The coliseum's digital walls shimmered, recalibrating terrain at random. The announcer's voice thundered through the grand hall, "Welcome, recruits. Today, you enter the Trial by Fire. This is not a test of power — but purpose. Only those worthy may claim a guild badge."
Over 200 participants were scattered into isolated zones within the simulated battlefield. Each zone represented a different Hell Gate environment—blistering deserts, frostbitten ruins, jungles of mutated beasts, or crumbling cities riddled with spectral curses.
Satya stood alone in a dead city — his designated battlefield. Broken buildings leaned like drunks in a dust storm, and the air carried the scent of sulfur and rot. A distorted sky pulsed with violet thunder.
His system interface flickered.
Welcome, Rivan Ashkard.Terrain: Class-C Ruined UrbanPrimary Objective: Survive for 30 minutes.Secondary Objective: Eliminate the Mutation Core.Bonus: Unseal Hidden Flame Tier.
Satya cracked his neck and stretched, letting the familiar silence of war settle around him. His breathing slowed. A low growl echoed in the distance, followed by a chorus of screeches.
The beasts had arrived.
"Let's dance," he muttered.
A swarm of corrupted hounds surged through the alleyways, their skin half-melted, bones exposed, eyes glowing with crimson hate. Unlike previous Hell Gate monsters, these had armor grafted into their flesh and moved with unnatural coordination.
Satya didn't retreat. Instead, he raised one hand — fingers forming an ancient mudra passed down by his master.
Skill: Flame Sigil – Ember Veil Activated.
A thin orange glow wrapped around his body like smoke caught in reverse. The first hound lunged. Satya stepped forward.
One strike.
A low, focused palm thrusted into its chest. The monster combusted midair, its scream muffled in a fireball.
Satya twisted, dodged, spun, and countered. Each movement was an elegant dance, his flames acting not as brute force but precision tools.
Ten minutes in, thirty corpses smoldered around him.
Then the mutation core revealed itself — hidden in the carcass of a collapsed bus. It pulsed like a heartbeat, tendrils slithering out and dragging fallen monsters toward it.
"That wasn't part of the standard mutation system," Satya noted.
The core absorbed the corpses and twisted into a humanoid beast — nearly eight feet tall, horns curled like a ram, with molten veins running across its obsidian skin.
System pinged.
Mutation Boss Spawned: Ravanox Echo Fragment.
His blood ran cold. Ravanox's Echo? A fragment of the monster who destroyed the old DDA? In a trial simulation?
Someone was testing him.
High above in the control chambers, hidden from the recruits, the current Guild Leaders watched.
"Is this part of the test?" asked Indrani, the youngest leader of the Garuda's Roar Guild, her arms crossed.
"No," growled Commander Rudra of Vajra. "This wasn't in the setup. That's a Class-A Echo Fragment. No beginner should survive that."
Agneyi, clad in red and gold, leaned forward, her fingers tightening.
"It's him…" she whispered. "That flame style. The Veil. The mudra. No one's used it since…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
The others noticed her strange expression but stayed silent. After all, it had been years since the Inferno Guild vanished.
The Echo Fragment charged like a juggernaut. Buildings crumbled under its steps. With each swing, flames and shadow erupted together — chaotic, cursed.
Satya dodged narrowly.
He couldn't use his full Phoenix powers — not here, not yet.
Warning: Divine Vessel Seal – 85% Restricted.System Access: Limited. Flame Core – Stabilized.
He grit his teeth. No help from Oorja yet.
But he didn't need her. Not for this.
He recalled his training — with Agneya, with Vayunanda, and the brutal hours spent learning how to convert movement into energy.
He let the beast swing again. This time, he jumped toward the attack, flipping above the arm and landing on its back.
"Let's turn up the heat."
Skill: Phoenix Palm – Ash Eruption!
Satya slammed both palms into the creature's spine. A silent burst exploded outward — not flames, but pressure. The air snapped, the beast's back cracked, and it screeched in pain.
But it didn't die.
It turned, grabbed Satya, and threw him against a wall. Rubble buried him.
Dust rose.
Silence.
A flicker of memory passed through Satya's mind — of Vayunanda, his master, bleeding in his arms.
"Get up, Satya," the old voice whispered. "Because the world doesn't care. But you will."
The rubble shifted. A golden light pulsed beneath.
Satya rose — half-bleeding, smiling.
"I didn't want to reveal this, but you forced my hand."
Skill: Ash Mantle – Release Tier 1New Form: Divine Vessel (Unstable)
Golden flames erupted, laced with dark ash — a mutation of Phoenix fire not seen in generations. His right eye turned white-hot, the left a burning black.
Even the beast paused.
Satya dashed.
Too fast.
He appeared behind the Echo Fragment — palm to its head.
"This is for the old DDA."
Skill: Garud Seal – Piercing Sun Lotus.
BOOM.
The screen monitoring the arena exploded. Cameras melted.
In the control room, every leader stood up.
Even Rudra blinked.
"That wasn't normal fire…"
Agneyi clenched her fist. "That was our fire. Inferno style."
Back inside Satya's internal system space — where Oorja used to reside — a flicker appeared.
A boy's silhouette with glowing tattoos.
"Satya... you're forcing my awakening early…"
The voice was soft but angry. "You're not ready."
The figure collapsed into golden particles, but before vanishing, left a symbol burned into Satya's mind — a winged eye surrounded by fire.
New Sigil Unlocked: Eye of Garud.
Satya staggered out of the battlefield. The trial had ended.
Outside, Vaidehi and Yug were waiting. Both had passed their own trials — barely.
"What the hell was that thing?" Yug asked, pointing at the smoldering crater behind Satya.
"An Echo Fragment," Satya replied, expression grim. "Someone planted it. That wasn't random."
Vaidehi narrowed her eyes. "You think it was one of the four traitors?"
"Or someone working for Ravanox," Satya added.
Before they could continue, a portal opened. The leaders of the four guilds stepped out.
Agneyi walked forward slowly, removing her helmet. Her sharp eyes met Satya's.
"What's your name again?" she asked, voice deceptively gentle.
"Rivan," he replied.
She held his gaze for an uncomfortably long time.
"You remind me of someone," she finally said. "A boy I once trained. He was annoying, clumsy, always late… but he had potential. He died years ago."
Satya gave a polite smile. "I get that a lot."
She stepped closer, leaned in, and whispered, "He also had a temper. Don't prove me right."
Then louder, to everyone else: "Congratulations. You've all passed. Welcome to the Guilds."
That night, as the newly selected recruits celebrated, Satya stood alone on a rooftop, staring at the moon.
From his pocket, he pulled a broken sigil — the last remains of his Inferno Guild badge.
"One down," he muttered. "Four traitors to go."
Behind him, Yug and Vaidehi walked up with drinks.
"You always this broody?" Yug said, handing him a can.
"Only on days that end with 'y'," Satya replied with a grin.
Vaidehi added, "We've entered the system. We'll get assigned real missions soon."
Satya looked toward the glowing guild towers. "Then we start building the New DDA from within."
Yug raised a toast. "To vengeance?"
Satya clinked his can. "No. To justice."