Despite being more than a mile from the nearest giant, Elijah found himself instinctively crouching in place as he tried to make himself smaller and less noticeable. He would have been embarrassed, but the fact was that the creatures down below warranted such an act. Each one was more than thirty-five feet tall and at least half as wide, with blackened skin similar to what Elijah had seen with the char goblins. Just like the goblins, the giants had mostly humanoid features – meaning that they had all the right parts – but they were all out of proportion. Bulbous noses, broad and prominent brows, and heads that looked a bit too large for even their gargantuan bodies gave the creatures a brutish appearance that reminded Elijah of renderings of cavemen he’d seen during college.

At first, Elijah thought the creatures were on fire, but upon looking closer with Eyes of the Eagle, he realized that the flames he saw were what constituted the creatures’ hair and beards. It gave them a wholly alien appearance that completely nullified any similarities to humanity he might’ve otherwise latched onto. They clearly were not native to Ka’arath.

Throughout the huge cavern, Elijah saw groups of the monsters congregated around the latticed intersections of the onyx bridges. Miles below, a sea of lava roiled as something swam within.

“Can you use Hex of Scrying on them?” Elijah whispered. The creatures were so far away that there was no chance they could hear him, but he wasn’t willing to take any chances. He was not easily frightened, but the sheer size of the giants certainly put him on edge.

“Too far,” Dat said. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about them.”

“Me too,” Elijah said. In a way, the giants reminded him of the skeletons they’d fought in the previous challenge. Not in a cosmetic sense. They were completely different in every way but size. Rather, it was the feeling he got when he looked at them, that they were alien creatures who’d invaded somewhere they didn’t belong. They weren’t natural denizens of this world – of that, Elijah was absolutely certain – but instinctively, he knew that something like Nature’s Rebuke wouldn’t prove effective against them. They were simultaneously natural and unnatural, which left Elijah feeling both confused and frustrated at his own ignorance.

As Elijah watched the giants, he caught a flicker of movement in the distance. Instantly, he focused on that location, but at first, he saw nothing. Then, he noticed a swirl of ashes before a winged creature came into view. It looked a bit like a pterodactyl, though with a blunter face and wings glowing with fire. Upon its back was a char goblin.

“That bad feeling just got a lot worse,” Elijah said, backing away. Thankfully, he hadn’t been seen, but he knew that wouldn’t last if they remained at their current location. So, without further hesitation, the group returned to the hall and shut the heavy stone door behind them. For a while, no one said anything, but a couple of minutes after they were out of sight, Elijah shattered the silence. “This is going to be really difficult. No flight. Those giants are probably at least as strong as the skeletons in the last challenge, and we’ll be completely exposed on those bridges. Any ideas on how to go about this?”

Now that the silence had been broken, everyone tried to speak at once. But after only a second or two of them trying to speak over one another, they ceded the floor to Sadie. She said, “I don’t see that there’s much choice here. We’re probably going to have to go straight in. We’ll clear the giants out, then try to focus on those flying creatures. After that…we need to find Cinderrath and beat it.”

“Can we even kill those giants? They look like they’re made of volcanic rock,” Ron pointed out.

“I think they’re like the char goblins,” Elijah said. “But before we charge in, it’s probably best if Dat and I scout things out. The more information we have, the better. For all we know, we won’t even need to face the giants. There might be another way to the boss.”

While it wasn’t a complex plan, it was a pattern they’d developed over the course of four other challenges and months spent traveling from one corner of the continent to the other. So, once everyone agreed that it represented the best course of action, Elijah and Dat set off on their task. After he’d transformed into the Shape of Venom and adopted Guise of the Unseen, Elijah went back to the door and stepped onto the onyx bridge. It was warm beneath his feet, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Still, Elijah couldn’t deny the ominous feeling that swept over him the moment he stepped foot onto the bridge. It was with that anxiety settling over his Mind that he proceeded forward. Dat followed, using his less powerful stealth ability to remain unseen. On a whim, Elijah slipped over the elaborate handrail, then climbed onto the bottom of the bridge. Only then did he feel the unease dissipate.

That was when he realized what the problem was.

Throwing caution to the wind, Elijah shouted, “Dat! Something’s watching –”

That’s when it struck. A slate-gray entity of vaguely humanoid shape burst into being directly in front of Dat. It reached out to grab him, but the Witch Hunter’s reflexes were well-honed. He leaped backward in a back handspring that belied his size, narrowly avoiding the thing’s outstretched hand.

Dat came up firing his crossbow, and soon enough, blue-wreathed bolts filled the air. They hit the creature, and for a moment, the thing burst into localized puffs of ash, revealing a black silhouette that looked like the ashen shadow of slenderman. It let out a hoarse and crackling screech as it lumbered forward.

Elijah knew better than to let the opening go to waste. He skittered atop the bridge, then leaped into battle. After using his full suite of abilities, he landed on the creature’s back and sank his fangs into its shoulders. The taste of ash – powerful and acrid – filled his mouth as venom flooded into the monster. Elijah wasted no time before biting again. And again after that. With his high attributes and advanced Body cultivation, he could strike with incredible quickness, and he leveraged that ability to great effect as he filled the monster with potent toxins.

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A loud clicking filled the air. Once. Twice. And then, on the third time, it burst into flames. Elijah leaped free, but not before he felt the sting of serious burns. He ignored the pain, taking on his caster form. The transformation completed as he slid to a stop. Then, he leveled his staff at the monster and let loose with Storm’s Fury. Lightning lanced from the tip of the staff, slamming into the creature and sending it stumbling forward. As it did, Elijah could see bits of its shadowy form flaking off with every passing second.

Was that the effect of Envenom? It affected different creatures in different ways, so he suspected that was the case. However, it also reminded him of the uneasiness he’d felt when looking at the giants. They didn’t belong. They were unnatural. Perhaps this creature was the same.

So, he cast Nature’s Rebuke, and when the spell’s effect took hold, it let out another hoarse screech before turning its attention on Elijah. It only got one staggering step before another volley of crossbow bolts slammed into it. Elijah cast Storm’s Fury again, and the monster burst into a cloud of ash.

But it didn’t die, as evidenced by the fact that he’d received no experience. That supposition was further confirmed when that cloud of ash swept toward him and coalesced into the same shape as before. Elijah wasn’t going to stick around to feel its wrath, so as he cast Nature’s Rebuke once again, he vaulted over the railing and initiated a transformation into the Shape of Venom. It completed a second later, and he skittered across the underside of the bridge.

The monster couldn’t follow. Elijah could barely feel it via One with Nature, and he used that awareness to confirm that it had once again turned on Dat. However, when it moved toward him, it did so with an uneven gait that suggested that it was barely holding on. In the interest of finishing it off, Elijah ran along the underside of the bridge, embracing Guise of the Unseen the moment he left combat. Then, he repeated the battle’s first actions, using Envenom and Predator Strike to inflict his potent toxin upon the creature.

With every step it took after that, the thing fell apart. First, the ash only flaked off, but soon enough, one of its legs crumbled. It tumbled forward, and when it hit the ground, it burst into a cloud of ash. However, unlike the last time, this one was accompanied by a surge of experience that announced the creature’s death.

Elijah took a deep breath, then resumed his human form. “You okay?” he asked Dat.

“No.”

“What? Are you hurt?”

“It’s not that. That…thing wasn’t supposed to be here. It’s called an ash assassin, and it’s a native to Ignis,” Dat explained. “Creatures like that can’t just cross over to our plane. They function on an entirely different set of rules. We can’t go there, either. Not without significant preparation and a lot of levels.”

“Well, it’s here,” Elijah said. He glanced back at the giants. Thankfully, they hadn’t responded to the ruckus, probably because they were so far away. So at least the alarm hadn’t been raised. “And I’m going to guess that those giants are similar to the ash assassin.” He gestured toward the ceiling a half-dozen miles up above. “Those things flying up there, too.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t think it has to,” Elijah said. Perhaps it was explicable because the world had been excised and used for the Trial. Clearly, the system had done some heavy lifting to create the challenges. So, maybe it had simply imported some denizens of Ignis to give it a little more authenticity. “Besides, those skeletons from the last challenge were from the Underrealm. They didn’t belong here either.”

“This feels different,” Dat said. “I don’t know why, but it just does.”

“I don’t disagree, but it doesn’t really matter,” Elijah pointed out. “Right this second, we need to figure out a new plan, because that thing could see through our stealth.”

“That’s true. Sorry. I kind of let it get to me. Do you know what those things can do?” Dat asked.

Elijah shook his head.

“Those people we saw in the compound above,” the Witch Hunter said with a shiver. “That’s what an ash assassin can do. I don’t know if they’d be effective against us, but…”

He let the thought hang in the air. The idea of a creature being capable of turning people to ash was horrifying, especially considering that Elijah had seen the aftermath with his own two eyes. Of course, with his cultivation and attributes, he hoped he could withstand such an attack, but there were no guarantees. One little touch, and his path could be cut short.

“I think they’re shackled just like the natives of this world,” he said. “You know, levels reduced by the system. Maybe that will keep them in check.”

Dat said, “I hope so.”

It was a slim hope, and they both knew it. Despite the effects of the shackles, the creatures populating the challenges were incredibly powerful. Elijah and the others had barely managed to survive so far, and they weren’t foolish enough to believe their journey would become any easier.

With that, the pair returned the way they’d come. However, once Dat was safe, Elijah convinced everyone that he could manage to remain undetected while continuing their mission to scout the situation. His plan was simple – all he had to do was stay on the underside of the bridges, and he’d be fine. So, that was what he did, using the Shape of Venom’s ability to stick to any surface to his advantage.

It went precisely as expected, and he avoided detection all the way to the first intersection. When he peeked his head above the railing, he was first struck by the fact that the giants seemed even larger than they had from afar. Even the smallest was more than thirty feet tall, and the others were even bigger.

They sat around a device that looked curiously like a hookah, which meant that it was a cylindrical piece from which snaked a half-dozen tubes, each one held by a giant.

“Too cold,” one growled. “Need home.”

“No go home. Too dangerous.”

The smallest said, “We fight. We win. We go home.”

“Stupid runt. You first die.”

On and on they went until, once he’d gotten an idea of what was going on, Elijah retreated. It seemed that the giants weren’t there by choice. But was there a way he could use that to his advantage? Fighting them in a straight battle was a mistake. He was certain of that. But he wasn’t sure what other choice there was.

Returning to the group, Elijah laid things out, but no one had any bright ideas for how to attack the situation. Finally, Elijah decided to give voice to what he’d been thinking from the very beginning. “Guys, I think I have an idea, but I’m pretty sure you’ll all call me an idiot for even suggesting it.”

“We won’t judge you, bro.”

Elijah took a deep breath, then told them what he was thinking.

“You’re suicidal,” Sadie said.