Execution

Chapter 51

Test wasn't the right word

The room they dragged him into wasn't a training chamber.

It was a cage.

A circular arena sealed in shifting metal, humming faintly with containment sigils. No corners. No exits. The air thrummed like it had a heartbeat.

"You get five minutes," Ezren's voice echoed from a hovering platform above. "No rules. No mercy. Survive or die."

Ronan's system pinged

Kill Directive Detected: Survival Trial Initiated

WARNING: Opponent Threat Level – S rank

They weren't wasting time.

Vex dropped in first an eruption of red-orange heat with no warning. The second her boots hit the tiles, her system detonated around her like a sunburst.

"Burn Field."

Everything in a five-meter radius became molten. Air shimmered. Tile turned to sludge.