The Celestial Pagoda’s Activation

The arena buzzed with anticipation as the final match approached. Xiao Lian wiped the sweat from her brow, her chest still heaving from her brutal fight with Qin Ziyan. Every muscle in her body ached, but she stood tall, her gaze unwavering. She had made it this far, she wouldn't break now.

Across the platform, Ji Ren adjusted the grip on his sword, his expression unreadable. His earlier words lingered in her mind: "I won't hold back." She had no doubt he meant it.

The sect master, an imposing figure cloaked in black and gold robes, rose from his seat in the grandstand. His voice, cold and resonant, echoed through the arena.

"Disciples of the Iron Lotus Sect, you have fought with honor and strength," he declared. "But strength alone is not enough to protect our legacy."

Xiao Lian narrowed her eyes. Something about his tone unsettled her.

"SIS," she whispered. "Anything unusual?"

"Detecting an energy surge beneath the arena," SIS replied. "It's growing exponentially."

The sect master raised his hand, and the arena floor pulsed with a blinding light. Runes, ancient and intricate, spread like wildfire across the platform, forming a massive circular formation beneath the feet of the remaining fighters.

"What the hell is this?!" Ji Ren shouted, leaping back.

The formation glowed brighter, and the world around them twisted. The cheering crowd faded into shadow, the sky darkening to a deep crimson. The air turned heavy, charged with an unnatural force that hummed against their skin.

Xiao Lian's heart hammered. "This isn't just a match," she muttered. "It's a ritual."

They landed in a different realm…a desolate expanse of floating stone platforms, suspended in a void that stretched endlessly in all directions. Towering in the distance was the Celestial Pagoda, a colossal structure shimmering with ethereal energy, its surface covered in the same runes that had activated the formation.

"What is this place?" Qin Ziyan muttered, rising to his feet, his voice stripped of its usual arrogance.

"It's connected to the pagoda," Xiao Lian said, scanning the surroundings. "The sect master activated a hidden formation. But why?"

"SIS," she called out, her voice tight. "Analyze the formation. What's happening?"

SIS buzzed, static crackling through its voice. "Warning: This realm is a containment field. The formation's purpose is to test combatants against extreme conditions. Energy readings suggest a secondary purpose... potential sacrifice."

Xiao Lian's blood turned to ice.

"This was never about crowning a champion," she whispered. "The tournament was a cover for this."

Ji Ren stepped closer, his jaw tight. "Sacrifice for what?"

Before she could answer, the ground beneath them rumbled, and black smoke coiled up from the cracks in the platform, taking shape. A monstrous creature emerged — a towering figure of shadow and flame, its eyes burning like twin suns.

"A void wraith," SIS identified, voice glitching. "Ancient entity. High threat level."

The wraith lunged without warning, claws swiping through the air. Ji Ren shoved Xiao Lian out of the way, barely dodging the attack himself.

"This is insane!" Qin Ziyan spat, conjuring a flurry of energy blades and hurling them at the creature. The blades passed through the wraith like smoke.

Xiao Lian scrambled to her feet, mind racing. The sect had orchestrated this. But why bring them here? Why summon a monster they couldn't defeat?

Unless...

"They're testing us," she said, realization crashing down like a hammer. "They want to see who can survive."

Ji Ren wiped blood from his mouth, eyes blazing. "Then let's survive."

The battle was chaos. Ji Ren and Qin Ziyan fought relentlessly, steel clashing against the wraith's incorporeal form, while Xiao Lian stayed back, analyzing every movement, every shift of energy.

"SIS, map the wraith's energy flow," she ordered, voice sharp.

"Mapping... Complete." A glowing diagram overlaid her vision, revealing the creature's core, a small, unstable mass of energy near its heart.

"There!" she shouted. "The core is its weakness!"

Ji Ren didn't hesitate. He surged forward, blade crackling with energy, and slashed through the core in one powerful strike. The wraith shrieked, its body dissolving into ash.

The victory was short-lived.

The Celestial Pagoda began to pulse, sending waves of dark energy through the realm. The sect master's voice echoed from the sky, distant and ethereal.

"You have passed the first trial," he said. "Now, ascend or be consumed."

The floating platforms started to shift, aligning into a staircase that led toward the towering pagoda.

"We have to go," Xiao Lian panted, her legs trembling.

Ji Ren helped her up, his grip steady. "I'm not leaving you behind."

Qin Ziyan scoffed, wiping sweat from his brow. "Let's just get this over with."

They started to climb, the weight of the unknown pressing down on them. Xiao Lian's heart pounded, dread curling in her gut. Whatever waited at the top of the pagoda wasn't just another monster.

It was something worse.

Something ancient. And she had a feeling the sect master never intended for them to leave alive.