Orion clenched his jaw as the inferno raged around him. This wasn't just heat—it was weight, an unbearable force pressing down on him from every direction.
His vision blurred. His skin burned. Each breath felt like inhaling molten iron.
His instincts screamed at him to keep moving, to push forward. But the moment he did—
CRACK.
His knees buckled.
The flames surged, slamming into him like a tidal wave.
Orion collapsed.
His body hit the ground hard, the heat pressing him deeper into the scorching floor. The pain was immediate, but the real danger was the suffocating weight—like an ocean of fire trying to crush him into nothing.
For the first time, a thought crept into his mind.
I might actually die here.
---
The Struggle
Orion gritted his teeth, forcing his arms to move. His body screamed in protest, every nerve alight with agony. He had been through hell before, but this? This was something else.
He tried to push himself up—
The fire pushed back.
Damn it!
Sweat poured down his face, evaporating before it could even drip. His muscles trembled, his breathing ragged. He was running out of time.
Think. Think!
Brute force wouldn't work. He had already figured that out. But what would?
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus on the fire itself.
There was something… off about it.
The way it pressed against him wasn't random. The weight wasn't constant.
It was shifting. Pulsing.
Moving.
It's reacting to me…
---
Trial and Error
Orion sucked in a sharp breath. He had one shot at this.
Fighting the pain, he shifted his weight—just slightly—to the left.
The fire recoiled, just for a second.
His heart pounded.
He moved again, this time to the right—but the fire slammed down even harder.
Wrong move.
He gasped as his body nearly collapsed again.
No room for mistakes. Read it properly.
For a moment, he stopped moving completely.
Instead of fighting, he observed.
The flames weren't alive, but they behaved like a living thing. A predator testing its prey. Pushing harder when he resisted. Letting up when he submitted.
So that's the game, huh?
---
Breaking the Pattern
Orion didn't attack. He didn't resist.
Instead, he let his body fall into the fire's rhythm.
He adjusted his stance—not moving forward, but sideways, following the flow of the flames instead of pushing against them.
The pressure eased—just slightly.
It wasn't submission. It was control.
He exhaled and moved again.
The fire reacted, but this time, he anticipated it. He shifted at the right moment, stepping just before the next surge.
The flames hesitated.
His smirk returned.
Got you.
With newfound precision, Orion wove through the firestorm, moving with the inferno rather than against it. Each step was calculated. Each movement a test. He was no longer a victim of the trial—he was mastering it.
And finally—
The flames parted.
The crushing weight vanished, leaving only silence.
He had won.
The Overseer's voice echoed in the emptiness.
[ Assessment: Adaptation successful. Proceed to the next phase. ]
Orion exhaled, his body still trembling. The pain lingered, but his mind was clearer than ever.
He tilted his head back, letting out a breathless chuckle.
"Took you long enough," he muttered to himself.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward—ready for the next challenge.
—