Irredeemable

Test

Twelve didn't even have an opportunity to ask what Eleven meant, before the king returned. He beckoned once again for Twelve to follow. With no other options, Twelve took one last look around before following the king to see what they would have to do.

After following the king in a silent journey through the vast and mostly empty halls of the palace, they arrived at a large set of doors. Behind them, lay the first test. The room was full of buzz saws, some small, some large, some were even moving around the room. At the opposite end of the room, was a pure nail, but it was much longer than a normal nail. Strange.

"I seem to have dropped my nail." The king stated in a fake state of surprise.

"Fetch it for me."

With no other options, Twelve started their test. Jumping over the first saw presented them with another approaching rapidly. Using their nail, they fit it into the blade's teeth, allowing the saw to throw them forward. Landing in an open area, at least relatively, they paused to take stock of where they were. Only a few saws remained between them and their prize.

Flinging themselves forward, Twelve quickly jumped off of a horizontal saw blade, allowing them to vault a much larger blade that blocked their path. Another saw rushed forward to greet the airborne vessel. Knowing they had to reach the midpoint before the saw, they focused on speed and dashed. They slipped through, just as the saw passed over their head.

They retrieved the king's blade, ready to make the return trip. Yet, something seemed off. They couldn't put their finger on it, but they knew something was wrong. A kingsmould dropped from above, slamming it's scythe into the ground as Twelve jumped back away from it.

The kingsmould wasted no time in attacking. Twelve leapt over the swing of it's scythe, slashing at their opponent with a viscous swipe. Ducking allowed the kingsmould to escape with only a few points of its crown missing. Slashing up at twelve, the kingsmould believed it to be the finishing move, something that Twelve could not handle.

Twelve was caught by surprise, but was able to raise the king's blade quick enough to stop the incoming scythe from reaching them. As they landed, they used both weapons to slash at the kingsmould. Despite it's strength, the mold was barely capable of holding the powerful double slash. Realizing the weakness their opponent now had, Twelve averted the king's blade before plunging it into the kingsmould. It fell to it's knees, then to it's face, and died without a sound.

A door opened, and the king entered, right next to Twelve. "I see you have retrieved my nail. Well done. Now follow me."

Handing the king his nail, Twelve once again allowed the king to lead them through the maze of halls that made up the white palace. Entering another room revealed a landscape they had never seen before. It was strange to see something so natural in the palace. The king looked to Twelve to administer the final test. "Hidden somewhere in this room, is a vessel. As a hunter, you must prove efficient at catching your prey. Catch the vessel. You have ten minutes."

The king left without another word. Desperate to avoid whatever the fate of the missing hunters was, Twelve started looking. There were many hiding places for a vessel in the densely packed room. Twelve stopped to think. Where would they have gone if they had been the vessel tasked with hiding?

Their gaze drifted around the room, but it soon looked on a crate. The crate was slightly crooked compared to the others, and seemed to have possibly been tipped over. They approached the crate carefully.

Their target sprang from their hiding place, nail swinging wildly. Deflecting the incoming vessel, Twelve rolled back. They took stock, measuring their opponent's apparent skill. The vessel did not seem skilled. However, Twelve did take note of several injuries. Their mask was cracked, their side slashed, a chunk missing from their leg. It was as if the vessel had never been allowed to heal. Yet strangely, despite barely being able to hold itself up, the vessel seemed determined to fight on.

The two nails clashed quickly, blurring as the vessels both kept an aggressive pace. For all the two knew, they were fighting for their life. It soon became clear that the injured vessel was outmatched. Their swings were slower, the pain from their injuries only growing.

Twelve pushed back against a heavy overhead swing, pushing their opponent back. With this newfound advantage, Twelve kept up the offensive. Slash after slash, fell heavily on the injured vessel. They were losing more and more ground with every attack. They had to do something to escape. They had to do something drastic.

The vessel sidestepped an overhead swing, allowing them an opening. They slashed without a moment's hesitation. Only, they failed to land the blow, as Twelve's nail returned to defend its wielder. This moment of weakness in their opponent's defenses, was all Twelve needed to end the fight. With a mighty uppercut, the vessel fell on their back, nail flung into the air. It landed a short distance to their side. Twelve was proud that they had seemingly proven themselves to the king. They lowered their nail to hold the vessel until the king's return.

After a few more minutes of holding the vessel down, the king returned. "Ah, well done Twelve. You have managed to catch a vessel. Well, finish it, and we'll be on our way."

Finish it? Twelve struggled to grasp the concept, but they were eventually greeted with the horrible realization of what the king truly meant. He wanted them to kill the vessel. Their mind raced as they tried to justify killing the vessel, trying to rationalize it, trying to find a way around it. "Twelve. Do it. Do it now." The king spoke quietly.

There was a serious undertone to the king's voice. Twelve knew that they would be killed if they failed to follow through. But what if their opponent? They would likely die too. With more regrets than imaginable, Twelve closed their eyes and brought the blade down. "Good." The king said. "You are a hunter now."

That's it for this chapter! I know I said alternating stories, but I just have more ideas for this one at the moment. I will continue working on "The Archer" but updates may be pretty irregular. Thank you for understanding, and I'll see you in the next chapter!