The light consumed them—then broke apart like glass.
Reinhardt stumbled as his boots struck solid ground once more. His vision cleared, revealing not the cavern, but an open sky that stretched endlessly above. Grey clouds swirled with restless winds, rumbling with thunder that never ceased.
Beneath his feet was stone. A staircase—colossal in scale—spiraled upward, vanishing into the heavens. Each step was wide as a field, carved with ancient runes that pulsed faintly, as though alive.
The four warriors stood side by side, their wounds still fresh, their breaths still heavy. Yet none dared to speak for a moment. The sheer vastness of what lay before them silenced even Callen's sharp tongue.
The staircase trembled. The winds howled, lashing at their cloaks, tugging at their weapons. Far below, the abyss yawned endlessly, a fall that promised no return.
Alden was the first to break the silence. He slammed the butt of his axe onto the stone. "So this is it. The next step."
Elira's eyes scanned the spiraling stairs, her hand tightening on her spear. "The Trial of Ascension… this is only the beginning."
Then—lightning struck.
A figure emerged from the storm. Not a Shade, not a beast, but an armored sentinel forged of steel and tempest. Its eyes burned with stormfire, its body crackling with arcs of lightning. It stood upon the step above them, barring the way forward.
The sentinel's voice rolled like thunder.
> "To ascend… you must endure the storm."
It raised its colossal blade, the air shrieking as lightning split the sky.
Callen grinned despite the blood on his lip. "Of course. Would've been too easy to just walk up, eh?"
Reinhardt's grip tightened on his sword. His chest still burned faintly where the crystal's light had entered him. "Then let's prove ourselves."
The winds roared louder. The sentinel's blade crackled with enough power to shatter stone.
And as the storm raged around them, the next battle began.