Chapitre 49: New Trial

Emile looked horrid. Not only was there a black, ashy hole in the center of his shirt that revealed his bare chest, but the fingers on his left hand were shaved down to the bone.

His toes looked no better, the majority of them were just a toenail, the toes themselves were left behind and scattered on the surface of the pillar.

Emile checked his essence, zero, it wasn't a surprising find. Blood released Emile from the harness and he collapsed onto the floor. Using his knees and available hand, Emile crawled to the pillar and leaned back against it.

"I won't be able to heal for awhile—" Emile said while holding up the stumps on his hand, "and I probably can't walk like this."

"Yeah, yeah, defeat the dolls on your own Blood. Message understood." Blood announced.

Blood peaked his head around the corner of the pillar, then quickly sucked it back in just before a lightning bolt streaked by and hit the ground in front of them.

He looked around again and waited, Emile could hear him counting underneath his breath. After sixteen seconds, another bolt crashed into the pillar.

Just as the bolt hit, Blood turned around the corner and ran at the two remaining dolls while Emile crawled to the edge and watched the final skirmish.

Blood charged ahead and transformed all the blood he had left into another arm for himself. In his real arm, he summoned the dagger that Emile used earlier.

Meanwhile, the unaccounted for doll finally moved. It steadily walked towards Blood, intent on stopping his advance.

Blood lunged forward and struck with his blade, but the doll pushed his wrist away and blocked the strike. Then, the doll opened its palm and a vortex of essence swirled within it.

The doll pushed its palm into Blood's chest and a shockwave cracked the stone they were standing on. Blood's body flew back and rolled across the ground.

He stopped just shy of Emile's pillar, his pristine white skin now covered in black dirt and his own saliva. Blood stumbled to his feet, wiped his face, and looked back at Emile.

"Did you see that?" He asked just before a lightning bolt exploded towards him. Blood casually stepped to the side of the bolt and kept speaking.

"I mean the ground cracked, but I barely felt anything. Well—the ground hurt, but the push back didn't."

Emile responded with a thumbs up, he needed to get used to Blood's insanity one way or another. Blood smiled then sprinted back down the open plains towards the two dolls.

The force doll took a defensive stance. Blood threw his crystal fist forward. The doll blocked it, but now the doll was open.

With his other hand, Blood plunged the dagger into the doll's torso then slid it up and out of the abomination's shoulder. The doll fell to the ground, but its back had been hiding the frame of the other doll.

A lightning bolt cracked Blood's ribs and sent him tumbling on the floor. Before he fell, he threw the dagger into the air. His blood arm detached from his body and flew towards the blade.

Blood manipulated his blood arm while his body was paralyzed, he caught the blade and flew at the lightning doll. The doll turned around and began running back into the dome.

Blood threw the knife through the air, hitting the doll in the back. The doll stumbled and fell to his knees, but Blood's crystal arm was just behind it.

The arm pulled the dagger from the doll's back then smashed it into it's head, killing it instantly. The blade returned to a flurry of white sparks while the blood dripped into a puddle on the floor.

***

"I think we should pick one." Emile suggested.

They were standing outside of another deadend with the familiar two choices: one or one plus. After going through the first trial, Emile and Blood realized they were choosing their opponents not describing their party.

After Blood finished off the last doll he laid on the ground for a long period of time. Obviously he was still paralyzed and unable to get up, but Emile liked to think he was finally unperturbed and took advantage of the quiet to rest.

By the time Blood got up Emile had already fully healed; the tips of his fingers and toes were fresh, pale skin that stood out in contrast to the rest of his tanned skin.

Beyond that, the duo entered the stone dome and stood where they are now. The dome itself looked as expected, the walls were empty and uneven, constructed in such a manner that it looked naturally formed.

The floor, however, was where the inside of the dome got interesting. Beneath Emile and Blood, a ring of the illegible runes were etched into the stone. And, just before them, the familiar stone wall with green lines.

"Why one? Aren't we trying to get you enlightenment?" Blood asked.

"Do those dolls even have souls?" Emile asked in response.

"They need a soul to access essence, but yeah my soul core expanded a bit." Blood said.

"Even then, it'd be easier for you to hold down one enemy than five." Emile said.

Blood shrugged his shoulders and pulled the lever that sat below one. The path opened and the duo proceeded to the next wall of choices.

Single enemy, physical combat, melee combat, small stature, those were the choices Emile and Blood decided on. The first and second walls were identical to the choices given previously.

After choosing the sword and shield, they were promoted with a person holding a sword versus a person holding a bow. Emile guessed it differentiated between a ranged fighter and a melee fighter.

After selecting the person with a sword, they could choose between an enemy that was shown to be smaller than a person or larger. The single depictions didn't indicate a range for the sizes, but in all circumstances Emile imagined a smaller opponent being beneficial.

They passed the final wall and approached the next combat zone. Similar to the room prior, the new makeshift arena had the same stone dome opposite the entrance.

The rest of the arena was much different, however. All around the room small poles erected to the ceiling. The poles were large enough that Emile couldn't fit both his hands around it, but he probably wouldn't be able to stand on them with both feet.

They were also spaciously spread out, there was more than enough room for Emile and Blood to freely move around and see far between them, but they spread throughout the entirety of the room.

Sensing movement, Emile looked over to the stone dome. A small, round creature crawled out of one of the holes. It had fluffy, white fur and small legs which forced it to waddle as it walked.

A long beak and dark, beady eyes, the creature looked around the room and spotted the duo. Its eyes moved robotically, rapidly shifting from one corner to another.

"What do you think—" but before Blood could finish his question the ball of fluff rammed into his chest, taking the boy off his feet as the two rocketed into the pole behind them.

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