The black skeleton stood there, in the middle of the coffin, as if it emerged from the darkness itself. Its bones, soaked in ancient blood, gleamed with a dark shine, solid as black iron.
Its empty eyes were like infinite voids, swallowing every feeling of life or hope.
The distorted clone transformed into an even fiercer shadow, encircling the coffin with her massive body, every muscle blazing with savagery, every movement threatening to crush Ashen.
"Will you not stop?! It's not yours! Come closer… and I will burn you completely!"
Ashen, groaning in pain, didn't falter.
Inside him, the Blood Frenzy blazed, multiplying his strength, speed, and reactions several times over.
He no longer thought, no longer calculated… all that filled his mind was: reach, destroy, survive.
He surged like red lightning, his strikes scattering like storms, every punch hitting the distorted clone.
But she did not retreat… she withstood him. Every blow Ashen dealt reflected back on him because of the mirrored damage.
Every drop of blood he tried to channel toward the clone… returned to him with doubled pain.
Ashen roared, his fingers slicing through the air, his body moving with limitless freedom thanks to the Blood Hawk of the Sky.
His legs became Blood Hawk feet, his speed exploded, his reactions became extraordinary.
The blood pouring from his wounds no longer hindered him… it became fuel, renewed by the Blood Frenzy.
The distorted clone roared, attacking with immense power, her body burning with blood fire, every muscle a killing instrument.
But Ashen, with a mere touch, transformed his body into blood fluid. He ignored the excessive energy consumption,
flowing between the clone's limbs, slipping through her gaps, striking the coffin with a powerful blow.
The lid trembled, the black skeleton moved inside the coffin, as if sensing the attempt at destruction.
Amid the chaos, Ashen realized he needed to risk everything.
He drew all his blood, all his power, all his Blood Frenzy.
His body flowed into complete blood fluid, rushing like a fiery stream through the distorted clone, piercing her iron defenses.
Boom!
He reached the heart of the coffin, where the black skeleton lay.
His hands, covered in Blood Frenzy, struck the skeleton's solid bones with indescribable force.
Blood exploded, the echo of destruction rattled the sky, and the ground cracked from the unleashed power.
The black skeleton tried to resist, but the attack was explosive, like a bomb of red madness.
Strike after strike, each impact sounding like lightning breaking bones.
And finally…
Craaaaaaack!
The bones shattered, the black skeleton crumbled into flying black dust.
The arena trembled entirely, a terrifying silence fell for a few seconds.
Ashen, exhausted, his legs shaking, covered in blood from head to toe, breathed heavily as if on the edge of death.
Ashen fell to his knees, his body exhausted, his breathing heavy as if he carried the weight of the world.
Every inch of his skin was damaged, every vein pulsing with pain, and every drop of blood falling to the ground testified to the battle he had fought… a battle that had pushed him to the edge of madness.
For a moment, he thought he had won. The black skeleton was reduced to scattered dust, and the distorted clone was silent for a brief moment.
But the silence was deceptive.
Suddenly… a torrent of blood fire erupted from the clone's body.
The flames consumed everything around them, transforming the clone into an uncontrollable entity. Her laughter swept across the arena like the echo of hell, her metallic voice mixing with the frenzied drums, declaring: "Hell has not begun… it has just started!"
Ashen lifted his head, his body dripping with sweat, every hair aflame, yet he sensed the battle was not over.
The drums in the sky and around the edges grew louder, each beat slapping his face, each pulse announcing the coming hell.
"Not… over… yet…?" he whispered to himself, his voice rough as the pain itself.
Everything around him became a red chaos: cracked ground, scattered rocks, blood covering the arena, the air thick with the scent of death and iron.
Despite all his wounds, Ashen realized the truth: the ordeal was not over, and his survival had been achieved only through a touch of complete madness.
He raised his fist, his eyes burning with red madness, his blood mixed with savagery flowing like a sea.
He roared wildly:
"I will drown the world in a sea of blood…!"
Rising from his knees, every movement caused explosions of blood and frenzy.
His entire body was saturated with the Blood Frenzy; every strike now carried the weight of the world, every movement threatening to destroy the entire arena.
The distorted clone tried to attack, but Ashen spun like lightning, his body transforming into blood fluid, slipping between her limbs, a mix of insane power and flexibility.
He struck her with indescribable force, burying her in a wave of attacks unstoppable by any force. Blood erupted everywhere, the drums in the sky pounded madly, the ground trembled, and the air suffocated with the ferocity of battle.
Then, he paused for a moment, looking up at the sky… at the coffins… at the arena soaked in blood.
And he smiled a savage smile, blood streaming down his face:
"Hell has not begun yet… but… I will be the sea that drowns it."
His laughter merged with the echo of the drums, declaring a new chapter, the beginning of an unending hell, the start of the true Ordeal of Blood.
The arena was silent for a moment, but blood does not lie… and savagery does not stop.