The air inside the tomb was heavy—thick with the stench of old blood and the hum of dormant magic. The walls were slick with a black sheen, as if the stone itself bled in slow, steady tears. The pulsing red glow ahead wasn't just light—it was a heartbeat, deep and resonant, echoing in Russ's bones.
Every instinct screamed at him to turn back. But Russ Talen wasn't built to retreat.
---
The First Trial – Veins of the Dead
The ground trembled, and the floor split open. Rivers of molten blood snaked across the chamber, flowing too fast to leap over.
From the crimson current rose skeletal warriors clad in rusted armor, their bones fused with black metal. Their hollow eye sockets locked onto Russ.
Russ inhaled, focusing his Blood Qi until it boiled under his skin.
Blood Surge.
His muscles swelled with unnatural strength, his speed doubling. In a blur, he dashed forward, his scythe carving through the first warrior's neck. The severed skull burst into red mist.
But the others adapted, swinging blades that tore through his qi shield. One strike grazed his ribs, drawing a deep wound. Blood dripped—and the river below hungrily surged upward, trying to pull him in.
Russ gritted his teeth, forming Blood Claws around his fingers, the crimson talons slicing through their armor. One by one, they fell, until the river stilled.
---
The Second Trial – Hall of Shadows
The next corridor was pure black—no light, no sound. Even his heightened senses were muted.
He knew this was an illusion. And illusions were dangerous here.
Shadows detached from the walls, forming twisted copies of him—each wielding a scythe, each grinning with bloodstained teeth.
Russ activated Shadow Merge, sinking into his own darkness. From there, he struck fast, emerging behind a copy to slice it apart. But each kill split the shadow into two smaller ones, faster and deadlier.
He realized the trick—this was a trial of endurance, not slaughter.
Russ grounded his qi, drawing both blood and shadow energy inward. He whispered: "Oblivion Veil."
A sphere of absolute darkness erupted from him, swallowing the copies. They screamed as their forms unraveled, leaving only silence.
---
The Final Trial – The Guardian of the Seal
The chamber ahead was circular, its ceiling lost in darkness. In the center floated the Bloodbane Seal—a crimson emblem pulsing with enough qi to make the air vibrate.
Then the floor cracked.
Something massive pulled itself from the stone—a towering beast with the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and a head made of shadowfire. Its voice was a roar in Russ's mind:
"Only the blood that defies death may claim the Seal."
The guardian charged. Russ sidestepped with Shadow Step, appearing behind it to slash at its spine. Sparks of bloodlight flew—but the creature's tail whipped around, slamming him into the wall hard enough to crack stone.
His ribs screamed in protest.
No time to hesitate. Russ bit his own arm, flooding his mouth with his own blood, then spat it forward—Crimson Tempest—a spiraling storm of blood blades that ripped through the guardian's wing.
It staggered.
Russ gathered every drop of qi he had left, fusing Blood Qi and Shadow Qi into one swirling vortex around his scythe.
Bloodshadow Execution.
He leapt high, the blade cleaving straight through the guardian's neck. Its body dissolved into mist, leaving the Seal floating, unguarded.
---
Russ stepped forward, hand trembling, and grasped the Bloodbane Seal.
The heartbeat in the chamber became his own. His veins lit with fire, his shadow stretched into something monstrous.
And far away, Ravien froze mid-step.
"So… the boy chooses death."