It was supposed to be just another boring day.
The school bell rang at 2:45 PM. Students rushed out like prisoners freed from a sentence. Laughter, footsteps, and gossip echoed across the courtyard.
But Lu Benxu… didn't move.
He sat alone on the edge of the rooftop, watching the gray sky stretch endlessly.
No friends. No reason to smile. Just silence — the kind that clung to your soul.
His cold black eyes scanned the world below as if looking for something… anything.
He found nothing.
"Another pointless day," he muttered.
He stood up, slinging his torn bag over his shoulder and brushing off dust from his uniform. He began to walk — toward the stairs.
But before he could take a step—
Everything froze.
The wind stopped. The birds mid-flight hung still in the sky. Even the ticking wall clock paused, stuck at 2:46 PM.
Then came a sound — not a sound, but a presence.
A whisper. Ancient. Distant.
Calling his name.
"Lu Benxu... You have been chosen."
A glowing sigil burst beneath his feet — circular, etched with strange symbols that shimmered in golden light. His eyes widened for the first time in years.
"What… is this?"
The world twisted. Space folded. Light collapsed into a single point.
And then — he vanished.
[Within the Trial Dimension]
Benxu's body dropped onto a stone floor with a harsh thud. The air here was cold — not temperature cold, but cosmic cold.
He stood in a floating realm. Pieces of broken stars hovered around him. Strange dark mist curled around the void.
A massive voice boomed — like thunder cracking through space.
"Welcome, Vessel Candidate."
"You stand in the Trial of Origin. Your essence will be tested. Your soul will be judged."
Lu Benxu looked around, expressionless.
"Is this… a dream?"
"No."
"This is the truth beneath all lies."
In front of him, a monster emerged — 10 feet tall, with six eyes and a blade for an arm. Its body was stitched from shadows, its roar shook the very floor.
"Survive," the voice said.
"Or die."
[Trial Begins]
Lu Benxu's heart beat once — heavy and real.
He had no weapons. No powers. No instructions.
But something inside him — something buried deep — awoke.
As the monster charged, Lu didn't flinch.
He sidestepped with inhuman speed, narrowly dodging a swipe meant to slice him in half.
"...My body moved on its own?"
Another attack. Benxu ducked, rolled, grabbed a shard of broken stone — and flung it straight into one of the monster's eyes.
It screamed.
The voice echoed again.
"Awakening detected."
A pulse of green light erupted from his chest. A fragment — a crystal, glowing with ancient power — embedded itself inside him.
[Gem Fragment Resonating…]
[Trial Ability Unlocked: Temporal Blink]
The world slowed down.
Lu saw the monster move… frame by frame.
And in that moment, he moved faster than thought.
He appeared behind the creature — picked up a glowing spear from a floating platform — and plunged it into the monster's core.
"Let's end this."
One strike.
The Trial ended.
Benxu stood, panting. Blood ran down his arm, but his eyes... were glowing.
"What… was that?" he whispered.
The voice returned — softer this time.
"You are not complete."
"You possess only one fragment."
"To restore the Gem… defeat the beasts born from its scattered shards."
"You are... the Inheritor."
[Trial Completed: 1/∞]
[Returning to Earth Realm in 3... 2... 1…]