Chapter 7: The Black Staircase
The stone was colder here.
Colder than anything Caesar had felt on Tier Two. Each step up the Black Staircase vibrated faintly underfoot, like something deep inside the stone was alive and watching.
Jack's breath misted in the air. "Feels wrong. Like climbing into a tomb."
Leo was silent, fists clenched tighter than usual.
Caesar said nothing. He felt it too.
At the top of the stairs, an arch of carved black iron awaited them. Symbols unlike any they had seen so far circled the gate — ancient runes, old even by this prison's standards.
As they crossed through, a new island unfolded before them.
Tier Three: Aegis Hollow.
It wasn't like the lush forests of Tier One or the twisting ruins of Tier Two.
Aegis Hollow was a city of broken walls and half-sunken towers, cradled by cliffs and wrapped in chains thicker than buildings. Above, the sky churned dark gray, pierced by spears of black stone that floated like islands themselves.
Everything here screamed war.
And loss.
> [Tier Three Welcome Message: "Aegis Hollow — The Warden's Garden."]
Warden? That was new.
Jack muttered, reading the air. "Different rules here. I can feel it."
As if on cue, a new card floated down in front of them — a dark, iron-edged card with glowing red writing.
> New Rule: Warden's Law
"Combat is constant. Protection is temporary. Each sunset, standings will be recalculated.
Top five ascend. Bottom five fall."
Mandatory Registration: 1 hour limit.
Leo scowled. "Constant combat? No safe zones?"
Caesar turned the card over. The backside showed a massive hourglass draining sand.
"We're not guests here," he said. "We're prey."
---
The registration center was a ruin turned fortress.
Dueling scars covered every surface — slashes, burns, craters. Survivors from other teams gathered at the gates, ragged and alert. Some watched Caesar's group with interest. Others with thinly veiled hostility.
A tall figure in dark crimson armor leaned lazily against a shattered column. His deck floated above his shoulder, revolving like a blood-colored halo.
He noticed Caesar staring and smiled—a cold, razor-thin smile.
Jack whispered, "That's Valen Dray."
"Who?" Leo asked, eyebrows knitting.
"One of the top ranked duelists on Tier Three. Soloed an entire house to get here."
Caesar locked eyes with Valen for a heartbeat.
The crimson duelist tipped an invisible hat in mock greeting.
Caesar filed the name away. Valen Dray. A storm waiting to happen.
Inside the fortress, the registration was brutally simple.
An automated construct scanned their decks, assigned them wrist-seals, and posted their names on a giant scoreboard.
---
> Current Standings: Tier Three / Aegis Hollow
1. Valen Dray
2. House Veyla Team
3. Solo Operative - Kryn
4. House Flintblade
5. House Nyra - Vorn Delegation
…
6. Caesar, Leo, Jack (New Registrants)
---
"Forty-seventh," Jack said, deadpan. "Top five, huh? Easy."
Leo cracked his knuckles. "We'll carve our way up."
Caesar looked at the time remaining until recalculation: 48 hours.
They had two days to climb over forty teams or individuals—or they'd be forced back to Tier Two.
Failure wasn't an option.
As they exited registration, another card activated automatically in front of them.
> Challenge Card: Issued.
Opponent: House Veyla Proxy Duel.
Time Limit: 30 minutes to accept.
"They're not wasting time," Leo said grimly.
"Neither should we," Caesar replied.
They accepted.
---
Battlefield: Broken Arena — West Hollow
The Broken Arena wasn't so much a battlefield as it was a graveyard.
Ruined statues loomed overhead, and the ground was split by massive impact craters. A soft rain misted from the sky, carrying the smell of stone and iron.
House Veyla's proxy team approached: a trio of disciplined duelists, all wielding synchronization cards. Their armor glowed in rhythm, and their decks hummed with a shared energy.
Jack whistled low. "Synchronized decks. They can chain abilities between them."
Leo grinned. "Sounds like a puzzle."
Caesar felt the Beast Core under his ribs thrum again—hungry.
Fight.
The duel began without warning.
The Veyla team moved as one, launching a synchronized Pulse Web—a net of energy meant to bind and shock.
Caesar dodged left, Jack ducked, Leo charged straight through with a flame barrier flaring to life.
Their enemies adapted instantly. A hammer of kinetic force slammed into Leo, knocking him sideways. Jack's shields cracked under a rain of tiny, precise cuts.
Caesar focused, activating Echo Sigil – Pattern Break.
He could see the rhythm now. Every movement the Veyla team made was part of a pattern, a loop. Predictable—but only if you moved fast enough to break it.
He shouted, "Leo—jackknife attack! Jack, disrupt right flank!"
They moved.
Leo faked a charge, then dropped and rolled left—baiting two of the Veyla into a misstep. Jack triggered Grid Disruptor, short-circuiting their synchronization.
Caesar drove through the opening, Hollow Maw surging to full size, and ripped apart their chain.
One by one, they fell.
The battle was vicious—but short.
---
Victory earned them:
10 Standing Points.
One Shattered Sigil—a damaged but potent card fragment.
Most importantly: Recognition.
As they exited the Broken Arena, more teams were watching now.
Especially Valen Dray.
The crimson duelist lounged atop a broken statue, slow-clapping as they passed beneath.
"Well played, newcomers," he drawled. His voice was smooth, but the undertone was pure steel. "You have two days to prove it wasn't luck."
Caesar stared up at him, not rising to the bait.
Valen chuckled and leaned back, disappearing into the mist.
Leo grunted. "I want to punch him already."
Jack smirked. "Get in line."
---
Camp that night was tense.
They huddled in the ruins of an old clocktower, rigging traps and barriers around the perimeter. No safe zones meant ambushes were likely.
Jack pulled out a portable projector, mapping their options.
"If we keep winning duels every few hours, we can climb to top twenty. Maybe higher if we snipe some bonus events."
Leo frowned. "Or we pick a fight with a bigger house and jump ranks faster."
"Risky," Jack said. "One loss could crater us."
They both looked at Caesar.
He studied the Whispered Sigil reward from Fogvault — a new card he hadn't activated yet.
It whispered to him sometimes.
Tempting him.
Finally, he spoke.
"We'll climb. But smart. No pointless brawls. No pride matches."
He looked out over Aegis Hollow.
"But if Valen comes for us…"
He flexed his hand.
"We end him."
---
That night, Caesar couldn't sleep.
Something stirred beneath the Hollow. A rumble too deep for sound. The Beast Core inside him vibrated in sympathy.
He rose, moving to the shattered balcony of the clocktower.
The sky was wrong here—stars blurred, shapes moving behind the clouds.
And high above, anchored by chains to the cliffs, he saw something he hadn't noticed before.
A castle.
Floating.
Glowing faintly red at its heart.
He heard a voice.
Faint. Cracked like old stone.
"You are close now, Hollowed One."
Caesar gripped the railing.
"Closer than you know."
---
End of Chapter 7