The primordial beast of ash

Chapter 10

You expect me to march into that pit and pretend I am not already walking among ghosts?

The high iron gates of the trial arena groaned as they swung open, exposing the dark stone corridor that led out to the registration point. Ethan Vance stood in the shadows, his knuckles raw and bruised beneath the dirt on his hands. Behind him, the heavy footsteps of his former classmates echoed off the cold stone walls.

Look at the disgraced noble trying to act brave, a harsh, familiar voice taunted from the archway.

Ethan did not turn around immediately. He closed his eyes, taking a single deep breath to steady the cold fury rising in his chest. He knew that voice better than his own. It belonged to Asher Crest, the golden boy of the upper district, standing alongside two elite academy guards.

I told you to stay in the slums, Ethan, Asher said, stepping closer until his shadow completely swallowed Ethan’s frame. You were supposed to rot down there like the rest of your pathetic family line.

My family line built half the foundation you are standing on, Ethan replied, his voice chillingly quiet as he turned to face him. You took our name. You took our land. But you will not take this match.

Asher let out a bitter, mocking laugh, resting a heavy hand on the hilt of his golden ceremonial blade. You think you have a choice? Look at yourself! You are wearing rags, Ethan! You do not even have enough coin to buy a low-grade recovery pill! What do you have left? That dying lizard hiding under your shirt?

He is worth ten of you, Ethan spat, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides.

Is that right? Asher sneered, leaning in so close Ethan could smell the expensive wine on his breath. Let us see if the scanning crystal agrees. If your core is as broken as your spirit, the council will turn you away before you even take a single step onto the dirt.

Move out of my way, Asher, Ethan said, his voice dropping an octave as his eyes narrowed into dark slits.

Or what? Asher challenged, stepping directly into his path. You going to strike me? Go ahead! Hit me! Give the overseers an excuse to string you up from the high spires before the morning sun hits the arena floor!

Ethan stood frozen, his jaw working as he choked back the instinct to slam his fist directly into Asher’s teeth. The silence between them stretched thin, heavy with years of buried hatred and stolen dignity.

He is not worth it, Ethan, a soft, urgent voice called out from the far end of the corridor.

Sophia Mercer walked quickly through the shadows, her fine silk robes sweeping over the dusty stone floor. Her face was tense, her eyes wide with unhidden panic as she grabbed Ethan’s leather sleeve, pulling him back two steps.

Sophia? Asher laughed, raising an eyebrow with dark amusement. Since when does the Mercer Guild collect stray dogs from the lower district gutter?

Shut your mouth, Asher, Sophia snapped, her voice trembling with genuine rage as she stepped between them. The Mercer Guild trades with whoever we choose. Ethan passed the preliminary trials. He has every legal right to stand at the gate.

A legal right? Asher mocked, pointing a finger at Ethan’s chest. He is a branded outcast! He carries a defective beast! The council only let him sign up so the crowd would have a joke to laugh at during the opening ceremony!

Let us go, Ethan, Sophia whispered frantically, her small fingers digging hard into his arm, trying to force him toward the scanning archway. Do not listen to him! The registration crystal is about to lock!

Ethan took a step forward, his eyes never leaving Asher’s smiling face. You think this is a joke, Asher? Keep laughing. Because when I get through those gates, I am coming directly for your rank.

I will be waiting on the main stage, outcast, Asher whispered, his smile fading into a cold, lethal glare. Try not to die in the first round.

Ethan pulled his arm free from Sophia’s grip and walked toward the high stone registration archway. In the center of the arch hung a massive, jagged crimson crystal that glowed with a faint, steady blue light. It was the energy scanner, designed to measure the soul rank of every tamer who passed beneath it.

Just place your hand on the stone base, the old gatekeeper muttered, not even bothering to look up from his heavy leather ledger. Quick now. We have fifty more tamers behind you.

Ethan hesitated for a split second. Deep in his chest, right against his ribs, Solis let out a sudden, frantic pulse of pure, raw heat.

Not now, Solis, Ethan muttered under his breath, pressing his left palm flat against his chest to suppress the surge. Hold it in.

He reached out his right hand and touched the cold, metallic surface of the scanner base.

For a moment, nothing happened. The blue light inside the crystal flickered quietly.

See? Asher called out from behind, leaning against the stone wall with his arms crossed. The crystal cannot even read him. The boy does not have enough mana to light a candle!

Then, the air inside the archway turned ice cold.

A sharp, high-pitched screech echoed off the stone walls as the deep blue light inside the crystal violently turned pitch black. Tiny, jagged cracks instantly spread across the surface of the massive gem.

What is happening to the array? the gatekeeper gasped, stumbling backward out of his chair as the heavy iron desk shook.

The black light inside the crystal exploded into a harsh, strobe-like crimson glare. High above the archway, the secondary alarm bells began to toll with a deafening, metallic gong that echoed across the entire stadium district.

System Warning, a mechanical, cold voice resonated directly inside Ethan’s brain, completely drowning out the loud alarm bells. Foreign energy signature detected. Primordial Seal reacting to external scan.

Ethan! Sophia screamed over the noise, her hands flying to her ears as the air pressure around the archway plummeted. What is that? What is your beast doing?

Ethan pulled his hand back from the stone, but a thick, dark purple arc of energy snapped from the broken crystal, binding itself tightly around his wrist like a jagged iron wire.

He is cheating! Asher shouted, his face instantly losing all its color as he drew his blade halfway from its sheath. Guards! Secure him! He is carrying a corrupted core!

Shut up! Ethan roared, his eyes flashing with a sudden, dark golden light as he slammed his foot onto the stone floor, trying to break the energy leash pulling at his soul.

The three academy guards surged forward, their heavy iron spears raised, but before they could reach the archway, the protective barrier runes surrounding the gate began to shatter one by one with loud, wet cracks.

Step back! the gatekeeper shrieked, crawling backward on his hands and knees. The core is going to detonate!

Ethan’s breathing turned ragged as white-hot pain shot up his arm, burning through his soul channels like liquid fire. The second seal deep inside Solis’s body was roaring against the scanner's intrusion, leaking a volatile pulse of raw chaos directly into the arena's main power grid.

Solis, stop! Ethan choked out, his vision swimming with dark crimson spots as he fell to one knee, his left hand clutching his chest. They will kill us! Stop it right now!

The black veins along his neck bulged, glowing with a bright, unstable gold that threatened to tear his skin apart from the inside out.

Look at his neck! Asher yelled, pointing a trembling finger as he backed away toward the outer courtyard. That is not normal mana! He is a heretic! Call the high elders!

Sophia ignored the guards and sprinted directly into the chaotic energy zone, grabbing Ethan by his shoulders with all her strength. Ethan, look at me! she cried, her eyes filling with tears as the raw wind pressure cut small scrapes into her cheeks. You have to break the bond! It is going to destroy your heart!

I cannot... break it! Ethan gritted out through his bloody teeth, his fingers digging into the stone floor so hard his fingernails snapped off. We die together... or we rise together!

With a final, desperate roar, Ethan pulled his right arm back with everything he had left in his body.

The heavy scanner crystal above them shattered into ten thousand sparkling, useless shards, raining down onto the stone floor like black glass. The flashing red lights vanished instantly, leaving the narrow corridor in a suffocating, dead silence broken only by the heavy panting of the guards.

Ethan lay on his hands and knees, thick drops of crimson blood dripping from his nose onto the dusty floor.

The gatekeeper slowly stood up, his face as white as a sheet, looking down at the shattered remains of the thousand-year-old scanner stone.

The alarm... it stopped, one of the guards whispered, his spear shaking in his hands as he looked at Ethan.

In the quiet dust, a sharp digital chime echoed inside Ethan's head, bringing a glowing, bloody red text panel right before his eyes.

System Alert, the voice whispered in his mind. Scanner destroyed. Primordial energy contained at ninety percent capacity. Second Seal Fracture accelerated. Time remaining until soul collapse: 50 minutes. Your first match begins now.