Lines of glowing paint traced ancient sigils across the arena floor, blooming outward in burning gold and iron red. Spectral figures, echoes of those who had once fought and died in this place, flickered into existence along the edge of the dueling ring.
This is no real spirit, they were a projection created to honor those fighting in the arena.
Ben, already disguised as Tzarek once more, stepped forward and held up the offering bone, blackened, polished smooth, and engraved with the seal of challenge. He let it fall with a sharp crack into the shallow brazier at the center, where blue fire leapt up and swallowed it whole.
The referee, clad in a crimson robe with silver threads woven into the cuffs, raised both arms.
"By the rites of Nephirid, the offering has been received," she declared, voice amplified by subtle magic. "On this day, before the bound spirits and the eyes of the Primordial flame, let trial be made through strength and guile."
She turned, gesturing toward Ben.
"Tzarek of the Hollow Vaults, challenger. Do you accept the terms?"
Ben gave a sharp nod, his voice now deeper, colder, the perfect imitation of Tzarek. "I do."
She turned to the other side, where his opponent was already cracking his knuckles and smirking with casual arrogance.
"Kharvek the Crimson Brand., defender. Do you accept the terms?"
Kharvek slammed one foot into the stone, making it ring. "Gladly. Let's see what this rat can do."
The referee lowered her hands slowly. Magic thickened in the air, drawn from the carved runes underfoot and the willing attention of the spirits watching.
A thunderclap rang out as the arena's barriers flared to life, walls of fire locking in the two fighters.
Ben, Tzarek, moved first. His body coiled low like a predator, twin daggers already drawn.
Kharvek didn't flinch. He stood his ground, thick arms crossed, red tattoos crawling with ember light as the Molten Seal on his spine pulsed once. "Fast," he rumbled, lips curling, "but not fast enough."
Ben darted in with a spiral step, feinting low before slashing high. His dagger slashed across the air, catching Kharvek's shoulder, except it didn't.
The blade rang out like it had struck a bell. Kharvek's skin shimmered with a flash of metallic red. The moment of contact had triggered the relic Molten Seal, forcing molten bone to rise beneath the flesh.
Ben spun backward just in time to avoid a hammer, like fist that cratered the stone where he'd just stood.
Kharvek laughed, his tone mocking. "What's wrong, Doon't they say you're strong!? Undefeated Champion!"
Ben didn't answer. Words were for the weak. Instead, he vanished. Reappeared behind Kharvek mid-air, daggers angled to stab into the nape of the neck.
But again, the molten armor flared.
The twin blades scraped off just barely, forcing Ben to twist in mid-air, planting a foot on Kharvek's back and using the momentum to leap backward across the arena.
The crowd roared at the exchange, some jeering, others chanting "Kharvek! Kharvek!"
The earth beneath Kharvek shuddered as he stomped once.
The arena floor responded. A ripple of red-hot cracks spread outward, and jagged obsidian pillars erupted from the ground, surrounding Kharvek like a crown. Lava bled from the tips, forming liquid blades.
Ben landed on one of the obsidian spikes, balancing with eerie grace. 'If only I can use my pickaxe…'
He couldn't win a head-on clash. He flicked his wrist, a faint click. One of the daggers split into three pieces, thin, curved throwing knives, each coated with venom designed to interrupt mana flow.
Ben threw all three at once. One curved low, one mid, one high. Kharvek raised an arm to block, molten bone forming a shield.
The resonance of the venom shattered the bone, causing a momentary backlash, Kharvek grunted as his muscles spasmed, his armor faltering for less than a breath.
Ttwin blades flashed. In that heartbeat of vulnerability, Ben closed the distance low stance, no wasted motion.
One dagger carved across Kharvek's ribs, slicing beneath the molten armor before it could re-solidify. Blood spurted in a dark, arterial arc. The crowd gasped as the first crimson splash hit the stone.
Kharvek's face twisted, not in pain, but in rage. "YOU DARE!" he roared, stamping the ground.
A pulse of mana burst from the Molten Seal. The disrupted armor reformed instantly, snapping together like a living shell of volcanic glass. Kharvek swung wide, a backfist infused with brute force and burning essence.
Ben ducked, rolled under the blow, and came up slashing.
Sparks exploded as the daggers scraped once more across re-hardened bone. 'He adapts fast,' Ben thought, retreating two steps. 'One hit won't open him again. I'll have to layer them.'
Ben didn't back away. Instead, he leapt forward, spinning midair as he threw another trio of venom-tipped knives.
They struck the same exposed area again. The weakened plate buckled. The venom did its work. Again, the armor flared, twitching, spasming, just as Ben landed behind him.
This time, he didn't waste a breath. He twisted, reversed his grip, and drove the dagger down into Kharvek's back.
Kharvek bellowed, his arms swinging wildly. One fist grazed Ben's side, sending him skidding back, but it was worth it. Blood now poured from the wound, sizzling as it dripped across molten flesh.
The crowd fell silent for half a beat, then erupted. Ben didn't stop. He moved in again, feinting left, ducking under a obsidian spike Kharvek summoned as defense, and threw another arc of blades, targeting the same fracture point.
Kharvek tried to reinforce the spot, but the mana surged too fast, too frequently. The relic couldn't keep up.
His eyes widened. "You, !"
Another clean cut. Another pulse of blood. Ben twisted the dagger in his hand and kicked off the pillar once more.
The crowd erupted in cheeer. "Tzarek... Tzarek... Tzarek."
Ben exhaled. His next step was already forming in his mind. It would only take a few more exchanges.
But unfortunately Kharvek is not staying down…
He roared, his aura exploding outward like a volcanic eruption. Lava cracked through the arena floor, swirling up his arms and legs as if the earth itself answered his fury.
His veins glowed red-hot beneath his skin. The Molten Seal blazed brighter than ever.