Bolin gritted his teeth, his arms covered in shimmering rocks under the effect of his mana. Facing him, a rank 1 beginner astral bird hovered, its starry mist wings beating silently in the air. The creature, with its beak as sharp as a crystal dagger and its eyes shining with an otherworldly glow, dove at him.
"Now, Pon!" Bolin shouted, crossing his rocky arms in front of him.
The impact was brutal, shaking his bones. Bolin grunted under the impact, his muscles stretched to the extreme.
"Hold on" he told himself, teeth clenched. "You can't falter now!"
A few meters away, Pon, his faithful rock pig, sprang into action. The small animal vigorously shook its stocky body, and suddenly, a rocky spike shot out from its flank, heading straight for the astral bird.
The creature, still engaged in its assault against Bolin, had no time to dodge. The spike pinned it to the wall in a burst of stellar light, ending its ephemeral existence.
Exhausted, Bolin let his arms drop. The rocks covering them collapsed to the ground in a shapeless pile, no longer supported by his mana. He slid down against the wall, grimacing in pain.
"That was close" he muttered, massaging his sore arms. "Maintaining these gauntlets requires so much mana... I need to find a way to improve my technique."
Pon approached, affectionately rubbing his snout against his master's leg.
"Well done, old friend" Bolin said, patting his companion's rough head. "We make quite a team, don't we?"
As he caught his breath, his thoughts drifted to his family, the Terraks. A second-tier family in Astral City had placed all their hopes in his father. But he had to leave for the capital, for business that had gone wrong.
"I didn't want to come so soon" he whispered to Pon. "I would have preferred to wait for father's return, to have his help for my beginnings." His eyes hardened. "But I have no choice. My little sister, my two little brothers... they're counting on me."
He clenched his fist, thinking of the greedy looks some family members cast on his father's possessions.
"Those vultures..." he growled. "If they dare to go after the children or mom, I swear..."
He stopped himself, taking a deep breath to calm down.
"No, I mustn't think like that. I need to focus on my goal. Become stronger, climb this Tower, and protect my family."
With a grunt, Bolin stood up. Tall and muscular, his brown hair disheveled and his green eyes shining with determination, he plunged into the mist, Pon trotting by his side.
***
In another part of the labyrinth, Aurora Lark watched with satisfaction as her majestic peacock closed its fan of feathers. The astral beast that had faced them moments ago lay on the ground, a dark green mana arrow planted between its eyes.
"Well done, Azure" she whispered to her summon, letting her mana bow dissipate.
She cautiously approached the defeated creature, checking that it was indeed dead. Satisfied, she allowed herself a small smile.
"Another one down" she thought. "But how many are left? This Tower seems endless..."
She silently thanked the heavens for Azure, her extraordinary summon, capable of affecting the minds of her adversaries. A rare and formidable type of attack, especially in the lower ranks.
"You know, Azure" she said, stroking her companion's iridescent feathers, "sometimes I wonder if I'm up to all this. My family's talent [Sniper] is powerful, sure. But will it be enough?"
She thought of the pressure weighing on her shoulders, of her family's expectations. The Larks were famous for their mastery of archery and firearms, but this renown was also a burden.
"And to think we have to advance blindly" she sighed. "Even the royal family doesn't dare speak about the content of the trials. This curse... it scares everyone, doesn't it?"
Azure emitted a soft cooing sound as if to comfort her.
"You're right" Aurora said, straightening up. "There's no use in lamenting. We'll keep moving forward, together. And we'll succeed, no matter what."
***
Meanwhile, in a distant corridor, a figure whirled around a rank 1 beginner astral bear. Zephyr Eole, his movements as swift as the wind his family was named after, was slashing the creature with precise sword strikes.
"Come on, show me what you've got!" he shouted at the bear, a fierce smile on his lips.
Each time he retreated, his wind monkey, Gust, would surge forward to strike the bear's weak points with fingers haloed in a green glow.
"Well aimed, Gust!" Zephyr called out. "A bit more and we'll have it!"
In a matter of moments, the astral creature collapsed, defeated.
Zephyr stopped, panting slightly, his gaze fixed on the astral bear's corpse. In the creature's glassy eyes, he thought he saw the reflection of his father's cold and distant gaze. A shiver ran down his spine, a mixture of anger and frustration.
His fingers tightened on the hilt of his saber, gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white. For a moment, he was tempted to slash the lifeless body again, as if to erase this haunting vision.
"No," he whispered, slowly releasing his grip. "I'm not like him. I'll never be like him."
He sheathed his weapon with a fluid motion, his steel-gray eyes scanning the path ahead.
"Too easy" he said to Gust. "I hope the real challenges won't be long in coming. We need more than this to prove our worth, right?"
The wind monkey let out a small cry of approval.
"Let's go" Zephyr said. "This Tower isn't going to climb itself."
He resumed his march, Gust hopping by his side. In his mind, a single thought resonated: to prove his worth, surpass his family's expectations, and perhaps finally gain the approval of his distant father.
As these three young summoners progressed through the labyrinth, each carrying the weight of their hopes and fears, they were still unaware of the trials that awaited them and the bonds that would form between them in this merciless Tower.