These beasts weren't real. They were projections, tests, challenges without substance. If he simply refused to acknowledge them, refused to see them as threats, they would vanish.
He opened his eyes and stood still, letting the next beast approach unchallenged.
It tackled him, driving him backward into the blood. Claws raked across his chest, very real pain exploding through his torso. Teeth found his arm and bit down until he felt bone grinding.
Arthur roared and threw it off, gasping for breath as he struggled back to his feet.
They're real. They're definitely real.
"Damn it." The words came out ragged, barely audible over the constant sounds of more beasts approaching. "This is ridiculous."
He was missing something fundamental. The trial wouldn't be impossible, wouldn't be designed to simply kill him through attrition. There had to be a key, a solution he wasn't seeing.
Arthur killed three more beasts on autopilot while his mind raced.
Then an idea struck him.
