Kaedros tumbled through the air like a ragdoll, slamming into the ground with a dull crack that split the stone beneath his skull. He groaned, muscles seizing with agony, ribs pulsing with a raw, red pain.
"Did I just crack my head open...?" he rasped, tasting blood on his tongue. His fingers came away wet when he touched his scalp.
A deep, reverberating voice like metal echoing down a pipe burst out in glee. "Oh! You’re good! I thought I crushed your ribs, but you blocked most of it somehow! I’ve not seen wizards cast as fast as you!"
"Mage..." Kaedros mumbled, staggering to his feet. His vision spun like a storm and he had to squeeze his eyes shut until the world settled again. "That word, wizard it’s old. I read it in a forgotten book."
"Kael!" Taria reached his side, fussing over him, hands moving over his arms and sides in search of wounds. His body was already healing, Dragon regeneration quietly working under the guise of human magic.
"You alright?" she asked, concern tightening her voice.
Rauk, however, wasn’t looking at Kaedros. His pale eyes were fixed on what stood ahead of them.
The Keeper had changed.
He now towered above them, twice the height of a grown man. His eyes burned red-hot, and his back, up to the crown of his head, was lined with jagged, iron-black spikes.
"’Long ago?’ I don’t know anything about that. Where I’m from, Magea like you are just called wizards." The Keeper took a slow step forward, molten light flaring inside his chest. He pointed a clawed finger at him.
"Why don’t you use your full power? You’ve hidden it under a shell. An illusion. You’ve shackled yourself, and left only a fraction behind."
He laughed again. "Not that it would’ve helped."
Kaedros now understood they were never truly in danger. This had all been a game for the Keeper. A test. If the statue had fought seriously, they’d already be dead, no question about that. It kept adjusting it’s strength to match their own each time they clashed.
He smiled through the blood. "We’ll see about that."
"Oh? Don’t disappoint me then!"
Behind him, Taria clenched her jaw.
It had happened again.
She had watched while Kael took the blows. She stood powerless while others moved forward.
But... he had been right. She had never really used her spear technique as she should.
She stepped forward, leaving Kaedros, and activated her technique again. But this time, she didn’t stop at just using it.
The technique didn’t just activate, it sang in her blood. A silent thunder that roared through her bones like a coiled dragon waking from sleep. Energy surged into her limbs and her stance naturally shifted, her grip tightening as instinct pulled her body into alignment.
Her body flared with strength, her senses sharpening into clarity.
The Keeper darted forward, launching a brutal punch, but she was faster now. Her spear moved to meet his blow, redirecting the force at the last moment.
Her hands shook from the impact but she held, feet skidding back.
"Oh?" The Keeper tilted his head, red fire flickering. "You’ve changed. You’re using a technique now." He moved with sudden grace, circling her. "Let’s test it out, shall we?"
Each thrust met her spear, a blur of strikes and parries that sparked like lightning clashing against steel. The clash of blow and counter became its own rhythm, until even Kaedros paused to watch.
At first glance, it looked like Taria was holding her own.
But Kaedros could see it, the Keeper’s punches were getting heavier with each strike.
She was barely keeping up.
Each impact was turning her hands numb. Her grip weakened slightly with every strike blocked.
But then, she changed her tempo.
With a sharp pivot, she diverted a punch down and struck upward, her spear shooting toward the Keeper’s burning eye socket.
He jumped back at the last moment.
"You have potential, girl," he said, eyes locked on her now.
Taria said nothing. She was panting, arms aching, chest burning. Her palms throbbed with pain from the countless redirections and blocks.
But her mindz her mind was alive.
Her Seraphic Warden spear mana cultivation was showing her something, a way forward. A technique she hadn’t yet learned, but had just glimpsed of. Just as Kaedros said.
The Keeper edged closer.
She would need everything she had to try.
Taria closed her eyes. She dropped her spear slightly, relaxed her stance. Her body went slack.
"Oh?" The Keeper sounded almost amused. "Giving up already? I’m just starting."
Kaedros frowned. What was she doing? She’d get killed if she dropped her guard!
He was about to act, mana already forming, but something made him pause.
Taria wouldn’t risk her life recklessly.
She had survived worse. She had crawled out of the slums alive. She was a fighter.
The moment the Keeper was within range, her muscles tensed and her spear snapped forward like a lightning strike.
He lifted a hand to block, and even then, the glowing spear pierced through his metal hide by an inch. The tip shimmered faintly with a golden light.
Taria stared in disbelief.
It was weak, didn’t injure the Keeper in any meaningful way, but her mind opened. She saw the technique. She saw how much more there was.
Kaedros smiled faintly. She was finally growing.
"Oh... I’ve not seen that technique before," the Keeper mused. "Relaxed body, concentrated strength... impressive."
He raised his arm and brought it down in a single, clean strike.
Taria’s spear snapped in half.
She folded to the ground without a sound.
"Still too weak. Like you."
"Taria!" Kaedros surged forward. He scanned her with his awareness and he found....nothing!
Then, a second scan and he felt a faint breath.
"You..." Kaedros whispered, eyes darkening.
"You didn’t have to be so hard on her."
"Hard? This is playing!" The Keeper raised both arms. "You’ll know true hard once you enter... if you enter."
His red eyes shifted to Rauk.
"Let’s see what you can do."
Rauk backed up a step, face pale. "What?"
His eyes turned grey again.