Chapter 13: Trial by Ascension I
The bell tower chimed six times, its deep reverberations rolling over Emberlight Academy like a warning drumbeat. Dawn still clung to the horizon, but Kai was already at the top of the observation cliffs, where wind howled from the valley below and the academy looked like a fortress carved from ambition.
He stood alone. Again.
Not because he had to—but because he chose to.
His muscles ached from the trial. The bruises on his ribs throbbed with every breath. And yet his stance was strong, his posture refined. Yesterday's trial hadn't just tested him—it had shown him who he was becoming.
Behind him, boots scraped against stone.
He didn't turn.
"You keep showing up in high places," said a voice laced with wry amusement.
It was Vale.
She approached, her hands behind her back, the long coattails of her instructor's uniform fluttering in the wind. Her usual intensity was present, but something in her expression had shifted—respect, maybe. Curiosity, definitely.
"Word's out," she said. "The Head Instructor logged your Balance Reaper technique. You know what that means?"
Kai nodded. "It's real now."
"It was real the moment you executed it under pressure." Vale stepped to the edge of the cliff, eyes scanning the horizon. "But officially? It means you've created an original technique powerful enough to be registered in the Ember Codex."
A pause.
"You're the youngest to ever do that. Even I didn't earn that mark until I was two years into Martial Expert."
Kai didn't respond right away. The weight of what she said settled into him—not as pride, but as responsibility.
Vale studied him for a moment longer. "You could've died in that trial."
"I didn't."
"You could've failed."
"I didn't."
"Your arrogance will be your leash, Kai. But your instincts?" She exhaled. "Those are what might make you dangerous enough to matter."
He turned to her now. "Why does that sound like a warning?"
"Because it is," Vale replied without hesitation. "This academy isn't built to hold those like you. Not forever."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Then why teach me at all?"
Vale smiled faintly, but her gaze was distant, almost haunted. "Because I've seen what happens when someone like you goes untrained. When they break the world instead of change it."
There was silence between them, only broken by the wind.
Then she handed him a small black envelope, sealed with a red sigil—the symbol of the Emberlight Trials Committee.
"Another mission?" he asked.
"No. Something rarer."
Kai opened the envelope and read its contents quickly.
His jaw tightened.
"An invitation to the Inner Ring."
Vale nodded. "It's a challenge—one few accept, and fewer survive."
"Trial by Ascension," Kai murmured. "They want to see if I can rise to Mid Expert through combat alone."
"They want to break you," Vale corrected, "or watch you break through."
Kai folded the letter, tucking it into his belt. "When?"
"Three days. You'll be assigned a sparring series against other cadets… and then, one instructor. All sanctioned. All recorded."
Kai's lips curved slightly. "I'll need the Echo Vest cleaned."
Vale turned to leave but stopped after a few paces. "Balance Reaper…" she began, glancing over her shoulder, "that was something special."
"It's just the beginning," Kai said.
A wind rose behind him, but he didn't flinch.
Not from the cold.
Not from fear.
Because now he wasn't just a student.
He was a name being whispered in the barracks, a presence cadets felt even before he entered the room. His technique—Balance Reaper—had spread like wildfire through the academy, earning equal parts awe and suspicion. Some called it genius. Others called it luck.
But Kai didn't care.
He trained like the world depended on it.
For three days, he drilled alone—pushing his body beyond the brink, refining his ki control, visualizing opponents collapsing under the precision of his techniques. He spent entire nights at the stone reflection pools, watching his movements, hunting for imperfections. Again. And again.
And then the day arrived.
⸻
The courtyard arena was carved into the mountain's spine, surrounded by stone seating and wreathed in banners of crimson and gold. Dozens of students lined the upper balconies, eyes wide with anticipation. Trial by Ascension wasn't common. It wasn't safe. But it was pure.
A test of martial growth not through study or time—but through combat.
The first match was already underway.
Kai stood in the waiting circle at the center platform. His uniform was clean, but his stance was loose, relaxed. His breath came slow, steady. On the opposite end, his first opponent paced like a wolf in a cage.
Saris Dren. A mid-tier cadet and a bruiser with brute-force tactics and a boulder-like frame. His record was clean—no losses, but also no innovations. A power-fighter, built to flatten, not outthink.
The bell rang.
Saris charged like a battering ram, no hesitation. He led with a wide hook laced in ki, the kind that cracked ribs and shattered focus.
Kai didn't move.
Not until the last instant.
He stepped inside the blow, his footwork ghostlike.
A sidestep. A pivot.
A palm strike to the inside elbow—redirecting the momentum—and then a sharp knee to the ribs.
Saris stumbled.
Kai didn't press. Not yet.
Saris recovered with a roar, spinning into a backfist.
Kai ducked under.
A feint to the left.
Then a subtle tilt in his weight, luring Saris into another overextension—
Kai whispered under his breath, "Balance Reaper."
His body flowed like water.
His right heel struck Saris squarely behind the lead knee—a structural weak point. The larger cadet's balance shattered as though a pillar had been kicked out from under him. His body buckled forward—off-stance, off-rhythm.
Kai's elbow smashed into his spine mid-collapse.
The crowd gasped.
Saris hit the floor and didn't rise.
⸻
🟩 [Combat Assessment Recorded – Match 1: Victory]
⸻
The announcer's voice echoed across the arena.
"Match One—Kai of the Outer Ring, Victory."
There was no cheering. Just silence.
Then murmurs. Then whispers.
Kai exhaled, calm as a still lake. He looked toward the stands where Vale stood, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
She didn't clap.
She nodded.
And that was more than enough.
Another name was called.
"Match Two—Kai versus Elen Vire."
A girl with crimson hair and twin daggers stepped into the ring, a thin smile on her lips and a gleam of bloodlust in her eyes.
Kai rolled his shoulders.
One down.
Four more to go.
And then… the instructor.