The Obelisk loomed above them like a giant's monument, half-buried in the valley floor. Its surface was black stone veined with glowing crimson, pulsing like a heartbeat. Even Kaelin, who rarely showed hesitation, kept her distance. Lyra's amber eyes narrowed, her aura bristling like a flame under pressure.
"This Obelisk is different," she murmured. "Older. Hungrier. It doesn't just test you… it reshapes you."
Ryan felt the shard in his chest burn hotter with every step closer. Sweat rolled down his temples despite the cool night air. He already knew — this was for him.
Lyra placed a hand on his arm. "If you step inside, Ryan, it will strip you bare. Body. Soul. It will burn away everything weak."
Kaelin's silver hair caught the light as she nodded grimly. "And if you endure, it will give you something no one can take."
Ryan tightened his fists. He remembered the weight of Elara's small hand in his, the way she'd whispered "Don't leave me." He remembered the lives they'd saved, the shadows they'd fought. He had no choice but to step forward.
The shard pulsed once — and the Obelisk swallowed him.
---
The Trial
Ryan fell into darkness. Then fire bloomed. He stood in a vast forge with no walls, only a sky of molten light and rivers of liquid flame. Shadows of beasts circled him — wolves, serpents, men with hollow eyes — every failure he had faced embodied.
A voice thundered, echoing through the fire.
"What do you fight with, Ryan James Osburn? Your hands? Your heart? Your fear?"
Ryan raised his fists. "I fight with all of it."
The flames roared, and two forms rose before him:
A gauntlet of molten steel, glowing with shardfire veins.
A blade of searing light, its edge humming with energy.
The voice growled: "Choose."
Ryan's chest burned. His hands trembled. Choose one? No. That wasn't who he was. He wasn't just a fighter or just a survivor. He was both.
"I don't choose!" Ryan shouted, voice raw. "I forge both! My hands will protect, my blade will strike. I'll fight with everything I am — and everything I must become!"
The forge cracked, molten fire spilling upward into the sky. The two weapons rose, spinning, before slamming into him. Pain like lightning shot through his veins. He screamed — but beneath it was strength, burning, reshaping.
When the fire cleared, Ryan stood armored in glowing Shardforged Gauntlets, the Shardfire Sword blazing in his right hand. His aura burned brighter than ever before, a mix of flame and steel, raw and unstoppable.
---
Awakening
When he staggered out of the Obelisk, Kaelin and Lyra were waiting. Both froze.
Kaelin's eyes widened, her voice barely a whisper. "That power… it's more than mine."
Lyra's breath caught, but there was pride in her gaze. "He surpassed the trial. The Obelisk forged him anew."
Elara darted forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Daddy, you're glowing!"
Ryan laughed, breathless, lifting her into his arms. The weapons pulsed at his side, alive. For the first time since coming to this world, he didn't feel like he was surviving. He felt like he was becoming.
And the world… had just gained a warrior it wasn't ready for.