After sometime on his journey Ravihiro finally found The Temple and enters it
The Temple's Trial
The dimly lit corridor stretched endlessly before Ravihiro, its oppressive silence broken only by the occasional crackle of the flames lining the walls. Every step he took echoed ominously, the sound magnified by the temple's eerie acoustics.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet shifted. Ravihiro leaped back as sharp spikes shot up from the floor, narrowly missing him. The air grew heavier, and the statues lining the walls began to move, their stone eyes glowing crimson.
"Figures," he muttered, unsheathing Kageha.
The statues lunged at him with inhuman speed, their stone weapons cutting through the air. Ravihiro moved like a shadow, his blade slicing through their rocky forms. Yet, every shattered piece reassembled, the statues regenerating as if mocking his efforts.
"These are no ordinary guardians," he thought, narrowing his eyes.
The Wound
As the fight dragged on, Ravihiro noticed the faint glow of an inscription on the ground. Recognizing it as a formation, he darted toward it, his movements precise despite the chaos around him. But just as he was about to deactivate it, a statue struck him from behind, its weapon grazing his side.
Blood splattered onto the glowing runes, the crimson droplets sizzling upon contact. Ravihiro staggered, pressing a hand to his wound. The pain was sharp, but he pushed it aside, his focus unwavering.
"Pain is nothing. Focus," he muttered, channeling his energy to suppress the bleeding.
The formation began to react to his blood, its glow intensifying. The statues froze momentarily, their red eyes dimming.
"Interesting," Ravihiro noted, stepping back as the energy from the formation swirled around him.
The Awakening
The blood-soaked runes pulsed, and the energy coalesced into a humanoid figure—a spectral warrior cloaked in flames. Its eyes burned like molten gold, and it carried a weapon unlike any Ravihiro had seen, a spear forged from pure energy.
"To proceed, you must bleed more," the specter intoned, its voice a mix of whispers and roars.
Ravihiro tightened his grip on Kageha, his expression unchanging. "If that's the price, so be it."
The specter lunged, its spear blazing with deadly intent. Ravihiro met the attack head-on, their clash sending shockwaves through the corridor. The fight was brutal, every strike forcing Ravihiro to dig deeper into his reserves.
As the battle raged, the wound on his side reopened, blood staining the ground beneath him. Yet, with every drop spilled, the formation's energy seemed to shift in his favor.
The Turning Point
Realizing the connection between his blood and the temple's energy, Ravihiro executed a risky maneuver. He allowed the specter to graze him, his blood splattering onto the formation once more. The temple shook, and the flames along the walls flared brighter, illuminating ancient carvings that had been hidden in the shadows.
The specter paused, its fiery form flickering.
"You are worthy," it said, its voice softer now. "But your journey is far from over."
With those words, the specter dissolved into a burst of light, and the formation deactivated. The statues crumbled to dust, leaving Ravihiro alone in the now-silent corridor.
The Mystery Deepens
Leaning against the wall, Ravihiro took a moment to catch his breath, his hand still pressed to his bleeding side. He tore a strip from his robe to bandage the wound temporarily.
As he moved deeper into the temple, he noticed the carvings on the walls. They depicted a story—celestial beings forging a weapon of unimaginable power, guarded by trials designed to test the worthiest of warriors.
At the end of the corridor, a massive door stood, its surface adorned with seven glowing gems, each pulsating with a different color.
"This must be it," Ravihiro thought, stepping forward.
But as he reached out to touch the door, the ground beneath him shifted again. A deep, guttural growl echoed through the chamber, and a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.