The chamber darkened.
It did not fade like a sunset; it plunged into shadow abruptly, as if the Ark had inhaled every photon of ambient light to fuel the monster waking beneath the floor.
A deep, crushing pressure filled the air, replacing the nutritious atmosphere with a heavy static charge that prickled Zander's skin and lifted the fine hairs on his arms. Arcs of invisible energy crawled across the platform like restless spirits, gathering for something ancient—something that did not belong in humanity's era.
Even Aethros, usually proud and fierce, quietly folded his wings tight against his back and retreated to the platform's edge. His primal instincts recognized the awakening of an old, apex force and urged him not to interfere.
Zander stepped onto the obsidian platform.
Instantly, the geometric etchings beneath his boots lit up—not the warm amber of the library, but a cold, warlike violet. The lines pulsed like arterial veins, injecting power straight into the heart of the arena.
Arkeon's hum deepened, vibrating the very marrow of Zander's bones. It no longer sounded mechanical. It sounded alive.
"Stand firm," Arkeon spoke, his voice resonating from the walls, the floor, the air itself. "The Guardian is rising."
A tremor rippled beneath Zander's feet. Then another, heavier. Then a sharp, seismic CRACK split the platform down the center.
Steam hissed violently from the widening fissure. Two massive stone-and-metal hands gripped the edges of the breach. Fingers carved from black volcanic rock and fused with cerulean machinery dug into the platform, pulverizing the stone as they pulled something colossal upward with a deep, hydraulic groan.
Aethros whispered, his eyes wide, "…that's enormous."
Zander's jaw tightened until his teeth ached as the construct rose to its full height.
Three meters tall. It was carved in obsidian slabs shaped like idealized, hyper-dense muscle. Metal conduits glowed beneath the stone skin like arteries of liquid lightning. Its face was a featureless helm except for one vertical slit—a single "eye" igniting with a cold, piercing sapphire light.
Arkeon intoned, the voice echoing like a judge:
"Ashurim Martial Guardian — Model TITANUS-09."
"Status: Active."
"Purpose: To test the structural and harmonic limits of a Master Candidate."
"Lethal force authorized."
Zander exhaled through his nose, his breath misting in the sudden chill. "Well… at least it doesn't spit fire."
Aethros muttered from the sidelines, tail twitching, "Don't tempt fate."
The golem moved.
Not slowly. Not stiffly. Not like something made of stone.
It blurred.
A shockwave exploded behind it, displacing the air with a thunderous crack as it crossed the arena in less than a heartbeat. Its fist—a meteor of obsidian and alloy—slammed down toward Zander.
Zander barely crossed his arms in a block before—
BOOM.
The impact was catastrophic. It tore him off his feet, launching him across the chamber like a missile. The air rushed past his ears in a scream. He crashed into the barrier wall with enough force to crater the energy field. The containment shield flared blindingly, groaning under the kinetic stress.
"Zander!" Aethros shouted.
Zander gritted his teeth, pushing himself free from the dented barrier. His forearms throbbed painfully—bone vibrating like struck steel. "That thing hits harder than a rail-freight truck…"
The titan advanced, scanning him. Its sapphire eye flickered with rapid evaluative pulses, processing the physics of the blow.
Arkeon explained with calm detachment:
"It reads your movement patterns. It calculates your bone density, tendon elasticity, and muscular output. It adapts. If you remain predictable, it will kill you."
Zander rolled his shoulders, feeling the bruises forming. "Perfect. A smart brick."
The titan lunged again.
This time, Zander met it head-on. Force surged through his meridians—refined, disciplined, sharp.
Heaven's Duality Flow.
His form blurred into silver-white motion. He slipped under the titan's massive arm, the wind of its passing blow ripping at his clothes. His blade flashed. Sparks exploded like fireworks as Heaven's Eclipse scored the titan's shoulder.
The scratch glowed red…
…then rippled like liquid mercury and sealed instantly.
Aethros growled, "It heals?"
"Self-repair: moderate," Arkeon replied. "Damage must exceed harmonic threshold to interrupt regeneration."
"Which means?"
"You must break its frequency—its internal harmony. Strength alone is insufficient. You must vibrate the stone apart."
The titan planted both feet and slammed its fists together.
BOOM.
A shockwave detonated outward like a collapsing star. Zander vaulted over it with a burst of Force, flipping high into the air. The air rippled visibly around his body as the kinetic dome blasted past below him.
But the machine was learning.
Before his boots touched the ground, the golem was already waiting.
A backhand like a falling mountain smashed into his side. Pain exploded across his ribs, white-hot and blinding. He crashed into the platform hard enough to crack it like ice, sliding to a halt near the edge.
Aethros tensed on the sidelines—instinct screaming to intervene, claws digging into the floor.
But Arkeon's voice cut sharply:
"This is Zander's trial. If you interfere, the Guardian will escalate lethality against you. Stand down."
Aethros snarled, a deep rumble of frustration, but stepped back, muscles coiled with restraint.
Zander rose slowly, wiping blood from his mouth. His ribs felt like splintered glass, but his eyes burned with focus.
"Arkeon," he said, voice tight, "how do I break its harmony?"
"You have one technique aligned strongly enough with your own frequency to destabilize its core lattice."
Zander already knew. The realization settled heavy in his gut.
"…Crimson Fangs."
Aethros shot him a look from the edge of the arena. "Seriously? After last time? You nearly caved in half a mountain."
Zander didn't answer. He couldn't. The titan was already analyzing him again—calculating new angles of attack, its sapphire eye narrowing.
Arkeon's tone sharpened.
"The Titanus-09 cannot be fully destroyed by you. It can self-repair anything short of complete molecular disintegration. You may use your full strength. Do not hold back."
Aethros grinned despite the tension. "He's calling you out, little one."
Zander inhaled.
Exhaled.
His heartbeat sharpened. His breathing steadied. His fear quieted into a cold, hard resolve.
He lowered himself into a stance. Force spiraled inside him—tight, hot, disciplined. A faint blood-red aura ignited around his arms, flowing into the steel of his blades, turning them into extensions of his will.
The platform groaned under his feet as pressure radiated outward, the stone fracturing from the sheer weight of his energy.
Arkeon murmured with interest:
"Resonance rising… 32%… 47%… 68%… remarkable."
The titan sensed danger. Its regeneration stalled. It lunged.
Zander vanished.
Light distorted around him—Force bending the air itself. He reappeared behind the titan, blades crossed. Crimson energy coiled around him like twin wolves.
"Heaven's Duality Flow…"
"…Crimson Fangs."
Zander unleashed.
Twin arcs of blood-red devastation tore across the chamber, ripping through the titan's armor in explosive bursts. Shards of obsidian and machinery flew like shrapnel, clattering against the walls.
The titan staggered—regeneration flickering, failing.
Zander pressed the attack. He became motion. He became violence. He became crimson fury channeled into absolute precision. Each strike dug deeper, severing glowing conduits, carving through ancient power lines, disrupting the golem's harmonic core.
The titan roared—stone grinding against metal. It swung both fists down to crush him.
Zander met the blow.
His blades crossed.
The impact cracked the entire platform into a spiderweb beneath them.
Zander screamed with effort—muscles straining, aura flaring—but held.
"NOT—TODAY!"
Crimson power exploded outward. He reversed his grip—
"CRIMSON—FANGS!"
—and unleashed everything.
The explosion of red light swallowed the titan, ripping its torso apart in a spiral of molten debris. Cerulean energy scattered across the chamber like dying stars.
The titan fell to its knees.
Collapsed.
And disintegrated into a heap of smoking rubble.
Steam rose from the remains. Zander stood trembling, breath ragged, blades dimming, armor singed. Sweat and blood dripped down his chin.
Aethros whooped from the sidelines.
"HA! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
Arkeon's voice resonated warmly—almost proudly.
"Trial complete. Zander, you have achieved resonant dominion."
From the debris, a golden crystalline orb floated upward, pulsing with a complex, living rhythm.
Arkeon spoke:
"This is the Ashurim Master-Seal. With it, you claim my full systems, my archives, and my martial lineage. I will serve you without restriction."
Zander reached out. The orb touched his chest—
—and sank in like a breath of light.
Knowledge flooded him. Harmony aligned. Something deep within him, a lock held since birth, clicked open.
Golden light filled the chamber.
Aethros approached slowly, eyes wide with impressed respect. "You did good, kid. And hey—you didn't even blow yourself up this time."
Zander laughed breathlessly, clutching his chest. "Yeah. Progress."
Arkeon's voice echoed like a ceremonial decree:
"Rise, Zander—"
"Bearer of the Ashurim legacy."
"My master… henceforth."