The Tower gave no warning.
As Leo caught his breath, chest heaving in the quiet aftermath of the courtyard massacre, the voice returned. Flat, final.
He continued further into the castle
The walls were familiar. Tower stone. Wide space. The grand dining area, but larger, grander. And standing at the far edge, weapons drawn, stood Mira and Aric.
His heart twisted.
They looked exactly as they had before the trial—Mira in her reinforced combat garb, hands wrapped and crackling with condensed fire qi, stance already low and aggressive. Aric beside her, water drifting in orbit around his arms, eyes calm but focused. Together, they radiated purpose and synergy, just as they had on the bridge, on the training fields, in every fight they had survived.
But this wasn't them.
Not really.
At least… he hoped not.
Leo gripped his spear, forcing himself to stillness.
Then Mira moved.
She shot forward in a blur, flame igniting around her fists as she came in swinging. Leo barely managed to raise his spear to block, the impact sending a jolt through his arms and back. The sheer force of her assault pushed him across the stone floor, feet skidding.
Before he could recover, a blast of pressurized water hammered his side. Aric had struck from range, precise and brutal, using Mira's pressure to set the rhythm.
Leo coughed, rolled, and barely got his guard up before Mira was on him again. She fought like a controlled explosion, every punch designed to open him for the next.
He wasn't winning.
Not yet.
But he was faster.
Stronger.
His fifth qi point pulsed as he caught a strike, twisted, and brought his spear up into Mira's side. She twisted away at the last second, catching only a grazing hit, but it was enough to give him space.
Aric sent a barrage of water blades next, fanning them out in a spread pattern. Leo leapt, spun midair, and landed in a crouch. The blades missed by inches.
He pushed forward.
He needed to isolate one of them. Mira was relentless, but Aric's control of the battlefield was the real problem. If he could break their rhythm...
He feinted toward Mira, then redirected, spear lashing out at Aric. The water user slid back, walls of water rising in defense. Leo struck anyway.
And for a moment—just a moment—
Flow returned.
His feet moved before thought. His body knew the angle. The spear slipped through an opening that shouldn't have existed, bypassing the barrier and tapping Aric's shoulder.
He staggered back, but didn't vanish.
Leo spun just in time to parry Mira's elbow, but it knocked the wind from him. She followed with a rising knee and an overhead strike of flame.
Pain bloomed across his ribs.
He fell back, gritting his teeth, blood in his mouth. But his eyes were clear.
He couldn't win with tricks.
He had to outlast them. Outthink them. Outfight them.
And with every passing second, he adjusted.
The five qi points gave him more than just speed. They gave him endurance, clarity, a body honed past its previous limits. He began to see the patterns between Mira and Aric again—the way they mirrored their bridge formation, the timing of attacks.
Leo let the rhythm build.
Then broke it.
He stepped into Mira's charge, not away, catching her off-guard. His shoulder slammed into hers, redirecting her strike wide. He pivoted around her and launched his spear in a wide arc at Aric.
Aric blocked, but the force staggered him. Leo closed in.
This time, the flow didn't come in a flash.
It was with him.
Every movement curved toward efficiency. He parried Aric's counterblow, slipped low, and drove a quick strike into his thigh. Then spun, planting a solid hit against his side.
Aric staggered and fell.
One down.
Mira roared.
Her strikes came wild now—less control, more power. But Leo was ready.
His spear moved in smooth arcs, catching her wrists, redirecting her force, stepping through every gap.
Not overpowering her.
Redirecting her.
Flow and force.
She lunged.
He turned.
His spear met her side.
She dropped to one knee, panting, flames sputtering around her fists.
Leo lowered his weapon, breathing hard. Blood dripped from his chin. Cuts burned across his arms and side.
But he was standing.
And they were still.
The arena went silent.
Then—
"Trial complete."
And the world shattered into light.