Chapter Fourteen: "Blades and Oaths"
Inside the Hollow Guild, the air smelled of sweat, steel, and raw aura.
Dozens of warriors trained in open courtyards, striking dummies, meditating, or sparring with weapons powered by their inner aura. Raizel walked among them, feeling like a shadow in a world of giants.
But they watched him too — the boy with three-colored aura, the one who dared defy the Black Aura Clan.
A tall woman approached him. Her eyes were sharp, her voice sharper.
"I'm Serena Vorn, second blade of the Guild," she said. "You want allies, but we don't serve children with a vendetta."
Raizel didn't flinch. "I don't need servants. I need warriors. The Crimson Fang is hunting me. If he finds me alone, he wins."
She studied him.
"Fine," she said. "Then prove yourself. Win our trust. Face the Trial of Echo Steel. Survive — and the Guild will fight beside you."
Raizel nodded. "Where's the trial?"
She pointed to the black cliffs beyond the canyon.
"There. It begins at dawn."