AUTHOR'S NOTE:
While writing this chapter, I didn't feel the need to describe this trial in detail. I'm referring to the Tower of Laments. However, by the express request of my early readers (my closest friends), I have added an extra informative chapter about the trial to help you better understand its scope and characteristics.
It's not mandatory reading!
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Tower of Laments:
The Tower of Laments is known as the most deadly trial in terms of physical damage. Each floor tests not only the strength and skill of the participants but also their ingenuity and mental endurance. Yariel, armed with a wakizashi on his back and a belt full of explosive and throwable devices, enters the most dangerous trial he has ever faced.
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Floor 1: Fire – The Heralds of Flames
Upon entering the first floor, Yariel is greeted by a suffocating atmosphere. The heat is scorching, and the walls seem to vibrate with the power of fire. The Heralds of Flames, warriors engulfed in fire, surround him. Armored, their swords burn with relentless fury, and their movements are fast and lethal.
Yariel uses his wakizashi with precision, blocking attacks while weaving between them, dodging thrusts, and decapitating enemies. As he progresses, the pressure begins to take its toll on his body, but his determination does not falter.
Final Boss: The Lord of Ashes
At the top of this floor, a Lord of Ashes appears, a colossus enveloped in flames and magma, wielding a searing hammer. Yariel dodges his devastating attacks with agility. With a quick movement, he manages to strike the colossus's joints, causing its weapon to fall. Now, he could get closer. When the massive lord tried to grab him with his free hand, Yariel dodged and leaped up the length of its arm, vaulting over its head and planting explosives in the ceiling. With great ingenuity, he buried his enemy in rubble.
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Floor 2: Water – The Servants of Humidity
The atmosphere on the second floor changes drastically. Humidity takes over everything, and the thick fog reduces visibility. The Servants of Humidity, vaporous entities, attempt to drown Yariel. When he realizes that conventional attacks are ineffective against these ethereal enemies, he imbues his wakizashi with his power, causing the blade to radiate searing heat that evaporates the moisture around him. As the vapor dissipates, the Servants lose their advantage, and Yariel cuts them down one by one.
Final Boss: The Guardian of Mist
The Guardian of Mist emerges from the vapor, a creature that controls moisture and traps Yariel in a swirling mist, attempting to suffocate him. In that critical moment, Yariel imbues his weapon with his power, and taking advantage of the tornado's force created by the Guardian, he spins around. What begins as a desperate attempt to free himself becomes a fiery whirlwind that engulfs the entire area. The flames scorch the ground, drying out the moisture and weakening the Guardian. Seizing the moment, Yariel pierces him with a direct attack, destroying the enemy.
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Floor 3: Wind – The Whispers of the Hurricane
The third floor is a chaos of gusting winds that threaten to hurl Yariel against the walls. The Whispers of the Hurricane, swift and elusive warriors, attack from the shadows with air tornadoes.
Yariel fights to maintain his balance, using the structure of the environment to shield himself from the strongest gusts. Taking advantage of the calm intervals between currents, he moves quickly to counter his enemies. Each cut with his wakizashi is precise, diverting the wind with his power-imbued blade and eliminating the Whispers with calculated movements.
Final Boss: The Master of the Whirlwind
The Master of the Whirlwind, an ethereal figure of constantly moving wind, appears at the center of the floor. Yariel calculates that facing him directly would be futile, so he uses the environment. He lures the Master toward a tall structure and uses the wind currents to his advantage, launching into a quick, direct attack. Channeling all his power into the wakizashi, Yariel slices through the heart of the whirlwind, dividing the wind current and causing the Master to lose his cohesion. With a final strike, he destroys the enemy.
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Floor 4: Metal – The Guardians of Steel
The fourth floor resounds with the metallic clanging of swords. The Guardians of Steel, warriors clad in impenetrable armor, advance on Yariel with heavy but lethal movements.
Knowing that facing them head-on is suicide, Yariel uses his agility to dodge attacks, searching for weaknesses in their armor. Imbuing his wakizashi with his power, he heats the blade until it is hot enough to slice through the armor joints. Each strike is calculated and precise, weakening the Guardians until they finally collapse.
Final Boss: The Iron Titan
At the center of the room, the Iron Titan, a massive being of living metal, looms before Yariel. Its strength is devastating, and every punch causes the floor to tremble. Exhausted, Yariel prepares for one last attack. Mimicking the Titan's power, Yariel channels all his REM into the wakizashi, making it glow with a blinding intensity. When their weapons clash, the heat from Yariel's blade begins to melt the Titan's weapon. They engage in a brutal duel of strength until, with a roar of fury, Yariel overcomes the Titan's resistance and slices through its defense, severing its head with a precise leap.
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Floor 5: Earth – The Spirits of the Land
The fifth floor is a labyrinth of rocks and dust. The Spirits of the Land, creatures made of stone and sand, rise from the ground to face him. Yariel must battle not only against them but also against the ever-shifting terrain that seeks to trap him. He decides that evasion is his best tactic.
He makes his way through the spirits, his combat skills pushed to the limit, but he continues, determined to reach the next level.
A colossal rock monster emerged from the ground, an immense and brutal beast whose steps shook the earth as if the mountain itself were crumbling. Its blows could destroy anything in its path. Yariel observed it for a moment, his mind already crafting a plan.
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The colossus unleashed its first devastating blow, but Yariel, with feline agility, dodged and leaped toward the cracks in the monster's stone armor. Using his speed, he quickly scaled the colossus's body, clinging to every crevice as if his life depended on it. As he climbed, he channeled his firepower into his hands.
When he reached the torso, Yariel found the monster's core: a glowing stone hidden beneath layers of rock. Without hesitation, he plunged his hands, burning with his power, into the colossus's chest, melting the stone that protected it. The monster roared, shaking violently, but Yariel held firm.
—This ends now! —he shouted, unleashing a blast of fire from within.
—AAAAH! —he roared in fury.
With a wave of scorching heat, the colossus fractured from within. In one final roar of agony, the beast collapsed, crumbling into a shower of rocks that fell around him.
Yariel landed on the rubble, breathing heavily but victorious. He had defeated the colossus through sheer strength, power, and determination.
***
Floor 6: Dark Energy – The Specter of Shadows
The final floor was shrouded in overwhelming darkness. The Specters of the Abyss, living shadows, stalked Yariel from every corner. Their strikes drained his vital energy, weakening him with each blow. But Yariel did not relent. He concentrated all his power into his body, making his skin glow with a faint, fiery aura. The light he emitted was enough to illuminate a few centimeters around him, revealing the specters that tried to trap him. With honed speed and reflexes, wakizashi in hand, he attacked them with ferocity, cutting them down one by one, still exhausted but standing firm.
Final Boss: The Guardian of the Void
When the Guardian of the Void emerged, it was an imposing figure made of pure darkness, with eyes that shot devastating energy beams. Yariel was at the edge of his strength, but there was no room for doubt. Dodging the blind attacks, he charged directly at the Guardian, knowing he couldn't simply face him head-on.
—AAAAH! —he shouted, his determination stronger than his exhaustion.
The Guardian fired another beam, but this time Yariel dodged it with precision, using the momentum to circle around the colossal shadow. He ran along the walls of the floor, slipping like a streak of fire, channeling all his power into a final attack. With a mighty leap, he pierced the Guardian's core, releasing an explosion of incandescent light from within the being.
***
After defeating the Guardian of the Void, the darkness that had enveloped everything began to fade slowly, like a veil of shadows lifted by the wind. Gasping and covered in wounds, Yariel looked at the only obstacle standing between him and the release of the place: the chains hanging from above, anchoring the darkness to every corner of the room.
With heavy steps, each one an echo of his exhaustion, Yariel approached the thick chains that had kept the room in darkness. His bloodied and trembling hands gripped his weapon, which still vibrated with his latent power. With a cry that contained all his pain, fury, and determination, he unleashed a precise slash, severing the chains of dark energy.
Immediately, a booming sound filled the space, as if the very foundations of the place had awakened. The walls began to tremble, and little by little, the ceiling and walls of the room opened, revealing massive windows hidden behind the darkness. The glass cleared, and suddenly, light poured in with the force of a celestial ray.
A beam of pure, blinding, and warm light fell directly on Yariel. His bloodied and exhausted body was bathed in the glow, giving him an almost divine air in the now-illuminated room. The warmth of the light contrasted with the cold that had surrounded him, and for a moment, he felt the weight of the battle lift.
With the last remnants of his strength, Yariel stood tall as the light dispelled the darkness around him.