The moment I reached the enforcer and moved to slice him, I was hit with a blast of icey cold water.

  I hadn’t even seen him move, nor raise his head. I fought against the rising stream to try and strike him once more, but the strength and width of the spray only doubled in intensity, sending me sprawling onto my back.

  “Hah! Nice try!”

  I could barely feel the right side of my face. The pressure with which I’d been slammed against the floor was incredible.

  He simply loomed over me as I kipped back up to standing, then aimed a kick at his shin.

  He blocked it with a powerful. vertical spray, erupting from the ground between us like a geyser. It was like connecting with a moving brick wall, and I had to quickly pull my leg back to avoid being sucked into the spell.

  I stumbled back onto my feet, only to get jettisoned by another spray of water, sending me straight back onto the ground.

  “Come on, Soulgrave. Hit me! Show me your magic! I’m not even trying to stop you!”

  I pulled myself up once more. It hurt more to do so every time, but once again, I advanced and brought myself within striking distance.

  I was pushed away by a violent stream before I could make contact.

  I at least managed not to fall this time. I slid back, the soles of my boots colliding with dislodged stone. I held steady, panting, gripping my jian with both hands.

  “Which eye? Your right or your left?” He peered at me in the darkness. His own eyes seemed to have a glowing quality to them. “Hmm. You’re right eye dominant. Shall I take your left?”

  I ran at him this time. Put all of my strength into my motion, tried to tear through his defences like a human bullet.

  When the jet of water hit me this time, I didn’t falter. I kept struggling against it and trying to push through. With each step feeling like an impossible march on broken bones, I planted my foot once, then twice, inching ever closer to my eventual goal…

  Only to be assailed by a gust of wind. The water gave way, and I was sliced in place by a locallised torrent of winds that sought to push me in every direction at once, cutting my arms and face open, slicing through my clothes and opening deep gashes in my legs.

  “You done yet?” the monster asked, still grinning, still stood in place. His eyes glowed green now, rather than their usual blue. It was uncanny. “You’ve already wasted thirty seconds.”

  He wanted me to give up. To drop to my knees and proclaim him the winner. This was only meant to be torture. An exercise to show me just how powerless I was. That I’d only managed to touch him before because he’d allowed it. Because he didn’t care.

  I’d never fought against powers like this. I didn’t even know that Ascendants could use multiple elements so seamlessly. I had no earthly idea what the breadth and scope of this enforcer’s abilities were—at this point, I was wondering if he was tier 3 or higher…

  I didn’t care. I was going to keep on trying.

  Step, lunge, faceplant, repeat. Never once did my enemy’s position change. Never once did he seem interested in engaging me.

  “You scared to fight me without your tricks?” I asked after being slammed into a wall by another gale, spitting blood from my mouth between words.

  “Hah! You’re desperate, aren’t you?”

  I was. I was hoping I could goad him out of dropping his guard with a comment like that, that he might come at me close enough for me to get a lucky shot in, but…

  I was swept off my feet again before I could finish my thought, my head slammed into the stone below. I fought a ringing in my head as I moved to stand, faltering, the world zooming in and out around me.

  Think. Really think. He’d switched to using wind when I’d managed to push against his water attack. I had to find a way to get past this too. Then I could…

  I had a crazy idea. Next time I managed to stand, instead of charging at him, I tried to run.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “What?” the enforcer laughed. “I didn’t think I’d break you so easily!”

  He pulled me back to the centre with another gust of wind. It was violent, like tearing me from reality.

  I landed with a harsh thud. I struggled to my feet.

  I tried to run again.

  “You’re… actually disappointing.”

  Grab. Wind blast. Thud.

  It hurt to stand. It hurt to breathe.

  “All of that, and you quit halfway?”

  I tried to turn. Run in the opposite direction to him.

  Grab. Wind blast. Thud.

  “I can’t believe you. Where’s the honour you ancient families are always spouting about?”

  Even I felt the routine was natural at this point. This futile effort to scramble away, to get away from this terrifying man, only to be caught once again and blasted back to the centre.

  We repeated the same process four, five, six, seven times… He grabbed me and pulled me back about three seconds in, every single time.

  Then, on repetition eight, after two seconds of scrambling to my feet and making to run in the opposite direction…

  I turned.

  I turned and I jumped.

  The wind blast came.

  It pulled me towards the centre of the training room.

  It pulled me right past it with my momentum. Sent me careening straight towards him.

  He blinked in confusion, then cackled, dodging to the side as I landed roughly on the ground only a few inches from where he’d been standing this whole time.

  He looked down on my crumpled body like he was almost impressed…

  Then, summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I kicked him straight in the ankle.

  His laughter vanished. His face lost its manic quality.

  He gave his foot a good shake.

  “Oh. You got me.”

  He reached out a hand to help me up. Smiled.

  “Here. You earned this.”

  I ignored his outstretched hand. Tried to pull myself off the ground on my own…

  He punched me in the face.

  “You got me!” he shouted jubilantly, followed by another rock hard punch. “Fancy that!”

  He summoned another jettison of water. Held my face down in it until I felt my lungs would burst.

  I heard Amara try to rush over to me. Heard one of the other enforcers grab her.

  I tried desperately not to black out. To stay conscious. To not die.

  There had to be something I could do…

  The torment suddenly ended. I was coughing my lungs up, sputtering and vomiting up water as I attempted to catch my shuddering breath, but I was alive. I was conscious.

  Three minutes must have passed.

  The enforcer patted me on the back.

  “Nice! That was a good fight, Soulgrave!”

  He grabbed me by my hand and pulled me to my feet. The level of strength in even a single one of his hands was incredible. It felt as if he could fling me halfway across the mountain without even trying.

  “Good fight, right boys?”

  “Entertaining,” Dorian said.

  The other one, the one keeping Amara from intervening, simply nodded.

  “That’s good! And hey, you landed a hit on me! You get to keep your eye another month!”

  As soon as he’d finished announcing that, he grabbed me by the left hand and pulled it out to inspect it.

  Then, with a chop of his right hand, he sliced off my pinkie finger.

  I didn’t even feel it at first through the shock. When I did, the pain was white hot and maddening. It made me want to scream until my throat went raw, but with all the water I’d recently swallowed, I couldn’t even manage that.

  Just a dry heaving empty gasp as blood sprayed from my sudden wound.

  “Hey, weirdo. Come patch the kid up. It’s about time we got moving.”

  The man guarding Amara walked over to me as all the while the lead enforcer put my severed finger into a little pouch and tightly sealed it.

  When this man too tried to grab my hand I attempted to pull it away with all the strength left in me, fearful like a wounded animal.

  He insisted on holding onto it. Within moments of him doing so, a pale golden light washed over me. The bleeding had stopped, and my hand’s severed portion had formed into a numb nub.

  Not only that, but my cough was better. My lungs had stopped burning, and most of the injuries I’d accumulated from the fight had been reduced in intensity by about three quarters.

  It was suddenly almost as if none of this had ever happened. Only…

  “Anyways, here’s your receipt,” the enforcer said, scribbling on a piece of paper and placing it in my injured hand. “Start making your payments, or we won’t be so accommodating next time.”

  With that, the three enforcers took their leave, and I was left clutching my maimed hand, fighting fresh tears, and trying to come to terms with what the fuck had just happened.