Cain studied the manual as time continued to pass. The night grew darker as his patience grew thinner.
He believed he had thought of every possible way for this manual to become readable.
He tried different forms and dances he came up with, seeing as if the manual needed some kind of recognition or tribute.
He even just blatantly prayed to the book, only to kneel in embarrassment.
Cain put the book to the side while he sat on his bed looking out the window.
He rested his elbow on his thigh while his head rested on his hand.
He let out a deep breath, almost as if the world was slowing around him before entering a deep thought.
"Maybe the book requires mana to open… but I strongly remember the colors of the book."
It was illuminated with a bright rainbow color. It seemed a though it held the answers to a power he couldn't attain.
But alas… There was no answer to his problem.
"It's late enough."
Cain gave the manual a helpless eye as he got himself ready for bed.
As he laid in bed, he slowly gripped the manual with his right hand, praying to wake up with some kind of answer or clue.
Cain fell into a deep sleep as the darkness grew; the night was peaceful and soundless.
But that only lasted until a certain resonance began to occur. The manual dimmed with a dark glow as a wisp of small ethereal energy started to enter Cain.
And at the moment of contact, Cain's eyes shot wide open, only to notice the scenery he was supposed to be in was completely different.
Instead of waking up in his room, all he could see was a vast empty space filled with countless stars. Various flows of color illuminated the dark vast.
Cain looked around panicly, only to see that one side had a bright glowing sun as colors of dark energy flowed through it, only to exit with a lighter color. Cain followed the flow of the bright colors as they headed towards the other side, where a dark, dreaded sun sat. It possessed no light, as if it were just a mass of void. It seemed as if it was taking the colors out of the world.
Cain watched the colors flow into the dark sun, and exiting with no light, void of its vibrant flow, before heading back into the bright glowing sun.
The cycle repeated, as if everything was going from harmony to chaos, all in one single, untouched motion.
The flows did not increase or slow down. It was as if time did not exist here.
Cain desperately tried to determine what was happening, as one moment he was in his room, but in the next, he was here.
Fear grew inside Cain until he heard something completely unexpected.
"So… you're the one who completed my trials," a dark, echoing voice spoke.
As if Cain was trying to take a step back from the sudden voice, only to realize he was floating in space, he quickly looked around to find who said that.
Without responding, the voice asked again.
"Are you daring to make me wait? Mhm… For one to have completed my trials, you seem rather scared… and weak."
Seeing how there was no way out, and almost learning that in an unknown place, being scared was the worst thing to do, Cain resolved himself and responded.
"I do not know what trials you speak of, I also don't know where I am."
Silence swept over the open vast, seemingly as if the voice was trying to determine its thoughts.
"How did you come here then?"
"I don't know! I was merely sleeping on my bed after spending the entire night trying to figure out a stupid, wordless manual!"
Cain yelled out, emptying the recent frustration that was building up from trying to figure out that damned book.
"So, you did have the book, but you haven't completed any of the trials, let alone unlock the book to even read it."
The voice continued, almost laying out what should have happened.
"It should be impossible for you to be here right now, especially for one as weak as y… hmm? You don't possess any mana."
With a deep, reverberating voice, "That's very interesting."
Cain looked around him as various threads of energy reached out for him. They appeared to have been created out of nothing as they clung to his skin. The threads were extremely thin, as they touched all around Cain.
Cain was about to ask what was happening, but before he could even ask, the threads penetrated deep into Cain.
A pain he had never felt before swept across his body.
He could feel the threads flowing through his body, touching every bone, muscle, and organ he had… before he felt like it entered something deep within him.
It felt like the threads were touching his soul, dissecting it from every direction, almost like it was determining the very concept of it.
If the voice of the book had a face, it would be seen with an extremely surprised face, shocked by what it had just found.
Feeling the pain reach its peak, it quickly faded as the threads retraced and disappeared into nothing.
Cain let out an exhausted breath, as his weak eyes from enduring the pain.
Struggling to get a word out, he asked in a weak tone."What did you do to me…"
"So that's why you can't use mana… Was it a power stronger than fate that brought you here, or just plain luck?"
Cain asked in a surprised tone to what he just heard, "You know what's wrong with me?"
The voice echoed once more.
"There is nothing wrong with you, you were just born with a harder path. But it is not my right to do so. I am a remnant of the past, a curator for those who wish to learn the Nine Forms of Genesis."
"You have not completed the trials, so by my oath, you are not worthy. This will be the end of our meeting."
Feeling the world start to shift around him, Cain clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
Cain shot his eyes up to the vast surroundings around him.
"Then give me a trial! Give me a chance to prove myself! You said I couldn't be here, but here I am! How much longer are you going to wait for someone else 'Worthy' enough to come here! If I'm too weak, then let me show you my potential!"
Cain roared, as if it were his last chance to find a way for himself in this world.
Silence surrounded the space he was in, as the world halted.
"Mhm," The voice thought to itself. Pondering on the decision.
Cain felt the suspense as the voice thought, his mind begging for a chance.
Feeling the suspense build up every second, the voice continued to talk to itself, determining the different outcomes of its decision.
'If he learned the 1st form before the trials of fate, then just maybe…?'
The voice spoke, breaking the silence and suspense that surrounded Cain.
"I'll give you a chance then. I will give you a trial benefiting from your current condition, but with greater difficulty than intended, as you were supposed to kill one hundred expert rank beasts of the middle stage at novice rank to unlock the book."
'Huh!? Was that even possible?' Cain thought to himself.
"Good luck."
It was the last thing Cain heard as the space around him shifted.
—
Cain woke up from his sleep as the sun blinded his eyes. It seemed as though he slept the entire night, but his mind still felt tired from the conversation he had.
The birds chirped once more as he heard the sound of people starting the next day.
Remembering the conversation he had, he looked at his right hand, the one that held the book while he slept, only to see that the book wasn't there, but instead a symbol was engraved on the back of his hand.
It was a sideways 8 with a sword placed between the two circles.
Cain felt a different and unique connection to the symbol, as the moment he focused on it, the manual that had disappeared reappeared in his hands.
"That's convenient," Cain said with a smirk. "Now it's time to see."
Opening the cover of the book, Cain could see that the entire first page was readable!
[Nine Forms of Genesis]
[As one unworthy, you have been given a trial. Proven to show worth in potential, you will be tested in that aspect. As each trial is different, they are woven as one. Each step you take, each path you walk, builds to the power you run.]
[As one who has yet to fight, you must learn how to fight. To take life, you must learn to feel death. By walking the threads of life and death, your potential will be realized.]
Trial 1: [Defeat 300 Beasts or Humans at expert ranked and 1 master ranked.]
Current progress: [Expert: 0/300] [Master: 0/1]
[As one whose mind yearns to use mana, while its body looks down upon mana, you must find the harmony of your being and the power you were born with. Only then will your path be found.]
Trial 2: [Determine the power you were born with.]
Current progress: [0/1]
Reward: [1st Form of Genesis unlocked]
Failure:[Removal of the mind and memories. Only to be left as an empty shell with a broken soul.]
Time limit: [4 years]