Aron stood silently, his breathing calm and measured, as the last fragments of the illusion dissolved into darkness. The oppressive silence weighed on him, but his sharp violet eyes didn't waver. His instincts screamed that the real trial had just begun.
A faint sound echoed—a single, deliberate step against the barren ground behind him. Aron's gaze shifted slightly, his body tense, ready to react at a moment's notice. Slowly, he turned his head.
From the shadows emerged a figure both beautiful and dangerous. She was tall and elegant, her flowing green gown swaying with her every move. Her long legs were clad in black stockings, which contrasted starkly with her pale, flawless skin. Her hair shimmered like strands of emerald, and her eyes glowed with a mischievous, almost cruel light.
Aron narrowed his eyes, a sharp smile curving his lips. "So, you've finally revealed yourself, Malrisoz," he said coolly, his voice laced with amusement. "Let's see what you have up your sleeves this time."
Malrisoz tilted her head, her smile stretching into something unsettling. She moved forward with slow, graceful steps, her presence suffocating the air around them. Just as Aron prepared to strike, he noticed something peculiar—the space around her seemed to waver, like a mirage. In the blink of an eye, she vanished.
Aron's eyes widened, instincts flaring—too late.
A sharp, withering pain tore through his right side, forcing a gasp from his lips. He was sent flying, the world spinning around him as he crashed violently onto the dry ground. Blood splattered from his mouth as he skidded across the earth. Through the haze of pain, he saw Malrisoz standing exactly where he had been moments before, her posture relaxed, her smile chilling.
'How?!' Aron's mind reeled as he struggled to rise. 'I'm stronger than I was in my previous turns… She shouldn't be able to overpower me this easily. What's happening in this Tower?!'
Before he could gather himself, she disappeared again.
A devastating impact struck his back, and he was flung forward once more. He rolled several times before digging his heels into the ground, forcing himself to stop. His muscles screamed in protest, but his gaze remained locked on Malrisoz.
She stood a short distance away, her eyes glittering with cruel delight. Her smile was a razor's edge.
Aron spat out a mouthful of blood and then—he laughed. A low, dark sound that sent a shiver down even Malrisoz's spine.
'Hahaha… why was I shocked just now? This thrill… this danger… I love it!' His thoughts burned like fire as a manic grin stretched across his face. 'More! I want to fight her more!'
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his head and settled into a stance. His hands stretched behind him, his muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike. The air around him seemed to thrum with anticipation as he summoned his Shen Blades, twin blades appearing in a flash of ethereal light.
Aron's breath came slow and steady, his violet eyes gleaming in the darkness. He flexed his fingers around the hilts of his Shen Blades, their dark, ethereal glow casting an eerie light on the cracked ground. The oppressive silence between him and Malrisoz stretched like a taut wire, ready to snap at any moment.
Then—snap—Malrisoz vanished.
Aron's pupils contracted. His body reacted before thought, twisting sideways as a green blur appeared at his flank. A razor-sharp clawed hand grazed past his ribs, slicing clean through his cloak. The wind from the strike stung his skin.
"Too slow," her silky voice hissed right beside his ear.
Aron dropped low and swept his leg in a wide arc. She leapt over the kick with almost lazy grace, her green gown fluttering like ghostly mist. Aron followed immediately with a backward slash from his left blade. Malrisoz tilted her head back just in time, the blade passing a hair's breadth from her throat.
The two circled each other in a dance of death.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their weapons collided, sparks bursting in the darkness. Aron's movements were precise, honed through countless battles. Malrisoz's strikes were fluid and hypnotic, her style unpredictable, as if every attack was a calculated illusion.
Aron narrowed his eyes. "You've gotten faster."
Malrisoz's lips curled in a mocking smirk. "Or perhaps you've gotten… slower."
Her body flickered again, vanishing like smoke. Aron crossed his blades over his chest just in time to block a descending strike from above. The impact drove him to his knees, the ground cracking beneath him. He snarled and shoved her back with brute force, rolling away as her claws slashed at where he had been a second ago.
She didn't give him a chance to breathe.
Malrisoz appeared behind him, her hand forming a vicious spear-hand aimed at his spine. Aron twisted his torso, parrying with a dagger while bringing his other blade upward in a deadly thrust.
Her eyes widened. She shifted her weight and spun backward, narrowly avoiding a killing blow.
For a brief instant, their eyes locked. Predator versus predator.
"You're holding back," Aron said flatly, his breathing sharp but steady.
"Am I?" Malrisoz's tone was teasing, but her glowing eyes flickered with something deeper. "Perhaps I just enjoy watching you struggle, little challenger."
Aron lunged without warning, his speed blurring. His twin daggers became arcs of silver light, each strike perfectly aimed to exploit an opening. Malrisoz met him head-on, her limbs moving with supernatural fluidity as she blocked and countered. Their silhouettes clashed again and again, too fast for the eye to follow.
Each collision sent shockwaves rippling across the barren battlefield. Dust swirled around them, kicked up by their movements.
Malrisoz let out a laugh, high and wild. "Yes! Show me more! Show me that reckless, desperate hunger!"
Aron's expression remained cold. Inwardly, though, his frustration was mounting. Damn it… I'm keeping up with her, but it's not enough. She's toying with me. If this drags on, she'll tear me apart piece by piece.
He leapt backward, landing in a crouch, his chest heaving. His mind raced through calculations.
There was only one option.
"System," Aron commanded, his voice calm but deadly serious. "Allocate all available stat points equally into Strength and Agility."
The translucent screen materialized before him with a faint chime.
[Updated Stats]
STR: 219 → 285 (+67)
AGL: 216 → 284 (+68)
VIT: 203
STM: 184
INT: 144
LCK: 94
Energy: 1000 (+1000 exclusive system access)
[Warning!]
Please be cautious. A sudden drastic increase can cause irreversible physical damage.
Almost immediately, Aron's body convulsed. His muscles swelled, his veins bulging as raw power surged through his system. His knees buckled and his teeth clenched against the pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His scream echoed across the empty wasteland as the transformation wracked his body.
The pain was beyond comprehension, as if his bones were grinding against each other, his joints ready to shatter. He fell to one knee, clutching his sides, his daggers trembling in his hands.
Malrisoz froze mid-step. Her mocking grin faltered. "…What… is he doing?"
The air around Aron distorted like a heat haze.
Finally, with one last guttural roar, he slammed a foot into the ground and forced himself upright. Dust exploded outward from the sheer force of his motion. His chest heaved, sweat streaming down his face, but his stance was solid.
"Huff… huff… damn," he muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "Really shouldn't… push my body this far, huh?"
When he raised his head, his violet eyes burned like twin infernos.
"Now," he said softly, his voice laced with lethal intent. "My turn."
He disappeared.
Malrisoz's pupils shrank to pinpricks. She whirled around instinctively, but there was nothing behind her, nothing to her sides. Where—?!
A whisper of movement behind her.
She ducked just in time, but a gale-force fist tore past her head, the sheer wind pressure stinging her cheek. She spun, claws out, only to find Aron gone again.
"Too slow," his voice murmured from nowhere.
Pain exploded across her ribs as a crushing kick slammed into her side. Malrisoz screamed, the force hurling her through the air like a ragdoll. She hit the ground with bone-jarring force, rolling several times before crashing to a halt.
"Cough! Kugh! Ack—!" Blood poured from her lips, staining the earth.
She staggered upright, trembling. Her gown was shredded, her breath ragged. She barely had a moment to glance up before realizing—
He was already beside her.
"Boo," Aron whispered with a demonic grin, keeping pace with her effortlessly as they ran side by side.
Malrisoz's heart pounded wildly. Fear surged within her—a rare and unwelcome sensation.
"How… how are you this fast?" she gasped.
Aron tilted his head, almost mockingly. "Simple. I stopped playing nice."
His fist shot forward, but Malrisoz twisted away at the last possible second. She leapt back, creating distance between them, her mind racing. I can't keep this up. He's completely overtaken me in speed and strength…
Her breathing slowed, her expression turning cold and calculating. "Fine then," she hissed. "If brute force won't win… I'll crush you another way."
Aron's smirk faded into suspicion. "What are you planning now?"
Malrisoz raised her slender arms, chanting in a language older than the Tower itself. Her voice was sharp, commanding, echoing through the battlefield.
"MACRIOS METTELOS!"
(NOTE:This is not a Glitch like Aron uses, it's a Spell...Spells will come in the future chapters)
The world screamed.
Everything went still—unnaturally still. Even Aron's breath felt heavy, as if the air itself had turned to lead. His heartbeat roared in his ears.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The battlefield melted into darkness, reality itself unraveling. Aron staggered, clutching his head as his vision blurred and twisted. The last thing he saw before the void consumed him was Malrisoz's haunting, triumphant smile.
Then—nothing.
_ _ _
To be continued....