Blaze of Destiny

"Is this still part of the course? Is Kareal really trying to kill me?" Avon thought, his heart racing. He had spent years training under Kareal, and the man had always been a steady mentor—someone Avon trusted, someone he looked up to. But now, it felt like the bond between them had twisted into something unrecognizable, something cold and threatening.

"This is the end of the line for me," Avon thought, his despair creeping in like a cold wave. He felt paralyzed, his every instinct screaming at him to run, to escape. But the cliff before him was an unyielding wall. There was no way back.

Then, out of the chaos in his mind, a voice broke through. "Take the jump."

Avon froze, his eyes wide. His pulse quickened. "Am I hearing things? Have I finally lost my mind?" he thought, glancing around the desolate landscape. Was this some kind of test? Or had he slipped into the afterlife after all?

The voice came again, clearer, more insistent. "Take the jump."

Avon's thoughts spiraled. What was going on? But before he could analyze it further, something deep inside him shifted. A surge of energy rushed through his body, igniting a fire in his core. He felt lighter, stronger. It was as if the very air around him had become charged with raw power.

His limbs seemed to move on their own, instinct overtaking fear. With a burst of energy, Avon pushed off the pillar with his right leg and launched himself toward the tallest structure ahead.

The air rushed past him, his heart pounding in his chest as he soared through the sky. He landed on the pillar with unthinkable precision, the impact sending a jolt of exhilaration through him, but there was no time to savor the moment.

He whipped around, his gaze darting back toward the abyss below. The chasm seemed to pull at him, the void ready to swallow him whole.

Without hesitation, Avon crouched low, preparing for the final leap. His heart thundered in his chest as he steadied his breath, pushing all the fear aside. With a deep exhale, he pushed off both legs, propelling himself toward the cliff's edge.

He landed with a soft thud on the cliff top, the radiant energy that had fueled him dissipating with a rush of exhaustion. His body still hummed with the aftereffects, but he felt breathless, disoriented.

"Did I really just do that?" he muttered to himself, the disbelief written all over his face. His legs trembled beneath him as the adrenaline faded, leaving him with a dizzying mixture of awe and confusion.

But there was no time for reflection. Avon glanced down once more, and his heart sank. From the depths of the abyss, something was rising—something monstrous. Its form twisted and writhed, growing larger with each passing second. Avon could feel its malevolent presence, its eyes glowing with a dangerous hunger.

The creature locked eyes with him and immediately unleashed a barrage of energy blasts in his direction.

"Oh, come on!" Avon yelled, frustration bubbling up from deep within him. He took off running, weaving between the blasts as they exploded around him. The air shook with each burst, sending ripples of power through the earth beneath his feet.

Kareal watched from a perch on the cliff's edge, his expression unreadable. "How do you like my little surprise? For the final challenge, you must beat the monster. Nice, huh?" he called out, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"NICE, NICE!!!" Avon shouted back, panic creeping into his voice. "This is a real-life monster! I wasn't trained for this!"

Kareal's laugh echoed through the air. "Exactly," he said coolly. "You don't train for the unknown. You act based on instinct. Now take down that monster. The right way."

Avon's stomach dropped, but amidst the chaos, something clicked. Kareal's words grounded him, gave him the clarity he needed. He stopped running and faced the monster head-on. His breath came in quick, shallow bursts as he scanned his surroundings. There—just a few feet away—was a large rock.

Without thinking, he reached down and grabbed the rock, feeling its weight in his hand. A surge of determination flooded through him. He threw it with everything he had, watching as it flew through the air and struck the creature squarely in the skull.

The monster let out an eerie, guttural screech before it vanished into thin air, leaving only silence in its wake.

Avon stood there, his chest heaving, eyes wide. "Did I just…?" he stammered, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. "Do I really have that much power?"

He stared at his hand, still trembling slightly, then let out a weak laugh. "Wow, looks like those rock-lifting exercises are really paying off."

Kareal jumped down from his perch with a smug grin on his face. "Well done, you beat my mirage," he said, walking toward Avon with an almost proud look in his eyes.

"Mirage?" Avon exclaimed, still struggling to process the whirlwind of events. His mind raced. "That wasn't real? The void? The monster? None of it?"

"Yep," Kareal said nonchalantly, crossing his arms. "It was all a mirage. The whole objective of this training was to get you to trust your instincts and have faith in yourself."

"But why? Why would you put me through all of that?" Avon asked, confusion creasing his brow. His chest still ached with the remnants of adrenaline and fear.

"Instinct. Faith," Kareal replied simply, his eyes locking onto Avon's.

"So none of it was real?" Avon pressed, his frustration bubbling to the surface.

"Yep," Kareal confirmed, his voice full of amusement. "None of it was real. The void? Mirage. The monster? Mirage. But it was real in the sense that it was the test you needed. A test of your ability to face the unknown and trust yourself."

"That was cruel!" Avon shot back, his voice rising. "Couldn't you have given me a milder test, one without all the danger and monsters? You could've just given me a few questions to answer!"

Kareal chuckled, clearly entertained by Avon's outburst. "Yes, I could've," he said, "but where's the fun in that? And I was quite entertained by your performance when you were screaming for your life back there."

Avon's face flushed with embarrassment. "You saw that and didn't even care to help? What if I actually died?"

"Relax, kid," Kareal said, slapping him on the back. "You were never in any real danger. The whole thing was foolproof. You passed the test."

Avon stood there, still catching his breath as the adrenaline rush finally began to wear off. He felt a mixture of relief and lingering frustration. He had faced his fears, pushed through the chaos, and emerged victorious—but it had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.

Kareal eyed him, an amused glint in his eye. "Now, onto the next training. You're going to love what's next."