The arena of Room Eight fell silent. The shattered darkness lingered like smoke in the air.
Eryndor leaned casually against the wall, storm energy humming faintly around his form, watching Darius step forward, his eyes now a deep, menacing purple. Shadows clung to his skin like living tattoos, writhing, forming jagged chains that floated and cracked in anticipation behind him.
"Looks like I have to get a bit serious," Darius murmured, his voice carrying the cold authority of a Warden rather than the boy he once was.
From the center of the arena, Lexus rose, aura flaring. His body shimmered, partially transforming as he partially embodied earth itself, the stones beneath him trembling in resonance with his elemental presence. He was now a low deity, yet even in this state, his confidence radiated.
The clash began almost instantaneously.
Darius' shadow chains lashed forward like snakes, aiming to bind Lexus completely. But Lexus was fast—astoundingly fast—and every chain missed by inches. He smirked. "Is that all the Black Sun has to offer?" he taunted. "I expected more."
The arrogance was exactly what Darius had been waiting for. Lexus lunged, advancing with blinding speed, his fist aimed straight at Darius' face.
But Darius didn't flinch. His eyes gleamed with the grim, unyielding authority of a Warden. Shadows coiled around him like a living barrier, moving according to his will. Every inch of space around him was subtly manipulated. The moment Lexus closed in, he had entered the domain—not a physical space, but the invisible grip of Darius' Black Sun authority, the same power that would one day anchor Eryndor's domain itself.
Lexus threw a punch, confident he could strike first.
He froze.
Darius' grin was impossibly wide, teeth bared through the shadows, radiating absolute finality. The arrogance left Lexus' face, replaced by panic.
"Got you," Darius said.
"Stop."
The words weren't a threat. They were law.
The world seemed to pause, the shadows crawling over Lexus' body like iron chains of judgment. His limbs locked mid-motion. The earth energy he wielded became inert, reacting to no command.
"Shit," Lexus muttered, the first words of real fear he had spoken in years.
Darius stepped forward, hand pressing firmly to the center of Lexus' head. Energy rippled outward, darkness converging like a black sun forming in miniature.
"In the name of the Black Sun," Darius intoned, voice calm, measured, final.
"I sentence you to death."
And in a single, horrifying instant, Lexus' head popped, the remainder of his body collapsing into the shadows as if it had never been whole. The echo of darkness slammed into the arena floor. Silence followed.
Darius exhaled slowly, the shadows dissipating and his eyes returning to their normal color. His body shrank back from the towering, shadow-wreathed figure he had become. The chains and jagged shadow constructs evaporated like smoke.
Eryndor smiled faintly.
"Good work, Darius."
Kaelus clapped him on the shoulder.
"You handled that, bro," he said, a proud grin on his face.
Darius allowed a small nod in acknowledgment.
Stellar smirked, shaking her head.
"You're weird… but you got hands," she said, almost laughing.
Rein Clark tapped him firmly on the back.
"You executed that well, Darius," he said. "Perfect timing, perfect execution."
The group allowed themselves a brief moment, gathering energy and composure after the intensity of Room Eight.
Then Eryndor turned to the looming black door, the entrance to Room Seven. His storm energy rippled faintly in anticipation.
"Ready?" he asked, a sharp glint of determination in his eyes.
Darius, Kaelus, Stellar, and Rein Clark nodded.
Together, they pressed forward, their combined aura radiating dominance as the black door slid open before them.
They walked in, united, stepping into Room Seven—their next challenge awaiting just beyond the threshold.
The darkness seemed to bend slightly at their presence, acknowledging the strength and authority of the Black Sun's heir and his team.
And for the first time, the oppressive silence of the Atlas tower felt like it was watching them—taking note of just how dangerous this team would become.
The black doors closed softly behind them.
The next stage had begun.