Aerion moved through the burning forest as fast as she dared. Skirting the edge of the blaze lengthened her route considerably, but there was nothing to be done about that. In just a few hours, the dragon’s ravine would be inaccessible, ringed by fire.

Strapped to her back were two Aural Siege Bolts and in her arms was another. Though they were unenchanted by Greg’s strange magic, they were still plenty deadly, which was why she cradled the bolt like a newborn baby.

That he could make this already deadly device manifold more lethal struck Aerion with awe… and some fear. Greg was an enigma. An existence that shouldn’t be.

The more she thought about it, the more mysterious he became. A delver with a high-grade Blessing, lost in an Emergence Rank Trial without his memories?

And how was he so annoyingly good at everything? He always seemed to have the right tools to get them out of danger. He knew so much about their enemies’ strengths and weaknesses, yet didn’t have a clue about the Trial’s floors, shortcuts, and sanctuaries.

Despite lacking such basic knowledge, Greg rarely lost his wits, and even when he did pass out on the fifth floor, it was when there was no real danger. Did he really fall unconscious back then? Or was he only pretending?

Aerion felt as though she were losing her mind trying to unravel the enigma that was Greg.

The oddities only continued. He’d offered to team up with her—a complete stranger. He hadn’t hesitated to save Emma, despite knowing nothing about her.

And then he’d done something that should have been impossible. He'd given her a Blessing. In her direst moment of need, when she could hardly refuse, he’d appeared and handed her that which she’d sought for so long.

Nor was it a Blessing she’d ever heard of. Blessings were individual abilities—powerful magic spells and the like.

Traits named after the gods? Ranks and levels? Aerion shuddered.

This was the domain of the champions. Or perhaps even the divinities themselves.

Were it not for the moments they’d shared and the trials they’d overcome together, she’d have confronted him about it long ago. It was clear—Greg was not who he claimed to be.

And if her hunch was right, Aerion was the victim of a grand cosmic joke at her expense.

Shaking her head, Aerion purged those thoughts. Now was not the time for distractions. One false step, one wrong move, and she’d be dead.

Covering her face with a cloth helped, but even with it, the smoke soon grew too much to bear. Aerion doubled over in a fit of coughs—but the discomfort suddenly abated.

Confused, Aerion pressed on, running through the forest. As she did, the going became easier. She felt herself energized with small, fresh bursts of energy.

On a hunch, she checked her Blessing.

— Vigor: 15 (Max: 20)

It’d been at 14 just moments prior. These numbers meant little to Aerion, however. Greg seemed far more familiar with them than she was—she’d have to ask him about them later.

For now, what mattered was that the extra energy accelerated her pace, and soon, she broke through the forest onto the cracked clay plain that led to the clearing.

Her new vantage showed just how abysmal their situation truly was. All around her, fires raged, and layers of thick black smoke glowed with the reflected fire light.

It was hard to imagine this was the same place as days prior. It was not a place she wished to linger.

Aerion approached the ravine, keeping a wary eye for the dragon.

Approaching the edge, Aerion lobbed the Siege Bolt in her hands into the ravine.

Without waiting for the impact, Aerion turned the other way and sprinted back to the relative safety of the burning forest.

She heard the muted impact moments later.

The difficulty in this plan lay not in getting the dragon out of its lair—that was simple. Lobbing the bomb and hiding amongst the trees would have been plenty.

That, however, was insufficient. Aerion had to get the dragon to follow her outside. She had to guide it to the location of their trap. Only then could their ambush succeed. They hadn't known if it would take one Bolt or a hundred to kill the beast, and they couldn't afford to learn the hard way.

They’d discussed going with a simpler plan—lowering the bombs one by one down the ravine, and detonating them the moment the dragon flew out. If they’d had the time, they’d have done exactly that. It would have been far safer for her, after all.

But with the ever-expanding fire, ferrying so many bombs was simply not an option. Not to mention it might’ve collapsed the ravine, trapping them on the island.

Aerion reached the edge of the forest, feeling as though she’d made good time. The dragon hadn't even emerged yet.

Hadn’t… emerged? Doubt began to creep into Aerion’s head. Had it failed to detonate? But no, that was impossible—the Siege Bolt’s sonic explosion was not something that could be easily missed. She'd heard the explosion as she'd run.

A full minute passed. Aerion knew something had gone wrong.

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Returning to the ravine, she peered into its depths… And found a bit of rubble, lying at the bottom. It hadn't been enough to attract the dragon's attention. Luckily, it hadn't been enough to cause a collapse of the tunnel entrance either, which had been Greg's other worry.

Unstrapping the two from her back, she lashed them together. If one didn't do the trick, two hopefully would.

Aerion mustered her strength and hurled...

Except this time, there was no explosion. She hadn't even heard the bomb hit the ground.

Peering over the edge, she found the Siege Bolts. Not lying at the bottom, but caught on a ledge on the other side of the ravine.

Aerion cursed under her breath, frantically thinking of a way to recover from this. Had she been in a proper frame of mind, she might have thought about returning to Greg to grab another. They had plenty more, after all. But with the fire rapidly spreading, she worried they wouldn't have enough time.

Instead, her eyes found the rope she’d used to descend into the dragon’s lair. Still anchored. Still serviceable. A plan formed in her head.

Aerion tied into the thick rope and eased herself down the wall, descending at a pace that would’ve made Greg blanch.

Aerion smiled at that. He was so incredibly intelligent in some areas, yet for anything physical, he was little better than a child.

Several more strange message boxes appeared, and by the time she’d reached the same depth as the bomb, her Dominion—her weakest facet—had gained a point, bringing it to 4.

Though she couldn’t say why, this gave her immense satisfaction.

The Siege Bolt was unfortunately some ways away from the rope. This forced Aerion to traverse the wall, putting her safety rope at an angle. If she fell, she’d go swinging like a pendulum, likely hitting the wall along the way.

Hesitating, Aerion steeled herself.

In that moment, she felt no fear, or anger. Her mind was calm—armed with the knowledge that she could transcend her limits with but a thought. Even if Greg had warned her against it.

If she was honest, she found [Reave] rather unsettling. She feared she’d do something she’d regret. Afterall, she wasn’t truly in control of her actions while the Blessing was active. It was a bit like the inebriation that accompanied a stiff drink.

Except, she got stronger. A lot stronger—and that made for a dangerous combination. And a delightful one.

Mustering her resolve, Aerion poured every ounce of strength she had into her legs… and jumped across the ravine.

Her aim was true. Her grip was not. Aerion struggled to grasp the wall as she fell, but somehow, her fingers found purchase. She came to an abrupt halt, her fingers screaming in pain, but was awarded with more ephemeral rectangles that appeared in her vision.

Greg had promised her she’d have no issues, and now she knew why.

Congratulations! Vigor has increased to 16.

Congratulations! Dominion has increased to 5.

Congratulations! Dominion has increased to 6.

Greg had been right. He was always right about these sorts of things, as Aerion was coming to realize.

With a renewed burst of energy, Aerion climbed up the wall to the ledge upon which the Siege Bolt sat.

Once there, it was just a matter of rolling it off the edge. Its own weight did the rest.

Aerion didn’t wait. She swung back to the other side of the ravine before the bomb crashed into the floor. Whether it was thanks to her improved Dominion or Vigor, her fingers found handholds without issue.

And just in time.

The cavern shuddered, and a wave of pressure nearly knocked Aerion off the wall. She recovered—barely—and kept climbing, even as the dragon roared in rage somewhere deep within the depths of its lair.

Energy coursed through her body, making her feel as though her body weighed nothing. A quick check confirmed that her Vigor had increased once again.

It was, sadly, not enough to allow her to clear the top of the ravine’s wall. Aerion had always been lithe, agile, and dextrous. Strength had never been her strong suit.

When Greg had complimented her speed, she simply hadn’t the heart to correct him. It wasn’t she that was fast, but he who was slow.

Aerion leveraged every ounce of her technique to help her up, praying that her strength did not fail her. At least until she reached the rope—then the going would get easier.

If only she could tap into her power. That all-consuming sense of strength. But no. Greg had assured her that using it would result in her death. That it was only to be used in extreme emergencies when death was inevitable—and Aerion believed him wholeheartedly.

Aerion pulled her way up the wall, relying on her slightly-strengthened fingers and toes to find purchase.

She glanced back down, eyes peeled for the dragon. If there was one truth about dragons, it was that they were not subtle creatures.

Another ferocious roar emanated from the dragon’s lair, closer this time. So close, she could feel it.

The Trial Guardian had arrived.

The enormous black beast stomped out into the ravine and flared its wings, beating heavily.

Even from her position on the wall, Aerion felt the air whip around her as the dragon rose.

Despite the fear creeping up her back, telling her to freeze, Aerion never did. If she didn’t clear the ravine soon, Greg’s plan would be lost.

Reaching the rope, Aerion grabbed it and hauled herself up. There was no time to strap in.

Higher and higher she rose… and so did the dragon.

Aerion turned… and their eyes locked.

This time, she did freeze, transfixed by the dragon’s enormous reptilian eye.

An eye that widened in satisfaction over having found its prey.

The dragon’s roar was so sudden, so bone-chillingly terrifying, that Aerion nearly let go of the rope.

She knew, in that moment, that there was no surviving this. The dragon flapped its mighty obsidian wings and rotated.

Its jaw opened, revealing several rows of razor-sharp obsidian teeth.

In the next few seconds, Aerion would be dead. Bitten in half like that poor woman they failed to save.

She knew she shouldn’t use her power. That it was folly.

But she was going to die anyway. Why not at least try?

“Reave.”

Power flooded through Aerion’s body. Her muscles thrummed with energy—begging to be released. She felt unstoppable.

No, she was unstoppable.

Fear became a distant memory. A blazing fire lit within her, burning away all extraneous thought.

All that remained was a singular emotion. A cold fury. Single-minded. Sharpened to a deadly point.

And it was all directed toward the dragon.

Aerion kicked off the wall, let go of the rope… And jumped.