Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame-Chapter 94: Labyrinth Of The 9 Realms: 8th Realm

A single skeleton stood out; it was tracking and adjusting, not just mindlessly aggressive. Ivor fought his usual efficient way, aiming for joints and the spine.

The skeleton countered perfectly. When Ivor aimed for the knee, it guarded and twisted away, forcing a shallow hit, then countered with a quick slash to Ivor’s wrist.

When Ivor aimed for the elbow, the skeleton moved its arm but protected the hinge. When Ivor shifted to the ribs, the skeleton stepped in, using Ivor’s motion to bump him off balance and land a painful, though blocked, cut to his side.

Ivor realized the skeleton wasn’t intelligent, but was adapting and responding to his predictable pattern through the realm’s ability.

He forced himself to break the habit immediately.

Instead of aiming for the knee right away, he faked a move toward the shoulder, stepped a bit late, and then quickly struck low at the ankle joint. The skeleton was tricked by the fake and raised its guard, leaving its lower leg open. His blade hit the ankle, and it broke.

The creature’s balance was thrown off just for a second, but Ivor didn’t rush in for the next hit as he usually would. He waited a moment longer than normal, then hit the elbow joint as the skeleton tried to get its balance back.

The skeleton was prepared for an elbow attack this time, but the slight change in timing caught it off guard. Its defense was a moment too slow, and the elbow joint broke. The bone weapon dropped slightly, and Ivor stepped inside the creature’s attack range instead of staying on the edge where his moves were predictable.

He used his arm brace to block the skeleton’s sword arm, then aimed for the hip joint instead of the back. The skeleton twisted to protect its hip, which left its spine exposed.

Then Ivor finished the fight as he twisted his wrist, focused a burst of energy into the tip of his weapon, and stabbed the base of the skull just as the skeleton moved its guard the wrong way. Bone shattered. The creature’s life force disappeared. It fell to the ground like a structure whose main support was suddenly removed.

Ivor stood still, taking slow breaths. He could clearly feel his reduced healing now, how his energy wasn’t recovering as fast as usual.

If the fight had gone on longer, his energy reserves would have become dangerously low. The setting had made its point without needing to send a horde of enemies.

If he kept using the same hard-hitting moves, he would be defeated. If he relied on one highly effective series of moves, the enemy would learn it. The only safe way to be effective was to be flexible, using varied timing that kept the opponent guessing, even if he was hitting the same targets.

The line of blue light reappeared, and a stone wall slid open. Ivor walked toward it with measured steps, absorbing the lessons silently. He had expected to fight in the Labyrinth. What he was getting was something better and more dangerous: the kind of practice that turns natural talent into a solid plan, and that plan into an advantage that doesn’t disappear when an opponent gets stronger.

The doorway beyond the previous chamber led into a much smaller room, one that felt immediately oppressive the moment Ivor stepped inside.

The stone floor was plain and unpolished, but the walls were different. Hundreds of small circular openings dotted the stone surface at different heights, scattered across every wall like the sockets of some ancient machine.

Ivor slowed his steps and let his gaze travel across the chamber. The openings were not large, barely the size of a clenched fist, yet they covered nearly every section of the walls surrounding him. There were no skeletons waiting, no pillars, no shifting floors. Only the strange pattern of holes and a faint metallic smell lingering in the air.

At the center of the room a faint circle had been carved into the stone floor. The ring was narrow and barely noticeable unless someone looked carefully, but it clearly marked a boundary. Ivor stepped toward it and stopped just before crossing.

He extended his Soul Sense.

Nothing moved behind the walls.

Still, the chamber carried the same quiet anticipation that had preceded every trial before it.

Ivor stepped inside the circle.

The moment his second foot settled within the boundary, a faint current passed through the floor beneath him. The sensation was subtle at first, almost like a warning. He glanced down and noticed the circle was smaller than he had initially thought. The space gave him barely two feet in any direction.

Cautiously, he shifted one foot beyond the line.

The reaction was immediate.

A violent surge of energy shot upward through his body, striking his nerves with brutal force. His muscles seized and his vision blurred as the shock raced through him. The jolt lasted only a moment, yet it was powerful enough to make him stumble back into the circle before he lost his balance.

The pain faded slowly, leaving a faint tremor in his arms. Ivor exhaled carefully and remained within the boundary.

The rule of the chamber was clear.

He could not move outside the circle.

A moment later the walls came alive.

A sharp metallic sound echoed through the chamber as something shot out from one of the small openings. A dark sphere no larger than a fist streaked across the room and slammed into the stone floor near his feet with incredible speed.

The impact cracked the stone.

Another followed from the opposite wall.

Then another.

Black metal balls began firing from the holes around the chamber in quick succession, each one launched with tremendous force. They struck the floor, the walls, and the air around him, ricocheting violently through the confined space.

Ivor unsheathed and raised his sword instantly.

The next projectile flew directly toward his chest. He twisted slightly and deflected it with the flat of the blade. The impact sent a shock through his arm as the metal sphere flew off at an angle and smashed into the wall behind him.

Another ball came from the left.

He shifted his shoulder just enough to let it pass by his ribs.

A third came low toward his legs.

He angled his sword downward and knocked it aside before it struck his knee.

Within seconds the chamber had turned into a storm of steel.

The metal balls came from different directions, sometimes one at a time, sometimes two or three nearly together. Their paths crossed through the narrow circle where he stood, forcing him to react quickly while keeping his feet planted inside the boundary.

He tested the limit again by shifting his stance too far outward.

The floor responded instantly.

Another violent surge of energy shot through his body, far stronger than before. His muscles locked and his vision darkened for a brief moment before he forced himself back inside the circle.

The message was unmistakable. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He could not dodge widely.

Every movement had to stay inside the two-foot space.