2025-07-03 01:00:50Rick watched as Joaquin was swallowed by the darkness behind the hidden door. The moment the last sound of his footsteps faded into silence, Rick stepped forward to follow. But a hand stopped him.
“You cannot enter,” the gatekeeper said firmly. “Only the participant may proceed.”
Rick sighed deeply. He didn’t argue. He trusted Joaquin. Still, it didn’t stop the worry pressing on his chest.
Inside the tunnel, Joaquin was engulfed in darkness. The only light came from the faint, golden pulse of threadlike energy woven into the soles of his shoes—the same shoes granted to him upon entering this trial.
Eventually, the tunnel opened into a wide, circular chamber carved from raw, time-worn stone. Strange symbols were etched into every
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Chapter 270: The Shifting Path
The instant Joaquin crossed the threshold, the Spire swallowed the light behind him.The massive doors sealed with a sound like a thousand locks snapping shut at once, and the obsidian walls on either side began to breathe. Not just the illusion of movement—actual motion, slow and sinuous, like muscle shifting under skin.The passage was narrow, the floor made of polished black stone that reflected him in warped, elongated fragments. His footsteps echoed, too loud, bouncing back in strange rhythms that made it impossible to tell where the next corner was.Joaquin reached out, palm brushing the nearest wall. It was warm. Pulse-warm. The obsidian rippled under his touch, then drew away as though rejecting him. He let his hand drop.The Spire didn’t want him her
Chapter 269: Into the Spire
The gates of the Black Spire groaned open, their surface formed from some dark alloy that shimmered faintly as if swallowing light.Joaquin stepped forward, the Veilstorm’s roar fading behind him. The air changed the moment his boots crossed the threshold—denser, charged, tasting faintly of copper and ash. Every instinct in him screamed caution.The courtyard was unnaturally still. No wind. No birdsong. Even his footsteps seemed muted, like sound itself was being swallowed.Ahead rose the Spire’s inner walls, covered in etchings that shifted when he wasn’t looking directly at them—runes that seemed to breathe.Then it began.From the runes spilled a faint silver mist, curling upward b
Chapter 268: Through the Hollow Glade and the Veilstorm
The first leg of the journey was quiet—too quiet. That kind of quiet that didn’t comfort, but prickled at the skin, making every muscle expect something to break it.The Hollow Glade loomed ahead, its trees warped and skeletal, their trunks twisting like the spines of ancient beasts. Leaves shimmered in colors that didn’t belong—gold one moment, bleeding crimson the next—changing without the whisper of wind.The moment Joaquin crossed the threshold between the first two trunks, the air shifted. A smell of rain clung to the forest, though the ground beneath was bone dry. A child’s laughter danced faintly between the trees—light, fleeting—then cut off mid-breath.A flicker of movement darted at the edge of his vision: a figure running just ahead, vanishing behind a tree.He didn’t follow.The queen’s warning rang sharp in his mind: Not all you see in the Glade exists in your moment.But the shadows began to betray him. They stretched long and thin like sunset silhouettes, only to snap b
Chapter 267: Reunited
Joaquin collapsed onto the damp grass, his chest heaving as if each breath might tear him apart. The metallic taste of blood clung to his tongue, and his arms trembled from the fight’s strain.He’d done it.The beast would not reach the village. The people were safe—for now.His gaze drifted to the monster’s broken form as it slowly crumbled into ash, carried away by a faint wind that whispered through the clearing. As the last ember faded, Joaquin closed his eyes briefly.Neraxis… this needs to end.“Joaquin…”The voice came from nowhere.His eyes snapped open. He pushed himself upright, scanning the shadowed edges of the clearing. There was no one—too far from the village for it to be any of them.“Joaquin…” The voice again, softer this time, but closer.He rose to his feet, flame already sparking to life along his palm, shaping into the blade he knew as instinct. He stilled, listening.“Joaquin!”This time it was sharper, urgent—feminine. He pivoted, blade raised, and in one swift
Chapter 266: Neraxis 2
Joaquin’s breathing still rasped in his ears, harsh and uneven, every inhalation dragging against a throat raw from shouting and the acrid stench of blood.The beast’s body lay a few yards away, a crumpled heap of fur, bone, and unnatural sinew. Its lifeless eyes glimmered with the faintest residue of malice, as though death had not entirely claimed its rage.But the drums…They were still beating.Slow, deliberate, and heavy as a hammer striking the earth’s own heart. The rhythm rolled through the jungle floor, up through Joaquin’s boots, rattling his bones. It wasn’t just sound—it was a pulse, a living thing that seemed to reach into his chest and squeeze.And that was when t
Chapter 265: Neraxis 1
“So… it’s you. The Flamebearer,” said the voice coming from the beast Joaquin had been fighting. The sound was deep, as though it rose from the bowels of the earth itself.Joaquin clenched his fists, locking his gaze on its blazing red eyes.“Yes.”The beast’s head tilted, its grin widening, eyes bulging with feral glee.“You should have died!” it roared.But Joaquin stood his ground, eyes narrowing further.“It’s you… Isn’t it? You’re Neraxis.”The creature let out a maniacal laugh. Its crimson eyes flickered.“I am… the god of death. I am Neraxis!”Its roar exploded through the cavern, the force rattling the walls. Loose stones rained down from the ceiling.Joaquin smirked. “Are you? But I know this isn’t your true form.”Flames began to curl from Joaquin’s hands, lengthening and sharpening until they formed a blade of fire fused to his arm.The creature chuckled darkly. “Easy, Flamebearer. We will face each other… soon.”Joaquin froze for a split second, but before he could respond
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