CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE RESONANT TRIAL (Part eight)
Kaelen shifted his weight,
his boots grinding against the cracked glyphstone.
His pulse surged again—
one final arc of fire curling up his spine,
burning through his chest like a vow he refused to let die.
Torr was already moving.
Another strike.
Another wall of pressure.
Another truth he meant to bury into Kaelen's body.
Kaelen met him head-on.
No stance.
No style.
Just will.
He brought the halberd up in a sweeping blaze—
flame licking off its edge,
splinters of pulse-glass spiraling around him.
The two collided in the center of the spiral—
a blast of resonance firing outward,
cracking the air itself—
BOOM.
Silence followed.
Not stillness.
Silence.
The kind that knew what was coming.
When the dust cleared—
Kaelen was on one knee,
his halberd shattered in three pieces around him.
Torr stood just a step away.
No gloat.
No words.
Just a pulse rising in quiet dominance.
Kaelen's hands trembled.
But his voice—
It was clear.
"Then I'll burn trying."
A final flicker of flame curled around his wrist—
his pulse trying to light again—
but it faltered.
Dimmed.
Collapsed inward.
TO BE CONTINUED…