Skull Temple - Thirteen hours before Kazuki's Tribulations.
Calm and collected, Kazuki stretched upon erging from the basin. The contact of his feet with the stone created a fleeting wave of light that spread across the marble before vanishing a few ters away. It was the sole illumination in a dark world, revealing a physically fit hoplite. He was healthy, yet his features were strained.
Kazuki took a few steps forward without a single glance backward. He knew he would see a heavy double door. The exit was as close as it was tempting. For him, it was synonymous with death.
After a few ters, he entered a tunnel and passed by a mirror. In fiery letters, ‘fifty-nine percent’ was displayed. The reflective object displaying his progress was the only witness to the warrior's nudity. Here, clothes did not last long. Beyond the mirror, Kazuki reached a large bowl. Unaware of its original purpose, Kazuki used it to count. Clenching his jaws, he broke one of his teeth before tossing the fragnt into the bowl.
Attempt number four hundred and twenty-three.
Once his ritual was complete, the warrior plunged into the darkness. The light produced by his steps began to diminish in intensity. Kazuki prepared himself.
Two ters ahead, the sound of a click warned him. Kazuki shifted to his right, dodging a crossbow bolt. The temple then shot two more. Then four. Then eight. Kazuki used a bolt caught in mid-air to deflect those he couldn't dodge.
The fifth ambush was devious. Eleven bolts shot forth when Kazuki had only heard ten clicks. It was where the warrior had been hit the first ti. Now, he could easily avoid all eleven projectiles. He never knew where they ca from, but their number remained constant.
After a hundred ters, Kazuki stopped. The tiny waves of light caused by his movents disappeared. He stood before a hole. The hoplite warrior took a leap, covering more than ten ters—a ridiculous distance under normal circumstances, but formidable given his attributes limited to a hundred. With Elysium's gravity, it was barely enough to clear the gap.
He landed in a controlled roll and continued on his way.
Kazuki walked fifty more ters before reaching the second hole. During his second leap, he had to deflect a crossbow bolt mid-air.
Seven minutes later, five hundred eighty ters from his starting point, he paused briefly to catch his breath. The toughest part was yet to co.
Gritting his teeth, Kazuki gained so montum and jumped. He landed eight ters further on an invisible pole in the middle of the void. Balancing on one foot, he deflected about fifteen bolts, each attempting to destabilize him. Not a single projectile touched him, saving him from contact poison.
Without wasting ti, the Champion hoplite stood up and leaped forward. The pole disappeared into the void the next mont. The second pole was a waste of ti. Kazuki placed one foot on it before continuing his path. A crossbar appeared. Kazuki bit his bolt to grab the bar with both hands. With a thrust of his hips, he flew just in ti. Behind him, the bar collapsed into the void.
Kazuki landed on the cold marble and began to run. The ground exploded behind him, hurling large debris that he instinctively avoided. It's now.
The obstacle Kazuki had never crossed before. The endless void.
The ground disappeared abruptly. Kazuki's foot positioned itself on the edge of the hole and, using Micro, he overclocked his muscles to leap. Ten ters, nothing. Eleven ters, nothing. Twelve ters, nothing. Kazuki started to descend. Was there a trick? It was impossible to jump farther with his ordeal-limited attributes.
Suddenly, a click. A crossbow bolt had just been fired. Kazuki contorted with a pirouette. The projectile passed a centiter from his left foot. Instinctively, Kazuki kicked. The bolt was heavy. So heavy that the recoil allowed Kazuki to gain half a ter.
A second bolt pierced his thigh, sending Kazuki onto sharp spikes. He died a few minutes later, exsanguinated.
At the temple's entrance, the surface of the basin stirred as a body resurfaced. Climbing the steps quickly, Kazuki displayed a fierce smile. His reflection in the mirror showed no scratches. As if it were a ga, his death simply forced him to start all over again. The temple challenged him, pushing back the limits of his body and bringing him closer to Micro II. The training was cruel but necessary, for the Supremacy was his only hope of surviving his Tribulations.
Kazuki quickly broke one of his teeth in the bowl before plunging into the darkness.
Attempt number four hundred and twenty-four.
The Tribulations would begin in thirteen hours.
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