Warrior

Nassor’s boots slid against the cracked tile. He lunged forward, a quick yet heavy thrust of his silver spear.

CLANK!

His spear tip bounced harmlessly against the side of the thick armor.

Thrust. Two more times. More useless hits against the side.

With a burst of speed, the armored knight lunged forward. Gauntlet lighting up with Jiu energy.

Nassor just narrowly dodged, stepping back… he felt the wind rushing, the condensed Jiu in the knight’s fist exploding against the wall instead.

“ Jeez, Nassor thought quickly. Could’ve been my head-”

The knight dashed in right after, already trying to close the gap - when a burst of Star Magic made him step back again.

“No you don’t!” Leila popped in with a grin, already readying up the next burst. “Try not to get melted yourself, dumb spear head!”

It made Nassor crack a slight smirk. But his focus wasn’t broken. He knew he could count on backup.

Dodge. Dodge. Sidestep. Weave. Arrow & star fire.

The party’s frontliner was still evading gracefully… while also thinking to himself.

“ Weak point, weak point… suppose the obvious one should be first… but if that one isn’t it? Nah. No point overthinking it…!”

Another big thrust, this time aimed for that crack in the center of the knight’s armor, but…

The knight side-stepped it, and then stepped in, gauntlet poised for a punch straight to his solar plexus.

“ This thing’s a better fighter than most people I’ve met. Fights like a trained warrior ,” thought Nassor - and he twirled around immediately, using his spear as a fulcrum. He felt the familiar pull in his legs, his arms, the Jiu drinking in every pivot and redirecting, coalescing into the next wide arcing swing to the back of the knight’s legs - an unarmored section.

“HAHHHH!” Nassor grunted, the strike using the full force of Flow, his personal combat magic.

Success! A direct hit… yet, with such a short build-up period, it only brought the knight to his knees for a moment.

“NOW!!!”

Nassor’s yell was followed by the flash of green. The star upon Leila’s hand glowed, Jiu coalesced, and she shot a more condensed beam of bright green light. It hummed across the cold tomb air, shimmering like an emerald, barrelling directly into the center mass of the knight’s body. Not a single scratch on the armor itself, however.

Arjuna bit his lips, blood leaking from his hastily healed wound - and followed up with a volley of arrows made of pure Jiu, each one curving mid-air to readjust for the falling knight’s trajectory. Each arrow struck a different point, most just leaving a minor scratch. But in one spot…

And a small crack formed.

Kazan’s staff tapped on the floor, Jiu traveling from his staff, through the floor, and into Nassor’s muscles. “Get in at least one big hit, please!!!”

No time for words from the older brother.

“ This is it. Let’s aim right for that crack, end this, and-!”

“NOT. BAD.”

Just after the arrows hit, and before Nassor could strike - Star Magic propelled the armored knight backwards, letting it ricochet against the wall instead of falling over. With inhuman balance and reaction speeds, it stood up tall again.

Those fiery blue orbs stared down the group… and then the left gauntlet glowed blue once more. The knight took another stance. One leg stepped forward, back leg bent.

And Nassor recognized it from mere moments ago.

“Fuck. PILLAR!!!”

Everyone dove for the nearest stone pillar, trying to minimize any bit of themselves from peeking out.

This time, both the stars and the moon on the knight’s armor glowed. A javelin made of concentrated Jiu was created again, but it felt… less stable. It crackled under the dim light of the far away torches.. And then, the knight lunged forward and tossed.

The javelin whistled through the air like an arrow - and then fractured. Not randomly. Four beams of Jiu peeled apart from the core with surgical calm, each one curving independently, each one already knowing exactly where it was going.

One for Nassor. One for Leila. One screaming toward Arjuna's pillar at shoulder height - his wounded shoulder. And one that didn't aim at anyone. It aimed at the space between Kazan and cover, cutting off his retreat.

It had counted them.

“Shit shit shit…! You better thank me for this!” Kazan was already reaching into his pouch, finding four small black bombs - and then smashing them against the floor.

Deep black smoke hissed out, obscuring vision and restricting the sensing of Jiu flow throughout the entire tomb chamber. The javelins wobbled midair.

“Regroup, now!”

Everyone took this quick moment to dash away from the combat, retreating even further away. The javelins of Star and Moon Jiu dissipated against the pillars, unable to locate their target.

The four scouts huddled up behind one of the tomb walls, all panting. Arjuna clutched his shoulder a bit… but locked eyes with everyone.

“Leila. I heard that thing speak. And those symbols…” he shook his head. “Please. There must be something in your past.”

The Star Magic Heiress seemed winded. Her foot tapped against the floor, armed wrapped around herself… “Y-yeah. That? That thing’s a Royal Watcher. A Construct, forged of Azurite, infused with battle memories of old soldiers. I’ve seen one before. With our current strength, unless we find a weak point, we’ll be whittling away at it for an hour…”

Leila’s eyes widened. And her mind raced back to that riddle in the hall.

“Wait. When the Crown fractures and the Serpent bleeds, the Star must strike where the Trinity meets. Where it meets… Trinity…”

Silence. For a good few seconds, the group seemed to be taking it all in.

Just the heavy thud of the Royal Watcher’s armored steps, inching closer to their meeting spot, like a vanguard of death. The beating of everyone’s thumping hearts. Blood in their ears. Brains thinking overtime.

They knew that this was a losing battle. In terms of sheer strength, they’d never outmatch this construct. And just a single direct blow could mean death.

But Nassor was the first one to speak up, a grin appearing on his rugged features.

“Shit. Hold up, Heiress. You called that thing a Royal Watcher, right? That might suffice for the Crown part, if we stretch the riddle’s meaning.”

… Kazan then slowly spoke up, raising his brow, “I’m used to watching for wounds, even magical ones. Ain’t it leaking Jiu energy from a spot near the Serpent sigil? Arjuna cracked it a bit earlier.”

"Then that means we have a way forward," Arjuna smiled, his gaze softening for Leila. "Good job remembering. That just leaves…"

Nassor was already spinning his spear, locking eyes with the heiress. "Yep. The space between the three sigils. That's the Trinity. If I wedge my blade into that crack and pry the core open, can you do something with it?"

Leila’s eyes lit up. “Yes! If you can wedge your spear into that crack and hold it open, I can overload the core with Star Magic!”

Arjuna nodded, gripping his bow tighter. Gentle eyes hardened with determination. “I’ll open the path, brother.”

Kazan cracked his knuckles, never missing a step. “I’ll keep the tin can distracted. Let’s do this before it kills us all… I’m already tired of Tombs, man.”

But before they moved, Nassor glanced briefly at Leila.

“… we’ll talk about just where you’ve seen one of these later, Leila.”

She nodded, too focused on the upcoming strategy to complain, and…

They moved as one.

Kazan slammed his staff down into the floor. His Jiu surged, and then, the flapping of wings. He conjured illusory birds, fluttering toward the Watcher. The construct swatted them aside like insects. But the distraction bought them a second.

“Ngh… I have to open the path!” Arjuna gritted his teeth, loading up his bow with more Jiu-condensed arrows. Aiming. No thoughts in his head - only the need to act. And letting loose his final shot.

It whistled through the air, humming with energy, and shattered violently right into the section where the trinity met - leaving just a single glowing, fractured stress-point.

And the older brother didn’t miss a single step.

Nassor had gotten his BIG running start, all the way down the hall. His initial burst of speed cracked the floor tiles, wind rushing past him. He made a beeline right for the armored knight, prioritizing speed over anything else.

“FLOW!”

His body burned with red-gold Jiu as he built insane momentum, becoming a blur of raging energy. A human arrow with just a single purpose at this moment.

“ That’s it. Flow, flow, flow. Use the speed. The Jiu in my body. The world’s flowing of energy. Let it build, carve me, guide me, and then…!”

CRASH!

The silver spear drove deep into the Trinity point, breaching the Watcher’s core.

“Stay right there, ya big bitch!” Nassor roared, muscles straining as he held the construct in place.

Leila was right behind him. She slammed both hands onto the spear shaft, pouring emerald Star Magic straight down the weapon and into the heart of the Warden. She grunted, a bit of blood leaking from her nose…!

The Watcher’s cold, fiery blue orbs met Nassor’s gaze. Yet they seemed to soften. Stabilize. And then-

The knight’s eyes faded into a muted gold… and it fell to its knees. Head bowed. Hands closed. Completely still.

“TRIAL. COMPLETE. PASS.”

“... holy shit.” Nassor let go of his spear, falling back onto the black tiles. “Hahaha…! What an effort, eh?”

No one else spoke just yet.

Leila wiped the blood from her nose, still panting.

Arjuna was smiling brightly while clutching his shoulder.

And Kazan just shook his head, already starting up the healing magic on everyone.

Victory.