"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonia exhaled deeply, her body trembling as she used the brief reprieve to replay every detail of the last fight. Though she believed the constant cycle of death hadn't affected her memory, she couldn't be entirely sure. If she had forgotten something, how would she even realize it?
Her mind, once filled with thoughts of family, classmates, exams, and aspirations, was now completely consumed by a single figure: the Endwatcher. Every ounce of her focus was devoted to dissecting his movements, memorizing every devastating blow, and imprinting his techniques onto her very being.
The more she fought, the clearer it became: the Endwatcher possessed no supernatural powers. His body didn't have any obvious advantages over hers.
He was simply a swordsman—a remarkably skilled one, but still just a swordsman.
Compared to the legendary Swordmasters Sonia had read about, whose mere presence could strike fear into onlookers and whose every swing exuded overwhelming power, the Endwatcher was little more than a stepping stone.
A stepping stone, Sonia thought resolutely.
Though she had died countless times, her last exchange had given her a small victory: she had managed to land a counterattack, even if the Endwatcher's wounds healed instantly.
If there had been a recovery delay, she might have exploited it by trading her life to accumulate injuries on him. But this trial was painfully "fair," leaving her no such loopholes.
Sonia found the fairness ironic. But deep down, she admitted it was true. The rules left her with only one path: to defeat the Endwatcher in pure, unrestrained combat.
As the ten seconds ticked away, Sonia's entire body tensed, her focus sharpening like the edge of her blade. The moment the interval ended, she charged forward.
The Endwatcher always opened with the same move: a iai-style quickdraw slash, a sweeping arc with devastating force. The farther Sonia stood from him, the more powerful the strike.
But distance was a trap. The only way to counter his move was to close the gap and interrupt his momentum.
Clang!
Her arms trembled under the impact, but she successfully stopped his rotation and forced the fight into close quarters.
She no longer cared about taking wounds. If she could strike him down even a moment before he killed her, it would be her victory.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of their swords clashing reverberated through the air as they exchanged a flurry of blows. On the fifth strike, Sonia's blade met nothing but empty space.
In an instant, the Endwatcher darted in the opposite direction and stepped forward with a sudden, lethal slash aimed at her neck.
There was no warning. The move was seamless, deadly.
It wasn't magic—it was footwork, a combat technique Sonia had only understood after dying to it multiple times.
She named the technique Sight Break.
Blocking the iai strike was manageable, but Sight Break was far harder to counter. Unable to predict the direction of his evasion, Sonia made a bold decision: she didn't bother defending at all.
Instead, she raised her arm to block his blade with her forearm, sacrificing flesh and bone to close the distance and deliver a killing blow.
However, the Endwatcher was already sliding across the sand in another direction, twisting mid-motion to deliver a second Sight Break.
A double feint.
"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonia slapped her cheeks, gripping her sword tightly as she faced him again. "Come on!"
The Endwatcher obliged, settling into his iai stance once more.
This time, when his blade slashed through the air, it hit nothing.
In a move that mirrored his own technique, Sonia slid sideways across the sand with uncanny grace, evading the attack entirely. The Endwatcher's follow-through left him briefly vulnerable.
Sonia didn't waste the opportunity. Instead of attacking outright, she adopted her own iai stance.
"I've died so many times, even a pig would have learned your moves by now!"
With a defiant shout, she lunged forward, her blade flashing in a perfect blend of Sight Break and iai-style quickdraw.
The momentum carried her through, her blade carving into the Endwatcher's chest.
Her strike landed cleanly, slicing through him with almost no resistance.
It was too smooth. Sonia felt a wave of unease as she adjusted her stance, watching him cautiously. "Did I… win?"
"Yes," the Endwatcher replied calmly. "Congratulations."
Before she could feel relief, he added, "You've defeated me… when I was using one sword."
"One sword?" Sonia blinked in confusion as he kicked the sand, dislodging another blade buried beneath it.
"Halftime is over," he said, crossing the two swords in front of him. "Oh, and by the way, there's no more rest time."
Sonia woke up in her dormitory, clutching her head. The morning sunlight streamed through the windows.
"Morning class starts soon. Aren't you coming?" Her roommate, Ingrid, was already dressed and preparing to leave.
"What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty. Didn't you usually wake up an hour early to do your skincare routine? The others already left. You look awful, by the way."
"Must've been a nightmare…" Sonia muttered, running her hand over her neck.
"Nightmares fade quickly," Ingrid said dismissively as she left.
But this nightmare didn't fade.
Sonia sat on her bed, lost in thought. Every detail of the dream—every death, every slash, every agonizing moment—was seared into her memory.
The Endwatcher's dual-wielding technique had pushed her to her limits. The relentless intensity of their battle had left her arms numb, her movements mechanical, and her mind honed to a razor's edge.
When she finally defeated him, there was no sense of triumph.
Because he had said:
"The trial is over, but your life is just beginning."
The words lingered, heavy and ominous, as if they were a curse rather than a blessing.
Meanwhile, in the luxurious lower levels of Kaimon City's Broken Lake Prison, Ash stretched and yawned, his body aching as if he'd been beaten all night.
Opening the glowing interface of Aurora's Warlock Handbook, he noticed a new notification:
"After the trial, your bond with the Blood-Crazed Swordmaiden has deepened."
Ash scratched his head. "Trials increase bonds? Guess that's… useful?"