Chapter 15: Phase One :The Obstacle Gauntlet
Ashura stood at the edge of a massive stone corridor lined with brass pipes and jagged walls. The entrance loomed before him like the maw of a waiting beast. The air smelled of metal, sweat, and something acrid beneath smoke, perhaps. Torches lit the pathway in uneven flickers, casting long shadows along the cracked floor.
A series of sharp horn blasts silenced the chatter. The massive iron gate on the far end of the chamber rumbled open, and five figures stepped through, clad in dark crimson robes with silver insignias of a wolf coiled around a swordthe emblem of the Ironblood Tournament Committee.
An instructor with a scroll and sand timer stepped up to the front of the group.
"This is the Phase One Evaluation," he barked. "You will run the gauntlet alone. There are traps. Moving platforms. High jumps. Pressure gates. Hidden switches. If you get injured, yell. If you get stuck, too bad. This is a test of more than just speed it's about adaptability."
"You will be sent in groups of ten. Your task is simple: survive the obstacle gauntlet and reach the other side within the time limit. Fifteen minutes. There will be traps. Some are deadly. There are also beasts modified creatures that won't kill you, but they will hurt you."
He looked down at the scroll. "First ten step forward."
"Ashura of Nova," a robed woman called. "Renji of the Bronze District." Eight more were also called ."Group Eight, to the gate."
"You ready?" Renji whispered.
Ashura didn't reply at first. Then, "You?"
Renji managed a nervous smile. "I think so."
He stepped out from the group as several other competitors gave him side glances some amused by the small boy with the cloth-wrapped pole on his back, others curious. Ashura ignored them all. His eyes were locked on the dark hallway ahead.
They stepped into the passage as the heavy stone gate lowered behind them. The narrow corridor was silent, lit by torches spaced every few meters. Their group was filled with kids of various backgrounds.
"You will begin when the bell rings," said the instructor. "No using weapons. No assistance. Time begins the moment you pass the arch."
Ashura lowered his body slightly, grounding himself like a predator preparing to lunge.
"Speed isn't about how fast you move. It's how little you waste."
Valerie's lesson echoed in his thoughts again, firm and cold.
DONG!
The bell rang.
Ashura moved.
His feet hit the stone with light taps, each step measured. The corridor opened wide, and immediately, a narrow beam spun out from the wall he ducked beneath it, sliding without pause.
Blades shot from the walls. Others screamed. Ashura moved low, sliding beneath a swinging pendulum, his cloak snapping behind him. Ahead, a narrow bridge extended across a spiked pit, swaying with each gust of wind.
Ahead, rotating platforms spun over a pit of jagged spikes. He didn't slow. Instead, Ashura leapt with sharp calculation, catching the rhythm of the spin midair and landing with perfect balance. The next jump was tighter he used his left foot to bounce off the corner wall, flipping once before landing in a crouch on the final platform.
A girl behind Ashura tried to leap the last part missed and fell screaming into a net of vines that whipped her unconscious before dropping her through a side chute.
Ashura didn't look back.
He pressed forward.
The next section was a corridor lined with swinging axes ancient, rusted, and lethal. Each swung in erratic patterns, clearly meant to disorient. Ashura crouched again, eyes darting to the ceiling and the mechanisms controlling the rhythm.
Ashura's boots hit the bridge. It shuddered. He focused his Cosmic Aura into his soles, sticking for just a moment with each step. He made it across.
'There's always a pattern', he thought. "Even chaos has rhythm."
He moved in bursts stop, dash, duck, roll never rushing, never hesitating.
A blade caught the edge of his cloak, tearing a strip of fabric away.
Ashura didn't flinch. He discarded the torn piece and kept moving.
He landed in the final section an ascending climb of jagged, uneven steps leading to a high ledge. The stone was slick with moss, and the air grew cooler as he neared the end.
Gripping the edges with bare fingers, he launched himself upward, using both legs and core to power the jump. He climbed like a wild creature unrefined, but efficient. With a final push, he rolled onto the top ledge and stood.
A loud clang marked his exit.
An instructor with a stopwatch gave him a brief look, impressed but unreadable.
"Seventh fastest so far," the instructor noted, marking a scroll. "Proceed through the east gate. Wait for Phase Two."
Ashura bowed his head slightly and moved wordlessly through the gate.
He found himself in a shaded antechamber, where several others who'd passed were already waiting. Some were catching their breath. Others were comparing bruises or bandaging shallow wounds.
Renji was among them, sitting against a wall with a trickle of sweat running down his cheek.
He looked up and blinked. "You too, huh?"
Ashura nodded once and leaned against the far wall.
Renji chuckled. "I nearly fell into one of those spike pits. One of the platforms spun too fast. I thought it was over but I made it. Just barely."
Ashura didn't speak, but there was the faintest flicker of approval in his eyes.
One by one, the others trickled in or didn't.
By the end of the round, over half of the original group was missing.
Some didn't make it.
Some turned back.
The instructors soon returned.
"Congratulations," Dreyla said, her voice echoing through the stone room. "If you're still here, you passed Phase One. But do not rest yet Phase Two will test something far more brutal."
She turned her back and pointed to the wide, ringed arena beyond the arch.
"Combat begins in one hour."
To be Continued