Chapter 49 – To Enter as a Blade
Part 2: The Guardian Without Eyes
The Shard Altar stood in silence, veiled by mist and moonlight.
Crimson fog twisted around the stone like it was breathing. The altar's edges pulsed with faint violet energy, a rhythm not bound to life—but to memory. The kind that couldn't be buried.
Around it: bones.
Old.
Clean.
Arranged in circles that whispered one thing:
They made it here.But not through.
Ariz stopped six paces away.
He didn't move closer.
Because something was watching.
Not from above.Not from behind.
From beneath.
[System Warning: Final Trial Guardian Approaching]
Classification: UnknownOrigin: Native Construct – Bloodmoon EchoPurpose: Judgment
"You've walked the path.Now prove you belong on it."
The altar cracked.
Not loudly.
Just a subtle fracture down the center, as though time itself had split open.
Then something rose.
No arms. No face.
Just an armored shape of bone and burning void—standing ten feet tall, its body carved with glowing runes that shifted constantly, like it was rewriting itself to match the fear it felt.
It had no eyes.
But it turned to face Ariz with unerring precision.
[Bloodmoon Echo: Oathbound Sentinel]
Threat: Tier 5+Weakness: None registered
"It cannot be outthought.Only outlived."
It raised a hand, palm open.
From its body burst six chains of red-black light—lashed toward Ariz like they wanted to drag him into the altar itself.
He didn't dodge.
He split.
Veilwalk activated—his body momentarily vanishing into the ambient shadows around him. The chains struck mist. He emerged ten paces to the side, blades already in hand.
They didn't hum.
They didn't glow.
They just moved.
Fast.
The first strike sliced the Sentinel's shoulder.
It didn't bleed.
But the runes flickered.
The second strike severed one of its chains mid-lash, and the weapon screamed—metal howling like it remembered being a living thing.
The Sentinel lunged.
He didn't retreat.
He threw one blade—Umbra Lance formed mid-flight—and it pierced the creature's chest.
The explosion didn't shatter it.
But it stunned.
Ariz moved.
—
Five strikes.
Seven.
Ten.
He danced between lashes, between arms that weren't arms, beneath runes that tried to rewrite his body into pulp.
He didn't let them.
[Shadow Blade: Sync Reached 100%]➤ Auto-return enabled➤ Multi-phase chaining: Available
He caught both blades mid-spin, crossed them over the creature's neck, and—
Cut.
The runes dimmed.
The armor cracked.
The Sentinel took one slow step backward.
And collapsed—shattering into ash and flickers of dying language.
Silence.
Then a single chime from the altar.
Not holy.
Not warm.
But recognition.
[Trial Complete – Hollowwind Passed]
Candidate: Ariz al SuliemanClassification: Umbrakin – Noble BloodlineRank: Expert
Status: Admitted
Access Granted: Bloodmoon Academy – Shadow Division
"Not all who kill belong here.But all who belong here know how to kill."
Ariz exhaled.
The mist cleared just enough to reveal a path descending behind the altar—lit with faint red stones.
He didn't smile.
But his eyes burned brighter.
Because now he had a place.
Not to be safe.
But to become stronger.