The midday sun in New Delhi cast jagged shadows across the crumbling skyline. Towering ruins of old tech corporations were swallowed by vines and overgrown mana-reactive trees. This city had once been the pinnacle of human brilliance—now, it was just another frontier between Earth's survivors and the awakened chaos left in the wake of the meteorite.
Ankit stood on the rooftop of a broken glass tower, Kaido and Riya beside him. Below them was the training compound of Devika Arya, one of the most feared—and mysterious—survivors of Tower Floor 2.
She wasn't just strong. She was a former elite climber, once hailed as the next prodigy.
Until her entire team died.
"We sure she's not gonna stab us?" Kaido muttered, tightening the grip on his Iron Fang Spear.
"She lost everyone," Ankit replied. "I don't want to recruit her strength. I want to give her something to live for again."
⚔️ The Trial of Chains
The team descended into the arena below. Devika waited alone at its center, clad in a black battle suit reinforced with mana threads. Her hair was tied tightly back, her eyes unreadable. Behind her was her soul weapon: a long phantom chain halberd, floating mid-air like a ghost tethered to her will.
"You want me to join your guild?" she asked flatly.
"Yes," Ankit said, stepping forward.
"Then survive for five minutes. That's all. No killing blows. If you drop your weapon, you lose. If you run, you die."
Kaido grinned. "I like her already."
What followed was a non-lethal deathmatch. Devika's halberd moved like a serpent, chaining between her hands and the terrain. Every swing carried crushing precision. Riya's speed allowed her to dodge narrowly, Kaido anchored himself like a wall, and Ankit—Ankit danced between them all, the crimson flash of his twin talwars cutting through chain arcs with sheer instinct.
Toni, watching from the sidelines, muttered into his notepad. "She's reacting at the micro-movement level. Not full predictability. That halberd doesn't follow gravity… she uses recoil to spin her own momentum. Interesting."
After four and a half minutes, Kaido was disarmed and pinned by a chain. Riya's arm was bleeding from a shallow cut. Ankit alone stood, both swords trembling but raised.
Devika stopped. The halberd returned to her back.
"You're better than the rest," she said. "But you're still not ready."
Ankit met her gaze, breathing hard. "I don't need you to believe in us now. I just need you to see that we'll never abandon our own. That's what your team lacked."
Silence.
And then, without a word, she turned and walked to her weapons rack. She picked up a worn, dusty armband with the insignia of her fallen guild. Then she tore it off—and burned it with a mana spark.
"I'll join," she said. "But I'm not your friend. I'm your blade. Use me wisely."
💬 Later That Night
Back at the base, Veer was treating Kaido's arm while Riya recounted the fight to a fascinated Harsh.
"She didn't even break a sweat," Riya said. "It was like dancing with death."
Devika entered the room silently. She looked at Toni, who was reviewing soul weapon synergy patterns with a digital board powered by tower crystal.
"You're the tactician?" she asked.
Toni nodded. "Name's Toni. You fight like a storm chained in flesh. Welcome to Blackhunt."
She smirked—just barely.