The Trial Realm shifted again.
Not physically. Not yet. But Ashland
could feel it—a subtle change in temperature, in gravity, in rhythm. The sort
of pressure a forest feels moments before lightning strikes.
Since the naming of his Court, the
world had begun to recognize him.
But now… others had too.
They were moving again.
Ash walked at the head of a narrow
path carved into the obsidian cliffs above the Graven Womb. Behind him came
Iriis, silent as ever, and Xeravon, whose massive lupine form padded across the
broken stone without sound, wings folded tightly against his back.
The farther they moved, the more the
air grew taut. Like a string drawn tight across an unseen bow.
"Someone's watching," Ash said.
Iriis nodded once.
"Three presences," she murmured. "Not
beasts. Not echoes."
"People?"
"Binders."
Ash stopped walking.
His hand instinctively went to the
Summoner's mark etched into his palm. It had begun to hum faintly, reacting not
to danger, but to rival resonance.
They didn't have to wait long.
Three figures stepped onto the path
ahead—descending from the far ridge like wolves approaching prey. They moved
with discipline, precision. Cloaked in armor that shimmered with active sigils,
and bearing emblems Ash didn't recognize: a circle of fangs, pierced by a red
chain.
The one in the center—taller than the
others, clad in black steel etched with glowing crimson glyphs—lowered his
hood.
His eyes burned gold.
"So," he said, voice smooth, assured.
"You're the one."
Ash didn't move.
"You're going to need to be more
specific."
The man's lips twitched into something
between a grin and a snarl.
"The one who named a Court before
Ascension. The one who Bound an Echo-class summon. The one who spat on the
structure the System gave you."
"Ashland Vale."
The tension in the air thickened.
Xeravon growled low behind Ash. Iriis
remained calm, but Ash could feel her energy spike—readiness, not fear.
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"And you are?"
The man stepped forward, one gloved
hand resting on the pommel of a dagger chained to his belt.
"My name is Kalen Dros. And I am the
Lord of the Crimson Fang Court."
"I came to see what kind of idiot
tries to build a throne from ruins."
Ash didn't rise to the insult.
Instead, he tilted his head.
"You're a Binder too."
Kalen chuckled.
"I'm a Conqueror. I don't whisper to
my summons or ask for their trust."
"I own them."
He raised a hand—and from behind him,
a creature emerged.
It was twice the size of Xeravon. A
horned, quadruped monstrosity with molten skin and silver armor plates bolted
into its flesh. Its eyes had no soul, only command. No identity, only rage.
"This," Kalen said, "is Rhemag. Tier
A. Level 18. Took me two hours to break."
"He doesn't speak. Doesn't think. He
just kills."
Ash's eyes narrowed.
"You broke him."
Kalen shrugged.
"That's what they're for."
A beat passed.
Then Ash said quietly:
"And if he turned on you?"
"He won't."
"But what if he did?"
Kalen smirked.
"Then I'd kill him. Just like I'll
kill you if you get in my way."
Silence fell again.
Ash turned slightly, just enough to
glance at Iriis. Her hand was already on her blade. Xeravon had moved to flank,
his breathing slow and steady. Not afraid. But alert.
Kalen's eyes flicked to them and back.
"You don't look impressed."
Ash didn't blink.
"You don't look Bonded."
Kalen's smile vanished.
The wind grew sharper.
And for the first time, the third
figure behind him—a girl with porcelain skin and eyes like amber flame—stepped
forward.
"We should kill him now," she said.
"The System will protect him until Ascension. After that—"
"He's a threat."
Kalen raised a hand to silence her.
"No. Let him finish his little
fairytale."
"I want to see how it ends."
Then he looked at Ash—just for a
second.
And in that second, Ash felt it.
A war was coming.
Not just between them.
Between ideologies.
Between Courts.
After they left, Ash stood still for a
long time.
The wind whistled through the cracked
path.
Finally, he spoke.
"They'll come for us."
Iriis nodded.
"All of them will."
"You gave this world something it
thought was extinct."
"Hope."
Ash turned, looking out over the
spires and fractured valleys.
"Then we make sure it remembers who
gave it first."
[SYSTEM UPDATE – COURT THREAT
REGISTERED]
Rival Court Detected: Crimson Fang
Court
Leader: Kalen Dros
Tier: Ascended | Rank D
Composition: Domination Class | Echo
Suppression
Status: Hostile
Cross-Court Protocols Unlocked:
• Rival Claim Interference
• Domain Clash Mechanics
• Loyalty Resistance Rolls Enabled
Warning: Your summons may be targeted
by suppression agents.
Later, as night fell—if night had
meaning here—Ash sat alone near the Graven Womb, firelight flickering off his
skin.
He wasn't afraid.
But he was thinking.
"He doesn't talk to them," he said
softly.
Xeravon raised his head.
Ash turned to look at the beast.
"You know that feeling, right? Being
chained. Crushed. Treated like a weapon."
Xeravon didn't respond in words. But
through the Bond, Ash felt the answer.
Yes.
Ash nodded.
Then he looked at Iriis.
"Not every Court is going to be like
ours."
"And we're going to have to prove
that's a good thing."
She stepped beside him.
"Then we start with the next trial."
[ASCENSION PROGRESS: 38%]
Next Objective: Unlock Domain Anchor |
Location: Spiral Vault
Trial Classification: Strategic | Team
Coordination
Rewards: Court Sigil Upgrade | Realm
Anchor Authority
Note: This will be the first Trial
where all Court members must act as one.
Ash stood.
Xeravon rose beside him. Iriis was
already ready.
"Let's show them," Ash said, "what a
real Court looks like."