The storm did not wait.
The sentinel lunged with terrifying speed, its thunder-forged blade cleaving the air. The strike split the clouds themselves, lightning erupting across the sky as though the heavens had cracked open.
Reinhardt barely managed to raise his sword. The impact sent shockwaves through his arms, hurling him backward. His boots skidded across the stone step, sparks flying from the sheer force.
"Elira!" Reinhardt shouted.
Already moving, Elira vaulted forward, her spear spinning with deadly grace. She struck at the sentinel's flank, aiming for the gap between the armor plates. But the construct was not sluggish like stone—it turned, parried with its shield, and unleashed a wave of storm energy that knocked her off her feet.
Alden roared, charging headlong into the tempest. His axe struck true, burying itself into the sentinel's knee. For a brief moment, the giant staggered, lightning sparking wildly from the wound.
"NOW!" Alden bellowed.
Callen answered with fire—his blade igniting with crimson fury. He slashed upward, carving a trail of flame that clashed against the storm's brilliance. For the first time, the sentinel faltered, its form flickering as though unstable.
But then—its eyes blazed brighter.
The sentinel raised its sword high. Thunder gathered in the skies above, lightning swirling into a single colossal bolt. The air itself screamed as the energy concentrated.
Reinhardt's instincts screamed—this was no ordinary attack.
> One strike… and it will erase everything.
"Scatter!" Reinhardt shouted, diving aside.
The blade fell.
A lightning pillar engulfed the step, shattering stone, sending fragments spiraling into the abyss. The force nearly hurled them all off the staircase. Only Elira's desperate grip on the runes kept Reinhardt from falling.
Panting, Reinhardt pulled himself up. His mind raced. They could not fight this sentinel with brute strength alone—the storm would outlast them.
His hand brushed the crystal embedded in his chest, still faintly glowing from the Abyssal trial.
Is this… why it chose me?
The sentinel advanced again, blade crackling, its voice a thunderous decree:
> "Prove yourselves… or fall."
Reinhardt rose, his sword trembling in his grip, but his eyes unwavering.
"Then I'll show you," he whispered. "We're not here to fall."
And as lightning and flame, steel and willpower clashed upon the stairway, the true Trial of Ascension began.