CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Trial by Fire

The Second Rule's truth sank into me, heavy and cold, slotting a new piece into my bestial mind. I stood there, letting it settle, feeling the shift deep in my core. Calm crept over me, not peace, just a quiet focus—like the air before a storm. But it didn't fill me with power. My mana didn't surge, my wounds didn't knit. My onyx core thrummed at its limit, peaked from the barricade fight earlier, but I was still an onyx one, no more, no less.

The next stage on the beast path required a ritual. No, not a ritual. I finally understood it as well. It wasn't rituals as the people of Araksiun thought. It was proof. A raw, undeniable show of understanding, of wielding the rules. I lifted my gaze to the Vyrithax, its massive coils glinting crimson through the smoke. That was my proof. That thing, thirty meters of scales and fire and nightmare, was my way forward.

The whispers started again, sharp and familiar, cutting through the clash of steel and screams around me. "Disgusting animal," Meris's voice sneered, dripping with venom. "I was so sad you didn't die out there in the fog." Then Tarin's: "Can't even hold a fork right." They piled on, a chorus of the people I'd fought for, clawing at my mind. I let them echo, hollow and meaningless.

My mana stirred, cold and steady. An ice spear took shape beside me, thick and jagged, longer than I was tall. I poured more into it, willing it denser, sharper, the chill biting my fingers as it hardened. I aimed it at Vyrithax, its ember-eyes tracking me from the tendrils along its spine. I stepped forward, ready to launch it, when she appeared.

Meris floated in the air, arms outstretched, her body a frail shield between me and the serpent. Her face twisted, eyes wide with terror, mouth gaping in a silent scream, skin blistered and blackening as if the beast's heat had already touched her. Blood seeped from cracks in her cheeks, dripping down her chin, her hair singed to ash. She looked real, too real, her agony carved into every line.

I froze. The spear trembled in my grip, mana wavering. My chest tightened, a flicker of doubt clawing up my throat. But I caught it, anger hot and brief, flaring at the Vyrithax for this trick. I shoved the hesitation down, teeth gritted, and fed that rage into the spear. The ice glowed brighter, edges keening as I poured more mana in. With a sharp breath, I thrust it forward.

It shot through her. The spear punched into Meris's chest, blood spraying in a violent arc, soaking the air red. Her body stiffened, frost racing over her skin, crackling as it froze solid. Then she shattered, hundreds of glittering shards tumbling to the ground, glinting in the smoke. Her scream lingered, piercing and raw, echoing in my skull like a blade scraping bone. I staggered, the sound tearing at me, but I knew it wasn't her.

The spear flew on, unwavering, aimed at the Vyrithax. Its strike maw lunged, teeth glinting, ready to snap it from the sky. I reached out with my mana, tracing the faint mist trail it left, and pushed harder. Pain spiked in my head, sharp and blinding, but I willed the spear to break. A small ice orb at its core pulsed once, then exploded.

The blast fragmented the spear into countless shards, a storm of ice veering in every direction. The beast reacted, its tail whipping up, strike maw clacking shut. Some pieces shattered against its scales, others caught in its tendrils, but dozens hit true, sinking into its crimson hide, shallow but sure. I didn't stop. I forced my mana deeper, urging the ice to spread, to crawl through its flesh like frost on glass.

The strike maw let out a grating laugh, loud and mocking. "Weakling," it rasped. The fire maw hissed, "Did you really think that'd kill me?" The whispers pressed harder, but I ignored them. The ice took hold, slowly and unevenly, freezing patches of its coils, stiffening its movements. Not enough to stop it, but enough to buy me time.

I broke into a run, straight at it. The heat hit me like a wall, Vyrithax's flames churning the air, thick with smoke, searing my lungs with every breath. My skin prickled, then bubbled, patches peeling away as I pushed closer. The pain was sharp, alive, but I didn't stop. I had to get near—close enough to strike.

When I was steps away, its towering bulk looming above, I leapt. I pushed everything into it, legs straining, mana flaring, until the bones snapped under the force, a sickening crunch I felt more than heard. I shot upward, high, level with its three maws glaring down at me. The Starving Maw glowed, runes flaring red as I triggered their power.

I punched. The strike landed square on the fire maw, too fast for the beast's frozen bulk to twist away. A boom ripped through the air, deep and shattering, vibrating in my chest. My hand broke, fingers crumpling, arm twisting, but the force drove through. Vyrithax's head slammed into the ground, earth cracking under its weight, dust billowing up in a choking cloud. For a split second, as I hung in the air, I saw it below me, its grotesque face smashed down, scales splintered, one maw twitching.

Silence followed, the whispers gone. Then I fell. My legs didn't heal in that brief flight, they couldn't. I hit the ground hard, bones snapping again—ribs, maybe more, blood flooding my mouth, spilling over my chin. The earth burned beneath me, scorched by the beast, fusing to my skin where it touched, tearing away as I tried to shift. I coughed, lungs heavy, tasting iron and ash.

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The quiet broke. My mana's traces in the beast vanished, snuffed out in an instant. Vyrithax stirred, its flames roaring back, hotter, fiercer, scorching the ice from its wounds. It rose, towering over me, coils shifting with renewed fury. I couldn't move—legs useless, body screaming, but I met its gaze. All three maws locked on me, ember-eyes blazing. It wasn't playing anymore.

"Fool creature," the mind maw whispered, cold and venomous. "How dare you humiliate me." The fire maw flared, heat pulsing. "You'll regret this. None of you will live to remember it." Its intent hung thick, a promise as it reared back, flames gathering in its throat.

Its crimson scales flaring brighter, hotter, a ripple of fire pulsing along its massive coils. I stood there, chest heaving, watching it gather itself. The flames it had spat before—gouts of red that scorched the air—felt like sparks next to this. Its whole body trembled, mana straining through it, pushing beyond what even a titan serpent could easily wield. This wasn't effortless anymore. This was something that clawed at its own limits, a toll it hadn't paid until now.

"Behold true power," the whisper rasped, its voice a low scrape that burrowed into my skull. The other two maws twitched, one clacking shut, the other hissing smoke. I braced myself, legs still healing.

Then it came, a flash from the barricades, sharp and blinding. Lirien stood there, Dawnbreak Bow drawn taut, an Arrow of Pure Light blazing in her grip. The light swelled, a miniature sun igniting the smoke-filled ward, casting jagged shadows across the ruined streets. It streaked toward Vyrithax, faster than anything that size should move, aimed near its triple-mawed head. The beast didn't see it, too focused on me, its fire maw gaping wide, ready to burn me out of existence.

The arrow hit. A wet crunch sounded as it punched deep into the serpent's neck, just below the fire maw. Blood sprayed, dark and thick, splattering the cracked ground below. The wound was small against its bulk, thirty meters of scales and muscle, but it stopped cold. The fire it'd been building imploded, a muffled boom rumbling from inside its throat. Smoke poured from all three maws, curling upward in thick, choking tendrils. I squinted, catching the glint of pain in its ember-eyes.

"Fool creatures," the whispers snarled, venom lacing the whisper. "Little ants should know their place." The whispers didn't stay with me this time—they spread, slithering toward the barricades. I heard shouts, saw heads turn among the people there, confusion breaking their line. Vyrithax's gaze shifted, tendrils twitching, locking onto Lirien like she'd fire again.

I saw it then, the beast's own fire had burned it, the implosion scorching its insides when the arrow struck. A plan clicked into place, sharp and sudden. My legs weren't fully healed, but they'd hold for this. I staggered forward, closer to its towering base, feeling the heat sear my skin even through the faint mana I had left cloaking me. I summoned ice blades, twenty of them, thin and jagged—forming them low around its coils. My hands shook as I pushed mana into them, willing them forward.

The blades shot out, sinking into its lower scales with soft thunks. Vyrithax's ember-eyes snapped to me, too late. I clenched my fists, forcing the ice to spread, frost creeping up its body, crackling as it hardened. The serpent lurched, its balance faltering, coils scraping the ground with a low groan. It shimmered with rage, scales pulsing like molten stone, but I didn't stop. More blades followed, then spears, some trailing mist as I summoned them mid-air. My mana reserves dwindled, a hollow ache spreading in my chest, but I kept going.

It barely noticed. Compared to its power, I was nothing, a flicker against its blaze. My core felt drained, scraped dry, while Vyrithax still brimmed with untapped strength. But it was angry now—too angry. Its heat flared hotter, the air rippling around it, and I knew it'd decided I wasn't worth dragging out. Maybe it feared Lirien had more arrows up her sleeve, a threat it couldn't ignore. I knew better, that was the bow's only Arrow of Light for a full day, but the beast didn't.

I stumbled back, retreating as its body glowed redder, power coiling tight. The ground trembled under its weight, smoke thickening as it prepared another fire breath—bigger, fiercer, pushing its own edges. I let it charge, let it think I was done, hobbling away like my legs wouldn't carry me. My breath rasped, shallow and ragged, the heat pressing down like a fist. I waited, counting the seconds, watching its fire maw widen, embers glowing deep in its throat.

Then I moved. I turned and ran at it, full tilt, pain spiking through my legs with every step. The beast loomed closer, its heat a wall I could barely push through—skin blistering, peeling, but I didn't slow. When I was close, too close, I leapt again. My legs gave out, bones shattering under the strain, a wet snap echoing in my ears. I launched upward, high, straight for the fire maw gaping above me.

Vyrithax grinned, a grotesque twist of teeth and flame, pleased to see me dangling in the air, easy prey. It didn't hesitate. Fire surged from its maw, a roaring torrent of red and gold, aimed to swallow me whole. I raised my arms, Shardbound Bracers glinting, and willed the shield into being. Not around me but inside its maw. The barrier flared to life, a solid wall wedged in its throat—cutting off the fire's path.

The heat hit me anyway, a blast that singed my hair, scorched my clothes, but the shield held—three seconds, all I had. The fire kept coming, relentless, slamming against the barrier with nowhere to go. Vyrithax's maw bulged, scales cracking as pressure built. The mind maw whispered again, desperate now, using Meris's voice, broken and pleading. "Stop, Omen, please, take it away!" I shut it out, jaw tight, holding the shield steady.

One second. The beast thrashed, blood leaking from its maws, fire curling back on itself. Two seconds. Its body swelled, unnatural and grotesque, the strain splitting scales apart. Three seconds. The shield flickered out, just as Vyrithax exploded. A deafening roar tore through the ward, fire bursting from its core, ripping it apart from the inside. Scales flew, blood sprayed, and the titan crumpled, a smoldering wreck of flesh and flame.

The serpent titan, Vyrithax, kin to dragons, was dead. I felt it deep, a certainty in my bones, like unseen eyes had witnessed it all, marking this moment. Not just a kill but a display, a proof carved in fire and ruin. But that didn't stop the blast. Flames erupted outward, catching me mid-air, searing my skin, my cloak, everything. The force hurled me back, wind screaming past as I tumbled through the smoke.

Something solid slammed into me—a wall, maybe, far from the fight. Pain flared, bright and blinding, then faded fast. Darkness rushed in, swallowing sound, heat, everything.

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