Chaos erupted.
The moment the Fire Titan roared, the battlefield was swallowed by elemental fury. The chamber became a living nightmare, where every step was a risk, every choice a gamble, and every mistake—
Deadly.
The candidates scattered, forced apart by the ever-shifting terrain. The trial wasn''t just a fight.
It was a culling.
And the chamber had already decided that Not all of them would leave.
---
"Tch—! You think fire scares me?!"
Aiden lunged, his hands wreathed in flames as he clashed against the colossal, molten beast.
The Fire Titan''s body shifted, its molten veins pulsing brighter—
BOOM!
An explosion of superheated air sent shockwaves through the battlefield, but Aiden didn''t retreat.
He charged through.
With a feral grin, he launched himself into the air, flames spiraling around his fists.
"Burn hotter!" he roared.
His fist met the Titan''s chest—
Searing impact! The molten body cracked, a shockwave rippling through the air. But then—
CRACK!
The Titan''s chest split open—only to reform instantly.
Aiden''s eyes widened.
"…Oh, shit."
WHOOSH!
A gout of flame surged toward him, a tidal wave of fire, swallowing him whole.
---
RUMBLE!
The Earth Titan moved like a continent, every step sending out massive shockwaves that shattered the ground beneath it.
Franklin planted his feet, fists clenched, trying to steady himself. "It''s too damn big!"
"Then break it apart!" Elyria shouted, leaping onto a floating boulder as the terrain shifted violently.
She twisted midair, extending her arms—
A blast of force—!
The floating rock she stood on rocketed forward, slamming into the Titan''s face like a meteor.
CRACK!
A chunk of the Earth Titan''s head shattered—but then, with a deep, echoing growl, it reformed instantly.
Elyria''s stomach sank.
"No…"
The Earth Titan raised its massive arm—
And then—
"AHHHH!"
A scream.
Not hers.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Her head snapped to the left.
She saw one of the candidates fall.
---
Joe had been too slow.
One second, he was running—jumping from crumbling platforms, weaving through the chaos. The next—
A shadow loomed.
He barely had time to turn.
The Earth Titan''s foot came down.
CRACK.
A burst of dust and debris.
A moment of silence.
Then—only a smear of blood on the shattered ground.
Elyria''s breath caught in her throat.
Franklin clenched his fists.
One down.
---
On the opposite end of the battlefield, Ivar stood firm.
The Ice Titan loomed before him, a frozen colossus that made the air itself shiver.
Unlike the others, Ivar wasn''t shivering.
This battlefield? This was his domain.
"Cold? You call this cold?" he muttered, rolling his shoulders. His breath came out in misty wisps, his fingers twitching as blue-white energy flickered along his arms.
The Ice Titan''s eyes glowed.
A blizzard erupted around them.
Frost crept across the ground, seeking to freeze everything solid—but the moment it touched Ivar, it stopped.
No.
It obeyed.
Ivar exhaled slowly.
His fingers clenched—and the blizzard obeyed.
The winds reversed.
The frozen mist coiled around him, swirling in his wake. The Ice Titan twitched, sensing something… unnatural.
Ivar''s lips curled into a slow, confident smirk.
"Let''s see who controls winter better, huh?"
The Titan moved—a massive frozen claw swung down to crush him.
But before it could land—
CRACK!
A spike of ice erupted from the ground—slamming straight through the Titan''s arm!
The beast staggered, its frozen body groaning in protest.
For the first time since the trial started—
A Titan had been wounded.
Ivar''s smirk grew wider.
"My turn."
---
Lann had been cocky.
He thought he could dodge.
He thought he was fast enough.
The Lightning Titan descended from the storm, its form shifting—unstable—a blur of raw power.
Lann grinned, flickering side to side, evading the first few strikes.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning missed him—barely—scorching the ground behind him.
"HA! Too slow!"
CRACK!
The next one didn''t miss.
Direct hit.
Lann''s body seized up mid-step—
Then detonated into light.
A flash. A scream. Gone.
No body left behind.
Just the faint, lingering smell of burnt flesh.
Two down.
---
Zoren gritted his teeth.
This wasn''t just a test.
This was a slaughterhouse.
The Titans weren''t playing fair. The battlefield itself wasn''t fair.
Every piece of logic told him—turn back. Run. There''s no way to win.
But then—
Elizabeth spoke.
"We don''t stop."
Her voice was sharp. Unshaken.
She met each of their gazes—Aiden, Ivar, Franklin, Elyria, Zoren.
They were eight now.
And if they hesitated—if they wavered for even a second—
They wouldn''t make it out at all.
Zoren exhaled, gripping his fists.
No more hesitation.
They had to fight.
And they had to win.
---
The battlefield was a war zone.
The Fire Titan''s inferno raged.
The Earth Titan''s steps shattered the chamber.
The Ice Titan''s frost threatened to consume all.
The Lightning Titan flickered through the chaos like a vengeful god.
The candidates were down to eight.
And the Titans weren''t slowing down.
---
Aiden roared, his body wreathed in flame, muscles tense as he blasted forward.
The Fire Titan slammed a molten fist down—BOOM!—the force sending torrents of magma flying.
Aiden barely dodged, his arms scorched as he twisted midair, his breath coming out in ragged pants.
His flames weren''t working.
The Titan absorbed them, burning hotter each time.
"Tch—pissing me off!" he spat, gripping his side where burns were already forming.
Then—he saw Elizabeth.
She wasn''t even breathing heavily.
Her movements were precise. Effortless. She dodged a firestorm without breaking a sweat, her attacks landing with pinpoint accuracy.
More clarity.
That was her reward.
Aiden gritted his teeth. "So that''s how it is?"
His flames flickered, shifting. He forced himself to focus. To push past the heat, past the pain—
His mind sharpened.
His flames… changed.
Instead of wild bursts—controlled streams. Instead of brute force—precision.
"Alright, big guy..." Aiden grinned, rolling his shoulders.
The Fire Titan''s molten eyes flared.
Aiden''s flames spiked higher.
"Let''s dance!"
---
Zoren moved like a phantom, dodging past falling boulders and lightning strikes, his body twisting unnaturally.
His mind raced.
The Lightning Titan was too fast.
The Earth Titan was too sturdy.
The Fire Titan was too resilient.
The Ice Titan… was fighting Ivar.
That gave him one option.
Zoren''s eyes narrowed as he darted toward Franklin and Elyria.
They were locked in combat against the Earth Titan, barely holding their ground. Franklin''s knuckles were bruised and bloodied, his stance staggered. Elyria''s breath came out in harsh gasps, her movements slowing.
They weren''t going to last.
Zoren landed beside them in a crouch, his shadow coiling.
"Franklin. Elyria. Switch tactics."
Franklin glanced at him. "What?"
Zoren''s eyes gleamed.
"We don''t break it, let''s bury it."
Elyria''s breath caught.
Then—her lips curled into a grin.
Franklin wiped blood from his mouth. "Heh. I like the way you think."
They moved.
Zoren''s shadow extended, Elyria''s telekinetic force shifted the battlefield, Franklin''s lava-infused fists turned the terrain itself into a molten trap.
The Earth Titan stumbled.
It wasn''t falling apart—
But it was sinking.
Franklin slammed a lava-coated fist into the ground—BOOM!—and the earth beneath the Titan melted, swallowing it like quicksand.
One Titan… was buried alive in molten rock.
---
The Ice Titan swung.
Ivar didn''t dodge.
He stepped forward.
The Titan''s massive frozen arm came crashing down—BOOM!—but the moment it touched him—
It froze solid.
The Titan twitched.
"Your ice is slow." Ivar exhaled.
The Titan''s entire arm shattered.
A blizzard erupted around them, but unlike before—Ivar controlled it.
His fingers twitched—spikes of ice erupted from the floor.
The Titan staggered, frost creeping up its body.
Ivar stepped forward, his breath even.
"You don''t own the cold. I do."
He clenched his fist—
And the Ice Titan froze solid.
Then—
CRACK.
It shattered into a thousand frozen shards.
---
The Lightning Titan struck down.
Elizabeth moved.
Her body flickered—shadows rippling like liquid flame.
The Titan''s attack hit empty air.
Then, she reappeared—directly behind it.
The storm raged, the Titan flickering in and out of existence.
But Elizabeth saw through it.
With perfect clarity.
Her Veilborn Core—Shadowflame—roared to life.
A black and violet blaze ignited around her, tendrils of living darkness licking at her limbs.
The Titan turned, its electric eyes flashing—but it was too late.
Elizabeth raised her hand.
And the shadowfire surged.
"Vailborn Art – Abyssal Pyre."
A pillar of black flame erupted, swallowing the Lightning Titan whole.
Its form twisted, lightning crackling wildly as it fought back—but the flames devoured everything.
The Titan''s body convulsed, its energy draining, flickering—
Until—
Nothing remained but embers.
Elizabeth exhaled.
Her shadowflame flickered.
Then—vanished.
She turned to the others.
Only eight remained.
The Titans had fallen.
But this trial wasn''t over yet.
---
The Final Clash Approaches…
---
To be continued