves. The Void Knight staggers, its form splintering—
And then—it implodes.
A shockwave erupts outward, sending me flying. I crash onto the dirt, gasping, my vision burning white.
Then—silence.
I push myself up. The Void Knight is gone.
Only a black mark remains, seared into the ground where it once stood.
And in the center of that mark—something glows.
A sigil.
My breath catches. I know what this is.
Slowly, painfully, I crawl forward. The sigil pulses with a faint, eerie light, carved into the earth itself. A piece of my power. A fragment of what was stolen from me.
I reach out.
The moment my fingers brush it—heat floods my veins.
The ember inside me ignites, roaring into an inferno. My vision whitens, my body burning as something ancient, something once mine, snaps back into place.
And then—I understand.
This was a Test.
The gods sent their executioner—not just to kill me, but to see if I was still worthy.
They wanted to know if I was still a threat.
And now, they have their answer.
I rise to my feet.
The ember inside me is no longer an ember.
It's a flame.
And this is just the beginning.