Heat of Passion

Unlike the first three rounds, where the moments of respite given to him amounted to nothing in terms of allowing Kieran to recuperate some of his somewhat impoverished Stamina, the fourth gave some leeway before its start.

Yet this period of reprieve didn't thrill Kieran. Instead, the allowance had an adverse effect.

'It's pretty much clear as day that my earlier guess was more or less spot on. If the trial itself is allowing me this much time to recover from exhaustion….'

Kieran's gaze grew sharp, focused, and grim as he clenched his jaw, fastening his grip tighter on Crimson Ashrune's hilt. '...The next round marks the beginning of madness.'

The pattern of this trial had already become clear to Kieran. At least, the part of the trial that he understood—the numbers. If there was any deeper meaning present in all of this, he could not yet see it.