The arena materialized around them without transition.
One moment they stood in the corridor leading away from the confession chamber, and the next they were somewhere else entirely: a vast circular space with walls that shifted between mirror and shadow, floor made of something that looked like frozen lightning, and air that tasted like the moment before a storm.
"Another trial?" Astrid's hand dropped to her sword. "We didn't even get a warning."
"The final trial doesn't give warnings." Dante spread his stance and scanned the arena for the threat he knew was coming. "This is Floor 16's last test. Pass this, and the gate to Floor 17 opens."
"And the test is?"
The shadows at the edge of the arena moved.
"Combat."
It emerged from every dark corner at once.
