CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE RESONANT TRIAL (Part five)
The spiral between them pulsed once—
then split.
Lines of glyphlight snapped into motion across the floor,
etching out a jagged ring around the combatants.
The arena was sealed.
Torr didn't wait.
He surged forward—
stone-class Veilmark flaring across his right forearm,
carving molten fractures in the air as his pulse spiked.
He didn't cast a technique.
He became one.
Each step cracked the arena beneath him—
the glyphstone rising and hardening beneath his boots,
turning his momentum into weight Kaelen couldn't afford to meet head-on.
Kaelen spun,
halberd slicing upward to intercept.
Clang.
Sparks shot between them.
Pulse energy flared.
Dust curled in tight circles where their resonance collided.
Kaelen grunted but held position.
Torr didn't speak.
He came again.
Faster.
More force.
More pressure.
Kaelen parried once, twice—
each blow heavier, sharper, more punishing.
Torr wasn't testing him.
He was challenging Echo.
Above the ring, Yolti whispered,
"He's not trying to win. He's trying to break him."
Selka's eyes narrowed.
She didn't blink.
And Zephryn…
He watched the spiral glow brighter beneath Kaelen's feet.
Like it could feel
how close he was
to snapping.