The ruins of Avernus groaned as if the city itself remembered what was coming.
Rhys stood at the broken stairway, Verdant Scholar across his knees, his beasts flanking him. The trial's condition whispered in his mind like a curse:
Survive until dawn.
The horizon answered with the first sound—low, guttural howls rolling across the dead streets like thunder. Shadows swelled. The first wave emerged.
Wave One – The Gnashers
They came crawling—skinless, doglike shapes with gaping mouths that split their heads in half. Dozens of them, claws screeching across stone, saliva sizzling where it fell.
Rhys rose to his feet. "Dogs first, then."
The first leapt—Verdant Scholar flashed, carving it in two before it touched the ground. Bounce barreled forward like a silver avalanche, his claws rending three at once, his roar sending shockwaves down the ruined streets. Puddle raised a hand, and a ring of water spikes shot outward, impaling the backline.
