The Ascension Trial

by CJ Embers

  His words tugged at the wound of abandonment that had long since healed.

  “If you lose, I will remove myself from you. You will no longer be under my protection, I will no longer heed your call… I will no longer be with you, in any sense.”

  My throat was tight from the harshness of his words, and his threat loomed over me. I dipped my head in acknowledgement. Not even a moment later, I was in a completely different place. Looking around, I recognized the Trial arena.

  “Not only must you complete all seven waves this time, but you must also complete the Trial as a non-Adeptus again— therefore, your mark has been removed. If you win, I will return it to you.”

  I glanced at my shoulder to see the blue swirls upon my skin had disappeared. Seeing the emptiness made my stomach clench. “Why is losing my mark the outcome of failure, and not death like usual?”

  “In this circumstance, death would not be a punishment.”

  Trying to shake off the apprehension of knowing I was significantly weaker now, I muttered under my breath and grabbed two weapons this time: the sword, and a bow. Then, I started down the path that would lead me to the arena.

  The fact that Helis threatened to take away my Adeptus mark made me fume. After all this time of choosing to put me under his protection, he was now threatening to back out.

  Well, I don’t need his protection. Even if I lose the mark, I’ve still grown in strength, and I will still be able to lead.

  When I stepped through the archway and into the arena, a burst of light came from the center. Knowing what the first wave was already, I stayed by the entrance and whistled sharply to get the attention of the wooden enemy.

  The sharp thud of its feet against the marble got louder and louder. When I saw my adversary, I whipped around and ran for the brazier again. Wedging my sword underneath the bowl, I put my weight onto the grip of my sword and pushed the brazier off.

  Just like last time, the wooden enemy went up in a blaze of fire. Before it had a chance to fully disappear, I immersed into the stone forest. When the next burst of light came forth, I was ready.

  Sneaking through the stalagmites, I had my sword at the ready. When I got to a spot where I could look out into the center of the arena, I spotted the bulky enemy of the second Phase. I wanted to be behind it, so I tiptoed throughout the forest until I was.

  Because the enemy still hadn’t noticed me, it still hadn’t fired any rockets, and I was glad. The fewer things I had to deal with in the first three Phases, the more energy I would have left over to deal with the ones I was unfamiliar with.

  When I was in a good position, I silently shot out of the stone forest. When I got close enough, I raised my sword and thrust it through the weak spot. The mechanical beast whirred, and I knew it was about to whirl around. I heaved against my sword, twisting it farther in, and held tight to the grip.

  My second adversary swung around just as I expected, and I soared through the air. When it stopped for a moment to gauge my position, I leapt up and grabbed a piece of its metal body behind its neck, then swung and kicked the pommel of my sword with all my weight, shoving it farther in.

  The enemy shuddered and stilled. Jumping to the ground, I waited until the metal body had faded enough for me to grab my weapon, then held it up in front of me in anticipation for the third Phase.

  Another blast of light, then the lithe man appeared. The straightforward style of fighting was once again a relief, just as it had been the first time I had run the Trial.

  He swung his weapon at me, and I thrust mine towards it to block. His blade glanced off mine and I took that moment to dash forward, but he dodged with a jump backwards.

  We exchanged blows for a while, and each time he came in for an attack, I found myself lagging. Without my mark, I was slower and less agile. Even though I was facing this Phase as I did the first time around, I had gotten used to having the abilities the mark granted.

  His blade grazed my skin yet again and I grimaced from the pain. If I didn’t get my act together, it would all end here. Steeling myself, I mustered up all I had and went on the offensive.

  With each step back the man took, and each hit I managed to get in, my confidence in my strength despite my lack of mark grew. Even without the Adeptal powers, I had still learned much since the first time I ran the Trial.

  I lunged forward and thrust my weapon with all my might. The tip plunged into the man’s stomach, sinking through his flesh until the tip protruded from his back.

  My adversary froze for a moment before going limp. His body dropped to the marble, taking my sword with it as blood pooled from the wound.

  I ripped the weapon from his flesh before his body could disappear and immediately took off running. I was in the cover of the stalagmites by the time the light appeared.

  Seeing it filtering between the stone trees signaling the fourth Phase, my nerves flickered. The first three had been over with quickly, but their ease came from having done them before; from now on, excluding the last Phase, I didn’t know what to expect, and therefore I would be at a disadvantage.

  I snuck closer to the center of the arena. Peeking around some stones, my body tensed. My adversary this time was something I never would have expected. It was a man, holding no weapons, but engulfed in fire.

  I silently stepped back out of view again. Staring down at my sword, I sighed inwardly. I highly doubted it would be of any use in this Phase. My bow could be, but I doubted it. For a few moments, I racked my brain, trying to think of any way I could defeat the flaming enemy. My brainstorming was interrupted by a sound above me.

  My gaze shot upwards, and my stomach clenched at the sight. For as far as I could see, the sky in the arena was developing black spots. The dread was coupled with confusion. It was so high up, I wasn’t able to tell what I was looking at.

  More black holes appeared as the first ones vanished. When I saw something shooting towards the ground, panic raced through my veins. I couldn’t fight off meteors.

  As the projectiles sped towards the arena, it looked like one would land very close to me. I forced my frozen limbs to move and dodged around the stalagmites to get away from the area.

  The ground shook as a huge explosion assaulted my ears, and the heat from the meteor blasted me. A split second later, another struck the ground in front of me. Its force threw me back and the breath was sucked from my lungs as my back hit a stalagmite.

  I covered my head as rubble sprayed everywhere from the impact. As my body was pummeled by sharp bits of rock, the body of the warrior from the Ascension before mine flashed in my mind. One of the injuries he had sustained were burns, and this must have been the Phase he had gotten them from.

  When the flying rubble stopped, I scrambled to my feet and kept moving, always keeping one eye on the sky. My back hurt and it felt sticky, like being flung into the stalagmite had given me a gash.

  When I got to the edge of the stone forest and stepped out into the pool section, I was struck with a serious case of feeling stupid as I stared out at the sparkling water.

  I just need to find a way to get him to this pool.

  The idea of needing to get closer to the enemy made anxiety prickle along my skin like thorns. If he could summon meteors for long-range combat, close-range was something I really didn’t want to have to experience.

  Steeling myself, I carefully made my way closer to the center of the arena, giving the falling meteors a wide berth. When my adversary came into view, I let out a quiet breath.

  He was standing in the middle of the arena, silently staring out at the section I was in, like he was simply waiting for me to come to him.

  That’s probably exactly what he’s doing, I thought, realizing the meteors were both a way for the flaming man to attack and a way to draw me to him.

  Seeing the blazing enemy standing there so stoically as the sky rained down huge meteors was eerie. When I glanced up, I saw one barreling towards me, and I clenched my jaw and leapt out from my cover and
into the center of the arena where my adversary was waiting for me.

  The marble shuddered beneath my feet as the meteor hit and I struggled to keep my footing as the enemy raised his hand and shot a fireball directly at me. Instead of fighting to stay standing, I let myself drop. The fireball blazed past above me as I hit the ground.

  Going from a fairly normal man to one who could shoot flames from his hands was going to be a challenge. I had already sustained an injury to my back, and that was before I had even figured out a way to defeat him.

  As the man continued lobbing fire at me, I stayed where I was, only moving to dodge as I pulled the bow from my back. There was no way I would be able to fight him face to face due to the flames engulfing his body, but maybe the bow would work.

  I nocked an arrow and took aim. When the projectile flew through the air, it soared right past the enemy, and I swore under my breath.

  I should have taken the spear instead…

  I had made sure to practice with a variety of weapons after taking over Shekri and was decent at the bow, but dodging fireballs and meteors wasn’t exactly helping my aim.

  When an arrow finally hit the target, excitement crackled through my veins before I realized it didn’t seem to affect him. He was still on the offensive, and a few seconds later, the arrow blackened and crumbled.

  Stowing the bow, I veered off in the direction of the pool, hoping he would take chase. He hadn’t tried coming to me before, but maybe that was simply because he hadn’t laid eyes upon me.

  My hopes were dashed as soon as I realized he wasn’t following me.

  Yeah, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?

  The enemy clearly had no intention of moving, and obviously had no qualms about using the meteors and other long-range tactics to fight, so I needed to find a way to bring the water to him.

  But how?

  I turned back in the direction of the pool and kept going. Maybe something around the area would give me ideas. None of the weapons would help, and I had seen no item that could carry water.

  As I dodged the meteors, my mind drifted to the braziers. A split second later, I tossed the idea; they were much too heavy alone, and too cumbersome. Not only that, but the amount of water they would be able to carry would most likely not be nearly enough to extinguish my adversary.

  Finally reaching the water, I looked around. A corner of the pool had already been destroyed by a meteor; rubble was littering the bottom of the water and around the area.

  A meteor struck nearby, fiercely shaking the ground. The water sloshed and the mist sprayed my face. Knowing I had to hurry, I kept looking for anything that would help me defeat the enemy.

  Think outside the box… Come on.

  By now, I knew that each Phase was the way it was to get the warrior to think. It wasn’t just pure fighting. The Phases tested the warrior’s fighting skill, sure, but it also tested their ability to think on their feet, use the environment to their advantage, and use unconventional means to win the battle; brute force seemed to rarely be the way to win a Phase.

  A glint caught my eye. When I looked over, I saw a small metal object. I was on the far side of the pool and would have never seen it if I had still been standing on the other side. Kneeling, I pushed some rubble away to see that it was some sort of small dial.

  I grabbed it and turned it to the side. To my confusion, water puddled on the ground nearby. It looked like it was coming from underneath a piece of broken rock. Moving it aside, a jet of water burst forth from a hole about three inches across.

  Quickly turning the dial back the other way, the flow stopped. Pressing my fingers into the hole, I felt ridges, and my hopes rose. Back in the village, we had hoses Rorik had crafted from leather and fastened on each end with metal pieces that could be screwed into water sources. This seemed like exactly the same thing.

  Now I just need to find a hose…

  Immediately, the house zone of the arena popped into my head. If there was a hose anywhere in this arena, it would surely be there.

  I took off. There was no time to waste. If there was a hose, and if it hadn’t already been destroyed by the meteors, every second that passed was another second that it, or the inlet, could be.

  Immersing into the smoldering forest, I dodged around fallen logs and stepped away from blazing branches. The air was especially smoky, and it scratched against my throat like sand.

  I began coughing, and the stained air stung at my eyes. A meteor impacted nearby, and the ground shook so much I had to stop for a moment.

  A shadow was cast over me, and my gaze shot up to see a tree had been snapped in half from the impact and was nearly on top of me.

  I lunged, but not soon enough. The weight of the tree hit my left shoulder and scraped down my back before I was able to get to safety. I bit back a cry of pain and kept going, knowing I couldn’t afford to stop to take a look at my newest wound.

  The pain was immense, and I wondered if the strike had fractured something. My back burned fiercely and my shirt was sticking to my skin. Luckily, it hadn’t happened on my dominant side.

  The house came into view and I wiped my face, trying to get the soot out of my eyes. To my dismay, the building was in shambles and many areas had already turned to charcoal.

  I searched around outside, figuring that would be the most likely place a hose would be. The air was doing a number on my lungs, and I knew I couldn’t stay here much longer before the smoke would do permanent damage— if it hadn’t already.

  Tossing planks of wood away, I checked around the fallen walls. In Shekri, hoses were either usually hung up on the outside of the houses or stored in sheds. Since there wasn’t a shed in the arena, near the crumbled walls was my best guess.

  Considering the flames, I had my doubts that the hose would still be intact, but since it was my only option, I kept looking. Pulling away more planks, I finally spotted it.

  I pushed more of the wood away, then grabbed the coils and pulled it from the wreckage. Giving it a quick glance, it seemed like it had mostly been left unharmed, surely protected from the heat by all the wood at the bottom of the pile.

  Swinging it over my good shoulder, I whipped around and took off running. I desperately hoped it would be long enough to reach to the center of the arena; the leather certainly weighed enough to seem like it would.

  Evading meteors and fire, I exited the copse and dashed for the pool. The more time that passed, the more dangerous the arena got to traverse; the meteors were doing a substantial amount of damage. And the longer I would take to defeat this Phase, the harder it would make the remaining Phases. Having to fight amidst a bunch of rubble would only make things even more difficult.

  At the pool, I quickly knelt beside the water and splashed some onto my face, hoping to clear my eyes from the smoke that was still making them sting. My lungs still felt raw from breathing within the small forest, but there was nothing I could do about that until the Trial was complete.

  I scooped one more handful of water, splashed it onto my face, then went straight for the inlet. To my relief, it was still intact. Still holding the loops of hose, I grabbed the right end and screwed it in. I didn’t want to waste time by stretching it out and running back to turn it on, so I bent the other end over itself and turned the dial.

  My muscles strained against the force of the water and my bad shoulder ached. The hose was quite large, and I hoped I would be able to keep the end of it closed until I got to my adversary.

  Meteors continued striking the ground, many coming precariously close to the leather hose. I knew if one would come just a little bit closer, it would burn up the leather with no issues.

  Thankfully, I seemed to have more than enough to reach to the center of the arena. When I got there, my enemy noticed me immediately, but as expected, he didn’t move except to raise his hand to shoot a fireball at me.

  Heaving the hose, I stepped to the side. After getting a few steps closer, I let the end straighten out. Water sh
ot out with quite a force.

  The water struck the blazing man, sizzling loudly as the liquid quenched the flames. He thrust another fireball at me, but the projectile evaporated before it reached me. Realizing he was losing, my enemy finally moved from his position in the center and ran for me.

  The weight of the hose was causing my muscles to beg for mercy, but I refused to let go until the fire man was dead. The last flame sputtered and vanished, and at the same time, the sky quieted. The meteors that were shooting towards the ground sizzled and disintegrated, leaving nothing but ash to drift to the ground until they too disappeared.

  Chapter 24

  M y chest was heaving and my body was begging for a break. Only two more unknown Phases before I could face Helis. I was so close, it felt like I could taste the victory, but I fought to not dwell on it lest I get distracted and let that become my downfall.

  When the light at the center flashed into existence, I realized I should have immediately made a run for it. Dropping the hose, I whipped around and ran for the closest section. Something whizzed past me, grazing my temple, and I pushed myself faster.

  Diving into the stone forest, I went quite deep before slowing and turning towards the pool section. It was more open, but my next adversary had clearly seen me, and since there was a chance I was being chased, I needed to keep moving instead of staying in the same section I disappeared into.

  When I had passed through the pool section and into the smoldering forest, I finally took a short moment to rest; but with the fire finally gone, all that was left was smoke, making it even harder to breathe the air here than before.

  Knowing I wouldn’t survive here, I pushed on to the last section. With the clearer air, I leaned back against a tree and focused on breathing for a moment. Something tickled my temple and I reached up to feel blood. Whatever had cut me as I was making my getaway didn’t go too deep, but it still stung.

  A strange sound reached my ears, but I couldn’t place it. After another minute, I got to my feet and snuck through the trees, making my way closer to the center.