Alex reached deep within his soul for the powers that laid inherent within it. He didn’t know how to control his Incarnation abilities yet, but he’d be damned if he just sat around and let Shawn melt him into a puddle.

He grabbed for every dwindling scrap of Qi and magical energy he had. His mind scraped at the dregs within him, leaving nothing behind. The world around him warped from heat. Green fire coiled around him in snarling tongues.

It spun around him like he was standing at the center of a whirlpool. Alex’s hands trembled from exertion. He could feel Shawn’s magic bearing down on him like the inevitable setting of night upon a day.

He didn’t even know what he was pushing his magic into. There wasn’t time to wonder. He was just pushing. The moment his thoughts faltered, the moment he gave in just a little, it would all be over.

There wasn’t enough magical power left within him to let Princess’ magic save him. Shawn would burn him into a tiny mote upon the already blackened desert and then there would be nothing at all.

Alex drew on everything he had. His reserves drained. The strength in his limbs failed. All the roaring flames around him crept closer still as his teeth clenched so tightly that they could have bent of a sheet of steel.

And then he ran out of magic.

The flame swallowed him. There was no warning. No moment to prepare. The very instant his resources ran dry, he became one with the fire enveloping the world.

If there was any doubt in his mind that this was a real fight rather than some sort of simulation, it was quickly vanquished.

Alex’s skin bubbled. His flesh melted and his bones crackled. Pain seared through every single of his being, burning through body and soul alike. Any scream he might have tried to make was stolen from him by the roar of the sickly green magic consuming him whole.

Princess’ magic could do nothing to repair his body. He didn’t have anything left to feed it. Alex crumpled to the ground — but he didn’t pass out.

That, too, was somehow stolen from him. There was no escape from the searing fire. Not even death could find him here.

There was only the flame.

And then something dripped against his forehead.

Alex would have blinked if he still had —

Wait. I do.

The pain was gone. A distant throb still remained, a searing agony carved into his mind with a molten knife, but it was the memory of a memory. Alex’s eyes twitched. His eyelids, his skin, was back.

His fingers twitched. They had returned. He could feel his silken clothes pressed against his skin and cold stone pressed against his back. There was no more sand.

Alex’s eyes snapped open. A large portion of his magic had returned. He shoved himself upright, ignoring the tingling sensation that prickled against his mind like the claws of some beast denied its pray.

He was back in the courtroom.

Shawn sat across from him, his back against the massive judge’s podium, arms draped over his knees as his large eyes silently observed Alex. There was not yet any sign of either Claire or Alyssa.

“What happened?” Alex asked. His voice sounded strange to his own ears. A part of him had expected his vocal cords to be burned away, but the words came out just as they always had. “Was that—”

“Very real,” Shawn replied. He held out a hand, revealing a vial pinched between two fingers. It was positively tiny when compared to the giant, but easily as large as Alex’s torso in actuality. Shawn gave the vial a small shake, sloshing bright purple liquid within it. “This place is not created by the System like a dungeon. It is an Ancestry. I simply healed you.”

“Does that mean I failed?” Alex asked.

A smile passed across the giant’s features. “Failed? I should hope not. Wasting a potion on someone who failed would be quite the foolish task. You passed the trial the moment you landed a single blow on me.”

“Wait. That’s it?” Alex asked, blinking.

“There is a common sentiment that has been a million times in equally as many languages,” Shawn said. “But it can be summarized as such. If you wish to destroy something, something must first exist. Life cannot exist without death.”

“Those are… words. Some of the words of all time,” Alex said. “They don’t really have much meaning, though.”

Shawn chuckled. “The purpose of an Ancestry is to find an inheritor. Somebody worthy of taking on the power that the Rotkeeper left behind. People both more powerful and weaker than you have entered this Ancestry. Strength is a great boon, but it does not prove compatibility. It is simply a single aspect of what we value.”

“So you’re giving ways for weaker people to catch up?” Alex asked, finally catching on to what Shawn was getting at.

“Strength always bears the advantage, as it should.” Shawn shifted his position and rose to his feet with a grunt. He brushed himself off before looking back down at Alex. “But it would be a shame if talent was ground beneath the heel of wealth. You have proven that you have potential. And for me, that is enough. You have received 5 points during my trial.”

“Sweet,” Alex said. Then he paused. “Uh… what do they do?”

“You may use them now, if you wish. I have a store of items and techniques entrusted to me by the Rotkeeper. I will sell them to you in exchange for the points you earned.”

“May?” Alex asked. He tilted his head to the side. “What happens if I don’t?”

“You will retain them. Should you find and pass the trial of another one of the Rotkeeper’s entourage, you can use the points with them.”

“Do you have anything worth more than 5 points?”

“Yes,” Shawn replied. A knowing look passed through his eyes as he inclined his head. “I do.”

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“Do the others?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see what you have before I make my decision?”

Shawn’s smile grew wider. “What do you think?”

“Then I’ll hold off,” Alex said without a second longer of hesitation. He wasn’t here to get a few small rewards. That was pointless. There was no reason for Shawn to lie about anything.

And if that was the case, and this Ancestry was meant to find the most competent and talented individuals suited to the Rotkeeper’s power, then it would be in the Ancestry’s best interest to have good rewards. That meant the best stuff would be the most expensive. He wasn’t going to waste his earnings here.

Shawn simply nodded. “Very well.”

The giant didn’t say if Alex had made the right call, and Alex didn’t ask.

“If that whole fight was real, then did you literally teleport us somewhere else?” Alex asked. “What kind of power is that? Is it your Domain? Is the gap between an Expert and an Initiate really that big?”

“It is bigger than you expect, but not so large as you believe. There would be little competition if we were to truly fight to the death,” Shawn said after a moment of thought. “But you would put up a good fight. The location we fought was a physical spot within this Ancestry, but I was only partially there.”

“And where was the rest of you?” Alex asked. “Fighting Claire and Alyssa?”

Shawn nodded. “Yes. The reason I was chosen to host this trial is because my class permits me to split my presence into multiple copies. That fight was very real. It was simply just against one fragment of myself. Claire and Alyssa are still fighting.”

“Huh,” Alex said. “They’re doing better than me?”

“That information is not for me to share,” Shawn replied. “You will find out soon enough. Both of them have already passed. It is only a matter of determining how far they will go.”

Alex nodded. He wasn’t too worried. No part of him had ever considered the possibility of Claire failing. She’d do fine. And Alyssa hadn’t gotten herself onto the Local Leaderboard by being a pushover. “Fair enough. Can you give me any information on the rest of the Ancestry? How to find the next one of the Rotkeeper’s entourage or something?”

“You want me to give you an unfair advantage?” Shawn tilted his head to the side. “Why would I do something like that?”

“Because nothing is fair. Fair doesn’t exist,” Alex replied with a snort. “Even the concept of fairness is inherently unfair. Someone always gets screwed over. Fairness can’t exist in a world where someone can just look at somebody and fry them with a laser beam from their eyes or some shit. This isn’t about fair. It’s about if you want to give me an advantage or not.”

“And why would I want to give you an advantage? My purpose is to ensure the proper person receives the Rotkeeper’s inheritance. I wish for a continued legacy. How would aiding you help in that?”

“Because I’ve got no interest in Rot,” Alex said honestly. “I don’t think it aligns with my class. I’m not here for that legacy. I’m just here to get as strong as I can and to loot everything that isn’t bolted down.”

“You are not making your point very well. Why would I help you if you are proclaiming yourself that you are not the one I seek?”

“Because you can get me out of here as fast as possible so I don’t waste too many of your resources. I’m going to take everything I can until my pockets are stuffed and I’m satisfied. That includes this legacy thing if I can get my hands on it. So it’s in your best interest to get me out of here as fast as possible.”

“You’re threatening to… do the thing you’re meant to do when you enter an Ancestry?” Shawn grinned. “That’s a bold one.”

“Bold enough that you have to respect it?” Alex tried. “I mean, wouldn’t you prefer to just give me the stuff I’m looking for — which isn’t the stuff you truly care about — so I don’t end up taking the real prize and wasting it?”

Shawn smiled. Then he shook his head. “I will adjust the location to which you return when you and your companions have all completed my trial. It will be interesting. That is all I promsise. Do not ask for more.”

Hell yeah. I’ll take it.

“Sure thing,” Alex said. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

The giant just chuckled. He shifted, grabbing the barrel-sized potion vial from the ground and reaching over Alex’s head to cast him in shadow. Alex turned as Shawn upended the vial. Even as drops of liquid fell from it, a body materialized on the ground beneath them.

It was so badly blackened that Alex couldn’t even recognize who it belonged to. But, the moment the purple liquid splashed across the body’s surface, magic wove through them with a hiss and pale flesh exploded up, reforming as if scared back up from hell.

Claire appeared where the corpse had been a moment ago, sitting up with a startled gasp. The pupils of her eyes had widened like those of a cat stalking its prey and her mouth was twisted halfway into a snarl.

When she spotted Alex and Shawn, her posture softened and she relaxed. Her clothes had, fortunately, been replaced with magical ones and had survived the experience. If she hadn’t gotten an upgrade before they’d left Mirrorwane… well, Alex suspected the rest of the Ancestry would have been a little awkward.

“Damn it,” Claire said. “I lost.”

“Hardly,” Shawn replied. “You passed. Five points. Well done.”

“Hey, that’s the same as me,” Alex said.

Claire glanced at him. But, before she could say anything, Shawn moved to upend the potion once more.

Alyssa’s charred body appeared right in the liquid’s path. No more than a few moments later, she was sitting alongside them, one hand pressed to her chest and the other clutching her paintbrush.

“And a third,” Shawn said. “Three points.”

“I passed?” Alyssa asked, fighting to catch her breath. “Really?”

I guess it wasn’t about how long we took. Now that I think about it, that makes sense. It’s about how much we could injure Shawn. He got more serious with every injury, so logically it would take more to make him try hard enough to kill you if you aren’t landing good blows on him.

“What can we do with them?” Claire asked.

“Spend them with me or save them for later,” Shawn replied before going into all of the details that he’d given Alex while the other two had still been in the trial.

Claire made her decision before he’d even finished.

“I want to save mine,” she said.

Alyssa nodded in agreement.

“Same. I want to have enough to buy the Rotkeeper’s Legacy if I happen to find it first.” She paused, then cleared her throat. “That’s a big if, though.”

“Don’t worry,” Alex said. “Not interested. It’s all yours if you happen to find it without us.”

“But we’re up-charging you on it if we’re together,” Claire said with a smirk.

Shawn shook his head. “Three of you. I’m almost embarrassed. Do I really look like I don’t have anything worth buying?”

“Not yet,” Alex corrected. “This is called investment. It’s smart.”

“Don’t talk to me about smarts, little Incarnation,” Shawn said. “I’ve seen your soul. It’s a representation of who you are — and it is dense. Very much so.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Alyssa asked, her brow furrowing.

“I think he just called me dumb,” Alex said. “I take offense to that.”

Shawn’s lips twitched in what might have been a smile. He pointed over their shoulders, to the path they’d come through. “You have all completed your trial. Leave. There is nothing left for you here. We will either meet again at the Rotkeeper’s Legacy… or not at all.”

“Well, that isn’t ominous,” Alex muttered. He held a hand out to Claire, who accepted it and let him pull her upright.

“Let’s keep moving,” Alyssa said, already heading for the exit. “We need to keep moving. Everyone else is probably really far ahead of us by now because of that delay. This only pays off if we get back to the Ancestry and find another trial to take.”

As Alex turned to follow her down the path, he caught a glint of amusement in Shawn’s eyes. The giant tapped the side of his head, sending a glance in the direction of the hall. Then he vanished.

Alex turned back, hurrying to catch up with Alyssa while Claire sent him a perplexed look.

“What was that about?” she whispered as they left the courtroom behind.

“Not much,” Alex replied. “I was just securing us a little shortcut. It should keep things interesting. How much energy do you have?”

“Some,” Claire replied. “Am I going to need it?”

A scream tore through the air. It was followed by the thunderous crash of magic and the ring of metal — and it was close.

Looks like Shawn kept to his word. If someone’s fighting… then there’s probably something there worth fighting for.

“Yeah,” Alex said with a grin. “You’re going to need it.”