Chapter 42 – Floor 4, Part XII: He Who Holds the Blades

The Temple of Blades loomed.

Forged of black obsidian veined with gold and mana-light, its ancient walls stretched impossibly high—half-ruin, half-relic, and yet humming with terrifying clarity.

It stood like a monument to warriors who had once defied the gods.

And now, it awaited a new set of climbers.

Blackhunt had claimed all three keys.

But inside this temple… only one truth mattered:

"Those without resolve will fall. Those without purpose will shatter. Only the blade's bearer shall ascend."

—

📜 System Notification

📢 [Floor 4 Final Trial Activated]

💠 Welcome to the Temple of Blades

🔐 Entry Requirement: All Three Control Keys (Fulfilled)

⏳ Countdown: 2 Hours Until Temple Lock-In

⚠️ Warning: Those who enter cannot exit until trial is complete

⚔️ Soul Weapon Advancement Opportunity: High

💎 Reward Tier: Epic–Mythical

—

🏕️ Pre-Trial – Final Preparations

In the shadow of the Temple, the Blackhunt camp buzzed with a strange mixture of excitement and anxiety.

Eshan sharpened spare weapons. Riya ran checks on ice glyphs laced into her gloves. Raunak did push-ups like the walls of the Tower owed him a favor. Asha quietly meditated, aura swirling subtly in rhythm with her heartbeat.

Ankit stood at the cliff's edge, his twin Talwars stabbed into the dirt beside him, gaze fixed on the Temple's sealed gate.

Toni approached, holding a scroll.

"They call it 'The Path of Wounds,'" he said.

Ankit looked over.

Toni continued, "Once the doors close, no outside communication. It adapts to the soul and the team. It creates the path that tests your greatest weakness."

"What's mine?" Ankit asked.

Toni didn't answer right away.

"You carry everyone," he said at last. "So the trial will make you choose whether to let go… or break."

Ankit stared forward.

"I'll break the Temple instead."

—

⛩️ Temple Entry – The Doors Open

Two hours later, the Temple pulsed.

The three Control Keys—held by Ankit, Toni, and Riya—rose into the air, fusing into a spinning tri-point blade symbol that struck the gate with a thunderous gong.

The doors opened, revealing a spiraling path of steel, sand, and light. The steps hovered in mid-air, unending.

Everyone stepped forward.

As they did, their Soul Weapons glowed—

And the system changed.

📢 [Temple of Blades: Path Initialized]

📍 Number of Participants: 9

🔺 Scaling Path Difficulty: Adaptive

💠 Trial One: The Blade Remembers

🎭 Challenge Type: Illusion | Combat | Soul Memory

⚠️ Memory Trauma May Be Induced

—

🌫️ Trial One – The Blade Remembers

They entered through a shifting corridor of light and wind, stepping onto a black marble arena.

Then, it shattered.

Each member of Blackhunt was pulled into a separate illusion—alone—facing themselves.

—

🩸 Ankit's Trial

He stood in a burning version of his old home in Haryana.

Soot stained the sky. Screams echoed in the distance. But it wasn't fire that made Ankit freeze.

It was the boy in front of him.

Twelve years old.

Eyes wide. Weaponless. Innocent.

"You said you'd protect us," the boy whispered.

Ankit's hand trembled.

"I—"

"You left."

The ground cracked. The illusion shifted.

From the smoke emerged dozens of shadows—friends, enemies, beasts—all those he'd slain, all those who'd died near him.

"You fought for power," one of them said.

"You abandoned peace," said another.

"Who will bleed for you when you fall?" asked a third.

Ankit gritted his teeth, eyes burning.

"I never asked anyone to bleed for me."

"But someone always will," said a final voice.

The shadows lunged.

And Ankit raised both Talwars.

[Temple Insight Activated: Soul Trauma Confronted – Cleansed]

✅ Trial One Passed

⚔️ Blade Purity Enhanced

—

🎯 Toni's Trial

Toni stood in a ruined battlefield of broken arrows and drowned corpses.

Each figure wore the face of a companion he failed to save.

Each whisper was a missed call, a strategy that didn't work, a delay that cost lives.

"Your brain is sharp," they said. "But what happens when it's not fast enough?"

Toni looked up, eyes hollow.

"I don't have the luxury to mourn," he whispered. "But I remember every one."

He stood still as the arrows struck.

But none pierced.

✅ Trial One Passed

📖 Trait Unlocked: Unshaken Strategist – Immune to Confusion Debuffs

—

✅ All Blackhunt Members Passed Trial One

One by one, they returned to the marble bridge, panting but whole.

Sana collapsed, supported by Asha. Riya's eyes were wet. Raunak punched the ground silently.

Kaido whispered, "That was only the first?"

The Temple shook.

📢 [Trial Two: The Blade Betrays]

💠 Type: Team Battle – Internal Conflict

⚔️ Opponents: Reflections of One Another

💀 Elimination Possible

—

⚔️ Trial Two – Mirror Match

Without warning, reflections stepped forward—clones of themselves, dressed in black-gold armor, twisted versions of each member.

Riya faced her reckless, emotionless self.

Kaido faced a version who had chosen power over people.

Ankit stared into a colder version of himself, eyes glowing red.

The battle exploded.

Mirror-Ankit wielded flaming Talwars—but moved with no hesitation.

"You waste time building bonds," the reflection hissed. "You could've ruled alone."

Real Ankit said nothing.

He blocked, parried, and let the clone tire itself before countering with a clean triple-slash that disabled its aura.

He whispered, "Even steel needs a sheath."

✅ Trial Passed

📈 Soul Weapon Sync +5%

—

🌟 System Update

📢 [Temple of Blades Final Trial: The Blade's Summit]

🛕 Format: Ascension Battle Royale

🏆 Reward: Title, Soul Weapon Evolution, Hidden Trait Unlock

☠️ Note: "Only the worthy leave whole."

A staircase of crystal swords appeared, leading to a final arena under a golden sky.

The team climbed slowly, their steps echoing in perfect unison.

At the summit, a throne waited.

And on it… sat a swordsman made of light.

He stood as they arrived.

"Welcome," he said.

"I am the final guardian of the Temple of Blades."

—