The Ascension Trial

by CJ Embers

  The archer crossed my mind. Was he in fact still alive? Was that why there had been no flash of light? The idea had seemed farfetched, but it was more of a possibility now.

  Unsure of what to do, I stayed still for a while; but when nobody leapt out at me and no arrows whizzed in my direction either, my brow furrowed.

  Figuring I should go search the arena, I spent quite a while doing so. The entire time, I was gripping my sword, fully expecting something to happen— but nothing did.

  A sound drifted on the air, catching my attention, but it was too quiet or too far away to make out. I had to spend a few minutes trying to figure out the direction it was coming from. When I did, it was the section that held the shambles of the small house.

  The closer I got, the more it started sounding like music. Confusion fluttered inside of me. When the building came into view through the trees, the feeling grew; what had once been a pile of charred wood thanks to the fourth Phase was now a standing building again. Its exterior was untarnished, like the meteors and flames had never touched it.

  Burying the confusion, I pressed on. When I was right next to the house, there was no mistaking that it was in fact music. Uncertainty swirled within my veins. This already seemed so much different than all the previous Phases.

  Holding my weapon at the ready, I went up to the front door. My hand hovered over the knob. I had no idea what to expect. The music, the lack of enemy showing up in the center of the arena… it was incredibly odd.

  Taking a deep, quiet breath, I wrapped my fingers around the metal and turned my wrist. The door opened with a whisper as my heart thundered.

  The house appeared empty from where I stood, but I couldn’t see a whole lot of the interior. The music was also clear as day— it was definitely coming from somewhere inside. Despite the uncertainty and wariness, its sound somewhat relaxed my tense muscles.

  Stepping past the threshold, I kept my weapon in front of me. The moment I exited the entrance and entered the main part of the house, the wariness was completely swamped by surprise and even more confusion.

  Sitting on the couch, leaning back like there was not a care in the world, was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. His feet were propped up on a hassock and in his hand was a half-full champagne glass.

  The man noticed me immediately, but he didn’t move to attack me. Instead, a disarmingly beautiful smile lifted his lips and his striking amber eyes sparkled.

  “Why don’t you come and rest for a while?” he asked, finally speaking.

  His voice was smooth and deep, causing my heart to flutter. Realizing how stupid I was being, I tightened my grip on my weapon and pointed its tip at the man. “I’m not falling for… for whatever you’re supposed to be. It’s obvious you’re the sixth Phase.”

  He was unperturbed by being threatened by my sword and simply took another sip from his glass. My adversary leaned forward, set the glass down, and poured some champagne into an empty glass. When he was done, he picked it up and started coming towards me.

  I kept my sword up, having to force myself to not waver as this beautiful man walked up to me. I knew at any moment, he could lunge at me; letting my guard down would be the end of me.

  He stopped just shy of the tip of my sword and held the glass out to me. I didn’t move. The man lifted his free hand and carelessly and gently pushed the weapon to the side. The sheer confidence of this man shocked me, and I lowered the blade.

  The moment it was down, he stepped closer and grasped my hand. I tensed for a moment before he pressed the glass into my palm. His fingers trailed down my arm, sending goosebumps across my skin.

  He was close enough to whisper into my ear now. “Come sit with me.”

  His cool breath on my ear sent shivers down my spine, and I found myself nodding, figuring it would be smart to take this time to relax so I could be recharged for the fight with Helis. Somewhere deep in my subconscious was common sense screaming at me to get my shit together and cut his throat, but something strong was fighting against it to smother all sense.

  The black-haired stranger grasped my hand and started leading me towards the sofa. The feel of him touching me, even in such a normal way, made my breath catch in my throat.

  Everything I had been through in the past couple of hours slowly faded from my mind as the man sat down with me. Flames crackled cozily in the fireplace, and I felt myself relaxing.

  As we sipped on the champagne, the man talked. His voice was extremely alluring, and I could barely focus on anything else. The only thing that continued to distract me was his constant touching. Each time his fingers trailed down my skin, my heart skipped a beat.

  The caution I had at the beginning was nearly just a memory now. The small voice in my mind telling me to stay on my guard and not get too distracted was barely a whisper now.

  The stranger set our drinks down and led me from the couch. When he opened the door to the bedroom, my pulse quickened… but it wasn’t from fear, anger, or worry.

  For just a moment, common sense flickered within me again; I knew this was incredibly dangerous and that I should just shove my sword through this man’s stomach. But with one glance at me, his charm overrode everything sane in my head once more, making my entire body hot with lust.

  Seeing the bed and knowing just what exactly could go on there with this gorgeous human being, the last semblance of sanity left my mind.

  The man swept me up in his arms, forcing me to wrap my legs around his strong torso. My fingers tangled in his thick hair and I brought my lips to his. As his mouth parted to invite me in, he moved towards the bed and teased me with a swipe of his tongue over my lip before gently setting me down.

  He was on top of me a moment later, and I lost myself in him. The weight of his body pressed against mine, molding against me like fate… It seemed too good to be true, and yet for some reason, I didn’t question it.

  My fingers felt for the hem of his shirt and I pulled the fabric over his head. The man barely had time to toss the shirt away before I pulled him back down.

  Somehow, my own shirt ended up on the floor too. The man’s bare chest against my skin made my pulse throb and his scent drove me wild.

  He knew exactly what to do to press all the right buttons until I was basically begging for more of him. Instead, however, he pulled back. I groaned in frustration as my lips burned, my body trembling with unanswered desires. With a devilish grin, the man pulled me up and I straddled his lap. As we kissed, he rested a hand against my neck as his thumb traced my jaw.

  Something stirred in my mind.

  My jawline tingled where his fingers had touched. That feeling… it was something that felt very familiar. A touch that had come to make me think of only one other.

  Helis…

  My eyes shot open and I pulled away from the man. My gaze shot over his shoulder to where my sword was. It was on a small table, and I certainly didn’t remember putting it there before he had grabbed me.

  The man noticed my shift almost immediately, but not in time to block my fingers from wrapping around his throat. He tried to push me away, but my hands only tightened.

  In my rage, I hardly noticed the strangely calm expression on the man’s face as I strangled him. When my grip loosened and I fell forward through his body, the anger in my mind cleared, being immediately replaced by shock.

  I gathered my bearings and sat back up. The man’s body was transparent, and he gave me one last striking smile before disappearing completely.

  My heart roared in my ears, its pounding the only thing I heard in the silence of the room. I felt confused, lost, and unsure. What had I just experienced?

  This Phase had seemed to prey on my biggest weakness, and it had done it well. I had no idea if I would have ever broken free from the man’s charm had he not touched me in the exact same way Helis frequently did.

  Something out the window caught my attention, and I looked over to see a bright light filtering through the trees. Knowing that meant th
e seventh and final wave was starting, I gave myself a shake.

  Facing Helis himself would take all my energy and require all my focus. The strange, beautiful man still lingered in the depths of my mind, but I knew I would need to purge him from my thoughts in order to have any chance at beating the Trial god.

  Jumping off the bed, I slipped my shirt back on, grabbed my sword, and left the bedroom. Outside the house, the arena was quiet, and the silence struck fear into me.

  Somehow, I had made it through all six previous waves… and yet they paled in comparison to the final one. This last Phase was the one that would determine my fate. I would either be crowned victor again, or stripped of my mark… and stripped of the dark god.

  A barrage of thoughts pummeled my mind as I submerged into the forest. The mere thought of Helis leaving me made me weak, but other thoughts fought for space inside my mind.

  If I lost, what would happen to my leadership? Would the people of Marnori find out about my missing mark? What would happen when or if they did? Would they remove me from my position of power, or would they continue to follow me despite me no longer being an Adeptus?

  One side of my mind said they’d take me out immediately, and the other side said they would recognize my strength as a leader regardless of me having an Adeptus mark or not.

  I grit my teeth and shoved the thoughts away. There was no time to dwell on ‘what ifs’ right now. There was no room for distraction in the most important Phase of my time in the arena.

  Stalking closer to the center, I strained my eyes, trying to spot Helis. When the middle of the arena came into view, so did the onyx deity.

  Letting out a silent breath, I backed up. He had been facing directly towards me, but I wasn’t sure if he had noticed me or not. My nerves felt like they were near the snapping point, like just one more thing would make them shatter.

  I snuck around the arena until I got to the stalagmites. The entire trek here, I hadn’t heard Helis pursuing me, so I took a moment to get myself together.

  Even though I had fared decently, I was a lot more exhausted this time around than the first time— not only that, but the previous Phase had shaken me mentally; if I didn’t give myself a quick chance to rest, the god would cut me down and steal my mark immediately.

  A light scraping noise bit at my ears, like the tip of a sword being dragged along the ground. It was the only thing I had heard since the seventh wave had started, and its grating sound made nerves flutter in my belly.

  I didn’t want to lose. I didn’t want to lose my mark. I didn’t want to lose Helis.

  His words to me before I had set off for Marnori with my army flashed in my mind. Despite what he had said, despite what he had implied, I knew he wouldn’t hold back in this battle.

  The noise disappeared and I strained my ears, but it was so silent that I started to worry again. I gave myself a quick pep talk, then steeled myself.

  Another noise reached me, and I recognized it almost too late. I leapt from the stalagmite I was leaning against as one of Helis’ jagged swords sunk into the stone. The stalagmite was cut near in half as bits of rock sprayed everywhere. The Trial god pulled his blade from the stone like it was nothing.

  I jumped to my feet and brandished my sword. The dark deity’s red eyes blazed as he stalked up to me. His ebony weapons were hungry for flesh, giving me no time to breathe.

  No longer having the Adeptus mark to bolster my strength, I knew I wouldn’t be able to withstand this direct assault for very long. Each hit of his weapon against mine sent a bone-jarring tremor up my arm.

  One of his blades thrust towards my abdomen, and I dodged by a hair’s breadth, feeling its sharp edge graze against my shirt. The adrenaline shooting through my veins was intense, completely smothering the worry I had been feeling not that long ago. The only thoughts going through my head now was the fight. Not winning, not losing, just the battle itself.

  I finally got a strike in, but my blade glanced off Helis’ armour, not doing any damage to the god himself. I knew I would need to be strategic in order to get to the opening in his armour, just like I had the first time I had defeated him.

  Winning in direct hand-to-hand combat was extremely unlikely. Last time, I had only won by allowing his sword to dig farther into my chest; not only was there no guarantee that my body could pull that off again, but he would most likely also not fall for the same thing twice.

  My roaring heart filled my ears, smothering every other sound; just the thunderous sound pummeling my ribcage. I ducked just in the nick of time as his sword swung at my head.

  Tiring and with no idea how to defeat him like this, I whipped around before he could swing again and took off. The Trial deity’s deep laughter chased after me like a hound.

  “You cannot run forever, Adeptus.”

  I ignored him as trees whipped past me, shoving his words out of my head before my mind latched onto them and weakened my resolve.

  I had no idea how I would defeat him, and knowing that made my gut twist. I had seen the dark god enough times to know there was no visible weakness in his armour besides under the chin of his horned helmet… and being able to exploit that weakness a second time was extremely unlikely.

  As my mind shuffled through options, the house and the previous Phase that took place in it popped into my head. For a split second, the idea of trying to distract Helis the same way the stranger had done to me wedged its way into my mind. It was immediately dashed as I mentally berated myself for so much as even giving the idea any weight. Even if Helis did feel something for me, there was no possible way he, a deity, would ever fall for such a trap.

  I slowed and came to a stop beside a large tree, focusing on catching my breath. After a few seconds, I wiped my hands on my pants and adjusted my grip on my sword.

  For a heart-stopping moment, I wondered if I was even able to brainstorm battle tactics. Helis had proven he was able to read my mind. Was he doing so at this very moment, listening in on every idea that went through my head?

  Aggravation was sludge in my veins; I should have thought to ask him that before he whisked me away to the Trial. I could have bargained for a no-mindreading run.

  I took a deep breath and leaned against the tree trunk. If he was exploiting his ability during the Trial, I wouldn’t have been able to take him down the first time, because he would have seen it coming.

  Realizing that, and realizing Helis wasn’t playing dirty, the worry for that issue left my mind, leaving only the concern about what actually mattered: defeating the Trial god.

  Nothing in the arena was an obvious advantage. The house was pointless, as were the stalagmites. The pool would only be useful if I could drown him, but being able to knock his hulking form into the pool would most likely be impossible. That left the trees.

  I pressed my palm to the bark as my gaze travelled up the tree’s trunk. The possibility of dropping down on Helis flitted through my mind.

  The idea was nearly pushed from my thoughts as I realized his armour would make that pretty much impossible. The huge, jagged spikes on his shoulders would make dropping down incredibly dangerous, if it was even possible at all.

  A quiet noise reached me, coming from the direction I had run from. Knowing Helis was close, I quickly sheathed my weapon and scrambled up the tree. Even if it was a stupid and probably lethal idea, it was the only one I had. My body was already incredibly battered by all the previous Phases, and it couldn’t take any more hand-to-hand combat with the dark deity.

  I barely dared to breathe as his dark form appeared not far off. The red sky reflected off his ebony armour, bathing the black metal in crimson tones.

  The closer he got, the more my nerves frayed. Best case scenario, I would land exactly where I needed to and be able to slice his throat open. But that was best case scenario, and also the least likely to happen.

  The more likely scenarios were that I would either impale myself on his armour, miss completely, or he wouldn’t even come close e
nough for me to try.

  The latter was less of a concern when I saw Helis glance at a small broken branch from a nearby bush. He was clearly tracking me, and every second that passed led him closer and closer.

  I quietly unsheathed my sword. His power and confidence, normally something that made me swoon, now made my stomach swirl with anxiety.

  Ten more steps, and he would be underneath me. Icy fear wormed through my muscles, making them feel weak. Gritting my teeth, I gave myself a mental shake. Once he was by the tree, he would find out quickly that I had not gone any farther, so I needed to act immediately.

  Five more steps…

  I studied the armour on his shoulders as my fingers tightened around the grip of my sword. Letting out a breath, I silently dropped from the branch. I expected the adrenaline racing through me to make it feel like time slowed as I fell through the air, but my feet struck the metal a moment later.

  He turned immediately, causing me to slip. On the way down, my leg struck one of the spikes on his shoulders, tearing a huge gash and forcing a pained cry from my lips.

  Fighting through the agony, I scrabbled for a grip. Locking my knees around his waist, my free hand grasped one of the horns on his helmet as my body was thrust to the side. Using the horn as leverage, I heaved with all my might to pull the dark god’s head back.

  My weapon was near his neck when Helis managed to rip me from him. He threw me to the ground and the breath was ripped from my lungs as my body hit the marble. The Trial deity raised his jagged sword above me and thrust it through my shoulder, striking the marble floor beneath, and my body flooded with pain.

  Helis had incapacitated my dominant arm. Even if I somehow managed to escape, there was no way I would be able to finish the battle and win.

  The dark god knelt beside me, hand still on the sword. He reached over and caressed a lock of hair as my blood pooled beneath me.