I activated Steel Body.
My skin hardened to polished iron. The weight of my limbs tripled. Every handhold felt like nothing. Every pull became effortless. The ceiling descended but I climbed faster.
Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten.
The ceiling touched my back. Pressed down. My Steel Body held. The pressure meant nothing to someone who couldn't be damaged.
Five feet.
I threw Reyna over the lip of the finish platform. She tumbled onto safe ground. Looked back at me with wide eyes.
Steel Body expired.
The ceiling pressed down. My human body couldn't resist the force. I felt my ribs compress. My spine bend. The safety protocols kicked in. The ceiling stopped descending with exactly one inch of clearance above my prone form.
"TIME! THE GAUNTLET IS COMPLETE! ELEVEN COMPETITORS HAVE FINISHED!"
I lay on my back. Stared at the ceiling one inch from my face. Breathed through the pain.
